RED ALERT
Up in Granada-land, and for the first time in a long while, it’s United who are the swaggering, wisecracking, collar-up, big-coat-wearing, wrote-for-luck, our-kid, ‘ere-y’are Mancs in town. Yeah, there have been plenty of false dawns before, like when Ole first took the wheel and before José began dismantling the Corby trouser press after completing the Lowry Hotel’s video-on-demand collection. This time, though, it looks like Erik ten Hag might actually know what he’s doing.
Lord Ferg, who on Thursday night was schmoozing with Eric Cantona and Rowetta from the Happy Mondays at an exhibition opening for Manchester’s Football Museum, no longer casts quite the same shadow. It probably helps that the current manager doesn’t either drone on in riddles about “football heritage” or keep harping on about 1999 and parking spaces. Time has moved on, the Glazers are selling up, and Wout Weghorst is riding into town to make things even more Dutch.
With Casemiro striding around, Marcus Rashford shining bright – presumably having cast aside all that unnecessary humanitarian stuff since nobody can be both a good person and good footballer – Cristiano Ronaldo living the dream in Riyadh and Harry Maguire riding pine, things look rosy for Ten Hag before the Manchester derby on Saturday. Though probably the main source of optimism is that City have been no good of late, and pretty much since the Human Rights World Cup.
Drawing against Frank Lampard’s Everton on New Year’s Eve, and then losing to Nathan Jones’ Southampton in the midweek Milk Cup, suggests all is not well. In between, they twice brushed aside Our League whipping boys Chelsea but Pep Guardiola’s beaux stratagem is not as polished as he would like. Phil Foden is off his game, João Cancelo is persona non grata, John Stones is knacked, Kevin De Bruyne’s sat-nav is malfunctioning and Erling Haaland has gone 190 minutes without scoring.
“Selection is like a coin, there are players who train really bad and afterwards play really well,” blabbed Pep, suggesting he doesn’t know what his best team is. “It is not about that game any more,” roared the new King Erik, when reminded of the 6-3 gubbing City handed out in October. “It is the past, it is about the future.”
Pre-Derby Day giddiness has for many years been the preserve of City, but now it’s Little Red’s turn to strike a blow against the evil empire. Now, who can be their Shaun Goater?
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QUOTE OF THE DAY
“You swapped a Ferrari for a Twingo / You swapped a Rolex for a Casio … I was out of your league / which is why you’re with someone just like you” – Shakira unloads on her former partner, Gerard Piqué, in a new YouTube video that has been watched 63 million times in 24 hours.
FOOTBALL DAILY LETTERS
“Thank you for another entertaining read [Thursday’s Football Daily]. I think Billy Whitehurst offering out the whole Crystal Palace team says more about them than Billy. It was a very shrewd assessment. No danger at all” – Andrew Strong.
“Recent letters on advertising hoardings led me to recall a surely misremembered advert for local estate agent from Mansfield’s Field Mill. Imagine my delight to find it’s still there” – Jon Algar.
“The reference to Hughie Gallacher [Thursday’s letters] gives me the chance to send this link to our song about how he’ll be remembered on Tyneside. We know a proper No 9 when we see one!” – Tim Readman.
Send your letters to the.boss@theguardian.com. Today’s winner of our prizeless letter o’ the day is … Jon Algar.
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