TOOTHLESS!
Manchester derby turns into a stinker and Pep’s warned: You’ll never win the title playing like that
PEP GUARDIOLA was told last night he can forget about getting his hands back on the league title after one of the worst Manchester derbies in recent history ended in a dire stalemate.
City managed just two shots on target, failed to win a corner until the second half and looked miles off the pace in a derby shocker which had pundits Gary Neville and Roy Keane raging.
Neville accused City of being ‘a shadow of the team that won the league two years ago’.
And he and Keane agreed that right now City are well behind Liverpool, Chelsea and Tottenham. There were just four shots on target in a wretched 90 minutes that leaves City ninth, a place behind United. ‘There was no intent from the players or managers t o win, ’ said Neville. ‘I’m really surprised at City — they look bored. We’re sat here discussing the greatest manager of all time potentially, but Pep shouldn’t be above criticism. That’s an absolute shadow of the team that won the league two years ago.’ Keane, angry that there were just two bookings in a tepid game, said: ‘It’s not the same City as several years ago. They are a good bit behind Chelsea, Liverpool and Spurs.’
Paul Pogba played the full 90 minutes despite claims from his agent in the build- up that he is determined to leave Old Trafford.
Neville said the situation had to be resolved and that there could only be one outcome. ‘He doesn’t want to be here so get him out,’ he said.
FOOTBALL is nothing without fans. The quote from Sir Matt Bus by, often repeated by Manchester United’s senior figures these past months, stretches across a banner in the Stretford End behind one goal at Old Trafford.
It was the end where Scott McTominay scored United’s second in a pulsating derby win in March, seizing on a poor pass from Ederson in the sixth minute of added time to confirm victory amid delirious scenes seldom witnessed here in recent years.
That was the last game played with fans at Old Trafford and it could well be the last one played without them if the Government decides to take Manchester out of tier three this week. Plans are in place already for 2,000 supporters to attend next Sunday’s clash with Leeds United — another fixture rich in history and emotion that will feel all the poorer for being played in such a diminished fashion.
It would be a step in the right direction and 2,000 are better than none — as United discovered for t hemselves at West Ham l ast weekend — but they cannot match the noise and atmosphere generated by a full house.
‘We want the fans in safely and surely and there must be a way we can get more and more fans in quickly,’ said Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. ‘I know we’ve looked at it many times and are ready to get a lot more than 2,000 or 4,000. We have a big capacity here and not many enjoy football more without fans.
‘I don’t know the stats but with the passion the fans give the atmosphere is not there. There were a few tackles but not as many as you expect.
‘ Even though it was just 2,000 fans allowed into the ground at West Ham last week, it reminded everyone just how good it feels and we can’t wait to open the doors to Old Trafford once again.’
And the new norm will soon be history, thank goodness. Never again will we have to endure a
Manchester derby behind closed doors. One hopes a full house would have roused the players to produce something more entertaining than this rather soporific stalemate.
You could imagine the howls of protest from the United fans when Fernandinho floored Bruno Fernandes with a challenge from behind in the sixth minute, Kevin De Bruyne having already clattered into Fred.
The collective agony when McTominay narrowly failed to connect with Victor Lindelof’s flick to the far post or the derision when Gabriel Jesus ballooned over the bar from Riyad Mahrez’s pass.
The shouts of appreciation when David de Gea kept out Mahrez’s effort with his foot and the scream of frustration from an unmarked Mason Greenwood as he called for Marcus Rashford to pass, only to see Paul Pogba intercept it and fire wide with a first-time shot.
Most of all you miss the rivalry between the two sets of fans, on derby day more than ever. How the City supporters would have loved mocking the enemy when United had a penalty overturned by VAR.
They will be back soon enough. Hopefully some of them for the return fixture at the Etihad in early March, and many more when United and City meet here again next season.
Until then, we will cherish the echoes of the past.