The Manchester Derby

Local derbies, crunch matches, cup finals and league deciders very rarely live up to expectation. Effectively, this evening’s game between the two Manchester giants is all four of these scenarios rolled into one with all of their season’s work hinging on the three points on offer.

Currently, Manchester United are ahead of their rivals by three points, but with an inferior goal difference. This season, the league could well be decided on this very differentiator given how closely they are matched.
The possible scenarios have been rammed down the throats of every television-watcher and radio-listener, and as if you needed reminding, here’s a recap.

If United win, they go six points clear at the top of the Premier League where a point from their remaining two fixtures would secure the championship.

If the two teams draw this evening, United will remain three points clear of their rivals and providing they take four points from the final two games (if City win their two), they will be crowned champions.

 If City manage to win tonight, they will be equal on points, have a superior goal difference and their destiny will be in their own hands. Their first title will be theirs providing they can produce wins at Newcastle on the road and QPR at the Etihad Stadium (assuming United win their two last games against Swansea at home and Sunderland away).

 It sounds more complicated than it is, but the wonderful and transparent fact is that whoever wins tonight will have the Premier League title in their own hands and providing they win their remaining fixtures, it will be in their club’s trophy cabinet come the end of the season.

Manchester United have taken the opportunity to get out of Manchester and escape at least the immediate furore of the city. They spent the week at The Vale Hotel resort, using the training facilities of Cardiff City, Cardiff Blues and the Welsh National Rugby Team. This left the Cardiff Blues playing staff a little less than impressed by their change in training schedules as Casey Laulala and Jamie Roberts announced on twitter, though the blow was softened by the photo opportunities with their illustrious guest. It’s dubbed the jail of Glamorgan by Welsh players and the media because of the isolated nature of the location, but it would have been the ideal tonic for the Manchester United squad given the scrutiny they are under in Lancashire. It also gave Sir Alex Ferguson the chance to pop down the M4 to watch Swansea’s entertaining 4-4 draw with the already-relegated Wolves. Brendan Rogers’ team will be the Red Devils’ next opponents following tonight’s derby and Ferguson will be hoping that it’s only one point his team will require to clinch the title.

Meanwhile, Mancini has been up to his usual antics of playing down his team’s pedigree by hoisting his rivals up on a pedestal claiming,

“If we win, they are favourites (for the title)."

He continued to play the role of the underdog stating,

“My opinion is always the same - I think they have more chance than us.”
"We play the derby and then Newcastle, that will be a very tough game, then after that QPR," he said. "United will play against Swansea and Sunderland and I think they will be two easy games."

This is despite Mancini watching his side get beat 1-0 by Swansea at the Liberty Stadium in March and to Sunderland by the same score line at Eastlands on New Years Day. It’s all added fuel to the already raging fire and it will one of the two teams will effectively be extinguished at the Etihad Stadium. It makes a nice change from the norm because in recent years, games between two hotly contested rivals are usually appalling spectacles.

The Old Firm derby may be seen as a big game, but the truth is, they play each other so often that the fixture has all but lost its romance. Given Rangers’ current financial situation, this isn’t likely to reignite one of Britain’s fiercest rivalries. The neutral won’t want to watch the game simply because it’s ‘just another Old Firm derby’ and if we’re honest, there’s more talk after the game about the dugouts of Rangers and Celtic than the field of play.

It’s got to a stage now that every time Barcelona and Real Madrid lock horns you’d much rather be talking about the dugouts than the embarrassing playacting that happens on the field. These two giants of football play some of the most attractive football the world has ever seen and they boast the richest squads in the game. However, for 90 minutes, El Classico is a diving contest. The game doesn’t seem to be about who wins or loses but who gets more of the opposition team booked or sent off. The fixture has taken such a nosedive that many British viewers won’t even bother watching the game because they are so frustrated by what they see. Every decision that’s made is followed by the referee being mobbed by players pleading for the opposition to be reprimanded. It is horrible viewing and a terrible example of professional sportsmen’s behaviour that leaves many viewers cringing at their screens.

