It is hard to imagine Ferran Soriano and Txiki Begiristain being regaled with the tale of when Steve Lomas shepherded the ball by the corner flag to haphazardly preserve a result that would seal Manchester City’s relegation. They may not realise the fans’ anthem “We’re Not Really Here” found life amid the gallows humour that accompanied the subsequent tour of English football’s pyramid, not to mention jokes about blue Oxo Cubes.

There is, therefore, a certain irony that these two men from Barcelona, with hard-forged reputations as two of the game’s finest administrators and brought to Manchester to oversee period of clinical dominance mapped out amid the opulence of Abu Dhabi, have over the past few weeks or so –unwittingly or otherwise – presided over a farce that is unmistakably “Typical City”.

By way of a quick recap, it became clear the goose of the manager who ended the club’s 35-year trophy drought and 44-year wait for a league title was well and truly cooked on the eve of the FA Cup final against soon-to-be relegated Wigan; his players appeared at Wembley in a dishevelled daze and fell to a deserved defeat, 72 hours on from the initial stories so fatal to that cup bid Roberto Mancini was sacked; a day later, around an hour before the managerless Blues beat Reading 2-0, first-team coach David Platt moved on; over the rest of the week, amid a deluge of newspaper stories about a riven dressing room at the point of mutiny during Mancini’s final months, a raft of other first-team staff left the Etihad Stadium before Norwich arrived to claim a 3-2 win against their disjointed hosts amid left-back Aleksander Kolarov quarrelling with home supporters.

Standing back from that in black and white, one is confronted with an undeniably unseemly mess. But from the wreckage emerged a perhaps surprising conclusion in some quarters – woeful timing apart, perhaps Soriano, Begiristain and chairman Khaldoon al Mubarak were correct to place Sheikh Mansour’s finger on the trigger and end Mancini’s glittering three-and-a-half-year reign.

As Manuel Pellegrini waits in the wings, there are obvious parallels to be drawn from when Mancini usurped Mark Hughes in December 2009. An underachieving group of expensively assembled players forced the owners’ hands to bring in a manager they view as an upgrade. Put simply, Mancini is better than Hughes, Pellegrini is better than Mancini and Manchester City continue to progress.

Under performance in the 2012/13 season is impossible to argue against, even for Mancini’s staunchest supporters. Aside from the redoubtable Pablo Zabaleta and James Milner, it is difficult to identify a player who has improved on their title-winning campaign 12 months earlier. Joe Hart, Vincent Kompany, Yaya Toure, David Silva and Sergio Aguero were the backbone of that triumph and have all fallen short. Such collective failure from big names means the manager must come under scrutiny and, in this context, Pellegrini’s reputation as a shrewd tactician who always gets the maximum from his charges is appealing. City have undoubtedly been less than the sum of their parts this term.

Of course, Mancini can point towards his often-made argument that City made the mistake of failing to improve from a position of strength by not bringing in the players he wanted last summer. Results at home and in Europe make his case virtually water-tight, but the former Italy international must himself carry the can for woeful misjudgements. Surely there were better second or third choices than Scott Sinclair and Javi Garcia? If a failure to bring in Mancini’s primary transfer targets weakened City then his ill-conceived back-up plans merely compounded the situation.

An intriguing subtext to the manager’s grumblings over acquisitions and direction of ire towards director of football Brian Marwood is the latter’s move to the role of academy director and Begiristain’s installation in his place last October. Careful what you wish for, Roberto.

Of course, Marwood was far from the only City employee to feel the sharp end of Mancini’s tongue. Criticism of key players such as Joe Hart and Samir Nasri, not always without justification, became an increasingly uncomfortable feature of the season and meant reports of squad members ready to pop champagne corks at the news of their manager’s imminent demise hardly came as a surprise.

While some of Mancini’s jibes appeared to have a positive impact and others were tongue-in-cheek (he would, perhaps knowingly, head a reasonable queue of City fans wanting to punch Nasri in the face), angrily questioning Kompany for playing 90 for Belgium following a two-month injury absence felt like an unnecessary and reckless act of bridge burning.

Kompany is an influential and highly impressive leader who nailed his colours to the Mancini mast during City’s troubled early post-Hughes days. No doubt a conversation between the two was in order; a public flogging, not so much. A popular and respected dressing room figure, Kompany has cut a dejected and sullen figure over recent weeks and it is irresistible not to read between the lines.

So, with Mancini’s allies among the playing staff dwindling, perhaps Soriano and Begiristain felt backed into a corner. If this is the case, they have set one or two precedents that may well come back to haunt them.

There are numerous examples in the modern game of player power being king and of confrontational management styles having a limited shelf life, irrespective of success. The similarities between Mancini’s latest downfall and his exit from Inter Milan are there for all to see. But City’s players now know a manager giving them a hard time can have his position brought into question if they don’t like it. What happens the next time this occurs? Also, what happens the next time Pellegrini or anyone else finishes second in an incredibly difficult league to win? Dangerous, dangerous precedents that are somewhat at odds with the desire for a “holistic approach” and associated stability.

Indeed, Gael Clichy had some interesting thoughts on the matter when he became the first member of a disgruntled squad to stick his head above the parapet in New York last week. It is safe to say talk of mutiny was not in the air.

“It’s always difficult – a manager has to be a manager. Once you become a friend of the players, that’s when you can have trouble,” he told the Manchester Evening News.

“I prefer to have trouble because the manager is respected and is hard with the players than a manager who is having trouble because he is friends with the players.

“He brought most of us to the club. If he bought you it means that he likes you. A player that he just bought can’t really say he had a problem.”

Also in the column against Mancini’s dismissal is the wanton surrender of a clear strategic advantage. For all the talk of David Moyes being an ideal successor to Sir Alex Ferguson and the impressive efficiency with which Manchester United implemented their succession plan, City’s closest rivals find themselves in a state of upheaval and uncertainty unknown to them for a generation. With Chelsea also set to change managers, City had a serial winner with three and half years under his belt at the helm. Now the Blues are in a similar state of flux, with an unhelpful dollop or two of damaging fall-out to boot.

And there lies the final black mark against Soriano and Begiristain – Mancini wins things. Lots of things. Everywhere he’s managed. Critics of Mancini can point towards favourable circumstances and demonstrable character flaws, but the cold, hard facts are he is a winner and a fiercely determined one in a game where “show us your medals” can end many an argument. This season’s failing will have burnt and past experience points towards a manic desire to correct them. Regardless of whether some noses are put out of joint in the process, that man sounds like an asset.

Equally, an embattled playing group could be more likely to find solace under the sympathetic and encouraging methods espoused by Pellegrini if, as expected the 59-year-old Chilean brings his glowing reputation to Manchester. No one can be certain whether Manchester City have taken a step backwards to embark upon a couple forwards or if this whole episode is the first of a few paces in reverse.

Reports that moves for major signings – such as Shakhtar Donetsk midfielder Fernandinho, Napoli striker Edinson Cavani and the jewel in Pellegrini’s Malaga side, Isco – are well underway come as welcome news. Pellegrini ideally needs all the key components in place for the start of pre-season training next month. There will be fences to mend and fires to put out. The unity demonstrated in 2012’s title push, branded with the hashtag #together by City’s official website, echoes like a call from a different age.

Soriano and Begiristain must secure their chosen manager and targets quickly, not least to demonstrate competence. The men from the Camp Nou can no longer be granted the luxury of a blind belief that the club will prosper in their hands having produced an unwelcome demonstration that “Typical City” is alive and well.

MCFCfans

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In Sweden the derby build up began over a week ago with adverts drawing out in length after last week’s Champions League games.  Flights from Abu Dhabi have been reported much higher than usual.  The clamour for tickets is unprecedented.  Put quite simply: game on.

@VincentKompany advised us last week that over 650 million viewers worldwide will watch this derby.  To be one of the privileged 47,000 (and change) supporters who will go to the match, I’m left wandering, “how on earth do I enjoy it?”

As I ponder pre-match strategy I recall interviewing Paul Lake on the day that Sergio Aguero arrived at the club.  The question I was desperate to ask was whether he thought we would ever see Tevez and Aguero playing alongside each other. 

And here we are now potentially relying on this pair to win us the league.   Dreaming about them linking up to win the derby has occupied a lot of my spare time lately. If I think about the possibilities for long enough, add in the stadium atmosphere and some imaginary commentary, I can actually almost bring myself to tears! 

It’s like being a kid again imagining all the goals and re-living past memories.  But as the game approaches so do all of the grown-up fears.  Fear of failure, fear of nerve-jangling moments, fear of the unknown.   

Then a big consideration arrives.  We led the league for a long time, gave it up, and thought we were out of contention.  We stuck together and we’ve been given another chance.  If we take it this time, having given it up once will we give it up again?  Could this really be it?

I’ve concluded that I probably won’t enjoy this game until and unless we reach the final whistle having got the three points.  I’ve decided on a pre-match glass of single malt Scotch to calm the nerves and limiting twitter monitoring to short bursts before I get too sick with excitement.  Bring it on.

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Now then, now then, now then, then now, come on...enough already!  The battery of press attacks against Manchester City over the last few days has reached a fever pitch.  But this is a good thing.  A very good thing.

Blues enthusiasm hit rock bottom for the season after the Sunderland game and it became open season for reporters, many of whom had been sharpening their knives all season long waiting for this moment.  Licking their lips, they had the articles primed and ready, all their sad headline-writers had to do was come up with some predictable pap of a banner and they could hit send.

This is perfect timing.  Not only is Mancini under fire but stories abound on much of the team, the perfect tonic to unite the dressing room.  Crisis at the Etihad, panic, Mancini to be sacked, get the army helmets out and dig in because this is one of the worst seasons I can remember for a long time.  We broke the Premier League record with 20 consecutive home wins after the incredible comeback at Chelsea - you know what these really are dark days indeed.

I was most struck in midweek by one of the laziest articles I've ever seen written in a newspaper.  Struck because my reaction to it would have been much more angry in days gone by.  Instead, I felt a feeling of elation as Chief Football Writer of London's main daily was reduced to 'gutter press' status with his weak and feeble cheap shot.

"City are a ridiculous club," was his opening gambit in his tirade against the Blues on 4th April (article here).  No but hang on. It gets better.  "Having been willing to sacrifice most conventional football principles in a desperate and often ugly pursuit of silverware, they made their fast-tracked assault on the game’s elite all about the winning." 

And you thought that was bad?  "At a time when football is finally realising its general approach to financial management is utterly unsustainable, City’s largesse is grotesque if unaccompanied by any deeper philosophy or commitment to win in the right way and exhibiting a strong moral compass." 

Now we're in tears laughing are we not?!  This is extraordinary!  A London-based Chief Football Correspondent entering into the world of morals, philosophy, and life navigation.  Is this a covert application for Martin Samuel's job at the Daily Mail?!  You'll never get it James, he's too good!

Manchester City's owners have exhibited humility, kept their wealth well under wraps in Manchester, and as the country recovers from being on its knees they are busy planning an urban regeneration that is bigger than any government project in the area.  Job creation, positive growth, a long-term commitment to a local community, a long-term commitment to a proud football club.  There's plenty more deeper James, if you had bothered to dig that deep.

Mark Ogden reminded us this morning that he doesn't write the headlines.  A closer inspection of his article that led with the headline, "Is it all getting too much for Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini" revealed a balanced article written by someone who could be bothered to recall his memory of Mancini's past efforts.  

But if London's evening daily could only produce empty fag packets, then Manchester's daily didn't do much better. After much speculation about the front page headline, we were left to consider for what seemed like an eternally long nano-second how bad builders can occasionally be (article link). How very dull.  

The best thing about this "exclusive" was that it was attributed to three MEN writers.  It took three of them?!  

What does all of this tell you about Manchester City in this moment?  That we're good.

Good enough to win the title?  As Buzzer said earlier today, "it ain't over till the fat lady sings."

All the best,

@MCFCfans

If you haven't already purchased Paul Lake's book, "I'm Not Really Here", then do so - it's a cracker.

In the first part release of this interview, shot in one of the platinum boxes at the Etihad stadium, MCFCfans explores the Madchester scene in more detail and sets the scene of the injury that was to dominate the rest of his life.

   “I’m Not Really Here” published by Century - click the book cover above to buy or here to buy 

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Manchester City are set to meet the 60 year old fan who finds himself at the centre of a storm that threatens to jeopardize the extensive supporter engagement efforts made by the club since ownership changed hands just over three years ago.

The club will hope that an investigation into the ejection of an older fan, at the match against Aston Villa on Saturday 15th October, will help to calm tensions around the perimeter of the singing sections at the Etihad stadium ahead of the next home game against Wolves on Saturday 29th October.

Mario Balotelli scored a fantastic opener in Manchester City's match against Aston Villa , only for events off-the-pitch in the East Stand at the Etihad Stadium to interrupt the flow of play shortly afterwards.

For it was shortly after the goal was scored that stewards, working for the stewarding company Showsec, took the decision to eject a 60 year old man in line with the club's policy on persistent standing.

In a heartbeat, one older supporter found himself at the centre of a growing tension between supporters and stewards that has its roots in Manchester City's well-intentioned attempts to improve the atmosphere at the stadium through the creation of a singing section.

Shocking YouTube video footage appears to show that it was the actions of one steward in particular that triggered the emotional reaction of surrounding supporters who rallied to the older fan's cause.

NB: This video contains strong language and is not suitable for viewing by minors or in an office environment

After the decision is made to eject the older supporter, he is heard saying,”I've done nothing wrong, why are you screaming at me?” All whilst being man-handled by a policeman and a steward.

The video then becomes unclear due to the growing disturbance in the crowd.  When the video returns to the suppporter he is then heard saying,“I take 5 tables a day for heart problems.”

Promptly after revealing his condition, a steward that appears to have been observing the incident from further away, decides to climb over several seats in an escalation of the incident that sees the older fan dragged away from his seat.

The video closes with a disturbing image of the man lying on the ground at the front of block 109, as police and stewards stand in a circle seemingly unsure of what to do next other than wait for medical staff to arrive.

In a statement sent to MCFCfans by Greater Manchester Police, Chief Superintendent Gerry Donnellan said: "Just before half time during the match between Manchester City and Aston Villa, club stewards and security requested the assistance of GMP as, in line with their rules, they were asking a man in the crowd to leave the ground because he refused to sit down.

"Officers only assist if there is a breach of the peace or if there is a likelihood of a breach of the peace occurring and in this case there was one; stewards were struggling with the man and other people in the crowd.

"The man was arrested on suspicion of causing a breach of the peace, but de-arrested when the breach of the peace had ceased.

"He was seen to collapse and paramedics attended, where he was given a clean bill of health.

"Two men were arrested on suspicion of common assault after incidents with stewards. One was later charged and one was given a Fixed Penalty Notice.

"The force's Professional Standards Branch has received a complaint from a third party and will respond in the appropriate fashion in due course."

At this stage it is not known who has lodged the complaint to the police following the incident.  Based on anecdotal evidence, there are many possible complainants due to the fracas that took place as a result of the incident.

The incident requires a full and transparent investigation backed by the courage to act

The uproar after the incident was unprecedented in recent times at the club.  The club, already engaged in a variety of other public relations matters, was deluged with letters and calls from irate supporters.

Immediately after the incident, MCFCfans called for an investigation into the matter that was picked up by the natiional press (Guardian article).  The club promptly confirmed that an investigation would take place and communicating to MCFCfans issued this statement, “The Club have invited both the older fan and a FSF representative to discuss the matter in person and the meeting will take place in the coming days.”

The Football Supporters Federation, known for tirelessly following up incidents of this nature and in support of more vulnerable supporters, stated to MCFCfans,“We welcome the club’s decision to investigate the incident in Block 109 during the Aston Villa game and to interview the supporter involved. We would be happy to assist in that process in any way which would be helpful to the parties.”

MCFCfans understands that the older fan has accepted the offer of a FSF representative to be present at the meeting with the club, something that may go some way to re-assuring all supporters that a fair hearing will take place.

So far so good, and the club deserves to be given the opportunity to investigate the matter fully.

The incident raises many questions. The questions that are consistently raised by witnesses to the incident are:

- Why was an older, apparently vulnerable, fan chosen for ejection, whilst so many other fans standing around him and on the same row were also presumably eligible for ejection?  What process is in place to decide who is ejected?

- Once the older fan had highlighted his heart condition, why was the incident escalated by the lone steward?  What training and procedures are in place in such a situation to ensure that vulnerable fans with medical conditions are treated with care?

The investigation at the very least should provide re-assurance to supporters that there are processes in place, checks and balances, incident reviews, learning and re-training, governance that involves senior club officials outside the seemingly closed circle of stadium security and its contracted stewarding company Showsec.

In short, could the incident have been handled differently?

Showsec for their part confirmed that they are co-operating fully with the investigation involving their client Manchester City, but were unable to comment specifically on the details concerning the ejection.

Thoughts will turn to the long-term solutions...

The current investigation should rightly focus on the specific circumstances surrounding the older fan.  But this is unlikely to solve the problem of block 109.

Peter Fletcher, the club's Stadium Security and Safety Manager, finds himself in the unenviable position of attempting to balance club policy, ground regulations, licensing laws, and supporter safety.

It doesn't take long perusing supporter forums to know that Mr.Fletcher is not altogether popular, in particular with fans seated in the singing areas and adjacent blocks.

But it was presumably him that gave his blessing to the singing sections in the first place. So does he now find himself in a no-win situation?

The club's statement went on to state, “More generally, whilst the Club has adopted a collaborative approach with fans wishing to stand in certain areas, it remains the case that persistent standing within Blocks 109 and 119, which border the singing section, remains contrary to the policy for this season, a fact which was clearly communicated by letter to supporters in those areas prior to the first game of the season.

The Club continually review policy and procedure across all areas, as is the case following this incident.  We will also be seeking to gauge the views of fans adjacent to the singing stand in the coming days and weeks to assist with planning for next and future seasons."

The statement shows a genuine desire by the club to engage with supporters to find long-term solutions for the singing sections and areas around them.

The FSF, knowing the history behind block 109 can play a vital role and went on to confirm their involvement to MCFCfans, “We have arranged to meet the Club next month to discuss a range of issues related to standing at the Etihad Stadium and the Club’s approach to this. We welcome the Club’s willingness to meet and note that the introduction of the singing area is a more progressive approach to this issue than is the case at some other clubs. However, there are clearly issues to be addressed relating to the management of standing in adjacent areas.”

It could now be said that leadership by the club needs to be matched by leadership from the fans.  The FSF can fill some of this role, but perhaps the club also needs to find other ways of bridging the gap between the 'men in suits' and the supporter in the stand by inviting willing volunteers and supporters representatives to the debate.

One fan in block 109 did take a lead recently when carrying out a survey of 100 fans in block 109.  The survey revealed that 90% in the block wanted to stand/sing all game, 8% during moments of excitement, and 1.2% wanted to be seated.

Many supporters may say a conclusive result, but those who wish to be seated will still wish to be heard.

As far as all parties in the debate are concerned, actions will speak louder than words.

Is Safe Standing the future?

It's ironic that all of this should take place so recently after the Hillsbough debate in the House of Commons.

The FSF's Safe Standing campaign is one of the recognised national attempts to solve the wider issue, which in their words can be summarised as,”It is clear that many supporters have a strong desire to stand.” The campaign, officially supported by The Liberal Democrats, states, “The FSF believes that football supporters should have the choice to stand in a Safe Standing area, if they so wish. Stadiums would retain seated accommodation for those who wished to sit.”

Do you support Safe Standing?  

What is your view on City's singing section and where it should be located?  

And have you been impacted by the persisent standing policy?

