Red Rebels: The New Manchester United

Nobody knew exactly what Ethan and Mourinho had discussed after the meeting.

What everyone did notice was the expression on Mourinho's face when he finally emerged.

The arrogance was back.

So was the confidence.

It had been missing for weeks.

At the next training session, Mourinho began by announcing disciplinary measures for Curtis, Essien and Drogba. All three were fined, with the money to be donated to charity in their names.

Then training began.

Mourinho was as loud as ever.

He stopped drills over the smallest positional error, criticised sloppy passes and barked at players whenever their concentration dropped.

Strangely, the squad seemed to respond to it.

Instead of becoming resentful, the players trained harder.

The sharper Mourinho became, the more intensity they showed.

It was almost as if they had been waiting for him to start shouting at them again.

To anyone who truly understood the squad, the meaning was obvious.

Something New Manchester United had lost over the previous few weeks was beginning to return.

While Mourinho worked on restoring the team's edge, Yaya Touré's transfer moved steadily towards completion.

Manchester City were desperate to strengthen.

Van Gaal's initial report to the board had been brutally clear: almost every line of the team required improvement.

Arnesen had originally hoped to make a spectacular statement in January by signing several established stars, improving the squad while simultaneously increasing Manchester City's profile.

Most of those approaches went nowhere.

Beckham refused.

Ronaldinho was unavailable.

Real Madrid had no interest in selling Juninho Paulista.

Claude Makélélé was equally unrealistic.

The one club Manchester City believed might be vulnerable was Arsenal.

The north London side were under heavy financial pressure because of their new stadium project, and rumours persisted that major players might eventually be sacrificed to protect the club's finances.

Patrick Vieira was the obvious target.

Van Gaal admired him enormously.

City offered £30 million.

For a while, Arsenal appeared tempted.

Vieira's future had been the subject of transfer speculation for years. He had repeatedly been linked with moves abroad and was known to want wages more in line with the very highest earners in Europe.

This time, however, Arsène Wenger intervened.

Two days later, Arsenal publicly announced that their captain would remain.

Vieira also gave an interview insisting that he had no intention of leaving the club.

At least not for the moment.

That phrase was conveniently ignored by most Arsenal supporters.

What happened next season was another matter.

With several ambitious targets rejecting them and the transfer window closing quickly, Manchester City changed strategy.

They paid £20 million to sign Zlatan Ibrahimović from Ajax, beating Juventus to the Swedish striker.

It became the biggest transfer of the January window.

Then they addressed central defence.

Vincent Kompany had attracted interest from Chelsea, Inter Milan, Barcelona and Real Madrid after impressing in Europe with Anderlecht.

Manchester City paid £10 million and won the race.

For goalkeeper, they turned to Newcastle's Shay Given.

The Irishman had been one of the Premier League's most reliable goalkeepers for years, and Newcastle's financial difficulties left them vulnerable.

Manchester City paid heavily and got their man.

In the space of a few weeks, Van Gaal had acquired a striker, a centre-back and a goalkeeper of clear quality.

Manchester City supporters were delighted.

The midfield, however, remained unresolved.

Van Gaal had expected Vieira to arrive.

He did not.

Finding another top-class central midfielder in January was far more difficult.

Eventually, Manchester City narrowed their attention to two players.

Gareth Barry.

Yaya Touré.

Barry offered versatility, experience and the ability to play in several midfield and defensive roles.

Aston Villa, however, had no interest in losing him halfway through the season.

City's offer was not large enough to change their mind.

Negotiations stalled.

That left Yaya.

After Ethan returned to Manchester, Yaya's representatives informed City that New Manchester United were prepared to consider a transfer, provided the price was right.

That final condition mattered.

Arnesen contacted the club.

He found himself negotiating with Mark Davey.

That was unfortunate for Manchester City.

Davey explained that New Manchester United were indeed considering offers for Yaya Touré.

Manchester City, however, were not the only interested club.

Barcelona wanted him too.

Earlier in the season, reports had suggested that Barcelona were monitoring one of New Manchester United's young midfielders. Many people, Ethan included, had assumed they meant Fàbregas.

They had actually been watching Yaya.

With Xavi and Iniesta already available, Barcelona lacked exactly the kind of physical, technically competent midfielder Yaya could become.

Relations between the two clubs were good.

That did not mean New Manchester United were going to give him away cheaply.

Barcelona refused to go beyond £10 million.

Davey wanted £15 million.

Neither side moved.

Then Manchester City entered with an opening bid of £12 million.

Barcelona immediately understood what was coming.

No club in Europe wanted to become trapped in an auction against Abu Dhabi money.

New Manchester United still refused.

£15 million.

That was the price.

Davey's position was simple.

If Barcelona had been the buyer, perhaps there might have been room for compromise.

Manchester City were different.

Everyone knew they had money.

Everyone knew they urgently needed a midfielder.

And everyone knew the transfer window was almost closed.

Why offer them a discount?

Manchester City increased their bid.

Davey said no.

Another increase followed.

Still no.

Two days disappeared in negotiations, and rumours began circulating that the transfer had collapsed completely.

Then came January 29.

New Manchester United travelled to Derby County in the FA Cup.

