Louis van Gaal has claimed if his Manchester United side triumph in Sunday’s derby they can win the title. It places extra significance on a game that requires no extra hype. It’s also a ridiculous statement.
Does a win over Manchester City erase the 3-0 defeat by Arsenal from the history books? How can 90 minutes played in October suddenly become a catalyst for a team’s development?
The answer to those two are simple. A victory can’t cover up the weaknesses displayed against Arsenal and one game at this time of year won’t fast-forward a team’s ability. United are still a work-in-progress; quite an expensive work, too.
Van Gaal has already dusted off his excuses in this psychological war of words he’s having with himself. After declaring his team’s intent, placing them in the title frame, he has quickly pointed out the fixture list is against them, highlighting his side have had to travel back from a tough tie with CSKA Moscow.
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It’s true that compared to City they have clocked up the miles this month. During October City only have to leave Manchester once, that’s on Sunday when they take the short journey across to Trafford Borough. But some perspective is needed here. The Manchester United squad won’t be taking the budget Megabus to and from away grounds. At the very worst they miss half a day of training after a comfy first class flight.
One could argue they even get a little bit of extra rest before focusing on the derby. With the obvious excuse in the bag van Gaal is onto to a win-win situation. Should they lose the reason is already out there, his side were fatigued while City have had their feet up all month. If they win it’ll be a valiant effort in the face of such adversity.
Manuel Pellegrini could point out that van Gaal is potentially spreading negativity into his own camp. Saying the players should feel tired is negative reinforcement. But the Chilean is too classy to play silly games and the Dutchman is too crazy to realise he’s a cheap Fergie imposter.
What van Gaal has forgotten (or never knew in the first place) is that derby games are like cup ties. Forget form, forget ability, forget everything. Anything goes. Afterwards one set of fans has the bragging rights but neither team can be judged by normal standards.
Derbies are freak one-off ties that rarely reveal the true standings of the teams involved, unless it’s an occasion like City’s 6-1 victory at Old Trafford.
With the nature of derbies being as they are it will even be difficult to analyse a few outstanding questions surrounding both sides. For City they’ll be no clearer in their understanding of Bony’s ability to lead the line during Aguero’s absence. It may be another high-profile game but a weak performance from him will be masked by the event.
It will also be hard to tell if United have learnt anything from the Arsenal game. They may have bounced back with an impressive 3-0 away win over Everton but, with all respect to The Toffees, they aren’t at the level van Gaal will claim his side are should they win on Sunday.
After the derby, regardless of result, it won’t change a few truths: It’s far too early to write anyone off, including United should they lose and Chelsea who will be back in the top four by May; and the victors will only win bragging rights not inflated title chances.
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