Blues Face Sven In Cup
City have been paired against former manager Sven Goran Eriksson’s Leicester in the third round of the FA Cup.
The Swede was sacked after just one season at City despite leading the blues into the UEFA Cup, however that was under the reign of previous chairman Thaksin Shinawatra.
The blues have since undergone a new revolution since the Sven days, with a change of ownership and two different managers, but the Swede will still be eager to prove a point against his former club.
The match will be a huge test of City’s credentials to win some silverware this season and current City boss Roberto Mancini will want to avoid an early cup exit at the hands of lower league opposition.
Elsewhere in the cup, there are potential shocks on the cards as Newcastle travel to Stevenage and Blackpool visit Southampton but the apparent tie of the round is at Old Trafford where Liverpool are the visitors in the only all Premiership tie.
Draw From The Clutches Of Victory
City gained a hard earned point following a physical encounter with Stoke but it was an injury time equaliser for the Potters that denied the blues a fifth away win of the season.
Micah Richards had given the blues the lead in the 81st minute but Matthew Etherington earned a deserved point for the home side in the second minute of injury time to deny the blues the chance to go level on points with Chelsea.
Following the 4-1 win at Fulham last week, the blues were under the cosh from virtually the first whistle and Stoke striker Ricardo Fuller looked in the mood to torment the blues defence and was a constant thorn in the side of Kolo Toure.
Rory Delap, whose long throw-ins caused all sorts of problems during last season two FA Cup ties, could have easily lead to the opening goal, but fortunately, the blues defence seemed to have learned a lesson from last season and just about managed to deal with them.
But City rode their luck in the first half and both Fuller and Etherington had chances to put Stoke in front. Joe Hart denied Etherington on at least two occasions, while Fuller had a glorious chance after being allowed through he City defence but instead of hitting the target, he fluffed his shot hopelessly wide.
Roberto Mancini must have been wondering what had happened to the side that so easily dispatched Fulham last Sunday bit whatever he said to his team during the half time interval seemed to have some effect as the blues started the second half with a little more purpose.
Mario Balotelli, returning after a three match ban following his red card at West Brom, hit a shot wide while James Milner fired into the arms of Stoke keeper Begovic. Despite the increased performance from City, Stoke still pressed and Milner was the saviour for City when he cleared off the line from a Stoke corner.
It looked to have been a crucial moment in the match, particularly when Richards gave the blues the lead with just nine minutes remaining. The defender received the ball on the edge of the area and superbly dummied Robert Huth and fired his shot under Begovic to send the visiting supporters wild.
But defeat would have been harsh on stoke and they got their reward with just a minute of injury time remaining. With the City defence already thinking about taking the three points back to Manchester, Tuncay produced a neat back heel that Etherington latched onto to shoot past for the equaliser.
What do you think of the result? Did City deserve a point? Let us know your thoughts.
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Repeat Fulham
City star Vincent Kompany has urged their team-mates to follow up their fine win at Fulham by beating Stoke on Saturday.
The blues were 3-0 up at half time against Mark Hughes’ Cottagers and went on to record their biggest away win of the season so far with a 4-1 win and Kompany wants the blues to continue their fine away form this season.
However, Kompany admits that it won’t be easy at Stoke and knows the blues will have to battle if they are to record their fifth away win if the season. “We’ll be prepared because Stoke gave us a number of tough encounters last season and they were up the challenge each time. They are also on a good run of form at present so it will be a real test, but if we play to our maximum in defence, midfield and attack we are a match for any team.”
But Kompany also sees the potential in the growing City side and says if the blues continue with the same mentality as that displayed at Craven Cottage, they will have a very good season. “We’ve had some good performances this season but this was of a very high standard, but this is the level we need to match the heights we reached last Sunday every time we play and for the rest of the season.
And the Belgian international admits the team must give their best in every game. “We can’t slip or only perform the way we did against Fulham every now and then – we need to be consistent until the last kick of the season.
City sit just three points behind joint leaders Chelsea and Chelsea and victory at the Britannia Stadium will not only mean keeping place with the top clubs but underline City’s ambition to crack the top four this season.
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A Tale Of Two Bosses
Before this game, the pre match talk was aimed generally at the managers and it’s clear from Mark Hughes’ comments that there is still a great deal of animosity regarding his departure form the club last December.
Indeed, his comments recently of how City would be better off under him than Roberto Mancini rather gave the feeling that today’s game was more like a revenge mission for Hughes, an opportunity for him and his new side to put one over on the club that treated him with such ill regard twelve months ago.
