City 2 Pompey 0

Barclays Premier League
City of Manchester Stadium
31 January 2010 

13:30

City:
Given, Zabaleta, Toure, Kompany, Garrido, De Jong, Ireland, Barry, Petrov, Tevez, Adebayor.

Subs: Taylor, Onuoha, Wright-Phillips, Sylvinho, Bellamy, Boyata, Ibrahim.

Portsmouth:
James, Vanden Borre, Ben-Haim, Wilson, Hreidarsson, Mullins, Basinas, Jamie O'Hara, Webber, Utaka, Boateng.

Subs: Ashdown, Piquionne, Finnan, Hughes, Owusu-Abeyie, Ritchie, Sowah.

 Referee: Martin Atkinson (W Yorkshire)

City started this game against a beleaguered Pompey believing that they could repeat the six nil scoreline of last year.

After a bright start though there was only one team hungry enough  to impose themselves on the opposition and that wasn't the one looking to challenge for a Champions League place.

Portsmouth were hungrier, more organised and more composed for much of the first half creating most of the chances and unlucky not to go ahead when the sunlight made Given misjudge a cross from the right but Utaka couldn't convert.

The longer the match went on the more frustrated the Sky Blues got after Pompey had hit the post and it got worse when Zabaleta, one of the more determined players on the pitch, was withdrawn due to a broken nose after a stray arm from Boetang.

Just when doubts were beginning to creep into the thoughts of both players and fans alike, Adebayor marginally beat the offside trap to control and smash the ball though the diving David James.

Then to compound Portsmouth' brave but seemingly futile attempts, Vincent Kompany after several tries finally converted a corner with a thunderous header.

City didn't deserve it but were two nil up and Portsmouth had everything to do in the second half.

The second half was again not the tonic that the emotionally tired fans and players needed as Pompey set about City with incisive passing and non-stop movement. 

Again O'Hara, Boetang and Basinas were controlling the run of play and City were as incohesive as they had been for a long time.

But Portsmouth need more than their midfield brawn and raw pace of Utaka to survive this season as their five goals away from home strongly highlight the fact they need a goalscorer.

With twenty minutes to go City brought on the rested Bellamy and the dynamics of the game changed with him terrorising Van Der Borre at left back and City hitting the post through Tevez in the last few minutes.

Two nil was bad enough, so  three would have been a travesty after the effort the Portsmouth players had put in.

Maybe we can loan them Benjani back if nobody comes in for him. Either way I hope they stay up as their fans are top notch and we always seem to do well against them!

For City it was a flat abject performance that Mancini knows could have gone another way, but a win is a win and we can now look forward to gaining six points against Hull and Bolton.

Pizza .. Now Mancini Gone Gago For McDonald's!

After last week's revelation that Mancini believes pizza, red wine and pasta are great but fun alternatives to a footballers diet, Mancini has gone a step further this week.

His initial plans to go for Flamini and Gago of Real Madrid and AC Milan respectively have drawn a blank and it now seems that he'll be ordering a McDonald instead.

According to the Daily Mail's well respected 'Sports Mail Reporter'. The next on the list is Parma midfielder McDonald Mariga a Kenyan international (yes Kenyan).

One things for sure, and thats his stamina shouldn't be in any doubt if he has any of the sporting genes that his international track team mates possess.

A host of clubs including Inter Milan have also been tracking Mariga, with the Italian club recently putting heir interest on hold after the loan arrival of the exciting Chilean Manuel Fernandes from Valencia (yes him from Football Manager).

Ol' Arry Redknapp also tried to sign the six foot two inch Mariga for old club Portsmouth when he was playing for Swedish side Helsingborg three years ago, but failed to secure a work permit.

Apparently City are ready to offer cash and Valeri Bojinov for Mariga, according to reports in Italy in a deal that could be worth around six million pounds.

Of all the City stars on loan around the world at the moment the Bulgaria striker Bojinov is probably the one Blues' fans have the most time for.

