Both Manchester United and Manchester City have lit the Premier League on fire in the start of the 2011/2012 campaign. Both clubs have spent large sums to bring in key players. City have brought in six new players, while Manchester United have spent wisely and brought in three new players.
Manchester City:
Stefan Savic - £ 9M
Samir Nasri - £ 22M
Gael Clichy - £ 7M
Sergio Aguero - £ 38M
Costel Pantillimon - £ 6M
Owen Hargreaves - Free
Total = £ 82M
Most notably they have sold goalkeeper Shay Given, Craig Bellamy, Shaun Wright-Phillips,
Jerome Boateng and Jo for a total of £ 25M. This carries their net spend to £ 57M.
Manchester United:
Phil Jones - £ 17M
David De Gea - £ 18.9M
Ashley Young - £ 17M
Total = £ 52.9 M
Most notably they have sold defender Wes Brown, John O'Shea and Gabriel Obertan for a total of £ 9.5M
United's net spend was £ 43.4M
Last year, Manchester City were criticized for playing too "negative" almost as if they were employing the
Catenaccio system. Thus far, City have had Samir Nasri and David Silva linking up to their strikers with
ease. City have shown creative spark in the final third of the pitch that they lacked the previous
season. Nasri has been very effective, setting up three assists against Tottenham away and one for Sergio
Aguero's hatrick against Wigan. The dependency on Tevez does not seem so evident this season, as both
Aguero and Dzeko have played very important roles for City. With Champions League games coming
up thick and fast for City, it remains to be seen how well they cope throughout the 2011/2012 campaign.
One thing seems to be certain for now, City's new golden-boy - Aguero, is up for the task:
"I hope I can help Manchester City do great things like Diego did with Napoli, I'm coming here to help the team develop and win titles, and if we can do that this year, it will be perfect. But we'll keep on trying to get better and better and I hope to play a big part in that."
Manchester United have spent their money very wisely. Purchasing youth but raw talent in David
De Gea and Phil Jones. While De Gea seems to be the center of criticism in the United side, he
has quietly kept two clean sheets in four league competitions. Coming to England was always going to
be a different environment for the Spaniard, but with more communication it seems he is learning how to
organize his back line. Phil Jones has been magnificent for United, filling in occasionally at right-back
or his traditional centre-back position. Ashley Young has also fit into the squad straight away. Playing
on the left, he gives United natural width and the ability to drift in and play behind Wayne Rooney.
Thus far, United have played fluid, attacking and entertaining football. Tom Cleverley has played his
role in the middle of United's 4-4-2 with Anderson.
Below is how Manchester United have usually lined up:
Rooney usually drops deep to collect the ball and to help out his midfield. At times, he even drifts to
the left while Ashley Young switches to the middle of the park. Both Englishmen have enjoyed a great
start to the season. Rooney has scored eight goals in four league competitions and Young has four assists
and two goals. United have played entertaining football with short passes and quick off the ball
movement. It is evident that the players on the chalkboard best execute this style of play. Whether United
can utilize this style of play with their more senior players remains to be seen. Currently, United have
one of the youngest starting eleven's in England, and with six matches in 18 days coming up, it's
interesting to see how the team will play. Patrice Evra believes the key is to keep level-headed.
"We are making it look easy but nothing is, I have a lot of respect for Manchester City - they have a strong squad. When they beat Tottenham 5-1, we watched the game and we said we had to make sure we played well against Arsenal - and we scored eight. It looks like there is a competition between these two teams but don't forget Chelsea and Liverpool. However, when I see people the first thing they ask is the date of the derby."
