Has Fergie been outwitted in the mind games by a younger, brighter Italian?

For 20 years Man United boss Sir Alex Ferguson has been calling the tune when it comes to matches of the mind. Since the Premier League’s inception and ever since Ferguson’s men have started to win trophies, a number of managers have squared off against the wily old Scot in a battle for supremacy. Many have fallen by the wayside – Wenger, Keegan, Mourinho – all pretenders, all with varying degrees of success but ultimately all men who have fallen at Ferguson’s hand. Until recently, you may as well have said that the United chief had enjoyed another year of unprecedented success with his team top by eight points and in cruise control for the league title in April.

However, nobody told Man City. While Ferguson’s men thought they had the league sewn up, Roberto Mancini, manager of the ‘noisy neighbours’, thought as much too, often saying that the league title was ‘over’ and that it was all but United’s title for another season, particularly after a damaging 1-0 defeat for City at the hands of Arsenal. Well, I say ‘damaging’ – since that defeat City have gone from strength to strength and won five on the bounce, including emphatic wins over West Brom and Norwich City and, of course, the all-important 1-0 win over United which edged City ahead at the top on goal difference. United, meanwhile, stumbled to defeat at Wigan, were held at home against Everton, despite being 4-2 up with less than ten minutes left and then turned in a below-par performance against their deadliest rivals.

So, how did Mancini react after the all-conquering 1-0 win over the Champions? Well, he continued to play down his team’s chances, insisting that United were still favourites for the title and that the trophy would still be well on course for the Old Trafford cabinet. Yeah right, Roberto – he knew full-well that after defeating United, in particular, after outwitting Ferguson tactically in the biggest of games that he had the league title in his grasp and that, ever-so-slightly, United’s jitters were beginning to show. In the aftermath of the derby match, the Italian focused on the performance of his team and brushed under the carpet the touchline spat he had with Ferguson in the second half. Sir Alex admitted his team’s shortcomings but was visibly frustrated with Mancini’s actions and made that clear. 1-0 Mancini, for now.

On Sunday just, City went one step closer to clinching the title with a confident 2-0 win against in-form Newcastle while United cantered to a 2-0 win over Swansea City at a rather dejected Old Trafford. Adding further fuel to the fire, Mancini incited annoyance from the south Wales club for stating that United’s game against them was ‘easy’ – another classic example of the Italian’s understated but quite smart managerial lexicon. Oh, how he would love to enjoy a similar type of afternoon against QPR on the final day of the season come this Sunday but with Ferguson insisting (desperately maybe?) that the title is ‘not over’ and Roberto himself much agreeing with him, will the Italian’s calm words and demeanour come back to haunt him?

Whichever way the title eventually goes, it has certainly been very interesting watching Mancini and Ferguson square off in recent weeks as their teams have fought tooth and nail for the cause. While Ferguson has years on his younger pretender and will take some ousting, the smart-talking Italian has certainly proved his worth in the managerial mind games field and, should the title head to the Etihad, can count that as a personal win for himself. Kudos to both of them for quite a show.

Introducing the neat little app that’ll pay you to view content tailored to your interests:

ThisisFutbol.com are seeking new writers to join the team! If you’re passionate about football, drop us a line at “thisisfutbol.com@snack-media.com” to learn more.