Portsmouth 0 - 1 Man City (Adebayor 30') *Video*

Another away win, we are in dream land! We came away with all three points today but by heck we made it hard for ourselves.

As has become the norm, we started off well today and made some good chances. It was off a set piece though that we took the advantage, Adebayor rising highest to head home a very well taken corner. Goal below, allow time to buffer!

We are being consistent in our play this season, really good the first 60 minutes then terrible the last 30! It is becoming a little frustrating to watch the way we have been playing, at times it is like we don't want to kill the game off and that we are happy for the opposition to have a go at us. We are getting away with it at the moment partly because the quality of opposition hasn't been great, but if we do that against a good team they will definitely take advantage of it.

We were lacking a little in basic football skills today, our passing was terrible at times and we gave the ball away numerous times when we shouldn't have. I also thought our marking and tracking back was poor at times, there were average players cutting right through our midfield. We should be doing better with the basics of football!

I have to say I was a bit sad to see Hughes leave the team as it was, he should have definitely made changes. Wright-Phillips was poor again and had pretty much no affect on the game, I thought Weiss should have come on. Ireland was also very poor today considering what he is capable of and I felt he should have come off earlier than he did and although Bellamy worked quite hard he is no where near a left winger and I thought he should have changed that as well.

The good thing about all our little problems is that they aren't to hard to put right, Hughes needs to identify them and sort it out. The quicker he does that the better, I am sure it will benefit all of our nerves if he does!

Another three points and on we march!

Goal!

Portsmouth vs Man City - Sun 30Th Aug 13:30 pm

City go to Fratton Park today looking a third League win in a row, Pompey are struggling at the moment and hopefully City will take advantage of that.

I want a City win today, we never ever stick the boot into these teams that are struggling, we always seem to be the ones they come good against. Pompey just do not look like a team at the moment, they are all over the place at times and I am hoping that our quality will shine through. We do have to be careful of Pompey though because although they are playing rubbish, they do have some good individuals that can cause problems.

We really have to push hard for a win today, we must keep this momentum going before the big games come. To be honest at the risk of sounding cocky I don't think we should be having problems with the likes of Pompey, we are much better than they are at the moment. I am also not being disrespectful to Pompey, if you have seen them lately you will know why I say we should beat them.

City Team News:
Richard Dunne is likely to sit this one out because of his proposed move to Villa, Toure is expected to take the captains arm band and Lescott is expected to make his debut in his place. Roque Santa Cruz (knee), Michael Johnson (abdominal) and Vincent Kompany (toe) are all out injured for City. Sylvinho is not match fit but may make the bench.

Pompey Team News:
Steve Finnan, Linvoy Primus, Papa Bouba Diop and Hermann Hreidarsson are all out with injuries for the home side. New signing Tommy Smith is likely to make is debut.

Possible Man City Line Up: Given, Richards, Toure, Lescott, Bridge, Barry, Ireland, Wright-Phillips, Robinho, Adebayor, Tevez.

Possible Portsmouth Line Up: James, Mokoena, Belhadj, Kaboul, Vanden Borre, Mullins, Kranjcar, Wilson, Smith, Utaka, Piquionne.

My Prediction: Pompey 0 - 2 Man City.

Worth A Bet: Tevez and Ireland score in a 0 - 2 City win.

Fulham next in the Cup!

The Draw for the third round of the Carling Cup has just been done and City have drawn Fulham.

The game will be played at home and with that home advantage I am quite confident we can progress to the next round.

City win again!

City have advanced to the 3rd round of the Carling Cup, City beat Crystal Palace 2 - 0 at Selhurst Park.

Our first goal came five minutes after half time, Shauny Wright breaking forward before smashing the ball into the back of the net from around ten yards. Our second goal was scored by the new Man City messiah himself, Carlos Tevez scoring a header from a corner.

