Fergie Funk & Mancini's Moves.

Once again, the sports media is being dominated by politics. Whether it be the maximum whip rule in the world of Horse Racing, the cheating allegations revolving around Wales head coach Warren Gatland in Rugby Union, or the perhaps most documented headline at the moment; the Carlos Tevez affair at Manchester City.

 Like most people, im pretty sick of this side of sport. It has no place, apart from in the House of Commons on BBC News in the daytime, and lets be honest, people get sick of that too. So, I thought I would combine two stories that have also dominated the news this week, but for all the right reasons. 

First up, and away from Sport: the revival of the massively popular 80's/90's music group, The Stone Roses. This news is massive for the music industry, but I'll steer away from getting all sentimental and teary eyed, this is a sports blog after all. Secondly, the big game this weekend. The inter city rivalry coming to a head. The Premier Leagues top two teams; Manchester United against Manchester City. Music and Sport are two massively influential cultural factors in England, but no where is more relevant to this fact than the city of Manchester. Rooney, Cantona, Ronaldo, Schmeichel, Lee... the list goes on of footballing legends who have graced the city. Just as impressive, are the musical talents to emerge from the Lancashire city: Oasis, The Stone Roses, Beady Eye, Ian Brown, etc, etc.

So, to celebrate the amazing talents to have receded from Manchester, and the rise of the city in the year of 2011, I've put together a light hearted piece on how football and music can potentially overlap. In other words, I've sifted through team sheets and music collections in order to dedicate certain songs from musical Mancunian giants to numerous players in the City's two figurehead football teams. This is going to be quite something...

Wayne Rooney

Oasis- Don't Look Back In Anger

After the shambles surrounding Rooney's controversial transfer request this time last year, all is once again well in the Wayne camp. Having rediscovered his form towards the latter stages of last year after being persuaded to stick around in a red shirt, the former Evertonian is peaking again at his very best, having taken 11 goals so far in 11 starts in all competitions so far this season. This gives him not only a 1.0 goal per match ratio, but a valid motive to in the words of Noel and Liam Gallagher,to  'not look back in anger' at his largely torrid 2010/11 campaign. Fitting, don't you think?

Nigel De Jong

Ian Brown- F.E.A.R

Lets not beat about the bush on this one: Nigel De Jong is a tank. Not many players would feel arriving at a fifty against such a player, with his ruthless 'no nonsense' reputation sometimes getting out of hand in previous seasons; for example De Jong's leg breaking tackle which he inflicted on Newcastle player Hatem Ben Arfa during last seasons Man City vs Newcastle United fixture. Personally, I dislike De Jong. I see him as nothing more than a clumsy sizeable defensive midfielder who contributes little to the team other than a real sense of fear. This then links directly to Ian Browns flagship solo song, 'F.E.A.R', which actually stands for 'Fantastic expectations amazing revalations'. I guess these words are fitting not only yo De Jong as an individual, but to the whole Manchester City set up with regards to Carlos Tevez being the key link to the 'amazing revalations' part.

Carlos Tevez

Oasis-Some Might Say

Some might say that Tevez is a self centred, money mad, selfish indulgent individual who cares for little other than his own sensitive happiness. Some might say however, that this isn't the case. That it's much less transparent than that with the reasoning behind Carlos' questionable behaviour being home sickness caused by the thousands of miles that lie between him and his family in Argentina. Personally? I think it's a bit of both. For sure, Tevez has gone about it in completely the wrong manner, and I don't for one second believe that his squirming slippery adviser Kia Joorabchian uttered a word of truth when exclaiming that there was a 'misunderstanding' and a 'language barrier issue' during the Bayern Munich vs Manchester City  fixture earlier this season where Tevez apparently refused to come on as a substitute. On the other hand, Manchester City were tight with regards to selling the Argentine in the Transfer window. They were prepared to sell Tevez, that there is no doubt, but for no less than £40 million pounds to a team outside the Premier League, and a petty £50 million to a team within the English game. More co-operation and gentlemanly actions from both parties could have prevented the eventual hatred towards Tevez from now both Manchester teams, and the different interpretations of the Tevez saga that 'some might say'.

Dimitar Berbatov

Oasis: The Importance Of Being Idle

Dimitar Berbatov is fast becoming the forgotten man at Manchester United. After signing for the Manc giants  over three years ago now, his impact has fell well short of what fans, management and onlookers worldwide were expecting. The main reasoning given by these categories of individuals for his lack of 'umphhh' is precisely that: his lack of on pitch 'umphhh'. Berbatov is one of those forwards who is amazing to watch and behold only when the ball is at his feet. He is a far cry from fellow Premier League strikers such as Fernando Torres and Luis Suarez for example, who's rate of passing and movement in the final third of the pitch is at times outstanding. 'Berba' stand in stark contrast as a player to these two; in fact I wouldn't be surprised if during Sunday's Manchester derby, Ray Winstone doesn't pop up at half time with his now infamous betting stats promoting the odds on 'Berbatov to make an off the ball run'. They'd probably literally stand at 1000/1. It would appear to an educated onlooker then, that Dimitar Berbatov believes in one particular aspect of play: 'the importance of being idle'.

