Saturday 25th Sept
KO 12:45pm
It is testament to the nature of Manchester City that this fixture, our toughest game of the season so far and one in which we face the real possibility of a sound beating, is against the side which the club gained such joy from last term. Both games last season were classics in their own ways; the win at Eastlands in as electric an atmosphere as the stadium has yet hosted was the last high of the Hughes era, whilst the return fixture, with everything that came with it in the build up still stands as the best result of Mancini’s reign.
John Terry: Twat
The parallels between the two clubs are myriad, from the suave latin managers, the huge oil-funded investments down to the parvenu status afforded to us by a hostile media. Chelsea, with the success that Mourinho and now Ancelotti have achieved, largely shed their “new money” moniker and are rightly regarded as one of the current powerhouses of European football. In this respect they have shown City the way forward.
The pre-match press conferences were somewhat of a love-in between the two former Azzuri teammates, with both trying to outdo the other in lavishing praise upon the opposing team. According to Mancio, the rest of the prem may as well pack it in and head down the pub as Chelsea have already got the league sewn up. Not so, purrs Mr Ancelotti, all silver-tongued charm – City are well in with a shout and Tevez is some kind of striker/soldier/psychopath combo, just itching to drink the blood of fallen Chelsea centre-halves.
“You’re better” “No, you’re better” “No…
Confusing to say the least eh – can’t they just slag each other off? Don’t they know that’s how we do things in old Albion?
There was going to be some point or other made about an unstoppable force meeting an immovable object, but as big bad Mancini has made all our defenders pick up injuries, suddenly our so-far impressive rearguard is looking decidedly threadbare. This is a terrible indictment of Roberto’s transfer policy – obviously we should have bought at least thirteen full-backs as contingency for a situation like this.
Chelsea are not without a few sicknotes of their own: Benayoun and Salomon Kalou both picked up injuries in that cup that will not be spoken of again, whilst Captain f*ckface is still returning to full fitness after a lay off that did not involve any of his teammate’s partners, no sir. How Terry fares against the Tevezopath could be key to City’s chances, as the little Argie hitman gave Mr Fidelity a total runaround at the Bridge last time out. Similarly, Vincent Kompany’s coming battle with the red-hot Drogba promises to be a titanic struggle, accompanied by flashes of lightning and old men with long grey beards foretelling of the end of days.
In all seriousness, this is a match between two physically imposing and powerfully athletic sets of players (and Paddy Vieira). It is a real shame that our ranks have been decimated by injury as whatever the result tomorrow it will not be a clear indicator of how City’s squad is coming together. With this in mind, a point would be a good result for the Manc Blues, but after our recent clashes it would be slightly disappointing. Which, for this Blue at least, is a little indicator of the progress we are making.
JOG ON YOU MAHGS
Thanks go to The Man In Blue of ManCityFans.Net for writing this preview