Picture this. A rare sunny Sunday morning in Manchester, St Mary’s Park, Prestwich to be precise.

Four tennis courts are filled with enthusiastic players of varying ages and ability.

It’s weeks before Wimbledon and me and my brother are slugging it out on a centre court trying to claim rank as number one tennis player in the family before the working week launches again.

A family play doubles on the far court, four lads – an American, two Englishmen and a guy from China, and two lads from Poland are also playing on courts on either side of us.

But there’s one problem.

Unlike the rest, our tennis match-up isn’t fair – the net is all but collapsed but we continue, slightly subdued.

The poor condition of the court is fairly typical of other grassroot-level sites across the region and indeed the country.

Sport England recently refused millions of pounds of funding to support tennis in the community because they said the  Lawn Tennis Association’s plans to boost tennis participation ‘weren’t strong enough to justify investment’.

Looking out at St Mary’s park that day, you’d think enough want tennis – and enough of the community want to help others.

A man concerned about our drooping net shouted over suggesting we use an empty plastic bottle – “shove it under the wire, tighten the net and it will hold it higher,” he said. Nice try but to no avail.

Fifteen minutes passed and concerns grew. Remarkably, a bloke from another court walked our way with a screwdriver.

Scared, worried, we laughed accepting his willingness to help.

Moments later, as screws on the metal post holding up the drooping tennis net were loosened, five other lads, me and my brother all pulled up the net to a match-playing height and it held true. The paparazzi would have snapped a seriously weird picture if they had defied all expectations and showed up.

The next day my brother responded to an email entitled ‘tennis, empty plastic bottles and a screwdriver?’

“I know some people who have done that, but that’s tennis pal,” he joked.

Driving home later in the week I passed St Mary’s Park and noticed two capable tennis teens smashing balls over a net, into the net, but mostly over it, on otherwise empty courts.

I could see the empty plastic bottle as the green ball whizzed by it again and again – The screw was out of sight but obviously holding the net tight.

Funding cuts were on the mind as I pondered grassroots tennis and its future. A well thought of tennis coach in a Manchester suburb said we need to let people enjoy the sport.

I agree – we can’t be so hell-bent and obsessive about producing the next Andy Murray, and therefore keep ploughing money solely into tennis centres where only the well-off can afford to be coached.

Kids especially, and the older generation, need encouragement, then the basic facilities where they can go to enjoy their tennis for free in order to put that encouragement into practise. The next Murray might just come out of a community in time.

For now though, until a bit of cash arrives, add two items to your check-list just in case: ‘Tennis Racket, Balls, Empty Bottle(s), Screwdriver.

Bold claim: David Bernstein said last week that fans were the game's heartbeat

This morning our beloved FA delivered another kick in the pants to the ordinary football fan.

Despite Saturday’s trouble, clearly fuelled by all-day binge drinking, despite the fact that Wigan fans were denied the chance to travel by train to the semi-final (the quickest and easiest way of getting down to the capital of the world) they announced that this year’s FA Cup Final will be kicking off at 5.15pm.

The last train to Wigan North Western from Euston on May 11 leaves at 8.31pm while the last train back to Manchester is at 9pm so once again, unless you’ve got a helicopter or your team is 3-0 down after half an hour, Dicky Branson’s tilting time-warpers are not an option.

How can this happen? How can those who are willing to part with their hard-earned to slog down to London to get ripped off for overpriced food and drink be treated with such utter contempt?

Because those who sit in their armchairs and watch the adverts are more important than those who get off their backsides to support their teams.

Last week I was at the Soccerex European Football Forum at Manchester Central where I got the chance to listen to outgoing FA chairman and former City supremo David Bernstein.

In a pre-penned speech he spoke about fans being the ‘heartbeat’ of the game.

“Without these passionate fans,” he added, “there is no football and we must ensure we treat them with care and respect, and make football accessible to all.”

He kept a straight face and everything.

Afterwards, print media were given 10 minutes to ask Mr Bernstein questions.

In the scramble that ensued I managed to ask him for his thoughts on Bury, who had announced the day previously that they needed £1m to survive.