We played alright tonight, but could have been a lot better. Palace made it difficult for us, they tried to play us at our own game and came out of the traps at a 100 miles an hour. The way Palace were playing meant we had to work hard and there was no room for error, however there were times when we made mistakes.

I think at times we have a problem with holding the ball, we go all out and try to score to much at times. We needed someone to put their foot on the ball and hold it while we regrouped, it didn't really happen and I am sure it is hard to not want to attack with all that talent up top, but ultimately we will have to do that at times. Obviously things like that will come along once the team gel and settle down a bit, so it isn't to much of a worry at the moment.

All in all another good win for the blues against a good Palace side and another confident boost, on we march!!!!

*Video of goals to be added when available.

P.S. Apologies for not doing a pre-match today, my day job had me tied up today.

Do you want to be a City film star?

City have been in touch so that I can let the fans know about an interesting opportunity.

The MCFC Film

We are looking for a number of fans to take part in a film about City. We want to hear from all kinds of fans, old and young, male and female.

If you want to take part, can spare some time during the ups and downs of this big year and are willing to be open, passionate and interesting, we would like to hear from you with details of:

Your interest and love of the Club.
The great City stories you can tell.
What you do outside your City life.
What are your rituals on match day?
Is anything big happening to you this year?

If you fancy getting involved, email Mcfc@endemoluk.com with your details.

This is a really good opportunity for City fans and I would encourage people to put themselves forward for it.

Joleon Lescott finally signs!!!!!!!!!

City have finally completed the signing of Everton defender Joleon Lescott on a 5 year deal, the dragged out transfer is now finally over.

I can't say Lescott would have been my first choice when buying a new centre half and we have payed way to much for him, he is a good player though and I am sure he will add some more quality to our squad.

I can't see Lescott getting into our team straight away, for me Dunne and Toure are playing well enough at the moment to justify their place.

Who would you drop to fit Lescott in the team, that's if you would drop anyone at all? I have a feeling I know who most of you will say!

Slyvinho signs!!!!

City have announced the signing of former Arsenal and Barcelona left back Sylvinho. The player joins on a free transfer and has signed a one year deal.

Sylvinho is getting on a bit at 35 but he will be a good back up player to Wayne Bridge, in fact he might even displace Bridge!

Sylvinho has a good pedigree and if called upon I am sure he will do a job for us. Sylvinho will be welcomed at City by fellow Brazilian Robinho, I am sure that Robinho having a compatriot at the club came into Hughes's head when signing Sylvinho.

What do you think, should we have signed a younger left back to push Bridge?

Man City 1 - 0 Wolves (Adebayor 18') *Video*

Our first home game and our first home win. we made it hard for ourselves in the second half, but we took three points all the same.

We started off very well today, the team looked like they had been playing together for a while. Our goal came from Adebayor, Tevez passed to Adebayor and he finished very well from inside the box. Video below, give it a few seconds to buffer!

The first half today was great, we were doing everything right. We didn't panic and were happy to keep hold of the ball and wait for our chances to come. At half time we could have been at least five up, but we were very wasteful in front of goal. The second half was no where near as impressive as the first, we became lazy and let Wolves take control for long periods, unfortunately for Wolves they didn't really have any quality to turn their domination into a goal.

I was quite disappointed with our second half showing, we took our foot off the gas and seemed to think we were going to stroll through. Wolves had other plans though and carved out some half chances including hitting the bar, although a lot of Wolves good work came from us being poor. The main difference from our performance in the first and second half was work rate, we stopped working hard and began to be sloppy. Hughes will have to address that and sort it out.

There were some good performances today by City players that really encouraged me. I want to start with Dunne, on the radio on the way home a City fan got on and said that he was terrible and that was not the case. His passing was bad at times but that was about it, I just do not understand these people who want to get on his back. Then there was Toure and Barry, these two guys were superb. Toure was a rock at the back and was constantly organising the players around him and Barry, well he is fantastic in all areas of his game. Barry's work rate is ridiculous at times, he just never stops running.

