Around April last year, experts-armchair or otherwise-were in agreement that with six games to go and United eight points clear, the Premiership would be heading to the red part of Manchester. There seemed no other conclusion.
But there was. United uncharacteristically fell apart allowing City to take their first Premiership crown in dramatic style with pretty much the last kick of the season.
United currently have a twelve point lead and with as many games left one would think that City could still overhaul the Red Devils considering what happened last season but-and I realise this could come back to bite me-they will not and here is why.
To call a United side that has amassed more points at this stage of the season than in any of their previous seasons not talented would be slightly unfair but it is safe to say that this current team is bloody effective. They almost always have been and last season was an exception, not the rule.
If you don’t happen to be a United fan, chances are you will not be too fond of Sir Alex but one thing that everyone agrees on is that he is a winner. It is indeed a testament of his managerial ability that a side that has an aging defence and a midfield housing two 70 year olds has seemingly wrapped up the title in mid February.
As much as United gifted their throne, the ‘noisy neighbours’ need to be given some credit. City did play some superlative football especially in the early part of last season and were there to pounce on the mistakes made by United in the latter half. This year has been a complete turnaround; one struggles to recall a string of games where City have been particularly impressive and by that extension it is unlikely that they will make good any chances United may have to offer(if at all).
There are a number of reasons why City has failed to replicate the performances and results of last season. Players like Hart, Yaya Toure and Silva who were the cornerstones around which much of the success was built have been surprisingly off-colour. Whether it is down to lack of motivation or being unable to deal with the pressure that invariably comes with the tag of being the champions or some other factor is something that can never be conclusively proved but as with such things there is probably a bit of all three.
While the players can and should be blamed, the buck invariably stops with the manager and thus Mancini must shoulder some blame if not all. As stated earlier, the City players have looked somewhat disinterested and as much as it is down to players themselves, it is the job of the manager to keep them hungry and motivated. The lack of recruitment or at least quality recruitment in the summer has not helped nor his fixation with the seemingly uncalled for 3-5-2 formation early in the season.
So a season which began with the hope of an exciting three way tryst-four if you want to include Arsenal-has in February no less, whittled down to whether United will blow it again or not? It is indeed a bit of a shame really and as a neutral one does hope that something unexpected happens so new life can be breathed into the Barclays Premier League for weekends can be a tad boring if there is no exciting football to look forward to.