Saturday 30 January 2010

Man City vs Portsmouth - Sun 31st Jan 13:30 pm









Our focus turns back on to the league tomorrow as a struggling Pompey side visit Eastlands.

We have to make sure that we stick the boot in on a club that are struggling on and off the pitch.

I don't like to see what has happened to Pompey but when it comes down to a football match I don't care what position they are in and hope that we can make their situation a little worse.

We should by rights hammer Pompey tomorrow, we are in good form and they are in poor form. Our squad is much stronger than theirs and on top of that their defensive rock Younes Kaboul has just been sold, so I can't really see us not scoring a few goals against them.

Actually all we have to do to convincingly win this game is play like we did against Utd in the Cup, I have no doubt if we play like that for this game we will comfortably win. In fact if we play to that standard for the rest of the season we will easily make fourth spot.

Just a little message to any Pompey fans, I really want us to hammer you tomorrow but it's not good seeing what has happened to your club after making so much progress in recent years and I hope you pull through.

Man City Team News:
Joleon Lescott and Wayne Bridge (both knee) are both expected to miss out although Bridge has been getting closer to fitness and may make a return, Roque Santa Cruz and Patrick Vieira are both set to miss out with calf problems. Emmanuel Adebayor made his return in midweek and is expected to be back in the match squad along with Kolo Toure.

Portsmouth Team News:
Jamie O'Hara has returned to Pompey for another loan spell and will be available as will David Nugent who has returned from his loan spell at Burnley. Younes Kaboul has left for Spurs but goalkeeper Asmir Begovic has not yet joined him as expected and should be available.

Possible Man City Line Up:
Given, Richards, Kompany, Boyata, Garrido, Zabaleta, Wright-Phillips, De Jong, Barry, Bellamy, Tevez.

Possible Portsmouth Line Up:
Begovic, Finnan, Hreidarsson, Ben-Haim, Wilson, Mokoena, Boateng, Mullins, Basinas, Utaka, Piquionne.

My Prediction: Man City 4 - 0 Portsmouth.

Worth A Bet: Nigel de Jong and SWP score in a 4 - 0 City win.

Thursday 28 January 2010

Big game and a big player lost!

I am still gutted, I really thought that maybe it was our year to win a trophy. It wasn't to be and we just have to plod on.

We played quite well last night and I wasn't disappointed with the performance, just the result. I just can't stop thinking about Shay Given's mistake though, he should have come out and claimed the ball when it ran away from Gigg's before Scholes scored, I am not going to hold a grudge against Given or anything but that does stand out as a key moment in the game and it could have been prevented.

We will just have to dust ourselves down and get on with it now, we are progressing and that is there for all to see. Maybe I got drunk on the hope of winning a trophy when really all I want is to see us make steps in that direction and that is what we are doing.

On the back of that game we have seen Robinho leave on loan, he has headed back home to Brazil on a deal lasting until the 4Th of August.

How frustrated am I that Robinho has left? VERY! I am not surprised that he has been allowed to leave because he just has not looked bothered. I am frustrated though because of the talent that he has, this lad could be one of the very best in the World if he wanted but he just refuses to show what he is capable of.

I really hope he comes back and proves a point to everyone although I am not sure if he will or not, he should otherwise he faces the prospect of fading away into oblivion. We shall see what happens with him, maybe we will just have to buy Messi!!!

Wednesday 27 January 2010

Man Utd vs Man City - Wed 27Th Jan 20:00 pm








It is here, the big one! Can we do it? Absolutely we can!!!!

I had a lot of people asking me at work today 'are you nervous' my reply was no! I just hope our players feel the same way because they have nothing to be nervous about, we can more than match Utd if we want to!

Again all we need is hard work and determination and I am positive that we can win, our big players need to earn their tags as big players tonight and send us through to the Cup final.

I am looking to our midfield to make a big impact tonight, they are by far the most important part of the team in this game. We can not concede and it will be their job to guard the defence and well at that, I believe we have the players to manage that and I have every faith in them. The midfield will also be very busy attacking tonight as well, we must go all out and put pressure on Utd to win the game.

We need 180 minutes worth of hard work tonight and that is what I think we will get from our players, they are 90 minutes away from Wembley and if that isn't the biggest incentive you need then I don't know what is.

Come on lads you can do it!!!! CTID!!!!!!!!!!

