If you’re not lucky enough to wake up outside of Manchester this morning, you’ll be forgiven for feeling the depressing darkness wash over you.
It will have come as little surprise to many to draw back the curtains on this grey Manchurian morning, only to be greeted by heavy showers and dark skies.
Manchester’s failure in Europe
When our two Manchester clubs started their Champions League campaigns, both club managers were filled with a hope of conquering Europe. But it was not to be, as both sides ended those aspirations prematurely and crashed out of Europe’s elite competition
And those failures were no more disappointing then for Manchester United fans, who were left with blushing faces to match their red playing shirts as they exited out of the Champions League last night to FC Basel.
The Reds started the season full of their usual ambition that walked hand in hand with the Manchester United’s historical success. But a recent slump, including a 6-1 drumming to their derby rivals, has seen United step onto the unfamiliar territory of failure.
Like their Manchester counterparts, City started the season in similar style, yet they too fell short of the last sixteen despite their win against Bayern Munich.
But for Ferguson there was particular embarrassment for the failure to qualify from a group that the Scotsman could have handpicked himself.
City though had a much tougher group and the expectations for the blue side of Manchester were far less. And thus, Mancini’s debuted City flop goes somewhat under the radar.
Roberto Mancini’s extensive rebuilding of Manchester City will enviably take time to bed in and though many will expect an instant success from such a colossal spend, football simply does work that way. And given that City found themselves in a really challenging group in Bayern, Napoli and Villareal, the Italian can be forgiven for his halter in European progression.
But in a group with Benfica, Basel and Romanians Otelul Galati, finishing second would have come as a disappointment for a well-educated Manchester United team from the outlay. Who would have gone as far too even bet against qualification for a Manchester United team that has not failed to qualify for the last 16 since 2005? Exiting from a group along with Otelul Galati for a team like Manchester United is more than an embarrassment, it’s a professional tragedy.
United only wins came over the Romanian club. Drawing twice with Benfica and being reduced to a point in the final moments at Old Trafford were disappointing results that could have been salvaged last night with a single point. But last night showed how the mighty have fallen, with a more frequently apologetic Ferguson, English football looks certain to fall into a state of flux.
Let’s not blow things out of proportion though. Manchester United can still rule domestically in a Premier League that is increasingly becoming a majorly talented league. However, things have to change.
Now they find themselves in the Europa League, Patrice Evra said exactly what was on the minds of many. The French left back told the media; ‘It’s an embarrassment to play in the Europa League.’
An embarrassment it might be for the Premier League champions, but reality it has become and if Fergie wants to salvage some silverware this season he will need to be ready to compete. Whether he decides to make a run for the Europe’s plastic cup remains to be seen. Except, plastic might be as good as it gets when it comes to venturing beyond the domestic silverware.
It feels like a different decade almost when Manchester United reached the final last year to battle against Barcelona.
For Manchester City it’s a little different though. With money comes depth and whilst their full attentions will remain on the Premier League, flexing some of their reserve muscle will be more than enough potency to stomp over Europa contenders.
Whilst this all remains speculative, what has become clear is that over the last 24 hours the value of the Europa League has shot through Europe’s terracotta roof. As bigger disappointment as it might seem, chance at a trophy is better than no chance at all and in order to make light of a bad situation both Manchester clubs will need to find a new focus. Otherwise, this overwhelming shame could cost them two trophies, not one….
The Manchester United fortress that had been built upon 19 league titles, 11 FA Cups and 3 European titles came crashing down around the feet of Alex Ferguson, as City thumped the Manchester rivals 6 – 1 at Old Trafford.
With City fans still coming down from the sugary blue sherbet buzz of a 6-1 victory over Manchester United, their euphoric come down will not be the only thing to take a tumble this week. The hopes and dreams of the Manchester United faithful will have taken a bruising, not at least to losing so definitively to their derby counterparts, but more because it puts a major dent into these early Manchester United Premier League ambitions.
Manchester City take the reins
The loss that ended United’s 19 game home winning streak seems to have really hit Ferguson hard, as his post-match interview revealed a lot of felt pain for the scot. In the interview with BBC, Ferguson said: ‘it was a horrible defeat’.
The pivotal point in the game came when Jonny Evans brought down an industrious Balotelli, though City were already in control at this point and continued to run riot on 10 men United.
While it was Mario Balotelli’s first goal that set a platform for the win, David Silva was the real fire behind City’s win in which Jonny Evans only added fuel to. And even though many Manchester United fans will have seen some hope in a Darren Fletcher consolation goal, the brutal reality was that even the Scottish international would be unable to derail the Manchester City freight train.
In the end, two goals from Balotelli and Dzeko, as well as contributions from Aguero and Silva was more than enough to sink the Manchester United destroyer.
The defeat marks Manchester United’s worst home defeat since 1955, as Mancini’s men scored 5 goals in the second 45 minutes to embarrass Fergie’s men who in the past have seen so much success.
