Sunderland 0 Manchester Utd 1:IT WILL feel like the roughest of justice but it is justice all the same. Manchester United, of all clubs, will appreciate the prizes that can come through persistence and hope. They have lost the Premier League title in the sort of manner that had been known to distinguish them. For the late moments that mattered Manchester City became champions in the fashion of United.
Alex Ferguson’s side did its utmost and cowed a drab Sunderland. Even so the meagre 1-0 outcome betrayed a deficiency. United had no prospect of closing the gap in goal difference that has made City champions but, had they run amok early, there would have been unease if not panic in the encounter with Queens Park Rangers at the Etihad.
United have much to take pride in but the questions will rise again of the sums allowed to the football operation under the ownership of the Glazers. There is no direct link that connects their policies to the outcome of this specific day but City will be all the more encouraged to spend further fortunes on the squad.
Ferguson has never been one to make public demands for funds and his squad has fallen short by a mere fraction. All the same this unhappy afternoon for United cannot be taken in isolation, even if it has followed the period in which an eight-point lead was lost rapidly. With the exception of Chelsea, the Champions League finalists, English clubs have floundered in Europe, with United particularly chastened by a far superior Athletic Bilbao in the Europa League.
The same can be said of City but they have every right to think of themselves as a work in progress, regardless of the means already lavished on them. United, of course, are not helpless and it must be a great source of encouragement that someone such as Wayne Rooney is on the books and utterly committed to the cause, as he was in this meeting with Sunderland.
The disquiet begins to swell only when people tear their gaze away from the domestic front and look back at some inept occasions in Europe. The club has gone to extreme lengths to hang on to old-timers and their know-how. United accommodated Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs in the line-up and it is disturbing that they are counted upon so heavily.
Ferguson could rail against such an interpretation. Titles have slipped away from him before now but it is not so easy to recall a period when there was just one true star at work. Rooney, though, is the sole person who can currently be described in such terms.
Considering that context, United have done well in far exceeding the points total that made them champions a year ago. That testifies to the intelligence of Ferguson but all too much rests with one man. He has proved optimist more than visionary this time. The manager had talked with hope of “the biggest celebration of our lives”. Instead there is disbelief and woe.
Despite the packed stadium there was mostly a subdued tone, as if the crowd and the teams were awaiting developments elsewhere. United’s hopes did not lie in their own hands but it was natural that their intensity should be greater than Sunderland’s.
While City were being held 0-0 at the Etihad, United eased into the lead. Rooney met a cross from Phil Jones and headed in at the far post after 20 minutes for his 27th league goal of the season. The scorer continued to embody the misplaced faith that City would succumb to the pressure.
Sunderland’s Republic of Ireland defender John O’Shea departed with an injury but news of QPR’s initial success against City had the deeper impact, flooding United with energy and hope that ultimately led to misery.
Martin O’Neill’s side strove to recover but United’s intensity climbed with each piece of good news from the Etihad even if desolation was eventually to swamp them.
It is too soon to tell what the consequences of this afternoon will be. We can be certain that City will go to great lengths to make this day the start of an era of domination. United’s response is not so simple to predict.
Guardian Service
