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The dust settled, the hangovers were finally a distant memory, but the smiles remained. For Manchester City fans the score line was magnificent, a chance for the fans of the blue side of the city to stick it to their red neighbours and preach their triumph. Nothing could be better than that score line, they thought. Or could it? When it was time for reflection this week it turned out there was. The performance. When they won 6-1 against Manchester United two years ago they had played well, but it was against 10 men with three goals scored very late. This time they didnt play well, they played great. Deep down this is what City fans will keep to themselves, for now: The dawn of a new era where their marquee players stepped up for the new man in charge. Citys 4-1 thumping over rivals Manchester United on Sunday was of significant importance for the fans, but it was even bigger for the clubs new manager. When he was hired, Manuel Pellegrini was simply not a household name in England, despite having a very impressive coaching resume in Europe. Yet, here he was put in charge of one of the biggest clubs in the land where anything other than a Premier League trophy would be a disappointment. Following the game the Chilean was his usual charming self to the press, talking about the performance, but then he slipped in this little nugget mid-sentence: "We must continue improving, trying to play another way, change a lot of things, every day we are improving." It was a phrase lost on the interviewer, who wanted to talk how great City were but it will not have been lost on the men in charge of the club. Contrast Pellegrinis comments to what Jose Mourinho is currently doing at Chelsea. Suddenly, the world knows about Mourinhos desperate desire to change the teams style, because Mourinho continues to tell the press about it. Mourinho talks about how he didnt like how Chelsea played before and how the clubs Player of the Year last season, Juan Mata, must watch and learn to adapt to his style. Whether Mourinho is right or not is not the point at the moment. The point is the general consensus throughout the world is that this is Joses team and when/if Chelsea succeed it will be because of him... A manager who wont play one minute in the Premier League this season. Meanwhile, at Manchester City, Pellegrini is quietly going about his business making changes that will bring the best out of his players and allow what happens on the pitch, not in the media room, to dictate the clubs identity. This is one of the main reasons why Pellegrini was hired, Roberto Mancini was fired and why Mourinho was never considered for the City job by Chief Executive Officer Ferran Soriano and Director of Football Txiki Begiristain. Sorianos intellect and business acumen combined with Begiristains football intelligence makes them a dynamic duo not to be ignored inside the landscape of English football. To understand their beliefs and attitudes it is important to know the roles they played at Barcelona and, in this case, specifically in the recruitment of a new manager. At the end of the 2006-07 season Barcelona - a year after winning the Champions League and La Liga - lost their domestic league on goal-difference to Real Madrid. Their manager Frank Rijkaard could not lose his job just 12 months after conquering Europe, but deep down Barcas Director of Football, Begiristain, knew he wasnt the man to take them forward. In Graham Hunters excellent book Barca: The Making of the Greatest Team in the World, it is revealed that he began to search for the Dutchmans replacement as early as October 2007, despite the change not taking place until the summer of 2008. In a discussion about considering Jose Mourinho for the Barcelona job, Soriano tells Hunter: “The first board discussion about Mourinho was in December 2007. Retaining Rijkaard had proved a mistake.” A mistake the pair have clearly learned from and one that helped prompt the sacking of Mancini and the hiring of Pellegrini. It was also a decision most fans were against and most media thought was premature. The rest of the chapter offers a fascinating look at Mourinhos attempts to persuade Barcelona to hire him including Begiristains reasons for not hiring him. After reading this it is clear why the former Spanish international had grown frustrated with Mancini at City. Hunter wrote: Begiristain couldnt imagine Mourinho understanding the club didnt want or need outbursts in the media two or three times a week. Whats more, the Basque felt that the Barca he was trying to build valued respect for the opponent, honour in defeat, dignity and other fragile concepts more highly than Mourinho did at that time, or perhaps ever would. Now Mancini is certainly no Mourinho when it comes to loving the sound of his own voice and Barcelonas players are certainly no choir boys to opponents or referees when things go against them, but the point is how highly Begiristain values these traits. This is a brilliant football mind who thinks about a club from top to bottom, who thinks a clubs branding should start with its name and badge, followed by its players, not what was happening at City last season and currently with Mourinho at Chelsea. More from Hunter on Begiristain: He was 100% sure, and remains to this day, that Barca would have trained well, played decent, if pragmatic, football and won trophies under Mourinho. However, he was equally sure that these would become pyrrhic victories compared with what Mourinho would cost the socios, the board, Barcelonas international brand and a host of other intangible concepts that the club saw intrinsic. Begiristain feared that Mourinho felt he was more than the club. Manchester City on the field simply didnt meet their standards last season (with no wins in the Champions League, an FA Cup final loss to Wigan and not coming close