City are back on the road this weekend and will be looking to improve their away record against West Ham at Upton Park.
City go into the game on the back of some positive results and will be looking to build on that by winning away from home. West Ham will be desperate for a win to boost their confidence, having not won in their last five games.
I am looking forward to this game and think there is more than a chance that we can win it. After our recent great performance away at Anfield, I feel we have enough ability to win if not at least take something away from Upton Park.
I think the way West Ham like to try and keep the ball on the floor will also benefit us, we have more than enough quality in our midfield to be able to cut that out and with West Ham's players committed forward we should be able to break on them.
City team news:
Nigel De Jong looks set to replace Shaun Wright-Phillips who continues his domestic ban and Gelson Fernandes is struggling with a hamstring injury. Valeri Bojinov played another game for the reserves on thursday but is not expected to feature in the squad.
West Ham team news:
Mark Noble misses out due to suspension, Jack Collison and David Di Michelle are expected to start after only being on the bench in midweek and after making his debut on Wednesday it looks like Radoslav Kovav will keep his place.
Possible Man City line up: Given, Richards, Dunne, Onuoha, Bridge, Kompany, Zabaleta, Ireland, De Jong, Robinho, Bellamy.
Possible West Ham line up: Green, Illunga, Tomkins, Upson, Neill, Behrami, Kovac, Parker, Collison, Di Michele, Cole.
My prediction: West Ham 1 - 3 Man City
Worth a bet: Bellamy to score two goals in a 3-1 win on his return to Upton Park.
Friday, 27 February 2009
Thursday, 26 February 2009
Man City 2-1 FC Copenhagen ( Bellamy 73', 80', Vingaard 90')
City go through to the last 16 of the Uefa cup after beating Copenhagen 2-1 at Eastlands, and I am absolutely delighted.
We started off slow tonight against a Copenhagen team that tried to take control of the game in the early stages, City stayed composed and stopped Copenhagen from ever being a threat when they were in possession.
City started the second half with more confidence in their play, but it was from about 60 minutes onwards we really started putting lots of attacking pressure on Copenhagen. The away team could just not cope with Bellamy and Robinho, ultimately they were punished by two goals from the Welshman.
Brief look at key performances:
Zabaleta - tonight in the second half of the game I thought the more Zabaleta came into the game the better City looked, he is slowly becoming a genuine driving force within our team.
Robinho - was excellent and looked back to his best, causing problems all the way through the game for the Copenhagen defence.
Bellamy - proving to be a brilliant signing, worked hard running the line tonight and would not let Copenhagen's defence rest.
Onuoha - Nedum has been brilliant since he got into the team, he goes about his job so neatly and quietly I don't feel he gets enough plaudits. He is a real calming influence in the defence and is looking better with each game.
Unfortunately there was a player I thought could have been better tonight and that is Wayne Bridge. Since Bridge came to City he hasn't impressed me, but I thought he deserved time to settle before I read to much into his poor performances. I think he has had enough time now and he isn't playing any better, tonight his general play was poor, he got caught wrong side of the attacker to much and his ball distribution was terrible. He did get better as the game progressed just like he did against Liverpool, but his overall performance was poor. I do have faith in Bridge's ability, I just wish he would start displaying his ability sooner rather than later so the team can benefit.
Next up for City in the Uefa Cup Aalborg.
We started off slow tonight against a Copenhagen team that tried to take control of the game in the early stages, City stayed composed and stopped Copenhagen from ever being a threat when they were in possession.
City started the second half with more confidence in their play, but it was from about 60 minutes onwards we really started putting lots of attacking pressure on Copenhagen. The away team could just not cope with Bellamy and Robinho, ultimately they were punished by two goals from the Welshman.
Brief look at key performances:
Zabaleta - tonight in the second half of the game I thought the more Zabaleta came into the game the better City looked, he is slowly becoming a genuine driving force within our team.
Robinho - was excellent and looked back to his best, causing problems all the way through the game for the Copenhagen defence.
Bellamy - proving to be a brilliant signing, worked hard running the line tonight and would not let Copenhagen's defence rest.
Onuoha - Nedum has been brilliant since he got into the team, he goes about his job so neatly and quietly I don't feel he gets enough plaudits. He is a real calming influence in the defence and is looking better with each game.
Unfortunately there was a player I thought could have been better tonight and that is Wayne Bridge. Since Bridge came to City he hasn't impressed me, but I thought he deserved time to settle before I read to much into his poor performances. I think he has had enough time now and he isn't playing any better, tonight his general play was poor, he got caught wrong side of the attacker to much and his ball distribution was terrible. He did get better as the game progressed just like he did against Liverpool, but his overall performance was poor. I do have faith in Bridge's ability, I just wish he would start displaying his ability sooner rather than later so the team can benefit.
Next up for City in the Uefa Cup Aalborg.
Wednesday, 25 February 2009
Man City vs FC Copenhagen - Thurs 26Th Feb 19:45 pm
City's European quest comes back to Manchester on Thursday, the blues host Copenhagen in the second leg of their Uefa Cup tie.
