mancityfans.net

Sunderland v Manchester City 29/08/2010 3pm kick off

After a decent start to the season, City have accumulated four points against two of our supposed main Champions League contending rivals. And a very comfortable passage through to the group stage of the Europa League after disposing of the potential banana skin of Timisoara.

Confidence is visibly beginning to rise in both the players and fans at Eastlands. While nervous glances are already been made from the direction of The Swamp amongst quite a few other Premier League clubs as City’s squad with the six summer new signings are showing signs of being not only a tough team to beat but also a side that has good quality stamped across it from goalkeepers to strikers. In comparison, The Mackems have had quite a poor start to their league campaign with a draw at home to Birmingham and a defeat at newly promoted West Brom. An expected 2-0 victory at home to Colchester in The Carling Cup earlier this week will probably keep the peasants from revolting but a potential drubbing by visitors Manchester City could well put our mutual friend The Elephant Man under severe pressure from Niall Quinn and his board even this early on in the fixture list.

City have quite a remarkable record against The Mackems in recent years, in fact the 2-2 draw at The Stadium Of Shite in March of this year broke a run of eight consecutive wins by City against Sunderland. There are always goals in our meetings and it is a statistic that we have played 56 league matches against each other without a 0-0 score since 1938 (John68 and Crossan will verify this).
One, if not the most famous of our mutual results was back in 1973 when a Mackems team consisting of no less than three future City signings in big Dave Watson, Micky Horswill and Dennis Tueart overcame City after an initial 2-2 draw at Maine Road. This was in the FA Cup and three days later we travelled up to Roker Park for the replay and were fairly and squarely beaten 3-1. City had knocked Liverpool out in the last round and were actually favourites to win the cup at that 5th round stage. That replay was voted “The greatest game ever seen at Roker Park” by Mackems supporters. The icing was then put on the cake as Sunderland, who were then playing in the 2nd Division of English football, made it to Wembley and beat a very strong Leeds team 1-0 with a 31st minute goal by Ian Porterfield. The real hero of the day however was goalkeeper Jim Montgomery who played the game of his life and pulled off a save against Alan “Sniffer” Clark that was compared to the famous save that Gordon Banks achieved against the legendary Pele no less. That victory under the stewardship of popular manager Bob Stokoe was the only trophy that The Mackems have won since before the 2nd World War.

There is not any real amount of bitter rivalry between City and Sunderland in comparison to the main protagonists. In fact a few players have played for both of us with success and mutual popularity. Watson, Tueart and Horswill as previously mentioned were stalwarts for both clubs. Niall Quinn and Nicky Summerbee also did very well for Sunderland after being signed from City in more recent years. Peter “Reidy” Reid was jettisoned from the City manager’s role after spending quite a relatively large amount of money on the City defence. A couple of top six finishes were not improved upon, hence the swinging of the axe. Reidy, soon after became The Mackems manager and with the bankroll of a fairly wealthy chairman, achieved promotion from the 2nd Division and a reasonably stabilised period in The Premier League. Steve Gibson then swung the axe and Reidy has proven himself pretty dismal as a manager ever since.

The Stadium Of Shite’s first official opening game was a fixture against City in The Premier League. This was at a the time that City were beginning to spiral into oblivion and even the mercurial Geo “Kinky” Konkladze could not bail us out. We had a man sent off early on and succumbed to another obligatory defeat. I was present at that game and although the new stadium was heralded as new shining beacon, in reality the seats are crammed together and the viewing and experience is much overstated in my humble opinion.

