Off The Blocks: Manchester

The new season kicked off amidst a number of gurus predicting the managers, clubs and players that will rise and the ones that will fall in the course of the season.

All clubs get their fair share of attention; the Manchester fold possibly received the most eyeballs. One for the millions they spent and the other for the millions they did not.

Mark Hughes has preferred the tried and tested in the league and has done well to pick the ripe ones out of the basket of three of the top four. With this being the core, they did manage to impress intermittently in their opening game.

Adebayor did get his Man City debut goal and justifying for the moment the money Sparky spent on bringing him over. The reason Man City got the result they needed was more on account of the brilliant saves from Shay Given and the infinite patience Ireland displayed in front of the goal to slot home.

With this start, and more oil money available the fans can hope for a promising season.

As for Sir Alex Ferguson, his track record is intimidating enough for fans and players alike to suggest that the long standing Liverpool record will be overtaken even with the frugal spending.

He did manage to make it work without Ronaldo and Tevez and an injury depleted defense in their opening game. The margin of victory saw the seat edges in the stadium being used on more than a few occasions, with enough pundits dismissing it being against lesser opposition.

Except for a neat Rooney goal following a one-two with the post, fans had little to cheer about. Owen is going to be talked about all season; the united loyalists will hope it is for his goals rather than for his misses. 

Owen does lack confidence and it will take a lot of character to overcome his early slips in the No 7 jersey. The lingering doubt will stay for a fair bit ... “does this team have enough to win the league”.

Each in their own style will be driving through another season which promises to be as exciting as seasons gone by if not more. The blue and the red corner are frequently referred to when introducing sparring contenders in a boxing match.

The City of Manchester Stadium and Old Trafford will each get a chance to be a Madison Square garden this season and for certain there will be more than just sparring at the derby.