Tide turning in Manchester even as United beat City

Manchester United beat City with some comfort at a noisy and belligerent Old Trafford last night but underlying moves in the transfer market signal that this could be a temporary reprieve from a switch in power bases.

The signing of Chris Smalling from Fulham signals the seemingly inevitable departure of Nemanja Vidic. The £12m fee for Smalling quoted in some papers does seem to be too high for a player with almost no first team experience - so it's probably safe to assume that the price mentioned includes wage costs over the course of his contract as well.

But the £12m number is in itself is indicative of a United side with no real money to spend trying to avoid more speculation over how the Glazers now appear to need a net transfer profit each season to balance the books. By allowing speculation that Smalling will cost £12m in June the Glazers may well hope to quell the violent demonstrations against their ownership. They may also possibly try to foist another ticket rise on fans who are already voting with their feet in large numbers judging from the empty seats clearly visible in large parts of Old Trafford for league games.

Last season £80m was raised by selling Cristiano Ronaldo with the Portuguese replaced by the £17m signing of Antonio Valencia. Before these trades United were heading for a £20m - £25m operating loss. If Vidic is sold in June for £30m and Smalling is his replacement it would represent another step down the road to mediocrity and the desperate debt situation will be truly illuminated. Last season United had, arguably, four world class players in Vidic, Ronaldo, Rooney and Evra - as each one is sold off to be replaced by good but-not-great players simply to pay off the owners debts the mood at Old Trafford can only get uglier.

At Old Trafford I reckon the fans would welcome with open arms a new owner prepared to take 'merely' £25m per season out of the club in return for an investment of around £1bn - which would offer a return of 2.5% as well as the prestige usually associated with one of the few truly global spots clubs.

On the other hand, City have the money, their own Peter Kenyon in Garry Cook and a thirst for success that will not be satisfied quickly. And any speculation about players is almost exclusively the other way round. City have a lot of good players - now they want to upgrade them for great players. For City that won't be a quick transition as the rejection by Kaka demonstrated that the very best players want fairly certain success as well as money if they are to come to Eastlands.

City may well have to resort to more "gesture politics" as The Observer put it at the weekend in reporting that Carlos Tevez actually cost £47m to be prized away from United. But City will get where they want to get to, if not with this manager then with the next one - or the one after that.

City's position will improve as each season sees better and better players arrive and the trophies will inevitably follow; there is little doubt what United's trajectory is if their best players are gradually sold off simply to pay off a rich mans paper debts.

*Are the complaints about Glazer overblown or does he deserve more criticisn - is the City ascent inevitable? Let us know!