Best league in the world?

There was a time, four years ago, when you could argue that the Premier League was the most competitive league in football.

England supplied three Champions League semi-finalists in 2007/2008, with Arsenal also competing in the quarter finals before an all English final in Moscow was settled by penalties in favour of Manchester United.

Fast forward to 2012 and the much fabled 'best league in the world' only has two representatives in the last 16 of the Champions League. Manchester United and Arsenal scraped through their respective groups, despite few convincing performances in Europe and in the coming years England's second coefficient spot could come under threat from the financially regulated might of the Bundesliga.

Whilst third place still allows four sides to compete in the Champions League, of greater concern are the performances English sides have produced when faced with foreign opposition. I can't recall any games from this campaign where a Premier League side has convincingly dominated and won a game.

Arsenal were extremely fortunate to take one point from Schalke, who topped the group, and faced some nervous moments against Montpellier, who have just six wins this season and Olympiakos, who finished just a point behind Arsenal.

Manchester United were handed one of the 'Europa League groups' that Jose Mourinho complained off, in comparison to his own teams group of death, and topped the group despite playing very poorly. United conceded first in five of their group games and generally defending terribly, but the combined fire-power of Robin Van Persie and Javier Hernandez disguised these wobbly performances.

Even the most jingoistic football fans would not suggest that English sides have a divine right to top their group, but it is the ease with which Premier League sides have been unable to match other teams in terms of ball retention and tactical acumen, which is the real indicator.

The Premier League is technically deficient compared to Serie A and La Liga, there is no question of that. Even the Bundesliga, which is the closest in terms of style of play, has several teams which are far more proficient with the ball. All three German sides topped their Champions League groups, and with Hannover, Leverkusen, Stuttgart and Monchengladbach progressing in the Europa League, the Bundesliga has an impressive seven representatives in the latter stages of European football.

Roy Hodgson and his side were outplayed by every team at Euro 2012, a 30 minute spell in the Sweden game aside, and the physical and speed focused aspects of the Premier League are starting to seriously hamper it's chances internationally.

English football has produced some incredible results over the last 12 months: United winning 8-2 over Arsenal, City scoring six at Old Trafford, Chelsea losing 5-3 to Arsenal and commentators are right to label this brand of football exciting. But exciting does not translate as effective and European sides are increasingly able to take advantage of the defensive errors that were incumbent in the previously mentioned goal-fests.

The Premier League tops the big five leagues, in terms of goals conceded as a result of individual errors, which suggests that teams are tactically stronger in La Liga, Serie A, Bundesliga and the Ligue 1 as individuals are not exposed as frequently. This stat can be found here, via whoscored.com, and is further indication that the Premier League is far from the strongest. Fans want to see well construed goals, not defensive errors which lead to efforts.

Italy occupy fourth place in the UEFA coefficients, but I would argue that the strength of their league is greater than the Premier League. A hypothetical top six of Juventus, Inter, Milan, Roma, Fiorentina and Napoli would beat a supposed top six of United, Man City, Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool, Spurs and Newcastle from England

The tactical dominance of Serie A was displayed in Turin three weeks ago, as Juventus romped to a 3-0 scoreline, which flattered Chelsea in truth. Roberto Di Matteo was sacked the next day, but there was very little any side could have done to stop Juventus that evening. Their fluid 3-5-2 saw the Old Lady dominate all areas of the pitch, with numerical superiority in defence and midfield.

Manchester United emerged as 3-2 winners in the hectic Manchester derby this afternoon but the 4-2 between Roma and Fiorentina in Italy on the same weekend featured the better football, from teams that are likely to fight it out for fourth place.

The Roy of the Rovers style of the Premier League may be exciting to some, but football purists and fans will appreciate the technical dominance exercised by the rest of Europe and hope that theses teams won't escape further into the distance before the English game tries to catch up.

Some Totti genius.

Premier League window shopping

Daniel Sturridge looks set to be the first high-profile of the January transfer window, so here is my look at where and how clubs might strengthen in January.

Manchester United

Who they need: a defensive midfielder/enforcer type.

Who I would sign: Arturo Vidal would be the dream signing. Cheick Tiote or Gokhan Inler good alternatives.

Who they will actually sign: No one.

Manchester City

Who they need: defenders who can play a 3-5-2, wingers other than Scott Sinclair

Who I would sign: Giorgio Chiellini, Stefan de Vrij, David Villa, Pato could be available.

Who they will actually sign: Daniele De Rossi.

