Northern Parallels

Manchester gave us a combined 13 goals this weekend. In their game against Tottenham, Man City brought the pain in a 5-1 drubbing that left Spurs manager Harry Redknapp fuming, both at the result and the fact that he cannot call on his talisman Luka Modric as his transfer saga drags on.

Not to be outdone by their noisy neighbors, Man United dished out a little hurt of their own against an already demoralized Arsenal side, putting them to the sword by a scoreline of 8-2. Ouch indeed.

Seems the northern city of Manchester will be the one to deliver us this year's Premier League champion. The goals are there, the defenses are watertight, and the talent was most surely on display this weekend.

North London, on the other hand, seems to be heading towards a long retreat into the shadows. Gone are Arsenal's Invincibles of 2004. Even Tottenham's recent foray into the Champions League threatens to be just another minor blip on an otherwise maddeningly talented but underachieving squad. It would appear the North London clubs have gone from promising and exciting to feeder clubs for Europe's largest teams.