Despite Ethan's demand for a trophy, Mourinho still rotated heavily, fielding a side containing a mixture of first-team regulars and reserves.

One name was missing entirely.

Yaya Touré.

He had been expected to start.

When he was left out of the squad, most observers reached the obvious conclusion.

The transfer was almost done.

New Manchester United won 3-1.

Soon afterwards, the club announced that Yaya Touré had joined Manchester City for £15 million.

There was another detail.

New Manchester United retained a 10 per cent sell-on clause on any future transfer.

The reaction across Europe was immediate.

£15 million for a player who had not even been a regular starter.

If one of New Manchester United's reserves could command that kind of fee, what exactly were the established first-team stars worth?

Some observers began questioning Manchester City's entire recruitment strategy.

Nobody doubted the quality of the players they had signed.

Ibrahimović was excellent.

Kompany had enormous potential.

Given was proven in the Premier League.

Yaya Touré was one of the most gifted young midfielders in England.

The criticism was about the prices.

Manchester City had arrived in the market announcing both their wealth and their desperation.

That was rarely a good combination.

Every selling club knew City had money.

Every selling club knew Van Gaal wanted reinforcements immediately.

Every agent knew the wages would be attractive.

So everyone raised their demands.

Chelsea's early spending under Abramovich had often been aggressive, but it had still involved careful planning and opportunistic recruitment.

Manchester City seemed much easier to exploit.

The problem was compounded by the fact that not every major player wanted to join them.

Michael Ballack, for example, had been openly considering his future at Bayern Munich but made it clear that Manchester City were not an option.

Money could attract plenty of players.

It could not attract everyone.

Van Gaal's arrival had unquestionably improved the club's sporting credibility, though.

His relationship with Ajax, combined with Arnesen's extensive contacts in Dutch football, was already producing results.

Rumours suggested City had reached an agreement in principle for Rafael van der Vaart and Wesley Sneijder to move from Ajax the following summer.

No fee had been announced.

Nobody expected it to be cheap.

Both were among the most highly rated young players in Europe, and Van Gaal had admired them during his time as Ajax's technical director.

If Manchester City completed both transfers, their midfield would look very different next season.

Arnesen had apparently considered trying to sign Robben too, partly because of the history between them.

That interest disappeared after Robben's serious thigh injury.

Speed was central to the winger's game, and there was no guarantee he would return at exactly the same level.

Arnesen decided not to take the risk.

While Manchester City rebuilt aggressively, New Manchester United's recovery remained slow.

The atmosphere inside Newton Heath had improved.

Training intensity had returned.

The players looked more united.

But form did not return overnight.

The FA Cup win over Derby sent them into the last sixteen, but their next league match brought another difficult assignment.

Birmingham City away.

Steve Bruce's side had always been awkward opponents for Mourinho.

They defended well, remained organised and rarely gave New Manchester United the space they wanted.

The result was another frustrating afternoon.

0-0.

Afterwards, Bruce was highly complimentary.

"New Manchester United are going through a difficult spell, but that doesn't mean they've stopped being a very strong side," he said.

"They defended extremely well today. We never really had a clear opening."

Then he identified the obvious issue.

"What they're missing at the moment is patience."

Bruce had no interest in joining the criticism of Mourinho either.

"I think José has done an outstanding job there. He has been one of the main reasons for their rise, and I don't see any reason to question him now."

He paused.

"They'll come through it."

Three days later, that prediction faced an immediate test.

Chelsea came to Manchester.

Ancelotti had just been named Premier League Manager of the Month for January.

His side had begun the new year in outstanding form, winning repeatedly and opening a significant advantage at the top of the table.

Chelsea now led Arsenal by seven points.

Manchester United were nine points behind.

New Manchester United were eleven points back.

For Mourinho's side, the situation was becoming dangerous.

Liverpool had already beaten Fulham 3-1 earlier in the round.

If New Manchester United dropped points at home, they risked falling out of the Champions League places altogether.

Their recent form had also led to another question.

Could Chelsea end their unbeaten home record?

The league unbeaten run had already died at Charlton after 60 matches.

The home record was much older.

It stretched back beyond the Premier League, beyond the Championship, even into the club's lower-league years.

New Manchester United supporters treated it almost as part of the club's identity.

Before kick-off, banners appeared throughout the stadium.

PROTECT OUR HOME

THIS GROUND DOES NOT FALL

The atmosphere was fierce.

Supporters tried everything they could to unsettle Chelsea.

But the team itself still looked short of confidence.

The players had not become worse footballers.

The problem was rhythm.

Decision-making.

Emotional balance.

Mourinho adjusted constantly from the touchline, but Chelsea were the more composed side.

And when New Manchester United made mistakes, Ancelotti's team punished them.

Twice in the first half.

0-2.

The stadium fell increasingly quiet.

Then came an even more worrying moment.

Late in the half, Beckham collided heavily with Emerson.

The captain stayed down.

After treatment, he tried to continue.

He could not.

By half-time, it was clear that Beckham would not be coming back out.

New Manchester United were two goals down at home.

Their captain was injured.

And their oldest unbeaten record was suddenly under serious threat.

(To be continued.)