Arsenal

Who they need: two full-backs and a striker.

Who I would sign: Robert Lewandowski, Mario Gotze, David Alaba, Davide Santon.

Who they will actually sign: Fernando Llorente and Wilfried Zaha.

Everton

Who they need: an extra defender to cover at centre-back.

Who I would sign: Douglas from FC Twente.

Who they will actually sign: Rhys Williams

Tottenham

Who they need: a number 10

Who I would sign: Wesley Sneijder might be wishful thinking. Willian, Mezut Ozil, Ikay Gundagan.

Who they will actually sign: Willian or Joao Moutinho.

West Brom

Who they need: cover at full-back.

Who I would sign: Jetro Willems.

Who they will actually sign: Alan Hutton.

Chelsea

Who they need: a striker if Sturridge goes. A better sitting midfielder.

Who I would sign: Radamel Falcao, Vidal.

Who they will actually sign: Falcao, Pato, Robinho.

Liverpool

Who they need: a striker and goal-scoring midfielder

Who I would sign: Daniel Sturridge, Jonathan De Guzman.

Who they will actually sign: Sturridge.

Stoke

Who they need: set-piece maestro.

Who I would sign: Juan Arango.

Who they will actually sign: David Beckham.

Norwich

Who they need: at 31, Grant Holt will need replacing soon.

Who I would sign: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

Who they will actually sign: Adam Le Fondre.

Swansea

Who they need: Wayne Routledge's hot streak will end soon.

Who I would sign: David Villa, Tobias Sana.

Who they will actually sign: Derk Boerrigter

West Ham

Who they need: a right-winger.

Who I would sign: Stefan Aigner, Alan. Diego Capel.

Who they will actually sign: Gareth McCleary, David Beckham.

Fulham

Who they need: central midfielders aged less than 30.

Who I would sign: James McCarthy, Fernando Gago.

Who they will actually sign: Douglas, Momo Sissoko.

Newcastle

Who they need: a centre-back.

Who I would sign: Douglas, Toby Alderweireld.

Who they will actually sign: Adam Lallana, Michael Dawson.

Sunderland

Who they need: two full-backs and defenders who aren't free transfers.

Who I would sign: Joleon Lescott, Martin Kelly, Matthieu Debuchy.

Who they will actually sign: Nicholas Anelka, John Heitinga.

Aston Villa

Who they need: a left wing-back.

Who I would sign: Sime Vrsaljiko, Juan Zuniga.

Who they will actually sign: William Kvist.

Wigan

Who they need: a more clinical striker.

Who I would sign: Joel Campbell, Dirk Kuyt.

Who they will actually sign: Marouane Chamakh.

QPR

Who they need: younger players with a point to prove.

Who I would sign: Demba Ba, Michael Dawson, Dries Mertens.

Who they will actually sign: Nicholas Anelka, Lucio.

Reading

Who they need: Premiership quality players.

Who I would sign: Stoppila Sunzu, Alan Hutton, Darren Bent.

Who they will actually sign: Nigel Quashie.

Ferguson misses the point

Sir Alex Ferguson doesn't misread situations very often. 25 years of perpetual success in Manchester and 12 titles indicate this. But his handling of Rio Ferdinand's Kick It Out boycott perhaps reveal a fallibility of the 70 year old.

This weekend player ratings in the Premier League were pushed to one side as interest focused on whether players would pull on a particular top in warm ups. Ferdinand was the lone United player to go incognito, but he was joined by Jason Roberts and two other Reading players, two from West Ham, and the entire contingent from the Liberty stadium.

Michael Vorm was one of the Swansea players who collectively shunned the t-shirt and he calmly and fairly explained why Swansea chose not to wear them. "Everyone expects the governing bodies to do more... They really have to do something and not just say something on a T-shirt."

Whether Ferguson objected to Ferdinand not backing the campaign or rather took affront to his disregard of his instructions is unclear. Ferguson was highly critical when informed about Robert's planned abstention on Friday and it would follow that the same stretch of thought applied to his own players.

Ferguson seemed to have missed the point on Friday, describing Robert's as "a stray sheep" and insisting that everyone should back the campaign. His comments suggested that dissent was a mistake, but without individuals who are prepared to challenge the existing hegemony progress will slow in all aspects of society, of which racial prejudices are one facet.

Alex Ferguson is clearly his own man and rules United with an iron fist. His comments over the weekend bely his trade union and socialist background and instead seem like totalitarian rhetoric. Why should any player be forced to wear a largely irreverent T-shirt bearing a slogan which they feel doesn't fairly represent them?