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Mario Balotelli scored a fantastic opener against Aston Villa on Saturday, only for the game to take a twist off the pitch that is only now becoming clear. As City looked to build on their 1-0 advantage, the flow on the pitch was lost as fans around the ground became concerned at events taking place in the East Stand

Speculation abounded in other parts of the Etihad stadium that a stray away fan may have been identified and held responsible for the activity, which prompted a number of stewards and police officers to surround block 109 in the East Stand.

Footage released on YouTube was the first shocking indication that the incident was actually completely avoidable. An older fan, complaining of a heart condition, appears to be singled out as part of the ongoing standing debate at the club.

The reaction of Manchester City and Showsec, the stewarding company, so far is alarming. The Manchester Evening News reported a City spokesman as saying, “A supporter who was persistently standing was politely asked to sit down by stewards, following complaints from supporters. After refusing to co-operate with the stewards, the police intervened to help eject the man.

"The man refused to leave, prompting a small number of surrounding supporters to become aggressive to both the stewards and the police. The man in question was evicted and a further two men were arrested for assault."

This response masks a much deeper suspicion that has angered fans as to the apparent singling out of an older, apparently vulnerable, City fan who has no doubt been a life-long supporter of the club through thick and thin.

Showsec have issued the following statement, “Showsec’s operational role at Manchester City Football Club falls within the club’s match day operation. In this instance we were directed by the club to eject a supporter for persistent standing, which contravenes the ground regulations and followed repeated complaints from other supporters in the area.

The ejection was carried out in line with the club’s policy and upon the gentleman’s refusal to leave the ground we requested the support of Greater Manchester Police in order complete the process. The company will continue to support the policies of the club and any eschewing investigations.”

This statement does at least confirm that it was the Club that sanctioned the ejection of this supporter.

So the following questions must be answered:

• what was the process followed that led to the singling out of an older, vulnerable, fan from the ground when so many others in the block and in the away end were also standing?  what records are kept of such decisions and what governance is in place to review them at board level?
  

• what communications took place between the control room and the stewards in the block before, during, and after the incident, especially once the fan had advised his heart condition?

• what investigations are now underway at the club in order to give all parties a fair hearing in this matter?

The Football Supporters Federation (FSF) confirmed to MCFCfans that they have been deluged with phone calls, e-mails, and contact from angry fans since the incident. The FSF chairman is now likely to take up an earlier offer to meet the club, and fans can provide Amanda Jacks, who deals with Policing & Stewarding with statements if they witnessed what happened (contact details avaialble on the FSF website here), anonymously if requested.,

We can only hope that the discontent generated by this shocking incident do not spill over into tomorrow evening with its special singing stand arrangements.  With the world watching, all supporters would be well-advised to rise above it and enjoy the game tomorrow night in the knowledge that formal representations are clearly being made on behalf of the fans.

MCFCfans

Paul Lake, commenting exclusively to MCFCfans on the signing of Sergio Aguero ahead of the release of his new book,”I’m Not Really Here,” said that it would be a dream as a City fan to see Carlos Tevez playing in the same side as Aguero, but he went on to add, ”I’d be surprised if that happens.”  

Paul Lake, never a man to shy away from hard work himself, commented on the appeal of bringing Argentinian stars to the Etihad stadium, ”you get the impression from Pablo Zaboleta and Carlos Tevez that their work ethic is immense, that has a knock-on effect.”

Lake emphasised the importance of inserting Aguero straight into the pre-season action with City in order to achieve a settled side with the new signings as quickly as possible.  Aguero, who is married to one of Diego Maradona’s daughters, will wear the No.16 shirt at City and may well see his first action in this weekend’s pre-season Super Cup tournament in Dublin where City play an Irish XI followed by Inter Milan. 

MCFCfans captured Sergio Aguero’s first experience of meeting City fans outside the Etihad stadium during his contract negotiation process. 

It remains an open question, however, as to whether Tevez can forge an exit with goal.com reporting today that talks were held with Inter on Thursday as fresh attempts are made to work an exit for the unsettled player.  Ironically, any deal may hinge on whether United make a formal bid for Inter playmaker Wesley Sneijder.

See Paul Lake's video interview with MCFCfans by clicking here

The Manchester City Hall of Fame and Blues legend is just days away from having the incredible story of his challenging life picked up off the doormats of Manchester City fans all over the world.  The pre-release response to the book has been phenomenal, with journalists and readers reporting tears and much emotion having read what is a deeply moving but ultimately inspiring account.   

MCFCFans – Click here to vote on Where City finish will in the league this season?

   “I’m Not Really Here” is released on August 4^th published by Century - click the book cover above to buy or here to buy 

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Produced by Kirsty Malcolm for MCFCfans

Sergio Aguero became Manchester City’s club record signing and emerged after signing his contract to an excited crowd of supporters at the Etihad stadium yesterday.  MCFCfans caught the mood with exclusive footage of Kun making a point of dealing with every single request from fans to sign autographs and take pictures, with two delightful junior Blues over the moon at securing his signature.

  Sergio has his picture taken with a junior Blue

City fans demonstrated their excellent command of Spanish, though Sergio was clearly briefed to not respond to questions. However, when City fan Norman Burkitt asked,"how are you?" in Spanish, a smiling Sergio replied, "bien!"  Life-long City fan Burkitt is now on his way to Dublin hoping to see Sergio play for the first time in a City shirt, whilst his daughter Jasmine appears in the BBC3 documentary series,"Small Teen Bigger World," on Monday at 9pm.

Aguero remarked on his Twitter feed some last night,"I'm already a City player. I'm happy to be in this club and in this town. Thank you all for the welcome and the reception!!!"

Comment below with your ideas for a Kun chant !!

Twitter: @MCFCfans

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Sergio Aguero has become become Manchester City’s club record signing and arrived to an ever-growing crowd of supporters  at the Etihad stadium today.  The deal is believed to be worth in excess of £35 million in order to trigger the release clause in his contract with Atletico Madrid, which spares the Madrid side the potential embarrassment that would have followed any move to Real.

Supporters began gathering at the Etihad stadium from the moment Twitter feeds began reporting his arrival at London’s Heathrow airport today.  A medical was followed by further meetings and negotiations, before a smiling Sergio Aguero emerged from the City @ Home building to make his way to the Colin Bell Stand.   

Sergio happily signs for two very happy junior Blues

There he made a specific point of dealing with every single photo and autograph request from the waiting fans over a period of half an hour or so, a true gentleman.

So what do we know about the 23 year old “Kun” from Argentina?  Born into a large and poor family, he’s a prolific goalscoarer with arguably more of a killer instinct for goal than Carlos Tevez, albeit with a weaker shot, having scored 74 goals in 174 appearances at Atletico. 

He is a loyal player and still loves his first home club Independiente, a club that stands to benefit from a slice of the transfer fee and where he has a lifetime box. 

Off the pitch he is the husband of Giannina Maradona, the youngest daughter of Diego Maradona.  It is likely that City, with the future so rooted in youth development, will keep an eye on his son Benjamin.  Just two years old, the young man is reported to be an extraordinary talent with the round ball himself.  Kun is also reported to be very close friends with a certain Lionel Messi.

His English is unlikely to be much better than Tevez, but with British Airways now offering a direct flight from London to Buenos Aires, who knows maybe Carlos, Kun and Pablo can fly back and forward together in order to get around the homesickness clause that may well have been included at Mancini’s insistence!

All eyes now on his first appearance....and what will his chant be?!

MCFCfans

From planking to scoring - SWP is making his mark

Manchester City ventured into Vancouver for the second match of their US tour, a match that only went ahead following the herculean efforts of Vancouver Whitecaps staff and fans who spent hours clearing the Empire Field pitch of water following a deluge over the weekend.  Paul Barber, Whitecaps CEO, explained in an interview on Team 1040 radio in Vancouver that the club had probably sold the city out of screen wipers that were used to help clear the pitch. 

The company that the club hired to lay a natural grass pitch on top of an artificial surface, standard practice in the US for such exhibition games, described it as,” probably their best ever installation,” according to Barber.  The heavens opened moments after that conversation took place in Vancouver. 

Hats off then to the Whitecaps for making the game a reality for the 24,074 sell-out crowd, and it must have been ‘hearts in mouths’ time when Yaya Toure was taken off injured on a worsening pitch, with reports since making it very clear that it was caused by catching another player’s foot.  City players were put to the test with a cruel goal from the Whitecaps that took a wicked deflection off Stefan Savic after half an hour, before John Guidetti equalised for City in the 68^th minute. 

Earlier in the day Ryan Ruocco on ESPN New York radio had been discussing the huge boost that soccer in North America had received from the Women’s World Cup, with the USA disappointingly falling to Japan on penalties in front of 13.5 million viewers.  Penalties he said were like,” a home run derby,” and no way to finish a competitive soccer match.  As word spread that the Whitecaps game against City would be decided on penalties in the event of a draw, up stepped a much-loved City favourite who is determined to make his mark on this US tour – Shaun Wright-Phillips.  Five minutes from time Wright-Phillips produced a rasping thunderbolt into the top left hand corner that was reminiscent of many of his long-range efforts of old.

SWP caught the online headlines early in the tour for what was undoubtedly the best planking effort displayed by a member of the City squad posting their efforts online.  A goal to finish off Club America was followed in Vancouver by the decider to ensure City notched up a confidence-boosting comeback from a goal down.  It has so far been tough to pick out the stand out performers on this tour, but if Shaun Wright-Phillips can adapt his play to the kind of passing game he is beginning to show then it will be a sign of a top player maturing in his trade. As Micah Richards quotes in his daily blog today, ”A class goal from a class guy,” and to view SWP’s humble post-match comments we would have to agree.

The City team have arrived in Los Angeles in preparation for their next match against LA Galaxy on Sunday, with the Galaxy first concentrating on their match tonight with Columbus Crew.  A clean sweep of wins on this US tour would be a fantastic start to pre-season.

@MCFCfans

This article is dedicated to the Real Way Down project :

Visiting ‘22 charities in 22 countries in 22 weeks’ the ‘Real Way Down’ is an expedition through human suffering and kindness. The project will support each of our partner charities through the production of promotional videos, as well as through financial donations, and in this way offers both immediate and long term support. The series of films will be broadcast on the ‘Community Channel’, as well as via our multiple media partners, and with other such initiatives, hopes to use innovation and creativity as a powerful tool within development. To DONATE CLICK HERE

    Click book cover to buy now

A perfect storm for a perfect player

Sports journalists are clamouring for a copy of Paul Lake’s new book, “I’m Not Really Here,” and on turning the last page we can understand why.  Paul Lake made his first team debut for Manchester City in January 1987, having played in City’s FA Youth Cup winning side of 1986.  His signature was chased by no less than Alex Ferguson, Kenny Dalglish, Graeme Souness, and George Graham, and he was hailed as a future England captain by the late Bobby Robson. He then went on to suffer from a catalogue of misfortune with knee injuries and woeful medical support that can at best be described as lazy and at worst negligent.  Universally liked in the football industry, Paul Lake is set to release his memoirs, excellently co-written by his wife Jo, of a deeply moving and inspiring account of a man taken to the brink as he faces losing the game he loves. 

MCFCfans is to publish a series of articles in the lead up to the release of the book on 4^th August 2011 by Century (part of The Random House Group).  

Book signings planned City Store (Etihad Stadium) 25^th August and City Store (Arndale) 26^th August

Twitter: MCFCfans

The Ultimate MCFC FA Cup Final Viewing Guide

In two days we aim to produce the ultimate Global FA Cup Final Viewing Guide for Manchester City fans all over the world, including pubs, bars, parties and roundabouts for those actually going to the match.

COME ON THEN BLUES GET YOUR PUBS AND MEETUPS ON HERE!!

London

The Green Man – Dagmar Avenue, Wembley, HA9 8DF (Wembley Park / Wembley Central / Wembley Stadium Rail)

If you are planning to go to the match then this boozer will be bouncing before kick off.   Once again designated as a Manchester City pub, it will open from 9.30am with food, beer garden, marquees, and portaloos all available. Numbers in the car park are being restricted by the police this time and the doors will close once the quota is reached.  So get there early!

The Roundabout – near the Green Man on Empire Way (A479)

No it isn’t a pub, it is literally a roundabout!  A bloke called Kevin Beresford published a book called “Roundabouts of Great Britain” in 2004 after getting mailbag full of people’s favourite roundabouts.  Surely if he published it now City fans would vote the roundabout at Wembley as their No.1.  There are so many fans planning to base themselves here that you’ll probably have to get there early as well!

The Greyhound – 324 Harrow Road, Wembley, HA9 6LL (Wembley Stadium Rail / Wembley Central)

Not reported as the most desirable of boozers but got a vote of confidence for Blues atmosphere before the semi-final.

The City Pride – 28 Farringdon Lane, EC1R 3AN (Farringdon)

Tony (aka Tueartsboots) is working with the landlord to open the pub early for  pre-match build up and set it up for a post-match drink-up afterwards.  The City Pride has fast become the Blues base for London-based City fans with regular attendances of over 50 or so for big games.  Expect it to be rammed for this one. It has a large downstairs  with several plasma screens (inc at the bar as you wait for your pint) and good-sized upstairs as well. Definitely a good one to go to if you don’t have a ticket.

The Railway – corner of West End Lane and Broadhurst Gardens (right next to West Hampstead tube)

This is a well-trodden pre-Wembley boozer at one of the key outposts slightly off the beaten.  Right next to West Hampstead tube, it is just 15 mins away on the Jubilee line to Wembley Park.  The duty manager was convinced it would be Red for the Semi-Final.  How wrong he was.  It was jam-packed with Blues before and after the match with a cracking atmosphere. It will be Blue again.

Manchester

City Square – City of Manchester Stadium

A lot of fans were frustrated at the box office falling over themselves to sell tickets for City Square when they couldn’t get through to buy the actual match tickets.  But this is a leading option if you’re staying in Manchester.

There are loads of other options so please could Blues who know of at least 30+ fans meeting up to watch the game in a boozer write in rather than us listing out every boozer in town!

Perth, Australia

Blues seeking a boozer – get in touch

Brussels, Belgium

The 6 Nations Bar, 48-50 Rue Gretry, 1000 Brussels, Belgium

New York, USA

The Mad Hatter Saloon & Beer Garden – 360 Third Ave

The only place to be in New York for the final.  Even Garry Cooke has been here before.

Now let's get the rest of the world sorted!!

  The Roundabout is a hot favourite for the Final !!

We have made it to the FA Cup Final!  What a feeling it was to beat United in the Semi.  One of the best games I have ever been to as a City fan.  There is just that nagging feeling now though.  Stoke is a big ask and it never feels great to be the favourite as a City fan.  But that won’t stop an unprecedented pre- and post-match party as the City giddy-o-meter explodes past the red zone.

MCFCfans returns setting itself the one week challenge of producing the most comprehensive MCFC Global FA Cup Final viewing guide incorporating research from everywhere and feedback from readers.  Let’s hear it from fans going to the match and from around the world planning to watch on TV in order to create the best blue-bouncing atmosphere across the globe.  Put your pubs, bars, underground parties, and (hopefully) after-match celebration ideas down by commenting on this article or by going to our FA Cup Final page here.

This FA Cup Final will again produce the good-humoured MCFC way to party, so now is the chance to nail all of the plans being made after the Semi was such a success.  One of the biggest differences with the final would appear to be the large number of fans that will actually stay in London this time, which should make for a great after-match drink up whatever the result.

We’ll update the list below on a daily basis next week with all of your feedback coming in.

MCFCfans

London

The Green Man – Dagmar Avenue, Wembley, HA9 8DF (Wembley Park / Wembley Central / Wembley Stadium Rail)

If you are planning to go to the match then this boozer will be bouncing before kick off.   Once again designated as a Manchester City pub, it will open from 9.30am with food, beer garden, marquees, and portaloos all available. Numbers in the car park are being restricted by the police this time and the doors will close once the quota is reached.  So get there early!

The Roundabout – near the Green Man on Empire Way (A479) – can someone confirm?

No it isn’t a pub, it is literally a roundabout!  A bloke called Kevin Beresford published a book called “Roundabouts of Great Britain” in 2004 after getting mailbag full of people’s favourite roundabouts.  Surely if he published it now City fans would vote the roundabout at Wembley as their No.1.  There are so many fans planning to base themselves here that you’ll probably have to get there early as well!

The Greyhound – 324 Harrow Road, Wembley, HA9 6LL (Wembley Stadium Rail / Wembley Central)

Not reported as the most desirable of boozers but got a vote of confidence for Blues atmosphere before the semi-final.

The City Pride – 28 Farringdon Lane, EC1R 3AN (Farringdon)

Tony (aka Tueartsboots) is working with the landlord to open the pub early for  pre-match build up and set it up for a post-match drink-up afterwards.  The City Pride has fast become the Blues base for London-based City fans with regular attendances of over 50 or so for big games.  Expect it to be rammed for this one. It has a large downstairs  with several plasma screens (inc at the bar as you wait for your pint) and good-sized upstairs as well. Definitely a good one to go to if you don’t have a ticket.

The Railway – corner of West End Lane and Broadhurst Gardens (right next to West Hampstead tube)

This is a well-trodden pre-Wembley boozer at one of the key outposts slightly off the beaten.  Right next to West Hampstead tube, it is just 15 mins away on the Jubilee line to Wembley Park.  The duty manager was convinced it would be Red for the Semi-Final.  How wrong he was.  It was jam-packed with Blues before and after the match with a cracking atmosphere. It will be Blue again.

Manchester

City Square – City of Manchester Stadium

A lot of fans were frustrated at the box office falling over themselves to sell tickets for City Square when they couldn’t get through to buy the actual match tickets.  But this is a leading option if you’re staying in Manchester.

There are loads of other options so please could Blues who know of at least 30+ fans meeting up to watch the game in a boozer write in rather than us listing out every boozer in town!

Perth, Australia

Blues seeking a boozer – get in touch

Brussels, Belgium

Blues known to be getting together here – pub TBC

New York, USA

The Mad Hatter Saloon & Beer Garden – 360 Third Ave

The only place to be in New York for the final.  Even Garry Cooke has been here before.

Now let's get the rest of the world sorted!!

By Dom Farrell, MCFCfans

When David Silva opened his Manchester City account a mere eight minutes into last Thursday's Europa League clash with Salzburg, the feeling of relief was tangible.

The build up to the match was dominated by quotes from boss Roberto Mancini, Nigel de Jong and Silva himself claiming that the former Valencia player's apparent problems in acclimatising to life at City were about to come to an end.

The cruel nature of football can often throw such words back into the protagonists' faces, but when the Silva nonchalantly side-footed Jo's knockdown into the bottom corner, the comments seemed prophetic.

His start to life at City had a number of parallels with the club's stuttering fortunes in the opening weeks of the season - initial excitement and flashes of top level potential, but no definitive impact. 

But Mancini seems to have recognised a stretch of seven games in three weeks as the point of the season where a statement can be made and, in Silva, identified a player who can grasp the moment.

The Canary Islander continued to display the subtleties of his craft three days later as City eased to their second 2-0 win of the week, this time over Wigan in the Premier League.

Newly shorn skipper Carlos Tevez was the star performer at the DW Stadium, opening the scoring with a delightful finish, before laying on the second goal and its associated breathing space for Yaya Toure. 

In the past week Tevez appeared liberated by the Silva’s presence, freed up to roam with the trademark belligerence that has been absence since his horror miss in the defeat to Sunderland. 

A playmaker of Silva's undoubted quality can make football a far simpler game for those around him.

There is an ongoing and understandable wish among City fans for Mancini to give Silva, and Tevez more support in the final third of the field.

