I will be taking a (well-earned?) short break after the game today so this will be the last post until next Friday when I return all surfed out from a week in Newquay.
With no fixture next weekend due to the international calendar (yawn), hopefully I won't miss out on too much unless all this promised 'aggressive' transfer policy finally pays off as we edge closer to deadline day.
Today we will be looking to maintain the decent start we have had to the season when we take on Portsmouth at Eastlands. You would have to be confident of the three points given the form we have displayed at this early stage and the not too confident start to the campaign that Pompey have made, with them having scraped only a point against ten-man Villa on Wednesday night.
Will Pearce tinker with the side? I think a likely change will be Nedum Onouha replacing Stephen Jordan at the back with Sylvain Distin still out (along with Robbie Fowler) but I don't foresee any changes in either midfield or attack.
As for Portsmouth, manager Alain Perrin has tinkered with the side over the summer, bringing in Robert, Westerveld and O'Brien whilst losing the likes of Berger and Kamara (not Chris by the way).
Portsmouth shouldn't pose too much of a problem on their travels, with their most interesting feature likely to be their 'colourful' away kit. A game that we should be looking to win and are likely to do so.
Prediction: City 2 Portsmouth 0.
City have been rebuffed in their move for midfielder Stelios, who has decided to sign a new 3 year contract with Bolton. City had left a £1 million bid on the table for the Greek international with Liverpool also believed to be sniffing around the player.
Strange one this, as I expected him to move from Bolton, albeit my hunch was that he would move to Anfield. Stuart Pearce remains upbeat and insists that he is still pursuing several potential new recruits.
A couple of players who I would like to have seen him make a move for are Andy van der Meyde and Matteo Ferrari, two players who endured a miserable time in Italy last season with Inter and Roma respectively but van der Meyde moved today to Everton for £2 million and Ferrari is expected on a season long loan.
I think van der Meyde would have helped plug the gap vacated by SWP and is capable of beating his man and delivering a cross, whilst Ferrari is a tall, strong elegant defender who is not too disimilar I guess from Nedum Onouha. He would have provided decent cover in defence which would have also freed up Onouha to play full-back as well.
The squad is in decent shape to be honest, but still could do with some strengthening in all areas if we are to sustain a decent challenge on the European positions this season. Hopefully, Pearce will pull a couple of rabbits out of the hat between now and the closing of the transfer window.
For those of you in the Manchester area, check out the latest issue of listings and lifestyle magazine City Life, which this week features a profile of Manchester-based blogs including yours truly amongst many others. Also in there from a football perspective are United fanzines Manchester Buccaneers and United rant.
Alternatively, check out City Life online for the feature.
Also out this week is the new season issue of fanzine 'City 'Til I Cry', which again features a contribution from my good self. Again, superbly put together by Tom with this edition focusing on the departure of SWP, a feature on FFC City, and the City 'Til I Cry all-time greatest team. Plus all the usual rants and United piss-taking. On sale at Sportspages, Mary D's, outside the ground or email tomcitytilicry@aol.com.
We are top of the league, I said we are top of the league! Ha, ha, you may mock but hey, why not enjoy it eh?
The table never lies and all joking aside, look at the starts that Everton and Bolton made last season with less talented squads than we have and how they got themselves on an early roll which carried them for the rest of the year.
Pos Team P W D L F A GD Pts
1 Manchester City 3 2 1 0 4 2 2 7
2 Tottenham Hotspur 2 2 0 0 4 0 4 6
3 Charlton Athletic 2 2 0 0 4 1 3 6
4 Manchester United 2 2 0 0 3 0 3 6
5 Chelsea 2 2 0 0 2 0 2 6
Work commitments meant I had to decline watching the victory on Al-Jazeera or whatever non-Sky channels can pick the games up this season.
In truth, the game did not sound the most appealing - in particular Chris Waddles 'insightful' summarising with most of the early action being the abuse that David James received from the home crowd - is he on the way to becoming this years Premiership boo-boy (previous illustrious winners including messrs. Diouf, Mills, Bellamy and Savage)?
It appeared to be a lot of huff and puff from Sunderland without really testing James before we took our two chances of the half pretty well, and it was good to see Vassell get off the mark.
Disappointing to allow a goal back from a set-piece so close to half-time but I was never really sweating that the outcome was ever in doubt.
