(Ian Hay is editor of the sports blog, http://therowzview.blogspot.com)

In the 35 years that have passed since 1976 many things have happened in the world of English football. But the one fact that hurts every Manchester City fan to the core is that their most bitter rivals, Manchester United, have won 40 senior trophies whilst during those long, barren years, Manchester City have not won a single piece of silverware (unless you count lower divisional play-off finals against the likes of Gillingham.)

During this time it's been widely said that, for Manchester City's fans, the biggest game of the season is always the derby against cross-city rivals Manchester United. However for United fans their biggest games have been claimed to be those held against fellow north-west heavyweights Liverpool. And despite the progression over the last decade of the southern giants, Chelsea and Arsenal, and the demise of Liverpool to a Europa Cup standard team, the significance of Manchester United v Liverpool has not, to their respective fans, been diminished in any way.

The Stretford End of Old Trafford has long goaded generations of City fans by taunting them with chants that the Manchester derby was their ''Cup Final" and subsequently patronising them with the inference that it was the biggest day of their season. While United always had bigger, more exotic, fish to fry with regular tussles with the likes of Barca, Real, Bayern and so on, the highlight of City's season was the prospect of maybe scraping a draw against the Reds and potentially hindering their relentless march to another Premiership title.

City had been forced to redefine their success to not just not winning anything, but trying to stop United winning anything. It had got that bad.

Well the worm could finally be beginning to turn in season 2011 as the avalanche of cash that Sheik Mansour of Abu Dhabi has poured in over the last three years is starting to pay some dividends. City find themselves in a very unfamiliar position of being in a FA Cup semi-final, their first since a 1-0 win against Ipswich in 1981, who at the time were led by Bobby Robson and were one of the best teams in the League.

As fate would have it, this year's task will be no easier as City will face off against - yep, you guessed it - that most bitter of rivals, their old foe, United.

By April 17, when this game is played, both teams could still be vying for the Premiership title, whilst United may also have the latter stages of the Champions League to distract them. But there is little doubt that, despite Alex Ferguson's likely attempts to play down its significance, this will be a huge game in the context of the rivalry between the two clubs.

It's huge not just for the right to play in and probably go on and win the Cup (given the other semi-final line-up) but it could start to shift the balance after 35 long years back across to the blue half of Manchester to a position where City can finally rejoin United at the top table of English football.

For, at last, City have the chance to play in a real Cup Final, with real meaning and with tangible silverware as the prize. It also could be pivotal in a symbolic sense for the 1990 FA Cup replay win by United over Crystal Palace kicked-started their 20 years of domestic and European dominance. So this could be the catalyst City need to move away from the pack into the Premiership elite.

But for all that, my prediction is: 2-0 United. Too much class, experience and temperament and the thing that Roberto Mancini can't buy: "belief". Only when City has these will they again become a real force in European football.