All in all we got three points out of the game and will be confident about the game against Portsmouth next week.

Man City vs Wolves - Sat 22nd Aug 15:00 pm

In our first home game of the season we welcome newly promoted Wolverhampton Wanderers to Eastlands. It should be a great atmosphere tomorrow and I for one can not wait!

This is what we have all been waiting for, our chance to show our new players what Manchester City fans are all about. The day has finally come for City fans where we get to see a world class team walk out in our shirt and on our ground, it is about time!

I do not want to come across as if I am disrespecting our opponents tomorrow, but I am expecting a home win. No game is easy in the Prem but Wolves can no where near match us for quality, they haven't signed anyone of any quality really and I just can not see how they will cause us any problems. We should be thriving on confidence and put that together with the quality we have, then it should be three points for City.

The one thing Wolves definitely do have though is a work ethic, they will absolutely give 110% against us. If we do not match their work rate then they could force us to make our own mistakes. Overall I don't think we should have a problem taking three points tomorrow.

City Team News:
Roque Santa Cruz is out with a knee injury as are Kompany (toe) and Johnson (abdominal). Robinho (ankle) and Adebayor (groin) may also miss out. Wayne Bridge should shake off a hamstring injury in time to be fit for the game.

Wolves Team News:
Christophe Berra (hamstring) and Kevin Doyle (groin) are expected to give Wolves a boost and return to the bench. Sylvan Ebanks-Blake (hamstring), right-back Kevin Foley (knee), Chris Iwelumo (foot) and Michael Kightly (foot and hip) are all out.

Possible Man City Line Up: Given, Richards, Toure, Dunne, Bridge, Wright-Phillips, Barry, Ireland, Bellamy, Robinho, Adebayor.

Possible Wolves Line Up: Hennessey, Stearman, Craddock, Mancienne, Halford, Henry, Milijas, Jarvis, Edwards, Ward, Keogh.

My Prediction: Man City 4 - 0 Wolves

Worth A Bet: Gareth Barry and Wright-Phillips score in a 4 - 0 City win.

City beat Barcelona!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

City have won the Joan Gamper Trophy! City have beaten the Champions of Europe in their own back yard.

The only goal of the game came from Martin Petrov, a great pass by Ireland found Petrov, the Bulgarian ran with the ball and then finished very neatly.

I know that Barcelona's full team wasn't out, but neither was ours and Barca got a lot closer to having their full team out at one stage than we ever did. Either way, we beat the Champions of Europe at the wonderful Nou Camp.

So people will say we only won a trophy named after a former Barca founder, President and player, but I think that it was a great win all the same. The win should fill us with a lot of confidence, not just anyone goes and wins at the Nou Camp against any Barca team. The most confidence should be taken by our defence, we faced a lot of pressure tonight and they were wonderful.

Beating Barca is a dream whatever line up you may face, I just hope we can keep our confidence high and carry on winning games.

Blackburn 0 - 2 Man City ( Adebayor 2', Ireland 90') *Video*

City have opened the campaign with a win and away from home at that. It felt like a huge weight was lifted yesterday, considering how many eyes are on us this season.

We got a great start yesterday, Adebayor scoring after just a couple of minutes. Adebayor had pushed the ball forward to SWP and then made his way towards the box, SWP took Warnock on and layed off Adebayor who powerfully side footed it into the net. Our second goal by Ireland was simply class, Ireland was put through on goal and after making the keeper come out he held the ball up, it looked like he was going to square it and then changed his mind and turned towards goal. The way he finished you would have thought there was nobody in his way, it was superb. Video below!

We played alright yesterday, I thought we pretty much ran the game. Blackburn did have patches where they threatened but ultimately their route one football didn't break us down. First half there were some dodgy moments that were a little worrying to watch and we definitely could have played better than we were. Second half though we bossed the game, our class shone through and Blackburn couldn't really compete.