After the first leg finishing 2 - 2 City still have a lot to do if they are to go through to the next round, but after an impressive display against Liverpool at the weekend, going through to the last 16 looks like it could be on the cards.
I hope to see City really attack Copenhagen from the first whistle tomorrow and go on to win comfortably. I think a comfortable win would be good for confidence, as well as sending a message out to the team we play in the next round that we are not easy to play against.
City team news:
Vincent Kompany is expected to play with a toe injury, Nigel De Jong is not eligible and Shaun Wright-Phillips returns because his ban only counts for domestic games.
Copenhagen team news:
Cesar Santin is again a doubt for the away team. Vingaard and N'Doye could start, after both came on as substitutes in the first leg and impressed.
Possible Man City line up: Given, Richards, Kompany, Onuoha, Bridge, Dunne,Wright-Phillips, Zabaleta, Ireland, Bellamy, Robinho.
Possible Copenhagen line up: Christiansen, Pospech, Antonsson, Laursen, Wendt, Vingaard, Kristensen, Norregaard, Hutchinson, N'Doye, Santin.
My prediction: City 2 - 0 Copenhagen
Worth a bet: City to win 2 - 0 with Ireland and Bellamy the goal scorers.
After the first leg finishing 2 - 2 City still have a lot to do if they are to go through to the next round, but after an impressive display against Liverpool at the weekend, going through to the last 16 looks like it could be on the cards.
I hope to see City really attack Copenhagen from the first whistle tomorrow and go on to win comfortably. I think a comfortable win would be good for confidence, as well as sending a message out to the team we play in the next round that we are not easy to play against.
City team news:
Vincent Kompany is expected to play with a toe injury, Nigel De Jong is not eligible and Shaun Wright-Phillips returns because his ban only counts for domestic games.
Copenhagen team news:
Cesar Santin is again a doubt for the away team. Vingaard and N'Doye could start, after both came on as substitutes in the first leg and impressed.
Possible Man City line up: Given, Richards, Kompany, Onuoha, Bridge, Dunne,Wright-Phillips, Zabaleta, Ireland, Bellamy, Robinho.
Possible Copenhagen line up: Christiansen, Pospech, Antonsson, Laursen, Wendt, Vingaard, Kristensen, Norregaard, Hutchinson, N'Doye, Santin.
My prediction: City 2 - 0 Copenhagen
Worth a bet: City to win 2 - 0 with Ireland and Bellamy the goal scorers.
City sign goalkeeper Gunnar Nielsen!
City have today announced the signing of Faroe Islands Under 21 International keeper Gunnar Nielsen (pictured).The 22 year old goalkeeper who had previously played at Blackburn under Mark Hughes has signed a two and a half year deal.
To give a 22 year old a two and a half year deal makes it obvious he is in the clubs medium term plans. I would think Hughes has signed him to prepare early for Kasper Schmeichel's departure in the summer, or his possible loan departure in the immediate future.
Tuesday, 24 February 2009
New kit maker?
There has been talk of City bringing in a new kit maker for months now, even though we signed a 4 year deal with Le Coq Sportif.
I don't understand why we seem to be chasing new kit makers considering we have a deal with Le Coq Sportif, but it looks like we are going to have a new kit maker for next season.
The main name I have heard over the last few months has been Puma, but it looks like a deal with Umbro is the front runner.
Now why Umbro, well Umbro just happens to be a subsidiary of Nike, so I would think that Garry Cook has had something to do with it and maybe the idea is to change to Nike in the future. It will also be very intresting to see how much Umbro are willing to pay us if they are our new kit makers, because Puma were apparently willing to pay a huge amount.
A little fact to go with this, Umbro's first football kit was produced in 1934 and the team it was made for was City, a year in which we won the FA Cup.
I don't understand why we seem to be chasing new kit makers considering we have a deal with Le Coq Sportif, but it looks like we are going to have a new kit maker for next season.
The main name I have heard over the last few months has been Puma, but it looks like a deal with Umbro is the front runner.
Now why Umbro, well Umbro just happens to be a subsidiary of Nike, so I would think that Garry Cook has had something to do with it and maybe the idea is to change to Nike in the future. It will also be very intresting to see how much Umbro are willing to pay us if they are our new kit makers, because Puma were apparently willing to pay a huge amount.
A little fact to go with this, Umbro's first football kit was produced in 1934 and the team it was made for was City, a year in which we won the FA Cup.
Sunday, 22 February 2009
Liverpool 1 - 1 Man City (Bellamy 51', Kuyt 78')
Well we did it, we came away from Anfield with a point and it feels great.
In my preview to today's game, I said that if the good City team we know we have turns up, we can come away with a result and that is exactly what happened.
We were absolutely brilliant today, every single player on the pitch did their part, and Liverpool could not match us. In the first half Liverpool were on top of us and we coped well, but in the second half we ran the game.
All of our players were great today, the midfield in particular were immense. Our main man in the midfield today was Nigel De Jong, he was all over the pitch making some of the best tackles I have seen for a while from a City player, but mix that in with his tidy distribution and on the ball play and you had a player that was a cut above the rest.