In-form England winger Adam Johnson could count himself unfortunate to miss out at Wigan and the prospect of him working alongside Tevez and Silva's burgeoning relationship will surely become too good to ignore.  And this is before the firebrand talents of Mario Balotelli are added to the mix.

The problem is that supplementing the attack will necessitate breaking up the central midfield barricade which is performing with such distinction.  De Jong and Gareth Barry brim with increasing certainty and expression, while Yaya snatched his first City goal at the weekend and is starting to provide the penetration and dynamism that was lacking from the Blues engine room last season.

A difficult decision awaits Mancini in the coming weeks because for all its merits, his current approach is operating within uncomfortably fine margins. A couple of botched chances and Wigan could have been another Sunderland.

It seems perverse to suggest a victory over reigning Austrian champions Salzburg, who boasted a 100% record in last season's Europa League group stage, was less trying than a trip to Wigan. City's previous league outings offer reasons to take such a view.

A haul of one point from a possible six against Sunderland and Blackburn was unacceptable for the ambitious Blues. It represented a stark reluctance to consume the bread and butter that sustains the campaigns of title contenders.

Roberto Martinez' Latics have staggered punch-drunk through the opening rounds of the season, gathering themselves briefly to land a haymaker on Tottenham, so were written off before a ball was kicked.

Additionally, the days’ other games provided a blockbuster between Manchester United and Liverpool and Chelsea’s latest demolition job. 

Against this backdrop, a routine, nondescript win that passes almost without notice is vital. Such wins are the foundations that successful season are built on.

More of the same in the Carling Cup against West Brom on Wednesday night is crucial before City look to derail the Chelsea bandwagon.

Beneath the layer upon layer of articles about big money signings and whether the manager of the day can fashion a side to win the Premier League, there are always incredibly heart-warming stories to be heard about the generosity of City fans around the world. 

One such story concerns the huge dedication of a small number of fans to make the impossible possible.  On Wednesday 25^th August Phil Holme, Tony Griffiths, Alex Channon, Howard Burr will travel to Freetown in Sierra Leone in order to deliver a mini-bus for an aspiring youth football club that was setup as a City supporting club.  Paul Lake, Ambassador for City in the Community will also travel with the party.  They have been helped by the generosity of fans around the world to make it happen.

Here is an abridged version of the story so far as told by Phil Holme of the Portadown Supporters Club branch...

   Armani with future young MCFC Sierra Leone players

In the autumn of 2003 a member of Reddish Branch of the MCFC supporters club completed 30 years as a police officer in Manchester and retired. He then started working in Sierra Leone in West Africa, where his job was to train detectives out there to investigate child abuse.

Sierra Leone has for the past several years been either last, or second to last in the world wealth league tables published every year. Average life expectancy is around 38 years and living conditions for most people are appalling. On top of all these problems the country has gone through a particularly bloody civil war that lasted 11 years and only ended in 2000.

When he arrived in Freetown, the capital City, Tony noticed the usual scattering of people wearing Arsenal, Liverpool and Stretford shirts. It soon became apparent that football is massive in the country and most people follow the English Premier League.

At the end of his first week he was enjoying a beer at a beach bar when a young man approached him by the name of Armani Sheku Kamara who was selling watches, sunglasses etc. He noticed that he was wearing a Stretford lapel badge and as Tony is a dyed in the wool blue he joked with the young man that he could not buy any of his merchandise from a man wearing such an offensive item. Within a short time he agreed to throw the offending item into the Atlantic Ocean and negotiations commenced.

It soon became apparent that not only did he have a good knowledge of Premier League football he also had a good knowledge of the ups and downs of Manchester City. He assured Tony that he was only wearing the offending badge because a customer had given it to him and he promised him that if he could get him a City shirt he would be a City fan for the rest of his life. Little did he know what that conversation would lead to.

In early 2004 Tony returned to Sierra Leone having spent a few weeks back in Manchester, and of course took back with him a City shirt for Armani. Within a few days of receiving the shirt Armani told Tony that he was setting up a Man City Supporters Club in Freetown. When Tony next returned to UK he discussed the Sierra Leone situation, first with Howard Burr the Secretary of the Reddish Branch and then with Alex Channon former Chair of the CSA. It was then that the Sierra Leone Branch of the Manchester City Supporters Club was born.

On Tony’s next visit he was able to take back with him several dozen assorted City shirts donated by City fans over here. They proved very popular and soon were being seen all around the Freetown streets. Soon Armani had formed a Manchester City Football team in Freetown as well as a Junior Man City team. The problem was that they were wearing a red and white striped kit that they had to rent on a match-by-match basis. Following discussion with Lorraine Firth at Manchester City the Club kindly donated a full kit for the team out there. There was also a concerted effort by a lot of Branches to collect as many shirts, boots as possible these were also sent out to Sierra Leone.

Tony Griffiths last visited Sierra Leone in March 2007 and we were proud to hear of many men women and children wearing an array of City shirts around the capital and beyond. The football team formed such a short time ago is going from strength to strength and Armani is something of a local celebrity who is frequently interviewed on national radio in Sierra Leone and works extremely hard to promote Man City for no financial reward.  On 23^rd November 2008 the Man City Youth team appeared in the Sierra Leone F.A. Youth Cup final and WON. Not bad for a team that did not exist 4 years ago. You now can't walk through Freetown without seeing a City shirt and hearing shouts of “City till I die”

Unfortunately the first team had to pull out of the main league last season as it did not have enough cash to fulfil their away fixtures although the league have agreed to keep their place in division two for next season assuming they have funds in place.

The next phase is to try and help make the team financially independent by raising money for a mini bus this doubles up as both transport to away matches, which is one of the most prohibitive costs to the team, and during the rest of the week it becomes a revenue maker by running it as a proper bus in Freetown. This will give two people a job and also raise enough cash to keep the teams running. Also it should provide enough to replace the bus every 10 years.

This is not just another fund raiser - the work being done is changing lives and keeping young people off the streets and giving them a common bond - it is CHANGING LIVES and even SAVING some.

The bus arrived in Manchester on 12^th July where it was liveried up with sponsorship logos including the new MCFC Supporters Club logo. Special thanks to Barclay Signs Ltd from Stockport who did this free of charge. The bus is now on its way to Sierra Leone with all the kit and equipment donated by Man City fans where Tony, Howard, Alex, Paul, Neil Cole from Endemol (who will be filming the whole process) and myself (Phil Holme) will be there to meet and deliver it to MCFC Sierra Leone and Armani.

We can’t thank the Club enough in particular Garry Cook and Paul Lake but everyone has been fantastic, there are too many to mention but our heartfelt thanks goes to EVERYONE who has been involved in helping or donating in anyway whatever. Without you it would not have happened but please remember the appeal goes on.

City as a Club have always been fan friendly. When we were taken over, there were those who thought here we go another rags or chelski etc. Well I’m here to tell you the heart of Man City is in great shape and if anything is going to get even more fan friendly especially with the unification of the Supporters Club. I am proud of my football club (how many can say that in this day and age) long may it continue thank you Sheikh Mansour.

On 28th July a container was loaded with the bus and six pallets of kit, training gear, laptops, books, a kids bike a scooter and a partridge in a pear tree (well maybe not the last one) Alex and Howard were there to lend a hand and Neil was there to film the container being loaded. The long journey began on the 29th July with the container off to Felixstowe where it will be loaded aboard the ship bound for Freetown and is due to arrive on 26th August. We, that is Tony, Alex, Howard, Paul, Neil and myself will be leaving on 25th August for Freetown to meet the ship the following day - here’s hoping it’s on time (everything is crossed).

There is a very busy itinerary whilst we are there Armani has contacted the Minister for Sport and various media outlets that want the story. We will be going to various schools and we will be attending a football game of MCFC Sierra Leone. On the Saturday we will be handing out training gear and kit to the teams at our hotel and on the Sunday it will be the official handover of the bus outside the National Stadium.

So it’s all go from here guys - I reckon we may add just a little water to the docks on the 26th - can't see there being a dry eye so to speak

Thanks again for all your support - and please remember we are still collecting.

Phil Holme

CLICK HERE TO DONATE TO THE BUS APPEAL

The Italian's expensively assembled starting line-up found themselves in the eye of a ferocious storm in the first half hour of the Premier League curtain raiser against Tottenham. 

In truth, if it hadn't been for Hart's heroics, Spurs could have been out of sight. But after winning the backing of Mancini's countryman Fabio Capello in midweek, the Mansfield-born stopper was in inspired form.  Razor-sharp reactions denied Jermain Defoe from close range and every inch of Hart's 6ft5 frame improbably clawed a deflected drive from Benoit Assou-Ekotto out of the top corner. These were just two highlights of a complete goalkeeping display.

In recent history, City have been blessed with some stunning turns from their last line of defence. Tony Coton's performance against Leeds on the opening day in 1993, Nicky Weaver's star turn in 1999's vital promotion clash with Ipswich and Shay Given's debut salvo at home to Middlesbrough come instantly to mind.  In the latter game, Given effectively condemned Hart to a year in exile on loan at Birmingham. His colleague duly knuckled down and has returned to Eastlands to reclaim the goalkeeping jersey by the sheer force of his own endeavors.

Whether Given at 34 has the stomach for a similar fight is questionable. His prickly response to questions about his first-team prospects while on international duty with the Republic of Ireland would suggest otherwise.  An expected appearance against FC Timisoara in the Europa League on Thursday is unlikely to appease an accomplished performer who will not be short of potential suitors.

The initial results of City's goalkeeping conundrum - a richly gifted youngster hungrily pursuing excellence while a revered veteran contemplates his next move - lay bare the pros and cons of Mancini's job in managing a well-stocked and lavishly gifted group.

Carlos Tevez emerged at White Hart Lane proudly displaying the captain's armband. The clear message to former skipper Kolo Toure was that his years to top-level experience do not make his place in the side certain.  Alongside the imperious Vincent Kompany at the heart of City's defence, the Ivory Coast star was spurred on to arguably his best performance for the club.

Mancini's selection in the centre of midfield was less successful. The solution to having a raft of holding midfielders in your squad is not shoe-horning as many of them into your starting XI as is humanly possible. Too often in a sometimes chastening first half, City's central trio of Nigel de Jong, Yaya Toure and Gareth Barry were pushed flat and deep in front of their back four, inviting a constant stream of Spurs pressure and leaving the diminutive attacking talents of Shaun Wright-Phillips, David Silva and Carlos Tevez isolated.

More damningly, adequate cover was not given to full-backs Micah Richards and Aleksander Kolorov as Aaron Lennon and Gareth Bale wrought havoc down the flanks for Tottenham. Only when Barry moved to a left-sided midfield position in the second half ahead of substitute Pablo Zabaleta did the wide areas start to look secure.

In the friendly win over Valencia, De Jong, Barry and Yaya were successfully deployed in a midfield diamond. Barry opened the scoring and was joined by Yaya in making a number of penetrative runs into the penalty area, beyond playmaker Silva and Emmanuel Adebayor and Tevez up front.  A week on in North London, Tevez was a lone forward, City's attack lacked focus and even when Mancini's side regained their poise in possession after half-time, their attacking play was devoid of a definite pattern.

This is something the Blues' boss will hope the arrival of Mario Balotelli and the imminent purchase of James Milner remedies. But he must also encourage a dynamism and intent that was lacking on Saturday to allow these players and others to realise their potential in City colours.

Tottenham's first half showing displayed the benefits of a thrusting, attacking 4-4-2 style in the Barclays Premier League, just as the well stocked midfields at this summer's World Cup demonstrated the virtues of a possession-based approach in the modern game.

City have the personnel to undertake either system successfully when their new arrivals have bedded in. Mancini must display greater conviction by using both to win football matches.

Rob Manford, MCFCfans

Enjoy the game!

Rob Manford, MCFCfans

Video Chart No.2

"Tape it, keep it, and if you're a Manchester City fan watch it week in week out."

The countdown to the MCFCfans No.1 video continues ahead of this evening's potential banana skin against Scunthorpe.  This video was very nearly our No.1.  What a night this was at White Hart Lane.  Definitely one of the most incredible games I have ever been to.  3-0 down at half-time I remember buying a Bovril (presumably no booze that night) and having put it on the ground for one second someone kicked it over.  At that moment I thought things couldn't get any worse. In the comedy of having Barton sent off and being 3-0 down it seemed that we were still due to witness something else.  When the first City goal went in I had the genuine feeling we could get a replay.  But no one imagined what would happen next.  One of the best City videos on the internet...watch it week in week out.

CTID.

Click here to see the video

No.3 - Neville has a shocker

Well it seemed only right on the day of a derby match that we drop the low-rated video trash and stick to a firm derby favourite as we continue our video chart countdown.  This game was one of the most enjoyable games to watch live and has to be up there in many a City fan's top 10.  3-1 would be a tidy result tonight and if the team on paper performs on the pitch then we could have one foot in the final.  Come on City !!!

MCFCfans

No. 4 - We're not really here

Do you ever ask yourself, what will it be like if and when we start winning trophies?  An entire generation of City fans look forward to the moment when City lift their next trophy.  The Carling Cup is a mere three games away.  But do you think that younger City fans are ready to experience winning?!

This is another video that caught our eye for a low amount of views even though it's an interesting video.  Professor Cary Cooper talks about the psychology of City fans with a video that contains some great footage of the stands at Maine Road.  This one deserves more than the 2,954 views it has had so far so we've put it in at No.4 in the MCFCfans video chart. 

MCFCfans

A high new entry at No.5

After a long spell of peace and quiet on the blog, we return after a poor performance against Everton.  A job done by Everton who outplayed us for most of the game, certainly after the first 20 minutes. 

MCFCfans begins a series featuring our top 5 Manchester City videos with a favourite that is so well put together it’s a great surprise it sits quietly in YouTube with only 9,300 or so views. It's an emotional video that seems fitting after the defeat today...how easy it is to forget those days gone by.

The cracking backing music is brilliantly worked against images that reflect the cult following of Manchester City.  It's an awesome capture of a special moment in City history.  What a great club it is we support.  Enjoy!

MCFCfans

City dropped two points today as the inability to keep a clean sheet begins to take its’ toll.  It was an improvement on last year’s 3-1 loss.  But it was certainly disappointing to miss out on the opportunity to capitalise on the results going on around us this weekend.

We were happily informed by Shaun Goater’s ‘Read the Goat’ column in the match programme that he would be wearing his t-shirt, shorts, and flip-flops whilst watching the game in 70 degrees heat, just as it started p***ing down in Manchester.  At that point City announced what on paper looked to be a formidable attacking line-up with Petrov, Bellamy, Tevez, Adebayor all starting.  But the shape didn’t pay huge dividends, and it was clear that the raft of recent internationals has interrupted City’s learning curve.

After a dull start, the game had its’ first highlight in the 11^th minute when the Kippax identified a posh chap from Fulham in a pink jumper.  “Who’s the tranny in the pink?” was followed by variations on the same theme for a couple of minutes before the aforementioned posh chap, who to be fair acknowledged the City end with a hearty wave, became so embarrassed that he took his pink jumper off.  For all Fulham’s population of the away end looked pretty pathetic their dogged determination on the pitch certainly wasn’t.

Petrov was awarded with a start after his good performances and operated on both sides, swapping with Bellamy in order to take up corner-taking duties.  But the 10-man Fulham defence made it hard for City to stretch down the flanks, and the attack often found itself in a circular formation that lacked link play in the middle.   It could have been a setup that Ireland would have been more suited to in the berth alongside Barry. 

When the deadlock was finally broken in the 53^rd minute it was a scrappy goal that was awarded to Adebayor during the match, but seems to have been given to Lescott post-match.  Great link-up play then saw Petrov pick his spot with a superb finish to make it 2-0.  City were cruising and it looked like the floodgates might open.  However, they opened at the other end in five minutes of defensive madness. The warning signs were there for all to see when Zamora somehow missed from point blank after a series of defensive howlers saw Fulham dance into the box earlier in the match.  There was a lack of organisation in defence that needs to be resolved rapidly. 

Tevez and Bellamy led by example in their promotion of work-rate, Tevez regularly getting into the box to create chances, but it was telling that City had twenty-four (24) chances and only six were on target.  The benefit to the team provided by the ever-improving Bridge was more than wiped out by Micah Richards who was a passenger for most of the game. To be fair to him he did a job that would have been done by Zabaleta had he not been suspended, but it was an obvious area of weakness that Fulham did well to exploit.

Overall, a disappointment but not a catastrophe. As TLDORC blog rightly points out, the press will be on the lookout for a new crisis club now that Liverpool have beaten United.  We need to make sure it is not City, starting with Scunthorpe.

MCFCfans

    All eyes on Anfield as City look to gain ground

The fact that City’s army of London-based fans have chosen to take the earlier trains to Manchester, even though they are 30 minutes slower than the later trains, perhaps signals that it is not just Mark Hughes who will have his eye on the game at Anfield today.  How times have changed.

City entered Mark Hughes’s notional second block of games this season with a draw against Wigan.  A good result seen as it ended with 10 men against a well-organised side that always give City a run for their money.  Saturday’s results at Wolves and White Hart Lane, alongside the ongoing dropping of points by the so-called ‘top four,’ lend weight to the argument that this will be one of the Premiership’s most open seasons in its’ short history.  At last. 

Today the world’s press will focus on the game at Anfield, and then no doubt splurge enough predictable, pre-written pap to fill a new landfill site.   City fans will emerge from Mary D’s Beamish Bar with a smile on their face if both sides share the points, before taking their seats to see City quietly go about their slow overtake up the inside lane.  For at this point in the season, City sits in a sweet spot that suits the club perfectly.  Not so high up the table to attract attention, a sneaky game in hand, and crucially in touch with the leaders.

Naturally, nothing less than a win will do today.   A draw away to Wigan followed by an interruption to the home record would be seen as the potential beginnings of wheels coming off.  City will field a strong team against theoretically tired Fulham who played on Thursday night, so a win should be straight-forward.  But Fulham have a tendency to surprise, especially in the face of adversity so the defence will need to be on its’ guard.  In fact City should be targeting 9 points from their next three league games in preparation for the likes of Liverpool, Chelsea and Tottenham to come.  A strong run to the year-end will confirm what many fans prefer to keep quiet for fear of exciting the demons.  Say no more!

On the player front it will be interesting to see whether Petrov is rewarded with a start.  The signs are that there could be more goals to come from Petrov, so why not.  It’s healthy rotation that keeps others on their toes.  In the meantime, it will be a joy to continue watching the likes of Barry (see Observer interview) and De Jong ply their trade.  As one friend recently put it, “De Jong is playing the Makelele role better than Makelele.”  If anything it is our longer-serving stars that need to come out of their shells somewhat.  SWP has been guilty of giving the ball away too cheaply at times, while Ireland has yet to really start firing.  Tevez is surely like the first sip of a fine Malbec, the best is yet to come.  And a final word on Robinho.  Yes we can live without him – but we can also live with him.  He will yet prove his worth with the under-rated talent around him.

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City start the club management’s next pre-defined block of games in an exciting season against Wigan on Sunday.  The first block went extremely well, and if City are in the top four by new year then I ‘ll have a fine Scotch in honour of a great first half of the season.  To be honest I’ll have a fine Scotch anyway, but it’ll taste better if City are up there!

City have defied the pre-season critics both on and off the pitch, smoothly riding the waves of press vitriol coming its’ way.  One can only hazard at the current state of mind of Sir Alex Ferguson who in yesterday’s Daily Mail advised us that City may be heading for financial disintegration in the future, questioning at the same time whether or not it can be good for a club to have financial stability.