I think Hughes also deserves his credit from our win yesterday, I was quite surprised that he dropped De Jong and that he chose Richards over Zabaleta. For starters not only did he drop De Jong who has looked good in preseason, but he dropped him to play two strikers which is normally unheard of with Hughes. As for playing Richards who we all know was rubbish last season by his standards, well it turned out to be a great move. Micah Richards was absolutely brilliant yesterday, he was the Micah we all know he can be. Well done Hughes!

If we were to pick out a slightly weak part of our team yesterday then it would have been the defence. They were not terrible but there was a couple of situations we could have handled better. It was mainly because Dunne was being dragged out to the left where Bridge should have been, now Dunne will get all the flack because he is making last ditch tackles or not getting there at all, but really it is Bridge's fault. I do not know where he goes at times but he certainly is not in his position, it needs to be addressed.

With Wolves next up at home I am getting excited about us being able to gather some momentum and confidence. I don't want to get carried away that's for sure, but if we can beat all the average teams in the league which we should and take points from the games against the top four, we really have a chance of having a very good season.

Goals.

Blackburn Rovers vs Man City - Sat 15Th Aug 15:00 pm

Finally the season is upon us, our much anticipated season will begin with an away trip to Ewood Park.

I am as nervous as ever about tomorrows game, I think it is extremely important that we win and win well. After all the money we have spent and all the quality we have brought in, every football fan in the country will be looking for our result after the game has finished. I think it is very important that when they do check our score, they will see a score that suggests City won the game with ease. We must do our very best not to give people a reason to have a go at us after only one game.

Now to the game, as nervous as I am, I think City should be able to come away form Ewood Park with a victory. We are much stronger than they are and apart from kicking us as David Dunn has suggested, I don't see what they have in their team that will help them beat us. I think their team is lacking all the way through and I am certainly expecting us to breach what is not a strong defence.

I don't want to be to harsh on Blackburn they are a decent team, but if we were to come away with anything but a win it would be an opening day disaster.

City Team News:
Roque Santa Cruz has still not recovered from a knee operation and will miss the game. Vincent Kompany is still struggling with a toe injury and Michael Johnson is also out with an abdominal injury. Emanuel Adebayor is 50/50 after picking up a groin injury on International duty. Tevez, Bellamy, Toure and Onuoha are all expected to be fit.

Blackburn Team News:
Ryan Nelsen is struggling with a knee injury and may not play, Chris Samba and Vince Grella have been passed fit though and are both expected to start. Blackburn's new striker Nikola Kalinic is still awaiting a work permit and will miss the game.

Possible Man City Line Up: Given, Zabaleta, Dunne, Toure, Bridge, Wright-Phillips, Barry, De Jong, Ireland, Robinho, Tevez.

Possible Blackburn Line Up: Robinson, Jacobsen, Warnock, Nelsen, Samba, Pedersen, Emerton, Andrews, Grella, Diouf, McCarthy.

My Prediction: Blackburn Rovers 1 - 3 Man City

Worth A Bet: Gareth Barry scores in a 1 - 3 City win.

Kasper leaves for County!

Kasper Schmeichel has signed for Notts County on a five year deal. The fee is believed to be a club record for County, their biggest fee payed to date is £685,000, which they paid Sheffield United in 1991 for Tony Agana.

Kasper will be reunited with Sven at the City of the the lower leagues. It is a strange choice because although County are rich now, there is a rule in the lower leagues that you must spend only a certain percentage of what you take in, so he can't be getting massive wages. I am certain he could have gone to a club playing at a higher level, so all in all a bit of a strange move for Kasper to make.

I was always a Kasper fan and am sorry he has gone to be honest, I hope he progresses to a top level because I think he is good enough.

The fans have spoken!!!!!

Below is a collection of thoughts from four City fans and funnily enough a Wolves/City fan, before you say it I know, but he was in my top five and took the time to email me so he is in.

