A City Divided: United vs ‘Citeh’

For the last three seasons the Manchester derby has been billed as the biggest of its kind in years. This one though, actually is. We’re eight games into this season’s Premier League and both teams sit unbeaten in the top two positions. Manchester City are genuine title contenders now, there is no doubting that. This is a little too early for a title decider but this match is the first meeting of the two powerhouses that are favourite to lift the Premier League trophy next May. So yeah, it’s pretty big.

Manchester United started the season in formidable form, dispatching the likes of Spurs, Arsenal and Chelsea in free scoring entertaining style. They made successful summer signings and were offering a very fluid and youthful approach.

In the last few weeks though United haven’t looked quite as unbeatable. Draws against Stoke and Liverpool sandwiched an unconvincing win against Norwich. Their Champions League results have been more concerning with the Red Devils needing two penalties against Romanian minnows Oțelul Galați just to make it one win in three games.

Defensive injuries are not an issue for United anymore but a lack of creativity has been. They were quite negative at Anfield last weekend but do not expect to see that on Sunday. United can be a starkly different force at home than they are away. 16 goals in just four home games will testify to that. The red side of Manchester will attack their rivals at Old Trafford, whoever they may indeed be.

Then there is the question of their talisman – Wayne Rooney. Somewhat of a wounded animal at the moment. ‘Wazza’ started the season with a much improved hairline and absolutely bags of goals. However due to an overgenerous father and overaggressive ‘tackle’ in Montenegro all eyes will be on Rooney for the next few weeks. It says something about his state of mind that he only made the bench against Liverpool. He did score two goals in Romania albeit penalties and much good that United produce goes through Rooney. This is a huge game and it will be interesting to see if Rooney can provide the quality and enigmatic leadership that we know he can.

What about the ‘noisy neighbours’? Well they are neighbours and they are kind of noisy but City have grown beyond this nickname given to them by SAF. They have now joined United in the Champions League and like their rivals they haven’t had the greatest of starts in Europe. They are though, unlike United, rookies at Europe's top table. 

The same cannot be said for the league though. City top the Premier League having failed to win only one of their first eight games. They haven’t exactly been grinding results out too much but they haven’t needed to. The blue side have scored at least two goals in each of their games as well showing they are dangerous all over the pitch, be it home or away.    

The behaviour of Carlos Tevez has allowed other players to shine and likes of Aguero, Dzeko and Silva have been blindingly dazzling. He allowed them to shine, get it? City have basically been unstoppable particularly when going forward. What happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object? It is going to be fantastic to find out.

The outcome of this match will give a key indicator to how primed City are for a real title push this season. Lots of talk from both teams has gone on but talk is cheap. Seems silly claiming something related to United or City is cheap. The talk will not matter on Sunday though when we are hopefully treated to a footballing feast.

Sir Alex Ferguson stated today that he welcomes the City challenge. He has seen many teams and managers come to town and he has always seen off their challenge to United’s dominance. Dalglish, Wenger, Houllier, Mourinho, Benitez, Ancelotti etc etc. They all threatened Ferguson and United’s control of the Premier League and were successful at times but this success was temporary and not sustained. As Ferguson acts in the twilight of his career then surely Mancini and Manchester City will provide his last main threat. It should be thrilling to see who can come out on top tomorrow and in the battle for dominance in Manchester and England.

52 goals in 16 games from these two suggests that there should at least be one thing tomorrow. Goals! Too often though matches of these types are overhyped and they do not live up to their billing. So this writer for now will put the proverbial sock in it. But who are kidding, it will be fantastic. Feel free to blame me if it isn't.

Brits Abroad: The Champions League Beckons

Andy Townsend and Gareth Southgate have dusted off their average-looking suits and punditry shoes. The summer is over and the world’s biggest club competition is back, the Uefa Champions League.  It won’t be long until we are serenaded with Tony Britten’s adaptation of George Frideric Handel’s ‘Zadok the Priest’ performed by the London Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Confused? As was I until a quick Wikipedia check 5 minutes ago. I am of course referring to the Champions League anthem played at the start of all Champs League matches. Check out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BgomX3qD-iA if you are still confuzzled.

