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Better late than never! A normal day's training and good to see NDJ,Tevez,AJ and Micah back in full training but still Ade and Shay missing. Nothing to worry about for either I am sure.

Regular stuff to start with keep ball circles , jogging around stretching etc and they had an extensive session all together playing the ball around working on control , movement and passing before they split to work in different groups.This time Mancini starting with the likely team for Saturday although without Ade and then he switched to work with a defensive unit. Noticeably hand on as ever and watching him act as the midfield playmaker again just makes me wish he was 15/20 years younger.

My eyes were distracted though as Kippax was inside the fence far away down the other end chatting away with a security guy to start with but pretty well anyone who came close. He gave me a wave but his influence wasn't enough to get me in. Probably because he didn't try but at least I got a wave :) Then Vicky Kloss appeared and walked straight across the pitch to greet Kippax and got a kiss and hug.He is truly a legend and I clearly have so so far to go.

As I said a normal training day today but there were a few interesting bits and pieces. Tevez and NDJ split from the groups at one point to work on some interpassing in the middle before the ball was switched wide and they both attacked the box.NDJ did manage to fly one ball over the fence but a polite attempt to get the ball by a first time fan failed.Micah was separately put through his strides by a physio with plenty of running onto passes for him to cross.

AJ spent quite a bit of time working on his crossing to RSC from both sides under the very watchful Mancini eye and on another pitch Bellers was practicing his corners with Kidd on hand. Garrido was as ever practicing his free kicks and got better and better as time passed.

Then it was off to lunch via the City store with Kippax ,John68 and Dazby. Good food , excellent company and great chat. A really good day for me.

Glad you had good day Doug, Top report as usual.

Thanks Doug - great report. How was the team spirit today?

Thai wrote:Thanks Doug - great report. How was the team spirit today?

Definitely a bit better as I think Mancini has eluded to somewhere in an interview. It just takes a bit to get over that sort of result but also helped by a few of the jokers being back ( NDJ/Micah)

Cheers for that Doug.

Thanks for the report Douglas...and I can confirm that the food and company was excellent...
What was that girlie drink that the Dazzler was sipping?...:-)

has bobby manc still got a bit of magic in his boots then? he was class when he was younger.

It was nice to meet you yesterday Doug after reading so many of your training updates, my wife really enjoyed herself especially after getting a "Hello" off RSC she was buzzing all day.

Very noticeable in the derby that NDJ has been allowed/told to move the ball forward a bit. Not sure whether that´s worrying or not, but it seemed OK at times!

john@staustell wrote:Very noticeable in the derby that NDJ has been allowed/told to move the ball forward a bit. Not sure whether that´s worrying or not, but it seemed OK at times!

I thought not only was his tackling amazing, but his passing was very sharp and accurate. Was quite a shock to see him moving the ball around like that as his passing at some times has just been head shaking, face palming, frustrating.

Mike J wrote:has bobby manc still got a bit of magic in his boots then? he was class when he was younger.

Absolutely he has. He moves around the field with real grace , moves the ball easily with both feet and passes with precision. When I see him watching others trying to cross to a spoecific target i think I occasionally see despair in his eyes.

john68 wrote:Thanks for the report Douglas...and I can confirm that the food and company was excellent...
What was that girlie drink that the Dazzler was sipping?...:-)

Not sure it was actually a drink but I have heard that sometimes when Aussie guys go walkabout they might drink one of their own specimens to stay alive and that's what it looked like to me.

Douglas Higginbottom wrote:

Mike J wrote:has bobby manc still got a bit of magic in his boots then? he was class when he was younger.

Absolutely he has. He moves around the field with real grace , moves the ball easily with both feet and passes with precision. When I see him watching others trying to cross to a spoecific target i think I occasionally see despair in his eyes.

im not suprised, as i say he was awesome back in the day. similar player to bergkamp.

bluegray wrote:It was nice to meet you yesterday Doug after reading so many of your training updates, my wife really enjoyed herself especially after getting a "Hello" off RSC she was buzzing all day.

A pleasure to meet you both and just shame most of the training had to be behind the fence and the close up viewing and greeting from RSC on the top of a dodgily built concrete step.

Douglas Higginbottom wrote:

Mike J wrote:has bobby manc still got a bit of magic in his boots then? he was class when he was younger.

Absolutely he has. He moves around the field with real grace , moves the ball easily with both feet and passes with precision. When I see him watching others trying to cross to a spoecific target i think I occasionally see despair in his eyes.

It must be incredibly frustrating. I recon I could cross a ball now better than half of City's players & it winds me up watching them so God knows what it must be like for someone of Mancini's talent.

Slim wrote:

john@staustell wrote:Very noticeable in the derby that NDJ has been allowed/told to move the ball forward a bit. Not sure whether that´s worrying or not, but it seemed OK at times!

I thought not only was his tackling amazing, but his passing was very sharp and accurate. Was quite a shock to see him moving the ball around like that as his passing at some times has just been head shaking, face palming, frustrating.

De Jong was fucking top on saturday, but still these are the situations he's best in, he still shouldn't be anywhere near the 11 against shit teams.

Bingo Lewis wrote:

Slim wrote:

john@staustell wrote:Very noticeable in the derby that NDJ has been allowed/told to move the ball forward a bit. Not sure whether that´s worrying or not, but it seemed OK at times!

I thought not only was his tackling amazing, but his passing was very sharp and accurate. Was quite a shock to see him moving the ball around like that as his passing at some times has just been head shaking, face palming, frustrating.

De Jong was fucking top on saturday, but still these are the situations he's best in, he still shouldn't be anywhere near the 11 against shit teams.

Agreed, I think a more attacking midfield pairing for the lighter weight midfields, which is why I think Ireland is still important to our team. Until we sign Fabregas of course.

Slim wrote:

Bingo Lewis wrote:

Slim wrote:

john@staustell wrote:Very noticeable in the derby that NDJ has been allowed/told to move the ball forward a bit. Not sure whether that´s worrying or not, but it seemed OK at times!

I thought not only was his tackling amazing, but his passing was very sharp and accurate. Was quite a shock to see him moving the ball around like that as his passing at some times has just been head shaking, face palming, frustrating.

De Jong was fucking top on saturday, but still these are the situations he's best in, he still shouldn't be anywhere near the 11 against shit teams.

Agreed, I think a more attacking midfield pairing for the lighter weight midfields, which is why I think Ireland is still important to our team. Until we sign Fabregas of course.

Yeah, i'd be ok with fabregas coming here, he'd add a little to our title push.

My moment of the season was shaking Kippax's hand and rocking back a bit pissed at the Derby.

What was the time?

:-|