If, on October 23rd 2011, you had a heavy blow to the head and all knowledge of Premier League campaigns were simultaneously erased from your memory, you may have stood aloof at your television/betting slip/friend in the pub and sanctimoniously proclaimed that this year the Barclay’s Premier League was a one-horse race. However, a one-horse race, by definition, is one in which only one of the competitors has a real chance of winning and, of course, “you can’t write off Manchester United,” says Newcastle defender Danny Simpson.
Yet, Danny Simpson’s comments came the morning after his side had torn apart a lacklustre Manchester United side at St. James’ Park, meaning that, having failed to pick up any points in their past two Premier League games, Tottenham are only three points behind them with a game in hand. Maybe it isn’t a one-horse race, not even one of those two-horse races you often see in La Liga nowadays, but maybe, this year, the Premier League is a three-horse race. Imagine that: three beautiful stallions, magnificently crowned with the majestic Fergie, devilishly good-looking Mancini and rather plump Harry, galloping powerfully towards their destiny, pulling away from the string of inferior horses playing host to their jockeys in the form of Arsene Wenger, Kenny Dalglish and Andre Villas-Boas.
It might just be though, that the most experienced jockey of them all, Sir Alex Ferguson, is riding a dead horse: last week, Alan Pardew threatened to go gung-ho from the first whistle, “Looking at Manchester United’s recent games, teams that have sat back have got thumped,” said the Toon boss, “They’ve got such talent in their ranks, they’re going to cause you problems but we have a striker in form and a central midfield pairing that I think is as good as theirs,” he added, in the faintest of praise for a midfield partnership that is far outshining one that has been bolstered with the return of a 37-year old that retired over 6 months ago. It worked too; Newcastle United went out, flooded the wings with overlapping run after overlapping run and forced three goals out of a dismal Man. United side that couldn’t reply.
Having lost their first away game in 11, Sir Alex’s Manchester United had to travel to The Etihad to face Premier League leaders, and perfect home form holders, Manchester City. Instead of stoking a fire, much like pundits across the ITV suggested he was probably doing on a personal level with his players in the dressing room and Mancini eluded to by describing them as “angry,” he said absolutely nothing and thus gave out the most vocal of mind game messages according to professional psychologist Nicky Butt: “[bringing back Scholes] took all the attention off their home record and the bookmakers’ odds and switched all the attention to Paul Scholes and Manchester United.
It was a great little bit of psychology.” For all the brilliance of Ferguson’s psychological mind games, it wasn’t quite as anatomically bright: a massive 4 minutes and 12 seconds after coming on for Nani, Paul Scholes set up Manchester City’s 2nd goal by providing James Milner with the ball on a plate to cross for Sergio Aguero. Nicky Butt obviously avoided mentioning this to try and leapfrog his former Manchester United team mate in a bid to become his new favourite ginger.
However, winner of the best mind game of them all regarding the race at the top of the Premier League goes to Roberto Mancini for his comments before that fateful F.A Cup tie that made that second-half restoration and assault on Manchester United’s pride all the more prevalent. He did something Harry Redknapp hasn’t done directly all season: “I think in this moment, City, United and Tottenham can win this title.”