Carrick Rejects ‘Kings of Manchester’ Label Amid City’s Dominance
Elliot Anderson walked into Manchester with a £116 million price tag and zero interest in keeping the peace.
The midfielder’s summer move from Nottingham Forest to the Etihad came with a shot straight across the city divide. He called Manchester City the “Kings of Manchester” – a line the club’s own website gleefully doubled down on by capitalising ‘king’ and pushing the narrative.
It stung the red half. It was meant to.
For over a decade, the table has backed him up. United have not finished above City in the Premier League since the 2012-13 season, the final chapter of the Sir Alex Ferguson era. Since then, City have turned dominance into routine: seven league titles and a Champions League crown, stacking trophies while United have picked up a far more modest collection.
The gulf in honours is obvious. The derby, less so.
Across the last 20 league meetings, United have still found a way to bloody the nose of their neighbours: seven wins, three draws, and enough awkward afternoons to stop City treating the fixture as a formality.
Now comes Anderson’s first taste of it.
“It’s been one of the biggest derbies in the world. And for as long as I’ve known, City have been the Kings of Manchester,” he said recently, pouring more fuel on a fire that never really goes out.
Maresca Backs His Midfielder – With History
Enzo Maresca, the man tasked with following Pep Guardiola at City, did not flinch when his marquee signing stirred the pot.
“Probably the reason why Elliot said that is because he grew up in the last 15 years,” Maresca explained. “I think Manchester City were unbelievable in what they achieved. So it was normal when Elliot said that... For me the reason Elliot said that is because when he grew up Manchester City was dominant.”
No apology. Just context. From Maresca’s perspective, Anderson is simply a product of the era he watched.
Carrick Draws the Line
Across town, Michael Carrick heard the “Kings of Manchester” line and shut it down instantly.
“I’m definitely not using that phrase, at all, no,” the Manchester United manager replied with a wry smile when asked about the taunt.
He refused the wording, but not the reality.
“I understand it,” he admitted. “We are humble enough and realistic enough to know where we have come from in recent history.”
That recent history includes his own standout moment: a 2-0 win over Guardiola’s City during his permanent tenure. It was a reminder that United can still rise to the occasion, still disrupt the script, still make the blue half uncomfortable.
Carrick, though, is not interested in clinging to one-off victories.
From One-Off Wins to a Long-Term Fight
For the United boss, the real test is whether his team can live at the top, not just visit it.
“It is good, in a way, that expectation has shifted,” he said. “All of a sudden, there are different things asked of us to maybe what was asked of us a few months ago. We are in the Champions League - that in itself shows the steps we have made.”
That Champions League return is only a starting point in his mind.
“Now, it is about the next stage,” Carrick continued. “We need to, and want to be better, and we want to be challenging more. That’s where we're at. It doesn't mean that we can't and we won't. It means we still hope, we believe, and we expect that we can be and we should be, but I understand the bigger picture.”
The bigger picture is brutal: City sitting above them again, five points clear heading into Sunday’s derby. The gap is not unbridgeable. It is, however, a reminder that every dropped point matters when you are chasing a machine that rarely stalls.
A Derby With More Than Bragging Rights
This is not just about local pride. Not this time.
United go into the game knowing a win would do more than quieten Anderson’s words for a week. It would cut the deficit to two points and send a message that Carrick’s side are not just rebuilding quietly in the background while City continue to collect silverware.
Carrick has watched City closely, and he knows the scale of the challenge.
“I thought they were very professional against Porto the other night," he said of their latest European outing. "They are a very good team. We know we have to put in a good performance and do a lot of things right to get a result.”
He is not playing down the task. He is not backing away from it either.
“I think we have built up confidence over a period of time,” he added. “I feel like we are getting better all the time and that helps us. It is a big game, it is an important game, there is a lot riding on it. We are looking forward to it. We have got a short space of time to recover and prepare for it, but we will make the most of it.”
City walk into the derby with the trophies, the recent dominance, and a new midfielder happy to call them kings.
United arrive with a manager who refuses to say the word, but knows exactly what it will take to change the conversation.
