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CITY HAVE THE GUNNERS IN THEIR SIGHTS

City will play Arsenal at home after the two sides were drawn against each other in the quarter-finals of the Carling Cup.

City booked their place in the last eight with a 5-1 victory over Scunthorpe while the Gunners turned over Liverpool to set up the clash at Eastlands.

City have already beaten Arsenal 4-2 this term and the good news is that Adebayor will get a chance to break his 100m world sprint record if he scores again.

The draw

Blackburn v Chelsea

Manchester United v Spurs

Portsmouth v Aston Villa

City v Arsenal

All ties will be played in the week commencing November 30th

CITY V BRUM

BIRMINGHAM  CITY  V   CITY                              

    1st Nov 2009

                           Kick Off 16:00
  St Andrews Stadium

City go into Sunday’s encounter against Birmingham with almost a full squad for the first time this season. With a raft of players making themselves available City boss Mark Hughes faces a selection dilemma of the highest order in picking his best starting XI.

With only Robinho and Nedum Onuoha still to come back into the team, Hughes can afford to have his players go all out for every game in an attempt to stay with the Champions League pace setters. Vincent Kompany, Kolo Toure, Martin Petrov, Roque Santa Cruz, Michael Johnson, Steven Ireland and Benjani have all returned to near full fitness resulting in a new problem for the Blues’ boss - who to pick?

Birmingham City come into the game off the back of a 2-1 win over Sunderland and will be looking to push on with another win.

Brum boss McCleish has done what all frightened animals do and lashed out in an attempt to intimidate a City team which he feels could succumb to a cauldron of pressure at a pumped up St Andrews. Not that he believes City are the soft touch as they once were. He believes volatile characters such as Bellamy and Adebayor can be goaded into retaliation.

Hughes on the other hand has conducted himself with integrity as usual by paying respect to the opposition and projecting a usual calm and calculated manner.

“What we are looking for is a consistent run of results. But one defeat in nine, I would suggest, is consistent form.

"We have drawn the last three, and that has just taken the edge off our progress, but I think you have to view the first part of the season as a whole, and we are delighted with the start that we have made.

"We are in good shape, in a decent position and there is more to come from us. We know that."

"We are the only side that's only been beaten once in the Premier League. That is something to look back on.

"People are looking at the goals we've conceded in recent games and questioning our defensive capability.

"But if you look overall, there is only Chelsea who have conceded fewer that us in the top six. And Chelsea are the only team with more clean sheets than us.

"But we are not going to avoid addressing certain issues in terms of elements of our defending. That would be wrong.

"You can look at any goal you concede and see a problem with it. It's about making sure those problems do not become consistent problems," Mark Hughes

ANALYSIS OF THE BRUM

Results
Birmingham – Sunderland 2 – 1
Arsenal – Birmingham 3 – 1
Burnley – Birmingham 2 – 1
Birmingham – Bolton 1 – 2
Sunderland – Birmingham 2 – 0
Hull – Birmingham 0 - 1

Birmingham City provisional squad: Taylor, Carr, R Johnson, Dann, Ridgewell, Parnaby, Queudrue, Vignal, Larsson, Tainio, Ferguson, Bowyer, McFadden, Carsley, Doyle, Jerome, O'Connor, Phillips, Benitez, D Johnson.

A new sense of optimism has Birmingham fans on the edge of their seats after Carson Yeung's takeover of the club. The Chinese businessman has promised manager Alex McLeish £40million to spend in January, resulting in a host of big names linked with a move to the Midlands (sound familiar).

Which is a relief to the 'Baconface Wannabee' as the takeover has diverted attention away from himself, after a number of fans began to voice their disapproval of the Scots' defensive style of play.

The former Rangers chief deployed two strikers from the start against Sunderland last time out in an attempt to silence the critics and was rewarded with a 2-1 win - to end a run of three straight defeats. As The Midlands club don’t have the luxury of having a huge squad McCleish will undoubtedly go with the same XI, barring injuries and suspensions, that beat the Black Cats last time out.

Joe Hart will have to sit this one out as he is our player and of course Sky Blue blood runs through his chicken dancing veins so Maik Taylor deputises in his absence.
Giovanny Espinoza (foot) has featured in just two Carling Cup games since signing in the summer but he could be available. Defenders Gregory Vignal (hamstring), Martin Taylor (foot) and David Murphy (knee) could also make a comeback.

Midfield duo Damien Johnson (hamstring), yet to play all season, and Keith Fahey (foot) are also nearing full fitness and could come into the reckoning on Sunday. Striker Marcus Bent (hamstring) could also return and stake a claim for his first appearance of the season.

Dangerman- Christian Benitez destroyed Sunderland last time out
Key Player- Seb Larsson has the quality to deliver great set pieces and weigh in with important goals.

CITY ANALYSIS

Man City provisional squad: Given, Richard, Zabaleta, Lescott, Toure, Bridge, Kompany, Ireland, Wright-Phillips, Bellamy, De Jong, Barry, Sylvinho, Santa Cruz, Adebayor, Tevez, Taylor, Weiss, Johnson.
Results
Man City – Scunthorpe 5-1
Man City – Fulham 2-2
Wigan - Man City 1-1
Aston Villa - Man City 1-1
Man City - West Ham 3-1
Man City – Fulham 2-1

With Given a certainty to start in goal, Hughes has a defensive headache to sort out in the back four.

RIGHT BACK
Will he choose the powerful Micah Richards distinctly average in both defence and attack this season, or will he give the nod to the more attacking Pablo Zabaleta who is prone to rash challenges and not the paciest?

With Birmingham’s key player Larsson playing on the left this answer should be evident. With a playing style similar to Morten Gamst Pederson at Blackburn, Hughes may opt for the hulking Richards in an attempt to bully him of the ball.