De Jong was not the only star for us today, to pick a select few from our superb eleven in today's game, Shay Given made important saves, Kompany was excellent as was Ireland and if Maradona was watching, he will surely be thinking about Zabaleta as a potential option for midfield in the Argentina national team, after he totally out classed his countryman Mascherano.
I am really pleased with the way we played today everyone was really up for it, we also got to see a couple of our players get their form back. I thought Robinho looked more like himself and was also working harder to get back, providing plenty of help for Wayne Bridge. Richard Dunne also stood out as a player who seemed to be his old self, battling hard and committed to giving all he had to give, whilst looking very comfortable and assured at the same time.
Honestly I could write for hours about how much we seem to have improved today, that is how pleased I am. I just hope we can get some confidence from today's game to take it into our next one and continue on that path for the rest of the season.
In my preview to today's game, I said that if the good City team we know we have turns up, we can come away with a result and that is exactly what happened.
We were absolutely brilliant today, every single player on the pitch did their part, and Liverpool could not match us. In the first half Liverpool were on top of us and we coped well, but in the second half we ran the game.
All of our players were great today, the midfield in particular were immense. Our main man in the midfield today was Nigel De Jong, he was all over the pitch making some of the best tackles I have seen for a while from a City player, but mix that in with his tidy distribution and on the ball play and you had a player that was a cut above the rest.
De Jong was not the only star for us today, to pick a select few from our superb eleven in today's game, Shay Given made important saves, Kompany was excellent as was Ireland and if Maradona was watching, he will surely be thinking about Zabaleta as a potential option for midfield in the Argentina national team, after he totally out classed his countryman Mascherano.
I am really pleased with the way we played today everyone was really up for it, we also got to see a couple of our players get their form back. I thought Robinho looked more like himself and was also working harder to get back, providing plenty of help for Wayne Bridge. Richard Dunne also stood out as a player who seemed to be his old self, battling hard and committed to giving all he had to give, whilst looking very comfortable and assured at the same time.
Honestly I could write for hours about how much we seem to have improved today, that is how pleased I am. I just hope we can get some confidence from today's game to take it into our next one and continue on that path for the rest of the season.
Friday, 20 February 2009
Liverpool vs Man City - Sun 22nd Feb 3pm
Next up City take on title challengers Liverpool. City have been poor away from home this season, so if we are to take any points at Anfield we will have to be on top form.
Our inconsistent City side faces the task of getting a result against a good Liverpool team at Anfield, not only that but a Liverpool team with the title in their sights.
It is going to be really tough to come away from Anfield with any kind of result, particularly taking into account our terrible away form, saying that I don't think it is impossible to come away with a result. We know that there is a very good squad at City, it is just a case of getting them consistent and motivated, and what can motivate a team more than the possibility of a positive result at Anfield.
City team news:
Richard Dunne is available after serving his ban whilst Nigel De Jong looks set to come straight back into the team after not being eligible to play in the Uefa Cup. Daniel Sturridge is unlikely to be fit for Sunday and Shaun Wright-Phillips continues to serve his domestic ban.
Liverpool team news:
Liverpool are without two of their main midfielders, Alonso is suspended and Gerrard is out injured, Lucas Leiva and Javier Mascherano are likely to replace them, with Fabio Aurelio also pushing to cement his place in the middle of the park. Kuyt may partner Torres up top, but Babel is also in the frame to start up front.
Possible Man City line up: Given, Onuoha, Richards, Dunne, Bridge, Zabaleta, De Jong, Ireland, Kompany, Robinho, Bellamy.
Possible Liverpool line up: Reina, Arbeloa, Carragher, Skrtel, Aurelio, Benayoun, Mascherano, Lucas, Riera, Kuyt, Torres.
My prediction: Liverpool 0 - 0 Man City
Our inconsistent City side faces the task of getting a result against a good Liverpool team at Anfield, not only that but a Liverpool team with the title in their sights.
It is going to be really tough to come away from Anfield with any kind of result, particularly taking into account our terrible away form, saying that I don't think it is impossible to come away with a result. We know that there is a very good squad at City, it is just a case of getting them consistent and motivated, and what can motivate a team more than the possibility of a positive result at Anfield.
City team news:
Richard Dunne is available after serving his ban whilst Nigel De Jong looks set to come straight back into the team after not being eligible to play in the Uefa Cup. Daniel Sturridge is unlikely to be fit for Sunday and Shaun Wright-Phillips continues to serve his domestic ban.
Liverpool team news:
Liverpool are without two of their main midfielders, Alonso is suspended and Gerrard is out injured, Lucas Leiva and Javier Mascherano are likely to replace them, with Fabio Aurelio also pushing to cement his place in the middle of the park. Kuyt may partner Torres up top, but Babel is also in the frame to start up front.
Possible Man City line up: Given, Onuoha, Richards, Dunne, Bridge, Zabaleta, De Jong, Ireland, Kompany, Robinho, Bellamy.
Possible Liverpool line up: Reina, Arbeloa, Carragher, Skrtel, Aurelio, Benayoun, Mascherano, Lucas, Riera, Kuyt, Torres.
My prediction: Liverpool 0 - 0 Man City
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