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It stings like a bastard but let's not forget that this is a step on an incredible journey. I remember posting, and I'm claiming no great prescience here, some months ago that we'd be bumping into United in major finals and semi finals on a regular basis fairly soon. When I wrote that I imagined that City and United would be rivals for the forseeable future, what I've witnessed in the last few weeks has led me to reconsider this assesment.

The way United celebrated tonight with Sir Alex hugging and kissing the great unwashed in the stands behind him suggests to me that they see this as a victory to savour, sure the next few days will see barbed comments from Stretford and their media lapdogs but for all their blustering piss and wind they know the writing is on the wall.

We came this close against a practically full strength United, they altered their tactics, played guys that would never have appeared against any other opposition, they eschewed their entire Carling Cup philosophy and even risked an additional ban for a vital defender in order to match little old City.

Why?

Because they know that unless there is a radical change in the structure of their club this might be the very last chance they have to dictate the tactics of a match against us. We have shown that they need to make very special arrangements to counter our threat and we've done this in under two seasons. We might meet them in future big games but I doubt that they will be finals or even semi finals, oh we'll be in those matches alright but I'm not sure United will be; their treatment of this tie said a lot more about the fear we inspired in them than their respect for a Wembley final, we scared them senseless.

We're not a monster on the horizon intent on smashing their doors down, we don't need to, we've found the key.

Ian, Guildford