Charity Shield - Return to Cardiff

[Kent Canary 0]

I was fortunate enough to get a ticket to the Charity Shield on Sunday and took the chance to see arguably the best teams in the country, as well as a return to Cardiff from two years before.

I wa surprised firstly at the attendance, which (at 67,000!) left quite a few empty spaces and nearly a full empty block in the Man U end. The next thing was the atmosphere, which was NOTHING like the play off final. I guess there wasnt so much at stake, but before it was a real party atmosphere and the friendliness and passion of us City fans is renowned and well justified. I wondered how many Arsenal and Man U ''fans'' were there were given the popularity of such clubs and the attractiveness of following a high profile team. The Arsenal crowd were very vocal and quite rightly, though there was hardly a clean chant in sight! (Or is that earshot?)

They also showed a shot of Sven in the crowd and he was boo''ed mercilessly from all sides!

Game wise, it was very good and the standard of the playing was superb, even though both were without some key players it was clear to see the skill, movement and formation which sets them apart. They were both not without their moments though, particularly defenisvely from Man U and on attack when Arsenal missed a few good chances including one on ones and open goals (though they always look closer in real life than on television!)

Reyes was a bit of a star and its playmakers like that which are hard to contain. The battle also seemed to be in midfield where strength and creative play made the difference between a break and losing possession. Strike wise, especially Smiths goal which was fantastic, needs a great shot stopper as they''ll fire off at the first opportunity. Come on Greeno!

The streets of Cardiff were not as ''festive'' as our fixture and it seemed expected from both sets of fans that they should be there. My mate was saying we stand no hope against this sort of competition but of course I think different, anything is possible, its not going to be easy but come on you yellows!

Nothing will ever live up to the Cardiff experience and even though we lost it was a great day. Now weve proved we deserve the place, bring on the big teams, I still think we can cause a few upsets!

[Pyro Pete 1,889]

I watched the match live on tv and thought it was the best Charity Shield game in years. Arsenal looked formidable, even without Viera and Pires. Their passing and movement is just on another level to everyone else. Lets hope we meet them on an off day.

As for Man Utd, while I thought they looked competitive I honestly believe that with a bit of luck we can take points off them. With van Nistelrooy, Saha, Solskjaer and Wes Brown injured. Heinze and Ronaldo at the Olympics, and Rio Ferdinand and Darren Fletcher both completing bans we are playing them at the right time.

And remember, up until last season Norwich were the last team to score a penalty at Old Trafford.