CENTREBACK PAIRING
Now that Kompany is back and Toure is not 100 percent over his heel injury, Hughes might choose this match to test the partnership of Kompany and Lescott that worked effectively against Scunthorpe on Wednesday night. Lescott has weighed in with 2 goals in 2 games, and all Blues will be hoping that he can make it 3 from 3 on Sunday.

The likelihood is that Hughes will tell Kompany that he’s still not match ready and put play Toure to combat the lively and dangerous Benitez and Lescott together in what is a very important match to win and for them to prove they are capable of a clean sheet.

LEFT BACK
Even though Silvinho’s performance against Scunthorpe was an effective one, Hughes will surely bring back the swashbuckling Bridge to continue improving his form. His attacking this season has been a revelation and although he can switch off at key moments and can get muscled off the ball a little too easily he will be given the nod over his Brazilian teammate.

CENTRAL MIDFIELD
Which paring will Hughes go for? With Kompany, Ireland and Johnson all returning, De Jong and Barry might be forgiven for casting a nervous look over their shoulders. Will Hughes play it safe and go for the defensively solid pairing of De Jong and Barry to take the sting out of Birmingham in the first half? He probably will and then bring on Stevie Ireland for the fading De Jong, when the hard graft has been won and the game opens up as legs start to tire in the second half.

Kompany still not match fit will be used supplement the back four and defensive midfield, but does over something different to De Jong in that he is a giant of a man and has an aerial advantage over most premier league midfielders. He will surely be used in the games such as Stoke and Everton when the opposition rely on set pieces to punish teams. Johnson fresh off a fantastic strike in midweek will just have tro keep working hard and hope an opportunity arises.

FORWARD OPTIONS
With so many attacking options Hughes needs to choose the right players for the right opposition. Birmingham have struggled against sides like Bolton, Sunderland and Burnley so Hugnes must be toying with the idea of using the physical Roque Santa Cruz up front with or without the recently below par Emmanuel Adebayor. Martin Petrov will be demanding he plays on the left after 3 goals in as many games and if Hughes goes with this strategy first option he will undoubtedly play to provide the big men with crosses.

But the Brummies have also lost convincingly to Arsenal so Hughes will also be thinking about putting on master class of pace, movement and passing. So Tevez and a reenergised SWP could play alongside Craig Bellamy whose more combative style may give him the nod on a left side that he has performed outstandingly after a few abject performances on the right.

Hughes must decide whether to go with the same team that could have so easily wrapped up the 3 points before succumbing to the Fulham curse last weekend or go with an alternative strategy in an attempt to assault the top four places in the league. If the defence gets it right then we should do enough to come away with a 2-0 win.

PROBABLE XI
GIVEN
RICHARDS TOURE LESCOTT BRIDGE
DEJONG BARRY
SWP TEVEZ BELLAMY
ADEBAYOR

PREDICTICTION 2-0 Man City

CITY 5 SCUNTHORPE 1

Wednesday 28 October 2009, 7:45PM City of Manchester Stadium Att: 36358
Carling Cup
Referee: M Oliver

City- 5

Given, Zabaleta, Lescott, Kompany, Sylvinho, de Jong (c), Barry (Johnson 71), Wright-Phillips, Ireland (Weiss 58), Tevez (Benjani 79), Santa Cruz.

Unused subs:
Taylor, Bridge, Richards, Bellamy.
Bookings:
De Jong (78), Zabaleta (83)

Scunthorpe Utd-  1

Murphy, Williams, Byrne, McCann (Togwell 77), Hayes, Jones (c) (Canavan h-t), Forte, Mirfin, Woolford, O'Connor (Hooper 68), Wright.

Unused subs:
Lillis, Wright, Sparrow, Spence.

Scorers- Ireland, Forte, Santa Cruz, Lescott, Tevez, Johnson


Whilst no one is suggesting that this famous score-line is a sure sign that we have are ready to challenge for the title or win a cup, it is refreshing to see a hat full scored after creating so many chances.

Manchester City v Scunthorpe United
Ανέβηκε από gargaton2. - Περισσότερα επαγγελματικά, αθλητικά και εκπαιδευτικά βίντεο.

Manchester City boss Mark Hughes:
"There were lots of positives to come out of the game when we played with the necessary intensity and tempo that made it difficult for Scunthorpe.
"We put on plenty of pressure and in the end they were not able to cope with it and we ran out comfortable winners.
"We wanted to finish the tie off and not repeat the draw against Fulham."

Scunthorpe manager Nigel Adkins:
"City have made it clear they want to win this tournament by the strength of the side they put out.
"If they had turned out a weakened side they could have come unstuck. We played well and created a lot of chances.
"But the quality of City shone through in the second half, the workrate was phenomenal and a lesson to our lads."

Whilst it was great to see us score so many goals the real positives were the 90 minutes and goal for Roque Santa Cruz and the selection of Silvinho at left back. It was great to see Superman easing back into the side and with the cameo of Michael Johnson it was a successful outing for us.

The two best goals of the night came from those two and both will be looking to get back into the side and make a place their own.

The victory now means that we are into the quarter finals of a cup that is high on our priority list and we must be one of the favourites if the top 4 teams continue to play their fringe players.

Teams in the hat for the quarter-finals

5-1's favourites for Carling Cup
1-Chelsea
2-City
3-Tottenham
4-Arsenal
5-United
6-Aston Villa
7-Portsmouth
8-Blackburn



Links provided through external sites

CITY 2 FULHAM 2

Manchester City: Given, Richards, Toure (Kompany 90), Lescott, Bridge, De Jong (Ireland 71), Barry, Bellamy,Tevez,Adebayor, Petrov (Wright-Phillips 66)

Unused subs:
Taylor, Johnson, Weiss, and Sylvinho

Fulham: Schwarzer,Kelly,Pantsil,Hangeland, Baird, Kamara (Seol 90mins), Duff, Hughes, Dempsey, Zamora, Greening.