The tide is turning.  Sport magazine, a London-based sports freebie, has been something akin to a United fanzine for much of the early season.  So it was no surprise that its’ editor didn’t reply to my friendly e-mail requesting some balance in their coverage.  It’s a decent Sport weekly, so why did they see fit to profile a different United player each week? 

Well maybe they were listening this week as the player profiling gave way for “The Power List 2009,” a list of Sports view of the 50 people who wield the most influence in British sport.  Sandwiched in between Lord Coe at No.3 and Jeremy Darroch, Chief Executive of BSkyB, is our very own Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayad Al Nahyan.  One of the world’s most powerful investors who has brought instant stability to City, certainly not the prospect of financial disintegration that £700 million of debt brings.

Kicking off the season again with a win against Wigan will be important. It’s a tough game that provides a stern test of resilience.  We will miss Bellamy if he’s not fit, but it’s up to the team to make sure we win games like this.  Once again the Manchester City Babies in Ghana have provided great inspiration.  The club picked up a triple crown of league victories in all age groups two weeks ago, and finished last weekend unbeaten with two wins and a draw – see their dedicated page here.

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There is no time for intricate research and intelligent commentary this morning.  No City fan is going to make any allowances today in their pursuit to get to quite clearly the biggest game of the season so far.  The fact that this Arsenal game is immediately followed up by the derby next week makes it extra special.  There is also the outside chance of an appearance from the owner in front of a sell out home crowd for the first time.

The atmosphere today will be something close to the Hamburg  game.  It is the first big test against one of the so-called 'big four'.  It's game on, the talking stops here, and the playing on the pitch is everything.  It's time for a huge performance from every player.  What a mouth-watering prospect.

No Tevez for City won't make a jot of difference given the circumstances. City's approach to the game will be the key.  What will the mental state be?  If we give Arsenal too much respect in the face of the pressure then we stand to be taken apart.  But if our confident strutting is carefully employed with an Adebayor goal or two then we're in good shape with a belting crowd behind us.

Time to get in the car and drive to the match. Can't wait.  Will be collecting kit for the Manchester City Babies in Ghana on the way. They play Standfast FC this weekend, a rival side based in Tamale and above the Babies in the league in every age group (see MCFC Babies page). It will be a tough weekend for them but here's hoping for top points for City and the Babies this weekend.

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This morning's reports quoting Richard Dunne's comments while on international duty have left City fans feeling uncomfortable.  The recent squeeky clean media effort has seen the first blot on its' copy book. 

The week started so well with Oliver Holt's report in the Mirror entitled, "Why Kaka might regret choosing Real Madrid over Manchester City."  Finally, it seems the media is beginning to believe in the City "project."

However, City's official website report on Richard Dunne's departure seems to conflict with his own comments in the press this morning.  Mark Hughes said in that report, "It would have been difficult for Dunney to stay given his standing at the club and I understand that.  I wasn’t going to stand in his way. I could have tried to stop him going and said I wanted him as a squad player but out of respect for what he has done for City I wasn’t going to do that."

But Dunne himself suggested that he was forced out of the club speculating that it was a decision taken by the club to balance the books.  This morning's Times article reports that Dunne was led to believe that the club were busy selling him behind his back. Dunne is reported as saying, "From the day after the Bulgaria v Republic game in June, I was getting phone calls from people saying Garry Cook has been trying to sell me behind my back.  That was two months after me going to him and saying if he has any problems to come and deal with me."

As discussed on other blogs this morning (Lonesome Death of Roy Carroll), these reports sit uneasily with City fans who appreciate the years of service that loyal servant Dunne gave to City.  Most fans agreed that it was time to make changes in central defense.  The club has been making credible efforts to reach out and be a more supporter-facing club.  City fans and players alike will be keen to know that this effort extends to loyal playing staff.  However, the conflicting reports suggest that it may not all be a one-way street.  The Independent suggests that City dispute Dunne's claim that he was promised a testimonial. They also reportedly argue that they compensated Dunne adequately by giving him a £600,000 golden handshake and agreed to reduce the transfer fee with Villa down from £6m to 4.8m.  As is so often the case, we may never know the real truth.

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    City forced to defend early in the first half

A well-deserved one-nil victory (City Official Match Report) but an expensive three points for my wallet!  The foundations of my goal-fest prediction were all there.  But when I turned up and realised we were to be playing in white I thought the entire strategy might be undone.  I’m a strong believer in third kits being a bad omen.

I’ll exchange a dent in the wallet for three points any day.  City dominated for a lot of the game but it's fair to say Pompey gave us some cause for concern in various areas.  It was a great atmosphere and we roll on unbeaten in the league, unbeaten away from home, the only side to have not conceded a goal.  As one fan bellowed out in reply to Pompey’s cheating chant aimed at Adebayor, “Same old City, always winning!”  Yeah, steady on...

Any fans who weren’t at the game will know better as it was televised on Sky, but I hear the disallowed goal should have stood on the grounds that Barry was offside and not Richards.  Was Barry interfering with play?  There were also two big penalty shouts.  I thought both were penalties, but the Tevez penalty shout was probably the most blatant I have ever seen.  Again Sky may have already proven me wrong.  Either way, had a couple of all of those chances gone in the 3-0 correct score and total goals call might have looked a little more sensible.  I hope readers didn’t wager too much on similar outcomes. I heard one fan on the way out say he had Adebayor to score first and City 3-0.  Gutted.

Adebayor's goal brought about rapturous scenes in the City end with Adebayor's newly adapted song being bellowed out to a silent Pompey crowd (see home page for video).  If Adebayor can keep up the steady trickle of goals then our away form might just continue.

As it was many City fans were sweating like Aussies in a spelling test for a period during the second half when Pompey pressed for an equaliser.  Shay Given’s call for composure in seeing games out was not entirely heeded, as the gut instinct for many City players is still to rampage up the pitch in search of another goal late on.  But the 1-0 held and City fans celebrated to avoid the riot that would have unfolded had Pompey equalised after the Tevez penalty shout.

 City fans celebrate the final whistle...let the good times roll!

With readers having watched the game on television it leaves me to point out a few subtle nuances picked up in the terrace.  Firstly, the terrace banter is getting better and better.  The production line of imaginative and humorous songs that used to be the reserve of standing in the Kippax is on its’ way back.  If you’ve not been to an away game yet this season then I can highly recommend it.

On the player front Tevez looked a bit tired as the game neared the end.  More match fitness is required.  I guess I have to break my protective silence on Wayne Bridge as well.  He must close down potential crosses quicker than he does, or at all.  If we’re vulnerable anywhere it is down the flanks.  Finally, an observation on Petrov.  I spotted it at the Blackburn game and noticed it again at half-time at Portsmouth. His body language seems to be saying, “what am I doing here,” like he would be more interested staying at home pairing his socks up.  Head down and no enthusiasm.  I hope I’m wrong and he wins a place to prove his attacking worth.

After the international break, City have two huge games in the form of Arsenal at home and United away.  The Chairman’s recent interview with the official site suggested the Sheikh could be in town soon. Arsenal at home would represent a fine way to greet an adoring and grateful City faithful.

Bring ‘em on!

MCFCfans

  The Grand Master Plan takes shape

Firstly, a warm welcome to all of the new members of MCFCfans, supporters of Manchester City from all over the world who have been signing up to be a part of a growing global City community.   There are many great City fan blogs, and it is the sign of a club with real heart and substance that we should be blessed with so many not-for-profit, well-respected, unofficial sites. 

The form book certainly reads in City’s favour today.   WWWWW, our form back to the Celtic friendly, is not a sight we have seen for a while.  Added to this is the fact that City has not conceded a goal in the last four games.  There are certainly some small issues around the edges about one aspect or another of the team, but I would take that start any season.

As Hughes himself has confessed, Pompey presents a somewhat unpredictable challenge.   Playing a struggling team away from home, that has just had a major organisational change, is always perilous.  In the spirit of light-hearted banter, I think that predicting a tight affair today is the easy option.  City should trounce Portsmouth today, make no bones about it.   Pompey’s new owner has yet to make an impact at Pompey, and it could be said he needs to prove himself after his outbursts during the City takeover.  A lot of quality has left the club and not a lot has come back in the other direction.

There were several aspects that impressed me watching City from the stand on Thursday evening.   The one that really stood out though, was the condition of the players.   Very few players looked to be lacking match fitness even though we’re at the start of the season.  When a ball was being chased by any City player, it was chased with a burst of pace that demonstrated a rigorous pre-season training routine.  No longer does Stephen Ireland look like the only player who can run for 90 minutes. 

Stephen Ireland’s description in the Telegraph yesterday about a walk in the hotel grounds with Micah and Nedum was enlightening. “We were on a walk at the hotel, me and Micah and Nedum.  And we were just saying – Richard Dunne had just left, just before we went on our walk – and we were saying there’s just three of us left, this is mental you know.”  It’s happened so fast and yet, so far at least, the manner of the execution of the plan has been excellent.

It’s not difficult to pick out the new players who have made an impact so far.  All of them.  Adebayor is scoring and has slotted in nicely up front.  Barry’s command of midfield is a cut above, although there is more to be done to gel the midfield together.   Tevez showed signs of real class on Thursday night. His vision and ability to join up passages of play is something akin to a chess player.  Toure and Lescott looked relatively assured.  The niggling wing-back concerns persist, and there is a real need to find a way to get the best out of Robinho as the formation takes shape. But these niggles take time.

This is a team that is enjoying playing football together as the grand master plan is implemented.  There is a real buzz around the club and the players are feeding from it.  The feel good factor could create a big result today.  The betting certainly indicates a strong City showing (Betfair:  City 1.59 – 1.6, Pompey 7.0-7.2, Draw 4.2-4.3 @ 09.57am, 30^th Aug).  So I’m long total goals, but have capped my correct score optimism at 3-0 to City (Betfair:  13.5-14.0). 

Let’s hear a big noise in the 2,000 strong away end today Blues:  COME ON CITY !!!

   Here's hoping the newly formed City team show the deep passion

   and commitment of the Manchester City Babies in Ghana

What a great time to be a Manchester City fan.  I can’t stop myself day-dreaming about the noise that we created that night against Hamburg, only I apply the noise to some made-up cup-winning goal scenario.  I crave more of it.  Lots more!!

The signings we have made so far have been impressive.  If we can add a big central defender to the squad before the transfer deadline then we’re in really good shape to win something this season.  Yes, repeat, “win something.”  As Robinho has rightly pointed out though, unless the defence is sorted out then we will have an uphill struggle to make our way into the top 4.  Top teams win consistently by being strong at the back.  That being said, buying a defender isn’t necessarily the answer. We’ve played well at the back with what we’ve got in the past.  So surely there is a lot to be said for getting our existing defenders seriously organised this season?

MCFCfans returns to the blog after a long time out.  It’s been a busy and rewarding last few months working on the Soccer Babies project and supporting the MCFC Babies in Ghana.  After a difficult start to their first season in the Ghanaian youth league, the Manchester City Babies recorded an unbeaten weekend across all age groups last weekend.  It was truly great news and readers can catch up the progress of the Babies throughout the season on their dedicated blog. 

My trip to Ghana to see the MCFC Babies was truly memorable.  The English Premier League is at the centre of almost all discussions concerning football among young Ghanaians.  Scattered around the country are large theatres with big screens and multiple televisions that show all of the big live EPL games.  I had the misfortune of watching us lose to United in one of them.  Virtually every shirt was either a Chelsea shirt (on account of Essien) or a United shirt.  Among the 400 odd present in the theatre to watch the derby, there was one guy in a City shirt with the old Brother logo. He gave me a long story of how he had come to inherit the shirt, how he had cherished it ever since, and that he always went to the theatre to watch City.  

The potential of the fan base in Africa cannot be underestimated.  Our capture of Adebayor and Toure will advance City’s profile in the region.  But the support of local youth football teams in Africa playing in Manchester City colours is a fantastic win win for the club. Soccer Babies aim is to sell this to them once we have established a credible track record.

In the meantime back home over 7,000 fans will turn up to Ewood Park for the opening game of the season on Saturday.  I simply can’t wait to get there (I'll be twittering updates on the home page for anyone unable to make it).  Whatever criticism comes our way, whatever nostalgia for the past may circulate, whatever anyone might think about the money in the game, if you bleed blue blood then you simply can’t help being excited by the season ahead.  Bring it on.

Come on City !!!

CTID

MCFCFans

  The MCFC Babies in Ghana

We've been quiet on this blog for a while now but there's been a good reason!

Many readers of MCFCfans, MCIVTA, and  other City forums will be aware of the Manchester City Babies in Ghana.  The club is a youth football club run by Peter Amoabil, who is also the Representative of the Ghana branch of the Manchester City Centenary Supporters Association (MCCSA). 

Alex Channon, Chairman of the MCCSA, launched a kit and funding appeal for the MCFC Babies in Ghana that many of you kindly donated to.  That appeal began an association for me with the MCFC Babies that was to become the inspiration for setting up a charity to support youth football teams in Africa and beyond.

Well, after months of preparation, over a hundred e-mails back and  forth to Ghana, gathering Manchester City kit and footballs from far and  wide, missing flights and buses, finally here I am writing to you from Tamale in Ghana.  What a huge relief to be here!

Peter met me at the airport this morning and it was an exciting moment.  It feels like the beginning of a great journey.  But it is one that I need help with and so I am starting the process of spreading awareness now.

The long-term vision of the charity project is to combine the desire of English Premier League clubs to raise their global profile with the genuine needs of less developed areas and communities. Supporting the creation and development of grassroots football is merely the vehicle through which we’ll try and address some of those needs.  Clubs tend to have quite good charitable links within their local catchment areas.   But many seem to be missing a way of helping communities further afield. 

The fundraising concept is to create an umbrella fund of individual sub-funds for each Premiership club. Clubs and fans donate into their own club pot and once the pot reaches certain levels so grants and sponsorship can be awarded to genuine youth football club projects.  The system would enable clubs and fans to follow the progress of the club they have sponsored, in much the same way as you can follow the MCFC Babies progress in Ghana on the web page we created for them on MCFCfans: www.mcfcfans.co.uk/mcfc_babies.

The medium-term aim might be to arrange an exclusive partnership with a Premiership club, and being biased Manchester City is obviously preferred.  The timing, credit crunch aside, couldn’t be better with the 2010 World Cup in South Africa and City announcing their pre-season tour there.  The club is deluged with chairtable requests every week and such a charity would provide a means of centrally co-ordinating charitable efforts related to youth football outside the UK. But we need to make more progress in setting  up first.

I have been researching this project now for several months.  I have contacted many other organisations (The Craig Bellamy Foundation, Footballs4Fun, Streetfootball, FIFA’s Football for Hope)  with a view to collaboration and exchange of knowledge.  There is no point starting from scratch when partnering can deliver immediate results. 

The research continues and the short-term objective is to learn as much as possible and establish track record by supporting the development of the MCFC Babies in Ghana.  I will be sitting down with Peter, coaches and local football administrators tomorrow to work through our respective plans. The Babies will also  play a match in the morning wearing their newly donated Manchester City kits.

So what can you do to help? Continuing to donate kit is very much welcome and there is an address on the MCFC Babies page for this purpose. But what is really needed is the time, dedication and commitment of willing volunteers.  I’d be most grateful if anyone with charitable experience, administration, youth football experience, trustee experience, or just a general willingness to give up some time could get in touch.  

I will continue to post articles to various outlets but you can also follow progress at this Soccer Babies (provisional name...better suggestions welcome!) website, which is currently being developed: www.webjam.com/soccer_babies

In all of the trials and tribulations of supporting City, it’s easy to forget there are ways we can help those less fortunate than us through a mutual love of football.

Keep the faith.

Malcy

em:sm@mcfcfans.com

MCFCfans reports on the story of Carl Ramsbottom, and appeals to fans to donate generously to the bucket collections at tomorrow’s game against Middlesbrough

For most Manchester City fans, the away UEFA Cup match against FC Schalke at the end of November last year is a fond and distant memory.  But for one fan and his family, the trip was just the beginning of a traumatic and exhausting period that will continue for several months to come.

Carl Ramsbottom, who comes from Heywood just outside Rochdale, had been travelling back to his hotel after seeing City win 2-0 at the Veltrins Arena in Gelsenkirchen when a near fatal accident happened.  He had stopped to turn around and locate his friends and, with his back to a flight of stairs, he lost his footing in the crowd and fell.

A man with medical experience at the scene prior to the arrival of the emergency services immediately put Carl in the recovery position and ensured his airways were clear.  Keen to thank the unidentified man, Carl’s family made an appeal on KEY103 radio in Manchester.  Gareth Dickens, a City fan and male nurse at the Manchester Royal Infirmary, came forward.  Carl’s cousin Ian Ramsbottom, speaking to MCFCfans, said, “the family wanted to thank Gareth for his efforts as they may have saved Carl’s life.”

Doctors had to quickly release fluid in Carl’s brain by removing and deep-freezing a piece of his skull in an emergency operation.  They then put him into an induced coma in order to aid his recovery.  More than three weeks passed before the family had the relief of seeing Carl open his eyes for the first time following the accident.  Carl now faces another operation to re-insert the frozen skull bone, and a  long and uncertain road to recovery as his body learns basic functions all over again.    

The family have been overwhelmed by the support from supporters of Manchester City, FC Schalke and other clubs beyond.  Fans across the globe have been sending messages of support via message forums such as Bluemoon. 

The clubs themselves have also pitched in with support.  FC Schalke have been helping with hotels for the family in Germany and Manchester City are providing facilities for fundraising activities.  The club also sent a DVD with recorded messages of support from Mark Hughes and many of the City players last month.

The next major expense for the family is likely to be the need to transport Carl to hospital in the UK and this is likely to involve medical transportation by train or ambulance. Fans are rallying round with a series of fundraising events to help the family cover the huge costs involved.  Manchester City have granted rare permission for volunteers to do a bucket collection outside the City stadium prior to the match against Middlesboro tomorrow (Saturday 7^th February, KO 12.45pm).  Willing volunteers are still encouraged and are asked to meet outside the MCFC Superstore at 10.45am prior to the match.

MCFCfans has dedicated a page to the appeal that details some of the future fundraising events.  We’ll also soon have a PayPal donation button that fans around the world can use to send funds to the appeal.  Carl’s family are sincerely thankful for your support, which has been vital during this very difficult time.  We wish Carl all the very best for his recovery. 

MCFCfans

The BBC understands that Robinho has been questioned in connection with an alleged sexual assault in a Leeds nightclub and is understood to have been released on bail.

This is all Manchester City needs right now. Just as we were getting back to the football. Hopefully somoene trying to make a fast buck and nothing with substance. Who knows if this is related to his sudden departure to Brazil.

Times article

The Sun

The Mirror

Sky News

MCFCfans

In the final part of a two-part series (Part One is at this link) of articles reflecting on the Kaka transfer saga, MCFCfans looks forward to the ultimate remedy: let it all out on the terrace. Fans are ready to put the papers in the bin and make some noise on Wednesday night.

Journalists whizz down to the lowest common denominator

City may well have been running before they could walk, as Mark Hughes suggested to Martin Samuel in the Daily Mail on Friday.  Interestingly, Hughes also chose this interview to pick out Sulaiman al-Fahim, ADUG's first spokesperson, as being the root cause of City’s uphill PR battle.  He’s probably not far wrong.  Talk of signing Cristiano Ronaldo was naive, and not just because it wasn’t what City fans wanted to hear. 

Hughes went on to comment, “A lot of people at this club are new to the football business and maybe we need greater knowledge of what makes deals happen.”  Are these comments part of a positive group hug-like learning experience for club management?  or is it really the beginning of a power play of different agendas between Hughes and Cook, as suggested by this week’s Guardian Sport Blog post by Paul Wilson?  Lets hope the former.  Just going back to the Guardian blog post, did I really just read, “City were right to go for Kaka?!.”