Man City Team News:
Roque Santa Cruz is still out with a calf injury as is Patrick Vieira who has a similar problem, Joleon Lescott and Wayne Bridge (both knee) are also still out. Emmanuel Adebayor is back from Togo and may make the team, Kolo Toure is also back with us and is expected to start. Robinho is in the squad despite being linked with a move away.

Man Utd Team News:
Owen Hargreaves (knee) and John O'Shea (thigh) are out and it remains to be seen if Nemanja Vidic who has been suffering with a calf injury will play.

Possible Man City Line Up: Given, Richards, Toure, Kompany, Garrido, Wright-Phillips, De Jong, Barry, Zabaleta, Bellamy, Tevez.

Possible Man Utd Line Up: Van der Sar, Neville, Brown, Ferdinand, Evra, Obertan, Fletcher, Anderson, Giggs, Berbatov, Rooney.

My Prediction: Man Utd 0 - 1 Man City.

Worth A Bet: Carlos Tevez scores in a 1 - 0 City win.

Tuesday 26 January 2010

Change to come and a prize up for grabs!

Firstly as some of you may have guessed the situation with Robinho means I will most likely be changing the name of my blog in the near future, I have a name in mind already but any suggestions are welcome.

Next I would like to tell you about a give away that I am doing, my blog is almost a year old an to celebrate it's 'birthday' I will be asking for an answer to a very simple question, the winner will win a City shirt of their choice! The question will be posted on the 30Th of January, full details about the give away will be given on that day also.

(REGRETTABLY THE COMPETITION DATE HAS NOW CHANGED DUE TO COMMITMENTS THAT I HAVE ON THE 30TH DURING THE DAY, IT WILL NOW TAKE PLACE ON THE FOLLOWING WEEKEND)

Sunday 24 January 2010

Scunthorpe beaten, next up is Stoke! *Video*

We defeated Scunthorpe today and now we must face Stoke at home in our quest for FA Cup glory.

We won 4 - 2 today with the goals coming from Petrov, Onuoha, Sylvinho and Robinho. They were all good goals with Sylvinho's being the pick of the bunch, Goals below!

We played alright today, not amazing but we did enough to get the job done. Scunthorpe were not bad and gave us a harder time than some Prem teams have this season, ultimately it was our class that shone through to help us win the game.

Our team was a much different one to usual today, two young men, Abdisalam Ibrahim and Greg Cunningham made their debuts. Ibrahim impressed me in the first half and although he faded in the second had an all round good game. Cunningham wasn't tested that much after coming on for de Jong in the second half, anything he did do was done well though.

I also thought that Boyata did well today, he has been a little shaky in his first couple of games at times but today he was very steady. Benjani was also a bit of an unsung hero, he worked very hard up top.

There was also a much better performance from Robinho today, he has took a lot of stick lately but did show signs of improvement today. He was trying a lot harder and was even tackling, he reverted to mixing his skill with doing the simple thing and it worked. He even scored after finishing off a good piece of build up, lets hope he continues to improve, if he isn't leaving that is!

Another Mancini win has seen us go through to play Stoke at home on the weekend of the 13/14Th of February. It is a good draw for us and we should be able to win it.

A few trips to Wembley for us lot this season? We shall see!

Goals.

Scunthorpe Utd vs Man City - Sun 24Th Jan 16:00 pm









Another Cup game against Scunthorpe sees us to travel to them this time round, it should not prove to be much of a task for us.

Having already beaten Scunthorpe 5 - 1 this season you would expect us to win this game, which I do. Scunny have been struggling in the Championship this season but they have been doing better lately, not that I expect that to make any difference to the result of this game.

We are expected to make a few changes for the game today and I will not be surprised if we do, any team that we put out today should be able to beat Scunthorpe and take some strain off our regular starters ahead of the Utd game.

Man City Team News:
Roque Santa Cruz and Patrick Vieira are both out with calf injuries and Joleon Lescott, Michael Johnson and Wayne Bridge all have knee problems which will see them miss out as well. Kolo Toure is still at the African Cup of Nations and Emmanuel Adebayor is still not ready to return to the pitch but was expected back in the Country today.

Scunthorpe Team News:
Josh Wright has recovered from illness and may return to the starting line up, Michael O'Connor misses out due to suspension. Big City fan Josh Lillis son of former City player Mark Lillis hopes to keep his place in goal against his beloved Blues.

