Football Focus : Darkest of Days

There will be a response.”

Those were the words of Sir Alex Ferguson, following Manchester United’s 6-1 thrashing on Sunday, at the hands of their arch city rival, Manchester City.

Sir Alex described it as “our worst ever day — the worst result in my history, ever.”

Twenty-two years ago, with Ferguson three years into his tenure at United, his side lost 5-1 at Maine Road. He went home and buried his head under a pillow.

One can only imagine how he spent last Sunday evening, although I do hope the family cat was watching the game and decided to go out for dinner.

The humiliation at Old Trafford was compounded by the identity of the opponents, as well as the manner of the defeat. Many will point to the sending off of Jonny Evans as a turning point in the game, and one can only speculate on what may have been had numerical parity remained throughout the match.

It’s worth noting, however, that Manchester City were already a goal to the good, and having weathered the first 20 minutes of United domination, were looking the better side.

No one though would have anticipated the subsequent capitulation, based as it was on United’s near “suicidal” approach to the remainder of the game — assistant manager Mike Phelan’s word, not mine.

Sir Alex bemoaned the role of his senior players, singling out Rio Ferdinand and Patrice Evra for particular censure, after the apparently indiscriminate way his team tried to attack when outnumbered.

It seems slightly unfair, given that United pride themselves on their resilience and never-say-die attitude — aspects of every Manchester United side under Sir Alex that has managed to achieve so many late comebacks and reversals of fortune.

The difference on Sunday though was that Manchester City proved that they have finally emerged from the shadows of perceived negativity under Roberto Mancini, and were as cold-blooded, efficient and ruthless as many of Ferguson’s sides have been in the past. “You can only beat what’s in front of you,” as the saying goes, and Manchester City did that with an almost frightening relish.

Much of the talk before the game revolved around the extent to which the gap between the two Manchester clubs has been narrowed.

I think we’re going to have to change the nature of the question after Sunday’s game, because City proved that in terms of attacking options, midfield creativity and squad strength in depth, they’re the ones setting the pace right now, and United are lagging behind.

The difference between the two teams was exemplified in central midfield, where Anderson and Darren Fletcher laboured for Manchester United, and Yaya Toure and James Milner put in performances of stunning intensity.

In David Silva, City have the player of the Barclays Premier League season so far, and his skill, vision and the ability to pick out a pass was unmatched.

Being at Old Trafford for the game, and being able to look at the bigger picture in terms of every player’s movement, it became easy to see why Manchester City are so difficult to play against at the moment. Forward of the back 5, no one player seemed to have a set position, flitting in and out of certain roles, and making himself almost impossible to pick up or mark.

Admittedly Manchester City did have plenty of space after Evans’ dismissal, but managers often say that it’s more difficult to play against 10 men. With the pace and movement that City were able to provide, it was never going to be a problem.

Despite Sir Alex’s disappointment and the damage he’s done to his pillow, no one, and I mean no one, is writing off United just yet. Those who have done so previously have, more often than not, received nasty shocks.

As Sir Alex said, “We usually get the show on the road in the second half of the season, and that will have to be the case.”

The defeat against Manchester City was a hammer blow for sure, but nothing even remotely resembling a fatal one. It was one game, and the damage to reputation and sense of belief will have been infinitely greater than the loss of 3 points.

One can only wait and see what the “response” will be — although 11 changes to the starting line-up for the Carling Cup win against Aldershot in midweek may have been a sign.

It all starts at Goodison Park on Saturday — a venue in which United haven’t won a league game since September 2007 — and there is more than a suggestion that some of the senior players will pay the price of their apparent failings on Sunday with their starting places.

Sir Alex’s “worst ever day” may well turn out to be a watershed moment in this Barclays Premier League season, if not in Premier League history, but whether it works to the benefit or the detriment of the most successful club in English football, remains to be seen.

Catch Andrew Leci on Monday Night Verdict every Monday at 8 p.m. on ESPN and send in your feedback to theverdict@espnstar.com.