Red Devils Reign Supreme, Unless…

After the amazing 4-0 obliteration of a hapless Aston Villa side under the winter sky of Manchester, once again the Manchester City roller coaster is going up. Media, pundits, and fans alike have once again made an extreme U-Turn after labeling the team as a team full of money-minded mercenaries heading to chaos, once again they have labeled Manchester City as a genuine title contenders. There is no way to blame the general public for the seemingly hypocritical assessments of the team as results create the talks not the other way round. However, even though Manchester City were top of the Premier League table for just minutes, they were almost immediately overtaken again by their bitter rivals Manchester United after they have extended their unbeaten run by securing a 1-1 draw against Birmingham City. The Red half of Manchester is precisely the reason why Manchester City is unlikely to win the title despite the re-ignited talks of a genuine title challenge. No matter how many 4-0 or even 10-0 victories they accumulate over the season, they will not win the title unless they are able to totally banish Manchester United, on and off the field. The following will be the reasons why Manchester United will always reign supreme in Manchester unless Manchester City could muster something really meaningful from now onwards until the end of the season.

Drab Derby Day

The first Manchester Derby of the season has been concluded. Each of this fixture in any competitions are expected to be an explosive affair which is filled with an eclectic mix of all emotions clobbered into one huge volatile and colorful mix. The build-up of this fixture is always intense with goading and mind-games being thrown about by both sides of the great Manchester divide. The end results usually also live up to the pre-match hypes and the aftermath of the game is usually filled with an even more intense fallout and drama. However, there was a rather eerie silence prior to this fixture which has been one if not the hottest and most anticipated fixture in the whole of Barclays Premier League thanks to the recent transformation of Manchester City from a mid-table dwelling mediocre side to the richest club in the whole world. Besides a rather forced statement from each side prior to the game, there is not much hype surrounding this usually much-hyped match. Even at a personal level, the day prior to the match did not feel like a Derby day at all. It felt even more ordinary than an ordinary match-day! Probably it had something to do with the fact that the Derby happened to occur in mid-week, a curious choice of a match-day anyways for a match of this stature in which everyone is so lethargic and uninterested as it is too early for them to look forward to the next weekend while it is too late to savor any enjoyment leftover from the previous weekend. In any case, it was unusually quiet prior to this game and it seemed to be an omen of what was about to come. An pre-match article on one of the top football sites was also unusually short and it contained a footnote which mentioned that it might even a drab draw. True enough, the Derby turned out to be just like a chess match in which both sides are refusing to capture each other’s pieces and just contend with offering a draw to each other when the chess timer is almost up. Even the aftermath of the supposedly big game lacks the fervor and spirit usually associated with the fallout of the Manchester Derby.

West Brom win a Pyrrhic Victory for City

The shroud of darkness has left Manchester City, for now, with the seemingly convincing 2-0 away victory against West Brom at the Hawthorns. While this victory, which also marks the return of the captain Carlos Tevez from his injury is undoubtedly a morale boosting one and of course a refreshing tonic that is craved by Man City as a whole. Everyone associated with Man City understandably started their euphoric celebrations to savor this victory. However, the sharper ones amongst us, and of course who are looking at Man City’s performance not on a game-by-game basis, in other words, looking at this on a longer term basis would consider this away victory, as crucial as it is, as yet another Pyrrhic victory scored by Man City in which while crucial three points are in the bag, this victory might yet impede them in the subsequent matches, especially with a particular he match coming up for the Citizens. The reasons why this was a Pyrrhic victory are actually so obvious which will be outlined below.

Meanings and Implications of Carlitos’ Homecoming

It has been reported worldwide that Manchester City’s captain Carlos Tevez has flown home to Argentina as he has picked up an injury and if the reports are to be believed, the Argentine is also reported to be homesick and that he is not enjoying his life in England. Even prior to this incident, Tevez has been reported in many occasions especially at the beginning of the season to be “tired and sick of football” and that he might retire from the game for good at anytime, something which is of concern to all Man City and Argentina fans worldwide as he has become somewhat a talisman for his team, especially for his club. All of these rumors have somewhat died down when Man City had burst into life in the Premier League as well as the Europa League as they won many matches, most notably the crucial victory against the defending champions Chelsea. However, the bubble was burst and the momentum lost when they were defeated 3-0 by Arsenal in a match in which Man City had to play with 10 men for almost the whole game. Now, it is inevitable than the nasty rumors rear their ugly heads again and thus it is reported that Tevez has flown home not only because of his injury but also because he is looking forward to leave the club for good. What would all of these mean for Manchester City? How would this affect Man City as a whole?