Manchester Madness

The two Manchester teams certainly provided the talking points from the latest round of Premier League action. For United, it was the continued realisation that perhaps they are not good enough to retain their domestic crown. For City, it was the realisation that under the management structure that started the weekend, they would never challenge for that coveted domestic crown.

Lets start with United. Going to Fulham is never easy, especially this season as they continue their fine development under Roy Hodgson. With the defensive crisis that currently engulfs the Old Trafford club this was made all the more difficult and 'goal machine' Bobby Zamora certainly enjoyed plundering a make shift defensive unit. The fact that Ferguson is having to play midfielders in defence is not just impacting on the defensive fragility of the side - it has a knock on effect throughout the team. By playing arguably his best central midfielder (this season at least) in Darren Fletcher at centre back, with Carrick alongside him, this is reducing the options available in the middle of the park. There are little changes Ferguson can make if his midfield is having a poor game and not creating chances, as has been the case in two of the last three games. This renders starting Michael Owen pointless.

One point of note is that Ferguson could have opted to start Fabio and played a more conventional formation, as opposed to the three man backline he opted for. This formation actually meant starting the game with his only senior defender (Evra) as part of a midfield five. A curious ploy that backfired dramatically. When Fabio did come on in the second half the team had a more familiar look to it. But could he not have left de Laet on and brought Evra to left back, enabling Fletcher to move into midfield with a backline of Fabio, Carrick, de Laet, and Evra? Could he have begun the match with this defensive line? Perhaps the reason Fabio didn't start is his relative lack of experience or the fact that (as usual) he is just coming back from injury.

In the Blue half of Manchester the axe finally fell on Mark Hughes. In comes Roberto Mancini. The word is that the decision had been made on December the 2nd. I'm no fan of Hughes, his corporate interview style was particularly grating, and there is no doubt he didn't get the required results from the resources available to him, but surely he deserved better than this. It appears the players certainly felt so, with a number of them clearly feeling that the manager had been ill treated and made their beliefs known. What is interesting is that on the day when Hughes (likely) knew he would be sacked, he dropped Robinho and Adebayor. This is symbolic in a number of ways - he was dropping the players who he felt wouldn't play for him or work for the greater good of the team, but as two of his most expensive purchases it was also a sorry indictment of his recruitment policy. They are possibly the two players who have let him down the most and this was his way of telling them. It will be fascinating to see what Mancini's plans are, everything from whether the formation will be altered to the players he feels he can trust from the last regime.

One thing is certain - both sides of Manchester have an interesting second half of the season in store.