Sunday November 2nd is the first leg of the Manchester Derby and both teams will be looking to roll back the clock. Manchester City doesn’t want to go back too far, certainly not before their purchase by the big spending Sheikh Mansour in 2008. (Though let’s not forget their glory days in the pre WW2 era.) They’d like to go back just a few months, perhaps to last April when they won five straight to capture the Premier League. Since then their form has dipped, particularly in the last two weeks where they have tied CSKA Moscow 2-2 after leading 2-0 in the Champions League, lost to West Ham United 2-1 in the Premier League, and were knocked out of the Capital One Cup (ok who really cares?) by Newcastle United 2-0.
Manchester United would like to go back a little further, but surprisingly only need to go back two years to reach the Sir Alex era. It seems their trip would be longer given the recent turbulence at Old Trafford. Certainly two United stars who have lost their form would like to roll back the clock. Remember when the opposition would fear facing the menacing Wayne Rooney–and Robin van Persie was unstoppable? There is hope for both! Wayne Rooney recently, inexplicably, “menacingly” kicked out at an opponent receiving a straight red card and van Persie netted a stoppage time equalizer against Chelsea. Scoring late equalizers in their last two matches provides more hope the magic is returning to Old Trafford. Tune in Sunday at 8:30 AT ET on NBC Sports Network to see who manages to reset their clock to happier times–and don’t forget to roll your own clock back Saturday night. Just an hour is all you need.