Unused subs:  Zuberbuhker, Nevland, Gera, Riise, Johnson, and Smalling

Bookings: Hangeland 2mins, Pantsil 43

Although lightning didn't strike thrice it was close to happening at the City of Manchester Stadium.

Goals from Lescott and Petrov had put the Blues 2-0 ahead deep into the second half before they let another lead slip against a spirited Fulham side. Goals from Duff and Dempsey (again) gave Fulham a deserved draw as Hughes and his men were left to reflect on a 3rd consecutive league draw.


We had enough chances to win the game twice, but due to sloppy defending, Fulham's never-say-die attitude and poor performances by the match officials we were deprived of 3 points.


Sometimes actions speak louder than words so I'll just let you make up your own mind before berating the manager for poor tactics, wrong selection choices and highlighting our poor defending.

 

                                                           No foul on Tevez or Barry                

Shot by Bellamy (spot the holding)

                                                    Tevez held again by the same player

Ha! Try holding me from here baby!

 

Same player brings down Adebayor!!! No penalty

 

Tevez and Lescott both being held as Micah attempts to score

 

 Micah scores legit goal. Ruled out for a minimal push by Barry though!!!! Hmmmmmmmmm

Tevez is probably wondering where to get some lube for the 2nd half from

 

Don't squeeze my nipples

Nice defensive togetherness




Let's all pick on the smallest player on the pitch!

                                                                                                                      
                                                                                     

 The Jokers masquerading as officials

Photos provided by Richard Turner

Manchester City manager Mark Hughes:

"We're disappointed because in that situation we should see the game out.

"We haven't done our jobs defensively, we knew the threat Dempsey posed at set pieces.

"Credit to Fulham, they are organised and made the game difficult for us."

Fulham manager Roy Hodgson:

"After their goals we got ourselves back on track and started playing how we had for the 60 minutes.

"We have players injured at the moment so it was a sterling effort for the players to earn a point.

"We battled hard against a good side, defended well throughout, and the character of the team is outstanding."

SPARKY- SIGN EM UP!

This past month City have been in negotiations to tie up their most talented younger players to long term deals.

Ancelotti- "This is not the Samuel Eto I was promised"

Hughes made it public knowledge that he was not a happy chappie with the way the club had handled previous contracts of young players. It is safe to say that the Sturridge saga has been the catalyst to the club's tying up of Nedum Onuoha and Stevie Ireland on new long term deals.Yet another sign that City are on the up and learning from past mistakes. The boss himself says,

"I have said for a number of weeks when asked about players' futures that we are in the process of building and creating a squad with players of the right quality, so we are not about to tear the squad apart and let good players leave.

Belgian star Vincent Kompany is the latest of those talented players to be signed up long term. The versatile fans; favourite has put pen to paper on a 5 year deal that should see him achieve his goal of being a key player for a major team.

 “We are delighted Vincent is back and has tied up his future with us. He has proved accomplished in a number of positions and he has a big future here."   Mark Hughes 

Having met this articulate, mountain of a man its easy to see what he gives to the squad. When you have strength, speed and a  6 ft 3 frame to go with good technical ability you have the perfect Premier League defender.

Add to that the calmness of mind to bring the ball out of defence, find the right pass, put in crunching tackles and good aerial ability then its no wonder that Kompany has been a hit with fans where ever he has been. Did I mention that he is a natural born leader, excellent communicator and born winner that could walk into the England side?

Kompany's current deal was not due to expire until 2012, but his new agreement ties him to Eastlands until 2014.The Belgian international, who can operate in defence of midfield, is delighted to commit his future to City.

“There has been no speculation from my side because I have just signed the new deal, but it is the kind of thing you have to get used to when you play for this club now,”

“In the end you just don’t pay attention to the speculation. City’s ambitions are my ambitions and I want to be one of the main players in a very big team."   Vincent Kompany





There is talk of Micah Richards being the next in line, and love him or not the boss sees him as an integral part of the club's future. When quizzed about the Micah out rumours the boss's answer was short and to the point.

Hughes insists Richards is part of his long-term plans and said: 'I'm not quite sure where it came from that Micah might leave. He is a big part of what we are doing here.'

These supportive words added to Hughes' recent comments about Micah putting in a run of consistent performances before even thinking about the World Cup squad, suggest that he is dangling a carrot or two in front of the young defender in an attempt to get him to rediscover the form that saw him catapult onto the Premier League scene and into the England team at a record early age.

Its not just the Blue's young guns in talks about new contracts with Champion's League whinger Martin Petrov set to be awarded a new deal to appease the Bulgarian as he sits on the bench. As a regular goalscorer with quality delivery this is another good move by the Blues.

LIGHTNING NEVER STRIKES THRICE

 City vs Fulham

 25.10.2009   Kick Off - 16:00

City's game against the Cottagers on Sunday will be a game that both sides will be confident of winning.

On a run of 8 wins, 2 draws and only 1 controversial derby defeat since the start of the season, the blues will be confident of sweeping aside a slow starting Fulham, but Mark Hughes insists his side will give them their full respect.

"They have a good work ethic," he added. "They have guys who are disciplined and work hard to frustrate you and they also have quality at the other end as well, so it will be interesting to see what team they pick.

"They made a lot of changes to their team when we played them in the Carling Cup but they were still a big challenge. We will not take them lightly by any means. We will have to be at the right level and make sure we get the job done."


Having played and lost to two of the top Premier League sides in Villa and Chelsea already, Fulham will be fully aware that a confident and in form City could easily turn that statistic into three out of three.