Similar to the old firm derby, the Derby Della Capitale contested between Roma and Lazio is mainly remembered for the amount of arrests around Rome on the day and night of the match. That and Francesco Totti’s unbelievable ability of dragging out his career longer than Bruce Forsyth.

Cup finals in general are poor, with both teams usually adopting the uber-negative mentality of not wanting to lose rather than going out to win. However, with this evening’s clash dubbed as a cup final for Manchester City, there is one significant difference. It’s a game that they simply must win. Manchester United know that if they win tonight, they’ll be 6 points clear and the title race will be all but over. On top of that, Fergie and his players must still be hurting from the humiliating defeat Mancini’s men gave them at Old Trafford when they were demolished 6-1 back in October. Coincidently, they were five points clear following this game and as Mario Ballotelli was driving around Manchester handing out high-fives and twenty pound notes, they were favourites for the title.

United aren’t seen as a negative side and Ferguson insists that they are thinking about nothing but taking three points home with them,

 "If we draw we'll be strong favourites but we will be trying to win."

In terms of form, Manchester City have won 21 of their last 22 home Premier League games claiming 77 points from a possible 81. The last time someone walked away from the Etihad with three points was, ironically, David Moyes’ Everton back in 2010. Their recent surge has seen the controversial Carlos Tevez and Sergio Aguero partnered in four Premier League games in which City have scored 15 goals, Aguero and Tevez have netted 12 of these. It’s been a mixed season for the Argentine following his antics on the subs bench at Munich, but statistically, he scores or assists a goal every 55 minutes of a Premier League game. They’ll be desperate to win tonight and no one more so that Roberto Mancini who knows that if he doesn’t deliver any silverware this season; it could be the end of his managerial stint at City, especially given Pep Guardiola’s imminent departure from Barcelona.

With United’s 4-4 draw at home to Everton last week, they have now dropped five points in their last three games. This is as many as they dropped in the whole first three months of 2012. However, they have Wayne Rooney back firing who has scored 16 goals in his last 14 appearances for United.

The great thing about tonight’s game is that the actual football is a means to an end, the end being who will have the ascendancy going into the final two weekends of the season. Even if it’s a terrible game, the outcome will still be interesting, regardless of the result. Yet, with both teams seeking the all-important three points, it’s hopefully going to be a barnstormer. Thankfully, it’s not our job to produce the goods, it’s our job to sit back and watch it all unfold.

Racism Row Rumbles On

Tonight’s game has been fuelled by a refreshingly honest Roberto Mancini coming out and saying exactly what everyone else in the world of football is thinking. Although managers usually refrain from commenting on issues outside of their own club, the Italian may have realised that everyone outside of Liverpool Football Club would be in support of his statements. The comments come following the ongoing, ugly issue of racism surrounding the red side of Merseyside.

It stems back to Liverpool’s heated contest against Manchester United back in October during which Luis Suarez repeatedly called Patrice Evra a ‘Negrito’ a term more widely acknowledged in the UK as ‘Negro’. Suarez was handed an 8-match-ban on the back of an investigation where a staggering 115 page document has been published by the FA, containing the details of the case as well as the reasons for his sanction. In the aftermath of the situation, Liverpool players controversially wore Suarez t-shirts to warm up for the Wigan game which sparked many to question the club’s stance on racism in the game.

Speaking to the Guardian ahead of their Carling Cup semi-final clash, the Manchester City manager said,

"Sometimes a situation like this can happen on the pitch but it is important to apologise for what you did. Sometimes, on the pitch, you can do something you don't want to, because you are nervous, because you don't think. Everything can happen because you don't think, because you are tired, because you are stupid, you are young; for many reasons.

"I don't think Suárez is a racist. But I think he made a mistake, probably, yes. Everyone can make a mistake sometimes. It is impossible that we are always perfect and, after that, it is important to say: 'I am sorry, I made a mistake, I apologise for this' and accept the charge."

The Uruguayan has issued a form of apology, but if anything, the half-hearted comments only add to the ongoing tarnishing of Liverpool Football Club. The story was revealed in The Sun as Suarez spoke publicly for the first time since his ban,

"I admitted to the commission I used a word in Spanish once, and only once, and told the panel members I will not use it again on a football pitch in England.