The FA, who are happy to spend £20 million soliciting favour from FIFA in the failed World Cup bid, and de facto UEFA, contribute just £300,000 to the organisation tasked with eradicating all discrimination in the game. It's a paltry sum and the shirts that hogged headlines are not subsidised by the clubs; KIO pay for the shirts to be printed and even pay for them to be sent out around the country.

The plight of the organisation is one of key aspects to come from this ill timed Kick It Out week and in fairness the player boycotts have attracted publicity that the own organisation could only dream off.

For refusing to wear a T-shirt which is symbolic of a culture that has failed to adequately defend his brother, Ferdinand is reportedly looking at a two week fine. Coupled with his £40,000 fine from the FA for a retweet, the United defender could end up paying more in fines than John Terry.

Chelsea have kept their own punishment in house and given that any fine greater than two weeks wages needs to be declared to the PFA (it hasn't) the two time former England skipper has got away extremely lightly.

The boycotts of Kick It Out are not necessarily aimed at that specific organisation. The recent scandal in Serbia, the cop out by Chelsea and the lenient punishments for Terry and Suarez have all contributed to a feeling of discontent amongst black players and managers. Who are we, Sir Alex included, to tell them how to protest?

Two hands on the title?

Sir Alex Ferguson conceded that Manchester City had two hands on their first Premier League title yesterday after the Citizens overcame a battling Newcastle side 2-0 on Sunday.

Barring a slip-up against lowly QPR, or a ridiculous goal-swing, Roberto Mancini looks to be on his way to his fourth league title, and his first in England. City deserved the win over Newcastle, but it was their manager who deserves most of the credit for his game-changing substitution in the 61st minute.

Replacing the, again ineffective Samir Nasri, for the on-paper more defensive midfield bruiser, Nigel de Jong, Mancini relieved some of the defensive duties on Yaya Toure and within 10 minutes the Ivorian went on to score the all important first goal.

At the time of Mancini's substitution I imagine City fans up and down the country were cursing their Italian and obviously defensive manager in a game that they needed to win, but the tactical switch proved to be telling and looks to have wrapped up the title for City.

Mancini was heavily criticised in his first year and a half in Manchester for being too cautious and was superbly vindicated by his substitutions and tactics today. A dangerous Newcastle side were well contained and Manchester City's cosmopolitan squad showed no sign of choking in this match.

With a five point lead over Mancini and his team, Ferguson had United in prime position a month ago. The defensive mistakes that have blighted the last few United performances can be accused, but the anaemic side that Ferguson put out in last weeks derby was a real turning point and a huge tactical error from the Scot.

Ferguson has had success hitting teams on the counter in the past, notably against Arsenal with Ronaldo running riot, however in the 'unmissable' game last week the United midfield were almost embarrassed by Man City's midfield engine.

A midfield of Scholes, Giggs, Carrick, Park and to a lesser extent Nani, has no dynamism to it and Manchester City were able to press incredibly high-up the pitch, much like Barcelona. Sir Alex got his tactics spectacularly wrong that night, in trying to match City up on the pitch and in effect try to take the draw, he played straight onto the hands of Mancini.

Player-to-player you would argue that City are by far stronger than the individuals in the United team. Aguero and Tevez are much better than Rooney and Welbeck, Hart beats De Gea, Kompany and Lescott are the best defensive pairing in the league, whilst Silva and Toure have carried City through several games this year. What has cost City at stages this season is their inability to always perform to their maximum potential, whereas United tend to over perform in more matches.

Rather than stick to their attacking flair, provided by the outstanding Valencia and Young, Ferguson tried to shut up shop and contain the most potent attacking side in the league. It went badly wrong and the tactical gamble looks like costing United the league.

Meanwhile, in the Budweiser Cup there was a rather predictable result as Chelsea just about did enough to beat a poor Liverpool side. Chelsea bossed the game for 60 minutes and it took the introduction of Andy Carroll to stir Liverpool into some response.

Carroll looked as if he had entered a time-warp and was reminiscent of the player that terrorised defences during his time at Newcastle. He gave John Terry a torrid time and somehow managed to dance round the former Engalnd skipper to score for Liverpool.

He was unlucky not to equalise, after Petr Cech pulled off a superb save to deny him his second, though you could argue the striker ought to have scored, heading it into the ground would have given Cech no chance. I would take Carroll to the Euro's and his third goal in four Wembley appearances may just have done enough for the Geordie.