Fulham are the ones in Europe, yet Blues players and fans will be quick to point out that Sundays after a European game can be like Monday morning after a best friend's wedding. The Roma game will certainly have taken something out of the Londoners. 

If we look at both sides there few if any Fulham players that would grace the Sky Blue first XI, so really there should be nothing to fear, should there?

City (From)
Given, Taylor, Richards, Toure, Lescott, Bridge, Sylvinho, Garrido, De Jong, Barry, Johnson, Wright-Phillips, Ireland, Ball, Weiss, Vidal, Bellamy, Santa Cruz, Petrov, Tevez, Adebayor, Kompany.

Fulham (From)
Schwarzer, Zuberbuhler, Konchesky, Pantsil, Hangeland, Baird, Smalling, Kelly, Hughes, Dempsey, Gera, Andranik, Duff, Riise, Greening, Etuhu, Davies, Kamara, E Johnson, Nevland, Seol, Zamora, Elm.

Reasons to fear? 

Roy Hodgson is a knowledgeable manager and knows how to win against City as Eastlands. In the last two seasons

the likeable Englishman has pulled off shock wins stunning the Blues fans and Premier League alike.

Two seasons ago Fulham were under threat of relegation and came to City as definite underdogs. City proved that this was warranted by going 2 goals up by half time and Fulham were mathematically relegated. Then the unthinkable happened with the introduction of the much maligned Diomansy Kamara. The Senagalese international heralded the start of a fantastic comeback by striking twice as Fulham registered a 3-2 famous win.



Last season City again Fulham were at it with goals from Dempsey and Dickson Etuhu (yes Dickson Etuhu!) after Steven Ireland had put the Blues ahead with a long range effort.



There is no doubt that the Fulham players will be reminding themselves of the last two seasons and the fact that City have won only two games at home against them since 2002.

Man. City vs Fulham - results at home:
2008/2009		Man. City - Fulham	1:3
2007/2008		Man. City - Fulham	2:3
2006/2007		Man. City - Fulham	3:1
2005/2006		Man. City - Fulham	1:2
2004/2005		Man. City - Fulham	1:1
2003/2004		Man. City - Fulham	0:0
2002/2003		Man. City - Fulham	4:1

 

Brede Hangeland :

'It should be a really good match. They have signed a lot of big-name players so they have done well like they expected so it will obviously be a tough game. We have won two years in a row up there so if we can do it again that would be fantastic but they have a fantastic side and we will try and get something from there.'

Fulham fans might point out that they have another strong case this season, after their reserve side almost came away with a win in the last round of the Carling Cup after Zoltan Gera's piledriver had given them the lead against a full strength City side.

So City may hold all the cards on Sunday, with a 100 % home record, fresher players, a much better team on paper and new found confindence that should see us breaking that top four this season. Fulham on the other hand might just put Kamara on the bench for the first 70 mins and then unleash the Blue terminator, sit back and enjoy the ride.

Can lightning strike thrice for the love of God I hope not? Otherwise there might be a repeat of these scenes.





                                                                     On Sunday

     Every City fan's nightmare      



Dangermen
Clint Dempsey and Diomansy Kamara - Both know how to score against City

Prediction 3-1

Key Battles
Can Damien Duff role back the years to trouble Micah Richards? Probably not
Will The Kamara strike again? Probably at least once
Will Bridge deal with Dempsey's pressure game? No, but Bellamy will make sure he isn't over-powered.

IS THIS THE END? - THE RISE AND FALL OF MICAH RICHARDS

Micah Richards has had a somewhat tempestuous relationship with the City faithful and backroom staff. At one time worshipped by the Blues faithful the Blue's powerhouse is going through a torrid time of it at the moment. Is it the end of the road for Micah or is there hope lying around playing at the DW Stadium?

Bursting onto the scene in October 2005 in a debut sub appearance against Arsenal, Richards was a revelation. He scored a bullet of a header against Aston Villa to award the Blues an FA Cup replay and was praised by fans, players and pundits alike not afforded since Wayne Rooney came through the ranks at Everton.  He ran away with the club's Young Player of the Year award for 05/06 and things were only just getting started for the Birmingham born lad.

 

Sven Goran Erikson rated him very highly, Carlos Tevez admitted that he was the hardest opponent he had ever played against and MOTD pundits slavered over his powerful performances alongside Richard Dunne.

So high in the public eye was he that when he swore in his first post match interview on national TV nobody batted an eyelid. Such is the luxury afforded to stars on the rise in England. He was confident, quick and showed strength at the age of 16 that most 35 year olds can only dream of.

On 15th November 2006 Richards won his first England cap against the Netherlands after regular right back Gary Neville withdrew through injury. It made him England's youngest-ever defender, breaking the record previously held by Rio Ferdinand.

Last season however the young powerhouse lost his way. Caught doing an impression of a kebab skewer in a Manchester night club the Leeds raised stud was criticised by the boss for poor training and suddenly began to feel the negativity from City followers.

This season, with Zabaleta proving that he's not the long term answer to the Blue's rightback birth, Richards knows he is in the last chance saloon and must grasp it with both hands if he is to make it at City.

Now lets take another young prodigy that was thrown onto the scrap heap. He too was coveted as a future England regular and was quickly signed up by Newcastle in  in July 2002 for £6 million, vowing at the time to make himself indispensable to then manager Sir Bobby Robson.

He had physical presence, poise, calmness on the ball and a maturity that far outweighed his young years. He was to become the next England linchpin. But he hit a plateaux in his development and things started to spiral.
At the end of the 2003–04 season, fans of a well known newspaper voted Bramble as the worst player of the year in the English Premiership.

