European Financial Crisis hits Manchester

The Champions League group stage has reached it's climax today for another season, and after the dust has settled on a frantic and dramatic Match Day 6, there is an unfamiliar feeling.

The feeling is failure for the two Manchester clubs, who must now exit the swanky nightclub full of fit girls and instead make do with the scabby rejects in the grotty pub next door, AKA the Europa League. This feeling of failure is one that Manchester United have rarely had to contend with over the past 25 years. City will be much more used to it over that time, although their recent domestic dominance and embarrassment does make it a surprise nonetheless.

In a reversal of what is the case in the Premier League, London is lording it up with both Arsenal and Chelsea through as group winners, whilst top of the tree Mancs United and City find themselves coming to terms with the reality of what should be seen as a failed campaign.

Or should it? I would argue that in the case of Manchester City, this is not necessarily a failure. Certainly not a disaster.

The fact is, City finished with a haul of 10 points, a respectable total which would have taken them through in 6 of the other 7 groups. They faced Bayern Munich, a European superpower; Napoli, an effervescent and dangerous Italian club on the rise; and Villarreal who this time around were a shadow of their previously sparkling best, but a qualifier from the Spanish La Liga nonetheless. They could without doubt have been handed an easier draw, and their results, losing away at Bayern and Napoli, were nothing to be ashamed of. Ultimately the home draw with Napoli looks to have cost them, but in a debut season for the club, I would suggest this can be taken as a significant step in the right direction.

Spurs set the world alight last year in their first stab at the big show, qualifying from a tricky group and dispatching both Milan clubs in the process. They did not however repeat their feat, missing out on Europe altogether in fact. Only a lunatic would bet against City finishing in the top four of the Premier League this season, and any season for the foreseeable future, so I think this first campaign is all a part of the process.

Money, in the obscene volumes that it has been spent at City, demands success, which breeds impatience. I'm sure even the most stoic grounded City fans, (memories of League One still haunting their nightmares) even they would have dared to dream about going all the way straight off the bat. This was never likely though and they did not disgrace themselves at all.

Now, to United. Compared to Bayern, Napoli and Villarreal; the opposition consisting of Benfica, Basel and Otelul Galati looked to be an absolute piece of cake.

The record of 3 draws, two wins and only one defeat may on paper look reasonable, but not for a club of United's stature. The wins came against whipping boy supreme, Galati, and even those wins weren't demolitions. Make no mistake, this is an extremely poor outcome for Manchester United, and one which should and could easily have been avoided. Only three times in 17 years have United failed to progress from the group - it remains to be seen what this may mean in terms of a legacy (Ferguson's teams have been written off too many times for anyone to think such a thing is a good idea, they'll be back) but for right now it means the Europa League.

Thursday nights, playing against some lesser lights, with significantly less fanfare and - crucially - revenue. Travelling close to the weekend, having to juggle your squad, faced with an obligation to compete but perhaps a desire to dismiss.

City would look to be the better equipped of the two to make a serious assault on the silver medal (if it's even that). They have a squad without equal across Europe and can easily play a reserve team in this tournament and still put out a better 11 than the majority of the teams they will face. United's first team is suffering from injuries, loss of form and - most damaging of all - a fundamental lack of quality. To compare to the famed midfield of Beckham-Keane-Scholes-Giggs, not to mention some of the terrifying attacking options they have possessed in the past (Kanchelskis-Hughes-Cantona; Yorke-Cole-Sheringham-Solskjaer; Ronaldo-Rooney-Tevez) it becomes sorely apparent that the squad at the moment is nowhere near that level.

Of course, it may be that I'm falling into the classic 'United pre-Christmas' trap, and many times before they have been written off only to come back all guns blazing in the new year and end up on top as so often before. Indeed, the most interesting thing to come out of this shock Champions League exit for England's two currently leading clubs may well be the impact on the domestic title race.

City could arguably afford now to focus on the league and cups, play reserves in the Europa and see what happens there, but do so without the pressure they would face if in the Champions League latter stages. Lose and you can say it's the league you're focussing on, get far and you can add another trophy to the cabinet and market it as part of the 'project'.

Arsenal have proven time and again over recent years that they struggle to compete on multiple fronts when it comes down to it; Chelsea are rebuilding but still shaken from a tricky start. Both of them might find that this progression actually harms their chances of launching a serious threat to the top end of the table.

United seem ill equipped to challenge, but a 3rd round exit from the FA Cup at the hands of the noisy neighbours, and an early Steve Kean style 'forfeiture' of the Europa League, might just allow them to plough it all into the title race. They will surely apply significant pressure in chasing down City - as will on current evidence Tottenham, without any distraction.

Ultimately I'm inclined to see this as far from a disaster for City and indeed it may well be a key step in allowing them to claim their first Premier League title. Whether it's quite a disaster for United is not so clear. Ferguson won't be happy, that's an understatement, but you know he'll be plotting how to get his team back where they belong. Europe, beware...