Possible Man City Line Up: Given, Vidal, Boyata, Onuoha, Sylvinho, Wright-Phillips, Ireland, Barry, Petrov, Robinho, Benjani.

Possible Scunthorpe Line Up: Lillis, Byrne, A.Wright, Mirfin, Williams, Thompson, Woolford, J.Wright, McCann, Hayes, Hooper.

My Prediction: Man City 3 - 1 Scunthorpe Utd.

Worth A Bet: Ireland scores the first goal in a 3 - 1 City win.

Wednesday 20 January 2010

Man City 2 - 1 Man Utd (Giggs 17', Tevez 42' pen,65') *Video*










Get in! I am so relieved and overjoyed, first blood is ours and now we must see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Tevez was our main man again and scored both of our goals, his energy and work rate is unbelievable and no matter what Ferguson says, he must be regretting letting him go. Goals and highlights below!!!

We played decent for periods last night and managed to get the win, we will have to play a lot better to beat Man Utd away from home though. When we played them at their own game and attacked them last night we looked good, the problem was we sat back way to much and let Utd put pressure on us. I feel we should go to Old Trafford and attack them throughout, that's when we are at our most dangerous and that is when Utd look most vulnerable.

I don't have a lot more to say as I still slightly overwhelmed, but one last thing I must point out is the teams work rate last night. They all worked very hard all the way through the game, at times our passing was bad and our marking was poor but as long as they are giving their all, then that can be forgiven.

I just hope the lads go to Old Trafford and maintain their advantage, we can do it CTID!!!

Tuesday 19 January 2010

Man City vs Man Utd - Tues 19Th Sep 20:00 pm










It is time for our players to stand up and be counted, I will be in great form in the stands tonight but I really don't care that it is United we are playing. I am more bothered about reaching the final of the Cup and honestly that's all this game is about for me.

It has been a long time for some City fans since they saw proper silverware at the club, luckily I am younger and have not had to endure that heartache for as long as some of you, not to say I am willing to wait any longer! We need to win this game and give ourselves that glimmer of hope that might suggest that this year is our year!

I am not going to evaluate what certain players need to do in this game that they didn't do against Everton because basically it doesn't matter, this game is a whole different kettle of fish. The players can go into it with a clean slate ready to give their all, they must near kill themselves tonight to win this game and that's what I hope to see.

Us fans can also make a huge difference tonight, to often do I see people around me not clapping or singing and cheering. Those people know who they are and tonight you must must must make an effort to get right behind the team for as long as the game goes on for. Lets make it an experience that we will never forget, win or lose.

COME ON CITY!!!

Man City Team News:
Stephen Ireland looks set to return to the bench tonight after recovering from injury but Roque Santa Cruz will miss out after being sidelined for a month with a calf injury. Nedum Onuoha should be on the bench again although Joleon Lescott (knee) and Wayne Bridge (knee) are said to be out with injury even though Bridge was rated as a week away by Mancini a couple of weeks back. Patrick Vieira (calf) is still out as is long term casualty Michael Johnson. Toure is at the African Cup of Nations and Adebayor is still in Togo.

Man Utd Team News:
Rio Ferdinand (calf), Nemanja Vidic (calf), Dimitar Berbatov (dead leg), Ben Foster (back), Owen Hargreaves (knee), John O'Shea (thigh) and Ryan Giggs (old) are all expected to be out.

Possible Man City Line Up: Given, Zabaleta, Richards, Kompany, Garrido, Wright-Phillips, De Jong, Barry, Bellamy, Benjani, Tevez.

Possible Man Utd Line Up:
Kuszczack, Rafael, Brown, Evans, Fabio, Obertan, Fletcher, Anderson, Nani, Owen, Diouf.

My Prediction: Man City 2 - 0 Man Utd.

Worth A Bet: Nigel de Jong and Carlos Tevez score in a 2-0 City win.

Sunday 17 January 2010

Everton 2 - 0 Man City (Pienaar 36', Saha 45'pen)

What a totally rubbish performance, we don't expect to win every game but surely we expect the team to try harder than they did yesterday.

The team decided to return to the form that got Mark Hughes sacked yesterday, we were terrible. The whole team were poor but there were also some particular awful individual performances, Martin Petrov and Robinho being the two that stand out most.

