It’s been nine years since Manchester United finished above their local rivals. Nine years of relentless blue success, with Manchester City winning the title five times employing a style that is as dominant as it is pleasing on the eye. Nine seasons in which they’ve set the record points total twice, the record goals total, the record for away wins and equalled the record for home wins. Nine years averaging a points total of 85.2 while United have averaged 68.2 – a 17 point gap. Or, put another way, 9 years since Sir Alex Ferguson retired.

Brian Clough once remarked that ‘good managers make good teams…there’s no such thing as a side making a manager’ and the contrasting fortunes of the two clubs since Ferguson’s retirement confirms this. United have appointed every possible variation of manager you could think of in their pursuit to replace Sir Alex, with Solskjær representing the 5^th iteration. City have had just two; Manuel Pellegrini and, the real cause of City’s dominance, Pep Guardiola.

The last time the two clubs finished on a similar footing – the 2015/16 season with an equal points total of 66 (City ahead on goal-difference) – Manchester City achieved their long-term ambition of bringing Guardiola to the club, at the expense of Pellegrini. Pep represents the gold standard of managerial appointment, having won everything it is possible to win while developing a distinctive philosophy that has influenced an entire generation of new managers. It was a plan years in the making.

In 2008 City appointed Ferran Soriano as CEO and Txiki Begiristain as Director of Football, having poached them both from Barcelona’s hierarchy. Guardiola has always felt a deep sense of gratitude to Begiristain for giving him his initial opportunity as Barcelona manager and it was this relationship that proved key to Pep’s relocation to Manchester. The two men immediately began the enormous process in 2008 to transform City from an English afterthought to a European heavyweight. Their efforts have helped produce a club described by insiders as ‘the model’ to aspire to – ‘the best in the business in everything they do.’ But success did not come quick, nor did it come in the overwhelming manner it has since the summer of 2016.

Hidden within that statistical breakdown of City’s nine year success are two separate equations – ‘Pre-Guardiola’ and ‘Post-Guardiola’. Pre-Guardiola City average 77 points a season, Post-Guardiola average 89.3. In simpler terms, the difference between Manchester City under Pellegrini and Guardiola is close to the difference between Manchester City and Manchester United over the past 9 seasons.

The quality, and depth, of player available to Pep is unmatched by his peers. While City have spent big to achieve this (as you would expect from a club that is an extension of a Petrostate), United have spent similar amounts in the same period. But the money has been spent smarter and with a clearer intention at City. A singular philosophy of football guides the business; a philosophy developed in Catalonia. At United competing business interests guide the football decisions; capitalist interests developed in America.

Manchester City have constructed a perfectly designed racing car. They’ve developed and installed a powerful engine capable of generating speeds unmatched by their competitors. But, in Pep, they found a driver who has the skillset to maximise the potential of this well-oiled machine, in a way Pellegrini could not. The result is a dominance the Premier League hasn’t experienced since Ferguson.

Now, as nauseating as that was to read from a red perspective, the positive is that Manchester United finally have someone at the wheel who can match Pep’s philosophy. They have the resources to compete, but now they also have the driver.  ‘Very thorough’, ‘unbelieve attention to detail’, ‘obsessed’, ‘uncompromising’ are all quotes that could apply to the Spanish manager but instead concern his Dutch counterpart, Erik Ten Hag – United’s sixth attempt to replace Ferguson. The newly appointed manager possesses a clear style of play, commensurate with the highest echelon of football, and the skillset to apply it. He is a manager about to enter his peak who is experienced yet in touch with modern football. He favours attractive attacking football and likes to promote youth. In simpler terms, Ten Hag lacks the critical failings of his United predecessors. He may be described as a disciple of Pep but this mainly rings true as both are disciples of Cruyff. Ultimately the origin of their styles is irrelevant.

The pertinent fact is that Ten Hag is a man with a plan. A plan which is tested at the highest level. A plan from which he will neither waiver nor cower. And a plan that he seemingly knows how to execute, in spite of a Manchester United squad ill-suited to it. United’s strongest performers this season have been Ten Hag’s signings – Martinez, Malacia, and Eriksen – with Varane representing the best player from the pre-existing selection. The Dutchman has made brave calls to drop Maguire, Shaw, and, in particular, Ronaldo. Yet they are choices that have paid off handsomely.

United started the season abysmally and it appeared the nine year malaise had claimed its next managerial victim. Dreadful defeats to Brighton and Brentford gave United fans PTSD flashbacks to last season, with the usual suspects on the pitch at fault. Ten Hag immediately dropped those big names from his starting XI and the team has not looked back since. If ‘Pre-Guardiola’ and ‘Post-Guardiola’ City were different entities, ‘Pre-Drop’ United and ‘Post-Drop’ United are a similar phenomenon. United lost both games ‘Pre-Drop’, conceding six and scoring just one. ‘Post-Drop’ United have won four out of four, scoring seven and conceding just two, putting Arsenal and Liverpool to the sword in the process. If Ten Hag can maintain this ‘Post-Drop’ form for the remainder of the season Guardiola’s dominance may soon be challenged.

Darragh Fox