After an injury plagued few seasons for City the striker was loaned out to Parma and has scored four goals in fifteen appearances.

The most telling factor could be that he is keen to stay in Italy n what has become his adopted homeland after two different spells there.

Mariga has a record of nine goals in around a hundred appearances at club level and although not a goal scorer could be a future Yaya Toure in the making.

City do need a bit of height in the centre and it looks like this kid might fit the bill and in turn get to learn from a master in Patrick Viera along the way.

Signings On The Way

Now that the novelty of the cup has passed, its on to more important issues for Roberto Mancini and the Sky Blues.

Apart from the arrival of Potless Pompey(and I do sympathize) on Sunday we have the time to concentrate on strengthening the playing staff.

Whether you agree with it or not, Robinho is on the verge of signing a six month loan deal with Brazilian club Santos and has already made noises that he doesn't want to return.

I'm a big fan of Robinho's prodigious talents, I just wish he could pull them out of his backside and use them more often.

Add that to the fact that the Tin Man from The Wizard of Oz has more heart than the ultra laid-back Robbie and you have a player that we will not miss one bit in this frame of mind.

Come to think of it, both Jo and Elano have the same languid attitude and we know what happened to them. Brazilians have not exactly lit up the Premier League over the years bar a Juninho or Gilberto Silva.

Roberto Mancini has come in with his own philosophies and players in mind and has been linked with a raft of Seria A players. Now I'm no expert,but Italians haven't exactly been raging successes in England over the years either.

Paulo Di Canio, Vialli  and Zola come to mind, but too many others like Maccarone, Corradi and Bianchi (shudders) have failed to adapt to the rigours of our league.

Northern Europeans and Argentinians such as Kompany, Tevez, De Jong and Zabaleta all seemed to ave acclimatised much easier to the passionate hstle and busytle of the Premier League and if you believed all the papers you would be slightly worried.

Of course Mancini has already pulled off a masterstroke by bringing in the supremely experienced leader that is Patrick Viera to the club and when he comes back his qualities will be invaluable to the team (he might have made a difference last night).

Amongst the Seria A and a Liga names mentioned are Gago of Real Madrid and Motta of Roma. I can't confess to know much about the latter, Gago has always flattered to deceive when I've watched him strolling around the park for both club and country. 

Madrid reportedly turned down City's thirteen million pound bid and want another four million for the Argentinian's signature.

The unhappy twenty three year old's agent, Marcelo Lombilla, said:

'We want to speak again with (Real director general) Jorge Valdano and perhaps then the situation will change.'

Gago, who is also wanted on loan by Boca Juniors himself said:

'I want to play and that has become impossible at Real.'


Two players continually mentioned and sure to suit the Premiership would be Chellini from Juventus and Cassano, the Bellamy of Italian football. The latter could be our Di Canio and creative spark and Chellini is the best defender in Italy at the moment and plays on the left.

For me Bayern's Ribery would be a great signing and would look great in an attack of Bellamy and Tevez away from home. The claims that he is a lazy player are ill-founded and he certainly has the skill  and winning mentality to go with his desire.

The fact that he is injured could be a blessing in disguise, as normally world class players don't move in the January transfer window.

More likely however would be the signing of Borough's England U21 winger Adam Johnson who for me is a more complete player than Moses of Palace, our other Championship target.

I've seen him quite a bit for club and country and looks a very good prospect, although Bolton's midfielder Muamba  often looks the best player on the park at U21 level.

One things for sure, and thats come Sunday night we'll know how good the manager is in the transfer market during what is traditionally a difficult time to get quality trouble-free players in.


Players we should get in:

Chellini
Cassano
Ribery

Players we are likely to sign

Motta
Johnson
Cassano
and perhaps Gago

United's Scare Tactics Win The Day

City succumbed to a three one defeat in tonight's semi-final derby with the Rags.

Goals from Scholes, Carrick, Tevez and Rooney lit up a lively derby that will be remembered for al of the wrong reasons.