Meanwhile Mancini, who controversially replaced Hughes on the same day as his dismissal, has come under increasing pressure for his expensive side to perform. Two successive goalless draws following the win at West Brom has seen the doubters, myself included, surface once more.
But today we finally saw what this team can do. Fulham’s players will have been fired up to give a good performance against the blues, yet City stifled them from the off and once they took the lead, there was never going to be any other outcome than a City win.
By half time I was fearing for Hughes as it looked like City were going to run away with it and we had enough chances throughout the match to equal or better last year’s 6-1 win at Burnley. As City headed towards their fourth away win of the season, Hughes’ was sat, arms folded eating a nice handful of his words. Hughes would have had a smile as wide as the Thames had he won this game but the end of match handshake, where he barely acknowledged Mancini and seemed reluctant to be anywhere near him, told the full story of Hughes’ disappointment.
Many comparisons have been made, saying that this time last year we had one more point or a better goal difference, but does that really matter? This time last year, we had two away wins and certainly not sitting in fourth place, three points behind the leaders, as we do this evening.
With that in mind, it is now time for those of us who doubt to firmly put our faith behind the manager. At the end of the day, we are fighting for a Champions League place next season and we are not going to achieve it if we are baying for blood every time we fail to beat someone. I could understand calling for the manager’s head if we were in Fulham’s position, just outside the relegation zone and only staying out of it because they have conceded ten less goals than Wigan.
We are in a very good position and are one of only nine teams that have a positive goal difference. Every now and then we are going to be prone to a slip up. It happens to every team. Chelsea have lost to two teams that should be considered inferior to them, United threw away a two goal lead at home to West Brom, Arsenal lost their North London derby at home to Spurs. That’s football.
And although we’ve set a precedence that we need to continue against Stoke next week, it wouldn’t surprise me if the doubts returned should the blues founder. That again I’m afraid, is football.
Patience is the key
I am one of the worst for moaning when City struggle to lacklustre performances, but if today has taught me one thing, it’s to be more patient with a side which will only get better and better with time.
This game was stated as being potentially dangerous due to Mark Hughes coming up against his former employers for the first time since his sacking last season. However, a fluent City side was unleashed by Mancini and swept Fulham aside by producing one of the first half performances of the season.
Tevez scored his 8th league goal of the season inside the first six minutes as he out muscled Meixcan, Carlos Salcido, and sent Mark Schwarzer the wrong way. Fulham struggled to cope with the attacking threat City carried throughout the first half and rarely troubled Joe Hart.
Aleksander Kolarov should have put City 2-0 up when he raced clear, only for the ball to get stuck under his feet and his tame shot was tipped behind for a corner. City did grab the 2nd goal of the match in spectacular fashion, when another Argentine delighted the following faithful. Silva’s low cross was only cleared as far as right back, Pablo Zabaleta, who smashed the ball past the helpless Schwarzer for only his 2nd ever goal in City colours.
Mancini’s team then put the game beyond doubt with Yaya Toure benefiting from a well worked move which included unfamiliar starter, Jo and Tevez. The blues attacking talent had finally been unleashed and left the fans ironically chanting, “boring, boring City!”
City struggled to maintain the high tempo that they had set in the first half and Fulham started the 2nd half much brighter, even without giving Joe Hart much to worry about.
Another slick City passing move unlocked the Fulham defence again to send Tevez racing clear. He shot straight at Schwarzer when it seemed it would be easier to provide Jo with a tap in, but just moments later, Tevez grabbed his 2nd goal of the game. Another Fulham clearance fell straight into Zabaleta’s advancing pathand with another spectacular goal in his mind, he fired a low shot goal wards for Carlos Tevez to flick into the roof of the net.
Fulham did manage to provide their fans with one goal to cheer when Jo headed the ball into substitute, Zoltan Geras path, who saw his low strike deflected into his own goal by former Manchester City captain, Kolo Toure.
The Hodgson hangover continues for Fulham as they fell to their 7th defeat of the season and have just 2 wins in the Premiership so far. In contrast, City are now just 3 points off the Premiership summit and if they can start to consistently produce performances like this, the future looks very bright.
I won’t be getting carried away though and we should only be concentrating on the next game which will be a tough encounter away to Stoke.
Man of the match – Pablo Zabaleta
A player who doesn’t get enough praise for me is Zaba and he edges out Tevez and Kompany for my man of the match tonight. He seems to always be overlooked by the Argentina national team, but produced a fantastic overall performance for City today. His stunning first half strike was one of the goals of the season so far and he also provided Tevez with his 9th goal of the season.