After he told me that he hadn’t heard about that (he is only the FA chairman after all), he said that he ‘could not comment on a particular club’s position’.

“I’d rather steer clear of that question,” he added. This from the chair of the game’s governing body.

But it’s not just the FA that does sweet FA. Look at what the Premier League is proposing to do with the gazillions on the table from the new TV deal.

They want to up the parachute payments handed out to relegated clubs to £23m, a 42 per cent rise. 

Those in the Championship will get £2.3m a year in comparison while those in League One will see their so-called ‘solidarity’ payment go up 6.6 per cent from £338,000 to £360,000 while in League Two (where Bury will be should they survive) it would rise by 5.4 per cent from £228,000 to a whopping £240,000.

I was at Gigg Lane on Saturday to see Bury relegated and it soon became clear by speaking to frustrated Shakers fans that there are problems within that club that cannot be blamed on external organisations.

But if they are looking for salvation from outside they need not bother.

Because fans are no longer the heartbeat of the game as Mr Bernstein claims. TV is now football’s lifeblood and if you’ve not got a part in the big show then your life-support machine is about to be turned off.

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A fairly hum drum Masters was won in style by Adam Scott – good to see the affable Aussie don the green jacket.

Scott was on the other end of things last summer at the Open at Royal Lytham, when he dropped four shots over the closing holes to lose out to Ernie Els.

At the time it was portrayed as a massive bottle but I was never convinced that was the case.

So good to see Scott conquer those demons and win golf’s other big one.

As a little aside, Scott’s win means that all four majors have now been won by players with long putters – but they could soon be outlawed.

It’s not so much the fact that the putters are long that is the issue, it is the anchoring of part of the club. 14-year-old Tianlang Guan used one, which puts to bed the myth that only people who can’t putt resort to the big stick.

It’s a controversial subject but personally I think they should be banned. Keeping your nerve with the short putter is part of the game for me.

…………………..

Sunday was a telling day in the story of this season – Manchester City marched into the FA Cup final with a thrilling victory over Chelsea, United tramped down the dying embers of doubt over the Premier League title race with their win at Stoke.

What has been noticeable since is the difference in coverage and interest around both games, with City getting into the final comprehensively overshadowing United’s Premier League title charge.

Granted, City’s match was an FA Cup semi-final at Wembley and United’s was a league game at Stoke.

But it was the manner of the performances that naturally drew different responses from fans and media alike.

United’s win at windy Stoke was as perfunctory as possible. Stoke used to make an art form of being average but now it seems they’ve even lost that ability.

The Reds un-picked them first via Michael Carrick’s toe poke following a corner and then through Robin van Persie’s precision penalty.

United win thanks to two set-pieces, Stoke hoist by their own petard.

Van Persie and Sir Alex Ferguson were animated by it all but not many other people were.

As one fan wrote on this website after the match: “When was the last time you have watched Utd and come away thinking that was a brilliant game?”

Even Rooney dropping into midfield couldn’t spark much life into the match.

But United won, as they have done for most of the season, and barring the biggest collapse of all time will win the league.

City, on the other hand, put on a thrilling show with Chelsea at Wembley.

Carlos Tevez, Sergio Aguero and James Milner were tearing all over the place while Yaya Toure put in a typically brilliant display.

The mercurial Samir Nasri is looking something close to his best and it all made for a fascinating spectacle – even without David Silva!

All this might well be of concern to United’s fans and – dare I say it – the global deal-combing commercial team at the Reds.

The Old Trafford club are synonymous with not only success but also excitement. It seems ludicrous to say it, but a grinding Premier League title victory might not be enough in such a cut-throat world where clubs are forever searching out a new fans.

When you read stories like this about fan attendance at Old Trafford, the issue comes into sharper focus.

Players like Michael Carrick, Tom Cleverley, Antonio Valencia, Anderson, Ryan Giggs, Javier Hernandez – do they really inspire edge-of-the-seat football? I believe Shinji Kagawa, Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie do and am not suggesting for a minute that United have lost their X-factor.

What I am suggesting is there is a danger of that happening.

