City warning from history
THE sole comfort for those looking up the table is that the last team to dominate the early season programme as Manchester City are doing finished fourth, eight points behind West Ham. That was Manchester United in 1985-86: 10 points clear of Liverpool and Chelsea after 11 games, two more than City lead by now. The consolation for City fans is that Sheik Mansour probably won’t do as United did then — and sell the best player to Barcelona halfway through the season.
Mark Hughes was the inspiration for United’s lead. He was 21 and close to unstoppable. Strong, brave, incredibly gifted, bundles of skill, bags of aggression — he could make as many goals as he scored, and he scored plenty.
The first game of that season was against Aston Villa at Old Trafford, United won 4-0, Hughes (below) scored twice. Whoever was going to win the league would have to find a way of stopping him. In the end, , they y didn’t need to. Manchester United stopped pped him themselves.
In the first 14 league e games, Hughes scored 10 0 goals. United were strolling it, but by then there was speculation about Barcelona’s interest and it was plain the club would d sell. Hughes did not really ly want to go. It affected him and his form dried up.
The transfer was announced on March 21 but Hughes had known United’s position long before. He was allowed to meet Barcelona in January. ‘The situation just snowballed,’ he recalled. ‘I was talking to one of the greatest clubs in the world but thinking, “I really don’t want to be here”. I was led a certain way and before I knew it, I’d signed. Even getting on the plane, I was thinking maybe something will change and I won’t actually go.’
Through November to March 19, during which time the move was being negotiated, Hughes scored three goals, and at the time of the announcement, United were third. The club ruined their best player, and their title chances. Had Hughes remained focused, they would have won the league.
Instead, by the end of that year, Ron Atkinson had been sacked and a chap from Scotland called Alex Ferguson was in charge. So, every cloud and all that, but it’s fair to say City won’t be making the same mistake.