The rain couldn't dampen Sheikh Mansour's mood as he
watched his latest investment double his efforts for City
There were no interviews from Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed
al Nahyan, so we can only guess about what he was thinking, but it
would not be unreasonable to assume that, like so many people at
their first game of football in England, the sense of occasion, all
those different noises, the tribalism, blue versus red, Manchester
versus Liverpool
must have invigorated his senses.
He certainly chose a good night to make his first appearance at
Eastlands since that seminal day, almost two years ago, when he
parted with a few droplets of his oil riches to buy out Thaksin
Shinawatra.
There was a good vibe at Eastlands; a genuine sense that maybe
the most powerful spenders in English football were not getting too
far ahead of themselves to emblazon the words "This is gonna be our
season" (in telltale blue) over Manchester's city centre buses.
James Milner had an excellent debut, Adam Johnson put in maybe
his best performance since joining the club and it could not be
said Carlos Tevez's second-half goals flattered Manchester City. Roberto Mancini's
team played with width and penetration and, once they had sensed
Liverpool's vulnerabilities (of which there were many), they set
about exposing them, not once afflicted by the kind of self-anxiety
we have been accustomed to seeing on this ground.
How much the sheikh knows about football remains unclear, and it
would be a brave man to try to get past the entourage of
bodyguards, with their dark glasses and walkie-talkies, to pose the
question. What he will know for certain now, though, is that the
stories about Manchester's weather are true and that his money has
brought a feeling of positivity to the stadium Stuart Pearce, from
an already distant past, once described as having the acoustics of
a library.
"Manchester Thanks You, Sheikh Mansour" is the banner, written
in English and Arabic, on the opposite side to where the
representative of Abu Dhabi's royal family was sat – handsome, in a
sharp suit, looking every bit the young Al Pacino – in one of the
thermostatically controlled leather seats high in the Colin Bell
stand. There is not a decibel meter inside Eastlands, so it is
difficult to measure the appreciation when he appeared on the giant
screen to offer a polite wave, but it was certainly louder and more
prolonged than the ovation reserved for Milner's introduction – and
that was fairly voluble itself.
Milner began in the role that might have been assigned for Mario
Balotelli had the Italian not been forced out with a knee injury,
playing on his "wrong" side: a right-footed player drifting in from
the left, with the scope to roam. It is an unorthodox but
increasingly fashionable tactic, one that Bayern Munich and Holland
use successfully with Arjen Robben, a left-footed player on the
right.
This role was filled by Adam Johnson and the two wide men were
integral to the periods when City were notably the better side and
it was not long before Milner had demonstrated he is a prolific
creator of chances.
At Aston Villa last season, Milner not only scored seven
times from midfield but played the telling pass for 12 goals. There
is no question he is over-priced, coming in a £26m player-plus-cash
exchange with Stephen Ireland, but these are exceptional
statistics, and there were none of the first-day nerves that might
have been anticipated of a player with a price tag that could weigh
down a less confident player like a bag of cement. Milner was quick
to the ball, hard running, always trying to make himself available,
and when he had possession he generally made good use of it – never
more so than the low, precise cutback for Gareth Barry to expose
Liverpool's brittle defence.
The beauty of this goal was actually one pass before, when Adam
Johnson slipped the ball through Milan Jovanovic's legs, but
Milner's part justified his inclusion ahead of David Silva.
High in the crowd, the sheikh was on his feet, celebrating in
the way that royals do: clapping and smiling, rather than punching
the air and bellowing.
He may not fully comprehend that Liverpool were far more
obliging opponents than usual, and it would be wrong of him to
assume that just because Fernando Torres was so ineffectual it
scarcely matters that the Spaniard could not be coaxed away from
Liverpool.
But, equally, he may not even care. This was a brutal night for
Liverpool but, for the richest man in the ground (and probably
England, on this one occasion), it was the perfect
introduction.
