Forever Blue With Ian Cheeseman: City Put United To The Sword

I spoke to quite a few Manchester City fans before Sunday’s derby and most of them told me they were really nervous ahead of the game.

I didn’t really understand why. I don’t say that because of arrogance of a sense of entitlement, but the days of “the derby is a great leveller, form goes out of the window” are behind us, for now. 

The previous weekend United had drawn 0-0 with struggling Watford at Old Trafford while City were winning 1-0 at Everton. City might not have been at their best, but they found a way to win; United couldn’t. There is a togetherness about the Blues that isn’t there at United, for now at least. 

City were never in trouble at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday, even when United drew themselves level with a goal from former City academy player Jadon Sancho. That goal simply papered over the cracks. It was only a matter of time before City would be back in front. 

The City players look like a team. They pass and move, they cover for each other and when they lose possession they swarm all over their opponents to win the ball back as quickly as possible. When United didn’t have the ball, they lacked that togetherness and the willingness to do the less glamorous side of the game, to win it back. 

Kevin De Bruyne is one of the best midfielders in the football world but without hesitation he’s prepared to roll his sleeves up and do whatever is needed to help his team out. United included Paul Pogba in their starting line-up. I’ve never understood the fuss around Pogba. He has some skills, of that there is no doubt. He can hit a perfect long pass or produce an occasional spectacular shot, but he’s the kind of the player that stands back and admires what he’s done rather than immediately busts a gut to get in the right position to help his team out, if they lose possession. 

Phil Foden and Bernardo Silva have the skills to match Pogba but five times the work rate. That’s the difference between to the two teams on the pitch and the two clubs off the pitch right now. The 4-1 score line flattered United. 

Pogba is obviously not the only problem at United, it runs much deeper than that. I don’t normally write much about the Reds, although I do talk to United fans every week on Sports Talk on Tameside Radio every Friday evening from 7pm. I detect a reluctance to admit how deeply United’s problems go. I’m aware that they don’t like their owners, but the fact is that they’ve spent lots of money on players, but just like City in their bad old days, United lack direction. 

Old Trafford has seen better days. It looks tired but the club’s reluctance to move to a new stadium has held them back. They haven’t invested in their academy like City have and they seem to rely on past glories to maintain their huge following and the income that still generates. Eventually, if they carry on as they are, their empire will crumble even further. 

I’ve been a City fan all my life and United’s supporters certainly had no sympathy for City when Maine Road was old and tired or when the Blues slid down to the third tier of English football. Their fans created a banner counting the number of years City had gone without a major trophy. The club authorised that banner by leaving it in the stadium during the week. 

City fans held a banner up, just before kick off, on Sunday that said, “Never in my lifetime”. They were the words of Alex Ferguson, who was at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday. I have no sympathy for United. You reap what you sow. Right now, “It’s great to be a Blue”!