The 1990’s were generally a barren period for English clubs in the European Cup / Champions League. After the Heysel Stadium disaster of 1985 where 39 fans were killed, English clubs were banned from European club football for 5 years. Whether this was fair or not, English clubs definitely suffered because of the ban. They could no longer attract the better players in Europe and many of their own went abroad for European competition, Mark Hughes and Gary Lineker for example. After a long spell of not being able to compete against Europe’s elite teams initially struggled after being introduced back to the European Cup. In fact in the first 14 years after the ban was lifted an English team reached the Champions League final ONCE, Man United’s unbelievable win in 1999.

Even United’s win was somewhat of a false dawn. It was then a further 6 years until we saw a team from Blighty in the final again, Liverpool with again another outrageous victory in 2005. Since then English teams have flourished with one of our clubs making the final every year apart from 2010. That is a fantastic record and one I hope we can continue. After an interesting transfer window I look ahead to what our 4 teams can do this year. Here goes, in alphabetical order:

Arsenal:

After a quite traumatic transfer window, Arsenal currently sit 11^th with 4 points from 4 games and a goal difference of -7. No, -7 is not a typing error. More than ever in his 15 year reign, Arsene Wenger is being questioned and this is a huge season for the Frenchman and his team. Arsenal lost Fabregas and Nasri in the transfer window and they needed to make several signings even before these two massive departures. After a deadline day spree can Arsenal be challenging for the big trophy at the end of the season?

Well Per Mertersacker is fairly proven and even if he performs poorly he is still big enough to at least scare some of Europe’s top strikers. The jury is out on left-back Andre Santos but he does have 22 Brazil caps to his name so does come with some pedigree. His influence however (good or bad) is unlikely to be season defining. Mikel Arteta? Cesc’s replacement? A decent player, no doubt about it. But minimal Champs League experience and no senior international caps? Hardly going make the Arsenal fans forget about Fabregas in a hurry. Nor is Yossi Benayoun I am afraid. Again he is certainly a player of quality but the ease in which Liverpool and then Chelsea let him move onto rival teams surely shows he’s not the most dangerous of players. Unfortunately BenTeta does not match up to NasRegas.

Arsene Wenger has a proven record of reaching the knockout stages of the Champions League. Since 2003/04 when the tournament was expanded to have a last 16 phase, Arsenal have featured every year since in the latter stages. They have also been unfortunate to have come up against Barcelona for the last 2 years. With a not-so-easy but not-so-tough group of Marseille, Olympiakos and Borussia Dortmund I would expect Arsenal to once again be reaching the last 16 this season. However I wouldn’t look too much beyond that. If the draw doesn’t go right for them then I would think Arsenal will struggle. They are also in real danger of not finishing in the top 4 in the Premier League this year so the Champions League could be an unwanted distraction at times. I think the league will have to be their main focus this season, if they miss out on qualifiying for Europe’s major tournament then we could see a few more players and perhaps a manager saying “Au Revoir” next summer.

Chelsea:

‘Chelski’ are a team in transition. They have a young, dynamic manager but unfortunately quite an ageing squad. Drogba, Lampard, Terry, Malouda, Anelka and A. Cole are all in their 30’s now. It will be a strain for these players to be at the top of their game in both the league and in Europe every week. ‘AVB’ has brought in younger players but you cannot transform a squad overnight. I think the signing of Juan Mata is very shrewd though, he’s a talented player and will add a creative spark that Chelsea have lacked in recent years.

Chelsea are a powerful team and I think they have rather an average group to face, compiled of Valencia, Bayer Leverkusen and Genk. Valencia are the main danger and they have been forced in recent years to sell off their main talents, Villa, Silva, Mata etc. Despite having ex-Blue Michael Ballack to bring back to the Bridge, Leverkusen also pose a modest threat. So I would expect Chelsea to top this group with relative ease. Like Arsenal though, I am not sure how they will cope against a European giant in the knockout stages.

