Fergie and Co win the battle but they haven’t won the war

The Carling Cup hasn’t really ever meant much in terms of being one of the big prizes. In all its various guises as the League Cup, Milk Cup, Littlewoods Cup, etc, most people would be hard pushed to remember previous winners. In the past, the FA Cup was a prestigious trophy but this one has never quite made it. Until now that is.

Importance

It seems as though the semi-final between Manchester United and Manchester City has single-handedly ignited this competition to become one of a great deal more importance than it has ever been before.

With Sir Alex Ferguson talking about their victory on Wednesday evening ranking alongside previous great nights at Old Trafford in games against Barcelona and Juventus, one could be forgiven for asking why most Premier League teams and even Championship teams for that matter, only play a mixture of youth team and reserve players in this competition.

Quiet

Of course, this game had a lot more at stake than just a Carling Cup final appearance. It was a local derby for a start, and those are never ‘friendly’ games. Secondly, it was a local derby that has not been important for many years but has now become so again. City are trying to take over from their local rivals as England’s top team. They are not being quiet about it either!

Sir Alex Ferguson has clearly been annoyed by the talk of City dominating the world of football’s future and he was determined to ‘slap down’ a club he sees as being nothing more than ‘noisy neighbours’.

Priority

That would appear to be the reason that for Fergie the Carling Cup has suddenly become a priority, or could it be that they are out of the FA Cup and Sir Alex isn’t too confident about United’s chances in the Premier League or Europe?

I would imagine that this week’s victory over City will have given Sir Alex more pleasure than a possible win in the final over Aston Villa would do. Fergie hasn’t suddenly become a fan of the Carling Cup, he just wanted to stop City from winning anything and to show them that United are still the dominant force.

Joy

The question is, did United manage to do just that? The answer is a mixture of yes and no. Of course, United won and sent City out so the end result was exactly what United wanted. The fact that the win was achieved through a late injury time goal may have even added something to the joy of the win.

United showed that they still possess class and in the second half their wave after wave of attacking threatened to overwhelm City. With Fletcher, Carrick and Scholes pulling the strings, Rooney playing like we all hope he will in the world cup and even Nani looking like a half decent player, they did in some ways show City who is the boss.

Trouble

On the other hand, City were not overwhelmed and in Carlos Tevez they had a player who matched Rooney stride for stride. They defended well and they broke quickly. United always looked in trouble against Bellamy and Tevez and City will feel a little unfortunate that they didn’t at least take the game to extra-time.

There is no doubt that City are a work in progress at the moment and in Roberto Mancini they have a manager who desires and demands success. They have the money to buy whoever they want and unless the money men pull out, it seems inevitable that they will become a major European force.

United won this particular battle and have probably quietened their neighbours for the time being, but Sir Alex and the rest know that this is not the end, it is just the beginning.