One reader wrote: "Titus's occasional flash of brilliance is heavily outweighed by the total inability to think before attempting what inevitably turns into a hashed clearance, a mistimed tackle, an own goal or a penalty for the opposition."

Its not too harsh to say that at this point he became a laughing stock and was the butt of many a jokes and he was shipped off to Wigan.

So why is this person important? Well yesterday at the DW stadium this same player proved that he has not only reinvented himself, but could actually be an outside shot for the world cup next year.

 

 TITUS BRAMBLE


He has had a tough time from a few people, totally unfair in my opinion. He just needs to carry on showing what he can do for Wigan.
'Titus has been our Player of the Year this season. He has been superb and deserves all the plaudits because he has taken some unfair criticism throughout his career and now he is throwing it back at his critics which is great.

Chris Kirkland

Wigan Goalkeeper

With Ol'Duckface having a nightmare at the back for the Rags and John Terry not being able to rediscover his form of two years ago, it seems that not all is well in the position that not so long ago everyone thought was a given.

The likes of Ledley king and Spurs team mate Woodgate are in danger of breaking Darren Anderton's sick note record and Upson neither good nor fit enough to lead the Three Lions Vanguard. City's Lescott has a lot of work to do to prove his worth and with Nedum Onuoha not getting a game and having problems with injuries himself, it seems that Richards and Bramble might not be the laughing stock come summer time.

At least they'll see it that way. If Richards can make the most of the suspension to Pablo 'Reckless' Zabaleta and keep his place in the team, then his versatility could give hi,a suprise inclusion to the England squad come next summer.

He has many flaws to his game none more so than his positioning and reading of the game. He also has to learn  when to leave unwinnable balls and to concentrate for the full duration of the game.

MARK HUGHES ON MICAH
 
"He had a lot of success very early on in his career and sometimes for young players they feel that's how it's going to be all the time."There's always going to be a time when that judgement of you as a player plateaus out and people start looking at you with a more critical eye.

"That's what has happened to Micah. But he's working harder and he knows he's not the finished product yet.

"We work hard in training every day and set certain standards that everybody has to get to. No one is allowed to ease off.

"We ask for intensity in their work and if Micah's not running around on a daily basis then he gets reminded of that."

"What Micah needs to do is establish himself in our team and have a body of work in terms of good performances over a long period,"

"It's difficult for Micah because it seems that the England World Cup squad, barring a few surprises at the end, looks set in stone."

Of course, Bramble will also be hoping that his form continues and that Wigan can stay in the top half. On yesterdays showing why not? So Micah take note and prove to the people that matter most that you can find that next level. If you do the world and its oyster will be yours to lap up.

WIGAN V CITY- MAKE A POINT

Team News


Pre-Match

 After an impressive start and only one defeat all season City go into a dangerous looking North West derby against the Jackyll and Hyde Wigan Athletic.

After overcoming the bogey team bug last term City must face the Latics without the mercurial Robinho, talismanic Bellamy influential captain Kolo Toure. Add to that list the likes of Nedum Onouha, Benjani and Garrido and it is a testament to this new City squad that they an field such a strong side.

Wigan in contrast have no real injury worries or suspensions and will be looking to turn their topsy turvy start into a good one by overcoming City and turning the DW Stadium into a fortress.

City must be buoyed by the fact that three once in a Blue Moon occurrences happened on the same day yesterday. Both Chelsea and Liverpool were beaten and Richard Dunne scored for the second game running with a header from a set piece.

Things are set up nicely and with another game in hand the City side must be feeling confident of taking three points.

Line Ups


City (From)
Given, Richards, Bridge, Zabaleta, Lescott, Wright-Phillips, Petrov, Barry, De Jong, Adebayor, Tevez

Substitutes Taylor, Sylvinho, Kompany, Johnson, Ireland, Weiss, Santa Cruz



Wigan (From)

Kirkland, Scharner, Boyce, Bramble, Melchiot, Figueroa, Thomas, N'Zogbia, Diame, Scotland, Rodallega

Substitutes

Pollitt, Cho, Koumas, Gomez, Sinclair, Kapo, King



Match

A lively affair this turned out to be, with both sides looking to play quick passing football. The first half was pretty even with City perhaps just edging the play before being stung just before the break.


The lively Figuerola picked up a knock down by Paul Scharner on the left hand side and sent a hard low shot across the face of goal that Given could only parry. The rebound was turned in by the tricky Charles Nzogbia a just reward after showing more hunger to get to the ball than Wayne Bridge.


If City were guilty of switching off at the end of the first half, then Wigan were just as guilty at the beginning of the second. For within minutes of the restart an equalizer was scored when Martin Petrov was afforded far too much space in the box, after a sweeping move by Shaun Wright Phillips. It was a great finish by the Bulgarian who chose to pass the ball past the diving Kirkland instead of blasting it.

 It was very much a blood and thunder derby and both sides saw players go into the book for hard challenges. Zabaleta for City and both Honduran internationals, Figueroa and Thomas, for Wigan. It was only a matter of time before a player was to be made an example by the cautious but impressive Alan Wiley. And when the next player went to ground on the edge of the City box a yellow was immediately brandished. Although there was minimum contact the intent was there and Zabaleta was awarded a second yellow and left the field of play.


Full of passion and always playing on the edge, like his Dutch team mate De Jong, Zabaleta is always likely to be red carded and should really have stayed on his feet after already being carded. That rash moment meant that the Blues were down to ten men for the last half hour of the game.


After the sending off City tried their best to keep their formation as Wigan attacked down the both flanks trying to stretch the numerically disadvantaged Blues. A generally disinterested Emmanuel Adebayor limped off with a poorly ankle and was replaced by the returning Vincent Kompany.