It’s a tricky one for United. They invested a fair bit of money last summer in bringing Kagawa and RVP to Old Trafford, no doubt an element of those moves was motivated by the duo’s box office appeal.

But there needs to be a critical mass of players who carry that spirit. It doesn’t help that wingers Nani, Ashley Young and Antonio Valencia have had average seasons, while Rooney continues to play in fits and starts.

It just seems when you look at the City team-sheet there is more promise, more potential for fireworks, even if with that there is a higher likelihood of the machine breaking down on occasion.

Much has been made during Roberto Mancini’s tenure at City about his management of the players, what with Carlos Tevez and ex-Blue Mario Balotelli’s various escapades, and how Sir Alex Ferguson would never let that happen.

But in a bizarre way, all these antics at City feed into the character of the club. It’s a sporting industry yes, but it’s also an entertainment industry.

Have City stolen United’s X-factor? Not yet, but it would be interesting to see which team a neutral would rather watch. And with a potential Champions League audience – many of them to be swayed – not far off one billion in prospect for next season the battle for hearts and minds is a key one for clubs.

It might not be up there with the ‘Cruyff turn’ yet, but the ‘Aguero feint’ must be coming up fast on the rails as City supporters’ favourite footballing technique.

Blues fans must have had a sense of deja vu during the derby on Monday as Aguero’s angled run scythed through the United defence before he rocketed a shot into the top corner.

It was all very reminiscent of his history-making strike deep into injury time against QPR last season.

Just when you think the little man is about to pull the trigger or fall over, he takes the extra step before blasting the ball in.

He plays a game of brinkmanship with defenders and they so often mistime their challenges, understandably in the belief that Aguero is at the point where he must take his shot. But he doesn’t, feinting, pushing the ball wider and then lashing it in.

He is probably only able to do it because of his low centre of gravity and rock solid stability on the move.

You can bet Rafael Benitez will warn his Chelsea defenders about the ‘Aguero feint’ before Sunday’s FA Cup semi-final. Whether they can stop it is another matter.

:: It’s Masters week and Tiger Woods has predictably been installed as the pre-tournament favourite at Augusta. He has returned to the winners’ circle this year but is still driving the ball pretty wildly. You can get away with that to an extent at the Masters but I think the odds the bookies are offering are pretty mean. His putter has been behaving though and if he has a strong week on the greens he’ll be there or thereabouts.

Elsewhere you almost expect Phil Mickelson to be in the mix, while Matt Kuchar is a solid player and Justin Rose normally goes well around the course.

But could it be time for Lee Westwood to finally nick a Major? He is slowly dipping below the radar in terms of top contenders and that could play into his hands. He has a great Masters record in recent seasons (second, 11th and third) and played well at the Houston Open.

:: I went down to the Manchester Golf Show on Sunday to check out the long drive competition. There was some absolutely brutal hitting in evidence – 400 yards plus – that would make the majority of this week’s Masters field look severely underpowered. Check out the story and video here.

Alex Bell

Manchester United were recently described as a ‘killing machine’ by City and England number one Joe Hart.

Hart was referring to United’s ability to win ‘no matter what’ in a season when the Blues have drawn too many nip and tuck games.

The 25-year-old’s comment rang true – but was not news to anyone who has followed the English top-tier for the past two decades.

Ask those associated to Chelsea, Arsenal and Blackburn Rovers – seven Premier League titles between them – if they think United are a ‘killing machine’. Ask 40 other clubs who have competed, but not won the Premier League since its inception in 1992, and the answer would be an even more immediate “yes” than the three other clubs to have won the league.

For United’s 20-year dominance in English football can’t be matched by any major sports team who compete for their own domestic title in their own country.

Since the Premier League was rolled out 20 years ago basketball giants Los Angeles Lakers have won five NBA titles, baseball’s New York Yankees five World Series’ and Barcelona and Real Madrid have all but shared the La Liga prize in Spain with seven and eight title victories respectively. The ‘killing machine’ Hart mentioned registered 12 Premier Leagues out of 20 in that period. 

Yes, comparing sports and indeed the Premier League with La Liga isn’t a precise measuring stick of success and dominance. But it is a fact that United’s success since the early nineties and into the noughties, is freakish.