Asking for the fans opinions is designed to get a full range of what City fans think about the up and coming season.

I would like to sincerely thank all the people who emailed me their opinion, my site is for the fans and the fans have made this article possible.

So what do us fans think is awaiting us this season?

1. Hi whomever reads

This is undoubtedly going to be one of the most exciting seasons, who am I kidding, by far the most exciting season since I've had the fortune of being a blue. Of course, being City, it wouldn't be excitement without a tinge of fear, something is going to go wrong. You all know that sinking feeling.

However, while that is the case, I am of the firm belief that this season will see us taking massive strides forward. With those Hughes has brought in (hoping they stay fit) mixing well with the undoubted quality already at the club I think we have a real shot at the top four this year.

It won't be easy, and there will be some soft results as the season goes on, but because of the weaknesses inherent in the Arsenal, i think that we have a real shot. As a bonus, we also have the ability to go out and fix quickly any weaknesses identified up until January.

So - for this season. Star player I think will be Carlos Tevez for his work rate which was sadly lacking without Bellamy up top last year. However, the unsung heroes will, for me, be Barry and De Jong. Already they are looking like forming a formidable partnership, given Stevie I a license to bomb forward.

Top goalscorer is tough. I think Robbi and Stevie will weigh in similar numbers as last year, but Adebayor will top them, but not reach 20. I also back Craig Bellamy, and Tevez to reach double figures, but fear for Santa Cruz's game time and fitness - hope I'm wrong.

Toure will be a major influence both on the field, in bringing on Micah and Nedum, while Barry will be a successful team captain (as Dunney will remain club captain).

Also, watch out for Robbi this year. With the options in the team, it will be so much harder for teams to mark him out of the game.

League finish: 5th / 6th (if we don't strengthen the back four) or 4th if we strengthen.

I also think there will be another random star name (but not marquee :)) before the window closes, other than Lescott / Upson / Distin.

Looking forward to the season and keep reading this blog... it keeps me thoroughly entertained whilst at work.

Andrew Roberts.

2. Hey I am a Manchester city Fan...and I think that our star player this season will be Ireland..he is advancing and progressing very well...I can see him doing great things...as for our top goal scorer I believe Adebayor(if he stays fit) can accomplish that with around 20 goals I think that Barry should be our captain because he has the most premier league experience and plays for England as well...As for our league prediction I believe we can win it because if u look at our buys the are all from the premier league and all from the top six teams...except Santa Cruz (who has 23 goals in his first season) but we can win it...we need at least one more defender before the windows shuts and I hope we can get Lescott...Later USVI Daviel...

Daviel James.

3. I really don't know what to expect from this season. All I can say is that I literally can't wait, and it's definitely that most highly anticipated campaign for city in decades. There are so many questions that will soon be answered; Will the players gel? Can Hughes keep all the stars happy? Will we the press continue to slag us off for no apparent reason?
I just hope Sparky gives youngsters such as Weiss a chance to prove themselves, as it would be such a shame to see our acclaimed academy go to waste, and reckon that some of them have the potential to outshine the likes of Tevez and Adebayor.

Prediction: 3rd pushing united into 4th.

Top scorer: Robinho with 20 plus
Player of season: Nigel De Jong
Breakthrough player: Vladimir Weiss

James Gorman.

4. City look strong going into a season for the first time in a while, and I feel it will be a successful season and with result in finishing 4th. The midfield and attack for me is particularly strong with the link up of Barry and Ireland being the most exciting for me, in the attack I think Robinho will shine and Tevez will be a fans favourite for the season but the player of the season will be Ireland followed shortly by Barry and Robi. The defence is a worry at this moment in time, but the window hasn't closed, I suspect we will get Lescott and we'll have a strong back 4 in Richards, Toure, Lescott and Bridge, overall a very solid starting 11 with capable back up in the likes of Santa Cruz, Bellamy, Petrov, Kompany, Zabaleta and Onuoha.