Let us cut to the chase. The Mackems currently have a few players out injured. Goalkeeper Craig Gordon (broken arm), defender George Mensah, George McCartney (related to Paul?) and David Meyler are all also out. Last season, the Elephant Man converted Kieran Richardson from being a right winger to right fullback. Richardson was nicknamed “Lord Snooty” when he played for the Devilworshipping rags at The Swamp. My rag mates say that is due to the fact that he’s a first class pillock and thinks that he is better than he really is. The fact that he now plies his trade for The Mackems probably justifies this. Then they have the defensive stalwart that is Titus Bramble and no further comments are required with regard to that. Steed Malbranque is the midfield dynamo and I am sure quite a few City fans can remember not that long ago, when Stuart Pearce tried to sign him for City from Fulham but the move never came off (anyone disappointed with that?). The Elephant Man sold striker Kenwyn Jones, much to the dismay of most Mackems fans but they do have a very decent striker in the form of Darren Bent. Not everybody’s cup of tea but his goal scoring ratio for a moderate team is second to none in The Premier League. Mr Bent is so obviously the main danger to City’s defence and he has already bagged three goals this season, albeit two against Colchester. For some reason The Mackems have a bit of a record for slitting their own throat recently against City. Two players have been dismissed by the referees in the last three games, so here’s hoping that this trend continues if we need any assistance.

City also have absentees due to injury. Alexander Kolarov and Boeteng would be expected to be our normal first choice selection as fullbacks, so Bobby The Manc has to consider our alternatives. Micah Richards and Mad Zabba are the most likely candidates and with due respect, they should be good enough to deputise accordingly against a toothless attack apart from Mr Bent. The more interesting selections will obviously be how Bobby sets City up and who he utilises. The formation that lined up against The Dippers on Monday was deemed negative by many prior to the kick off but that was not the scenario that panned out. I expect that the line up will be very similar, particularly because if the Mackems are stifled for the first quarter of the game, they will probably then run out of ideas and the class of Tevez, Yaya and Jinky should prevail and openings will surely be carved out of that static defence. Super Mario and Ade waiting in the wings should scare the brown stuff out of The Mackems and I do not envisage anything other than a City victory. It may not be pretty and there may only be a goal or two in it but 0-2 will no doubt be more than acceptable to all Blues supporters and if we get treated to a City goal fest then that would be a bonus.

Violence is not usually at a premium in this fixture but any of City’s crew out there be warned. They are big hard fuclers bred from dockers and they won’t have liberties taken on their own manor;o)

This is a must win fixture for City if we are as ambitious as we should be. As our dear friend Delia Smith once marvellously said “Lets’s Be Avin You!”.

Thanks to Burt of ManCityFans.net for writing this preview.

Manchester City v FC Timisoara

Thursday, 26 August 2010

So here we are again, the second leg of a tie to get into the group stages of Europe’s second club competition. This time two years Manchester City were almost dumped out of the competition by FC Midtjylland of Denmark, but a late own goal forced extra time, and the Blues squeezed through on penalties.

Looking back at the side that took the field that day, you can see how much has changed in such a short space of time. Joe Hart, who saved two penalties in the shootout, has left the club and come back even better than he was already. Only one of the back four of Tal Ben Haim, Richard Dunne, Micah Richards and Michael Ball is still at Eastlands, while Michael Johnson is battling back from injury and Jo is trying to find some sort of form. The others – Elano, Stephen Ireland, Vedran Corluka, and Martin Petrov – have all moved on to pastures new.

Roberto Mancini’s expensively assembled squad will be looking to avoid similar difficulties at the City of Manchester Stadium tonight, and should progress with a 1-0 leg from the first leg in Romania last week. That win came at a price though with Mario Balotelli limping off with a knee injury having scored the only goal of the game off the bench.

“Mario is still sore, so we must wait. He has this problem in his knee. We will wait for the Sunderland game. It is impossible he will play in our next match. We won the first game against Timisoara but it was difficult. I will make three or four changes as it is impossible for players to play every three days.”
Brazilian striker Jo is in line for a start up front and Mancini is also weighing up whether to give want away goalkeeper Shay Given a chance to prove his worth ahead of the impressive Hart.

James Milner, the club’s most recent signing from Aston Villa, is unavailable having not been registered in time, while Aleksander Kolarov, Jerome Boateng and Wayne Bridge are all out injured.

