Neil Humphreys: Man City closing in on a treble that time forgot
Guardiola's men just four games away from historic sweep of domestic trophies
Let's kick off the latest tribute to the most professional English football club in a generation with a staggering example of unprofessionalism - I'd forgotten that Manchester City remain in the running for the treble.
After a derby victory that was so one-sided it was a wonder that the pitch hadn't been tilted towards the Manchester United goal, an interviewer made reference to the treble.
The treble? What treble? Surely, that particular ambition was ruined when City lost to someone in something or the other, because it's hardly been mentioned.
And then the mind backtracked quicker than United's back five, retracing City's steps before arriving at Pep Guardiola's last defeat, against Tottenham Hotspur - in the Champions League.
So the domestic treble is still very much alive and kicking. Four winnable games stand between City and a milestone that has never been achieved previously in the history of English football.
Victories against Burnley, Leicester and Brighton in the league, and then Watford in the FA Cup final will ensure that Guardiola will go where no manager in English football has gone before, not Sir Alex Ferguson or Sir Matt Busby, or Bill Shankly and Bob Paisley, or Arsene Wenger and Bertie Mee or even Jose Mourinho.
And yet, Guardiola's quest has inexplicably become an afterthought, showing the club an astonishing lack of respect as our attention was pulled elsewhere.
Somehow, it's the treble that time forgot as the focus shifted towards Liverpool's indomitable spirit (fair), Manchester United's annual meltdown (predictable) and Guardiola's perennial failure in the Champions League (debatable).
Despite City winning 25 of 27 matches this year, their treble charge seemed to slip from the spotlight, as if they were tiptoeing towards all three trophies in a covert operation.
Anyone old enough to remember United's continental treble in 1999, which obviously included the Champions League rather than the inferior League Cup, will recall the incessant countdown in the media.
Fixtures were chalked off, day-by-day and even minute-by-minute in that historic European final.
Of course, domestic competition was closer and generally less predictable then.
Today, City's billion-dollar men are expected to sweep up silverware like an over-eager metal detector. Winning is a matter of routine.
They have racked up 11 consecutive EPL victories, beating United, Tottenham and Arsenal along the way, as well as knocking six past Chelsea.
INDEFATIGABLE
City's talent pool and bank balance can be considered uneven.
But the indefatigable running of Bernardo Silva, Raheem Sterling, David Silva, Fernandinho and tireless fullbacks Olexandr Zinchenko and Kyle Walker comes from within.
Their commitment is bought not with a chequebook, but with them buying into their club's methodology.
In contrast, United have lavished more than a billion dollars on populist quick-fixes since Ferguson's retirement and still ended up with Fred failing to make a tackle before City scored and Paul Pogba, yet again, unable to wield his influence at a marquee event.
Every box that City have ticked has been left empty at United, leaving one blank space after another, each one an indictment of a fallen club's indecision.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer cannot be blamed for the ineptitude of his predecessors, but his immunity from prosecution will soon end if he continues to lament the good old days of Red Devils running through brick walls.
The more Solskjaer evokes the halcyon years of Roy Keane on the pitch, the more he'll sound like Roy Keane in a TV studio, an archaic traditionalist bursting blood vessels about the current lack of "character".
The truth is Solskjaer doesn't have Guardiola's pedigree, or the Spaniard's track record for establishing a philosophy first and assembling the moving parts later.
Just as United do not have a director of football, a clear strategy for recruitment and an obvious desire to leave the past where it belongs - in the Old Trafford museum along with those treble trinkets and photos.
OBSESSION
Indeed, Solskjaer's obsession with United's Spirit of 99 (along with the subsequent media coverage) sums up all that is wrong with one club, but entirely right with the other.
A treble from 20 years ago has drawn us away from a treble that is potentially happening right now.
While Solskjaer papered over the cracks of the crumbling house that Fergie built, Guardiola assembled a domestic fortress.
Bizarrely, he's on the verge of winning a treble that hardly anyone's talking about.
Not that the City manager particularly cares.
Guardiola is more than happy to let Solskjaer take ownership of the past, knowing that he is only four games away from owning the present.
MAN UNITED:
De Gea, Young, Darmian (Sanchez 83), Smalling, Lindelof, Shaw, Pereira (Lukaku 72), Fred, Pogba, Rashford, Lingard (Martial 83)
MAN CITY:
Ederson, Walker, Kompany, Laporte, Zinchenko, Guendogan (Danilo 89), Fernandinho (Sane 51), D. Silva, B. Silva, Aguero (Jesus 89), Sterling
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