Most wouldn’t disagree with City's need to sharpen up their deal-making and PR efforts.  But the article by Michael Henderson in The Telegraph entitled, “Send in the clowns – it’s another episode in the sad saga of Manchester City,” tested City fans’ patience to the limit.  Marina Hyde in The Guardian was yet another example of how journalists, faced with the need to stand out when a big story breaks, jump on to the slide in the reporter’s playground and race down to the lowest common denominator. These folks have already moved on to their next 'holier-than-thou' feeding frenzy, happily passing on the opportunity for intelligent and reflective debate.

We don’t have space here to discuss all of the debatable points that reporters had an opportunity to discuss.  However, the most obvious discussion on the table is the one concerning salary and transfer caps.  One that has been quietly mentioned by the odd random football club chairman, but one that in reality the Champions League cartel would rather not discuss. 

The Champions League has arguably done more damage to domestic football competitions in Europe than the arrival of wealthy foreign owners.  The clubs at the top of the EPL have moved in line with the increased number of places in the Champions League.   The approach taken by Aston Villa and Manchester City to mount a challenge seems quite different.  But both clubs are backed by significant wealth, and both clubs intend to gatecrash the ‘big four’ party. 

What will this mean for such money-spinners as ‘Grand Slam Sunday’ on Sky Sports?  Is the football fan not much better off with six, or eight,  or ten competitive teams versus the original boring and dominant one?  In fact the EPL has advanced to a point where the gulf between the clubs is smaller, and competitiveness has greatly increased.  But how long will it be before the European G16 (or whatever number it is!) decide that the little Ciddies and Villas of this world are becoming too big for their boots, and begin proposing European or Global leagues?  Again, none of this broader debate about the systemic issues in football was apparent in the recent reporting on Manchester City.

‘You can’t spend £100m on one player’ – yes you can

It is totally understandable that all football fans should look at the £100m sum and immediately consider what this same sum of money could do to solve some of the world’s real problems.  However, it is of no immediate benefit to do so.  Manchester City should not be made to suffer for participating fairly, and within the rules, in what is a transfer fee-based system.  

Before the advent of satellite television, the top division of English football had an audience mainly limited to within its’ own borders.  Record British transfer fees were still four or more times the value of buying a house, but the exponential growth potential was constrained by the size of the television audience.

The English Premiership now has one of the largest global sporting audiences of any other sporting league.  This audience carries a market value, just as royalties are received by music artists according to how many people listen to their music.  The sudden and dramatic increase in the global audience is the reason for the sudden and dramatic increase in transfer fees and wages. 

If football decides to constrain fees and wages, then all it does is transfer the audience income from the performers (players) and the producers (clubs) into the hands of broadcasters, football authorities, and other vested interests (well back to the fans would be nice too but what chance!).  Why should the players not be remunerated according to their global appeal, skill level, and huge audience?  Why should clubs not be compensated for releasing a player, who they have discovered and nutured, from their contract?  The revenue stream has to find a home somewhere.  It would be far more productive, and morally appropriate, to have a debate on securing a larger contribution from the top clubs to develop football at grass-roots level, at home and abroad. 

The attraction of the EPL throughout the world is the quality of the players and the football on show.  In remote parts of Africa huge crowds of hundreds gather around the smallest of televisions desperate to get a glimpse of a big EPL game.  Is there a sudden consensus that we don’t want to see the likes of Kaka play in the EPL?  No, there is a view that Manchester City doesn’t deserve such players in a blue shirt.

Daring to dream

In spite of Harry Redknapp’s free spending, the huge debts of many football clubs, the renewal by RBS of their Six Nations sponsorship, some balance in the reporting of Manchester City was in short supply last week.  When it finally arrived it did so from an unlikely source, The Daily Mirror.  Oliver Holt’s subtle prose in his article, “Don’t gloat over Manchester City Kaka-ing things up...all they’ve done is dare to dream,” hit the nail on the head.  “They [Manchester City] were the devils sitting on Kaka’s right shoulder, whispering temptations into his ear, while the angels [AC Milan] on his left shoulder told him to follow his heart,” Holt wrote.

In the meantime, Mark Hughes and City fans can look forward to the contribution that three new signings will make on the pitch.  Wayne Bridge, Nigel de Jong and Craig Bellamy are all good signings who will make an impact.  Shay Given is looking increasingly likely to follow, there may well be another striker in the mix before the window is out, and we shouldn’t miss out on Miguel Veloso.  He's a hot prospect.

Mark Hughes reports that the recent press barrage has brought the team closer together.   If you believe McGarry from The Sun then you’d think the dressing room is an anarchic free-for-all.  What nonsense.  You can put money on there being a collage of press articles on the dressing room wall on Wednesday night.

Of one thing there is no doubt, the press bruising has left City fans in defiant mood ahead of the Newcastle encounter.  Mark Hughes has seen a huge surge of support in our “Should he stay or go” fans poll on our home page, which is due to close at the end of the transfer window.

What better way to put the deafening roar of ‘ignorant and predictable pap’ to bed than to raise the roof on Wednesday night.

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In the first of a two-part series of articles reflecting on the Kaka transfer saga, MCFCfans makes no apologies for broadening and balancing the debate.  In part two we find fans desperate to put the papers in the bin and make some noise on Wednesday night.

What has been most disappointing about the recent press speculation and coverage of the Kaka approach, and Manchester City’s ‘project in general, is the narrow range of debate that has tended to dominate.  It is currently in vogue to ‘bash the rich kids,’ and there are so many parallels to the narrow coverage of the credit crunch.  Find a simple target and blame it for the world’s ills.

The word ‘obscene’ was used generously

In what one BBC Radio 4 presenter called, “the biggest made-up story in history,” the use of the word ‘obscene’ to describe City’s approach tells you all you need to know about the propaganda trap that City walked in to. 

Simon Caney, Editor-in-chief of Sport Magazine, rightly pointed out that the generous use of the word ‘obscene’ was missing the point.  Sheikh Mansour does his share for good causes, but in any event this was a fair and legal approach in a transfer fee-based market.  If Jo and countless other players can transfer for £18m, then Kaka can transfer for £100m.

“We recognise the need to ensure that our sponsorship activity reflects the process of restructuring that the bank has under way,” a Royal Bank of Scotland spokesperson said in reaction to reports (BBC Wed 21 Jan) that RBS had extended its’ title sponsorship of the Six Nations Championship for a further four years to the tune of £20m, a figure denied by RBS.  This is the story of arguably one of the biggest contributors to the UK’s credit crunch putting up what is arguably taxpayers’ cash at a time when they are laying off staff.  Is this not ‘obscene’?  Not if the relative column inches are anything to go by.

The credit crunch – upside down thinking

 “It is a bit bizarre that, in these times of credit crunch, we are talking about a club paying £100m for one player,” wrote Gordon Taylor, Chairman of the PFA, in his exclusive column on givemefootball.com.   Virtually all of Gordon Taylor’s comments are worth challenging, but this notion that Manchester City are going against the grain during the credit crunch is utterly absurd.

David Conn, writing in The Guardian in May of last year, reliably informed readers that Manchester United’s accounts showed the club’s total creditors at £764m.  £666m owed to financial institutions, including £152m to hedge funds.  Reports stated RBS joined Deutsche Bank in arranging securitisation for the acquisition finance.   Hicks and Gillett at Liverpool are no different with The Financial Times reporting on Friday that their RBS loan extension of £350m lasts only until July.  If you’re looking for contributions to the credit crunch then look no further.  Was all this debt labelled as ‘obscene’ by Mr.Conn or the wider press?

Manchester City has no such debts and therefore does not contribute to the UK’s possible bankruptcy.   Indeed it offsets the UK’s leveraged position.  The investment by ADUG constitutes new investment, a fresh injection of cash, and a removal of debt. Does that not sound like good news during a credit crunch?! 

The boost to Manchester and the UK of having a new investor with capital to invest will not be quantified until specific development projects are announced.  However, the circulation of new money within the game at a time like this could indirectly end up being a lifeline for some clubs.  That it may give Manchester City a short-term advantage is open to debate.  In fact it may give the club a short-term disadvantage, something that most reporters chose to ignore. 

One City fan recently wrote to David Conn at The Guardian to question the, “unanimous opprobrium.”  He went on to write to Mr.Conn,” I have always felt that, amongst the ignorant and predictable pap emitted around the world of football, The Guardian is a voice of reason.”  Conn had the decency to reply, but the damage to City was done.

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Part two of this article will be published at the same time tomorrow.  In the meantime why not add your vote to our Mark Hughes poll, "Should he stay or should he go" on our home page.

Breaking news: The re-arranged Portsmouth away fixture will be played on Saturday 14th February at 3pm.  As if travelling all the way down for the cancelled fixture wasn't difficult enough, now you've got to fight the missus to go to the replay!

Breaking news: New signing Nigel de Jong will wear the number 34 shirt, while Craig Bellamy has taken number 39.

MCFCfans' poll asking City fans if they think Mark Hughes should stay or go has seen a surge in support for Mark Hughes over the last 24 hours.  The increase in votes from fans thinking Mark Hughes should stay co-incides with a range of articles and messages of support from players.  Robinho, Ireland, and Zabaleta have all made comments in support of Hughes in recent reports.

Bloggers Danny Pugsley from Bitter and Blue and Jack Pitt-Brooke from The Lonesome Death of Roy Carroll have also recently contributed to the Hughes debate that continues to roll on.

Has the fining of Robinho had any impact on fans' views in terms of relief that he won't be given preferential treatment? 

The transfer policy is one raging debate. The discipline and the fitness regime don't seem to be in doubt.  But it's the tactical decision-making that surely remains to be seen. Consider the following thoughts taken from a recent post on MCIVTA:

- Had Corluka not been threatened with being permanently out of position, he may be performing on the pitch as he did last season, but for us.
- Had Micah been left as the best right back in the country (bar none) he would not be struggling on the pitch because he is horribly out of position. The
disparaging remarks against him recently forget that he never asked to be played out of position (let's not even mention the left back experiment).
- Had Vassell not been told to block SWP on the right, the whole team might be more cohesive and effective.
- Had instructions not been to hoof the ball up to the lone striker (whoever it may be),the players on the pitch might produce the quality football they clearly enjoy.
- Had we played the second half team in the first half of the Derby, we would not have lost.
- Had we not been playing for a draw at Fulham, we could have ripped through them.

Out of the 6 points how many of these points chime with you? Comment here.

Whatever the errors and impact of Hughes approach on the team, there will always be that nagging feeling that we just have to stick it out this time. 

Our poll will close at the end of the transfer window.  Have your say now by clicking here.

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Manchester City have joined the long line of clubs to be taken by Craig Bellamy’s battling qualities.  That Mark Hughes knows the player is undoubtedly of some benefit, as long as Mark Hughes remains manager.    But he remains a player that fans of most clubs would rather not have in their side.  £43m has now been spent by clubs buying him during his career.   Does City’s £14m share of that make sense?  What impact will he have on the dressing room?

Bellamy on the move, "They (Hughes and his coaching team) know me better than anybody-else in the football game, and they are people I completely trust in.

"They have progressed me massively, and I owe them a lot. The added bonus is that it's Manchester City and the way it is going at the moment with possibly one or two more players coming in over the top of me.

"I'm fortunate that this opportunity has come along, and I am grateful. I feel I am at my peak and I hope over the next few years to perform really well here."

Bellamy on his move to West Ham, "I want to put down club roots and produce the best football of my career."  Hmm.

As Danny Pugsley from Bitter and Blue points out, “I still find it difficult to see quite how he fits into our formation - something I will follow with interest, as I don't believe he has ever had much success as a lone striker and surely we would benefit far greater from a striker with a real presence to lead the line.”

Of our three transfers so far this one seems to make the least sense.   More worryingly one has to ask if we are actually building a team.  This strange mix of alienated Eriksson-era players, players thriving, new Hughes signings, and Robinho plus any future mega stars doesn't really feel like a cohesive unit. As it stands the best option is surely to see out the rest of the season and hope Hughes pulls off a decent finish.

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We are 10 days into the January transfer window and so far the key addition to Manchester City's first team has been Wayne Bridge.  Bridge is a welcome boost to the left-back position that has been seen as a weakness in City's defense for some time.

MCFCfans has teamed up with Webjam's Football Channel to produce a Mid-Season Premiership Review of all Premiership clubs. Most City fans will agree that this season is turning out to be one of ups, downs, and much frustration.  It is unclear how the remainder of the season will pan out but surely we are now at the defining moment in the season.

Today's postponement of the game away to Portsmouth was a major pain for City fans who we spoke to at Waterloo station. "I planned my whole weekend around this game," one disgruntled fan advised.  We caught another Blue as he emerged from the underground none-the-wiser and told him the game had been called off - readers will be familiar with the feeling of finding out having made half of the trip.  However, if there is a silver lining it is that City had key players side-lined for this game whereas Portsmouth had key players returning.  If Portsmouth are knocked out of the cup by Bristol City on Tuesday 13th January, then Saturday 24th January is a likely re-match date. Otherwise the game will likely be played in February.

In the meantime, City fans voting in MCFCfans poll asking whether Mark Hughes should stay or go are divided 50/50 straight down the middle. But we're short on the vote count, so have your say now by going to our home page and voting! Join MCFCfans if you would also like to contribute your views to our MCFCfans Forum.

Have a great weekend, if you've made it back to Manchester that is.

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Manchester City fans celebrated a fine victory over Arsenal on Saturday. It was a performance that Mark Hughes will be especially pleased with.  The team was full of grit, determination, and hard work, everything you would expect from a side managed by Hughes.

Granted City played Arsenal at a good time given the strife in the Arsenal dressing room.  City’s nervous start might have been punished early on by an in-form Arsenal team.  But as the first half wore on it became apparent that Richard Dunne was in for a good game.  That was the inspiration that all of the back four needed.  The influence that Dunne has on the back four is particularly striking and proof that keeping him in form, and in the team, is vital to our success.  I’m not sure it’s as easy as people might think to replace that kind of influence.

Holding on to the clean sheet and Stevie Ireland’s goal just before half-time unlocked the confidence that seems to have been lacking in the team at times.  It’s difficult to pick out individuals in what was a fantastic team effort.  The pleasing aspect was seeing players fighting for each other and helping each other out.  It was obvious that instructions were there to hit Arsenal hard, press them hard, and attack with venom when winning the ball.  And Arsenal didn’t like it.  We out-played them pure and simple.

Picking out some unsung performances, Garrido had another good game.  He is not always the best in defensive situations but his work rate has been immense over the last few games.  Sitting in the East Stand level 1 away from my season seat for a change, I saw a look of determination on Garrido’s face that left no doubt as to his desire to play.

Benjani joined in the spirit of pressing and winning the ball back. His strength up front really shows relative to the other slimmer and lighter players around him.  SWP was all over the place and looked to be a real leader in winning the ball back.  He’s another player who is really playing for the shirt and the club.  The more obvious performances of Ireland and Robinho have no doubt been well documented.  Robinho is a joy to watch. 

I’m gutted I’m not going to see the Shalke game.  Hopefully City will win that to setup a big derby showdown.  Come and join MCFCfans and hit our message boards with your thoughts on all the latest news and transfer rumours.

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Dunney all out of luck recently....

Manchester City might be the richest club in the world, but the trials and tribulations of being a Citizen continue. Awash with talent and potential, but lacking in guile and sophistication. Naïve has been mentioned.

There was a ‘must win’ feeling wafting around City circles before Sunday’s game against Spurs. Two soft away defeats, a marginal victory against FC Twente, and the run-up to the January transfer window all playing their part.

Hughes will have been pleased that he met the board before the game. The silly season has now begun in earnest with the first tabloid murmours of managerial change. All I can say is don’t join in. The owners have backed up previous blogs I have posted forecasting a long-term approach (see "Man City's new owners: insight and perspectives," 3 Sep 2008). This is the Gulf business culture. It’s an additional bonus that they have come out and made some media-savvy comments backing Hughes (see Independent article today).

Harry’s luck should have run out on Sunday but overall City were weak, again. The referee was poor as well, but that was no excuse. City started the brighter team and were rewarded when Vassell’s parried shot fell into the path of Robinho for a fairly straight-forward side-footed goal. The early play was end-to-end and the game had all the makings of a City-Spurs high-scoring classic.

Enter Gelson Fernandes. I seem to remember him being signed by Sven as 'one for the future'. His recent performances in the first team, while Kompany is injured and suspended, have led most to question his future let alone his recent forced presence. A couple of folks near me in the ground mentioned that Hughes should replace him for Hamman. They sensed he would dive in again. Sure enough he did again on 26 minutes and it was the first of three red cards on the night.

But City’s defense looked fragile from the off. The debate about what is wrong has moved on from just needing a left-back. As an aside, I thought Garrido put in a hard-working effort. We still need a left-back but actually the entire back four were poor. Richard Dunne’s confidence seems to be low and it’s rubbing off on all of those around him. Two own goals in recent matches and mistakes in Sunday's game were then rounded off with a fairly harsh red card taking us to 9 men with, although it was the first sending off that did the most damage. It felt like an away game after that.

The formation isn’t working but then a new formation probably wouldn't work either with a lack of players in certain positions. With the back four losing the plot it felt a bit like relegation form, although I don't think we’re anywhere near relegation candidates. I don’t so much buy the lazy foreign players argument. It's more about Premiership experience and needing players who can make an immediate impact.

Hughes needs to bolster the team to support 4-2-3-1 and give him the option of 4-4-2. We need more flexbility than we have now. Whether he favours a move to his preferred 4-4-2 in the long run probably remains to be seen. A left-back, defensive midfielders, a goalkeeper, and add to that a central defender. Gaps need to be filled and Dunne, Richards, and Hart all need competition. All candidates should be top quality and preferably have Premiership experience to minimise settling in periods.

Having not been to a home game for a wee while it was disappointing to lose the game. But I still find that feeling of taking your seat and saying hello to mates and fellow season ticket holders all around a great feeling. I wouldn’t be surprised if we lose to Hull away from home. But at least we can hit the reset button for the Arsenal and United games. Everyone loves a big game.

Our message boards are livening up these days. Joining MCFCfans means you can have your say.

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It was such a shame that the Liverpool game had to end in defeat. We arguably deserved a point and the game ended with a feeling of frustration. However, there were a number of positives to take from the game, and Shaun Wright-Phillips was one of them.

City’s trading of Wright-Phillips to Chelsea and back again could not have worked out better. A bucket load of cash at a time when it was needed saw us reluctantly say good-bye to a hero. Most football fans felt he made the wrong move in transferring to Chelsea. He was a smaller fish in a bigger sea at Chelsea, and struggled to get the first team games he craved for his career development.

However, perhaps what was missed in all the coverage of Wright-Phillips was just how much he was learning from all of the world-class players he was surrounded by in his time at Chelsea. He has returned to City a different player. He still rampages down the wing turning defenders one way and the other. But he has added so much to his game. His link-up play with Ireland and Robinho against Liverpool was evidence that he has what it takes to dictate a game. He was everywhere in that game. It was a great performance and he thoroughly deserves his England recall. To think we bought him back for £8.5 million.

I had another great day out at the Liverpool game in spite of the result. I travelled from Brussels to Manchester in the morning and was fortunate enough to meet Vincent Kompany’s family on the flight. His Dad, Brother, Uncle and Manager were all on the flight. I hope fans don’t mind that I told his father that we think Vincent is a great signing. He’s clearly a very proud father. We were talking in French but I think I gleaned that Vincent’s (younger-sounding) cousin is at Chelsea, don’t quote me though. I kind of thought the writing was on the wall for the game when Kompany’s manager told me he was a Liverpool fan.