Owen Hargreaves
The Stone Roses: I Wanna Be Adored

After a huge injury lay off courtesy of a crucial knee ligament injury, a dysfunctional international career, and a handful years lurking in the shadows of Manchester United's team ranks, Hargreaves arrived in the Blue half of Manchester over the Summer as a man with a lot to regain and prove. Whether it be his reputation, quality, fitness, or mearly just to prove in front of the fans that his talents in front of a camera expand further than those displayed in his strangely desperate 'fitness proving' videos he posted on You Tube over the summer. One thing for certain, is that Hargreaves has been nothing but unlucky, ever since he moved back to his homeland after a successful number of years playing for German giants Bayern Munich. After years of being injury prone, his release from Manchester United at the end of last season came as little surprise to many, who sincerely believed the players career was over.It wasn't though; Hargreaves joined his former teams inter city rivals over the summer in a surprise move, before going on to criticise the medical staff back at Old Trafford, and score a cracking goal in first appearance for Mancini's squad in the 2-0 win over Birmingham last month. This is significant for two reasons: first and foremost, he has clearly begun to show he is more than up to playing in the World's premier footballing division. Secondly, his scathing attack on the Old Trafford medical team seems a little unrealistic regarding that United are quite possibly the largest football team in the world. Does this mean then that he is trying to promote his allegiance with the Blue army over the Red army? Is he trying to cement his role as a full fledged member of Manchester City? Is he metaphorically screaming out the the Ethiads Stadium: 'I Wanna Be Adored'? Personally, I think that's exactly the case.

David Silva
Oasis: Masterplan

Since the 2011/12 season commenced in laste August, there have been many stand out players within the leagues boundries; Ashley Young's great start to life at Manchester United, Van Persie's conventional electric form, Torres' regained spark, Gareth Bales return from injury... the list really does go on. However, from a personal point of view, the stand out player from the Premier League has been unquestionably David Silva. Last season, Mancini's midfield mystro displayed flashes of brilliance as a play maker, occasionally being unrivalled in his presentation of attacking opportunities. This season thus far, the flashes have gone. So to has the occasional sense of untouchability (is that even a word?); They've been replaced by an air of consistency and touch of magic that has resultingly made him my stand out player so far. His unprecedented magic ability to create personal chances on goal from scratch, and supply crosses & passes to anyone on the pitch with perfect distribution have since made him the perfect central player at the heart of the Manchester City squad. You get the feeling when witnessing Silva this season, that no matter where he is, whether he has the ball or not, whether even his team is in possession or not, that he is constantly orchestrating mental sketches of footballing master plans as an immensely talented and skilled individual, and as a invaluable team player.

Mario Balotelli
The Stone Roses: Fools Gold

Balotelli, in a non-homosexual manner, is a bit of a guilty pleasure. I know I should despise his arrogance, and I know his complete lack of care as an individual should make me boil with anger. But in all honesty, it really doesn't! I guess it's the 'lad' nature to him that obstructs my view on the player, I mean at the end of the day, I am a teenage guy who's idea of a perfect weekend is match day, heavy night out, lie-in, and televised football on Sunday afternoons whilst trying to piece together the events of the night previous over social networking sites. This I imagine is similar to how Mario idolises his weekends to be, with the key difference being that he is pure gold as a footballer and i'm... well i'm not. 'Fools Gold' is the perfect description for Balotelli; yes he did try to do a 360 back heel into the net against LA Galaxy in Pre-Season, and yes he does have very public strops both in play and when leaving the field of the play, much like a moody teenager. But the simple facts are this: the Italian is gold. With elder statesmen Roberto Mancini seemingly placing a guiding arm around his shoulder, and being currently blessed with the statistic of scoring 4 in 4 games, Balotelli is beginning to well and truly confirm his talent and right to play for the Premier League contenders. Referring back to the featured song by The Stone Roses, until someone releases an anthem titled 'Italian wonder kid' , 'Fools Gold' is the perfect song to sum up Mario Balotelli.

So there we have it. My interpretation of how the music and sports scenes in Manchester can cross paths and directly relate to one another. Admittedly, I had thought and considered more links between more Manchester based bands and players, but without seriously clutching at straws, I felt they'd be pretty unfounded and shallow!

Feel free to leave comments below.