City & Utd Who will finish higher and why?

United will finish top. Why? Three words: Sir Alex Ferguson.

the money argument again... delightful.

1) Utd got successful at exactly the right time. the Premier League Era had just hit, and they plundered markets around the world, allied with success on the pitch, with huge success. and fair play. also, the Edwards family, among others, bankrolled them in the late 80s/early 90s, so they aren't holier than thou there either.

2) for anyone below Utd, Liverpool, Arsenal and maybe Spurs, to really compete...they need huge foreign investment. that's a fact. so i don't bregrudge them any of it. it's annoying, yes, but it's the only way the apple cart will be properly shaken.

it will be short term. City in its current guise won't be around for ever. just like football being a rich man's game to the degree it is, won't be like that forever.

people begrudging City because of their money do make me laugh. i mean, there is no other way they would ever be successful. i think they all realise that. we just have to deal with it and find a way to beat them. that's fine with me.

it makes it all a little bit more interesting.

anyway, an answer to the OP, i predicted at the start of the season that City will win the League, so I'll stick with that. i think Bobby has, by and large, figured out what Rafa only figured out for us when it was too late...that you have to put lesser teams to the sword. i think it will be close though, due to Utd's ability to beat the lesser teams so efficiently, plus, it wouldn't surprise me if they won all their home games for the rest of the season.

As a United supporter I'm not too bothered by the whole money argument. City have a seemingly endless supply of cash, good for them! You can't buy success. Sure you can buy the players, coaches, facilities but at then end of the day they have to play well as a team. The big difference this year is City are playing like a team. Getting Teves out of the team I think is a huge positive. At the moment everyone, with the exception of Tevez, seems to want to be part of the City team. Assuming everyone stays happy and the team continues to play well there is no reason why City couldn't win the league. They have cover for injuries in every position, Mancini seems to have the tactics right this year that is getting the best out of the players he has.

But that could change. I worry about the wages the players are on. The number of quality players in the squad means they can't all play at the same time. Squad rotation is good but if you hit form with a certain lineup you'd be crazy to change it too often. that could mean some top class players sitting on the bench for extended periods of time. Yes they might be getting 200k a week but still they might get unsettled. Jealousy may set in as well for some of the players who aren't earning as much as others. All of this could affect the team

I also worry that such high wages doesn't always earn respect for the club from the player, Tevez being the obvious example of this.

So it's very interesting to see what the long term success of city will be. They will do well this year but will the players stay around for the longterm? Will the cash the manager has availble tempt him to keep buying better and better players or will he build from what he's got?

That's the big question and the main difference between United and City still. United got their money and bought good players (Keane, Cole, Yorke, Cantona, Ronaldo, Rooney, Nani) but at the same time they always had a few homegrown players in the squad who had come up through the ranks and loved the club (Giggs, Scholes, the two Nevilles, Butt, Beckham, Brown, O'Shea, Wellbeck). If City get their youth development working and emulate United then they could well be in it for the long run.

more silly arguments about money.......some of you guys must be married to each other :pac::pac:

Genuinely think this is going to come down to the tie between them. I think we'll gain on City, our run-in is easier. However, I don't think we'll get 4 points on them. As such, I think it'll come down to the game between the two.

Personally, I think the key person to this title challenge is Michael Carrick. If he can perform as he has been doing, the title will be ours.

kryogen wrote: »

United have never had a sugar daddy, never had a rich owner pumping millions/billions into the club.

All you ever have to do is look at how much wages are % of turnover and other financial aspects even now to see that as a business the club is one of, if not the best run in the world.

The club never overstretched itself in terms of the finances.

I wonder do the Liverpool fans who remember the glory years think about them as the years that they bought all the trophies on offer?

Im in danger of going off on one here and I may not get my point across very well if i do.

Simply said. United have used revenue generated to build the club, not had someone come along with a blank cheque.

There is a huge difference between United and the likes of City/Madrid/PSG and to an extent Barcelona

So many things wrong with this its untrue!

I thank god for the sugar daddies who have made the premiership so much more interesting.
You also make it sound like Utd have never spent any money - yet they broke the transfer record quite a few times
They have never got close to the swash buckling domination of europe that Liverpool achieved
They also have benefited from much bigger gate and marketing revenues so its hardly been like a level playing field

I really admire Utd, and theres no doubt they are the modern english template but to say they have done what Arsenal have done is laughable and to even suggest they have never splashed the cash whilst other clubs have looked helplessly on is even more so