Can Mancini keep up City's relentless attack

Ok, hands up who remembers or cares about the Community Shield result? Thought not.

To jog ye olde memory; Manchester United beat Manchester City by three goals to two. United were flowing and entertaining, City; slow and methodical but nothing could separate the sides after 90 minutes.

Roberto Mancini had opted not to introduce Kun Aguero off the bench, feeling that it was more important to have some big boys on the field to defend set-pieces, City lost. Vincent Kompany made a rare mistake in stoppage time allowing Nani a free run from halfway to secure the meaningless plate for his club.

Yesterday morning in Salford, Cheshire and the red half of Carrington the bright days of August must feel like an awful long time ago. A 1 -6 defeat at home: If it happened to an International football team there would be cries questioning the merits of their involvement at the ‘top level.’ A promoted team would be installed as favourites for relegation and be relieved of the manager who promoted them.

So what happens now for Manchester United? Many will leap to herald this as a new era, United apologists will say ‘Fergie will make the players bounce back’. It is hard to argue with either. For years, the more trigger happy pundits have been keen to be the first to announce the beginning end for Sir Alex Ferguson but he keeps coming back.

Yet, for all the praise of his grit and ‘never say die’ attitude, for the style of football he encourages – though he scolded Rio Ferdinand and Patrice Evra for continuing that cavalier attitude – and for his legendary mind games, Ferguson does have a weakness. It has long been ignored, because he is so quick to cover his tracks and his results make you feel foolish for thinking it. But it is ingrained there, and it seeps down through his squad every season.

The fatal flaw of Ferguson is his complacency. A United supporting friend of In the Final Minute once lamented Arsenal’s 2003/4 league triumph, the unbeaten season – my friend reckoned this was the most painful time United failed to win the Premier League because “that should have been our record.”

But under Ferguson, United will never manage such a feat. There is a distinct pattern from his side over the years and it stems from the manager and his famous adage that the reaction to a loss is more important than the loss itself.

It is a time honoured tradition: United will play well, play brilliantly and then keep winning regardless of form, chiselling out results where they shouldn’t. Then, just when all expect them to march on, they are surprised and they implode.

Ferguson calls it a blip, he refocuses his team, pulling up the socks he let slide and the Red Devils graft their way back into form. They graft, they play well, they play brilliantly until eventually they collapse again.

This has been their most successful start to a season, is it any wonder it was ended by their ‘worst ever day.’

The league is not over however, and at 2/1 United are good value if you are betting on the title. City will drop points and United will have a tangible incentive when they visit Eastlands on April 28^th. City’s task now is to cope as more than a mere celebrity, a circus freak of a club for others to come poke and feel good about themselves for containing. Now they are the top dog and they must now deal with every opponent raising their game to appease the fans who will throng through otherwise cobwebbed gates to see City, the champions in waiting.

hmmm, who to chose

So far this season Roberto Mancini has been a leopard changing his spots. From a painstaking adherence to conservatism he now presides over the smoothest, dreamiest team in the land. You only have to compare the attractiveness of their poster-boy of recent seasons (Carlos Tevez) with the suave new man grabbing all the goals.

Mancini has done exceedingly well by changing his habits, from the man who wouldn’t risk putting on Aguero with the game level at two apiece, to a man with enough trust in his troops to play his strongest front three at Old Trafford. He reaped the rewards for that decision, but England’s pitches will get softer and there will be plenty of clubs looking for their scalp.

Will Mancini keep attacking when protecting a five point lead? His job only gets harder from here on in.