Robinho got most of the flack but Petrov was just as bad as him, non of these players looked as if they had played football before and if either of them ever makes a tackle I will probably suffer from shock for a long time! Robinho ran round yesterday like a headless chicken, maybe it was his way of trying harder but what he was doing was pointless. His confidence is obviously low and he needs to sort that out rapidly or he will find himself getting sold because he is not wanted and not because he thinks he is worth a move to a bigger club.

Petrov is the one who is annoying me the most at the moment, a lot of City fans agree with what he says about deserving to be in the team, I don't I have always seen what Mark Hughes saw in him. He is a liability, he doesn't even do what he is good at anymore and run at people and as for his tackling, I have never seen anyone bottle going in for a tackle as much as he does.

I think the thing that annoys me most about both of these players, is that they are clearly talented players on their day. It is just a shame we are not seeing the best out of them regularly.

Now I have got that out of the way I want to be clear that I am not just blaming these two players, I think we also saw de Jong have a bad game for the first time yesterday and Zabbo wasn't as neat as he usually is. In fact the only player who I thought did OK was Javier Garrido, he was steady and did his job well.

I just hope they got the slap in the face they needed before we play United, I mean lets face it if we approached the semi final in this manner then United would have really battered us. So if I am trying to be positive I would say that the defeat may have been a blessing in disguise that will help us pull our socks up on Tuesday!

Saturday 16 January 2010

Everton vs Man City - Sat 16Th Jan 17:30 pm








Arguably our toughest game of Mancini's reign takes place today, Everton have been playing better in recent weeks and will be hard to beat.

I have a lot of respect for Everton's ability, I think a lot of people have wrote them off but I still think they are a strong side despite their bad patch.

I still think that we should win this game as long as we don't become complacent, in recent times we have seen the team take it easy after a couple of wins and expect to win games, if we do that today all our good work of late will be wasted.

I have something a little different in my build up today, my good Evertonian friend Anthony or 'Chunky' thought it was a good idea for him to have a little say on today's game and I agree.

Anthony aka Chunky says.........

''I am looking forward to a good game of football today, I think both teams will be up for it and it should turn out to be a good contest. We are both in form and will both really want to win the game, but I see Everton coming out on top with a 3 - 0 win. City have the best striker in the League at the moment but I feel one man can't take down a team like ours that have a strong team ethic.''

Well if all goes to plan I will be seeing Chunky at the game today and on behalf of us all I will be sure to tell him how wrong he is!

Man City Team News:
Shaun Wright-Phillips (ankle) and new signing Patrick Vieira (calf) are both said to be fit but may not be rushed into the team. Joleon Lescott (knee), Nedum Onuoha (calf) and Stephen Ireland (hamstring) are all expected to be missing, Wayne Bridge may feature on the bench. Kolo Toure is at the African Cup of Nations and Emmanuel Adebayor is still recovering from that terrible attack on the Togo team bus.

Everton Team News:
Sylvain Distin returned to training this week after coming back from a hamstring injury but is not expected to make his first team return today.
Yakubu Aiyegbeni and Joseph Yobo are on African Cup of Nations duty and Lucas Neill looks set to play his last game for Everton before moving to Galatasaray.

Possible Man City Line Up: Given, Zabaleta, Richards, Kompany, Garrido, Petrov, De Jong, Barry, Bellamy, Benjani, Tevez.

Possible Everton Line Up:
Howard, Heitinga, Neill, Baines, Neville, Cahill, Fellaini, Pienaar, Osman, Donovan, Saha.

My Prediction: Everton 1 - 3 Man City.

Worth A Bet: Nigel de Jong and Benjani score in a City win.

Thursday 14 January 2010

Video of our progress in the Carling Cup!

I have been sent a video from City that shows the progress we have made in the Carling Cup so far.

So here you go!

Can you dance like Tevez?

City are running a competition to see who is the best at impersonating Carlos Tevez's goal celebration.

From the official site.........

Not only have the performances and goalscoring exploits of our Argentinean ace made the headlines over the past few weeks but so has the celebratory dance routine now known as ‘The Tevez’.

We want you to record yourself and your friends doing ‘The Tevez’, upload it to YouTube and email a link to us at mcfc@mcfc.co.uk and we’ll choose our favourite.

The winner will receive a signed Tevez shirt, two tickets to City vs Portsmouth on the 31st January and have their dance shown on the big screens at CoMS at the game. The closing date is 28/01/10 with the winner notified the following day.

