cdncityfan wrote:There are four stages:
1. Where everyone adopts you as a second team, with pity and indifference.
2. When you come upon significant investment, treated with jealousy, hatred and ridicule.
3. When you win a trophy, treated with ridicule and sentiments of 'you bought the league'. (It will get more intense!!!)
4. When you have won a few trophies over a few years, referred continually as a big club everyone would like to play for and the hatred moves on to the next to make a real push for the Champions League places.
What happened with Chelsea will happen with us.
Over here in North America, apart from committed fans of rival teams, the reaction to City has not been very negative at all. We have improved the quality of the Premier League and made it more watchable for neutrals. That should be worth a few brownie points!!! Fan bases often build on the basis of who the strongest clubs were when people start watching if they are not part of a family committed to any particular club or from people who tire of 'their' club. Our fan base will only get larger...just hopefully not with people who have a red rag hidden in the back of the closest from their last favourite team...
i would say that you are half right. in Scandinavia, where the interest in English football is - and ha always been - massive, people still hate Chelsea with a passion for buying success. City are the new boo-boys.