A City Divided

Charlie Klein

Any of you who read this blog on a semi-regular basis or know me at all know that I have an undying passion for the Red Devils of Manchester United. The last week has been one hell of a roller coaster ride for anyone who supports the red and black (or green and gold) of Manchester.

Reports were flying in left, right, and center of United's desperate financial situation in what is perhaps been the most disconcerting time to support United in recent memory. A debt that is estimated to be in the region of 711 million sterling, largely generated by the Glazer family when they purchased United in May of 2005. Sky Sports estimates the club's debt to be 509 million pounds and the interest payments on the loans Malcom Glazer took out to finance his purchase to be in the neighbourhood of 202 million pounds.

The dark cloud of inescapable debt and the possibility of becoming the next Leeds United hung over Old Trafford like a cancerous tumor. Paranoid supporters even suggested that the Red Devils ought to ax manager Sir Alex Ferguson, believing him to be a co-conspirator in the team's financial fall from grace. Green and gold scarves were donned around Old Trafford in the buildup to the match last Wednesday. And even though the Glazers were able to raise the necessary 504 million pounds in bonds to stave off impending financial ruin, the return of the Glazers out chant reflects the supporters' frustration with foreign ownership.

With all of this drama hanging over Manchester United heading into one of the most important Manchester derbies in the past 30 years, many questions were asked of this current United squad. Could they without Cristiano Ronaldo rise from the deck and remind England which team was the class of the Northwest?

A glorious 3-1 win over Manchester City rang out as a resounding yes. United were clearly the better team throughout the 90 minutes and put upstart City back in their place. Rooney ran rampant once again in a City defense that had few answers to the United attack. Ryan Giggs had Micah Richards on a string once again, playing in elegant ball after elegant ball into City's 18 yard box. Luis Nani has shown form that many including yours truly thought had truly left him. He played an excellent game on the right, teaming up well with right back Rafael Da Silva and offering an outlet going up the pitch. What more can I say about the play of Darren Fletcher this season. He was literally everywhere at Old Trafford on Wednesday. His intensity pushed United on when it appeared as though they would have one of those nights following a scoreless first half. Paul Scholes showed once again that he still has one of the best right foots in England striking yet another perfect ball from 20 yards out that inspired United to victory.

For Manchester City this marked yet another disappointment in what has been an up and down campaign for the Citizens. Clearly Sheik Mansour's money will end up improving the side and can make them a perennial contender on all fronts. I have no idea what Manchester United ever did to Carlos Tevez, but now in him City have a player that clearly has the class to take them to heights previously unimagined. The Argentine is having a better season than he ever did at United and it is not even February yet. Craig Bellamy, while being a grade a scumbag, has morphed into a player who has the appearance anyway of having mastered his talents. His crossing during the semifinal was class and as he proved in the Manchester derby last September his shooting capability is one to be feared in every ground around England. I will reserve special praise for City keeper Shay Given, who has been a godsend since signing on with the Citizens last term from Newcastle United. This man has never encountered a save he could not make and has been on excellent form in all of the Manchester derbies this term.

Manchester United will return to the Emirates Stadium in North London for the first time since their 3-1 demolishing of Arsenal in last year's Champions League semifinal. The Gunners team they will face on Sunday has been riding consistently good form of late and look to be favoured in this fixture. It will be interesting to see how each team's back four handle the offensive threats posed by Cesc Fabregas and Wayne Rooney. Arsenal United matches are always a treat and this one figures to be no exception.

Manchester City welcome cellar dwellers Portsmouth to the City of Manchester Stadium as they try to bounce back from the hiding they took at Old Trafford at midweek. They ought to take the three points against a hapless and hopeless Portsmouth team who have failed to react well to the installation of Larry Grayson (aka Avram Grant).

At the end of Wednesday's match normal order was resumed. Manchester United remain, for now, the class of Manchester. But even as one of the more brash United supporters, I refuse to count City out as a force in the future. When that future becomes the present remains to be seen. For now City will have to continue to listen to chants like the one below and look at the banner that hangs on high at Old Trafford indicating how many years it has been since City won a trophy.