When it comes to Sir Alex Ferguson and the title run-in, you are guaranteed to find references to 1) "mind games" and 2) "squeaky bum time".
The latter term was first coined by Ferguson as a subtle description of people squirming with nervousness on, presumably plastic, seats as the business end of the season approached.
With eight weeks of the season remaining, even his rival boss Roberto Mancini of Manchester City is using the catchphrase. Following a crucial win against Chelsea, Mancini said it "seemed like squeaky bum time". Fergie was asked if Mancini really knew what it meant, to which he responded: "He will, in the next few weeks!"
As the blue and red halves of Manchester wrestle for the championship over the final eight weeks, Ferguson's years of experience will clash against a manager who is starting to show the strain of a marathon season.
Mancini snubbed the press conference after City's latest match against Stoke (in which Peter Crouch scored a Marco van Basten-esque goal of the season ). What's more, he refused to shake the hand of his opposite manager Tony Pulis. He was apparently "not happy" with the physical Stoke tactics (what did he expect?) and needed time to calm down, with two points dropped.
That sore loser behaviour came days after Ferguson took aim at the Italian. City football development executive Patrick Vieira's suggestion that Paul Scholes' retirement U-turn was brought on by 'desperation' was scoffed at by Fergie, who responded by taking a dig at the recalling of Carlos Tevez.
"If you're talking desperation, they were playing a player the other night who refused to go on the pitch and the manager said he'll never play again. He takes a five-month holiday in Argentina. What is that? Could that come under the description 'desperation?'"
Bringing Tevez back into the fold, with his match-winning ability, makes sense for Mancini. But it is a sad indictment on City and destroys his own integrity after publicly stating Tevez would never wear the club shirt again.
It's a move that could very well win him the league. But if it doesn't, it will go down as a desperate act against principle - the man in charge succumbing to a man that epitomises everything that is wrong about overpaid footballers.
Sir Alex will delight in Roberto's discomfort and reassured us once again that he is ready for the final stanza of the season: "I've got plenty of ammunition, don't worry." United currently have the initiative and three points more than their neighbours, but Mancini needs to keep it together before the two teams meet again on 30 April.
He has led City through an outstanding season, but it's the final weeks that will determine whether he can deliver Blue Mancunians their first title in 44 years. Until the title is decided, we'll be squeaking on the edges of our seats.
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