With Richards pushed out to right back and Kompany slotting into the right side of central defence City defended resolutely for the last quarter of the game, as Wigan ditched their football for an aerial bombardment.
Hughes also ate up some of the clock by sending on Steven Ireland and Roque Santa Cruz as City played out the last five minutes for a draw.




Verdict

Wigan turned up today and showed us why they have beaten Villa and Chelsea. Thomas, N'Zogbia, Diame and especially Rodallega were immense causing all sorts of problems for the Blues defence, while Titus Bramble looks back to his best. They have pace, team work and power which allied with Martinez's passing style, will see them comfortably in mid table this year. They need a better striker than Scotland to finish higher up the table though.

City showed that they can compete with the more physical sides in the Premier League on this performance. What is even more impressive is that they managed it with ten men and away from home. Talk of fielding our best eleven is irrelevant as our result was achieved without arguably our 3 best players.

Success however, will be measured on how strong and ready to perform our bench is this year. So take a bow Martin Petrov who came in and scored another vital goal. Hats off to Shay Given again for saving the point at the end of the game with another top class save.

BLOCK TWO BEGINS

Since the start of the season City have been proving to the Premier League, Europe and the rest of the world that they are indeed the real deal. Everything seems to be in place to become serious top four contenders, with stellar names on board, world class facilities and a top young coach with everything to prove.

Now its time to prove to the most important people, the fans, that this is the Real McCoy and not just yet another false dawn or Svenist honeymoon. The Blues faithful, although buoyant, riding the blue wave of hysteria that is City at the moment, will not be seduced into to forgetting the last 30 years of disappointment, failure to deliver and plethora of anti-climaxes. 

A Win at Wigan today would go a long way to winning over the doubters as City definitely put last season's away day hoodoo to bed once and for all. A game in hand and an easy series of matches to follow should provide the squad with all the confidence they need to continue in the rich vein of form they've been showing since the season opener.

The two-faced  press, have been quick to show their colours. Pre-match, salivating like a pack of hungry Wolves circling a wounded moose waiting for that first big fall. Post-match, and post-win surprise surprise, the same animals are quick to praise the Blues to the heavens shouting about title glory and Champion's League qualification. 

  

One man who has not got carried away or promised the world is the man charged with leading his Blue charges  into battle ever week - Mark Hughes. Cool, calm and collected the City boss seems to be revelling in the limelight that he has received of late. 

Never in his wildest dreams did he think that an opportunity of this magnitude would present itself to him and his Tafia back-room team. Sure, he could have been next in line to take over at Old Trafford in the near future, but deep down which manager wants to follow Old Baconface after everything he has achieved. This opportunity, taking over of an underachieving, sleeping giant with no real benchmark or modern blueprint for success was the Golden Goose to the latest Blue's boss.

The Welsh Supremo, is quickly proving doubters wrong about his managerial skills with a near perfect record this term.

There have been no rifts so far in the dressing room with an obviously excited and confident squad concentrating on their football and not their egos. The players seem to be working in unison with talk of benched players congratulating team members after games and all players wanting to work for the shirt that could make Premier League history.

Hughes, 'The Tafia' and fans alike know that with just a few more tweaks in January the Red Tops will be scratching that tongue-in-cheek ‘top four’ tag and replacing it with a genuine 'title contenders' one. First they have to prove they are no longer soft touches with a trip to the JJB today.

  

CITY’S AFRICAN PRIDE

In light of City captain Kolo Toure's comments regarding Marc Vivien Foe, 5-1 takes a look back on the African-born players that have been fortunate enough to wear the pride of Manchester shirt.

TOP AFRICAN BLUES

 

GEORGE WEAH

Position Striker

Height (ft)  6'1"

Date of birth 1 October 1966

Place of birth Monrovia, Liberia

International caps / goals 60/22

George Weah came from Liberia, an African country that never qualified for FIFA world cup. However, that was not a problem for the outstanding forward who made his way to become the world’s greatest player. In fact, there are many who believe Weah is the greatest African player ever. With his skill and technique, Weah won many prestigious titles including three African Player of the Year awards (1989, 1994, 1995), FIFA World Player of the Year award (1995) and European Player of the Year award (1995).

The Liberian star won almost all the major individual football awards in 1995. He is so far the only African player who has won FIFA world player of year and European player of the year awards. Sports journalists from across the world voted him the best African player of the 20^th century. During his illustrious career, Weah represented a number of European clubs including AS Monaco, Paris Saint-Germain, A.C. Milan, Chelsea, Manchester City and Olympique Marseille. George Weah is also named in Pele’s list of 125 greatest living footballers.

WAS HE WEARLY THAT GOOD!

Weah not really here!

 

EMMANUEL ADEBAYOR

Position Striker

Height (ft) 6'03"

Date of birth 24 February 1984

Place of birth Lome, Togo

International caps / goals 38 / 16

 

Emmanuel became the third striker to sign for the Blues in the summer of 2009 joining from Arsenal in the wake of other new arrivals Carlos Tevez and Roque Santa Cruz.
After being spotted in youth teams in his home land, the Togo international began his professional career in France at Metz in 1999 and from moved to Monaco from where he was signed by the Gunners.
Once there he made 104 first team league appearances and scored 46 goals. His record in cups for Arsenal was equally impressive as he found the net on 16 occasions in 38 starts.
He was named African Player of the Year in 2008 and has been Togo’s player of the year for the past four seasons. In 2007-08 he won the goal of the year top prize and was voted into the Premier League’s all-star eleven.
The 6’ 3” striker’s most productive season in the top flight came in that 2007-08 when he notched 24 goals in 36 starts.

He began his first season for the Blues on fire with a four in four blitz, before a 3 game suspension for falling on Robin Van Winker came into play. To early to say what his overall impact will be. Explosive but temperamental.