Some  strange decisions by Howard Webb, a stonewall penalty, some reckless challenges by United and coins and a bottle thrown at Bellamy trying to take a corner were enough to put City out of their game plan and go out of the Carling Cup.

Their time will come though so don't despair too much, as we contributed CLEANLY to both legs and can hold our heads up high.

Congratulations especially to Given, Tevez, Boyata, Richards and the rest of the lads for playing outstandingly over the two legs.

The Irons 2 v City 4

The Irons 2 v City 4

City Line-Up:

12) Stuart Taylor

4) Nedum Onouha

44) Dedryck Boyata

33) Vincent Kompany

16) Sylvinho

48) Abdi Ibrahim

34) Nigel de Jong (c)

7) Stephen Ireland

17) Martin Petrov

27) Benjani

10) Robinho

Subs:

37) Gunnar Nielsen 2) Micah Richards 5) Pablo Zabaleta 18) Gareth Barry 39) Craig Bellamy 8) Shaun Wright-Phillips 45) Gregory Cunningham

City started this match with only three of the starting line up from Tuesday’s cup demolition of The Rags in Kompany, Boyata and De Jong. For the rest it was a case of some gaining experience,

some match fitness and the rest something to prove to manager Roberto Mancini.

And it was a great start for City as the star-struck Iron’s defence let City play and go ahead inside five minutes when Petrov beat his fullback and hit a seventy mile an hour scorcher past the Scunthorpe keeper.

That should have been the catalyst for the Sky Blues to push home their advantage with a passing display of up tempo football, but instead the Blues players took their foot of the gas and allowed Scunthorpe back into the game.

After two very clear cut chances, The Irons forged an equalizer after the Rag linesman failed to raise his flag with two players clearly offside and Hayes finished smartly passed Taylor in goal.

The Ragness of the linesman’s was further compounded when the other linesman flagged Benjani offside when he looked marginal at worst.

Just before half time when all in the stadium were beginning to believe a cup upset was on the cards, but Stevie Ireland threaded a ball through to Nedum Onouha who slotted the ball past the Scunthorpe keeper.

Before the break City could have tied things up, when another flowing move culminated in Ireland finding himself with a half-chance, but the Irishman’s clever dink was wide of the post.

The second half was delayed in starting as strangely the linesman who had failed to  raise his flag for the equalizer was reported to be feeling nauseous (no doubt at seeing the horses head in his kit bag).

Unsurprisingly the second half wasn’t tainted with rag-like controversy and City looked to control the game with a passing game.

City went ahead thorough a sublime 32 yard shot from Silvinho that dipped, swerved, curled and just about everything else before flying past the floundering Iron’s keeper.

Then Robinho finished off a great passing move involving himself, Zabaleta and Petrov.

After the goal and all that effort, the Scunthorpe players’ heads understandably dropped and City were able play some possession football and were allowed to pass the rest of the game out.

All in all, a decent performance from both teams and no real negatives to take into Wednesday game of the decade.

In terms of team performances Taylor and Ireland got some game time and there was some experience for Ibramhim, Boyata and Cunningham.

Of the highs were the goals from Petrov, Sylvinho and Robinho and a goal for fan’s favourite Onouha. It was almost a perfect game from impressive Boyata too but for two rushes of blood. He is definitely one for the future.

The lows were the performances of Benjani and Robinho’s poor finishing

 Man of the Match had to be Petrov who was involved in every quality move of the match and scored a scorcher. Kompany was a close second, standing firm in the face of a spirited Irons attack.

City will now face Stoke City in a home tie of the fifth round of the FA Cup. Bring It On!

The Hypocrisy That Is Ferguson

And there was me thinking that City were the toast of the Academy system with a steady flow of graduates emerging year after year.

From the class of Micah Richards, Stevie Ireland and Joe Hart, to the FA Youth Cup winning Daniel Sturridge and Vladimir Weiss, City have been proving that they are up there with the very best in producing top class professional footballers.

Add Dereyck Boyata to a list that now numbers twenty-eight first team debutantes and it is easy to get caught up in the hype that is the Manchester City academy.