Various players, backroom staff, assistant managers, coaches and fans, have come, gone, done their bit at Old Trafford and beyond for the club, then left. But United’s machine has always ticked, then eventually killed most who have stood in the way of breaking their Premier League dominance. And as it stands the current squad could overtake Chelsea’s 95 point winning season with 25 wins already registered from the 30 games played.

Central to this  success is Ferguson’s permanence on the Old Trafford throne. He has ensured that players on the club’s payroll understand the United ethos of responding to inevitable setbacks.

When Jose Mourinho claimed back-to-back titles between 2004 and 2006 – it was Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo who helped spearhead a Premier League hat-trick. Carlo Ancelotti then scooped the grand prize in English football in 2011, forcing United’s hand in the next league campaign, which they did without Ronaldo to land title 12. And when Sergio Aguero slammed home a last-gasp winner to put United’s 13th Premier League-winning party on hold a year ago, Fergie and his staff and players, took a deep disappointed breath and began plotting.

The masterstroke signing of Robin van Persie served as a psychological boost over United’s rivals in pre-season. The Dutchman’s sharp-shooting early on was then pivotal as United’s defending lacked assurance.

But, now defending collectively – despite being rattled by an unfortunate Champions League exit to Madrid and a narrow loss to FA Cup specialists Chelsea – Ferguson’s flexible squad are within touching distance of reclaiming what was lost on that very blue day last May. 

Premier League title number 13 and United’s 20th top flight in total edge ever closer and their in form number 10 Wayne Rooney is ready to return for the run-in. 

The immediate priority for Joe Hart and City will be to stop United in their tracks during Monday night’s derby. But if contenders want to loosen United’s stranglehold on the Premier League in the long run they must somehow stop the ‘killing machine’ from coming back.

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Every now and then a journalist will write something purely to provoke a reaction. It is not something I have done (intentionally), but it is pretty commonplace throughout the industry. The trained eye will usually pick up on it and sometimes it raises a wry smile.

However, sometimes someone writes something that appears to be the above, but is not.

Have a read of this which was brought to my attention by Dale Haslam who runs the RedsAway website for United fans.

I believe Mr Mahler is being serious. Deadly serious. I can’t point out everything that is wrong with it, I would be here all night and it’s already twenty to one, so here are a few points to get you started.

1. “In the hypercompetitive world of European soccer, winning one title is huge. Winning two is almost unheard of.”

No, it isn’t. Especially not when you are Manchester United. This is not the comparative level playing field of the NFL. Since 1993 United have won the League and FA Cup together on three occasions, the League and League Cup once, the League and European Cup twice and League, FA Cup and European Cup in the same season once.

2. “Simply by buying a majority stake in Man U in 2005, the Glazers took a big step toward securing the club’s uncertain future. At the time, United’s Irish owners were on the brink of firing its longtime manager, Sir Alex Ferguson over a dispute about the ownership of a prizewinning horse.”

Not quite. Ferguson’s position was never under serious threat. At the time of the dispute the Irish pair were pushing for a rolling contract rather than a lengthy extension. To sack the manager would have been a PR disaster. Uncertain future? Really? They were a debt-free club with one of the biggest fan bases in the world and a team packed with talent. If that’s uncertain then I am not sure what you would class as secure.

3. “…not to mention loading the club with high-priced talent from around the world?”

In the seven years since the takeover United’s net spend is £128.4 which equates to £18.3m a year. Have a look at Chelsea’s net spend over that period. Or Manchester City’s in less than half of that.

4. “Is Manchester United courting bankruptcy? No. It isn’t Leeds United, a three-time English champion that went bust and was relegated to the third tier of English soccer. At a market capitalization of about $2.7 billion, Man U is the world’s most valuable sports franchise by a comfortable margin, and it’s only just beginning to see the effects of its push into international markets.”

