Agueroooo!
In the days before the Premier League (yes, football did exist before 1992 kids) Arsenal won the title in 1989 in arguably the most memorable circumstances ever to that point with Arsenal’s Mickey Thomas stumbling through and slotting past Bruce Grobbelaar at Anfield in the last minute of the last match to take the title away from the Reds. Although they won the title back the next year, it was also one of the first cracks in the armour of the previously unbeatable seeming Liverpool dynasty. It was a moment further immortalised by a film (Fever Pitch - well worth a watch) and many believed it would be hard to top for drama.
Enter the 2011-12 season and the crowning start to a new dynasty, that of the sky blue side of Manchester.
On top of the memorable ending, which we will come onto shortly, that season was also a memorable one for me personally as it spanned a time of great transition in my life, bridging the journey from hedonistic fun to proper adult working responsibility.
I had been a holiday rep for the previous 3 years working 5 seasons in 4 different countries but the lifestyle was eventually catching up with me and I had decided that it was time for a change. My summer in Cyprus had been fun but the late nights, pub crawls and themed dress up events followed by early mornings were taking their toll and I made the decision to come home and make a fresh start. Most weekends while abroad were spent watching football and it just so happened that my last full weekend in Cyprus was the first weekend of the 2011/12 Premier League season. We had been over to Ayia Napa for the weekend for one last blowout but Manchester City weren’t actually playing until the Monday night against Swansea so the boys got together to watch that while we all recovered.
I had watched City’s new record signing, Sergio Aguero, with interest over the previous couple of seasons, particularly when he was part of the Atletico Madrid team that knocked Liverpool out of the UEFA Cup in 2010, and was sure that he would be great striker for his new team. He didn’t actually start the game but came on with around half an hour to go and certainly made an impact as he scored two goals and assisted another. City ran out 4-0 winners in the end.
Over the next weeks, City kept winning and Aguero kept scoring (including a hat-trick against Wigan) but their neighbours United kept pace with them every step of the way. It all built towards the first Manchester derby of the season in October which City went into 2 points ahead due to United drawing with arch rivals Liverpool the week prior.
By this point I had been back in Scotland for a while and had started work in the Post Office. As well as being enjoyable, this was a perfect job for me as it meant that I didn’t work weekends (apart from the occasional short Saturday morning shift) so I could watch all the football that I wanted. Of course, we still didn’t have Sky at home so it meant that I had to go to my local pub, The Occidental, for games. Like The Rose, which I obviously hadn’t yet discovered, it was another old school pub that was perfect for sports watchers where all attention was on games and lots of chatter was had. It didn’t matter whether you went in by yourself, or with other people, you would always find someone to talk to about what was going on and debate decisions that were made. The only big difference was that rather than cockles and roast potatoes, half-time snacks were half Scotch pies (still just as tasty though).
There was a buzz before the derby game due to the standings in the table but no one could have predicted the exact outcome. City ran out 6-1 winners, although to be fair three of the goals were scored in injury time to really hammer home the difference, and a star was made of Mario Balotelli due to his ‘Why Always Me?’ t-shirt displayed in celebration.
City maintained their overall lead in the table until March of 2012 but then their form began to dip in losing to Swansea then drawing with Stoke and Sunderland. United had kept their form and with 6 games to go were 8 points clear at the top. However, they then had their own dip in losing to Wigan and drawing with Everton and by the time the two were set to play each other once more with three games to go, City were only 3 points behind but with a superior goal difference. A win would put them top.
I had been following the results at the top all season (Liverpool’s form had been pretty dismal and they were nowhere near it that year). I had also had a breakthrough myself as I had been accepted for studying teaching in Canterbury starting in September so I was building towards a big move while still continuing my work. I had visited the beautiful city around Easter time and had fallen in love with its cobbled streets and old buildings. I couldn’t wait to get started later in the year.
My fresh start was mirrored in the fresh start that I hoped the Premier League was going to have. As much as I felt that the vast amounts of money City’s investors had put in had given them a serious advantage over their rivals, I would still rather a new team win the league and, in truth, would have been happy with anyone except Man United.
City won the Monday night derby game 1-0 thanks to a Vincent Kompany header which put them top on goal difference. Both teams won their penultimate game which meant they went in to the last game level. City knew that they only had to match United’s result to win the title due to their goal advantage. On paper, City also had the easier game, at home to QPR, whilst United had to travel away to Sunderland. The difference was that QPR weren’t yet safe from relegation and knew that a win would definitely keep them up.
Again the pub was packed with people all wanting to see what the outcome would be. It was normally very busy on a Sunday afternoon anyway but this day in particular was standing room only and my Dad and I couldn’t even get to stand at the bar. Both games were on the TV but the vast majority of eyes were on the City game as their fate was in their own hands.