to contending for the title) but it was off the field that revealed even more concerns, with constant negative stories in the press surrounding the likes of Mancini, Mario Balotelli and Carlos Tevez. City needed a new identity with a strong spine coming via a professional manager who wouldnt become bigger than the club itself. They didnt need Mourinho and his current antics at Chelsea will bring smiles inside the Manchester City boardroom. Just like that, there is a new distraction in town. City can go quietly about their business on the field and thanks to Pellegrini, Begiristain and Soriano, its now the players, evolving under a new regime, who will make the headlines… and thats the way it should be. Join Alastair Connolly and myself live on TSN and TSN2 at 9:30am et as we get you set for Aston Villa vs. Manchester City and Manchester United vs. West Bromwich Albion. Charles Harris Jersey . Others describe it as taking the parrot for a walk. Jason Sanders Jersey . It was just business as usual for the Thunder at home. Durant scored 32 points and the Thunder beat the Bulls 107-95 on Thursday night for their eighth straight win. http://www.officialmiamidolphinsfootball.com/authentic-stephone-anthony-jersey-womens . But back-up Peter Budaj has put up two wins and an overtime loss while starting three games in four nights since Price went down with a suspected groin injury. Daniel Kilgore Jersey .com) - Rajon Rondo turned in a game-high 21 points to go with eight rebounds and seven assists as Dallas claimed a 102-98 win over the Lakers on Friday. T.J. McDonald Jersey . Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema scored two goals each Wednesday night in a 6-1 rout of Schalke in the first leg of their second-round matchup. "We played a very, very good match," Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said. "We got well into the match, scored two early goals and that opened the game and left us able to counter and to use the speed of our players.Manchester United slumped to a third consecutive loss for the first time in nearly 13 years when Sunderland added to manager David Moyes troubles by winning the first leg of their League Cup semifinal 2-1 on Tuesday. The setback against the Premier Leagues last-place team completed a hat trick of 2-1 losses at the start of 2014 for Moyes, in his first season as Alex Fergusons successor. United, which won the Premier League by 11 points last season before Ferguson retired, trails leader Arsenal by 11 points after losing to Tottenham on New Years Day. And the FA Cup quest ended at the first hurdle on Sunday when Swansea won their third round meeting at Old Trafford. "(The fans) know we are going through a difficult time," Moyes said. "They have probably never seen it as bad as this for a long time. But I am determined to put it right, Im sure we will." The Red Devils can still reach the League Cup final at Wembley if they overturn the deficit at Old Trafford on Jan 22. Sunderlands victory was secured from the penalty spot in the 65th minute by Fabio Borini after United midfielder Tom Cleverley tripped Adam Johnson. Sunderland took the lead when 40-year-old United veteran Ryan Giggs inadvertently bundled the ball into his own net just before halftime when under pressure from Phil Bardsley. Nemanja Vidic headed United level seven minutes into the second half before -- according to Moyes -- United was thwarted by a poor decision by referee Andre Marriner in awarding the penalty. "I feel we are having to play the opposition and the officials at this moment in time," Moyes said on Uniteds in-house television station. "Maybe Ive got to understand thats what happens at Man United. But if we do, we certainly arent getting much in our favour at this moment in time." The outlook isnt completely bleak for the Scot, with his team still in the Champions League and facing Olympiakos in the round of 16 next month. The 72-yearr-old Ferguson continues to loom large over his successor, watching at the Stadium of Light in his role as a United director on another miserable night for the club he managed for more than 26 trophy-laden years.dddddddddddd With Robin van Persie and Wayne Rooney injured, Moyes was relying on Danny Welbeck for goals. However, the striker was shackled by a defence including former United defenders Wes Brown and John OShea. "If we can get them (Van Persie and Rooney) back for the second leg that would be great," Moyes said. United was the first team to have the ball in the net, but Adnan Januzajs effort was ruled out on the ground where he scored twice on his debut in October because Giggs was adjudged to be in an offside position. Sunderland sprang into life as the first half was ending, with Bardsley driving a low shot at United goalkeeper David de Gea before the hosts went in front. Seb Larsson whipped in a free kick that was met at the far post by Brown, who squared the ball across the goalmouth before Giggs turned it into his own net. Having dominated before the break, it seemed United would stage a comeback when it equalized early in the second half. Vidic soared above former teammates OShea and Brown to head home Cleverleys corner. But shortly after De Gea blocked Larssons sliced strike, the United goalkeeper found Borinis spotkick unstoppable as it went high into the net. The players, like Moyes, blamed the referee. "Its getting laughable now the decisions arent quite going for us," Giggs said. For Sunderland, the focus is now on topflight survival with the northeast England club four points from safety. "Whatever it is we need to bring it into the league very quickly," said OShea, the Sunderland captain. "The players know we have plenty of quality, its just making sure we use it at the right times." The first leg of the other semifinal between Manchester City and West Ham is on Wednesday. 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