Manchester - Capital of Football

[Louzie0]

In the 70's I was a student living in Manchester. I lived near the Kippax. I worked in the Central Library and in other less salubrious places like the Brook Street bureau. I have family living near Manchester. It's a city. I went back there last year for a work thing and was pleasantly surprised by the lovely railway station and then I went outside and it was still...Manchester. 

It's still a city in search of a centre, and if you ask me, in search of a soul.

Birmingham has history, form, fortune and infinitely more soul than Manchester could ever dream of.
 

[myf]

I used to work at Maine Road, selling food underneath the stand when they were in what is now the Championship.  Unbelievable how far they have come since those dark days.

[Risso]

Birmingham has history, form, fortune and infinitely more soul than Manchester could ever dream of.
 

The areas of the city centre that have all the posh shops and restaurants are as soulless as any big city in the UK (including Brum), but it also has some great areas, a real northern charm about it, and isn't, in my experience, soulless at all.

[TopDeck113]

I've got a mate from Ramsbottom (snigger)

Is he going to the Festival this weekend?

[KRS]

Where do you live KRS?

I lived in Birmingham for 13 years, but now reside in another shithole commonly known as Walsall...that being said, the area I live in now is much nicer with children able to play on the street without fear of getting mugged or abducted as opposed to parts of Erdington, Handsworth Wood, New Oscott and Solihull.

Are you looking for someone else to stalk now Greg has disappeared?

[Chris Smith]

I've got a mate from Ramsbottom (snigger)

Is he going to the Festival this weekend?

I doubt it, he doesn't live there anymore but he only really listens to the blues.

[Ad@m]

Where do you live KRS?

I lived in Birmingham for 13 years, but now reside in another shithole commonly known as Walsall...that being said, the area I live in now is much nicer with children able to play on the street without fear of getting mugged or abducted as opposed to parts of Erdington, Handsworth Wood, New Oscott and Solihull.

Are you looking for someone else to stalk now Greg has disappeared?

Oooh yes, the crime hotspot that is...Solihull!

If you lived in Birmingham for 13 years and decided it was a shithole, why did you only move to Walsall?

And as you consider Walsall to be a shithole why do you live there now?

In fact, is there anywhere you wouldn't class as a shithole?

[Chris Smith]

Where do you live KRS?

I lived in Birmingham for 13 years, but now reside in another shithole commonly known as Walsall...that being said, the area I live in now is much nicer with children able to play on the street without fear of getting mugged or abducted as opposed to parts of Erdington, Handsworth Wood, New Oscott and Solihull.

Are you looking for someone else to stalk now Greg has disappeared?

Walsall - and you think you have the right to slag off Birmingham? ;-)

You seem to have a common small-town view that there are muggers and rapists on every corner. Guess what, kids can play out here too. I walked up my road earlier and I even stopped to talk to a neighbour and I didn't get attacked.

As I said there are dodgy areas, just as there are in Walsall, but to call the whole City a shit hole just because you're intimidated by it is just wrong. It's my home town and I think it's great.

[Louzie0]

Birmingham has history, form, fortune and infinitely more soul than Manchester could ever dream of.
 

The areas of the city centre that have all the posh shops and restaurants are as soulless as any big city in the UK (including Brum), but it also has some great areas, a real northern charm about it, and isn't, in my experience, soulless at all.

Can't agree.  Would like to, but.  I've been back to Manchester and it has no centre.  Lovely bits but no centre.  I have to walk between bits of interest and architecturally unified areas which is the only way I know to explain it. 
Birmingham is perfectly formed, compared.  You don't have to walk through soulless bits of office buildings to do the city centre.  It's all there. It's a fantastic city and Manchester doesn't come anywhere near it.
Liverpool is closer but still not there.

Sheffield is closest!   

[Handsworth Wood Villa]

yes but arnt all those towns mentioned still in Lancashire ?

No.  Greater Manchester as I say.

what so greater Manchester is the county,  Bolton, Blackburn and Manchester are no longer in Lancs ?

Spot on.

Politically but spiritually they're still Lancs. I've got a mate from Ramsbottom (snigger) who hates the idea that he's officially from Manchester. It's the equivalent of claiming Tipton for Greater Birmingham.

I'm surprised that the West Midlands county isn't called Greater Birmingham.

But I guess the Black Country folk would hate that 

[Risso]

Birmingham has history, form, fortune and infinitely more soul than Manchester could ever dream of.
 

The areas of the city centre that have all the posh shops and restaurants are as soulless as any big city in the UK (including Brum), but it also has some great areas, a real northern charm about it, and isn't, in my experience, soulless at all.

Can't agree.  Would like to, but.  I've been back to Manchester and it has no centre.  Lovely bits but no centre.  I have to walk between bits of interest and architecturally unified areas which is the only way I know to explain it. 
Birmingham is perfectly formed, compared.  You don't have to walk through soulless bits of office buildings to do the city centre.  It's all there. It's a fantastic city and Manchester doesn't come anywhere near it.

What utter nonsense.  I worked slap bang in Manchester City Centre for years, right opposite the beautiful town hall, and it's just as unified as Brum City Centre, perhaps even more so.  From Deansgate up towards the extremely cosmopolitan Northern Quarter, you hardly pass any office blocks at all.  Of course like any major city, it does have its offices, as does Birmingham, Leeds, Sheffield and Bristol etc, but for me, there really isn't much to choose between say, Deansgate and New Street.  Both are full of shops and restaurants, why is one more "soulful" than the other?

[Louzie0]

Think we will have to agree to disagree.  Birmingham is better in my opinion, having lived in both, just like you. You think otherwise. OK.

[Risso]

I think you might have to accept that it's changed a bit in the 30 odd years since you lived there....

[phantom limb]

Birmingham is fucking ace.

[Risso]

Think we will have to agree to disagree.  Birmingham is better in my opinion, having lived in both, just like you. You think otherwise. OK.

Oh and I didn't say that one was any better than the other, I just disagreed with your entirely inaccurate description of Manchester city centre, and with the bizarre statement that Birmingham is more "soulful", whatever that means.  There are good and bad parts of both.