Bust up ... Roberto Mancini and David Moyes will resume EPL hostilities this weekend. Source: AFP
As Roberto Mancini snatched the ball from David Moyes and then squared up to the Everton manager, sparking a ruckus that saw both sent from the sideline, there seemed little prospect of Moyes handing City their biggest gift since Sheikh Mansour rolled into town.
But two years on from their 2010 dust-up on the sideline, Moyes did just that when his Everton side staged a remarkable comeback at Old Trafford to draw 4-4 last season. The draw meant City could go ahead of Manchester United if they beat them at the Ethiad- effectively the Barclays Premier League title was now City’s to lose. As history shows City took their chance and became champions.
When City travel to Merseyside this weekend, Everton again have the chance to play a major part in the blue half of Manchester’s title hopes, but this time it will be a little different. Moyes will not be bearing gifts this time round, only the threat of ending City’s fading title hopes will be on offer. The twelve point gap that United hold over City with just 10 games to play means that a loss will be fatal and a win will merely keep their fading hopes of back-to-back Premier League triumphs on life support. The worry for City is that beating Everton is something they have struggled to do.
In Mancini’s four seasons at the club he has beaten Moyes just once in the league and lost five of their seven meetings. Their one victory came at home, with all of Mancini’s trips to Goodison having ended in defeat. For what is largely agreed to be the world’s richest club, their inability to get the better of the rather more modest Everton seems somewhat odd. The key factor appears to be Moyes. The Scot is very much a manager that caters his approach to fit their opponent and with this in mind it seems he has found the key to getting the better of Mancini.
When the two sides played out a 1-1 draw in December, Everton succeeded in turning the match into a battle, denying City time on the ball to pick passes and build pressure.In possession they looked to utilise the power of Manuel Felliani, who terrorised the City defence. Despite Fellaini’s recent drop in form, he is again likely to figure heavily in Moyes’ plans for City. Whilst Felliani will be a concern for Mancini he will be more focused on ensuring the complacency that has derailed their title defence is not again on display. After last season’s success, most predicted City, with their huge financial backing, would go on to dominate the Premier League.
| P | W | D | L | GD | Pts | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Man United | 28 | 23 | 2 | 3 | 37 | 71 |
| 2 | Man City | 28 | 17 | 8 | 3 | 27 | 59 |
| 3 | Tottenham | 29 | 16 | 6 | 7 | 15 | 54 |
| 4 | Chelsea | 28 | 15 | 7 | 6 | 26 | 52 |
| 5 | Arsenal | 28 | 13 | 8 | 7 | 21 | 47 |
| 6 | Liverpool | 29 | 12 | 9 | 8 | 20 | 45 |
| 7 | Everton | 28 | 11 | 12 | 5 | 9 | 45 |
| 8 | West Brom | 29 | 13 | 4 | 12 | 2 | 43 |
| 9 | Swansea | 29 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 4 | 40 |
| 10 | Fulham | 28 | 8 | 9 | 11 | -5 | 33 |
| 11 | Stoke | 29 | 7 | 12 | 10 | -8 | 33 |
| 12 | West Ham | 28 | 9 | 6 | 13 | -9 | 33 |
| 13 | Newcastle | 29 | 9 | 6 | 14 | -10 | 33 |
| 14 | Norwich | 29 | 7 | 12 | 10 | -18 | 33 |
| 15 | Sunderland | 29 | 7 | 9 | 13 | -9 | 30 |
| 16 | Southampton | 29 | 6 | 10 | 13 | -12 | 28 |
| 17 | Aston Villa | 29 | 6 | 9 | 14 | -26 | 27 |
| 18 | Wigan | 28 | 6 | 6 | 16 | -22 | 24 |
| 19 | Reading | 29 | 5 | 8 | 16 | -21 | 23 |
| 20 | QPR | 29 | 4 | 11 | 14 | -21 | 23 |
This has not been the case.
Poor showings like the recent 3-1 defeat to Southampton have become far too common and, unlike last season, United have rarely let them off the hook by slipping up themselves. Mancini, for his part, has tried to rectify the slackness he has indentified but his method of doing so has been questioned by many. Public criticism of his players has become a familiar part of the Italian’s press conferences in the hope of getting a positive response from his players.
“I’m not rude with my players. I say what I think sometimes and if I think it could be good for my players to understand they could play better, they can do more, I say this because I don’t lie,” Mancini responded when questioned on the merit of criticising his players in the media.
Joe Hart and Samir Nasri have been the players most often on the receiving end this season but they are not the first. Even in last season’s title-winning campaign, Mancini seemed eager to orchestrate tension in the squad.
With Mario Balotelli in the team and Carlos Tevez going AWOL he did not have to try hard, but it is obvious that he feels it is part of a successful squad. This rationale appears to be aimed at stopping players from becoming too comfortable, but this season it seems to have burnt his players out rather than sparking them into life.
This is not the sole reason for their difficulties. They have now become the biggest target in the league. At first their wealth made them a target, but then they became successful as well, making them the biggest challenge for any team in the Premier League.
With little to lose and everything to gain, teams have roused themselves for a shot at glory against the champions.
Putting out an extremely motivated side is what Moyes specialises in and perhaps explains why City have struggled so badly against Everton. Unlike their bitter rivals United, City have not yet been able ingrain a mentality that is strong enough to consistently cope with the challenges that face them.
Pablo Zabaleta, the City right back, has conceded as much.
"We are a team [built] over the last four years; it's not really easy for a team to build up the mentality to try to keep winning every year, like top teams around Europe,” Zabaleta said.
"Probably this year we needed to show we wanted to retain the title and it's been very difficult. So we know that we need to do something more, give something more, try to do better, to create that strong mentality that we need."
On Saturday they will face a team, who under Moyes, has developed the mentality City will need if they want to dominate the Premier League into the future. It may not have elevated Everton to the heights City have achieved in recent seasons, but it has consistently made them greater than the sum of their parts.
The same cannot be said for Mancini’s team yet.
Follow me on Twitter @beaubusch
Watch Everton and Manchester City lock horns, LIVE and Exclusive, and in High Definition, at 11.40pm (EDT) on Saturday on Fox Sports 3 and 3HD.
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