“I have been able to see Jo close-up in the last two months and what I have seen makes me think he’s a good player,” said Mancini. “I can also remember seeing him play for CSKA Moscow a few years ago when I was with Internazionale and he’s a good striker. We want to keep him.”

Milner, meanwhile, heaped praise on his new club and expressed his delight at the ‘English core’ which was at the heart of the 3-0 win over Liverpool on Monday.

“You look at every team that has done well in the Premier League and they had an English core,” he said. “It is the same in any country but you need the perfect mix and the perfect balance.

“That is down to the manager and I think (Roberto Mancini) has done that here. As long as everyone is bringing something to the table, it is good to have that mix, and get it right.

“We had a number of English players the other night but we can also chop and change because of the quality we have on the bench, not to mention the players who are injured. It is a fantastic squad and hopefully we can go places.”

Not a lot is known about the opposition, and their performance last Thursday did little to suggest that they pose City much of threat. They played as recently as Tuesday night when they exited their domestic cup so the players won’t exactly be fresh. Defender Marian Cisovski will miss the game having suffered an injury at the weekend.

“City have a huge advantage,” said Timisoara coach Vladimir Petrovic. “Not only are they ahead in the tie, they can pick two squads. I do not know which one is best. We have never been favourites and after the first leg it has become even harder for us.”

“If we had managed a draw it would have been a different situation. We will try to attack City if we have the chance, knowing that it will be huge for the club if we did manage to progress in the competition.”

Manchester City (from): Hart, Given, Richards, Zabaleta, Lescott, K Toure, Kompany, Wright-Phillips, Johnson, Barry, Silva, Vieira, De Jong, Y Toure, Tevez, Adebayor, Jo, Logan.

Prediction: It’s hard to know what side Roberto Mancini will field but City should still have more than enough to overcome below average opponents at home. Jo may get a rare start and it would be great to see him on the scoresheet, while the exciting David Silva would benefit from another 90 minutes on English soil. The loss of Balotelli is disappointing but his time will come, and we saw glimpses last week of the talent he possesses.

City to win 2-0

Many thanks to Xavi6 of www.mancityfans.net for this fantastic preview

Europa League Playoff 2nd leg (Manchester City lead 1-0 on aggregate)

Thursday, 26 August 2010

So here we are again, the second leg of a tie to get into the group stages of Europe’s second club competition. This time two years Manchester City were almost dumped out of the competition by FC Midtjylland of Denmark, but a late own goal forced extra time, and the Blues squeezed through on penalties.

Looking back at the side that took the field that day, you can see how much has changed in such a short space of time. Joe Hart, who saved two penalties in the shootout, has left the club and come back even better than he was already. Only one of the back four of Tal Ben Haim, Richard Dunne, Micah Richards and Michael Ball is still at Eastlands, while Michael Johnson is battling back from injury and Jo is trying to find some sort of form. The others – Elano, Stephen Ireland, Vedran Corluka, and Martin Petrov – have all moved on to pastures new.

Roberto Mancini’s expensively assembled squad will be looking to avoid similar difficulties at the City of Manchester Stadium tonight, and should progress with a 1-0 leg from the first leg in Romania last week. That win came at a price though with Mario Balotelli limping off with a knee injury having scored the only goal of the game off the bench.

“Mario is still sore, so we must wait. He has this problem in his knee. We will wait for the Sunderland game. It is impossible he will play in our next match. We won the first game against Timisoara but it was difficult. I will make three or four changes as it is impossible for players to play every three days.”
Brazilian striker Jo is in line for a start up front and Mancini is also weighing up whether to give want away goalkeeper Shay Given a chance to prove his worth ahead of the impressive Hart.

James Milner, the club’s most recent signing from Aston Villa, is unavailable having not been registered in time, while Aleksander Kolarov, Jerome Boateng and Wayne Bridge are all out injured.