Hughes – City Haven’t Progressed
On the eve of City’s clash at Fulham, former City boss Mark Hughes has claimed the blues would have been better off under him than they are under Roberto Mancini.
Hughes, who is now in charge at Fulham, was sacked last December and instantly replaced by Mancini. It wasn’t so much the shock of Hughes’ dismissal that dismayed many, but the manner of his departure and the fact that Mancini had already agreed to replace him that was the cause of so much anger.
And Hughes now claims that the current City team have fared no better than when he was in charge. “They made the change with the view that they wanted to accelerate the process of getting success. That doesn’t seem to have happened,” said the Welshman. “I know what I left behind, that the club and the group of players I had there was good enough to hit the targets I was given.”
Speaking about his dismissal last year, Hughes criticised the way the club handled the situation, saying he would never discuss an occupied position and called for some level of respect within the game. “It’s not something that sits comfortably with me,” said Hughes. “I don’t think I’ve ever done it. There should be respect for people’s positions. If clubs come and ask if you’re interested in the job, I’d always say I wasn’t aware there was a vacancy.”
Meanwhile Mancini has defended his record by claiming City are stronger under his management. “We have improved a lot. We have won a lot of away games. We are in fourth position, two points behind Manchester United. I think we will get into the Champions League and probably win something.”
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Johnson the real story.
Last week City fans again suffered humiliation at the hands of the British press. This time City were ridiculed over comments made by a frustrated Adam Johnson who as a talent has came into the City side and really opened peoples eyes to show how good he is. Adam is now one of the most highly rated wingers in the Premiership with clubs wishing they had snapped him up before City. Adam is on form since joining last January and has proved easily he is worth an England call up, He was unlucky not to get on the team for the World Cup.
Adam last week in frustration, that he would consider a move away from City if his situation did not improve. The situation he was referring to was not playing in every game.
It is understandable when a young player is on form and has a love for the game he will want to play in every game, Mancini being the manager may have a different out look on it as from the start of the season has clearly said a rotation policy would be in affect.
Adam this week having read his own words has realised just how far the negative City press would go with a moment of frustration and a slip up in an interview. As City again were belittled in the rags that pass for so called news reporting and journalism in Britain.
Adam has come out to put the record straight on what he said and fair dues to him as Mario Balotelli has not cleared up any off what hes supposedly saying to any reporter that will listen to him which in his case is a lot.
Adam had this to say on it, He told the club’s official website,
“I said something in a moment of frustration and things can get blown out of proportion.
“I am happy here. I love playing football more than anything, and I’d love to play in every game.”
Recalling the speculation about his future, Johnson admitted his immediate thoughts were for the fans.
He explained: “The first thing I thought, when you read something like that, is the fans will think I want to get away.
“That hurt, because I care more about what the fans think than what anybody else thinks.
“I think the fans understand that I just want to play.
“When I play I try to give 100 per cent every time, and I think that comes across in the way that I play.”
I can totally understand were Adam is coming from if you are on top of your game and not getting played because of a rotation policy it must be really hard however with a large squad full of talent a sensible rotation policy should work we will find out over the next few games.
On a final note about this I didn’t see Adams interview and comments that he would be a “fool to quit City” and how happy he is at the club as widely reported as the one in the Rag the Scum Sun last week does make you wonder how much lower can so called journalism can go.
Ill be posting about Mario Balotelli and the press next, but I first will have to go and check out a few facts and find out what he has been saying in Italian.
I’m Not Under Pressure
Roberto Mancini has denied that he is under pressure after City failed to score for a third successive home game after Saturday’s 0-0 stalemate with Birmingham City.
The home supporters have grown increasingly frustrated and let Mancini know this by booing the team off the pitch at the end of each half, particularly when they saw star striker Carlos Tevez replaced by Gareth Barry.
But Mancini defended his decision, saying Tevez has been carrying an injury which justified the substitution. “Carlos has had a little injury for two or three weeks and I felt if we took off that player we might have more chances to score.
The supporters think ‘okay, let’s play two, three, four or five strikers’ but if it was like that I’d play with ten strikers on the pitch, but that is not football.”
But Mancini did sympathise with the supporter’s dissatisfaction, after they watched the blues recent poor run extend to just one win in five Premier League games. “I am also frustrated because I wanted to win this game.” However, Mancini’s claims that he doesn’t possess a striker capable of scoring a goal without Tevez will earn him little sympathy in return.
“We have had this problem all season. If Carlos doesn’t score a goal we don’t have another player who can score because Balotelli has been injured and is now suspended and is now injured.”
