Friday

The alarm clock wakes me up at 6 in the morning in the hotel room. Time to prepare for the day, prepare instructions for my staff, get my administrative professionals in order, overview my client binder to see what we have to take care of as a team today. Then hit the coffee pot, restroom, put on the morning news, and boot up the ol’ laptop. Once I get on the computer, I should immediately review my calendar and emails. But not this week. Every day this week, the first thing I do is load up no less than eleven browsers. Three forums, daily mail, telegraph, manutd.com, goal.com, tribal football, soccernet, blue moon, and red wednesday. 

The general sentiment of both camps are quite different. 

For the City fans, its all confidence. They are certain that they will win, and by some distance. Its not a matter of talking about whether it will be a win, draw or loss. They are betting each other what the winning margin will be. 3-0? 4-0? 5-1? City fans are not arrogant people. So its interesting to see that they are so certain of dominating United on Monday. I suppose its not unreasonable considering that they are in flying form, they will be at home, and they have momentum. Certainly having dominated us at Old Trafford helps their confidence. I wonder if any football match should garner that much forgone conclusion though. The ball is round after all. Just as managers and players act from experience, I feel fans do as well. I think that City fans are new to being a big team in this league, and don’t know that caution is best exercised when all is going well.

On the other hand, the mood on the United side is somber. Supporters are cautious, even pessimistic. United forums are full of discussing what lineups should be used in this unique fixture, as though we are trying to figure out how to defeat a better opponent. I think that’s the appropriate position to take on our end, and i’m glad other United fans are seeing the fixture as a great challenge rather than a match of two teams in equal standing. We are not on equal standing, we are genuine underdogs in this one. And we will need to pull out every stop to make secure a good score line.

If its possible to be both optimistic and pessimistic, I am both. My heart tells me we will win, my brain tells me we will not. I suppose its the act of having faith. I have absolute faith in the never-die attitude of Manchester United, and know that we will not lose easily. After all, that attitude which has won us trophies in the past has served this season as simply making us difficult to defeat. In any case, it goes a very long way. As long as Paul Scholes starts, we won’t lose. Of that I’m absolutely sure. Both my heart and brain agree on that one. 

Before City counts their chickens, they should be cautious of the two below. They have some really amazing players, whether it be Aguero, Tevez, Balotelli and Silva. These virtuosos of attack against Evans and Rio make us underdogs automatically. But if these two pictured below play at their best, its over for City. There are world class players, but above them are the a different echelon, and these two are in it. I can only pray that they will be at their finest.