There will be many fans that rightly pin point the sending off of Evans as the pivotal moment in the game, but in actual fact the warning signs had been coming long before his dismissal. Manchester United have by their standards limped through home games against Chelsea, Basle and Liverpool. Many of the red’s fans will contend the slump, but their results leading up the derby spoke volumes.
And with the fickle threads that are interwoven in the fabric of football as ever present in these modern times, Manchester City’s tag as being ‘noisy neighbours’ was well and truly put to bed, with questions surrounding their footballing dominance over the city now taking its place.
But the blue half of Manchester should not get carried away. As emphatic as this win was, let’s not forget Manchester United are Manchester United and seamlessly have the bounce-back-ability like no other team.
Ferguson will now need to lean on his experience to get his United team back to winning ways and put aside the shock that will be instilled at Old Trafford. If this is the case, it might be Everton who prove to be the unforeseen casualties in the United backlash.
Yet the questions surrounding a Manchester power slide still pose, which were raised quicker than the three stoppage time goals City scored. Whether this will be one of the most significant results in recent Premier League history remains to be seen, but regardless of what the future holds, this fixture will remain in the record books for a long time – at least, that will be the hope of Manchester United fans.
What was more evident was where Mancini had a rich squad of quality to flex, Ferguson struggled to come up with a solution when he looked to his bench with only Hernandez posing a real threat. Mancini though could bring on Dzeko and Nasri, both of whom possess real quality and are able to inject game changing performances. It goes without saying, the presence of Scholes was missed as United lacked his creativity, forcing Rooney to come far too deep to impose his goal scoring threat.
Nevertheless, life outside the derby continues and both sides will need to hurdle over the ramifications of City’s victory, as they find themselves in unchartered territory and their reactions from this game will be telling in the eventualities of the season.
Though two Manchester clubs clash this weekend in what is to be the tie of the season, there is at least one thing both sets of Manchester fans can share.
Following the ridiculous antics Carlos Tevez has subjected City fans to, Manchester’s rival fans have come together to vent their frustrations caused over the striker’s actions. Manchester has become awash with ‘Trash your Tevez Shirt’ waggons, which so far, have been well received by both sets of fans.
The unwanted shirts are to be shown to the Argentinian international and then suitably dispatched the local charities.
The images not only display the overtly enraged feelings of disgruntled Manchester City fans to a player who is still employed by their beloved team, but rarer, their tandem hatred for Tevez that is shared with the red side of Manchester.
Even Manchester City fans, who have had their fair share of the rough with the smooth, have reached their breaking point with the Argentinian.
So, it would be fair that without the backing of the fans, Carlos Tevez’s days in the colours of blue and white are over, right?
Well, it might not be quite as simple as that.
In this modern age of football, players have a regular habit of dirtying their images, only to wash it again with a goal in a crucial game or a season long performance that ultimately earns a club Champions League football perhaps..?
And for Carlos Tevez, the stage is set with a Manchester derby. Primed ready for a match winning performance that we know the Manchester City forward to be capable of against their local rivals would be like vaccinating the blue side on Manchester with amnesia serum. So, I suppose the real question that poses is; does Mancini share that same faith?
The Italian manger needs to remember what business he is in, which of course is winning games. Regardless of his personal feelings and injustices, a Carlos Tevez match winning goal is enough to cement his standing of City’s most success manager.
And it is in these pressured situations that risky decisions are made, often providing not only a source of entertainment and talking point, but the definitive moment in a tie of this nature. It is for that reason, Tevez reaches the summits of my football betting strategy this weekend, as I can see a pivotal moment in the forward’s career. Whether that be a demise or a rise to blue moon stardom remains to be seen. But with odds available like they currently are, the sky might just be the limit.
Posted in Football News | Tagged arg
For what many have called a two horse race, the Premier League looks odds on to produce the grand national of footballing spectacles this Sunday, as Manchester United take on the derby rivals Manchester City.
Even though we are still in the first furlong of the race, the competition between both clubs is rife and the pressure has provoked players from each club to speak of the challenge that mounts.
Both Nigel De Jong and Nani have openly spoke out in the media, talking of their confidence going into the weekend. Whilst De Jong spoke of his determination to win the game, Nani has also spoken out, factoring United’s home form into his derby confidence.
And he would be right to do so. Manchester United have won 24 of their last 25 games at Old Trafford, but City go into the weekend 2 clear points ahead of Fergie’s men.
Manchester United
Manchester United winger Nani has every reason to be confident in himself too, after scoring twice in their last meeting in the community shield back in August.
The game promises to be a pivotal moment in the season, as both clubs have started their respective campaigns impressively. It is in light of this, that many Premier League fans feasibly forecast a similar result to that of when an immovable object met the unstoppable force.
But on the contrary, the Premier League should expect to see goals and one of these Manchester clubs wield their dominance in a league that has yet to be claimed. Though this is still very early in the season, winning these sorts of games not only stands you in good stead, it gains momentum to unquantifiable measures and instils a fear amongst those teams who are fixture to play you.
There really is a lot of reward in this Manchester contest. Whether you agree or disagree with how this story will end, the pressure that will reach boiling point and with some much on the line, this tie promises to be dramatic.
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