Game of the Week – Manchester United vs. Manchester City
Nostalgia is not what it used to be, but here is one for the anoraks nonetheless. The last time Manchester City finished above their fierce rivals in the domestic league, the year was 1991. The one and only Chesney Hawkes topped the charts as Arsenal and Liverpool contested the Barclays League Division One while both City and United were considered as also-rans. The divisions were appropriately numbered one, two, three and four and the games contested by teams numbered one to eleven, almost invariably at 3pm on a Saturday. Precisely two decades on, City will know that finishing above United will almost certainly mean a lot more than regional bragging rights. Arsenal and their fans will have comment to make, but whoever wins the 'Manc title' may well walk away with the real gold by default this time.
Were the current season the subject of a computer game, there would be almost no doubt that Manchester City would be massive favourites for the title, and would be walking away with it as we speak. Their 'fill a trolley – don't worry about the price' approach towards buying players has left a bad taste in the mouths of many, this writer included. But there is no doubting the collective talent that currently sits on the rather large Eastlands payroll, nor would it be wise to deny that a group of players with an enormous reservoir of ability has the scope to do major damage on all fronts in the not-too-distant future.
However, two major problems have presented themselves to Roberto Mancini in the here and now. Getting a team of new players to gel is hard enough without the tinkering and changes that are needed to keep so much well-paid personnel happy simultaneously. Moreover, there is a sense that the Italian approach of conceding one less than the opposition does not sit comfortably with the sense of domination and inevitable glory that the club seek to create around them. The tepid 0-0 draw at Eastlands, which appeared to suit Mancini down to the ground, underlines this ongoing issue somewhat.
For United, it is all about how they recover from the 2-1 loss at Molineux which ended a 24 game unbeaten start to the Premier League season. Some United fans saw this is as a disaster, while many equated this with the metaphorical rocket up you-know-where that good sides need occasionally once complacency and comfort creep into their collective psyche. The goals conceded were poor, and of most alarm was the lack of the winning mentality that has got the Red Devils out of so many scrapes over the years, most recently in the 2-3 success at Blackpool where indecision had led to a 2-0 deficit at half time.
Never one to allow his side to slide into a bad run for too long, Sir Alex Ferguson will be determined that his players bring their A-game to the table and take individual responsibility on the field, since such a trait was evidently lacking last Saturday. A penny for the thoughts of a man like Roy Keane may well have been good value at the time, as there is no way he would have allowed such a performance to continue.
City may well come into this game with defence as the primary concern, but will know that at some point pressing for the victory that will bring them to within one positive result of their rivals will be necessary. This writer sees a tight encounter which opens up and springs into life in the final quarter, and with United on the rebound from a horror-show in their previous outing, it may be they who steal it late on.
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