"I never, ever used this word in a derogatory way and if it offends anyone then I want to apologise for that."

Kenny Dalglish’s role in the whole debacle has been intriguing if not blunderbuss. The staunch defence of his striker has many football followers seeing the Scot in a different light. King Kenny has always had a spiky relationship with journalists and the media and his confrontational mannerisms at press conferences and in interviews is what makes him the character he is in world sport. However, in a case where his player is so blatantly in the wrong, his stance is peculiar. Obviously, a manager and a football club are going to back their player to the moon and back, but his and the club’s continuous public defence of Suarez has become nothing short of farcical.

With the flames of this issue still very much alight in the views of spectators, Friday night’s clash with Oldham threw a metaphoric oil tanker to those flames. Late on in the game, Oldham’s Tom Adeyemi fetched the ball from the advertising boards at the famous Kop end at Anfield. As he was returning to his position, something clearly distressed the young midfielder and his rage was clear for everyone to see. Adeyemi appeared in tears as he pleaded to the referee to do something about the situation. The message was relayed from the field of play to the pitch-side 4th official who notified Merseyside Police of an alleged case of racial abuse. In fairness to the Liverpool players, especially captain Steven Gerrard and Dirk Kuyt, they were quick to console the young player who was in a clear state of delirium on the field. It marred a fabulous cup tie that the Premier League team prospered 5-1, although the score-line doesn’t reflect the competitive nature of the contest.

Oldham have since publicly praised Liverpool FC stating that,

"Excellent communication has been maintained and the club and player have been notified of every detail during the progress of the investigation.”

Nevertheless, the issue is still circling Anfield like a kettle of vultures. Despite the two incidents being completely isolated, the way in which both Suarez and Liverpool Football Club have commented on the first incident is still raising eyebrows. Both statements can be found in full at:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/16402595.stm

In summary, Suarez thanks everyone for their support and explains that the word ‘negro’ is commonplace in Uruguay therefore everything in the enquiry is completely false. He also states,

"I will carry out the suspension with the resignation of someone who hasn't done anything wrong and who feels extremely upset by the events.”

There isn’t a single mention of Manchester United’s Patrice Evra, who was subject to his abuse, which despite the inter-club rivalry, does seem a bit ‘off’. The statement from the club itself is even less tasteful, essentially claiming that, in spite of the 115 page document and the fact that the player admits using racially abusive language, Suarez had done nothing wrong and that Evra was to blame for the incident,

“Liverpool Football Club has supported Luis Suarez because we fundamentally do not believe that Luis on that day - or frankly any other - did or would engage in a racist act.”

The way in which they’ve dragged their heels on the matter has meant it’s remained in the public domain as a talking point. Had the club come out with the following statement, it’s safe to assume that no-one would be discussing it,

“In light of recent events, Liverpool FC would like to offer its most sincere apologies to Patrice Evra, Manchester United and anybody else affected by the events on the 15th of October. It’s understood that Luis Suarez used racial terms of an offensive nature directed towards Patrice Evra which is something we at Anfield are committed to kick out of the game. Luis Suarez is neither a racist nor a foul man; he’s simply a victim of his and our ignorance.

"In his native Uruguay, the term he used is commonplace and means no harm or offence when directed at an individual. However, we understand it’s our responsibility to educate our players of the cultural differences between playing in Britain and playing elsewhere. You can be assured that such a matter will not repeat itself and the player is remorseful that his actions have caused such distress.

"To reiterate, Liverpool FC is fully dedicated to ridding football of racism and we hope this isolated misunderstanding won’t tarnish our reputation within the game. Once again we can only apologise to those who have been offended by the events and guarantee that it won’t recur.”

But, they did not and they’ve acted like intolerant school children. They’re a club that have one of the finest histories and traditions in the game and it’d be a great shame if this chapter should tarnish that. Suarez has been a revelation in the Premier League and his reputation hangs in the balance while his ban is served. As if by magic, Liverpool have drawn Manchester United in the 4th round of the FA cup in what’s sure to be a spicy affair. In the meantime it’s up to those at Anfield to attempt to regain the respect of the football world, something easier said than done.