On the other hand, you could be forgiven for thinking that United must be crying into their prawn sandwiches whilst casting an envious gaze up at their aristocratic neighbours.

After all, the Old Trafford money-well is running dry and with a spine-breaking amount of debt looming over the Stretford Club and an academy that is well just not a patch on their more illustrious rivals, United look well and truly on the wane.

The latest Manchester derby however, showed us that we couldn’t be further from the truth as Alex Ferguson, just like he had promised, kept faith with his team’s youngsters that had gotten him to the Semi-Final of the Carling Cup.

In fact, those young players gave City’s millionaire superstars a real scare in the first and second half of the game succumbing only to two unjust goals by Ex-Red’s flop Carlos Tevez.

Ferguson, not one to blow his own trumpet, himself said,           

“A semi-final against United when they haven’t been in a final for so long is the biggest motivation City could have so far this season,”

“So it’s a bigger, more important game for them than us,” he added. “It’s a game for the fans and their emotions.”

 Of course from a squad that was really only shorn of Duck-bill Ferdinand and Emanuella VIdic, Ferguson could have been forgiven for fielding his full strength XI that has seen them imperiously sweep all but Chelsea aside this season in their quest for the Premier League title.

But Ol’ Bacon Face has principles, and refused to be deflected from his original aim,  

'I will stick with the principle of picking young players on Wednesday,' said the United chief.

'That is what we have done in the Carling Cup and we are not changing that.'

Great thought I, so the likes of Darron Gibson and Danny Welbeck were expected to start, much to delight of the Eastland’s faithful.

But of course Fergie had duped us all again by hiding the best Old Trafford gem’s United have produced since the golden era of Neville, Sharpe and Nicky Buttocks  and unleashed them on  City in what almost turned out to be a masterstroke.

Regulars Rafael, Evans and Anderson were all involved to add a spice of experience to the fledglings on show, whilst the viewing public were treated to a plethora of young talent beginning with the spritely Edwin Van Der Sar, Ryan Giggs and Michael Carrick and finishing with new ‘Ginga sensation’ Paul Scholes and choir boy Michael Owen.

Roberto Mancini in contrast blessed with having NEAR ten first teamers unavailable or injured in Adebayor, Santa Cruz, Lescott, Toure, Viera, Bridge, Ireland and Johnson to name but a few, decided to give youth a chance naming teenager Boyata in his starting lineup.

So well done to United for playing so well against ‘Lil Ciddy’ and to their manager for sticking to his principles in a game that meant nothing to all of the United fans out there- obviously more into golf and darts these days.  

Ferguson vehemently believes his young guns can carry his side through to Wembley next week,  but Mancini will be looking to his returning young guns to wipe the masticating Scotsman’s smile off his face.

After the hard fought game Ferguson, gracious as ever, said,

“I thought we controlled the game and looked comfortable in both halves, apart from a spell of about five minutes before half time.”

“With our magnificent crowd behind us at Old Trafford and experience in these types of games we’ll be ok.”

At first glance these words seem like supreme confidence from a man who has achieved it all, but on reflection are perhaps more befitting  a man low on confidence trying to convince himself and his team that they are in a position of strength come next Wednesday.

One thing is for sure, saying it as part of a psychological strategy is one thing, believing it is altogether something else.

Let’s just hope for Bacon Face’s sake the worst of the weather has passed, as if he’s relying on the fans to lift his demoralized team, all of the airports and railway stations better be open and functioning properly or there might be more blues than reds cheering their team on.  

Carlito Is Big Time!

City 4 Blackburn  1

City strolled past Blackburn tonight scoring four goals to put them in fourth place in the Premiership and remind everyone that they are looking only upwards from now til the end of the season.

A fantastic goal by a resurgent Micah Richards and a wonderful hat-trick from Carlos Tevez warmed every frozen Blue's night as the Blue Juggernaut showed no signs of slowing down.