Understandably, it was a fairly nervous start and there weren’t many chances - a David Silva snap shot from a tight angle being the only one of note.
A murmur went through the stands at the Etihad after 20 minutes as the City fans got the news that Wayne Rooney had scored for United against Sunderland and moved to the top of the table for the moment. Nervous tension increased.
Then, on the 38 minute mark, the Argentine full back, Pablo Zabaleta, got the ball on the right hand side. He tried a cross which was blocked but the ball came back to him. He passed inside to David Silva who passed forward to Yaya Toure. Zabaleta had continued his run and Toure found him with a little flick on. He took a small touch, looked up and fired across goal. The QPR keeper, Paddy Kenny, got a hand to it and pushed it upwards but it wasn’t a strong enough touch and the ball looped over him into the far corner of the net. Kenny had actually stayed at the hotel that I worked at in Cyprus the previous summer with his family and he was genuinely a really lovely bloke and a good laugh. He wasn’t good enough in this situation though. 1-0 City. Pandemonium ensued. There was also a loud cheer in the pub as most of the neutrals wanted the Sky Blues to win the title. It stayed the same until half time and during the break, everyone seemed fairly confident that the game was only going one way.
Into the second half, City continued to pile on pressure and QPR were left trying to break out when they could. They will have known that at that moment they were staring relegation in the face. Then the unthinkable happened. A seemingly innocuous ball was played across and Joleon Lescott, the City centre back, went to head clear. He had been solid all season, however, on this occasion he got it all wrong and it came off his head the wrong way and bounced towards his own goal putting QPR striker, Djibril Cisse, clean though. He still had a bit to do but hammered a clean strike in at the near post and the destiny of the title had changed again. Audible silence all round.
City knew they had to change things and began to press forward even more. Things went even more in their favour when former City playerJoey Barton, never known for having the coolest of heads, was sent off for QPR after having been adjudged to have elbowed Carlos Tevez. He then didn’t help his cause any by kicking out at Aguero in the aftermath. Surely it was only a matter of time before City scored the goal they needed.
Chances came and went for City, including a chance for Aguero from about 5 yards out which Kenny somehow parried and then clung onto,
making up somewhat for his earlier error. The noise in the pub was rising with every attack as everyone sensed the goal was coming. QPR had other ideas though.
Armand Traore broke down the left hand side for QPR, beat a player and swung a cross into the box. Normally this would have been dealt with but City had been piling so many men forward that the defense was at sixes and sevens and Jamie Mackie ran in unmarked at the back post, powered a header downwards which then bounced up into the top of the goal. 2-1 QPR with 20 minutes left. City would now have to score two. I said to my Dad that there was still plenty of time to do it but he wasn’t so sure. Perhaps it just wasn’t going to be their day.
City brought in two more forwards, Balotelli and Edin Dezko in the hope of getting the first goal they needed. Both had decent chances, Dzeko at the near post, and Balotelli having a glorious chance for a headed goal from a corner as time ticked past the 90 minutes into 5 minutes of injury time. Surely it was too late now. City weren’t about to give up though.
In the 92nd minute they won yet another corner on the far side of the pitch. David Silva ran to take it and found Edin Dzeko, somehow unmarked, right in front of goal who powered a header in to make it 2-2. Cue sharp intakes of breath from everyone in the pub and lots more debate on if this could actually happen. City fans were in bits, not knowing whether to watch, to cheer or to cry.
The game kicked off again and QPR won a throw in. They half-heartedly tried to go forward but Lescott headed on to Kompany, in space in his own half. Rather than panicking and just pumping the ball forward, the captain took his time to drive into the opposition half looking for a pass. He found one to Aguero who had come short who then passed in to the feet of Balotelli. The big Italian had his back to goal and seemed to lose his footing but somehow managed to get the deftest little flick on to Aguero’s path. The Argentinian showed remarkable calm, not shooting straight away but going past the last defender before drilling the ball into the net.
It was bedlam both in the crowd and in the pub. Bodies were everywhere, beer went flying and people just couldn’t believe what had happened. Normally people wouldn’t have been as bothered but the build up of the drama of the day had ensured that everyone was fully invested. The commentary said it all with the scream of Aguero’s name seeming to go on forever for want of other words to say. My Dad and I just looked at each other in disbelief wondering how this had just happened. City had been down and out, done, but had somehow pulled it out of the bag.
Aguero ripped his shirt off and wheeled away, swinging it around his head, fully aware that his place in history was secured.
The final seconds ticked away, Mike Dean blew the full-time whistle and City had done it. English champions for the third time and Premier League champions for the first. As it turns out, a draw for Bolton also ensured that QPR stayed up too, probably justified for their efforts on the day.
There are lots of ways to win a league title but surely not many as dramatic as the way that City did it that day in May in 2012. It was the start of an onslaught of victories in many different tournaments (much to my chagrin) and a moment that will always be remembered.