WATCH MANU ROAR!!!

Putting the cool back into ManU!

MARK-VIVIEN FOE

Position Midfielder

Height (ft) 6'02"

Date of birth  1 May1975

Place of birth Yaounde, Cameroon

International caps / goals 64 / 8

 

 Marc-Vivien moved back to France to play for Olympique Lyonnais in 2000. In that same year, he missed a significant part of the season after suffering from a bout of malaria, but recovered and went on to win the French league Cup in 2001 and the French league title in 2002. He was part of the Cameroon squad in the 2002 World Cup. As in 1994, he played in all of Cameroon's matches, but though the team's performances were improved in comparison to 1994, once again they were eliminated at the group stage, after beating Saudi Arabia, drawing with Ireland and losing to Germany.

Foé made a return to the English Premier League when he was loaned to City for the 2002–03 season, Manchester City paying a £550,000 fee for the loan. He made his City debut on the opening day of the season in a 3–0 defeat against Leeds United. Foé was a first team regular for Kevin Keegan's team, starting 38 of the club's 41 matches in all competitions. His first goal for the club came against Sunderland at the Stadium of Light on 9 December 2002, and over the course of the next month he scored a further five goals. In total he scored nine goals for the club, the last of these having particular significance; his second goal in a 3–0 victory against Sunderland on 21 April 2003 was the club's final goal at their Maine Road stadium.

In June 2003, Foé was part of the Cameroon squad for the FIFA Confederations Cup, a tournament played between continental champions. He played in wins against Brazil and Turkey, and was rested for the match against the United States, with Cameroon having already qualified. On 26 June 2003, Cameroon faced Colombia in the semi-final, held at the Stade de Gerland in Lyon, France. In the 72nd minute of the match Foé collapsed in the centre circle, with no other players near him. After attempts to resuscitate him on the pitch, he was stretchered off the field, where he received mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and oxygen. Medics spent 45 minutes attempting to restart his heart, and although he was still alive upon arrival at the stadium's medical centre he died shortly afterwards, in spite of the efforts to save his life. A first autopsy did not determine an exact cause of death, but a second autopsy later revealed hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, and concluded that Foé's death was heart-related.

Foé's death caused a profound shock. Numerous tributes to his joyous personality and infectious humour were expressed in the media. Also Thierry Henry and other players pointed to the sky in tribute to Foé after Henry had opened the scoring against Turkey in France's Confederations Cup semi-final that evening. Many suggestions for ways to honour the life of Marc-Vivien Foé were made after his death: it was suggested that the Confederations Cup and the Stade Gerland could have been renamed after him, and former Manchester City manager Kevin Keegan announced that the club would no longer use the number 23 shirt Foé wore during his successful season there. David Beckham transferred from Manchester United to Real Madrid a week later with one of the reasons he took squad number 23 being in memory of Foé. At Manchester City's ground; the City of Manchester Stadium there is a small memorial to him in the stadium's memorial garden, and on the walls of the players' tunnel are plaques paid for by supporters, with their names, dubbed the Walk of Pride. The first plaque on the wall is for Marc and reads "Marc Vivien Foé - 1975 - 2003". His first club (Racing Club de Lens) has given his name to an avenue near the Félix Bollaert Stadium. Foé was given a state funeral in Cameroon.

REMEMBER HIM FOR HIS FOOTBALL

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNmTlnm9S8g 

KOLO TOURE 

Position Defender

Height (ft) 6'0"

Date of birth 19 March 1981

Place of birth  Bouake, Ivory Coast

International caps / goals 70 / 2

 

Kolo Toure became City’s sixth signing of a busy summer when he arrived on July 29 from Arsenal for a fee of £14million.

In signing a four-year contract he followed former teammate Emmanuel Adebayor to the City of Manchester Stadium.
Bizarrely for a man who has made his name as a high class central defender, Kolo began his football career as a winger and even when he first pitched up at Highbury (as it was known in 2002) he was deployed in an attacking midfield role.
When he was finally switched to the heart of the back four, those ball playing skills swiftly came into their own and he quickly established himself as one of the best around in his position.
In seven years with Arsene Wenger’s side he clocked up 225 appearances winning a Premier League title and two FA Cups. Until his move north he was the only surviving member of the Gunners ‘Invincibles’ who romped to the title.
 He is also a regular for his country, the Ivory Coast, and in racking up 70 caps he helped them to a runners up spot in the 2006 African Cup of Nations.

CAPTAIN MARVEL

Toure is Captain Marvel

NEDUM ONOUHA

Position  Defender

Height (ft) 6'0"

Date of birth 12 November 1986

Place of birth Warri, Nigeria

International caps / goals 0 / 0

 

A former star junior from the Academy, Nedum signed his first professional contract with the Blues in November 2004 when he turned 18.
The deal came just weeks after he made his full debut in the 2-1 Carling Cup defeat at the hands of Arsenal.
Onuoha made his first start in the top flight in the win over Portsmouth in November of that year playing at right-back in place of the suspended Danny Mills.
He earned an international call up to the England U-20s for their friendly against Russia at the Valley and scored in the opening five minutes of the game.
Onuoha was called into England Under-21 squad in the 2005/06 season and made his debut for that side as a substitute against Poland.
Since then he’s been a permanent fixture in City’s first team squad and at Under 21 level for England. He has signed a contract that will keep him with the Blues until 2011.
Thigh and knee injuries restricted the defender’s availability at the start of Mark Hughes’ reign in 2008/09, but after regaining full fitness he established himself as first choice clocking up 20 Premier League starts. His reward for an excellent season was a new, five-year contract, signed in July 2009.