Anyhow, having met the family I felt obliged to back Kompany to be first goalscorer, and threw in last goalscorer for good measure. With both bets at 28/1, it would have been dreamland if he had scored. As it turned out it was clearly dreamland at half-time. I said to my mates that Liverpool would almost certainly get it back to 2-2 with 10 minutes to go, leaving the inevitable nail-biting finish. And so it was more or less. The various television highlights didn’t highlight the ref’s poor performance. The sending off was understandable but inconsistent with the Skrtel kung-fu kick on Jo. He had numerous other poor decisions on both sides.

I finished the day flying back to London on a really cheap deal I booked with BMI. I was a bit flat but by no means in a bad mood. The first half was excellent and we had managed to seriously challenge Liverpool. You could say we were naïve at times in the second half and Sky argued that we should have shut up shop. I still think we have the basis of a great passing side. Mark Hughes has a touch job on his hands building the side. Rome wasn’t built in a day. But Hughes is the man to make it happen.

What really wound me up at the airport was some yellow-jacketed idiot working on BMI’s ground staff showing off in front of a travelling young girl he obviously knew. A call came through on his walkie-talkie from the check-in desk asking whether or not a late running male with no bag could be allowed to board the Aberdeen flight. In full view of the young girl he replied smiling on his walkie-talkie like a true ****, “ahhh….that’s a negative….we’re leaving in 15 minutes.” This was the straw that broke the camel’s back. There was no queue at security and it would take all of 5 minutes for this poor guy to get to the gate where we were. There were also still around 15 people waiting to board. This guy would now miss the last flight back home, no doubt to his family. I had a word but it was pointless. Let’s hope the credit crunch forces people like this to serve customers rather than screw them over.

I boarded my flight to London fuming after this incident. Not least because said pen-pushing, yellow-jacketed idiot was escorting his female friend onto the same flight as me. Then they got the headcount wrong and delayed the flight by 15 minutes. “All they have to do is count,” I blurted out, as I began to realise that the match result was actually having more of an effect on me than I had bargained for.

I became aware of a smiling fellow passenger to my right. It took me a while to realise it was Dean Saunders. Spending time talking to him on the flight back, I realised that my post-match tension paled into insignificance in comparison to the stress faced by football managers.

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P.S. MCFCfans members and readers: We need help running this website! Please get in touch if you're interested. Writers, researchers, site design boffins are all sought to make MCFCfans the best non-commercial City fans site out there. Please get in touch: sm@mcfcfans.com

Quality of the trio up front will produce goals today

I was so excited about going to the Chelsea game last Saturday morning. I didn’t have the mind to write any pre-match posts. I couldn’t concentrate. Originally I wasn’t going to the game as I had to run a Duathlon in the morning (9km run, 20km bike, 5km run). As soon as Shaun Wright-Phillips signed I booked my travel and asked for my season ticket back. Duathlon or no Duathlon, I had to see Shauny coming back to City. Little did I know at that point that Robinho would be pulling on a City shirt as well.

I set off for the Chelsea game with lots of thoughts in my mind about the key points playing on fans’ minds over the last few weeks. I kept arriving back at similar conclusions to the effect that what has happened to City is overwhelmingly positive. Not just for City and its’ fans. But also for Manchester, for the competitiveness of the Premiership, and for UK plc in general, at a time when most other news is negative.

It’s very early days of course. But a couple of the key points as they relate to City. I hasten to add that some of these concerns or thoughts came from the media as well as individual fans, but most will look familiar.

“I’m concerned / worried that City fans may lose their famous reputation for having the best sense of humour [in the league, Europe, world, take your pick!]”

It was perhaps not surprising that some quarters of the (high and mighty) press reported the early sightings of City fans in made-up Arab clothing as “tasteless.” It was completely missing the point of course. It was the first inkling that our famous sense of humour was about to go into overdrive! Fast forward a week or two to the game. Hundreds of fans turning up with headdress and in some cases attempts at the entire Gulf Arab outfit, it was fantastic. It really contributed to the carnival atmosphere. Hopefully it was taken the right way in Abu Dhabi as well.

“We’re going to be invaded by glory-hunting fans and this will spoil the fabric of the club.”

Whereas I could only see upside from the mass of extra supply for the average City fan’s sense of humour, the concern around a potential glory-hunting invasion did seem valid. But only in the long-term.

I’ve witnessed first hand what happened to Chelsea. I have a couple of mates who are still Chelsea season ticket holders in spite of spitting teeth each week at the West Stand. I’ve sat in the West Upper at Stamford Bridge a couple of times over the last couple of seasons and it has always struck me how few people are actually watching the game.

There is, however, a big difference with City and this was a simple but absolutely correct point made on MCIVTA. We only have a few seats spare for glory hunters! So until we expand the stadium we should be safe.

“We don’t want Ronaldo, or any United players, and stop the boasting.”

I think the hysteria around possible transfers has been well and truly put to an end. Dr Al-Fahim bucks an entrenched Gulf Arab trait that tends to frown upon boasting. But it didn’t take long for behind-the-scenes action to put a stop to the wild talk. In so doing it killed any notion that Mark Hughes is not in charge. I originally sensed that there was MH’s transfers and then the managing board’s transfers of superstars. But it would appear that MH has managed to get control of this by saying yes to superstars but only if they’re the ones we want and need.

As for buying Ronaldo (of the diving Cristiano variety), I’m surprised that only 633 signatures have been made on the petition against signing him so far. Here is the link to the petition. The other Ronaldo has surely eaten too many pies to join us now.

“It’s too good to be true, they [ADUG] are only in it for the short-term.”

I mentioned this in my last blog post and wanted to mention it again. In years to come I may live to eat my words, but I strongly believe ADUG are in this project for the long-haul. City has landed on its’ feet and right now we may not even see how lucky we are.

Most investors in clubs to date have been either companies or individuals. Companies are often short-term in their outlook. They have shareholders to worry about. If quarterly returns don’t stack up they want out. Wealthy individuals are a mixed bag in football. They either lose a fortune investing in players and paying off debt (Ashley and Newcastle), or they maintain a very high level of debt (Glazers and United), or they run a tight shop but don’t invest as much as the fans want. The last category can be divided again with Villa being a classic example. Randy Lerner seems to be a hybrid. He’s investing wisely.

But City has a completely different type of investor. An Emirate that is investing in businesses to secure the long-term financial and social future of its’ people. An investor that has a reputation of respect to maintain. An investor that I predict will come to love City as much as we do and will seek to maintain the club’s culture. Dr Al-Fahim is just the spokesperson. The ruling family behind the investment vehicle are looking to the future beyond oil. They have more than 10% of the world’s oil reserves, so that’s a long time into the future.

In terms of considering how lucky we are, look no further than Mike Ashley. If reports are to be believed, ADUG were knocking on his door but he wouldn’t give up his majority stake. What a fool he must feel now and how wise Thaksin was to wind up and step aside.

The timing of the deal is also significant given the rapidly-changing economic climate. That was the other thing that struck me about the Chelsea game. It mirrored so many of the contrasts that we see going on in the world now. We witnessed the “Clash of the Cash” while the “Debt-ridden Derby” was going on down the road. The euphoria at 'Middle Eastlands' (even after the final whistle!) was in stark contrast to the constant bad news emerging in the global economy.

Oh and quick aside, what about the pratt that flew the plane around the top of the stadium with a big United shirt flying out the back of it for most of the first half?! Firstly, no one could read what was written on the shirt. But most significantly, deep down I felt a real sense of tide-turning. The plane buzzing around for so long felt like desperation. I couldn’t help but think that we may look back on that game with the plane flying around and remember it as the turning point up for City, and possibly the turning point down for United. After those wonderful feelings all that was left to discuss with my nearest season ticket neighbours was how much cash he was putting into our owner’s coffers by burning all of the oil required to fly his plane!

Oil brings me back to the economics. I believe we are headed for a deep global recession. As each day passes the economic situation worsens. Normally all of this bad news is a sign to buy. Not this time. Oil may retreat to around $60-70 as global demand falls. This will impact our owner’s finances somewhat. But the reserves of our owner will see us through as no other football club owner can. Football must suffer from the downturn. Companies will no longer sponsor in such large size. Individual investors will feel the pinch. The global surpluses of oil- and mineral-rich, and export-driven, nations will unwind. Global liquidity in general will contract. My conclusion, in stark contrast to my last blog post, and coming back to the fortuitous timing of this deal, is that we may well have captured the first and last of the most attractive type of football club investor for some time. All potential new investors now have much bigger fish to fry.

Back to on-pitch matters. I expected to lose to Chelsea. It was written in the script. I’m not sure I agree with some who said that it was good to have the bubble burst and be brought down to earth. No way! Imagine the atmosphere if we’d won it ! But I take the point because at least it settles the media down a bit.

I felt just as happy after the game as I did before it though. There were enough positives on the pitch to see the potential of the team. If anything I was most struck by Chelsea in the second half. As in some of their earlier games in the season, they took control of the game and looked genuine Premiership contenders. With United losing at Liverpool, we can turn a blind eye to the odd defeat to Chelsea.

The South American private jet posse all looked a little jaded. No player more so than Pablo Zabaleta. I felt better when I heard Tim Sherwood say the other night that Corluka looked like a dodgy buy at £8.5 million. Corluka looks like he has a bit of settling in to do at Spurs. I only remember one passage of play with Zabaleta in it during the Olympics and it was him missing a high ball challenge in the air by a mile, which then led to Argentina conceding a goal. His performance in mid-week against AC Omonia was a big improvement.

We miss Johnson and especially Petrov. Great news to hear that Michael Johnson has signed a new 5 year deal. The big-time Charlie concerns will hopefully become a thing of the past with the threat of competition in the air.

City go into today’s Portsmouth game bouyed by their performance against AC Omonia on Thursday evening. The team showed real signs of coming together. Jo getting on the score sheet was so important. To have an end product at the end of all of the neat passages of play is what we need.

And what about Robinho. He was everywhere. Always looking for space, always shouting for the ball, covering back, looking passionate, neat touches, gave the ball away a bit but who cares. He’s brilliant.

You can follow the team’s UEFA Cup progress on our new The Road to Istanbul page. It is only available to view to members, but joining is free. We also have a new Members Benefits page that shows the additional pages that you can view as a member. It would be great to have you join the MCFCfans community and to hear your feedback.

Most pundits have us down for a draw today. It’s the obvious call but I think it’s too obvious. I think it over-rates Portsmouth and under-rates City. Portsmouth will no doubt use the fact that they haven’t won on City turf since 1963 (old second division) as an incentive to get a result. But my view is that City will develop on Thursday’s performance by showing more confidence on the ball and attacking with quality that continues to grow into more goals. Prediction 2-1 to City although we're bound to make it hard for ourselves at some stage at least.

A nice timely text has been delivered by the club just before kick-off, "MCFC can confirm that the purchase of the Club by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al Nahyan and his group has been finalised, and will be completed on Tuesday." Happy days.

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P.S. We’re going to be doing a feature on the controversial SeatExchange, so please reply with your views and experiences of this internet provider.

As the excitement surrounding City’s new ownership reaches dizzy heights, today MCFCfans launches a new page called, “Middle Eastlands.” A page for MCFCfans members to keep up with the latest news sourced from Abu Dhabi about City and our new owners. The page has all of the latest articles, relevent news feeds, links and we've even dug out the best of the latest video interviews.

In tandem with the page launch, we attempt to provide guidance on some of the noise flying around on talk shows, message boards, and in the press.

David Pleat on BBC 5 Live: “The deal was done so quickly, how do we know they are a ‘fit and proper person’?”

A fair question when considering an individual but the club has been purchased by The Abu Dhabi United Group, an investment vehicle. The Group is a private equity group fronted by Dr. Sulaiman Al Fahim, CEO of Hydra Properties. Hydra Properties is a subsidiary of Royal Group, which belongs to the ruling family in Abu Dhabi. This is somewhat incidental as the Group is effectively backed by the ruling party in Abu Dhabi. Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan is seen as the main player behind ADUG. He is a member of the royal family of Abu Dhabi. They control over 10% of the world’s oil reserves (90% of the oil reserves of the United Arab Emirates).

How do we know they will stick around for the long-term?

The culture of Arab investment in general is to forge long-term relationships. A good example of this is Arab investment in horse racing around the world. Companies and businesses are often seen as personal possessions rather than separate entities. It is unlikely that short to medium-term returns will be seen as a top priority over club success, pride, and global profile.

Why have they invested in Manchester City?

The key reasons are to: increase the profile of the U.A.E. and Abu Dhabi around the world; develop sport and football in Abu Dhabi by having a direct interest in a Premiership club; and quite possibly to upstage their rival family in Dubai. But this isn’t just being done on a whim. Abu Dhabi has been developing its’ involvement in sport through European Tour golf, Formula One, the World Rally Championship and more. No sporting portfolio is complete without Premiership football. But why City? Well Newcastle quoted a £400m price tag (is deal failure with ADUG any connection to the current Keegan affair by any chance?) and Arsenal was apparently too complicated. But I prefer Amanda Staveley’s quote today, “Manchester City sells itself.”

Who is Amanda Staveley?

She works for PCP Capital Partners and was hired by Thaksin Shinawatra to broker a deal to sell the club. She is better known for her ongoing involvement in trying to tie up the Dubia Investment Corporation with Liverpool. She is a former Businesswoman of the year and apparently dated the Duke of York. She's not bad looking either. Amanda is a mere 35 years old and you can bet that her pockets have become somewhat deeper having completed this deal.

Does Abu Dhabi in general have any other outside footballing interests?

Yes, via Hydra Properties. Dr Sulaiman Al Fahim, the public face of ANUG, is the CEO of Hydra Properties in Abu Dhabi. Hydra Properties and the Abu Dhabi Sports Council signed an agreement with Italian football club Inter Milan earlier this year to build the Inter Milan football academy in Abu Dhabi. Dr Al Fahim is quoted as saying, “Sport, whether it be football or something else, is something that is friendly and brings countries together."

Are there more potential investors that might invest in Premiership clubs?

Yes, this might be the tip of a very big iceberg. ADUG is a private investment vehicle, even though it is thought to have the backing of some in the ruling royal family. However, there are well over 20 sovereign wealth funds (SWF) around the world backed by governments. Not all are likely candidates to invest in a Premiership club by any means.

The next widely-tipped candidate to invest is the well-publicised potential investment by Dubai Investment Corporation (DIC is a SWF) in Liverpool. Commentators expect this investment to be speeded up following the ADUG’s investment in Manchester City. Amanda Staveley, who brokered the deal on behalf of Thaksin Shinawatra, was quoted as saying today that DIC were still interested in buying Liverpool. However, she also stated that several other gulf states were interested in buying City. Other possible candidates for investment in a Premiership club include Qatar, Kuwait, and Bahrain. But don’t rule out some of the Asian countries’ funds also considering investments in the long run.

How will the new owners treat the fans?

This may not be as worrying as it may seem on the surface. In the Arab world hospitality is seen as essential. It reflects the depth of a relationship and is a matter of pride and honour. The press in Abu Dhabi has made a point of highlighting the need for the new owners to be sensitive to City fans. “Manchester City is a club with a passionate local support base long resentful of their more glamorous – and successful – neighbours, Manchester United. So parading a Manchester City shirt with “Abu Dhabi United” inscribed upon it might not have been the best way to introduce themselves to the supporters,” worried The National in Abu Dhabi. But the cultural background and the objective of promoting Abu Dhabi globally will require ADUG to stay in with the fans, otherwise a reputation of respect and cultural understanding will suffer.

Where can I follow more news, information, and views about our new owners?

Become a member of MCFCfans and click on our new Middle Eastlands page. Here you can vote in our poll to give your reaction to the ADUG takeover, review related news, and post your views in the chat section.

Is there any article you can suggest that may help to put other concerns at rest?

Yes the article with the headline, “Abromovich will be a hard act to follow,” in The National in Abu Dhabi published last night quotes Falim saying some reasonable things about the fans, Mark Hughes, and transfer policy. The latest video interview with Al Fahim also appears on our Middle Eastlands page and mentions working with Mark Hughes.

What can I expect the atmosphere to be like at the Chelsea game?

Absolutely mental.

Should I be excited?

Yes, very!

Buy, buy, buy !!!

The first day of September, the first day of Ramadan, the last day of the 2008 transfer window, will go down in history as one of the days that Manchester City Football Club changed forever.

Firstly, I may need to eat a large slice of humble pie if Garry Cook was integral to today’s deal as I suspect he was. In the last blog post I jokingly suggested that Alistair Darling might be a better bet at the helm than Garry Cook. I never imagined in my wildest dreams that, on the same day, Sterling would plunge (Telegraph article) after Darling’s weekend interview and City would be purchased by very deep pockets indeed.

Manchester City has been purchased by The Abu Dhabi United Group [ADUG]. The news was broken by arabianBusiness.com (see article). It has been suggested that the vehicle was setup to purchase City. One suspects that BBC5 Live is more accurate in saying that both Newcastle and Arsenal were also considered. Otherwise why put “United” in the name! The picture of Dr. Sulaiman Al Fahim, the investment vehicle’s spokesman, with “Abu Dhabi United” imprinted on the back of a sky blue shirt was fairly amusing (see picture from same article).

Al Fahim claims that the vehicle is merely a collection of businessmen. However, it seems inevitable there will be links to the ruling family of Abu Dhabi. The Guardian is almost certainly on the right path by suggesting that the Abu Dhabi rulers have stolen a march on their Dubai neighbours, the Dubai Investment Corporation (DIC), which is trying to buy Liverpool. Al Fahim is CEO of Hydra Properties, which is a subsidiary of Royal Group, which belongs to a member of the ruling family.

City fans, players and directors past, have been calling in to what is essentially “City Night” on BBC 5 Live. The few lone voices expressing concern about foreign ownership seem so out-of-date, even though it's hard not to share some of their sentiments. How the world changes so fast. The western developed world is rapidly losing influence as a combination of huge global economic imbalances and sky high oil prices create huge sovereign wealth funds. These funds are mopping up banks, supermarkets, telecommunications companies, and now football clubs. They’ve got much more money than us, period.

A thank you must go to Frank for doing the decent thing and stepping aside. I’m not sure if it’s possible to tell whether or not he has made a profit yet. I saw a figure of £210m as being the purchase figure. How true that figure is, and how it might break down, may or may not transpire over the next few days. David Bernstein, commenting on BBC 5 Live tonight, suggested that at 40p a share City shareholders got a rough deal in selling to Thaksin. Valuing the club at £20m? They sure did. How they’ll wish they had waited.

A great question to Bernstein was whether he thought that the Abu Dhabi deal would have happened without Thaksin. He didn’t feel qualified to answer but made his thoughts about the relative quality of our new owners pretty clear. But we know now that ADUG were going to buy a club in any event. It could be argued that City became more attractive with Mark Hughes and some better players.

It doesn’t really matter now. The club has progressed significantly during the Thaksin era and is now looking as if it will move seamlessly to a much more credible investor. Bye-bye Thai politics, welcome fit-and-proper Abu Dhabi. The Premier League will be relieved.

This is an investor that makes every other Premiership owner look like small fry. Manchester City is now the powerhouse in English football. Just read that again. Manchester City is now the powerhouse in English football. No other club and no other owner can boast the finances of an oil-producing Emirate. At least not until the next club is purchased.

Berbatov seems set to join United. Mark Hughes, interviewed on BBC5 Live this evening still hadn’t spoken to him. Dennis Tueart said that Mark has got to sell the dream. He probably won’t get the chance. But positive vibes are emerging about Robinho as I write. Probably a better buy do we think? 3 years younger for the same price and not someone who was moaning on about United for months on end.

