as much as i dislike United, in Fernandes they found a very good midfielder. Without him they are average to poor, with him they flirt around average with his goals to drag them through to wins.
i have no idea how they sit second after 21 games, I guess it's the slightly pot luck nature of the first third/half of the season that has seen no team play consistently until City started to at Christmas.
when you reach about 26 games, another instinct kicks in as you begin to see the finish line. If they're still hanging about after 26 games, they'll be a fecking nuisance, if they drop off in the next 5 they'll fight to finish 4th