City in the summer transfer window ?
What a great season, what can be said City win the FA cup and manage to take 3rd spot and avoid the Champion league play offs. City fans everywhere are still pinching themselves in disbelief.
Its summer time and that means the papers go into over drive on the transfer front. Tevez is leaving Balotelli is joining Milan and so on. Funny thing about the transfer window is nobody is going anywhere until the ink hits the paper its just that simple.
City are looking to tempt Bolton with a swap deal ? Mancini has fallen out with Marwood and Cook over transfer policy ? Tevez has given a radio interview in Argentina where hes proclaimed he is the second coming of Jesus Christ and will only play for Chelsea ? the last one would be the sort of made up lies you will find in the Sun and copied and repeated by Tribal. The point is were going to see a lot of this in the coming weeks how true the rumours are is anybody’s guess.
City however are sure to sell and buy in the window (as sure as you are to get US free bets offers in your inbox). I say this because I believe that Mancini will want a squad of players who understand how important it is to have depth and quality in the squad and not complain if you are not picked every week because is a team effort. That and at present City have a load of players on loan who just weren’t needed. I should point that the players on loan were all bought under Mark Hughes.
Adebayor on loan at Real Madrid, has made it very clear he has no intention of a return to Manchester. My view ? fine stay in Spain suits you better Ade, your lazy and really don’t get the offside rule.
Wayne Bridge on loan at relegated West Ham. Wayne is a really nice bloke and has come in for stick in the past from City fans. I for one think he has a lot more to his game than he has shown us in the past. However Mancini if the papers are true doesn’t see him the plans for the future as Aston Villa look like to be a new start for Wayne.
Craig Bellamy on loan at home town Cardiff. Bellers has said he loves playing for boyhood team Cardiff. Bellamy has tons of pace and can read a game, he can finish with a class touch, has a well noted passion in the dressing room. Craig for all the god given talent has one major problem in his fitness has problems playing a string of games that in mind hard to see Mancini giving him the recall.
Nedum Onuoha on loan at Sunderland (Yes I know not a Hughes buy) but a quick mention. Has it all strength, discipline, youth, Ned is a welcome addition to any Premier side. Loaned out for the season and has again proved his worth at Sunderland. A story has been doing the rounds that City would like to use Ned on a swap, and young City starlet Boyata on a loan deal to land Gary Cahill. Bolton will have trouble holding on to defender Gary Cahill in the summer he has had a great season. Why Cahill for City ?I don’t know Kompany and Lescott have been great in recent weeks and are starting to gel.
Roque Santa Cruz – The ultimate Hughes must have. Mark Hughes having great success with Santa Cruz at Blackburn went all out in signing him for City. £18m later for a player who was injured at the time we got Santa Cruz what followed ? No goals and more injuries. Roque is one of nicest people there is in football. Roque is a genuine bloke, has a lot of time for the supporters and the kids and should be an example to all professional footballers. That been said its on the pitch the fans want. He is able to spend so much time with the fans due to his injuries.
Tell us your views and predictions on the upcoming transfer window. Who will stay and who will go ?
What a week for City fans.
Well was a long and memorable week, for me a long week of travel.
First over to the Spurs game and a great goal from the very man who denied City Champions league last year. Peter your a star. With one of the teams season goals reaching forth spot out of the way, City turned all attention to the F.A. Cup final.
Off down to London with me and what a day the build up was tense as both Man City and Stoke alike wondered how the match would unfold. It was to be a Man City victory with Yaya Toure man of the day in Wembley again, one goal between the two sides was enough to lift the cup. City were the better team on the day which was pointed out by Stoke manager Tony Pulis.
Sunday seen Arsenal mauled by Aston Villa from early on in the game. Villa held out as Arsenal tried desperately in vein to get back on leveling footing pushing City into a position of taking third spot with a win against F.A. Cup rivals Stoke City.
Flight back to Manchester for the last game of the season. City play football like their life depended on it two of the best from Tevez and they really were cracking goals, and a towering header from Lescott. Lescott has come in for flack in the past but he is getting stronger all the time and starting to look like the player he was at Everton. Was well happy that City kept a clean sheet a 3 nil up in the past City fans have watched them switch off and give away a soft goal spoiling
City are now in 3rd spot with a point advantage on Arsenal, now lets not get carried away last game of the season both teams play away City at Bolton and Arsenal at Fulham. Fulham would never roll over would they ? Remember Hughes would have a little laugh to himself I’m sure should Arsenal finish third. City can still finish 3rd even with an Arsenal win just beat Bolton simple at that and no team Owen Coyle manages would dare take to the pitch with defeat in their mind. Comes down to Sunday.
C’mon you Blues.
Never Thought I’d See this Day
Article by Blue Ted
I honestly thought this day would never come.
Seeing the FA Cup finally in the possession of Manchester City is a dream I’ve held onto since I first saw City in action in 1981 against Spurs. That game was, as we all know, thirty years ago and since then, the blues have done nothing but decline, while across the road, United have done the opposite.
To endure thirty five years without a trophy is bad enough for any club of our stature, but we’ve also had to suffer while watching United win almost every trophy possible. And to cap it all, we’ve also had to battle for promotion or fight relegation on an almost regular basis. But all that hurt has now been wiped away on one glorious afternoon in the Wembley sun.
