The end game? Fergie's grip on Manchester has lasted 23 years - but City are resurgent...Sir Alex Ferguson has been here before. Big noise before a Manchester derby. For more than 23 years the Manchester United manager has been hearing it. Rarely has he taken it so seriously.
There have been isolated failures, of course. Moments when, to quote him directly, he has ‘been as close to putting my head in the oven as I have ever been’.
There have been goals to make him shiver. From Andy Hinchcliffe (City 5 United 1, September 1989), Shaun Goater (City 3 United 1, November 2002) and Shaun Wright-Phillips (City 4 United 1, March 2004).
Never, though, has there been a genuine long-term threat since he took over.
But now, in what some people in football feel may yet be Ferguson’s last season at Old Trafford, he has looked across the city that has been home for two-and-a-half decades and recognised a change.
It is a change brought to his door by Arab money. He may privately sniff at that a little. But it is change, all the same.
‘Over the 23 years I’ve been playing City they have always said they are capable of beating us,’ said Ferguson ahead of today’s derby game at Eastlands.
‘A derby creates fantastic optimism and creates noise and comments. And that is what the supporters want to hear.
‘They don’t want to hear (City say) that, “We’ve got no chance of beating United and we’re going to get slaughtered”.
‘But this is a different derby in terms of the position City are in as opposed to years gone by. That’s what makes this one really interesting. City have a chance of being fourth in the league and they also have a chance of beating us.
‘It’s the first time we’ve played City when they have a chance of actually achieving something.
‘They have a chance of getting into the Champions League and there is a definite emphasis on this derby game that’s never been there before in my time here. For City, just being in the competition would be the most exciting thing ever.
‘And of course they could go out and sign 10 players with their buying power. That could change the whole perspective for them.’
Battle of the big guns: Wayne Rooney (left) clashes with Carlos Tevez in JanuaryFerguson has played 37 matches against City since arriving at United in November 1986. Having lost just four of his first 30 — a period spanning 20 years — he has tasted defeat three times since Sven Goran Eriksson arrived at Eastlands at the start of the 2007-08 season.
Eriksson is no longer around, of course. Nor is his successor, Mark Hughes. But these men, along with current boss Roberto Mancini, have been in charge of what may be described as the ‘new Manchester City’. The winner in Eriksson’s first derby was scored by a Brazilian, Geovanni. This season an Argentine — former United striker Carlos Tevez —scored twice as City won the first leg of the Carling Cup semi-final in January.
City these days are cosmopolitan. They are rich. They are dangerous.
‘Their form over the past few weeks has been excellent,’ admitted Ferguson.
‘They put six goals past Burnley and scored five against Birmingham. Nobody has done that against Birmingham this season.
‘City are in great goalscoring form so the neutrals would say that scenario is fantastic and it makes this game even more fascinating than ever.’
Victory dance: Emmanuel Adebayor (left) hit two as City ran roughshod over BirminghamAnd there are those within the game who feel the Manchester derby may be Ferguson’s last.
At a recent gathering of the League Managers’ Association, much of the talk among men who have known the Scot for years centred on the issue of his retirement. Some firmly suspect he will leave United this summer. Ferguson has told nobody of his plans. If he is to leave sooner than we think then only his wife, Cathy, and United chief executive David Gill will know.
There is also the issue of overhauling Liverpool’s record of 18 league titles to consider. He recently admitted that that particular goal was ‘in my soul’ and if Chelsea were to win at Tottenham today the prospects of that happening this season will recede further.‘It is the most pivotal week of the season for four teams,’ he conceded. ‘For us, Chelsea, Tottenham and City. Two for the league title and two going for the Champions League. The scenarios are fantastic.
‘Obviously, we hope we win and Tottenham win. We hope Chelsea lose because it will put us back in the picture. And having seen Tottenham’s performance against Arsenal this week you have to say they are definitely capable of beating Chelsea.’
Ferguson spoke from behind his usual press conference table at United’s Carrington training centre yesterday morning. Later, just a six-iron away over a fence or two, Mancini did his best to concentrate on his own future and that of the club he joined in December.
The Italian is not one for hyperbole but it was easy to agree when he suggested that the next five games ‘are the most important in our history’.
Eyes on the ball: Mancini has guided City to the cusp of Champions League qualificationIndeed, there is no little tension at City right now. They are closer to finishing in the exclusive top four than they perhaps believed they would be a month or so ago.
A Champions League place is everything to the Barclays Premier League’s nouveaux riches... and they know it.
If a place among Europe’s elite was assured, Mancini would then be allowed to spend handsomely. The really big-name players will want to join. In an instant someone
like Liverpool striker Fernando Torres would become a realistic, attainable target.
Put simply, this is not the time to get anything wrong. ‘It is important because I think if we play in the Champions League next year then we can improve a lot,’ said Mancini.
‘If we do that then I think Manchester City could be an important team in the future.
‘All derbies are important, but this one is especially so. We are going for fourth place and we are very close now.’
The last time Mancini and Ferguson met was in the latter’s office at Old Trafford in February. Wayne Rooney had just steered United into the Carling Cup final with a last-minute goal and Mancini swallowed his angst to talk football and red wine with a
manager he yesterday described as the best in the world.
The rivalry between the pair is just four months old, while the clubs have been going head to head since 1891.
Is this really the most important meeting ever? Put it this way: it will resonate across the land.
source: dailymail
