Haven’t we been here before?

HYPED-UP? Me? Listen: I couldn’t be more hyper if I were Gary Neville, swimming in a vat of extra-caffinated cola and coming across a mooning Carlos Tevez shouting “suck my socks, gringo”.

Tonight and Sunday will take some beating this season for a five-day concentration of expectation and adrenaline, that’s for sure. But it’s hard to look past tonight.

As every schoolboy should know by now, we’ve been here before. For 2009/10 read 1969/70. Looking back, I was struck by some hideous parallels. Forty years ago, United had once again come close to winning back-to-back European Cups; we had a legendary, yet pensionable (general) managerial presence becoming the subject of increasing concern; old stars were beginning to rot, with no sign of replacements; and we were facing a menace resurgent in our own backyard.

Go even deeper and the parallels still hold: for Scholes ‘09 read Crerand ‘69; Gary Neville is our Shay Brennan, at the end of the road; a dazzling yet frustrated Rooney carries us now as Best did then. And City’s great leap forward chimes in too: it was just over a year since their title win/Arab takeover had transformed them from also-rans into contenders. Cast further forward if you like, too: 2010/1970 would see 1-0 FA Cup victories for Leeds over United, World Cup finals in which highly-fancied England would lose in the quarter-finals (just wait ‘n’ see) and British general elections produce Conservative victories.

And then, most obviously, there’s tonight: exactly as in 1969/70, a two-legged League Cup semi-final that threatens to seal a change in the Mancunian power balance, with OT hosting the second leg and United 2-1 down. Spooky, huh? If there’s a 69-style indirect free-kick for the Blues in the dying minutes, then I’ll be putting a ton on Chelsea to play Leeds in the FA Cup final… though perhaps not so much on Dana to win the Eurovision.

Say one thing for 1970 though: at least they respected the cups back then — both FA and League. Indeed, this season it’s been heartening to see a slight upsurge in the emotional investment we make in the League Cup. For the best part of the last 15 years, we’ve essentially derided it, despite the two finals reached, to such an extent that we all ridiculed Fergie and Gary Neville for their pathetic attempts to portray the 2006 victory as fulfilling our annual trophy target.

Yet this year’s journey has been replete with drama, excellent matches and, ummm, off-field exhilarations. Whilst not necessarily wishing to glorify what went on last week — or at Oakwell a few rounds ago — it has certainly reminded everyone that there is still some passion in the stands that hasn’t been completely squeezed out by NuFootball and the horrific moneymen invaders.

I’m certainly not going to excuse Neville’s behaviour, though.

I think I have pointed out here what a liability he has become this season both on and off the pitch and he truly excelled himself last week. — winding up a star opponent on the morning of the match. Just shut up and retire, Gary.

He may have a contender in the dunce’s corner, though: as I write on Monday night, I am hearing that there is mystery about the fate of Anderson, who was subjected to a brutal verbal assault from Fergie after the first leg and who has — temporarily or permanently? — left the country in a huff. Carrick also got it in the neck from the boss but tonight we need real men who are going to fight. On the pitch, too….