Ash Jones.

5. Hey!

I read your blog, although being a Wolves fan :) But anyway my predictions are:

Top scorer: Santa Cruz (I hope he gets well soon... Blistering seasons in Rovers team)

Star player: I am hoping for Ireland making the deadly assists - he is in my Fantasy Football team ;)

Fans favourite: Has got to be Tevez.

I have been supporting City as my "second team" for about 10 years, so I know the background and your recent revival also. Good luck in breaking into CL places :)

Tanel Molok.

Once again thank you to Andrew, Daviel, James, Ash and Tanel. Your input really is appreciated.

I need five Man City fans to have their say!

I am calling on my blog readers to tell me what they think the new season will bring.

I would like five readers to email me a short detailed piece about what they can see happening this season. I would like you to include things like who you think our star player will be, our top goal scorer and so on.

Your opinion will then be published on my blog, I will publish the first five emails I receive.

My reason for doing this is to get a big picture of what we City fans feel like as a whole.

If you could email me at wevegotrobinho@live.co.uk that would be much appreciated, please make sure you leave your name, thanks.

City get tv time in the Cup!

The date for the Carling Cup second round tie has been announced, the game will be played on Thursday the 27Th of August.

The game will be shown live on Sky Sports and will kick off at 8 pm. Ticket details for the game have not been released yet, but are expected to be shortly.

City draw Palace away!

City have been drawn against Crystal Palace in the second round of the Carling Cup.

The date has yet to be confirmed, although we do know the game will be played sometime in the week starting from the 24Th of August.

It should be a decent game down at Palace and I am sure their fans are happy with the tie. I don't really have a preference to who we draw in Cup competitions, you have to beat what's put in front of you to win the trophy, so Palace will do for me. Saying that Palace certainly are not the easiest tie we could have got and I am sure that they will give us a game.

Name your starting eleven!

With all the mystery surrounding what our team will be against Blackburn, I thought it would be good to see who the fans would put on the pitch for the opening game of the league season.

My starting eleven.

Given

Zabaleta Dunne Toure Bridge

Wright-Phillips De Jong Barry Robinho

Ireland

Tevez

I almost went with Bellamy up top because he looked sharp against Celtic, but Tevez looked good when he came on so I went for him. If Tevez isn't fit I would go for Bellamy. I am normally a big fan of two up front but I thought SWP deserves a chance to show his real form before being dropped.

What would your line up be?

A summer of change

This summer has seen a monumental amount of change at City, as everyone already knows we have been very active recruiting players, however what some may not know is about the improvement being made at the club as a whole.

Our new owners have been showing that they are here for the long term and not just here to use us as a toy. They have been heavily investing in all areas of the club; they have so far built a new multi-million pound office block so that they can free up space in the stadium to make room for improvements there, our training ground has had a total overhaul and now only houses the best of the best for our players and they have transformed the club shop and the ticket office. Who ever said they are only here for a bit of fun?

Of course as we all know that is not the most exciting part of the change at City this summer, we have signed some top quality International footballers.

Gareth Barry - Midfield

Gareth Barry is a great signing and possibly the best signing Hughes has made this summer. Everyone knows his quality from his time with Aston Villa and from when he plays for England, but already in pre-season City fans have seen first hand how good he is. If we are to finish high up the league I see this man having a lot to do with it.

Roque Santa Cruz - Striker

In Santa Cruz we have a striker who has had one good season in England and one injury-hit one. I’m not sure we can know where we are at with him as far as what impact he can have on our season. If we get the Santa Cruz that performs as well as he did in his first season with Blackburn, then we have a powerful striker who can score goals and bully defences. Saying that, the jury is still out on him for the time being.

