An emotional day in Manchester, but did United fail to get their game heads on?

I listened to the Manchester derby on the radio today, and was as surprised by the result as most would have been. Less surprisingly, there's been much talk of the emotional nature of the occasion, which marked the 50th anniversary of the Munich air crash and whether that affected the team today.

It isn't easy to tell without being able to talk to the players whether the players got caught up in the emotion of it all. Ryan Giggs post-match comment didn't shed any light on it either. He stated that it wasn't an excuse. Just because he didn't want to make excuses doesn't mean that it wasn't a factor.

I think there are a number of interesting angles worth exploring.

First, the specific emotional nature of the day (and indeed the week). The ceremony was intended (naturally) to create sympathy for those that died, their families and loved ones. Competitive sport, by definition, isn't associated with sympathy, but mastery. Mastery of skills and of opponents. You can't be in mastery and sympathy states at the same time (Reversal Theory tells us), so perhaps some Manchester United players did get caught up in the emotion of it all, and didn't get back into a competitive mindset.

Second, the players did not prepare as they normally would for a home game. It is quite possible that this, in itself (and not the specific emotional nature of the event) affected their performance.

This, however, was also true for Manchester City.

It might even have had nothing to with the anniversary of the Munich air crash.

Carlos Quieroz, United's Assistant Manager blamed this week's international fixtures. Of course, Manchester City have international players too, though not as many as United.

Then there's Wayne Rooney, or the lack of him. He was suspended today and is obviously important to Manchester United. United have lost four games with season. Rooney missed them all. Despite the formidable talent available, Rooney's presence may lift the performance of those around them - the 'X Factor'.

So it may or may not have been something to do with the commemoration. Whatever it was, Manchester City still had to make the most of their opportunity, and clearly did.

Rob Robson

Sport and Business Psychologist, Warwickshire