We now have the FA Cup and a Champions League place to boot, which is another step in the blue revolution. The hard work is only just beginning but the Cup will hopefully be the first of many to grace Eastlands in the coming years.
Turning to the game itself, I was particularly pleased with Mario Balotelli. Following City’s Europa League exit, I was very critical of the Italian and thought that it would be better for him to be out of the club. But today, Mario stood up to the wind up tactics of some of the Stoke players and kept his cool. There was a time when I thought he would lose it, but he showed that he could handle the situation and his back heel in the build up to the goal was superb.
As for the goal itself, I don’t think anyone would have been able to stop it. It was a bit scrappy in the stoke area but Yaya made no mistake with his left foot as he blasted the ball into the Stoke goal at the same end that he scored against United in the semi. But if there is one person who deserves all the credit he received, it is Roberto Mancini. The Italian has been the subject of increased speculation over his future, and it wasn’t long ago when fans were calling for his head. But in one season, he has taken us from perennial FA Cup losers to the trophy itself, as well as the Champions League. He has delivered on all the board’s targets set before him and he will quite rightly take the praise that will surely be delivered.
And let’s not forget one of the reasons we were at Wembley today. It would not have been possible without the huge investment in the club from Sheikh Mansour. In the years he’s been at City, the blues have climbed the table and made substantial progress already. So a huge thank you goes out to Sheikh Mansour, Khaldoon Al Muburak and ADUG for ending our pain.
But while we celebrate our win, our commiserations go out to Stoke City, who proved themselves worthy finalists, but seemed to be overawed a little by the occasion. But if one thing has been shown this season, is that the ‘big four’ monopoly has well and truly been broken. With Liverpool missing out on Champions League football again, City and Stoke contest the FA Cup Final and Birmingham winning the League Cup, the remaining trophy to crack is the League title.
And with a bit more time and investment, it won’t be long until the blues are challenging on this front to.
City stuck in the toffee
Well another day of throwing a game away to Everton.
Really did think City would pull it this time shows how fickle football can be. It is a massive pressure clash on Tuesday now for Spurs and City do or die time.
Spurs got a draw which is a lot better than a win, but the begs the question if Spurs and City draw and Liverpool beat Fulham can Liverpool hope to clinch forth spot with the two games left ?
Citys run in is as follows,
Spurs at Home.
Stoke at Home.
Bolton away.
Liverpool’s run of form lately is impressive whatever Kenny has done its bringing the best out of them.
With Bale now a no show for Tuesdays game can City dig deep and shows us that the team can do it when it really matters, just like they did in the semi final against Untied. Followed by the big day in London the F.A. CUP FINAL, (I love even typing it )
Stoke had a good win against Arsenal and are looking sharper and playing more football than ever. Hard team to beat as City fans know from last season. Stoke again on the Tuesday at home really do hope City have the cup to lift that night. Away to Bolton who will be a challenge for the finale of the season
Its a long 2 weeks that will tell us how the cookie crumbles.
How do you think the run in will unfold ?
Final Tickets sold out, Just like 16,000 of the fans.
The scramble for the F.A. Cup final tickets is over as City have sold the 25,000 seats. Like wise Stoke City have sold their 25,000. For the semi final City and Untied were awarded 33,000 tickets a piece. The problem with the final is the F.A. give out tickets to the volunteers and corporate who are awarded for their service. Many people have asked the question would it not be a bit fairer to the clubs if these seats were given to the fans of the clubs in the final ? The short answer and right answer is YES.
The charity shield is were all the freebies belong, now before I get people jumping down my neck about the people who do this, and do that, for the community. I will be the first to appalled them and say “have some free match days tickets to any club you like under the F.A. or tickets to the Charity shield for a nice day out”
Not the F.A. cup final which so many City and Stoke fans have waited and prayed for. Its a historical day for both clubs and the fans, however a lot of the supporters and season card holders just wont get a chance to be there you could say fair enough, but to cut by the number of tickets from the semi final to the final is something which should be addressed by the F.A. in the future. To show I’m not bias the same can be said for Untied and Barcelona fans with the number for the biggest match in the Champions League cut right down. The top match for your choosen club and the fans cant get a fair share of the tickets makes you wonder.
I know they say its for Volunteers but the true fact is as we all know its for all the Big Wigs, friends and families and of course the celebrities and their entourage.
We all are aware a small amount of the tickets go to real give up your free time volunteers and the rest are just given to people in the know. The glamorous faces of celebs who could barely name a handful of players from each team. Watch on match day as the cameras point out who’s there with a wack of fake tan on them. I always wonder how did you manage a ticket ? and do they even support either team? Just go back over the years and see actors,musicians, and the hated reality faces pop up with friends and family in toe.
I Can understand if the likes of the Gallagher brothers, Johnny Marr, Andrew Flintoff, Ricky Hatton, or in the case of famous Stoke City fans Neil Hancock, Ted Hankey and Julian Clarey as they have always been to matches over the years but Katie Price ? Sugerbabes? Housemates from Big Brother ? X factor runner ups ? the list goes on and on.
The questions is not how do these people get tickets, but why over the fans that truly deserve them.
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