Peter Crouch was propelled to the top of the England strikers queue after scoring a worldie and then doing little else, but for me Carroll can alter a game more dramatically and is most definitely one for the future.

Deplorable as he is, Ashley Cole was magnificent on Saturday and the left-back now has seven FA Cup winners medals. His form this season has been patchy, but since seeing Leighton Baines take his traditional place in the PFA team of the year, Cole has turned in superb performances both domestically and in Europe.

As for King Kenny, he is in for an arduous summer. Liverpool needed the FA Cup to avoid their season being branded a failure and are still £100 million worth of investment away from challenging the top four.

The Liverpool midfield is woefully ill equipped and Steven Gerrard was culpable on Saturday evening. Spearing and Henderson were the sitting midfielders, but after proving inefficient, Gerrard kept dropping back to just in front of his defence to pick up the ball and as a result the Liverpool midfield has well out of shape.

Liverpool have not replaced Mascherano and Alonso and with Gerrard on the wane for the last two seasons, they may be looking at three new midfielders before they can start competing again.

Moyes delivers perfect job application

After guiding Everton to a thrilling 4-4 draw at Old Trafford, David Moyes must be edging to the forefront of what will be a fiercely competitive shortlist for when Sir Alex Ferguson finally steps down from his red altar. Sir Alex has hinted at a possible three more years at the helm of the United dynasty before the difficult search for his successor gets underway. Ferguson will surely remain involved with the club, much like club ambassador Bobby Charlton, and will have a huge say in his eventual replacement.

Ferguson has made no secret of his admiration for Jose Mourinho, though you suspect the Real manager is likely to be warming a new managerial seat this summer, several summers too early for the United job. A controversial figure at Chelsea, the 49-year-old has further coloured his reputation while in Spain as he continues his near eight year feud with Barcelona. The grotesque eye gouge on Barcelona coach Tito Vilanova may prove a step too far for a club of United’s pedigree and history and hinder his chances of landing the job.

Other front-runners will include Pep Guardiola who looks set to leave Barcelona, if not this summer, then in the near future. Whether Guardiola could, and would, try to bring the la Masia philosophy to Manchester would be a fascinating proposal and a real test of the Spaniards ability. Other European heavyweights like Guus Hiddink, Louis van Gaal and current flavour of the month Jurgen Klopp, will be in the mix but you sense that they would struggle to make an impression on United fans.

Looking closer to home Ferguson’s former players are likely to number on the likely shortlist. Mark Hughes continues to add to his CV, Roy Keane would be a fan favourite, Steve Bruce will be looking to rebuild his reputation and Giggs and Scholes may be close to a full managerial role in two or three years.

However one young Scottish manager continues to impress in the Premier League and Everton’s David Moyes must be edging to the front of an experienced shortlist. Moyes is the third longest serving Premier League manager, after celebrating ten years at Everton in 2012, and has done superbly to have Everton competing for the last decade. Despite their limited budget, Everton continue to over perform and were a game away for qualifying for the Champions League group stages (losing out to Villerreal in a qualifier).

Much like Ferguson, Moyes has had to assemble several  squads of players, including Duncan Ferguson, David Weir and a young Wayne Rooney in his debut year before moving them on and gradually building the foundations of the current 2012 team. Consistently challenging in the Premier League is a huge challenge and the consistency shown by Everton under Moyes, who operates frugally, are tantamount to his ability to put together a determined squad.

Moyes has a proven record in the transfer market. Phil Neville, Tim Howard, Leighton Baines, Joleon Lescott, Mikel Arteta and Tim Cahill are just some of the recent Everton success stories. After a disappointing start to this season, Moyes made some inspired signings this January that have seen Everton bounce back up the table. Darren Gibson for £250,000, Steven Piennar on loan and Nika Jelavic for £5 million revitalised the side and much like a Sir Alex Ferguson team their form seems to become more relentless after Christmas.

Moyes is one of the few managers to be publicly praised by Ferguson and the 48-year-old seems to be a favourite of Ferguson’s. Everton’s comeback this weekend had all the hallmarks of the now infamous fight backs that we associate with United over the last decade. We take it for granted that any United side is going to mount a comeback and inevitably they end with an injury-time winner or equaliser. That it happens so often for United is no coincidence and Everton under Moyes are exhibiting the same hunger and desire. Sunday’s game encapsulated this hunger and David Moyes is building a side that get stronger and stronger as the season draws on. Sir Alex Ferguson is without doubt the greatest manager of the Premier League era, and in David Moyes they might be looking at his heir apparent. 