The new owners have backed Mark Hughes. There is consensus among fans that they must give Hughes time. A top 4 finish might be achievable now. But if we don’t quite make it, please don’t sack the manager! But the flurry of bids for players today suggests that Al Fahim doesn't want to hang about.

A pang inside me wishes we had won a cup last year to prove to the world that the current team was getting up there before the real cash arrived. Oh well that’s modern day Premiership football. Lets hope that the new owners keep the Academy as one of the best, and remember that the fans make the club what it is.

We’re in for a new and exciting era. Our time has come. CTID!

Manchester City’s inspired signing of Shaun Wright-Phillips has brought smiles to the faces of every City fan across the globe.  There’s a breeze sweeping over the City of Manchester stadium pitch, and it’s very sweet smelling indeed!

It has been a week to remember what with the Cook interview, the excellent display against West Ham, the predictable scrape against the Danes, the deterioration of the situation in Thailand, and the confident air of City’s advances in the transfer market.   

The West Ham game was telling for a number of reasons.  The signs of flowing football shown in the Aston Villa game, where the result didn’t do us justice, became absolute slick passing in the West Ham game.  Many have pointed out West Ham’s poor showing in the game.  But let’s not forget it was City that made West Ham look so poor (note West Ham’s 4-1 victory over Blackburn this afternoon, BBC report.)

We may wince at times because not everything is perfect. But there will be nothing more satisfying than beginning to see the media vultures, who seem so intent on doing City down at every turn, down their tools and button it for a while.  Alex Ferguson was quoted as saying, “I’ve heard some unbelievable stories,” in his beginning of season Daily Mail interview. Well that may well be the case.  But stuff ‘im. And stuff the the hacks.  The desperation to headline with the age-old, “Crisis at Maine Road,” is almost tangible.  (“Man City Cook up a recipe for disaster,” Mirror.co.uk, 30 August, 2008). 

I can’t remember the last time I received so many texts and e-mails following a City news event.  And yet the signing of SWP is just one very important piece in the jigsaw.  We needed a right winger badly.  Someone to rampage down the right and balance out Petrov. Add a bit of “welcome home hero” into the mix and we have ourselves a genuine feel-good factor.  The addition of Kompany and Jo are yet to be fully digested as well. 

Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.  There is a very different story going on in Thailand. (See our members’ only Thaksin Watch page for the latest).  September 17^th will see the court make their first decision.  The latest news is that the army has rejected the government’s call for a state of emergency as protests intensify.   

With a queue of potential investors looking for majority control, it remains to be seen whether the club’s former directors moved too quickly to sell the club.  The media vultures will be back again no doubt.  But on the pitch City seem set to ride on guided by the stewardship of Hughes.  Sparky seems to have spotted a long-term opportunity. One that is able, hopefully, to see out any issues ‘off the pitch’.  You can see the current MCFCfans members’ views on Thaksin’s ownership of City by looking at the poll on the Thaksin Watch page.

It is only fair to balance out the rampant on-pitch excitement with a reflection of MCFCfans members’ views over this man called, “Cook”.  Our man Scribbs calls him the “hand puppet!”  Where on earth did they find this guy?!  I’d sooner have Alistair Darling’s huge eyebrows at the helm than this fruit.  His only redeeming feature is that he appears to be utterly irrelevant in the grand scheme of things. It’s just a shame that he feels the need to spout more crap than an extremely concerned scooby-doo staring down the barrel of a gun. 

The ongoing debate over Richard Dunne is an interesting one.  I’d take it as a sign of a club on the up that fans are questioning his place in the side, let alone his captaincy.  It can only be a good thing if players are challenged to push harder.

One thing that Mark Hughes will be looking to address, starting at Sunderland tomorrow, is City’s potential for poor away form.  We need to take control of the game tomorrow against difficult opposition.  Two ex-United players will be looking to come out on top and it will be games like this that will define City’s season.   

So what’ll it be tomorrow?  Well my money is on a draw and a 1-1 score.  Boring I know.  Looking at Betfair it’s interesting that Sunderland are pretty clear favourites (home win 2.3 – 2.32, draw 3.35 – 3.4, City 3.65 – 3.75 as at 18h00, 30 August 2008.).  The screen shows about £4k of unmatched bets on Sunderland right now whereas City has sub-£1k hanging around.  Is it telling that the draw has over £10k waiting for a home?  The correct score 1-1 shows 7.2 – 7.4.  Hmm, a bit short so others are obviously thinking the same thing.  I hope I’m proved wrong with a stylish display.

Keep smiling, he really is back! 

MCFCfans

Lets open the league account at home

Manchester City go into Sunday’s opening home game of the season with the benefit of putting a tough away game behind them. There were enough signs of positive play against Villa to suggest that chances will be created at home. We’ve also got the media writing us off, which is always a boost.

The lack of attacking options up front certainly presents a challenge. Bojinov, Jo, Vassell and Benjani are all unavailable. But at home, with enough fire and determination elsewhere, this could motivate others to get on the score sheet.

A big bonjour and bienvenue to Vincent Kompany (see video on home page) from Uccle in Belgium. Thinking of Uccle brings back fond memories as my mother used to live there. Many a night was spent with mates in Uccle’s St-Job square getting sloshed in the 24 hour bar there. Kompany will likely get a start if he is cleared to play with Dunne out suspended.

Thierry Henry is the latest ‘superstar’ to be linked with City. Reports suggest that Mark Hughes and Garry Cook have come to some kind of arrangement on transfers (Guardian article). Reading between the lines, it may be that the ‘superstar’ signing is left to Cook whilst Hughes gets on with the players he feels we need. No point in discussing the financial side - more chance of Gordon Brown starting up front for City than there is trying to figure out City's current finances.

I had a bad feeling about the Uefa cup game against the Danes and I had a bad feeling about the Villa game. But the vibes are good for this game. Petrov and Johnson hold the key to opening things up. City to win 2-1 (Betfair 10.5 - 11) with a late winner that lifts the mood at the post-match curry.

MCFCfans

Match Betting

Betfair @ 21:53 Friday 22nd August : City 2.42 - 2.44 Draw 3.4 - 3.45 West Ham 3.3 - 3.35

BBC Match Preview

Thaksin Watch (MCFCfans members only, join our City fans community by pressing the join button on the home page)

Contains all of the latest videos, pictures, blogs and the MCFCfans live poll asking fans' current view on Thaksin - support or get rid.

Thaksin points at biased Chelsea fan at Stamford Bridge last season!

Manchester City’s game against Villa on Sunday was largely one to be forgotten for City fans. But it was pleasing for one reason in particular. Both fans and players appeared to leave off-the-field issues aside, and focus on supporting and playing respectively.

City now have a home game against West Ham on Sunday. As we pause for breath in between games, MCFCfans has been trying to gauge City fans’ feelings over the Thaksin situation.

In trawling blogs and chatting with fans it’s obvious there are divisions of opinion. Generalising completely, there seem to be broadly two groups of fans' opinions, with a long list of subtle variations thereafter.

There are those fans who were against Thaksin taking charge all along and who now feel that their worst fears are beginning to materialise. Most fans in this category are not taking an, “I told you so,” stance right now. They are genuinely worried about the future of the club based on their interpretation of the situation.

Then there are fans who can see a funny side to Thaksin’s decision to go ‘on the run.’ It brings back memories of Nick Leeson in a City top! Joking aside, fans before the Villa game interviewed by Al Jazeera English showed their support for Thaksin. (Al Jazeera is clearly taking an active interest in this story and their latest video along with others can be viewed on our new Thaksin Watch page).

Somewhere in the middle there are fans who can’t make their mind up, who feel that they don’t have enough information to make their mind up, or who are slowly travelling from the supportive group to the concerned group as they learn more of the facts.

One thing is certain: nothing is certain. There are simply more questions than there are answers and since the team need to get winning some games that is probably a good thing for now. It’s conceivable that quite a few of the open questions on fans’ minds will probably never be answered.

Our view, based on the average lay attempt to brush up on Thai politics and the Premiership rules, is that much depends on the UK government’s interpretation of how legitimate any court decision to convict Thaksin is. The stance they might take is far from clear. The Premier League seems certain to follow the UK government’s lead. The Premier League must be pooping themselves at the possibility of having to enforce the rule and make Thaksin sell.

Thaksin’s next moves now, in relation to City at least, must surely rest on his judgment as to how this will all turn out. If he thinks he has a chance of being forced to sell because everything goes against him, then surely he’ll be looking for a buyer now so that he doesn’t have to sell at a knock-down price. But that’s before we’ve thought about all of the other permutations. Could he find new investors, dilute his stake, and do a deal or wangle a pass with the Premier League, which would allow him to continue as chairman? A loan in the meantime starts the bank-rolling debt cycle off again (Times article just out)

Whatever the outcome, MCFCfans has setup the Thaksin Watch page in an attempt to help fans find information, facts, reporting, and commentary about the Thaksin situation, and to create an area where members can air their views. The page is intended as an information centre and sets out to be neither anti-Thaksin nor pro-Thaksin (@ City that is!). A poll is also on the page asking for your current view on Thaksin.

What's your view?

Keep the faith.

MCFCfans

August 17, 2008

The football has started and the first game of the season is out of the way. Manchester City lost 4-2 to Aston Villa and the train journey home is somewhat depressing. But don’t let the doomsayers and biased media fool you into thinking this was a drubbing.

It was a game of two halves with City playing much the better football as the first half wore on, even though Villa had the better chances early on. Joe Hart denied a couple of chances and others went wide, but City were beginning to show fluent passages of play.

City started the game without Bojinov who was injured in the warm up. He now looks to be side-lined for six months adding to the current striker crisis. But on paper this was always going to be an uphill struggle for City even with Bojinov. That City got to half-time at 0-0 was an achievement.

Ched Evans started up front as lone striker. Kelvin Etuhu, inexperienced as he is, lacked the confidence to push onto the by-line. One could only feel sorry for him at times because senior support failed to arrive. Petrov was the attacking outlet, and Elano and Johnson tried to fashion attacks from his distribution.

Where did it all go wrong? Well City gave the ball away in dangerous positions and allowed Villa players out wide to put crosses in to tall, unmarked danger men up front. In seven minutes Agbonlahor struck a hat-trick. It was extremely poor for City to concede as they did. But it was no capitulation. However, we’ve now conceded 12 goals in our last two league games.

Villa’s tall attack served by unchallenged crosses was a threat to a new central defensive pairing, who suffered from players in front giving the ball away too easily. We maybe missed Hamman’s clean-up operations. That said Tal Ben-Haim looked far more comfortable in central defence than he did at left-back on Thursday.

The City crowd was impressive and it didn’t feel as if the gloom that has surrounded the club for the last two weeks was the reason for the poor result. It felt like we lacked squad depth, midfield aggression, and up-front firepower. We’re desperately short of the right players in certain positions. But these are things that hopefully we can resolve given time. It also feels as if we’re in something of a transformation from Sven to Hughes in terms of tactics and regime. It will take time but sure it’s a far cry from the optimism of the first half of last season.

The game’s most humorous moment came from the front of the City end by the pitch. A City fan dressed in a maroon golf shirt had extended negotiations with stewards about one thing or another. Anecdotal evidence suggested the stewards may have sworn in front of his kids when addressing him, which didn’t go down too well. Villa fans monitoring the situation in the neighbouring end cottoned on to the maroon golf shirt before chanting, “Who’s that in a Villa shirt? Who’s that in a Villa shirt?...”

It was not the best start to the season but we’ll take issue with Claran Baynes, reporting for Setanta. “The Villans dominated the game from the first whistle with City on the back foot until they were awarded a dubious penalty as Michael Johnson fell in the box under the close attention of Luke Young.” Claran obviously wasn’t watching the same game.

Drop the expectations. It’s going to be a tough season. But this game was not necessarily the barometer we thought it would be. There was renewed promise following Thursday’s defeat, the players clearly need to adapt to the Hughes era, and the odd signing wouldn’t go amiss. One thing is certain, we won’t be ordering the new orange shirts.

MCFCfans.com

P.S. Our 'Thaksin Watch' page has now been launched. We're keen to attract opinion about our owner, the current situation, and how it will play out for City on the page. Please let us know if there is good quality commentary elsewhere that we can add to the page.

Manchester Evening News : match report

What a big test we face in our first premiership game of the season. Martin O’Neill achieved 6^th in the league last season and proved that his slow and careful squad building based around hard-working English players is paying off. Holding onto Gareth Barry so far will also be a boost to the rest of the team even though the saga seems set to continue.

We can only look on with envy at an owner who keeps himself to himself most of the time and seems to have footballing interests at heart (Randy Lerner: A Case Study on Foreign Ownership, Footballing World, Nov 2007). We’re already craving the stability he has brought to Villa.

City go into the match having avoided defeat on their last six league and cup visits to Villa Park but there is much to be concerned about, starting with the lack of fitness. I didn’t see the Villa match on Thursday for obvious reasons, but how our fitness and match sharpness compares to Villa will be key to this game.

Nowhere more so than in defence. With Richard Dunne suspended, Ben-Haim and Richards will have to be well enough versed with each other to cope with the pace Villa have up front. Young making his debut for Villa may keep Corluka fairly pinned back, which leaves Ball (probable left back) and Petrov as our most likely source of success out wide.

The remaining question is whether to start with two up front with Sturridge and Bojinov, or to leave Bojinov up on his own with Elano playing off him. Given the lack of striking replacements if things go wrong, I would tend to agree with Danny at ‘Bitter and Blue’ that it seems more likely Hughes will opt for safety first and keep Sturridge on the bench.

If there is any thread of light to go on then it will be the nature of the defeat on Thursday night that should jump the players into action. How the players approach this game and how the manager’s body language plays out throughout the match will be a strong indicator of our potential performance this season given off-the-field issues. We have the quality to match Villa on paper but it's whether that quality is 'switched on' or not. I’d be happy with a draw in our first game but happier still if the players put up a solid fight and show some real potential.

Please click this link and let us know on our home page poll if you’re going to the match. Let’s lift the gloom by belting out some noise from the away end. Come on City!

MCFCfans.com

Match Betting

Villa : best Evens; Draw : 12-5; City : best 3-1

Betfair @ 13:44, Sat August 16

Villa 1.88 - 1.89

Man City 5.3 - 5.5

Draw 3.5 - 3.55

Match Facts from the BBC

Selected Morning Articles

Hughes demands improvement after ‘shock’ of Eriksson’s fitness regime at City – The Guardian

Mark Hughes pleads for time to ease concerns at Manchester City - The Times

Hughes salutes versatile Tal - Manchester Evening News

Martin O'Neill aiming to pile on the misery for Manchester City - Birmingham Mail

(put that headline up in the dressing room!)

Sturridge vs. FC Midtjylland - Hands off Chelski

I spent much of Thursday mulling over whether to write a match preview on the Uefa Cup game and ultimately decided against it. Sometimes it’s damned if you do damned if you don’t when surmising things before a match.

The constant media speculation over the last two weeks has been tiring. In fact there was so much noise that we decided to ‘keep stum.’ Why add to the media and cyber frenzy of speculation. More on that in later blog posts. But all the same, most fans would probably agree it has softened the usual beginning-of-season excitement considerably.

Compounding concern about the game, Danish friends and clients were calling me Thursday to report that we should be worried. Members and fans will not be heartened to hear that this worry was most pronounced when discussing how comfortable FC Midtjylland is when playing at home. The return leg will not be easy.

A beginning-of-season re-union with a City mate and member of MCFCfans.com did nothing to help matters. “I’ve got a bad feeling about this,” he said before going on to report recent FC Midtjylland successes. The final ‘nail in the coffin’ though was reading a betting prediction in a newspaper that boldly recommended its’ readers to back both City and Villa to be leading their respective opposition at half time and full time. “In fact it’s so much a dead cert you might as well put them in a double as well,” it finished. Well if either team was going to spoil that double it was going to be City!

City started as if they were in a friendly game. Not just any friendly game. The first friendly game of the pre-season when players’ minds are still on the beach, the pool, and the beer. The body language was noticeably lackluster. Passes went astray and the defense was disorganised.

Olsen’s finish (video on our home page) was top quality but it was gifted by poor defending. It was City’s wake up call to get some attacking going and there were some positive moves around at times. We could have scored when hitting the bar twice but it always felt as if we lacked a real threat to the Danish goal.

Petrov stood out, Kelvin Etuhu’s pace is something to look forward to, and we know Sturridge has real potential. But Elano seemed distant, Caicedo was pointless, and too many moves needlessly broke down, sometimes to fruitless show-boating.

Hughes has since pointed to the real lack of fitness in the side. "We are trying to get a group of players up to match fitness and that was evident the other night in the Uefa Cup," Hughes said. "It will not happen overnight. Maybe we will have to wait because our training is different from what they have been doing. It is about making players able to cope with the demands of the Premier League. To compete in the Premier League you have to be athletic, dynamic and sustain that performance from the first game to the last." He went on to point out that the new regime may be a shock to some of the players.

What is a big positive now is that the football is starting in earnest. The off-the-pitch concerns are very real but there were there a year ago. The time to protest was back then. There may be a suitable time to protest again in future but only once we've observed more events and facts. There is much to the situation off the pitch and we will try and cover this in a later post. The team itself is in tact. We’re chasing strikers and new players albeit with cash that is possibly not available (see Telegraph story of 13th August). Arguably we have a better manager in Mark Hughes, even though the messy episode to replace Sven did our reputation no good. Hughes probably has what it takes to see us through a possible future change in ownership. Whether he judges that sticking it out is in his best interests only he knows. It is likely that he has seriously considered his position, but let's hope he's prepared to wait and work on the team in the meantime.

What is most important now is that we back him and the team. We must get playing well on the pitch and as fans we play a part in that with the tone of our support. We're in a difficult situation, but for now it's probably best to keep the terraces focused on the pitch.

We’re interested in how many of our readers are going to the match so please go to the poll at this link on our home page where you can also join the webjam community of City fans at MCFCfans.com.

MCFCfans.com

PS. Check out the profile and new photos of the MCFC Babies in Ghana on our MCFC Babies page. We’ll be following the team’s progress with the help of team coach and member of MCFCfans.com, Peter Amoabil. The Under 12s recently won a trial game against Kanvili FC 4-2 and will play them again away from home this Sunday. Here’s hoping the application to the league is successful.

Manchester City got the season off to a great start by scoring the first competitive goals of the new season (City’s goals). What was more notable than the result was the effort made by the some 200 City fans to get to the game.

Thomas Cook got the bidding off to a depressing start with an £885 price tag put on the match package tour. We requested a price quote from Atlantic Airways to charter a plane and it was rejected due to a lack of aircraft. Hmm somewhat sceptical, read on.

The most daring and City-esque travel itinerary was put together by the group of City fans who decided that boarding a 72ft fishing trawler from The Shetland Isles would be their best bet to under cut the air fares. This was an inspirational plan. To succeed would result in hero status. To fail would result in hero status. Either way it would be a damn good laugh! This is the stuff of legends (BBC Story)

They set off from Manchester making their way to Aberdeen. From there they took a ferry to the Shetland Isles, where they met the shrewd Scottish islander who has converted his 72ft fishing trawler into a Faroe Islands shuttle service for British football fans. Clever stuff. Scotland is forever getting drawn against the Faroes.

There is one major catch though. The Atlantic Ocean and a multitude of challenging weather systems stand in the way. Bad weather prevented the trawler from leaving port rendering the fans stranded. Enter The Sun newspaper and suddenly the airline with no spare aircraft is falling over itself with Thomas Cook to seize the marketing opportunity. They make it to the game and get to meet new manager Mark Hughes into the bargain!