And for some inspiration, here's the man himself...

Wednesday 13 January 2010

Do you want to feature in a City documentary?

City have sent me an email about a documentary that is going to be made and they want the fans to feature!!!

Here is the info................

Your Stories - Be a part of City History

MCFC has commissioned a major documentary about the Club during the 2009/2010 season focussing on both the team and a group of long-time supporters.

The Producers want to hear from fans who have experienced the ups and downs of following the Club over the last 30 years.

They want to talk to fans who remember any of the following:

1976 – League Cup Final - MCFC v Newcastle.

1981 – FA Cup runners up - MCFC v Spurs.

1998 – Relegation to the third tier - Stoke v MCFC.

1999 – The legendary Gillingham match which secured promotion.

It might be that you weren’t at the game itself but remember it for another reason – maybe it was the day you married/became engaged. Or perhaps you just watched the game in the pub ?

If you have fantastic stories about any other City matches, the Producers would also like to hear about those, too.

The best stories will be filmed as part of the documentary. These will then be combined with footage of the match and maybe comments of the players involved, so your story is preserved forever.

Please email us with your memories asap, ideally by the end of January, to matthew.mccann@endemoluk.com

We look forward to receiving your stories, Many thanks.

Tuesday 12 January 2010

Man City 4 - 1 Blackburn Rovers *Video* (Tevez 7', 49', 90', Richards 39', Pedersen 71')

Another win saw us move up to fourth spot in the table, Carlos Tevez was the driving force behind the teams performance last night.

City's and Tevez's first goal was scored off his knee after Benjani turned to drill the ball towards the goal. Our second was scored by Micah Richards, he picked the ball up in his own half and steamed towards the Blackburn box, he then passed to Benjani who hit the post but Micah was there to put the loose ball into the back of the net. Both of Tevez's other two goals we absolute crackers that he curled from outside the box and passed Paul Robinson. Goals and highlights below!!!!

We played well last night and each and every player can say that they played their part, I was very impressed with our whole back four and particularly Zabbo. Zabbo goes about what he does very quietly but oh boy he is effective, he put in a real strong performance last night and didn't put a foot wrong. Garrido was also steady again, he does get wrong side of his attacker at times but I am sure Mancini will soon knock that out of him. Lescott and Toure will have a job getting back into the defence at the moment because they are playing very well as a unit.

In the midfield I was impressed with Barry again, he seems to have put his bad form behind him, de Jong was also excellent again. I was a little disappointed with Bellamy and more than disappointed with Petrov, Bellamy just wasn't himself last night and Petrov may as well have not been playing. Bellamy just had an off night he wasn't bad as such but he wasn't good either, Petrov was a waste of space and did pretty much nothing, why he plays him on the right hand side I will never know because I am not even sure he knows what a right foot is!

And then there was our forwards Tevez was exceptional, think of every possible way of playing a game of football well and add them all together, that was Tevez's performance last night! Benjani wasn't to bad himself, although he drifted in and out at times he was really strong, held the ball up well and ran the line very well.

The players must see themselves that making the top four is in their hands, all we have to do is keep it going and we will have no problem with making the top four and maybe even getting higher than that.

Goals and highlights.

Monday 11 January 2010

Man City vs Blackburn Rovers - Mon 11Th Jan 20:00 pm








A win against Blackburn tonight will see us make our way into the top four, hopefully we can do that and then stay there!

We convincingly beat Blackburn in our first game of the season and I don't see why this game should go any different. Blackburn will fight hard but lack what I believe to be any necessary class that they will need to defeat us.

I can't see Blackburn giving us any problems when going forward so for me it is just down to our attackers to stick the ball in the net, saying that I wouldn't take the likes of McCarthy and Roberts for granted because you would have to be stupid to do that but I still can't see how they will bother us if we defend properly.

We must win tonight to keep our momentum going, a place in the top four is ours for the taking if we apply ourselves properly. We have to continue to build on our good form of late and resend the message out to any doubters that we are a force to be reckoned with.

