da bet7： Manchester United’s recent derby defeat at Old Trafford to Manchester City highlighted that what was then a 15-point gap between the two rivals was far too large, but with Sir Alex Ferguson’s title race turning into an all-out procession, what does it say about the quality of the rest of the top flight that a good but unspectacular side has found it so easy going this season?
da bwin： It wasn’t just the result that stood out from the Manchester derby on Monday night, but rather the manner of City’s victory, where they were good value for all three points after dominating large swathes of the game. It certainly called into question that this is hardly a vintage team from United’s perspective, but rather a ruthless winning machine capable of grinding out results. When was the last time a United side genuinely impressed over a consistent period and played with the swagger we all associate with them?
Despite the criticisms that they’ve barely had to get out of second gear, though, it hardly speaks volumes for the rest of the league and its relative strength in depth. United have already broken records this term, having won 25 of their first 30 league outings this year and with a current tally of 77 points gleaned from 31 games, with seven fixtures of the campaign left to play, they could still surpass the 95-point record set by Chelsea under Jose Mourinho during the 2004-2005 season.
What at one point looked like being a season to remember for the red half of Manchester has slowly collapsed around them, after losing the Champions League tie to Real Madrid, letting a two-goal lead slip at home to Chelsea in the FA Cup, then going on to narrowly lose the return leg 1-0 at Stamford Bridge, This has left them with just the league to focus on, in a year which promised much more. When the going has got tough down the home straight, United have been found wanting, lacking energy and quality to bridge that crucial but sizeable gap between good and great.
Of course, that turns out attentions back to the lack of challenge they’ve faced in the league all season. Main rivals City have just imploded, with in-fighting, poor signings and injuries to key players costing them dearly. Not one of the integral spine of the side – Joe Hart, Vincent Kompany, Yaya Toure, David Silva and Sergio Aguero – have performed better this year than during last term’s title win and manager Roberto Mancini is under significant pressure to lift the FA Cup now to put to bed any fears he may have over his long-term future.
Arsenal’s defensive woes all but ruled them out of the running very early on and Arsene Wenger’s reluctant to spend big remains a mystery with the club on such a sound financial footing while on the pitch they become less and less competitive. They look to be timing their run for a top four spot very well now, with Tottenham fading badly at the same time they did last year, but with that simply deemed enough these days by the French boss, they’ll struggle to break through that glass ceiling any time in the near future.
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Meanwhile, Liverpool and Tottenham are both going through transition phases, which means they remain inconsistent beasts overly-reliant on Luis Suarez and Gareth Bale to get them out of trouble. With both clubs being hindered by their respective chairman during the summer transfer window and with new managers in tow, each club was simply targeting a year of progress, with Andre Villas-Boas set the target of a top four place and Brendan Rodgers believed to have been ordered simply to stop the recent league regression. They’ve both achieved that and will set bigger target to try and achieve in the future, but this year was always about getting their foot in the door and consolidating.
That brings us to Chelsea and the turmoil that has become some sort of cathartic annual ritual for owner Roman Abramovich. They may still be challenging for the FA Cup and Europa League, but this is a squad that’s absolutely on its knees, having to play through the most congested fixture list most have ever witnessed. Between December and February, Rafa Benitez’s side played 25 games across five competitions, and by comparison United played just 19 across three competitions. Not only is that physically draining, it’s mentally fatiguing.
One erroneous statistic that’s been floated around as an excuse of the poisonous atmosphere that Stamford Bridge has witnessed after the unpopular appointment of Benitez is that the club were four points off the top under Roberto Di Matteo when he was sacked and now they sit 19 points off United at the pinnacle. What it’s trying to imply is that Di Matteo, a fortunate cup manager with no real record of league achievement other than finishing sixth last season with an Andre Villas-Boas side that had been left in third prior to his dismissal, would have somehow managed to put together a title challenge. It’s a bizarre opinion born out of nothing but misplaced anger towards the Spaniard. Instead of trying to take on the organ-grinder (Abramovich), Chelsea fans have taken the cowardly route of criticising the interim monkey (Benitez). They lack the depth, quality and ability to be a top two side at the moment and deep down, every fan knows that.
United look to be walking to the league title with minimum fuss this season because they’ve simply been consistent, while everyone else around them has either collapsed in quite spectacular fashion through a mixture of internal conflicts and external crises. Ferguson is once again the last man standing, but rather than delivering any sort of knockout blows to his rivals, he’s simply managed to keep his side on their feet and given that it’s comfortably been enough shows you how weak everyone else has been. They deserve great credit for their achievement, coming back in such a fashion from last season’s last-minute let down, but this could just be the easiest title the club have won in the Premier League era.
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