“I have been able to see Jo close-up in the last two months and what I have seen makes me think he’s a good player,” said Mancini. “I can also remember seeing him play for CSKA Moscow a few years ago when I was with Internazionale and he’s a good striker. We want to keep him.”

Milner, meanwhile, heaped praise on his new club and expressed his delight at the ‘English core’ which was at the heart of the 3-0 win over Liverpool on Monday.

“You look at every team that has done well in the Premier League and they had an English core,” he said. “It is the same in any country but you need the perfect mix and the perfect balance.

“That is down to the manager and I think (Roberto Mancini) has done that here. As long as everyone is bringing something to the table, it is good to have that mix, and get it right.

“We had a number of English players the other night but we can also chop and change because of the quality we have on the bench, not to mention the players who are injured. It is a fantastic squad and hopefully we can go places.”

Not a lot is known about the opposition, and their performance last Thursday did little to suggest that they pose City much of threat. They played as recently as Tuesday night when they exited their domestic cup so the players won’t exactly be fresh. Defender Marian Cisovski will miss the game having suffered an injury at the weekend.

“City have a huge advantage,” said Timisoara coach Vladimir Petrovic. “Not only are they ahead in the tie, they can pick two squads. I do not know which one is best. We have never been favourites and after the first leg it has become even harder for us.

“If we had managed a draw it would have been a different situation. We will try to attack City if we have the chance, knowing that it will be huge for the club if we did manage to progress in the competition.”

Manchester City (from): Hart, Given, Richards, Zabaleta, Lescott, K Toure, Kompany, Wright-Phillips, Johnson, Barry, Silva, Vieira, De Jong, Y Toure, Tevez, Adebayor, Jo, Logan.

Prediction: It’s hard to know what side Roberto Mancini will field but City should still have more than enough to overcome below average opponents at home. Jo may get a rare start and it would be great to see him on the scoresheet, while the exciting David Silva would benefit from another 90 minutes on English soil. The loss of Balotelli is disappointing but his time will come, and we saw glimpses last week of the talent he possesses.

City to win 2-0

Thanks to xavi6 of ManCityFans.net for writing this preview

Manchester City vs. Liverpool Match Preview
Monday, August 23rd, 8PM.

It is almost four months since Manchester City’s last competitive home outing, but the majority will tell you that it feels more like an eternity. Tottenham Hotspur visited Eastlands under the lights on May 5th, by a backdrop of Icelandic fog, in a winner-takes-all contest for a Champions’ League place. Given that the task in front of City was so straightforward- win the match- it should come as little surprise that they managed to complicate it, and therefore fail in their quest for glory. It’s always been the way.

Always, that is, until now. Where disappointment was a dish served with a side salad of anxiety, a fear of what the future would hold, this revolutionised City show no appetite for such feelings. In place of a defeatist mindset is a pragmatic one, designed to ensure that success is the only option on the menu from now on. Jerome Boateng kickstarted Roberto Mancini’s 2010 recruitment drive, with World Cup winner David Silva and influential Barcelona midfielder Yaya Touré joining swiftly thereafter, and Aleksander Kolarov, Mario Balotelli and Aston Villa’s talismanic midfielder James Milner, who finally joined on Wednesday in a swap deal with Stephen Ireland- have all since arrived to round off an exciting Summer at the club.

With the clouds illustrative of that Spurs defeat parting at a rapid pace, it was perhaps fitting that it was they who posed the first test of the new campaign, at White Hart Lane. A 0-0 draw was unspectacular under the circumstances, but indicative of that change in mindset. Spurs and the Lane, a club and a ground synonymous with breaking City hearts for many a year, found themselves facing a dogged, determined outfit that refused to tolerate defeat- spearheaded, ironically, by the cheapest acquisition on the pitch- Joe Hart.

