City bid to end United’s treble chance
Manchester City will attempt to halt Manchester United’s march towards an unprecedented second treble today when the bitter local rivals collide at Wembley in the FA Cup semi-final.
A mouth-watering encounter between the undisputed aristocrats of the Premier League and their nouveau riche neighbours will see City fighting to keep alive their last realistic chance of winning a trophy this season.
Dressing room disharmony
A concern for City manager Roberto Mancini, other than losing talismanic striker Carlos Tevez to an injury that rules him out of today’s game, has been suggestions of dressing room disharmony.
United defender Rio Ferdinand said, “You don’t see people coming off shaking their heads or being disgruntled or sitting on the bench in a sulk at this club because everyone is delighted to be at this club and they want to be here”.
Mancini is pondering how to plug the hole filled by Tevez’s absence, which he acknowledged was a ‘big problem’. The Argentine’s injury means Mancini is likely to start either, or both, of Edin Dzeko and Mario Balotelli.
Today’s match will be City’s first FA Cup semi-final since 1981 when they beat Ipswich before going on to lose to Tottenham in a replay in the final. And Mancini’s men go into the match as second favourites, given their opponents’ fine recent form and City’s 3-0 defeat to Liverpool last time out while United are chasing their first Treble since 1999.
Ferguson boost for City’s Mancini
Ferguson, whose team will be without the suspended Wayne Rooney, believes it’s now only matter of time before mega-rich Manchester City realise their potential and are challenging on a regular basis for silverware.
“It’s obvious with the money they’ve invested they have got big plans,” said Ferguson. “There’s no question about that.”
Meanwhile, Mancini said it is time to ‘change the history’ of the club ahead of the semi-final.
“All my players should understand very well that this is a big moment for us,” he said. “The first trophy is the hardest but it is time for Manchester City to win something.”
Published in The Express Tribune, April 16th, 2011.
COMMENTS
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