Man City Team News:
Patrick Vieira's debut is in the balance, he has been carrying a knock on his calf and is rated doubtful. There are also still concerns over the fitness of Shaun Wright-Phillips (ankle), Joleon Lescott (knee) and Nedum Onuoha (calf), SWP is said to be nearing fitness but whether he plays remains unknown, Lescott and Onuoha are not expected to feature. Wayne Bridge is close to fitness but expected to need another seven days of training before returning to the squad, Roque Santa Cruz is rated at 50/50 to make tonight's game. Kolo Toure is away at the African Cup of Nations and Adebayor is resting and trying to recover from the terrible incident he encountered this week.

Blackburn Rovers Team News:
Brett Emerton is looking to return to the the starting line up after being out with a groin injury, Vince Grella misses out due to a thigh strain and El-Hadji Diouf also misses out due to suspension.

Possible Man City Line Up:
Given, Zabaleta, Richards, Kompany, Garrido, De Jong, Barry, Petrov, Robinho, Bellamy, Tevez.

Possible Blackburn Line Up:
Robinson, Chimbonda, Nelsen, Samba, Givet, Emerton, Andrews, N'Zonzi, Pedersen, McCarthy, Roberts.

My Prediction: Man City 3 - 0 Blackburn Rovers.

Worth A Bet: Tevez bags two goals in a 3 - 0 City win.


* For anyone who normally parks in one of the stadium car parks like myself I would suggest maybe leaving a little earlier than normal, this week City said that they were using some of the car parks to store snow so maybe you will have to find alternative parking.

Sunday 10 January 2010

Caicedo joins Malaga on loan










Felipe Caicedo has joined Malaga on loan for the rest of the season.

Felipe has spent the first half of the season on loan to Sporting Lisbon but did not get many opportunities, he will be hoping to go to Malaga and impress new City boss Roberto Mancini.

I am hoping that Caicedo will do well in Spain because I want to see him come back and get a chance with us, I am a Caicedo fan and have high hopes for him.

Saturday 9 January 2010

Arabic version of the official site launched










City have now completed the making of an Arabic version of the official website.

If that sounds good to you then you can find it by clicking this link - http://www.manchestercityfc.ae.

Adebayor is coming back and so should Toure!!!









Emmanuel Adebayor is returning home from the African Cup of Nations after a terrorist attack on the Togo team bus resulted in people being killed and injured.

This is totally the right decision and I am glad he is coming back, although he is coming back he might not play for a while as there is a fear he may be traumatised.

Although Adebayor will be returning home safe there is still a worry about the other footballers who are still in Angola and in particularly for us Kolo Toure. I think that City should demand that he returns, number one priority of course is his safety but it is also the perfect excuse to get him back so that he can play for us.

I would just like to say on behalf of myself and all my readers that our thoughts are with the families of the people who were killed and injured in the terrorist attack.

Is Vieira a good signing?










Roberto Mancini's first signing has been made, Patrick Vieira was the chosen man but has he still got what it takes?

Mancini has described Vieira as a World class midfielder, there is no doubt that Vieira was once a World class player but if he still has what it takes to compete in the Premier League remains unknown.

Since leaving Arsenal he has had a lot of injury problems that have disrupted his time in Italy badly at times, saying that when he has played I personally have not seen him play a bad game.

I am pleased with the signing of Vieira, he will bring lots of experience and class to the squad and those two things will help all of our squad improve especially the younger lads. The other reason that I am happy we have signed him is just because of who he is, it's great having top class players like Tevez and Robinho at the club but when a Premier League legend like Vieira signs that you have grew up watching it feels very special.

I genuinely believe that we have made a good signing, if it doesn't work out then we haven't committed to him by giving him a huge contract and if it does work out as I think it will, then that will benefit us no end.

What are your feelings on the signing of Vieira?

Thursday 7 January 2010

Cristian Ansaldi deal could be close











A deal for Argentina International left back Cristian Ansaldi looks to be likely at the moment.

The Rubin Kazan left back has been heavily linked with a move to us for the last few weeks but with no heavy evidence to back it up.

The rumours seem to have turned into truth in the last couple of days, reports in Russia say that a fee has now been agreed and all that has to happen now is for the player to agree personal terms. I have done my own digging on how true this is but unfortunately I can't get anything more out of anyone than 'there has been contact'.

Ansaldi is highly rated and has been watched by some big clubs around Europe, hopefully if we do sign him we will see why so many clubs have had an eye on him.