Liverpool, the visitors to Eastlands on Monday night, showed similar characteristics in their first outing of the season against Arsenal, and would have secured all three points despite playing the second half with ten men, but for a last gasp equaliser. The added effort and cohesiveness was, nonetheless, a pleasant sight for their supporters, who endured endless disappointments as the flame of Rafael Benitez’s six year tenure petered out hopelessly. While City’s growth has accelerated rapidly, it’s consolidation that Liverpool had hoped for this Summer- with questionable ownership and the future of star players uncertain- so with Javier Mascherano, Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres all still on Merseyside, it has perhaps, in context, been a successful Summer for both clubs.

Both sides had European commitments on Thursday night, with City travelling to Timasoara of Romania and securing a 1-0 win thanks to new man Mario Balotelli’s late strike. Liverpool, meanwhile, stayed at home to face Trabzanspor of Turkey, with David Ngog securing victory just after the restart. Steven Gerrard sat out the tie while Torres only played 45 minutes. Mascherano and centre-half Daniel Agger missed out through injury, but Macherano is expected to return on Monday. Joe Cole will play no part as he serves a three match suspension for his sending off against Arsenal. Roy Hodgson will be fully aware of City’s potential threat and will likely opt for a defensively minded side. Expect Torres to lead the line, supported by Gerrard, with Mascherano and new signing Christian Poulsen screening the back four. Milan Jovanovic, who has impressed since joining the club from Standard Liége, and Dirk Kuyt should offer Liverpool width, although Ryan Babel, fresh from scoring on Thursday and Maxi Rodriguez will give Hodgson food for thought. In defence, Jamie Carragher will be partnered by Sotirios Kyrgiakos in Agger’s absence, with Glen Johnson and Fabio Aurelio likely to fill the full-back positions. Jose Reina, all fumbles aside, is secure in his position as goalkeeper.

City’s two main left-backs, meanwhile, Aleksander Kolarov and Wayne Bridge, will miss out through injury, along with Jerome Boateng. This should allow Joleon Lescott to carry on after impressing in Romania. Otherwise, Roberto Mancini has a full compliment to choose from and will have something of a selection headache. Kolo Touré and Vincent Kompany will be joined by Lescott in the back four but right-back is far from clear cut. With Boateng’s injury, Mancini is left to choose between Micah Richards, City’s weakest link by some distance at Spurs, and Pablo Zabaleta, who failed to impress at Timasoara. In midfield, James Milner, Gareth Barry, Yaya Touré and Nigel de Jong will battle for two, or possibly three places, so one big player is certain to miss out. David Silva, Mario Balotelli, Emmanuel Adebayor and Adam Johnson will be the most likely candidates to join newly installed captain Carlos Tevez in attack. Following his heroics at White Hart Lane, Joe Hart has most certainly won the battle for City’s number 1, which is expected to see Shay Given leave the club on loan before the transfer deadline, following Craig Bellamy, Nedum Onuoha and Vladimir Weiss out the most overworked revolving door in football.

History paints a picture of two very contrasting fortunes- Liverpool’s eighteen league titles and five European cups, the culmination of decades of dominance, weighed against a City side that flirted with glory but calamitously failed time and again. The reality though- so difficult to grasp for pundits and journalist across the land- is that history holds no relevance today. Today, the optimism and solid infrastructure that embodied Liverpool’s past belongs to City. Hopes and dreams, of course, are still more easily acquired than the success that justifies them. By ten o’clock on Monday night, we will all have a clearer idea of who the future belongs to.

Prediction- A tight affair between two managers in pressure cooker environments. Expect a tactical game of chess until the first goal heads in (if indeed it does). The longer it goes on without a goal, though, the more Liverpool’s talismanic figures, messieurs Gerrard and Torres, will become a cause for concern, but with so many creative outlets, gelled or not, I expect City to carve out that opening goal. If it comes relatively early, the pace and passing prowess at their disposal could enable a flurry of counter-attacking opportunities. City 2-1 Liverpool.

Many thanks to Colin the King of www.mancityfans.net for this fantastic match preview.