BILLY BUNTER

Weblog: The football punter

United are bound to pay the ultimate penalty

DID you see that programme on ITV4 this week, cryptically entitled “Mourinho” which surprisingly enough was a documentary on the Special One.

It looked into his methods and the mind games he adopted, suggesting that somehow his pre-match dark arts helped him along the way to winning numerous titles and here was me thinking he just had top players in his respective stints at Porto, Chelsea, Inter and now with Real Madrid.

However, that’s obviously where I have been going on for all these years. It’s not about the team who can put out the best 11, oh no. It’s all about who has the gift of the gab in the pre-match press conferences and apparently the winner of Sunday’s Manchester derby will be decided by the wise words of messrs Ferguson and Mancini.

And if that’s the case I am going with Manchester City and Mancini on this occasion.

Sir Alex seemed to have lost the plot on Friday when he moaned about the number of penalties City had been awarded this season compared to United.

“If we got that number of penalty kicks there’d be an inquiry in the House of Commons,” reasoned Fergie. “There’d be a protest.” Well you have and there hasn’t.

Meanwhile, Mancini called it right when he said United were favourites to win the title, showing excellent betting knowledge, and so using the logic of Mourinho’s biggest fans I declare City the winner of this battle, scoring the winner from the spot. Obviously.

That, and the fact they are unbeaten at the Etihad in the Premier League in 37 matches and United have conceded 21 goals this season, including three at Reading last time out.