United's grief must be respected by silence for sake of the English game

An absurd idea it may be, but officials from the city's clubs might wish tomorrow's match was taking place anywhere but Manchester.

Taking fixtures like this one overseas would rid them of their sense of tribalism and rivalry. Sadly, factors such as these threaten to drag the reputation of this fixture — and indeed English football — to a horrible low at Old Trafford this weekend.

The ex-pats, the corporates and the tourists would not spoil a minute's silence in honour of one of this country's most revered young football teams would they? Of course not. What about Manchester's rank and file? Watch this space — with your fingers over your eyes.

The Barclays Premier League should have seen the danger signs when their computer spat out a game between United and City for the weekend following the 50th anniversary of the Munich disaster.

Just as they do when presenting us with such pre-arranged entities as 'Grand Slam Sunday' — when the country's top four face each other on the same day — the League should have intervened and invited the computer to try again.

Sadly, they did not and instead it has been left to the Manchester clubs to navigate a way through a problem that one official described this week as an 'utter mess'.

Both clubs have done their bit to encourage conciliation. City have been particularly compliant with their neighbours' wishes.

But the bitterness between these two sets of fans is entrenched. As such, the threat of tomorrow's minute's silence being sullied by visiting fans is real and could bring an emotional week in Manchester to a very unsatisfactory end.

At a time when the national team is struggling and half the Premier League is owned by the rest of the world, English football needs a dose of bad news like it needs another amendment to the offside rule. It can only be hoped endless statements by leading figures from United and City have got through.

City manager Sven Goran Eriksson said: 'It doesn't matter what colour you're wearing, whether it be red or blue. This is not really about football, it's about a loss of life and that should be respected above everything else.'

City's publicity machine tried to shift the focus as they paraded new striker Benjani and announced that outstanding young defender Micah Richards has signed a five-and-halfyear contract that will earn him £45,000-a-week.

United, meanwhile, will close the gates five minutes before kick-off in a bid to eradicate the innocent noise from the concourse that contributed to the 'silence' at Wembley on Wednesday being brought to an end after just 26 seconds.

'It's been a big week for the club,' said United boss Sir Alex Ferguson.

'From my point of view, there was some apprehension about whether it would go smoothly.

'But I've been proud of all the staff here this week. It's been fantastic. And I have to say Manchester City have done their utmost to try to make sure that Sunday is a peaceful day. All we want is a good game of football without any disruption.'

What Ferguson really wants is the victory that would take United back above Arsenal before the current leaders face Blackburn at the Emirates Stadium on Monday night.

A good game would be a bonus.

Despite their struggles at City's ground in recent times — they lost 1-0 in August — United have swatted their neighbours aside with ease at Old Trafford and there is no reason to suggest otherwise tomorrow.

United may be missing suspended Wayne Rooney and have an issue over who plays up front — young forward Danny Welbeck is in the squad — but City have more problems, with defender Vedran Corluka and playmaker Elano absent through suspension.

Benjani is expected to play up front and try to put a slightly unconventional start to his City career behind him.

The 29-year-old Zimbabwean almost missed the January 31 deadline and told newspapers in his home country that he never really wanted to leave Portsmouth.

'I kept telling myself that it was a bad dream and that I would wake up and still be a Pompey player,' said Benjani.

'But when I looked at the contract they were offering me I couldn't believe it. I just signed it there and then. It's the best deal in terms of money in my entire career.'

Benjani attempted to repair some of the damage during a faltering press conference.

Hopefully, his contribution on the field will be more impressive tomorrow. But for City and for the reputation of the English game, that is not the most important issue.