Chelsea were found lacking last season against Man United in the quarters last year. I don’t think they have made the kind of signings to suggest this wouldn’t happen again. They could also do with locating the form of the striker formally known as Fernando Torres, who may have labelled his team mates old and slow recently (investigation pending). The Champs League is an obsession for Mr. Abramovich and in AVB he may have a manager who could deliver it  - but not this season. Roman will have to be patient and allow AVB to build his team. One thing I think we may have learned from Roman though is that patience is not one of his finer qualities.

Manchester City:

Well there is always a ‘group of death’ and this year Manchester City are supposedly in it. They are however one of the main reasons it is the group of death along with Bayern Munich. City always spend big in the summer but this year they have spent very well. Samir Nasri has undoubted quality but Sergio Aguero has been worryingly good since his arrival. With a resurgent Dzeko and the likes of Silva, Tevez and Yaya Toure in support, City are an obvious threat for any team in Europe.

This is a big step-up from the Europa League however. City have a large, talented squad but unlike the Champs League’s little brother, they will not be able to get away with fielding a second-string in Europe anymore. In fact, it didn’t work for them last year when they crashed out against Dynamo Kiev in the Europa League’s last 16. They do have players with European experience. However as a team they have never been challenging for the league and the European Cup at the same time. They are a title threat now and will be expected by their fans to push for both trophies, playing their biggest stars in both competitions.

Manchester City are always surprising and I definitely expect them to qualify if not win their group. They may reach the last 8, perhaps the last 4 but the final is a stretch too far, at least for the moment. Roberto Mancini has done well at Eastlands and let’s not forget this is a man who transformed Inter into what is now Italy’s dominant team. He won 3 Scudettos in a row but was sacked, why you all ask? He did naff all in the Champions League. So this is as big a test for Mancini as it is for his players. Due to challenging on both domestic and European fronts I don’t think City will be in the final Champions League shake-up, it’s a little too soon. As I say though, they are always surprising and I am sure they will be entertaining whatever happens.

Manchester United:

United did their transfer business earlier in the summer and will of course be looking to make it 4 finals in 5 seasons next May. The signings of Ashley Young and Phil Jones have been somewhat inspired so far, David De Gea less so. He is still just 20 years old though so he will be afforded time. Danny Welbeck and Tom Cleverley have both impressed since their return from loan and all in all United have looked somewhat formidable so far. 

The Red Devils have immense Champions League pedigree and a hardly fear-inspiring group of Benfica, Basel and er...Otelul Galati? Romania’s finest apparently. So it would be somewhat ludicrous for them not to reach the latter stages. United have played more and won more games than any other team in the Champions League so do not be surprised to see them in the last 4 at least. This though, or perhaps earlier, is where they may enter trouble.

United’s season was tainted last year by the absolute demolition they suffered from Barcelona. Since then Barca have welcomed home Cesc Fabregas into midfield. Who did United replace Paul Scholes with? Well apart from Cleverley’s return, no one. Despite Fergie apparently learning from his team’s dismantling and the fluid manner with which they have so far played, the gap between United and Barca remains. United’s early form suggests it is going to have be a colossal effort from their rivals to stop Nemanja Vidic lifting the league trophy in 2012. And I fully expect them to be in contention for this Champions League, only though if Barcelona can be disposed of by someone else. The lack of midfield signings and the psychological hold that Barca have on United implies that United will not be the ones to knock Guardiola’s men out this season. Barca were unbelievable and at times unplayable last year. If anyone else is to win the Champions League this time then you would have to think that they will have to slay the Catalan dragon along the way.

These are my humble forecasts for the impending Uefa Champions League 2011/12. As we have learnt too often in football, predictions can stand for nothing once the first whistle is blown. Or in this case when Tony Britten’s adaptation of George Frideric Handel’s ‘Zadok the Priest’ performed by the London Royal Philharmonic Orchestra is played.

The Transfer Deadline Approaches: Part 2

Following on from yesterday’s look at some of the ‘top 6’ and their needs and musts in the impending transfer window, we now focus on the rest. The countdown is standing at 98 hours-ish and bums are becoming squeakier.