Stuart Taylor - Goalkeeper

Taylor has been brought in as nothing more than a back up keeper to Shay Given, he is a decent keeper to have in your squad but I don’t expect to see him get a lot of playing time with Given standing in his way.

Carlos Tevez - Striker

It is hard to ignore that Tevez has come from Manchester United and obviously a lot of City fans have enjoyed that fact about his move to City. I, however, think that him crossing over to us from United is the least important thing about this transfer, to sign a player of his quality should be our main concern. The feisty Argentine International will add steel and hard work to our front line and I am hoping to see him play a huge role in what will hopefully be a successful season for us.

Emmanuel Adebayor - Striker

In Adebayor I think we have signed one of the best strikers in the Premier League, he has proved he can score goals at this level and I would back him to continue down that path for City. Arsenal fans do not hold him in high regard, they say he is lazy and needs ten chances to score one. To be honest he can have one hundred chances to score one goal and be as lazy as he wants if he scores as many goals for us as he did for Arsenal, plus Hughes isn’t stupid, Tevez is there to do the hard work.

Kolo Touré - Defender

In Touré we have signed a much needed high-class defender, I am really not quite sure why Arsenal have let one of their best defenders, if not their best defender, leave. The qualities that Touré possesses have been proven over many seasons playing in the Premier League; he is quick, strong, defends brilliantly and is a leader. I think Arsenal could regret selling him and I am sure that we will not regret buying him.

Along with these signings we have had to see players leave, some of which will be missed:

Elano - Midfield

I was sorry to see Elano go, I always had a hope that he would reproduce his best form and force his way back into our team. I think it was always clear Hughes wasn’t an Elano fan and it is a shame really, but life goes on and all we can do is wish Elano good luck.

Darius Vassell - Striker

Well I expect a bit of stick for singling out Darius as a player who may be missed, but I also know that a lot of City fans feel the same way about him as I do. Darius was a player who would always give 110% for City and never moan when he was being played out of position constantly. He is someone I would feel sorry for if our plan to be the best team in world football comes off, he is the kind of professional that deserves to succeed. He has been welcomed with hero status at his new club in Turkey and I for one hope he succeeds there.

Other first team players that have left City include:

Danny Mills, Michael Ball, Glauber Berti, Ched Evans, Gelson Fernandes, Dietmar Hamann, and Daniel Sturridge.

Loaned out:

Valeri Bojinov, Joe Hart, Jô, Felipe Caicedo, and Shaleum Logan.

When you look at the big picture, I think on a whole the players that have come in and the players that have left have been the right decision for our club. We are all obviously looking forward to a big season and I say why not, at the same time though I don’t think we should get ahead of ourselves and keep realistic. Bring on the new season!

Just to let my readers know, this article was first published at http://www.footballnation.info/

I have had the pleasure of being asked to write articles for the City section on there, do not worry though it will not affect my blog and I will be working as hard as ever on here.

Footballnation is a new up and coming football site, it is already a great site for football fans and I would suggest having a look. It is having a lot of hard work put into it and the more it evolves, the better it will become.

To finish off I have to once again thank my readers, without the great calibre of people that come to read my blog, I never would have been asked to write for footballnation. Without my readers there would have been no blog, my sincere thanks goes out to you all.

Man City 2 - 1 Celtic

A home game and a home win, City came out on top against Champions League regulars, Celtic.

A lot of City fans will be breathing a sigh of relief after today's result, a win was important leading into the new season.

We started off well today and had a lot of the ball, if we didn't score it looked like we were going to pass them to death at one point, luckily Gareth Barry scored from inside the box to finally turn our possession into a goal. The lead was short lived when former City striker Chris Killen latched onto a Georgios Samaras pass to make it 1-1. City came out for the second half looking up for it and with six minutes of the half gone we were back in the lead, Craig Bellamy doing really well to finish and make it 2-1.

