On the evening of the 27th January 2010 history will recall that there was a local derby match in the semi-finals of the league cup. One club was mired in debt, the other was the richest club in the world. After a tussle that wasn’t always easy on the eye, but entertaining nonetheless for different reasons, the club that was struggling financially emerged triumphant in injury time to book their place in the final and a trip to Wembley. And to think, they say that cup romance is dead in the English game. It sounds like a barn-storming tale on paper, one in the eye for the people that still believe you can buy success in football. If you fill in a few more of the facts though, the story loses a lot of its shine… The winners were Manchester United, the dominant force in English football since the creation of the Premier League. The richest club? They’ve not had a cup final appearance in what will now be thirty-four years.
Prior to this latest Manchester derby there were calls for calm from all the usual mouthpieces. Of course, one cannot be perceived as neutral either, so while at the same time as calling for the city to unite in the programme notes at the last home game before this fated fixture, Ferguson also was happy to ramp up the pressure by saying that his city rivals lacked the “mental strength” to win such a big game. The match was marred by ugly scenes both from the players on the pitch and also the fans. Projectiles were hurled at an away team player, not for the first time this season in a trend that is becoming worryingly commonplace. Perhaps it was a small mercy that the game was killed off before extra time could be played. That extra tension was not needed this time around.
The furore didn’t seem to be warranted when you took a look at the facts. Manchester United had always treated the League Cup as a distraction more than anything and would often field weakened teams to make sure it didn’t impact on league and European campaigns. Yet when they won today the aging manager danced a literal jig on the touchline as if he had won a far more significant trophy. Equally puzzling was the fact that the city players, who in truth have been cruising for long periods of the season and not justifying their huge salaries, looked devastated at the prospect of not competing for the competition. Perhaps it is the fact that they know come the start of next season many will be loaned out, have moved on to pastures new, or will be rotting in the most expensive reserve team ever assembled. Those that will remain however must know that trophies will be coming their way – anything else will simply not be acceptable.
Yes, while all the lazy hacks would have called it “a shift in the balance of power” had Man City beaten their more successful rivals, the truth is that in defeat the shift will still be happening anyway. Football changes and some things are inevitable. The Manchester United of old will have to surrender its status as the best at some point and there is no transition in place for when that proud old guard do stand down and retire from campaigning. For all the rightful praise that Wayne Rooney, perhaps the most naturally gifted footballer England has ever produced, has received this season, in this match where would they have been without a veteran Paul Scholes? And it is a question that you can expand on for the future. Who replaces the irreplaceable?
By this I also mean Ferguson, the mastermind behind the success. He is a one off, one of God’s prototypes. That make of real champion that will be loathed by many until the day he finally quits, then revered from then until the end of sporting time by everyone as one of the true greats. There is no other outcome for him when you measure his achievements. There is nobody alive right now that could fill his shoes and only one or two that have the ability to try with any real credibility. With the rumours doing the rounds at the moment would anyone want to try and continue the legacy?
It is no falsehood to say that Manchester United is now in massive debt. It isn’t a secret and no-one is denying it. They may have been one of the few clubs to have turned a profit, but even that was offset by the hugely inflated sales of star talent and the purchasing of players that are cheap and medicore by comparison. Several big name signings have been talked up and then resoundingly played down, with the transfer window about to slammed shut. If this is to be a trend, if it is the only way the Glazers can run their newly acquired asset then how long before key players like the mercurial Rooney, Vidic and Evra are sold to keep the red club in the black?
City have no such worries. A proven continental manager with a long career ahead of him, a blank chequebook provided by a genuinely ambitious owner, a squad that already has enough talent to be in a Champions League spot and time to get it right. While criticism of Hughes still seems to be something of a taboo since his unceremonious and shockingly public removal, one thing is true – he never made the transition to appreciating the big name signings. He still wanted the blood and thunder type, players that matched his own personality when he was one of the great strikers, but that won’t win you trophies in this day and age. The game has changed. The iron fist has to be inside a velvet glove.
Players like Lescott were never top quality and he could have had a proven European giant for a fraction of that price. As was shown by the transformation at Chelsea, you can have the money and the backing, but if you don’t deliver, expect to see the door in quick time. There is always a price to be paid for an unlimited opportunity. It is too soon to say that Mancini will succeed where Hughes has not, but given his pedigree and the clubs he has worked at already, you feel he understands this more than Hughes ever did.
In just a few seasons this fixture will be seen for the relatively insignificant match up that it was. Manchester City will be competing for bigger accolades than a league cup inside of two seasons and Manchester United will have a much more important battle ahead, something I suspect all involved with the club right now know deep down, and maybe the fans too. Think about it… The most successful club of the modern English game needing the league cup to justify their season? It’s the sign of the times.