Mancini also denied the claims that he is under pressure at the club following the run of results. “Pressure? For what?” asked Mancini. “You continue to say I am under pressure. Which pressure? Because some supporters say I did not put two strikers on, or journalists say I am too defensive? I am not under pressure. We are in fourth position.”
City’s next game is at Fulham, who are now managed by Mark Hughes and defeat to Hughes’ men will further intensify the rumours surrounding Mancini’s future.
What do you think? Are you bored with the rumours about Mancini’s future or are the justified Let us know your thoughts.
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Derby Day Preview
Derby day means so much on both sides of Manchester. Bragging rights and an excellent day in work on Thursday will be at the forefront of supporter’s minds by 8pm tonight.
But the first derby of this season has some very high stakes attached to it, much more than bragging rights. A victory for City will put the blues level on points with United and stretch the gap between the blues and fifth place Newcastle. Not only that, but it would inflict a first defeat on United this season, much in the same way City lost at Old Trafford in September 2009.
Victory will give the blues fresh impetus after a recent run of poor results ended with a win at West Brom on Sunday and bring Sir Alex Ferguson’s 24th anniversary celebrations at Old Trafford back to earth. But while Ferguson has been in charge, City have seen 13 managers come and go with little success but the fans are hoping number 14, Roberto Mancini, will not fall in the same way as his predecessors.
The City boss has come under fire in the last few weeks but answered some of his critics with Sunday’s victory, while United narrowly beat West Brom’s Black Country neighbours Wolves 2-1 on Saturday. Mancini’s decision to play Mario Balotelli paid dividends but also saw the striker see red, a situation that angered the Italian who had warned the striker to pay attention to the referee.
For United, the derby has grown in significance over the last couple of years. At one time, Ferguson would be happy to get the three points, but now he revels much more than he used to when his team win the match. City failed to beat the reds in all competitions during the 1990’s and their only win until 2002 was a 5-1 victory at Maine Road in 1989.
But Ferguson admits that the derby matches are a ‘great intensity’ to those of the 90’s. “The fact we are both in the same city means there is an incredible intensity in this derby game now, which was not there 10 or 15 years ago.”
The derbies have come a long way since those days and United’s desire to beat the blues is just as great now as City’s to beat their old rivals. After the disappointment of last season when the blues lost three times to late goals, City will feel there is a score to settle at Eastlands tonight.
Team News
Mario Balotelli’s appeal against his sending off on Sunday fell on deaf ears as the FA upheld the red card and the derby is the first of a three match ban for the youngster. Emmanuel Adebayor is City’s only other doubt which leaves the blues short on attacking options.
United have more problems though. Owen Hargreaves and Michael Owen both miss the game through injury, as do Wayne Rooney and Antonio Valencia. Anderson and Dimitar Berbatov missed Saturday’s win over Wolves with a virus and are rated as doubtful, while Ryan Giggs and Nani are also struggling to be fit for the game.
Prediction:
Forever the optimist, I will always go for a City win in this fixture and today is no different. I think City will choose the derby to show exactly what they can do and sweep United aside.
City 3-1 United
What do you think? Agree with the prediction or have one of your own? Let us know.
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Former Blue Hails ‘Complete Package’
Former City favourite Uwe Rosler has hailed current striker Carlos Tevez, saying the Argentine is the complete centre forward package.
The Argentine will once again take centre stage on Wednesday against United and Rosler believes he is the key to City’s hopes. “He’ll be desperate to shine against his former club and knows this is a golden opportunity for City to step up their title bid.
He is a striker who can dribble, turn a man, chase non-stop, press the opposition, make smart moves, hold the ball up and – crucially – score goals,” said the German, who scored 50 goals for City between 1994 and 1998.
Tevez scored twice against his former club in the League Cup semi final last January and will be eager to add to his tally against the reds. As an extra impetus, Tevez will again have an opportunity to make a point to Sir Alex Ferguson after the United manager allowed the striker to leave Old Trafford in 2009.
Rosler also notes City’s performances when Tevez is absent. “City often appear to lack enthusiasm when Tevez isn’t in the side. There is a big difference between City with Tevez and City without him At Wolves in October, City got an early goal and then played as if they thought the job was done. They invited Wolves back into the game and ended up losing.”
Tevez was handed the captain’s armband last season and led by example as City bounced back from three straight defeats to win 2-0 at West Brom on Sunday, with the striker providing the cross for the opener.
The stakes will be high on Wednesday and so to will be the demand on Tevez., but considering it’s United we are playing, we should expect something a little special from the Argentine.
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