Ferguson labels City ‘arrogant’

European giants Manchester United’s manager Sir Alex Ferguson has branded their cross city rivals Manchester City as “arrogant” over a controversial poster campaign, following the signing of former United forward Carlos Tevez.

City had erected a giant poster at the bottom of one of Manchester’s busiest shopping areas, Deansgate, which declared in a pompous manner “Carlos Tevez, welcome to Manchester”, after the signing of Argentina international.

The poster which emphasizes the fact that City are based in the city of Manchester, whereas United are in the neighbouring borough of Trafford, something Blues fans have pointed out regularly down the years as they laid claim to the title of Manchester’s only club.

However, to make matters worse, a spoof e-mail was also found doing the rounds, in which Michael Owen, complete with crutches, is pictured under the headline “Welcome to Stretford”, as a wind-up at the injury-blighted forward joining United in a surprise move this summer.

But with City going on a massive spending spree for their ambitious ‘project’ to gatecrash into the top four, the blue half of the city, often downtrodden by United’s continued success, can sense a shift in power.

And now their United counterparts have stirred up a reaction in a fierce debate over Manchester’s best with United coach Ferguson also treading into troubled waters.

“It is like one of those war adverts – Your Country Needs You,” he said.

“Arrogance comes in lots of different ways. I think it is daft.”

While no-one has owned up to putting the Tevez poster up, but down the years club City have expressed similar sentiments on official merchandise in the past.

‘This is our City’, ‘Greater Manchester’ and ‘Pure Manchester’ were all the brainchild of advertising agency Grey London and depict City’s pride in their roots compared to United, who Blues fans would argue have lost their soul in the drive to increase profits.

But Ferguson is not interested in the subtleties.

His view is quite straightforward. A jealous club, eager to make a cheap point having spent more years than they care to remember playing second fiddle to their hugely successful neighbor.

A situation, according to Ferguson, that has been in existence since he first came south from Aberdeen in 1986.

“They were having a go at Manchester United,” he said.

“They have had a problem ever since I came down here. Manchester United.

“You have to understand, when they get their moment to grasp for and to seize for, they are going to take it.”