There can be no doubt that United’s relentless commercial drive under the Glazers has been impressive – it’s had to be to service the debt they saddled the club with. And to compare United to Leeds smacks of astonishing ignorance. Leeds, with all respect, were a relatively well-supported club and admirably punched above their weight at the start of the century. They have been victims of dreadful mismanagement. But to think that United, whose stadium and global fan base dwarfs that enjoyed across the Pennines, could have ended up in a similar position defies logic.

5. “United’s finances are actually improving, which is reflected in its stock performance: The Glazers sold 10 percent of the company to the public in August at $14 per share, and its current share price is $16 and change — a pretty good return over seven months.”

Yes, the finances are improving. But the starting point, prompted by the takeover and the millions of debt it created, is far, far lower than it should have been. Imagine that financial position without debt. Imagine the on-field position had money spent on interest ploughed into the team instead. No doubt the four Premier League titles and three Champions League final appearances (they even won one of them!) Mr Mahler mentions would have been significantly added to.

6. “As long as the team keeps winning, why should fans care what its owners do with the club’s money?”

Because, Mr Mahler, to some people Manchester United is not a foam-finger waving franchise. It is a club formed by railway workers. It has been dragged away from those roots and turned into a corporate machine. And I know this may be hard to grasp but there are some fans who think their club should be about more than just putting a winning team on the pitch. If you are struggling to come to terms with this concept google FC United.

7. “If Man U’s supporters are really so unhappy, they can do what any dissatisfied customer does: Stop buying the product.”

Some have. But many cannot bear to do so because, rightly or wrongly, Manchester United is their life and they cling to the hope that the next owners will not have the same ideas about soccer as you and some of your compatriots.

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Matt finish: Matt Smith nods a dramatic injury-time equaliser as the magic of the FA Cup casts its spell on Boundary Park again

Who says the magic of the FA Cup is dead?

I don’t mind admitting that I was close to tears when Matt Smith powered home his 94th-minute equaliser against Everton on Saturday night.

Lord knows what the other journos must have thought when I ran out of the press box door like a madman to celebrate. Not very professional of me, I admit, but for a long-suffering Oldham fan that moment was pure heaven and I could not sit there and remain silent in the rabbit hutch that accomodates the media the back of the main stand while my brethren rejoiced outside.

How quickly things change.

Just weeks earlier, on the way back from a midweek 1-0 defeat at a freezing Notts County which was watched by 80 away fans, I stopped for a coffee at a service station on the M1.

It was packed with amber and claret-clad Bradford fans, joyously celebrating on their way back from Villa Park after clinching a trip to Wembley and a League Cup final appearance.

As I ordered my Americano I felt a deep pang of sadness as I remembered the last time I felt like that as a Latics supporter – about 20 years ago.

Little did I know that less than a month later I’d be washed away on a wave of FA Cup-induced euphoria after wins over Liverpool and what felt like a win over their neighbours.

Yes, I am looking at this through blue and tangerine-tinted glasses but I honestly think there is an opportunity here for the old competition to seize.

As football, powered by petrodollar millions, continues to motor away from its roots, this year’s competition, with its reduced ticket prices, has temporarily taken the game back to the working class.

How good to see the Etihad packed for the visits of Watford and Leeds? How good to hear City fans react to the usual taunts of “Where were you when you were s**t by pointing at Michael Brown and hitting back with “He was here when we were s**t”?

How good to see a group of United fans seize the initiative and hold throwback days for the visits of Fulham and Reading

How good to see the chance of another derby at Wembley (with the winner to face Oldham)?

Many Premier League bosses do not seem to realise that there is an audience out of there that feels alienated by Modern Football Inc.

Not just fans of your Oldhams, Lutons and Macclesfields, fans of your Uniteds, Citys and (even) Chelseas are craving for some old-fashioned atmosphere a million miles away from the steralised, stale experience that a top-flight game has become.

With its reduced admission prices, boisterous away followings and sensational shocks the FA Cup can rightly re-take its place as one of the nation’s best-loved competitions – and poke Premier Greed in the eye on its way.

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Under pressure?: FA Cup appears to be City's only chance of silverware

According to some it’s now make or break for Roberto Mancini who was widely ridiculed for his forthright claim that he has been the best manager in the country over the last 15 months.

