Manchester Derby: Carrick Challenges City's Kings Claim
Elliot Anderson walked into Manchester this summer and kicked the hornet’s nest.
His £116 million move from Nottingham Forest to the Etihad came with a statement that hit the red half of the city like a slap: City, he said, are the “Kings of Manchester”. The club’s own website doubled down, splashing the word in capital letters and leaning into the swagger of a team that has spent the last decade and a half rewriting English football’s hierarchy.
The numbers back the bravado. United have not finished above City in the Premier League since Sir Alex Ferguson’s farewell season in 2012-13. In that time, City have stacked up seven league titles and a Champions League, while United’s return looks modest by comparison.
Yet the derby itself has refused to become a procession. Across the last 20 league meetings, United have claimed seven wins and three draws. City have dominated eras and headlines; they have not completely erased the rivalry on the pitch.
Anderson stokes the fire
Into that context walks Anderson, preparing for his first Manchester derby with a quote that will follow him into Sunday.
“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,” the midfielder admitted recently, a line that will be pinned to dressing-room walls across town.
New City head coach Enzo Maresca, the man tasked with succeeding Pep Guardiola, had no interest in cooling things down. He simply pointed to the record.
“Probably the reason why Elliot said that is because he grew up in the last 15 years,” Maresca said. “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.”
For a generation raised on sky-blue title parades, the logic is hard to argue with.
Carrick’s answer: no crowns, just realism
Across the city, Michael Carrick heard the “Kings” jibe and refused to play along.
“I’m definitely not using that phrase, at all, no,” he replied with a wry smile when asked about Anderson’s taunt.
He didn’t bite, but he didn’t hide either. Carrick knows exactly where United stand.
“I understand it,” he admitted. “We are humble enough and realistic enough to know where we have come from in recent history.”
This is not a manager pretending the last decade didn’t happen. His permanent spell in charge already includes a standout 2-0 victory over Guardiola’s City, but he is not clinging to that as proof of a power shift. One-off derby wins don’t move the axis of a city. Sustained challenges do.
For Carrick, the real marker of progress is United’s return to the Champions League.
“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.”
From chasing top four to chasing titles
That, in Carrick’s mind, is only the starting point.
“Now, it is about the next stage,” he 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 on Sunday is blunt. United trail Maresca’s side by five points in the Premier League table. Win, and the gap shrinks and the narrative changes. Lose, and City’s claim to that “Kings” tag only grows louder.
For Carrick, this derby offers more than bragging rights. It is a live test of whether his United can move from hopeful contenders to genuine ones, whether they can hit a City side that has set the standard and stay there across a season.
Respect for City, belief in United
Carrick has no illusions about the scale of the task. He watched City’s midweek European performance and came away impressed.
“I thought they were very professional against Porto the other night,” he said. “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.”
That respect sits alongside a quiet conviction that his own side are on an upward curve.
“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 arrive with the trophies, the recent dominance and a new midfielder happy to crown them “Kings of Manchester”. United arrive without the crown, but with a manager who refuses to concede the throne belongs across town forever.
On Sunday, the Etihad and Old Trafford generations collide. The question is simple: does this derby reinforce the era Anderson grew up in, or mark the first real crack in it?
