Manchester are supposed to be in turmoil but the world around them are dreaming

The likes of which haven’t been seen in more than eight years in Germany and just short of ten years in Italy but for once, it’s happening. It’s seen Juventus struggle with their transition and it’s created possibly the best title race in Europe’s top five leagues with Germany a close second. Not just because Inter Milan and Lazio are all playing wonderful football but because at the helm, it’s three different philosophies. Inter Milan and Antonio Conte are the more defensive darlings with an offensive move every now and then.

It’s that last bit that has changed both the clubs because while both sides have had their issues this season, problems have been the prevalent problem across England. Barring maybe Liverpool, no other team in the English top tier looks like they really want to be here and that will play a part in what history says about this title race. But in Manchester, the problems have been magnified over the years and rightfully so, given the importance both teams place on being ever-present in the media.

It’s a monster. A trophy winning, the record-breaking, goal-scoring monster who will keep the likes of Kevin De Bruyne, Gabriel Jesus, Raheem Sterling, Aymeric Laporte and so many others. That’s a core of players who have won a title, and more importantly, in the absence of any extra burden caused by the Champions League, will win them another title. Move over to the red side of Manchester, and you have a budding project. One that has been excessively been mocked by those on the interweb and maybe a little warranted given the way they’ve gone about the motions since Sir Alex Ferguson.

Who could ever imagine that bringing in a creative midfielder would help a club more goals and even change the way they attack? It’s shocking what the Red Devils have done, and may even be path-breaking but in a way, Fernandes’ arrival has been timed to perfection. If anything, it gives the club and the midfielder six months to adjust to each other before making a decision on how to move forward with Pogba. More importantly, it hands Fernandes a chance to adjust to the league before truly unleashing what he can actually do for the club because after all, it is a budding project.

Manchester City may be the finished product of what Manchester United want to achieve but United have the one thing that City so desperately crave for. An overwhelming presence on the world. Because for a club starved-off success, the Red Devils are still somehow the biggest money-makers in England. No club has earned, season basis, more than Manchester United since they last won a title or rather since Deloitte’s Money League was brought into existence. Chelsea and Manchester City have come close but never managed to outdo what the Red Devils bring to the plate in terms of sheer commercial revenue.

Because to gain the traction that United have managed in the era of finicky/panicky fanbases is a lot harder to do especially since fans demand success on a daily basis. Because in a 24/7 news cycle where social media is king, you’ve got to be at your best nearly every second of every day and doing that is near impossible. Some may even say it’s inhuman to force a football club to do it, let alone a human. Not hitting that level consistently doesn’t or rather shouldn’t condemn a football club and its fans to a deep state of darkness and depression and that especially applies to Manchester.

Both sides clearly have plans in place. They clearly want to do more than just produce half-assed football teams. And more importantly, they’re doing all that not for themselves but for the millions that plan their years, months, weeks and even days around a football club. And for the money.