Mancini has his team well-drilled and obviously inspires confidence in players as forgotten men Richards, Garrido and Benjani were all played in their favoured positions and all were excellent.

I suggested that Blackburn wouldn't want a hard nights work with their semi-final looming on Thursday and that's just what they got.

City were out of the box like a flash and within minutes Tevez had put them ahead with a good close range finish after great work by Benjani.

Micah Richards started off his well taken goal by running what seemed like the full length of the pitch with ball to feet, beating several Blackburn players before laying off a delightful pass to Benjani. The Zimbabwean's finish hit the post and rebounded  into the onrushing powerhouse who finished like a striker to make it two nil.

It was then the Carlito Tevez show as he set up several chances before scoring two wonderful goals to take his scoring streak to ten goals in seven matches and Alex Ferguson's blood pressure to DEFCOM three.

The first was a carbon copy of the goal that Adebayor scored against the same team on the opening day of the season as Tevez ran onto a perfectly waited pass before smashing the ball low and hard past the helpless Robinson.

Gamst Pedersen the Rovers' dangerman curled a well taken shot past Given before the final whistle after Kompany miscontrolled, but nothing was going to dampen the spirits of the City faithful who must be thinking anything is possible this year now.


If the second was quality the hat-trick goal was sublime as Tevez received the ball in a seemingly hopeless area just outside of the area.

With the full Rovers' defence in front of him he guided an inch perfect shot past Robinson with little or no backlift to earn the match ball and cement the Blues in the top four of the Premier league.



One things for sure, with a run of winnable games and a possible final place just around the corner, Mancini must be wondering what he can do wrong at the moment and long may it continue.

Man of the Match:
Carlos Tevez- World Class

Goal of the game:
Micah Richards for sheer athleticism and perseverance gets the nod over the last Tevez masterpiece.

CITY v BLACKBURN Team Selection

Manchester City go into tonight's Premier League game against Blackburn with one eye on the Champions League fourth spot.

Luckily Fat Sam's side have both eyes on their Semi-Final against Aston Villa on Thursday this week.

Given Allardyce's history of playing percentages, it would seem that all City need to do is to score early on and the Blackburn player's appetite should seep away quicker than you can say "bigger fish to fry!"

 Brett Emerton is fit to return to Sam Allardyce’s starting line up after recovering from a groin problem, but Vince Grella is still nursing a thigh strain and will not be risked, while the de'spit'able El-Hadji Diouf is suspended after his cowardly red card in last Saturday’s FA Cup defeat at Villa.

Roberto Mancini will surely go with the formation that was used effectively against Stoke City as Blackburn line up in almost identical fashion as their Pottery counterparts.

The three major decisions Mancini has to make all involve personnel and which to use. Does he use Dedryk Boyata or Micah Richards to partner Vincent Kompany at the back?

Should the powerful Santa Cruz be given a start against his old club or will the dynamic duo of Tevez and Bellamy be unleashed on the brave but cumbersome giants that are Nelson and Samba?

Finally, will Patrick Viera be fit to make his much anticipated debut and if so will Pitbull De Jong, Steady Eddie Barry or Superman be dropped from a midfield that has looked back to its best in recent weeks?

All will be revealed tonight at 19:30 so don't forget to tune into your wirelesses or pictureboxes to witness the Sky Blue Juggernaut in full flow.

---End transmission---

Teams

Manchester City (from): Given, Taylor, Zabaleta, Richards, Sylvinho, Garrido, Trippier, Wright-Phillips, Kompany, Vieira, De Jong, Barry, Bellamy, Robinho, Benjani, Petrov, Weiss, Tevez, Santa Cruz, Vidal, Boyata, Tutte.

Blackburn Rovers (from): Robinson, Olsson, Chimbonda, Jacobsen, Nelsen, Samba, Salgado, Pedersen, Givet, Nzonzi, Hoilett, Andrews, Emerton, Dunn, Di Santo, Roberts, McCarthy, Kalinic, Jones, Brown, Van Heerden, Rigters.