There were several positives to take out of the game ahead of the new season, most notably Gareth Barry's performance. He was brilliant, he hardly does anything wrong and always looks so cool under pressure, himself and De Jong also have a very good understanding with each other. If one of them made a tackle the other was there to mop up the loose ball, it was very good to watch.

Another good performance worth a mention came from Craig Bellamy, he looked really sharp and caused several problems for the Celtic defence, Hughes is going to have a big dilemma on his hands when picking his forward line for the game against Blackburn.

If there was a disappointment today it would have to have been Wright-Phillips, he just does not look his usual self. It isn't just one or even two parts of his game that are lacking, he is basically lacking in every area of his game. After seeing Weiss come on for a short while and impress again, I would suggest SWP will have to pull his socks up because Weiss will definitely take his place if he doesn't.

To finish off I have to mention Tevez, he only came on for twenty five minutes but he looked really good in that short space of time. Obviously his work rate is very good as we all know but he also has a lot of class about him, more than I thought if I am honest. He could be a huge part of our season.

Manchester City: Given, Zabaleta, Dunne (c), Toure (Ben-Haim 18), Bridge, De Jong (Adebayor 46), Barry, Ireland, Wright-Phillips (Weiss 72), Robinho (Petrov 72), Bellamy (Tevez 65).

Unused subs:
Taylor, Richards, Garrido, Etuhu, Vidal, McGivern.

Rangers 3 - 2 Man City

Another preseason game, another loss. City come away from Scotland slightly hard done by.

It was an entertaining game tonight both teams played some good stuff, City probably edged being the better team and were unfortunate to come away beaten, I think a draw would have been a fair result for both teams efforts.

Our first goal was scored when Stephen Ireland made his way in to the box and was found by an Adebayor pass, he kept his cool and slotted the ball into the far corner. The second goal was scored by Petrov, he picked up the ball and darted towards the Rangers area, he cut inside and smashed the ball past the goalkeeper.

We played alright tonight except there was times when we looked our usual bad selves. The left hand side was left wide open at times and Rangers were taking advantage of it. Our poor passing also got us in to trouble on a couple of occasions again tonight, these things will have to be sorted out fast if we are to push the top teams this season.

Watch the players training and have some fun!

City fans have been given the chance to go and watch the squad training.

There will be an open training session held at the Stadium tomorrow and entry is free!

That's not all though there will also be a fun day at the ground, it should be a great day for the family so get down there if you can.

The gates to the stadium open at 2pm, the session starts at 2:45pm and will last until around 3:45pm.

Only a draw in our latest preseason game

City and Barnsley both scored a goal a piece to help us draw our latest preseason game.

Barnsley took the lead through Bogdanovic in the 84Th minute, he latched on to a long ball over the top and struck the ball across Given and into the bottom corner. He took it very well although I felt the defending was poor, Richards halted his run towards the 6 yard box and ball watched as the Barnsley player struck the ball.

Petrov scored for City in the 87Th minute to grab us a draw, Ireland put the ball across the box to leave Petrov with an easy tap in.

We didn't play terrible today but we were lacking up top a little when it came to goal scoring chances. We hit the framework a couple of times when we should have scored and there was also a couple of times when we missed and it was probably easier to score.

All in all Barnsley gave us a good game today and I am sure our players will benefit from the game, Rangers is next for us and I would expect us to show our Premier League quality in that game.

City team: Given, Richards, Toure (McGivern 65mins), Onuoha (Ben Haim 46mins), Garrido (Zabaleta 46mins); Wright-Phillips (Weiss 69mins), De Jong, Ireland, Robinho; Bellamy and Adebayor (Petrov 77).

Unused subs: Taylor, Vidal and Etuhu

Check out City Shout!

Just a short post to bring a City site called City Shout to City fans attention.

City shout is a great place for City fans to go, it has everything you would want.

It has a list of City blogs, a forum, a list of supporters clubs, photos and much more.

I would suggest having a look, I think most City fans will like what the site offers.

www.cityshout.co.uk