Battle for fourth place heats up

With ten games to go until the end of the season the all important race for a place in the top-four is reaching a critical phase. Excluding the Manchester clubs, there are five other teams battling it out for the next five places and only two of those teams will reach the holy-grail of Champions League football.

Four of these teams will be in action this Wednesday evening, with the showpiece game being a resurgent Chelsea versus Manchester City, looking to bounce back from successive defeats. Here's my take each of the teams in the running and where they can expect to and will want to finish the season.

Tottenham Hotspurs

Up until moral-sapping defeats against the two Manchester sides, Spurs looked like they might have been able to mount a serious title challenge. However, these two setbacks were compounded with a heavy 5-2 defeat against Arsenal and their season is in danger of imploding with three defeats in a row in the league. Harry Redknapp’s position as favourite for the England job seems to be affecting the team and even getting to him on a personal level; appearing frustrated and irritated in his last few games. Now the stated aim is to secure a place in the top four and they face a tricky game tomorrow evening, with Stoke coming to visit. Redknapp’s side face Chelsea straight after Stoke and the all-London affair may go some way as to deciding whether Spurs get a second crack at the Champions League. A top four berth seems vital if they are to succeed in signing the big movers this summer, notably Eden Hazard and Jan Vertonghen. 

Arsenal

After an appalling start to the season, including an 8-2 defeat against United and a 4-3 defeat against an even more floundering Blackburn side, Arsenal have steadily rebuilt their season. Their injury ravaged defence have finally all returned and with Robin Van Persie up-front, Arsenal will always remain a serious goal threat. After coming from behind to win in their last four league games, a League record, Arsene Wenger’s boys are one of the form teams in the league and there will be hope that they can pinch the automatic Champions League spot from their North London rivals. Whilst summer investment appears essential, Arsenal have a youthful and attacking squad, with young Oxlade-Chamberlain impressing and staking a serious claim for EURO 2012. They face a tricky away visit to Everton on Wednesday but if their recent, almost United like performances (insofar as snatching late wins) is an indicator, then they could find themselves edging Spurs to third place. 

Chelsea

Interim boss Roberto Di Matteo’s 100% record since replacing Villas Boas faces another stern test against City on Wednesday evening. After overturning the two goal deficit against Naploi last week, Di Matteo even succeeded in getting Fernando Torres to score, as he hit two to book a FA Cup semi final date. The ageing players who seemed below par for much of this season have stepped it up in the last four matches, knowing that they are playing for a place in the team and their future. Mourinho’s spine still runs through the side; with Cech, Cole, Terry, Essien, Lampard and Drogba all starting the last few matches and seeming to prove AVB wrong with some performances of yesteryear. In hosting a well organised Manchester City they will face their toughest test, knowing that they can’t afford to drop many points if they wish to be a Champions League side next season. The shoots of recovery are there for Chelsea and their old squad; to make the top four this year is going to be difficult and even if they do the squad still requires an overhaul. 

Newcastle

Alan Pardew’s side continue to ride high in sixth place in the Premier League, though you sense they would bite your hand off for a sixth place finish now, rather than targeting the top four. Having spent modestly, compared to the surrounding clubs, Newcastle are actually making money thanks to the diligent ownership of Mike Ashley. As well as competing financially Newcastle have found some form in the league, mainly thanks to the goals of Demba Ba and the impressive Tim Krul and Fabricio Coloccini in front of him. Newcastle have struggled for form since Steven Taylor’s injury but a vital win over Norwich means the dream of European football is still a possibility. Finishing in the top six might prevent Newcastle’s key players moving on in the summer, with suitors casting admiring glances at Krul, Tiote, Ba, Cabaye and Ben Arfa.

Liverpool

With an outlay of over £100 million Liverpool were expected to be seriously challenging for fourth place this season but have struggled domestically and are ten points behind Arsenal in fourth place. It will take a mammoth effort to finish in the top four this season, starting with their game at QPR, which was the publicly stated aim of the club. Liverpool’s main problem this campaign has been goals; with Luis Suarez needing, on average, 14 shots to score and a £35 million striker who can’t even get a look in. Dalglish may have appeased the fans with the Carling Cup but a number of question marks remain over their expensive signings and Liverpool may need even more investment in order to compete with the big boys again.  

