Traditional rivalry has little to do with recent trends. Utd vs Scousers, Arsenal vs Spuds, Newcastle vs Sunderland etc all go back several decades ago. In fact Arsenal vs utd is limited to title chase only.

The Genius that is Jose..

@Taz.. We clearly watched different games if you thought Mourinho set up chelsea to defend (pack the bus). His set up was what is called "Higher Pressure Triangle" the three man midfield, Matic and Luiz were to deal with Yaya and Fernadinho and Ramirez was to support both defence and attack whichever way it suited and this worked tremendously. Games are won from the mid-field and one of the reasons Matic was bought is he influnces games (meaning he can pass forward and shoot) and most importantly he is a box to box DM meaning he can sit infront of the back four alone like Claude Makelele used to do, nowadays we see teams employing to DM's. Mikel always passed sideways/backwards hence does not influence the game and Lampard is on his last legs. Willian played the no 10 role because of his energy and strength hence why Oscar was benched.

What was interesting to see (from the vantage position we were at the Etihad) was how quickly thy got into a defensive shape when they lost the ball and Willian was the catalyst to attack. (Meaning retrieve the ball, Pass it to Willian, both Hazard and Ramirez run on the wings and Etoo center (how i wish we had a proper no 9 who can shield the ball) this would have been a different scenario. Mourinho defenitely wants to win the title (though he wont admit it) however the team is been set up for the CL onslaught.

Guess we have run out of superlatives to describe Moyes and the fact of the matter is he is just not cut for the big league, the sooner Man U suits relaise this the better it will be for them.

Wenger has given the word frugality a whole new meaning and i see them there or there about, where they have always been. Will they win the title? I dont think so purely by the size of the squad.

2, 3 years ago this would have seemed an absurd thing to contemplate but the truth is after the cruciate knee ligament damage against Basel the man has not been himself....there was a time his partnership with Rio was unmatched!

So it is surreal that I feel nothing to hear the three musketeers will most likely/definitely be leaving in the summer.

For me my biggest worry is Rooney. No CL football and he'll definitely leave, and Chelsea will definitely be in the mix, hopefully Madrid and PSG will invite a bidding war if/when the time comes - cannot imagine Rooney joining Chelsea

So Rooney, who has like a year left in his contract, is 29, will stay with a Team that isn't playing Champions League? Pls tell me why?

contract negotiations are already underway. wht would he negotiate yet he wants to leave?