Teams: Manchester City v Birmingham City
Venue: City of Manchester Stadium
Date: 13 November 2010
Kick Off: 15:00
There’s only 1 City
I remember being away from home on business around 2004, stuck in a hotel in Bristol. City were playing and we were on Sky, so I promptly ended my meetings early that day and made sure I had pole position in front of the big screen in the bar area. Whilst I was sitting there, someone came up to me and asked who was playing, I said “City are Mate” he looked at me quizzically and said “Which One”? I replied “There’s only 1 City mate, Man City”! The other bloke walked off and I didn’t see him again, but it did get me thinking about it as I was in Bristol, which is the only other UK City to have two football league teams who bear the same forename with one having City as a surname. However, it is widely acknowledged across the UK that if you are talking about football and you say “City” then you are indeed talking about my beloved club, therefore our second City neighbours and visitors today, Birmingham, will understand when over forty thousand Mancs are belting the tune “There’s only one City” at them!
Onto the game
After a bore draw in the Derby at the weekend, it seems that City were the happier of the two sides in the aftermath of press hysteria at the lack of invention and excitement from both sides. Here are a few quotes coming out of the eastlands dressing room in the past couple of days:
“If the Premier League finished tomorrow, I am happy. Our target is to get to the Champions League” said Roberto Mancini,
“Goals will come in our next games”. said Vincent Kompany
“It will be a happy moment, I’m sure of that,” he said. “Maybe I’ll hear the cry of ‘shoot!’ and I’ll do exactly that and the ball will go in the back of the net. I’ll think of something special for the fans for my celebration – I’ve had plenty of time to think about it”! said the infamous crowd favourite Nigel de Jong on his long awaited first goal in a City shirt.
City go into this game with a need to step up a gear and keep the pressure on the sides ahead of them. Chelsea are building a lead that cannot be allowed to grow if City are serious about mounting a credible challenge this year. Arsenal and Ragchester Utd are within touching distance and should not be allowed to increase that gap of 2 and 3 points respectively. The chasing pack for a champions league spot are 4 points adrift, but some teams are coming into some form, especially those cheeky chappy rob your house scousers who have picked up 10 points out of a possible 12 in their last 4 league games and would have been in 5th position in the table if it were not for Wigans equaliser on Wednesday night. What a difference a couple of weeks can make eh!! Oh well I am sure we all enjoyed the fun whilst it lasted with Woy and his boys languishing in a relegation dog fight for a quarter of the season.
Todays Opponents
Birmingham are enjoying their second successive season in the premier league, however, they seem to be finding it much harder this season than they did during the last one. Birmingham finished 9th last season but they currently occupy the last safe position outside the drop zone and have not won away from home in the premier league this season, winning only 2 of their 12 league games so far this season. Their current form reads: Last 6: L L W D D L
Alex McLeish will be looking for a reaction from his team after they lost 3-2 to Stoke City in midweek, a result that saw Stoke leapfrog them in the table. Birmingham have some good players and can play some attractive football, however, it seems there is some behind the scenes issues that are causing some disharmony at St Andrews. A recent quote from Birmingham vice-chairman Peter Pannu on Alex McLeish’s new contract will not have helped calm the waters. Pannu was credited as saying that he “would not be prepared to meet the Scot’s apparent requirements because he was ‘no Jose Mourinho” OUCH, now that’s not the ideal way to speak about the person who is responsible for your results week in week out, is it Mr Pannu!
Never felt more like singing the blues
Hopefully, Mancini will go into this game with a very positive outlook and will look to silence the critics in the press, Terraces and Fan Forums by producing some attacking flair. We all know he has the ammunition to do it, however, the cautious softly softly approach has brought on an early winter of discontent at Eastlands with a select few starting to grow impatient. Mancini however, can point to his results over the top sides and say we are doing well and the table doesn’t lie. Even Vincent Kompany has jumped on the defensive bandwagon stating: “We have played maybe the five best teams in the country in Liverpool, Tottenham, Arsenal, United and Chelsea and kept four clean sheets against them.”Those teams usually score for fun but we have done well to contain them. It is a positive thing. Goals will come in our next games”.
Adebayor can consider himself very unlucky to have been benched after his recent run of games saw him score 5 in 3 games, only for Mancini to rest him in favour of Tevez. I would like to see a way of incorporating Adebayor into the line up with Tevez, if not only for the opportunity for the wide men to put in a cross or two. Which is something that doesn’t happen when the 3’ 2” Argentinean is leading the line on his own.
Head-to-head
• Manchester City are unbeaten in their last 10 home games against Birmingham in all competitions, winning nine of those matches.
• Birminghams last top-flight win away to Manchester City was on 18 October 1980.
• There have been six penalties in the last seven meetings between the sides, and four in the last three encounters.
Man City
• City have kept six clean sheets in the Premier League this season, second only to Chelsea (eight).
• City’s tally of 15 league goals is the lowest in the top six. They have netted fewer goals than newly-promoted Blackpool and West Brom.
• We are the only side yet to score a headed Premier League goal this season. Their last top-flight header came from an unlikely source – Shaun Wright-Phillips, yes that’s right!!! Shaun Wright-Phillips nodded in against West Ham on the final day of last season.
• City have collected 21 points from their opening 12 league games, just as they did last season under Mark Hughes. They have scored 15 goals, compared to 23 times last term. However, they have conceded only 10 goals, six fewer than in 2009/10.
Birmingham
• Birmingham have won only three of their last 22 top-flight games.
• They have failed to win their last 11 away league games. Their last victory on the road was 2-1 against Portsmouth on 9 March.
• According to Opta, 57% of Birmingham’s league goals have come from set pieces, the highest figure in the top flight.
• Alex McLeish’s side have drawn four of their five games against sides in the top half of the table this season, losing the other
Key Men
City – Nigel de Jong
He even has his own song and is a firm crowd favourite. I personally cannot wait for him to score that long awaited goal. Is today the day? I doubt it! However, Nigel can safely bet mortgage on being in the starting 11 when fit. His midfield presence gives the team a massive boost and I am positive that the opposition managers try and work a way around keeping NDJ quiet as anyone with an ounce of footballing knowledge will know what a lynchpin he is to the City side.
De Jongs planned celebration
Birmingham – Nikola Zigic
A HUGE presence for Alex McLeish but has a girls name so I expect Kompany to give as good as he gets against the big girl today.
Hello sailor