Soccer World: City score one for the fans

The perception of Manchester City by rival fans has transformed just as much as their playing squad in recent years.

Their rich owner's rather crude approach to team building has irked many supporters, though jealously certainly comes into it as well as perhaps the British way of being ruffled and offended by brash displays of wealth.

So the result is City are one of the more unpopular sides in the division, perhaps a natural successor to Chelsea, the first club to benefit from the generosity of foreign wealth.

But I'm sure if you asked the 'City haters' whether they would welcome a super-rich owner to their club they would say yes instantly. And days like Saturday are exactly why.

Manchester City supporters have been put through the mill in the past 35 years by both their own team and the rivals Manchester United. The Red Devils have won a flurry of leagues and cups while simultaneously goading City by counting every that goes by without a major trophy at Eastlands. The FA Cup final odds now suggest they are set to bring that run to an end.

So to finally get one over United –albeit in a semi-final – is a sight and feeling a football fan cannot buy.

Yes there are question marks over the morality of such lavish spending and City fans would accept that. But they would also ask the question – what isn't decided by money in football these days?

And if they can finally lift a trophy to banish that painful banner at the Stretford End for good and finally emerge from United's shadow, that – to steal a marketing slogan – would be priceless.