Born in Nigeria, Onuoha was raised in Manchester, England. He went to Nelson Street Primary School Miles Platting followed by Hulme Grammar Private School in Oldham. He achieved an impressive two 'A*' and seven 'A' grades at GCSE. He then completed his studies at Xaverian College Manchester where he achieved three 'A' grades at A-level. An outstanding junior sprinter; aged 14 he finished in second place in the final of the 2001 English School's Athletics Association Junior 100 metres contest, clocking 11.09 seconds and beating current Great-Britain sprinter Craig Pickering.
 

He is also currently the co-national record holder for boys under 15 standing triple jump. He is also known to have supported Manchester City as a boy and attended the Manchester City youth academy.

Onuoha is a regular in the England U-21 side, making his debut on 12 October 2005. He was part of the squad participating in the 2007 European Under 21s Championship in the Netherlands. During the Championships Onuoha was subjected to racist abuse from Serbian fans, but received praise for maintaining his conduct amid provocation. 
  He played in each of England's four fixtures, but limped off in extra-time in the semi-final against the Netherlands after all three of the permitted substitutions had been made. England went out 13-12 on penalties in the semi-final. He will be eligible for the team until the summer of 2009. He captained the England Under-21 team for the first time in a 0–0 draw with Poland Under-21s.
In March 2007, Onuoha received an international callup from Nigeria, but has announced he would like to represent England at full international level.

SUPERNED

Nedum to the rescue at Spuds

ALI BERNABIA 

Position  Midfielder

Height (ft) 5' 6"

Date of birth  8 October 1968

Place of birth Oran, Algeria

International caps / goals   Unknown

Benarbia joined AS Monaco FC in 1995, winning a championship in 1997, and then moved to FC Girondins de Bordeaux in 1998. At Bordeaux, Benarbia won the championship again in the 1998-99 season and was crowned player of the year in France. Surprisingly he was sold to Paris Saint-Germain after this triumph, although he failed to capture the same form there.

Benarbia left France in 2001 and was signed on a free transfer by City, whose manager Kevin Keegan was familiar with him from when he scored two goals for Monaco against Keegan's Newcastle United. He became a firm favourite amongst the supporters as City won the Football League First Division and promotion back to the Premiership, winning the club's player of the year award and being named in the select side for the Division. He was made captain the following season, although he found the pace of the Premier League harder and was much less influential in his second season. He played his final game in a City shirt in 2003 against FC Barcelona in a game to mark the opening of the City of Manchester Stadium, before announcing his retirement.

ALI BABA'S DEBUT

ALI BABA debut magic

ALI MAGIC

Fantastic Ali saves the day See how many future Prem Stars are playing

5-1's Top Ten African City Players

 (app-goals)

10 Hatem Trabelsi - Tunisia 20-1

 9  Lucien Mettomo - Cameroon 31-1

 8  Benjani Mwaruwari - Zimbabwe 25-6

 7 George Weah - Liberia 9-4

 6 Emmanuel Adebayor - Togo 6-4

 5 Kolo Toure - Ivory Coast 6-1

 4 Kizito "Kiki" Musampa  - Congo-Kinshasa 45-4

 3 Marc Vivien Foe - Cameroon 38-9

 2 Ali Bernabia - Algeria 71-11

 1 Nedum Onouha - Nigeria 100-3

Other African born City players include:

Jim and Jeff Whitley - Zambia

Dickson and Kelvin Etuhu - Nigeria

Colin Viljoen - South Africa

Thanks to YOUTUBE, MCFCstats and Wikipedia for resource info

WINNING AND LOOKING GOOD DOING IT

If City really are the new Chelsea and of course the new Evil of football, then thanks to Umbro kit designer David Blanch, we must be the Imperial Storm Troopers from Star Wars. As no EVIL has ever looked quite as good -or at least since that film Species anyway.

After seeing the 'Behind the kit' videos on the website it is blatantly obvious that the club has pulled off another master stroke. Of course nobody needed to see the video to understand that we have the greatest set of kits ever to grace the Premier League; each one as superb as the next.

Over a 5 part series of videos the painstakingly meticulous designer beams with pride as he takes us on a journey of manufacturing at its finest. David is obviously a huge football fan and understands the importance of the uniform and the role it plays in giving the players and fans alike an added dimension to their passion and performances. One gets the feeling that if it was up to him the British Army would be kitted out in Armani, after all if you are the best then why not look it too. His philosophy, If you look good then you feel good is something which seems to be proving itself on the field too, with only one loss all season.

He goes on to talk about the 3 kits and how each was made to a specific design for a specific purpose. The Sky Blue home kit is the kit that every Blue associates our club with. He talks of his wish for Manchester City Blue to become internationally recognizable and instantly connectible to The Citizens.

The away kit does what it was designed to do – intimidate the opposition. It's a lean mean marauding machine of a shirt, designed to exude confidence in its wearer during forays into enemy territory.

Adebayor when trying it on for the first time is quoted as saying he couldn't wait to get out there with it on and that he felt unstoppable. His performances to date would suggest his initial feeling was right.

The third kit, possibly the most aesthetically pleasing, has already been championed by Premier League fans as the best looking kit in the whole league. Its South American Retro style stands out a mile from the crowd, while the sponsor's Etihad logo has been reduced in size and placed underneath the badge. It gives the players an almost regal look and rivals Real Madrid's home number for the most chic kit in Europe.

The badge itself is a work of art and you get the feeling that the players feel like they've gone from Audi TT's to Aston Martin's in one kit change. So why is the kit so important? It gives the players another reminder of the Top Class establishment they have signed up to play for. Another club success and indication that the Sky Blue Juggernaught is just revving its engine up. Not since that day at Wembley has the club motto Superbia in Proelia 'Pride in Battle' meant so much to this group of players.