City league form: DLWWW

Blackburn league form: DLLDD

Key opponent: Gamst Pedersen
McCarthy may be the assassin and Roberts the steamroller, but without the service of Pedersen the pair will be isolated up front alone. Stop him!

SPURS, VILLA AND CITY - THE NEW GUARD OR JUST PRETENDERS TO THE CROWN?

Gary Lineker this week joined the growing list of pundits and journalists who believe that a change in guard is taking place in the Premier League.

They would have you believe that Spurs, Villa and City are on the march and backed with more money than a sheik's Gold account, the old guard of Liverpool, United and Arsenal are on the wane.

So why have the managers of these three teams not been banging their own drum to the media beat?

For since the start of the season fans from Villa, Spurs and City have been treated to a never ending barrage of modesty from their managers.

Tasked with breaking into the top 4, Martin O Neil, Harry Rednapp and Ex-Blues boss Mark Hughes had been careful not to get carried away by proclaiming themselves contenders for the Premier League Crown.

In fact, none have been quick to say that a top four finish is within their grasp with Rednapp attempting to divert pressure away from himself and Spurs by proclaiming City as the best equipped squad outside the top four to break the monopoly.

MON has been even more coy, stating on several occasions that Villa's chances are considerably less than this time last year and regularly championing City, Liverpool and Spurs as stronger than his Midlands side.

Mark Hughes was less negative if more regimented in his views before his dismissal last month. Seemingly reading from a Cook-prepared script, Hughes was always quick to throw bucketfuls of water on any flames of hysteria that might spread through the Eastland's faithful.

A top six finish was his target he told us and achieving that would be a major improvement on previous seasons according to Sparky.

Of course the money spent by Sparky meant that a top six finish was the bare minimum to keep his job and reputation after the vast amount of money spent on his new look City team.

Even thought the manner in which he was sacked was laughable, every Blue deep down knew that he wouldn't prove his worth in the time given to him by the City board, and his playing down of City's chances only weakened his players resolve and board's support.

Harry Rednapp and Martin O'Neill are also in the same boat as Top Premier League boards and supporters want dynamic leaders with the strategic nous of Napoleon, the battlefield ferocity of Alexander the Great and motivational skills of Winston Churchill.

These are the men that win campaigns and Mancini knows he must deliver Champions League football at least or he'll be replaced by a Mourinho or Hiddink at the end of the season.

So it refreshing to see City's new boss come in and say what we all really know, that City can push for major honours and should be up there contending for the title.

For it is this winning mentality over all other things that will push City up into the upper echelons of the Premiership. There is no surprise that the four teams that regularly contest the top spots are those teams who boast the most arrogant and self-righteous managers.

These managers "guarantee" success in Benitez's case and each player in Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal and United's squad believes that it can and will be achieved every campaign.

Players like Rooney, Gerrard, Essien and Gallas epitomize this winning mentality and without it there is no amount of money that can push a team to win at Birmingham in the snow.

So amidst all of the laughter that has surrounded the transfer of Patrick Viera to City this week, one thing could be heard loud and clear.

Viera's taunting of United and City going for the title, which at first appear brash and arrogant, but on reflection just go to show that he is still a winner and knows nothing else.

After winning every major honour at club and international level the former indomitable Gunner's captain has the mindset that City need, which is why he was brought in by his old boss Mancini.

If City are to win the title they will need more shepherds like Viera in their flock and less sheep like twenty million plus Lescott and thirty million plus Robinho.

For it is these warriors that forge championship winning sides, which must be City's main target from now until the end of the season.

If they believe and Mancini can keep them organized defending as a top team then City must be in with a strong shout of a top four finish and some cup silverware along the way.

If Spurs and Villa are to tag along then a change in mindset is needed there too and only then can the changing of the guard go from wishful thinking to stonewall reality.

HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM 5-1

The 5-1 team would like to wish everyone not wearing red a Happy New Year and a healthy start to 2010!

To all those bloggers and dedicated souls around the world investing hours of their time on things they love -keep it up and keep blogging!

Lando