Manchester City: ‘Citeh’ are now genuine title contenders after making it into the Champions League and ending the 35 year trophy drought.  They have spent substantially (well, duh) and actually spent well. Rather than just buying the Premier League flavour of the month they have picked up two genuine world class players in Sergio Aguero and Samir Nasri.  Aguero is very reminiscent of Brazil legend and current politician Romario. Yes, politician. The fact that Carlos Tevez appears to be staying is almost a new signing in itself and he and Aguero could form a fearsome partnership to say the least.  Roberto Mancini will have a task finding a place for Nasri and keeping everyone happy but this isn’t the worst problem to have as a football manager. Room for anymore? Well this is City we’re talking about and we know they enjoy a good transfer window. Having said that their squad is quite formidable right now and unless someone unbelievable becomes available, I wouldn’t expect to see them on the breaking news reel on Sky Sports News. But as I say, this is City we are talking about.

Manchester United: Despite winning the league and reaching the Champs League final it was felt by many that United needed to strengthen this summer. An absolute humbling from Barcelona may have had something to do with this but several retirements also added to the cause. Sir Alex responded, Ashley Young, Phil Jones and ‘Big Dave’ De Gea were brought in early in the summer. Young has added the consistency that Nani lacks and Jones has fitted in with ease so far. De Gea? Not so much. Van der Sar’s size 13’s were always going to be hard to fill, literally. Media scrutiny was bound to be on De Gea and he obliged with early errors. But I don’t think whether De Gea comes good or not will make or break United’s season, the players in front of him are too good for that.

Do they need to strengthen further? For the Prem League – no. For the Champs League – yes. Without a Sneijder-esque signing I can’t see United picking up a 4^th Champions League pot. Not unless someone else knocks Barca out for them. The returns of Welbeck and Cleverley will only strengthen an already burgeoning squad and I think you’d have to be a few chavs short of a riot to not think they’ll retain the league title. Without any proven additions to centre midfield however, I can only see the gulf between United and Barca expanding by the size of a 24 year old, Cesc Fabregas to be precise.

Tottenham: If Harry Redknapp was a Batman villain he’d be called ‘Melted Face’. That or ‘Talented Football Manager With A Lot Of Nous.’  The latter has been proved abundantly in this transfer window. Spurs’ main transfer story throughout the summer has been their apparent struggle to hold onto Croatian Luka Modric. Now as we’re in the final straight of the transfer window Modric appears to be staying and is a big part of Harry’s plans. They also picked up Brad Friedel early on, still one of the best ‘keepers in the league and an ideal usurper to the enormously unpredictable Gomes.

For me Spurs needed strikers, several and of quality. Defoe is the best of a currently bad bunch and is he to be relied on to fire Spurs to the top 4? Not for me. Adebayor has signed on loan and as long as he behaves himself he should get goals. Spurs fans will perhaps need to change some of their songs about him if he is to feel welcome. I think they need another frontman as well, so we may see some action in the coming days. Scott Parker is supposedly in talks with the Lilywhites and he’d be a great signing, adding steel and depth to Tottenham’s centre-midfield. If Spurs want to be in the Champions League next year they need to score more goals and improve their away form. The Levy-Redknapp combination has less than 5 or so days to make the moves to achievable this. A tall but attainable task.  

Forget about teams for a second, what about players? Who is looking to further themselves / bolster their pay packets? ‘Public Enemy No.1’ Joey Barton made his debut for QPR today. His collaboration with Neil Warnock will at least be entertaining if a little poisonous. Barton’s haircut is poisonous in itself.

Stoke are still looking for a target man so Peter Crouch and Carlton Cole should keep their phones on. Especially if they expect to stay in Fabio’s 2012 plans. If he has any.  Fellow England’er Gary Cahill is also the subject of much speculation at the moment. Bolton boss Owen Coyle has quite a refreshingly open stance, admitting that Cahill can go for £17 million and that potential suitors should put up or shut up. Arsene Wenger has done neither with a somewhat silly bid of £6 million. Not sure the Coyles will be travelling south to spend Xmas with the Wengers this year.

Whatever happens between now and when the clock strikes midnight on Wednesday night there is sure to be excitement, controversy and millions of pounds. I, for one, am rather looking forward to it.