The Sheikh demands success for his investment, we are told. Mancini has had gazillions to spend and second place and nowhere in Europe won’t do.

Only he hasn’t – not this season anyway.

When City won the league Mancini knew he needed to strengthen further. A staggering investment had seen them catch up with the established powerhouses and just about manage to get their noses over the line first but with United licking their wounds he knew new faces were needed.

At the time it was widely reported that Mancini wanted Robin van Persie, Daniele de Rossi, Eden Hazard, Javi Martinez and Daniel Agger. He got Scott Sinclair, Jack Rodwell, Javi Garcia and Matija Nastasic at a fraction of the price.

To pour salt on the wounds van Persie, possibly his biggest target, went to Old Trafford – and we all know what he’s done for the Reds.

So for those reasons talk of Mancini’s exit is nonsense.

In fact the only thing he may have done wrong was land the title a year early – which sent expectations in some quarters through the roof.

Believe him or not, Sir Alex Ferguson claims this is a stronger United squad than the one that picked up the treble in 1999. Their record-breaking points tally would appear to back him up.

So is second place really that bad of an achievement?

Danny Mills, bless him, reckoned that if City lost to Leeds Mancini was on his way out. The Blues were never going to lose to Leeds, just like they are never going to lose to their Yorkshire neighbours Barnsley.

They are now favourites for the FA Cup and Champions League qualification appears to be in the bag.

A final appearance and second place should see Mancini right.

This morning’s papers talk of Wembley meetings with Neymar and with City’s new Barcelona regime identifying targets it would be hard to imagine a summer of relative inactivity like the last one.

If there is, as expected, an influx of considerable talent and if the Blues remain in a similar position this time next year then there will rightly be talk of pressure.

But I don’t think that will happen. Do you?

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Leeds United brought 6,000 roaring fans to the Etihad Stadium on Sunday, a vocal reminder of what was once a mighty footballing force.

Unfortunately for Leeds their redoubtable 12th man was let down by a distinctly lacklustre first XI.

Support can make a difference in game of fine margins, but such was City’s superiority, 600,000 Whites
fans would not have stopped Sergio Aguero, David Silva, Yaya Toure et al cut through meek Championship
opposition.

The visiting fans at least took defeat with good grace and humour.

With the game all but gone after 15 minutes, the Leeds fans broke into a spontaneous Poznan jig, which was mirrored by much of the Blues’ faithful.

James Milner then got the treatment, the proud Yorkshireman reminded of his roots in no uncertain terms every time he got the ball.

The next rendition was warmly appreciated by the home fans: ‘stand up if you hate Man U’. Leeds’ rivalry with United is vitriolic – probably more so than the often friendly Manchester derby banter – but both sets of fans afforded themselves a chuckle at their mutual dislike of the Reds.

One other chant from the away end had more resonance, even if it can’t be fully described here. Just use your imagination to complete the Leeds fans’ song: “Where were you when you were s…?”

It was a harsh accusation from Leeds towards the loyal Blues who, for the most part, stuck with their side through thin and thinner down in the depths of the old Division Two.

Having said that, it is doubtful City would be selling out regularly and packing in almost 47000 for a fifth round FA Cup tie without the recent success.

Leeds are now where City were.

Their team on Sunday was absolutely average. Their fans were revelling in getting hammered, gallows humour out in force.

City have been there and then some.

And in a week where critics have been out in force for both the club and boss Roberto Mancini, the ease with which the Blues cut through Leeds should not be taken for granted.

40,000 of those fans inside the Etihad were treated to the level of football that is seen on only a handful of grounds on the planet.

David Silva darted around like a humming bird, seeing fifty passes a second while the Leeds defence saw none.

Sergio Aguero’s pace and power was unstoppable, while Yaya Toure bestrode the field like the footballing Titan he is.

All Leeds could offer was, poignantly, former City midfielder Michael Brown, running around causing trouble, niggling, constantly chirping to the referee.

Brown was with City when they were at their lowest ebb. City fans should remember him, and those lower league slogs years ago. On a crisp, crystal clear February day at the Etihad Leeds provided fresh perspective on City’s current ‘struggles’.