Eastland Promise: How The Derby Was Drawn And Where It Got Us

Let’s be blunt: this wasn’t exactly the November fireworks display we were all hoping for. The build-up was stifling almost to the point of suffocation; never before in our lifetimes had a Manchester derby carried so much importance on its proud shoulders. In recent years, this local meeting had started to slip down Manchester United’s ladder of importance for a number of reasons. Domestically United had gone from strength to strength, continuing to dominate the business end of the Premier League while forging heated rivalries with Chelsea and Arsenal, not to mention continuing the running ‘who’s got more titles’ battle between themselves and Liverpool. United had also gone about raising their European trophy haul closer to the repeatedly decorated likes of Real Madrid and AC Milan by adding another two Champions League vases to a trophy cabinet already straining under its own weight.  

Meanwhile, back in the North West, those in light blue had spent a reasonable amount of the preceding ten to fifteen years yo-yoing between the top two, or even three, divisions, struggling to steady the ship, all the while living in the blanketing shadow of Old Trafford. But then something happened. In August 2008, reportedly days away from possible administration, City were bought by the Abu Dhabi United Group and in the twinkling of an eye everything changed. Within hours audacious bids were being lodged for just about every footballing household name you could care to think of, and in the following weeks and months City became the word on the lips of every individual across Europe with even a passing interest in the game. Were they the new Chelsea? The new Real Madrid even? Of greater importance locally, were we about to see a seismic footballing shift within their own city; a coup d’état in terms of purchasing ability, title challenging potential and global brand power? In short, were City about to become the new United?

Fast forward two years and City have recruited an expensive and talented playing side with an admirably English nucleus, and boast the sharpest-suited boss this side of Savile Row. Across the way, United open the shutters each morning to find an ever-growing queue of critics lining up to hark of a crumbling empire, one saddled with mountainous debt and a backbone of superstars on the wane. In short, not in many a long year had the Manchester derby acted as such a barometer for where the power status of the city currently lay. A positive result either way would be huge; stories of contrasting polemic, of simultaneous ascent and decline, surely already sat near-complete on newspaper office hard drives throughout Fleet Street and beyond, with only the blanks – the goalscorers, the hows and whens, the hard numbers – waiting to be filled.

The brooding back-story was, it must be said, equalled by the opening night theatrics. Whoever was in charge of stage direction at Eastlands on Wednesday evening deserves an Academy Award. The pre-production was without fault – stories of disease crippling the visitors’ squad, the evening kick-off time, the noise and the lights within the ground, the flares and the entrance music. The scene came on like some sporting apocalypse; only those with the toughest shells and hardest wills would survive to survey the debris.

And then, ninety minutes later, it was over. For all the pre-match gunpowder and plot, the match itself never truly ignited. Set up with similar formations and desires to neutralise first and attack second, the sides cancelled each other out for long periods. Last season we saw (including the League Cup semi-final) three explosive encounters between the two parties. Perhaps, when the sides met at Old Trafford last autumn, City were still happy to play the gallant underdog role, to take the game to United on their own turf. Having said that, maybe there’s equal validity to the argument that United have honed their 4-5-1 away game to such an extent that this was as much an attacking threat as we could have hoped for from them, especially if their recent journeys to Stamford Bridge are anything to go by. Last season’s late 1-0 win at Eastlands would certainly add strong testimony to such a theory. For City, there was so much more to lose this time: not just pride to be dented, but genuine title ambitions too. All the trademarks of the current side were on display: the tough-tackling yet still cultured midfield three, the Argentinean upstart forward who works and works and then when he’s finished, works some more. United utilised the strengths of Park and Scholes like we knew they would – graft and control in equal measure – with Berbatov and Nani charged with conjuring some deadlock-breaking moment. Sadly, it never came.

So where does all this leave us? With no bragging rights won and no point margin increased, the situation remains very much as-you-were. United lost further ground to Chelsea after their defeat of Fulham in the night’s other derby, but avoiding defeat to the noisy neighbours was, for the first time in forever, arguably of more importance. As far as City themselves are concerned, they showed again that they can roll with the punches of the traditional heavyweights. This weekend they remain at home for the visit of Birmingham, but it is perhaps last week’s victory at West Brom – the type of fixture that cliché-abusers would say title challenges are won and lost by – that better defines their progress since that heady day in August two years ago. Ominously, it’s the kind of fixture which United (who face a tricky trip to Villa) have failed to put to bed on more than one occasion this season. But then as the old saying goes, there’s no substitute for experience, and when it comes to chasing down the leaders, experience is something of which United have plenty in reserve.

The return match at Old Trafford is currently pencilled in for Saturday 12th February, although it's unlikely a 3pm Saturday start for this fixture will remain in place for long. I'd advise you to save your Valentine's Day plans until Monday.

~ Matt