An Oasis in the Shit

Noel Gallagher’s great for so many reasons, the latest of which is his enormously smug response to his beloved Manchester City being taken over by the stupidly rich Dubai consortium. The tables, is seems, have finally been turned on arch rivals Manchester United, with the future for once perhaps looking rosier for the blue half of the city. The £34.2 million transfer-day capture of Robinho from Real Madrid, plus a cheeky bid for Dimitar Berbatov which forced United to up their offer to Spurs, further signaled City's intent to overtake United as the biggest club in the world. You might remember a couple of stories we’ve posted over the last year or so about Gallagher goading various Manchester United players with offensive birthday messages on guitars he’s been asked to sign for them.

Anyway, Gallagher spoke to The Times this past weekend, and cheekily pointed out that every penny United fans spend on the road will boost City's coffers: “I always kind of knew that 40 years of loyalty would be re-paid somehow and I always knew that a day would come when we stagger everyone in football.” He topped it all off with a quite hilarious middle-finger to his best friends from across the other side of the city: “It'll be nice to know that every gallon of petrol a Manchester United fan buys is going into our transfer kitty!”

Talking about the series of events a week ago, he said: “We're on tour in Winnipeg and I woke up to find I had 19 text messages. Now that usually means I have either offended someone in an interview, or something bad has happened at home. But they were telling me to put on the news, because we've been bought by some Arab prince. I was laughing at first, and I still really can't believe it. Then to top it all off just before we went on stage I found out we've signed Robinho. I mean it's staggering, just unbelievable!” He continued to wax lyrical: “I can't see any downside to this to be honest. Going from a cult football club that black cab drivers in London all like and patronise you (about), to being the richest club in the world is just staggering.”