Can Fergie quieten his 'noisy neighbours'?

By Shaun Cronin, Sports Reporter

There was a collective gasp by viewers of the FA Cup draw as the tie of the round came out of the proverbial hat and with all due respect I’m not talking about Middlesbrough and Shrewsbury.

Roberto Mancini and Alex Ferguson must have been scratching their heads as the two Manchester powerhouses came out against each other in just the third tie to be drawn.

This game also represents probably the first time in a generation that the blue half of Manchester come into the derby as favourites, which is a sign of the changing tide in English football.

Reports of yet another bust-up between Ferguson and Wayne Rooney have dominated the build-up to this tie after the star striker was disciplined for an ill advised St. Stephen’s Day night out.

The club and the player have been forced into making statements that all is well in the camp after the Independent in the UK reported that the relationship between manager and player has completely broken down and that Rooney could be sold as early as this transfer window.

“Manchester United and Wayne Rooney have been made aware of the theme of an article in the Independent newspaper,” said a statement from United.

“We have not seen the detail but can assure all United fans that the Manager and the Club are committed to Wayne Rooney and Wayne is committed to the Manager and the Club.

“The player and the Manager have always had and retain the utmost respect for each other and look forward to working together in the coming seasons.

“Any suggestion that Manchester United and Wayne Rooney are to part company is complete nonsense.”

One thing is for certain, after conceding six goals in their last two games United need something to unify the troops and a win at their closest rivals may go a long way to achieving that goal.

Mancini has shown the way to deal with difficult players through the whole Tevez saga by just ignoring the player and using the quality he has available to him.

After a draw at West Brom and a dramatic last-minute defeat at Sunderland the Blues put a rather disappointing Christmas behind them and started the New Year with a bang by thumping Liverpool at Eastlands to leave City sitting pretty on top of the Premier League.

Indeed there is an argument that the Cup has lost some of its former sparkle and needed a heavyweight contest like this to kick-start the competition.

City will be without the Touré brothers, Kolo and Yaya, who are departing for the African Cup of nations. Yaya in particular has been a shining light in the middle of the park for City and was the star of the show scoring the goal that got Man City to the FA Cup final last season with a win over United.

United have been blighted by defensive injuries of late with Nemanja Vidić not likely to kick another ball this season and they will be without Chris Smalling, Jonny Evans and Fabio for the game. This leaves Fergie’s men desperately short of cover with Rio Ferdinand and Phil Jones likely to form a partnership in the centre.

There is no doubt that City have flourished in the midfield area where United have struggled, and with Jones needed in defence, United will miss his physical presence so it will be up to Carrick and Co to step up to the mark, while there has also been talk of Paul Scholes coming out of retirement.

Expect De Jong to come in for Touré as City begin the defence of the trophy they won last year for the first time since 1969, while Joleon Lescott should partner probably the player of the season so far, Vincent Kompany.

This game could go a long way to defining Manchester United’s season as they are already out of the Champions League and trailing in the race for the title. The FA Cup might provide a realistic chance at silverware this term, but on the flip side it could also cause a distraction in the chase for League honours so Fergie’s team selection should tell us where his priorities are this season.

For Mancini he already has a Carling Cup semi-final to look forward to so maybe there isn’t as much pressure on the Italian to pick up a win, but the Etihad Stadium has been a fortress of late and he will not want his neighbours on the red side to change that.

To be honest the way United are playing at the moment and the injuries that they have you can only see a City win on the horizon, but wiser than me have written off United at their peril - as you all know Ferguson has created great teams out of adversity.

Ferguson once described Manchester City as “noisy neighbours”, if that’s the case he must be banging on the wall for them to keep the noise down, but one suspects that the City boom box is just getting warmed up.

Prediction: Manchester City 3 Manchester 1.