just found this gem from jan molby;
It’s one thing to say Manchester City head into the latest derby clash at Manchester United merely playing to save face, but to me it’s much bigger than that.
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If City end up 18 points behind United after tonight’s match rather instead of at least making this run-in a tad closer and more competitive, there will be some serious questions being asked at the Etihad.
To go from winning the Premier League one season and then being so far behind in the title race the next, you have to imagine some big changes will be made in the summer.
I know Roberto Mancini's men are set to finish second regardless, but if they finish 10 or more points behind Fergie and company it's hard to take that seriously as an accomplishment at all.
For the players and those in charge at Man City, this is still a huge game for that reason. Even if they are set to surrender their first Premier League crown, they have to at least leave a graze on their rivals, so to speak.
It’s been a bad first season on top of the mountain for City for a host of reasons. It started as early as the summer when they bought badly. From there, it has never really got going for them on the pitch and once again, European football has been a wash-out too.
While United have been far from superlative this term, they still get the wins and that is what matters.
The difference between the two Manchester clubs is that at United, everybody knows their place in the squad and Sir Alex gets the best out of those players. You just cannot say the same about City.
I look at Manchester City and I see some great players. But I don’t often see a great team because those individuals are not always given the right platform or the right balance.
Sergio Aguero has done okay, by his own impressive standards, but David Silva has been in and out of form in 2012/13 and Carlos Tevez has taken too long to come to the proverbial boil.
I think they made a mistake in letting Nigel de Jong go, I believe they’re lacking something out wide with the likes of James Milner and Samir Nasri trying to cover and there are at least four or five positions that could be deployed a lot better.
This sort of inconsistent awkwardness just does not show up in United’s key players and positions.
There is always an argument that your first success is not definitive unless you are able to achieve it a second time, and when they won the title last year with the resources they have, it was imperative that they continued to strengthen in this campaign.
The fact that not only have they failed to do so, but that United are set to break a number of records in regaining the title, shows where the power still lies in England.
It appears that so many players have come to Manchester City to be a part of something big and win titles, but this year they simply were not ready.
While United have not been overly impressive this season, they have that way of winning games, even when things are not going well, and have been effectively clinical. It is a lesson City could do with learning if they are to collect more silverware down the line.
Though City will no doubt invest strongly in the summer in their bid to get back on top, and possibly even be quite ruthless with some changes, to me the key to finding the prolonged success United have enjoyed over the years is more intangible than that.
When you look at Fergie, he tends to keep hold of players like John O’Shea and Wes Brown for quite some time - this is because he recognises that they can still do a job and knows how to utilise them.
You get the impression that City will keep trying to buy from the top shelf and then attempt to mould the players into a team afterwards. You also always get players who get quickly upset if they are not playing, and buying the right type of players rather than the biggest names can help avoid these pitfalls.
As far as the match itself goes, my prediction is 2-1 to United. With home field advantage and confidence running all through the side at present, I cannot see any other result though the score will surely be tight.