Because a lot of you probably haven't seen a lot of Ansaldi I was going to put his stats up for you but Lloyd at Man City issues already has that covered, so because it is one of my favourite blogs I am going to refer you there. Just click this link www.man-city-issues.blogspot.com.

Tuesday 5 January 2010

Semi Final postponed!!!

Due to concerns over the safety of the fans, tomorrows Carling Cup tie has been postponed.

This is a real let down, I am sure like me many of you had started to hype yourself up so that you were ready for the game.

The home leg of the fixture has been rearranged for the 19Th of January with the away leg being played on the 27Th of January.

Sunday 3 January 2010

Next up Scunthorpe!

City have been drawn away from home to Scunthorpe in the fourth round of the FA Cup.

The tie is due to take place on the weekend of the 23rd and 24Th of January.

A nice easy draw for us should see us progress into the fifth round.

Saturday 2 January 2010

Middlesbrough 0 - 1 Man City (Benjani 45') *Video*

Another win and clean sheet for City and Mancini sees us head into the next round of the FA Cup.

Benjani's strike just before half time was enough to see us through to the next round, Benjani's movement was good which helped Petrov to pick him out, Benjani then took one touch and slotted home. Goal below!

I have to say I was surprised with the starting eleven for us today, it was weaker than I was expecting. We went with Given, Zabaleta, Richards, Boyata, Kompany, Sylvinho, Weiss , Garrido, De Jong, Petrov, Benjani. Tevez, Bellamy and Barry all found their way onto the field which I was also surprised about considering we play United in midweek, I think that Mancini was just trying to make sure that even one nil was going to be enough to see us win.

The first half was a little poor from both teams, a lot of our players didn't really seem to know what position they were playing in and in turn that meant we were all over the place. In the second half we were a lot more comfortable and took total control of the game, Boro huffed and puffed but ultimately never made Given make a save.

The main thing that I took from today's game was how stupid Vladimir Weiss made us all look, he was awful. We have all been shouting from the roof tops for him to get a chance and he let us down, he didn't get at people and take them on as we all have wanted. I am really disappointed with him as he did not take his chance at all.

All in all another win, another clean sheet and the next round of the FA Cup beckons.

Now bring on United!!!!!

Goal.

Friday 1 January 2010

Middlesbrough vs Man City - Sat 2nd Jan 15:00 pm








Our first game of the new year sees us travel to play Boro at the Riverside in the FA Cup, winning the FA Cup would be amazing so lets hope we get a good start on the way to achieving that.

Boro have won two games on the bounce lately as they hit a bit of form, but they should not pose a threat to us. We are also in good form and are a much superior team to Boro, I would hope that the result of this game will turn out to be a comfortable City win.

I can't really see any problems for us from Boro tomorrow especially considering their injury problems, I expect us to put in a good professional performance and get the job done nice and easy. If our good form of late continues then I expect us to hammer Boro if I am honest and lets face it, it is about time we give Boro a good going over especially after that terrible defeat at the end of Sven's reign.

This competition is another good chance for us to reach Wembley together with the Carling Cup, I hope that the players and Mancini apply themselves properly and understand how important this competition is to us!

Man City Team News:
SWP is a major doubt with an ankle injury, Ireland is going to be missing with a hamstring injury. Kolo Toure and Emmanuel Adebayor are both at the African Cup of Nations and Roque Santa Cruz is doubtful due to a calf injury. Joleon Lescott, Wayne Bridge and Nedum Onuoha are all still injured, Javier Garrido is expected to make his first start for some time.

Middlesbrough Team News:
Dave Kitson has returned to Stoke after his loan and Leroy Lita is suspended, Jeremie Aliadiere is struggling with an ankle problem. Isaiah Osbourne is ineligible and injured, David Wheater is struggling with his ankle and knee whilst Emanuel Pogatetz is also a doubt due to a hamstring injury. Seb Hines (ankle and knee), Didier Digard (back) and Matthew Bates (cruciate ligament) are all out.

Possible Man City Line Up: Given, Zabaleta, Richards, Kompany, Garrido, De Jong, Barry, Petrov, Tevez, Robinho, Bellamy.

Possible Middlesbrough Line Up: Coyne, Riggot, McMahon, Williams, Taylor, Hoyte, O'Neil, Johnson, Arca, Bent, Franks.

My Prediction: Middlesbrough 0 - 4 Man City.

Worth A Bet: Nigel de Jong scores in a 4 - 0 City win.