[Reprint from Guardian]
Roberto Mancini refused to talk to the media after Manchester City had dropped two points at Stoke, sending the message that he was "not happy and needed time to calm down". City could find themselves three points off the pace in the title race if Manchester United beat Fulham at home on Monday night, and Mancini was incensed by the aggressive approach with which Stoke stymied their more celebrated opponents in a 1-1 draw.
City fell behind to what could turn out to be the goal of the season by Peter Crouch, before equalising with a deflected long-range shot from Yaya Touré. However, it was not the football but the physical approach that angered them. David Silva was left with a bandaged head after Dean Whitehead's use of the forearm, which went unpunished by the referee, Howard Webb, and Stoke's renowned, rugged competitiveness was not to Mancini's taste.
David Platt, who was sent to face the press in his place, said: "It's not a case of Robbie being too angry to talk, but he's not happy at the moment and needs time to calm down."
Tony Pulis confirmed that Mancini had refused to shake his hand after the game, but Platt was careful not to talk himself into the trouble his manager was at pains to avoid. He said: "There's not much point in Robbie not saying it and me coming up and having a go at the referee, is there "
An attitude with the whiff of sour grapes left the impression that Mancini was losing his psychological battle with United, which had been provoked in midweek by Patrick Vieira's assertion that Paul Scholes's comeback smacked of "desperation". Sir Alex Ferguson had countered that Scholes was the best midfield player of the past 20 years, and that it was City's recall of Carlos Tevez that was desperate, after they had said he would never play for the club again. The United manager added that he had "much more ammunition" if it came to a war of words.
Was that threat the real reason Mancini was tight-lipped "It's nothing to do with mind games," Platt said. "Words won't win the league, it's all about points. If we have more points than United at the end of the season, people will perceive that Robbie has won the war."
Pulis strongly denied that there had been anything untoward about his team's powerfully combative play. "I thought it was a good, competitive game," he said. "If Mancini says otherwise, I suppose he's got to do what he's got to do, but if they are complaining about Dean Whitehead, I suggest they have a look at Gareth Barry's foul on Glenn Whelan."
The Stoke manager preferred to dwell on Crouch's performance, which won him the man-of-the-match award and had the fans singing: "Crouchy for England." Pulis said: "His goal was fantastic. He is a gifted young man, and he was the best player on the pitch today."
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