The Changing Face of Racism

In the build up to the confrontation between Liverpool and Manchester United, talk was dominated by pleas from both managers for the football to be the main talking point after the match. This was, after all, the first meeting since Luis Suarez had received an eight game ban for racially abusing United captain Patrice Evra. Unsurprisingly large sections of both fans managed to ignore such requests. Blinded by a fierce tribalism that only United vs. Liverpool can generate, the race row showed no signs of abating with Suarez, sitting in the stands, heckled as a racist by the travelling fans whilst Patrice Evra, despite the FA finding him to be the victim of racist language, was subject to widespread booing whenever he dared go near the ball.

In a season in which the Premier League’s supposed moral high ground over other leagues in terms of eradicating racism, has been challenged there was a troubling ease with which the behaviour of certain Liverpool fans was glossed over. ITV, who faced the thorny issue of not wanting to turn the game into Patrice Evra against Liverpool, went too far the other way and didn’t even comment on the former France captains non-stop barracking. Kenny Dalglish when pressed on the treatment of Evra post-game bristled with sarcasm, responding “what kind of question is that?” The issue was also skirted by journalists with more being made of the arrest and bail of one Liverpool fan who allegedly made a monkey gesture, than the thousands of fans who booed Evra for daring to report being the victim of racist abuse.

Club loyalties and the intense rivalry between the two clubs surely played a part in this virulent outpouring, with blind and unwavering loyalty behind their own players causing unpalatable situations. The game at Anfield illustrates clearly that although racism is not as overtly acceptable in our society, and thus football, it is fair from extinguished and is unlikely to ever be removed entirely. Racism is more subtle now and often expressed through humour, in an attempt to soften the blow, with many players now accepting it as part and parcel of football. Take the example of Emmanuel Adebayor, who was the on the receiving end of some borderline racist/humorous (depending on how you interpret it) chanting whilst facing Tottenham Hotspurs last season. The song started “His dad washes elephants his mum is a whore” and one can only assume that Adebayor didn’t enjoy listening to this song. Yet less than a year on the player finds himself playing for Spurs, as the player has seemingly puts the song behind him and not lingering on any racial connotations.

That only two out of the 92 league clubs employ black managers is a startling figure and suggests that more nuanced and subtle conventions of racism have emerged in our game. I can understand the wish of Manchester United and Liverpool to move on from the race row that has dominated the last few weeks, but to deem Evra’s treatment barely worthy of comment alludes to a deep rooted issue, one that often glosses over casual racism in the belief that nothing is wrong with the state of our game. 

Manchester derby on the way to becoming 'biggest game in the world"

Sir Alex Ferguson's interpretation of the Liverpool vs. Manchester United match being the biggest club game in the world raised eyebrows, not least from those in Madrid and Barcelona. The game itself failed to live up to its billing, a stagnant first half not helped by United's negative set-up and in the end United were the happier of the two teams to come away with a point.

However perhaps the closest challenge to the United juggernaut this season comes closer from home; in the form of Mancini's Manchester City. With both of their key strikers back from injury and back to scoring ways mid-week, the showdown between Rooney and Aguero is one that promises much for football fans.

Much has been made of the excellent form of both sides and their unbeaten domestic starts, though if anything City are the side who look to have the edge in terms of performances this season. Roberto Mancini's apparent change of identity and nationality has seen him abandon his more cautious approaches last year and really attack teams. Although with a front five of Aguero, Dzeko, Nasri, Silva and Balotelli any other approach would be a gigantic misappropriation of talent.

After a bold start United's last few performances suggests that the youth and vigour that enhanced the team early on has either been sussed out by other teams or has inevitably slowed. After steam-rollering Spurs, Bolton and Arsenal (who were then beaten by bottom of the table Blackburn) the levels of performance have dropped slightly.

A 3-1 win over Chelsea disguised the fact that United were outplayed for large chunks of the game at Old Trafford and Chelsea were unlucky to not come away with at least a point. The 2-0 victory over Norwich was also far from clear-cut, Norwich created a hat-ful of chances against the defending champions and ought to have scored at least once and truly threatened United.

Performances in Europe have also been far from dynamic with two draws and a win as United just about produced the bare minimum to take something from the game. Followed up with a lucky draw at Anfield and on paper City head into this years first derby as the in-form team. What does remain in doubt is how City handle the biggest of occasions, of which this Sundays match is. United are infamous for eking out results when not playing brilliantly and are well schooled in how to handle the big occasions, how City handle this seasons biggest occasion will determine how the game pans out; here's hoping for a seven goal thriller rather than a classic show-piece in Italian defending.