Manchester derby legacy about so much more than mere managers

In the middle of the wall-to-wall, relentless build-up to Saturday's Manchester derby, I pick up a phone and dial a U.K. number.

The voice at the other end knows quite a bit about the importance of the fixture.

Jon Macken delivers every word of our conversation in a thick, Mancunian brogue. He started out as a young player at Manchester United before dropping to the lower leagues and leaving at 19 to join nearby Preston, having acknowledged he faced an impossible task trying to break into Sir Alex Ferguson's senior side.

He scored frequently at Deepdale over five seasons there and, in 2002, he was signed by Manchester City - then plying their trade in English soccer's second tier.

He cost them $6.6m but within months, Macken had reached the promised land. City were promoted and he had become a Premier League player, finally.

In April 2004, he started for City in their derby clash with United. That day, with various family members dotted around the brand-new Etihad Stadium, he scored in City's memorable 4-1 win.

Chatting to him, the memories remain as vivid as ever. You wonder what the feeling is like for someone born and raised in Manchester to score in a fixture that shapes history.

You start to think of the old VHS tapes in your house and the grainy footage you watched of Denis Law impudently back-heeling the ball to the net in that infamous encounter in 1974.

Law, the United hero for 11 seasons, was released by the club the previous summer. City, the opportunists, picked him up. And that day, he effectively relegated a sorry United side. They were in free-fall anyway and went into the game needing favours from elsewhere to stay up. But when Law scored, he seemed shocked. Like someone had told him a relative had died. His team-mates tried to coax a reaction but there was none. United fans invaded the pitch and it all ended in chaos. Even now, the footage is raw and unapologetic and cinema verite stuff. It's intoxicating to watch. Authentic.        

You think about the Maine Road massacre in 1989, when United shipped five goals in a humiliating defeat. Afterwards, a shaken Ferguson - experiencing a troubled spell at the club at the time - went home, pulled the curtains closed, lay on his bed and buried his head in a pillow.

Former United defender Gary Pallister - then a new signing - was rounded on by United fans as he left the dressing rooms.

"They told me I wasn't fit to wear a United shirt, that I was a disgrace to the club", he said years later.

You think of Andrei Kanchelskis and his hat-trick at Old Trafford in a 5-0 rout for United in November, 1994.

"I will never forget that match", he remarked almost 20 years later.

" I knew just how much it mattered to the fans".

You think of Shaun Goater in 2002, the former United trainee, who scored twice in a 3-1 victory for City at Maine Road.

You think of Gary Neville refusing to shake Peter Schmeichel's hand in the tunnel beforehand after the goalkeeper - a United legend - crossed the divide and signed for City at the start of the season.

You think of Michael Owen's 96th-minute winner in a 4-3 thriller at Old Trafford in 2009.

You think of Paul Scholes' header in 2010 that kept United in the title race and Neville planting a kiss on his lips afterwards.

You think of Mario Balotelli's T-shirt and the way in which he and his teammates tore their local rivals to pieces in 2011.

You think of Robin van Persie's delightful, last-gasp free-kick to win it for United in 2012.

And then there's Marcus Rashford last season to bring it all full circle. In spite of the money and the expensive signings, it was another local lad stepping up and grabbing his opportunity.

The fixture's history is dominated by special moments created by players.

But this time, the rules have changed.

Everything will revolve around the two managers tomorrow. The handshake, the back-and-forth along the touchline, the body language.

Eventually, we'll talk about the tactics, systems, approaches. And somewhere in there, the players may get a mention.

Afterwards, we'll wonder if the pair shared a drink. We'll listen carefully to their post-game comments and try to desperately find the sub-text. We'll find some, don't worry.

It's certainly a different derby on Saturday but whatever happens, history will care little for the frostiness between the two managers. It will care little for what they bring to the fixture. The legacy of this game is always player-driven.

And long may that continue.