Last Updated: 15th May 2012
MANCHESTER CITY chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak insists the ‘typical City’ era is at an end.
The term was often used to describe the club, which has regularly pulled disaster from the jaws of triumph.
It looked like being the same again on Sunday before two goals in two dramatic injury-time minutes saw them claim the Premier League title.
And Khaldoon reckons it proves the club are now winners. He said: “The fans have been waiting 44 years and, the way it was going, people were saying ‘Typical City’.
“But it wasn’t, because this is a team that’s been consistent this year and destroyed that thought. I’d really like the fans to support me on this — let’s forget about this ‘typical City’ thing.
“This is a new team, new era and a club that wants to win more than anything and we will fight until the end. We will not lay down.”
Nobody could have imagined the scenes witnessed on Sunday at the Etihad when, back on April 8, City lost to Arsenal to fall eight points behind rivals United with six games to go.
Yet Khaldoon looks back on the moment Mikel Arteta scored that late winner at the Emirates as a defining one in the campaign.
He added: “That was a critical point in our season because at that stage you had two choices: Either we raise the white flag and sulk or pick ourselves up and say we’re going to fight to the last second for this championship. I remember going down to the dressing room after the game and I genuinely hadn’t given up.
“There was something inside of me that thought, ‘There’s more to this.’
“I remember talking to Roberto Mancini after the game, just the two of us, and we both looked at each other and had this moment, ‘Let’s take it one step at a time, we can still pull it off but let’s take the pressure off everyone, the players.’
“That was a tough loss, but we still had six games left to go and if we could win them all, with a bit of luck, we could still pull it off.
“Roberto did a magnificent job in easing the pressure off the entire team and managing through one of the most amazing turnarounds, not just in football, but in sport.”
City would win all six, including that most dramatic of finales against QPR. But what emotions the fans were hauled through on that unforgettable afternoon.
Khaldoon said: “In that game, we had fans crying and it typifies the emotions these fans go through. It wasn’t over but the emotion of being so close to the title and seeing it slipping away, watching that was very emotional.
“The emotion of the first half, then going down 2-1, the stadium almost went into a standstill and the last five minutes were very difficult to describe.
“I don’t think you’ll see a finish like that in the Premier League for many, many years to come.
“It still hasn’t sunk in. It was such an emotional rollercoaster. I’m still trying to grasp it. It’s obviously an incredible feeling for every single person associated with this club.”
Khaldoon had a special mention for owner Sheikh Mansour, whose billion-pound investment has helped elevate City to the very top of the English game.
While he has been to only one game since taking over the club 3½ years ago, he has been glued to every kick this season.
Khaldoon said: “Sheikh Mansour has not missed a single minute of football from this club this season. Even when there were games which have not been shown on TV we have always found a way to get it aired live. It was a rollercoaster for him above all.”
Manager Mancini is also very highly regarded by the chairman.
Khaldoon added: “Roberto is a winner. He has a very strong character, he wants to win more than anyone I’ve ever seen.
“He’s so driven to winning, it gives you confidence and an incredible amount of energy. This is a manager who will do a lot of great things for this club.”
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