The story is fantastic and reminds us that City’s cult following is alive and well. MCFCfans.com this month adds a video of the last day at Maine Road to the History Channel that brings a tear to the eye. If you are struggling to get enthused about the new season simply watch this video.

We have also started our push for an MCFC-based charity (MCFC Babies link) aimed at sponsoring youth teams around the world, inspired by the MCFC Babies in Ghana. Get in touch if you would like to be involved.

Can’t wait for the season to start. We're in for a corker.

MCFCfans.com

PS. Message for Magni Arge, President of Atlantic Airways, “Where did the spare plane come from?!”

Telegraph Faroe Story

The Sun Faroe Story

We are undoubtedly in a new footballing era. The English Premiership is at the forefront of a revolution in football that is being led by money, media, and a global thirst for sporting escapism. Football is the world’s favourite sport and large masses are gorging on the entertainment provided by the EPL. Some English football fans, of course, choose to opt out and either move down the leagues back to the grass roots, or turn their attention to alternative sports. And rightly so if they feel that their personal reward for doing so is that much greater than the modern day commercialism that dominates the top football clubs.

Way back when in the late 1800s, before all of the globe’s current football supporters had been conceived, football was evolving in England. As balls were chucked around various pitches in the north of England, clubs made their mind up as to whether “football,” as it was known then, should be played in the form of rugby or football. By and large the lines between rugby and football were drawn due to the separate paths of the professional game (football,) versus the amateur game (rugby).

Professional football as we know it emerged and the first and most immediate issue for the best teams of the day was how to protect the revenue earned from friendlies with other quality clubs versus the bind of playing the riffraff in the FA Cup, the world’s oldest football competition. All these years later, we should not be surprised at the money-grabbing culture that exists in the game for it has always been there, albeit previously with a much more gentlemanly feel about it.

There is something unique about City’s situation at present. City is one of the world’s oldest football clubs, it captured the central Manchester audience, and secured the Manchester City name ahead of other clubs’ attempts to do the same. As fans we don’t want to win the “cup for cock-ups,” that Franny Lee so infamously described, but as we’ve unofficially won that cup we’ve maintained a fan base that is now revered around the world for its’ passion, humour, and sheer loyalty in the face of adversity.

The arrival of Thaksin Shinawatra as the club’s new owner has, being brutally honest, begun to divide the club’s fans. Simplifying the matter completely, we’re like a city population debating over whether or not to develop the skyline with modern buildings ahead of protecting the views of its’ historic buildings. As City fans, the arrival of our new and dramatic owner has brought us face to face with the realities of modern English Premiership football.

This league is a commercial enterprise and in order to carry on its’ relentless march it needs to create, innovate, attract new money, and continue to keep the global media in an almost hypnotic trance ahead of other prominent football leagues. Manchester City either targets pole position or falls away. The wall of money that Frank brought with him convinced our previous board that it was the only viable option to survive and succeed. Well maybe the chosen solution wasn’t required for survival. For success, however, it almost certainly was. Frank wants to be at the top table when all is said and done and that’s the end of it. Whether Frank was the right investor remains an open question.

Furthermore, whether or not the most virulent strains of commercialism will be acceptable to City fans in the long run is also debatable. The Ronaldinho debate rolls on. Frank believes that this man will raise our global profile. Too right he will. But is it a good trade? Will he flop and do a footballing equivalent of Nick Leeson on us? There is no doubt that every City fan would want to see Ronny pulling on a City shirt in the flesh just for the buzz in one game, and better than that see him scoring a City goal. But is it in the best interests of the club? If not why not? Well because he might well be past it and we might well win the cup for transfer cock-ups if we sign him.

Urgent summer transfers in and out aside, bottom-line, can Hughes prize us away from the dominant influence of the chairmen in recent City history, and become the manager that beat the City system?

He’s got more than Sven in that department. We’re in for an exciting season. There is a lot of work to be done but the future remains extremely bright. We’re on the up and don’t forget it.

Lets' aim high and go for the big guns. Bring it on and keep the faith.

MCFCfans.com

(History sourced from “Manchester – A Football History” by Gary James)

P.S.

MCFCfans.com is supporting the Manchester City Centenary Supporters Association (MCCSA) appeal for funds for their Ghana branch, which runs a series of youth football teams in Ghana called Manchester City Babies. Please lend your support to this appeal for the three teams to equip themselves to enter leagues and raise the profile of Manchester City globally. You can do this by sending a cheque payable to MCCSA, no matter how small, to :

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You can also support the appeal by bidding for an original Platt Lane penalty spot being sold to the highest bidder by Alex Channon. MCFCfans.com intends to support the auction by placing an ad on eBay and advertising the sale on MCFCfans.com.

There we have it. After weeks of speculation, when most of us got tired of watching out for news, Sven makes his departure with the usual lorry load of cash that seems to follow him around. It was a PR disaster but it has now finally been concluded, Sven is history.

Waiting for all of this to pan out, having the head buried in Gary James’ book, “Manchester – A Football History,” has maintained a sane state of mind (book review and opportunity to win a copy will follow later this summer.) In many respects the club was fortunate to get going in the first place but did so thanks to a combination of luck, geography and believe it or not, some good decision-making.

Fans’ patience is being tested to new levels now. But this is a broad Premier League trend that is making football history today. It’s just that City’s way of entering into a new phase of football history must, by historic definition, be more comical relative to our rivals.

Enter Mark Hughes. Welsh chappy isn’t he? So the 72 caps suggest anyway. We all kind of knew that one of the big big names such as Mourinho were beyond our reach. So who better to turn to than a man who left school and joined Manchester United. Lets put the United thing to one side for a second.

He’s a young manager. He became Wales manager in August 1999 and managed the team fairly well for 5 years. He then took over Blackburn Rovers on a miniscule budget, survived relegation, made an FA Cup semi-final, and then managed a top 6 finish in the Premiership having made some good value purchases in the transfer market. The subsequent UEFA Cup performance was reasonable given the resources available. A 10^th place league finish was followed by a 7^th this season. All in all not bad.

He is someone who we can expect to put the fire in the belly of our players. Most fans point to the second half of the season when we dropped off after the derby game, and we can speculate that this would not have occurred under Hughes. His knowledge of the Premiership is better than Sven having played and managed in it for longer. His transfers have been good on a low budget, but he may not have much say in the bigger names being targetted anyway. There is an argument for saying that Sven could attract big name players, but there’s a counter-argument for saying that Hughes would have avoided some of the players who don’t always put the effort in. Sven has a much more distinguished club career behind him plays the counter-argument that he may not be appropriate for today's Premiership where some of the younger, grittier managers seem to be succeeding outside the top 4.

In short Hughes looks like the best choice we have right now and actually could be an interesting choice given a bit of cash to spend. We need to get on with it though because time is running out before the new season starts. We need to lock down the uncertain players and get the new management in. Another frantic pre-season beckons.

In the meantime, it remains to be seen that worrying about Hughes is really the burning issue of the day.Sure it’s a concern that if things don’t go too well under his management for a while then he is more vulnerable to a fans reaction because of his past. However, it is clear that Dr.Thaksin’s “learning-on-the-job” will be of much greater importance to the club’s success as the next few years roll on. He must give the new manager a chance, and not give in to the temptation of becoming the man making all of the signings.

Vote in our manager poll now : Link 

Manchester City are in Europe !! Dust down the passports and get ready for another European adventure. What a result and a pleasant distraction from all of the recent speculation. We were fairly sure we had it in the bag. It would have taken some seriously harsh "respect" markings from officials for us not to get the place.

In the meantime, the Manchester City media roller-coaster rides on. It's becoming clear that because Shinawatra controls everything himself and is usually engaged in all manner of non-City related functions, it leaves a communications vacuum in the media. This in turn results in an absolute frenzy of speculation that is not confined to us fans, if Micah Richard's BBC column (link) today is anything to go by. Who knows how his latest PR company has been involved lately. Not at all by the looks of it.

Where does this leave Sven? Well as has already been suggested, it would appear more likely that Sven will stay now that we're in Europe. But this is by no means a certainty. The fire sale of players has thankfully been firmly denied today but that won't stop clubs swarming all over our best players until the manager situation is resolved. But if Shinawatra isn't completely bonkers, then perhaps he is taking a rationale approach to working through last season's issues with Sven in order to feel comfortable that Sven is the man for the job. Then again maybe he's just waiting for answers from prospective managers. The more time goes on the more it looks like the most obvious trick was to keep Sven for the Asia tour so that he has a plan B.

Either way the last few weeks have been a media disaster. He can't continue to run the club in this manner as it's unsettling to all and sundry. However, he probably will so you'd better get used to it.

The current MCFCfans poll seems to send a simple message: if you don't have Mourinho lined up then it's Sven or else. Scolari and any other potential managers get minimal support. Our poll closes on Sunday so please vote now by clicking this link if you haven't already done so.

Have a great weekend.

Manchester City fans are hanging on tenterhooks today waiting to hear the outcome of both Sven Goran Eriksson’s future and the final calculations of the Premier League Fair Play League, which will ultimately decide whether or not City pick up a UEFA Cup spot next season. However, it looks like neither decision will be forthcoming until the end of the week at least as reports emerged that Jose Mourinho’s return to coaching is imminent.

Yesterday’s drubbing at Boro and the ongoing manager saga has begun to leave a bitter taste in the mouth over an otherwise successful season. It’s a depressingly well-trodden path of turmoil for the club and we can only hope now for a swift resolution to the Sven situation.

Perhaps fuelled by yesterday’s result, a divide of opinion is now opening up among City fans with some unhappy that Sven appeared to have given up yesterday. Questions are now being asked about his motives over the last couple of weeks. Others prefer to point to the inevitability of yesterday’s collapse following the recent events. We can’t escape the difficult truth that our new owner has in one season both rescued the club financially and then thrown it into immediate end-of-season turmoil.

Whatever happens, Thaksin Shinawatra needs to act swiftly and decisively before the situation at the club gets any worse. We’ve lost the credibility we had built up over the season in the space of a few weeks. The club is in a sensitive situation, needing ongoing nursing out of the depths of lower league football. The vultures are circling around our best players, some of whom we’ve been nurturing for years.

As if the script-writers hadn’t already been second-guessed enough, a UEFA cup spot is a possibility through the Fair Play league. There appears to have been a fair amount of mis-reporting on this subject. Certainly Richard Dunne’s red card didn’t help. However, the latest Fair Play league table doesn’t include the penultimate game of the season when Fulham picked up two yellow cards and City had none. In any event when the numbers are crunched these cards will not make a huge difference. It’s the more subjective scores around respect for officials and opponents that will make the difference. The final decision is not expected to be announced until the end of this week, or early next week.

Will Thaksin hold on until the UEFA Cup spot is announced before he makes his decision? Will it make any difference? Is there any chance at all Mourinho will sign up? Who knows anything any more? It’s easier to predict a 10-game accumulator on the coupon than to figure out what might happen next at City. Ric Turner sums up well in the Times Online. Balloons, Thai politics, hanging on the Fair Play league, maybe sack the manager. We’re breaking new ground here. But lets keep a sense of perspective. The sun is shining and we’re still in the Premiership.

Finally, our poll asking if City fans would consider a home games boycott closed this morning. 83% said “Yes” they would consider boycotting home games next season if Sven is shown the door. We’re looking to guage a fresh view in our new poll. Please take a look and vote now by clicking this link.

What impact does the potential for UEFA Cup football next season have on Thaksin’s decision?  Well if Thaksin has any sense left it will prompt him to enter into a “clear-the-air” discussion with Sven and his managerial team.  A discussion that should include an apology for the way Sven has been treated, a commitment for investment in new players, and a return to "the project" that all concerned signed up to at the beginning of the season.  MCFCfans feels that Thaksin’s comments in recent days show that his position is weak and a climb-down is possible.  Sure we might be dreaming but  nothing is cut and dry in this saga (Eriksson In?, King of the Kippax).  How frustrating though, that our club’s future could rest on a wealthy man’s ego.

MCFCfans supports a peaceful but vocal pro-Sven protest on Saturday when a petition that currently has over 18,000 signatures will be handed to the club.  The Support Sven Rally will be held at 2.30pm at the City of Manchester Stadium. 

This weekend is the last chance for all concerned to give our end-of-season panto a happy ending: for the fans to protest on Saturday; for Sven and the players to play fair and win on Sunday; and for Thaksin to back down.

Last chance Thaksin, the game’s up, leave our Sven alone.

Manchester City's fans showed loyal support to Sven Goran Eriksson at Anfield today, with many holding up the "Save Sven" back page of the Manchester Evening News, Sven masks, and Swedish flags.

The City players hardly helped their manager's future, however, giving the ball away far too freely in a game that Liverpool should have won by more than the 1-0 scoreline. Liverpool allowed City to come back at them in the latter stages of the game and were denied more goals by Joe Hart's excellent goalkeeping.

The weak City performance was a blow to those backing Sven, but MCFCfans believes the support being shown for Sven should continue into the final game.  Whatever Thaksin's final decision turns out to be, he should be made aware of the way the fans feel.  Reports that Thaksin has been surprised at the impact that club ownership has had on his wallet add to the farce. We all know that sacking Sven won't be cheap.

Eriksson refused to be drawn on his future but everything in his body language suggested that the end of his short managerial career at City is just around the corner.  “I have been told nothing regarding that. At my age I do not need to be told these things, I have my own ideas."  And it's these ideas that most City fans believe in.  Building a team around talented young players.  A long-term strategy that happens to reconcile with sensible financial planning.  But no, that would be too straight-forward. 

We have one of the country's most successful Academies, one of the world's best club managers, and have made significant progress this season. Fans should continue to show support for Sven is so that Thaksin Shinawatra understands the gravity of the decision he is making.  Manchester City is a football club with a beating heart - lets continue to show Sven our support - even if we believe the decision is made.  Fans may be irrelevent in today's Premier League, but that shouldn't stop us from having our say.  

As Manchester City fall over themselves to remain tight-lipped about the Sven saga, City fans are mobilising support for Sven and various protests are planned.  MCFCfans continues to cling onto the hope that Thaksin Shinawatra sees sense and backs Sven for another season.  However, it seems that a major recruitment search is well underway and we speculate that Thaksin's ego won't back down.

While Thaksin is frantically searching the globe for a replacement, City fans are doing everything they can to support Sven.  Last night's impromptu protest near St.Peters Square in Manchester, seemingly arranged online, was reported on MEN to be fairly poorly attended.  The Save Sven page on MEN's website carries a video of a fan at the protest.  MCFCfans is not sure that the protest had quite the right speaker leading the event.

However, The Save Sven Goran Eriksson from the sack petition will have over 13,000 signatures before the day is out.  A rally is planned by the MCFC Official Supporters Club (supported by CSA, MCIVTA, and King of the Kippax) on Saturday 10th May outside the City of Manchester Stadium.  The away end at the Liverpool game on Sunday looks likely to be dominated by Save Sven protests.  There must be flag sellers shipping in large batches of Sweden flags as we write.  Get your Sven mask here for the Liverpool game.

The decision when it comes will be a leading indicator of how City's new owner intends to run club affairs.  What is so baffling to many is that his original objective of a decent league finish in season one has been achieved.  Fans are questionning whether Thaksin would have run one of his businesses like this.  Achieve objective, sack manager. 

Conspiracy theories aside, two themes have emerged.  The first is the belief that Thaksin has a basic lack of understanding of how a football club is run and what it takes to make a club successful.  As an owner of a business this is usually fairly important.  Successful leaders tend to surround themselves with personnel who do have the expertise and can therefore guide affairs in the right direction.  By most accounts this advice was, and still is, forthcoming but is being ignored.

The second point is simply that Thaksin's ego is not going to back down following the less than cordial meeting that took place between the pair.

MCFCfans continues to believe that a change of heart still offers Thaksin a solid face-saving option, particularly if big Phil says no.  The list of reasons of why not to sack Sven are endless as are the list of reasons why not to hire most of the rumoured candidates.  If Sven is shown the door we will have witnessed one of football's most ludicrous management decisions.  Only at City.

P.S. Currently our poll shows that most fans would consider boycotting home games next season if Sven is sacked.  Keep your votes coming !

There are reports filtering around of a protest planned for this evening in Manchester to protest the potential departure of Sven. MCFCfans is keen to hear any reports from readers about the protest if it goes ahead.

 We've had 16 managers over the last 21 years. Thaksin comes along with his dodgy millions and delivers us one of the world's best club managers. He performs what can only be described as miracles with a team that could barely score a goal at home last season. We have what is quite obviously our best season in years. Not just in terms of the derby results, the league position, and better performances on the pitch. But in terms of the very real excitement about a management team that actually knows what it's doing. Sven and his band of smiling Swedes have a footballing knowledge operating at the highest level. If anyone can, Sven can.

There is essentially no argument. 97% of City fans polled on the Manchester Evening News believe Eriksson should stay. The 3% can surely only be attributed to either United fans or "fat finger" error. The League Managers Association has made a statement expressing concern. This is not just a "Typical City" story. The people forming the groundswell of opinion against the new owners of Premier League clubs and their impact on the game are interested parties. That the rumblings start building after the last home game only increases the anger. In fact never mind after the last home game, what about after the season ticket deadline?

Manchester City season ticket holders have setup an S.O.S. - Save Our Sven - petition. Join the over 6,000 signatories from City and many other clubs now if you feel Sven should stay.

What is the end game? Mackintosh is alleged to be considering resigning his position. As the weight of the backlash built up today, Thaksin's son announced that Sven would lead the team to Thailand. Playing for time while they sound out possible replacements? Scolari is the favourite. Will he take Thaksin seriously given the treatment of Sven? Of other names mentioned we can only dream about the potential of Bilic, Allerdyce, Hughes and others relative to Sven.

The reaction of club staff and fans may leave Thaksin with few options. Keeping Sven after this circus of speculation will bat the ball back into Sven's court. Thaksin would save face and stick to his 3 year plan with the pressure on Sven to deliver. Surely he will only show Sven the door if he knows for sure he has a top replacement. Or will his ego get the better of him?

In other news, the latest MCIVTA newsletter reports that a City fan who plays cricket for "a" Shanghai based team (surely there isn't more than one?!) is off to North Korea to play a game and fly the flag for City there. No doubt all the talk in Pyongyang will be of Sven's fate.

City Manager Tombstones:

Sven-Goran Eriksson 2007- ?
Stuart Pearce 2005-2007
Kevin Keegan 2001-2005
Joe Royle 1998-2001
Frank Clark 1996-1998
Phil Neal 1996-1996
Steve Coppell 1996-1996
Asa Hartford 1996-1996
Alan Ball 1995-1996
Brian Horton 1993-1995
Tony Book 1993-1993
Peter Reid 1990-1993
Howard Kendall 1989-1990
Tony Book 1989-1989
Mel Machin 1987-1989
Jimmy Frizzell 1986-1987

Gary James' hard graft spanning most of a lifetime has produced another footballing history book called, "Manchester - A Football History." Although we haven't yet read the book, it looks like it could be a corking read. Gary's passion is Mancunian football and his book covers stories and history on clubs in the region, either within the M60 or in boroughs where the M60 exits into. Gary has previously written books on Manchester City's history and the history of Manchester derby games.

We're eargerly awaiting our copy so that we can review the book on the blog. Why not buy a copy and join in the comment. The book is out 1st May via the usual online outlets.

Amazon - Manchester A Football History

Welcome to MCFCfans.com,

We have created this site to respond to the new era of fansites and hope to increase the accessibility of fan sites to everyone. This new site syndicates photos, news and videos from all over the internet as well as creating a meeting point for fans.

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