A handy three points though, albeit against a side who will do extremely well to get anywhere near safety this season. Good to see Pearce stating in his post-match interview that he was not entirely satisfied with the performance and that he expects an improvement against Portsmouth on Saturday.
One interesting note from the game was the crowd of under 34,000. I have noticed a few of the early Premiership games seem to be played in front of lower crowds than we have seen. Why is this? Perhaps the season crept up on us a little bit with the Ashes series still taking centre stage. It will be interesting to see the average attendances over the next month or so.
Anyway, confidence should be building and three points most definitely expected on Saturday at home to Portsmouth.
Away tonight at Sunderland and big respect to any Blues making the trip up tonight in what should hopefully be a succesful quest for three points and the possibility of topping the table.
Despite winning the Championship last season, on paper Sunderland look to be the least equipped of the promoted sides to stay up this season, and their current Premiership losing streak now stands at sixteen. They appear to have somewhat low with their summer acquisitions such as the Jon Stead and Alan Stubbs.
City will no doubt travel buoyed by the win at at Birmingham and I imagine an unchanged line-up although we may not see the Blues line-up in yellow this time round. Hopefully the David James and the defence continue with their solid start and strikers look to build on their promising early season form.
Prediction: Sunderland 0 City 2 with a possibility of Darius Vassell opening his City account.
Despite being on the injury list at the moment, Robbie Fowler has made the headlines a couple of times over the last week, due to the forthcoming publication of his autobiography which is being serialised in the Mail on Sunday.
After slamming Sven Goran Erikson and chiding his style of management and tactics before the midweek game against Denmark (and to be fair, the performance didn't exactly counter Robbie's claim), he has turned his attention now on Gerard Houllier and Phil Thompson, believing he was forced out of the club by him and believes that he should still be leading the attack at Anfield.
It is an obvious fact to suggest that he is now not the player he was at Liverpool, and his catalogue of injuries has usually been the reason suggested for this (myself included), but reading his comments about his departure from Liverpool it is clear to see (although he does try to deny this) that he does still harbour some bitterness and resentment.
Clearly, he loves Liverpool and given a choice he would still be there (evident with his flashing of the four-finger 'salute' to United fans) and it is probable that he has lost some of the fire and motivation since he first moved to Leeds and onto City.
I have always been a staunch supporter of Fowler during his time at City, a time in which sections of the crowd have got on his back as he struggled with form and fitness (not to mention Nicolas Anelka) last season before he put a tremendous run together at the end of the season. Disappointingly, he is currently sidelined with a back injury which has allowed Cole and Vassell an early opportunity to get some goals and forge a partnership which could keep Fowler on the sidelines even longer.
You just wonder as he has now turned 30 and heads towards the latter stages of his career - not to mention his ever-expanding property portfolio, does he still have the desire to stay at the top and keep the passion in his game that he had when he was at Liverpool?
I'm not convinced entirely that he does but there must surely be an element of personal pride with a player and he still does have flashes of the talent he showed in his early twenties and hasn't lost the natural snipers instinct. I do think he also realises that this is his last chance at a top club and if it doesn't work out with City, whilst there will always teams interested in him he knows that he won't get another opportunity at the top.
I did back him for twenty goals this season, but he could be set for another in and out campaign and it is unfortunate to think that when we reflect back on his time at City we are going to be left with the same frustrations that he feels about his career since he left Liverpool.
As an add on to this, rumours continue to link City with a move for another striker, with Feyenoord's Dirk Kuuyt linked today with a £5 million move. Added to this, the News of The World rumoured Pearce to be looking to offload Fowler to get his wages off the books - could his City career be coming to an abrupt end?
An impressive 2-1 victory at St.Andrews saw us extend our unbeaten run to ten games. After falling behind early to a goal from ex-Red Nicky Butt, which must have left all Newcastle fans shaking their heads, we got our act together to take all three points through a tap in from Joey Barton and a stunning second half strike from Andrew (nee Andy) Cole.
A pleasing three points this as I expect Birmingham to be one of the teams who will be competiting with us in the quest for a UEFA Cup berth, so realistically these are the games we need to be taking points from.
Equally pleasing for Stuart Pearce was another assured performance at the back for Stephen Jordan and the form of David James, but mainly the blossoming partnership between Cole and Vassell, with Steve Bruce admitting his side did not get to grips with them throughout the game.
I remember a 1-0 defeat at the start of last season in which the side turned in a lacklustre performance under Kevin Keegan which seems light years away from the performances of late under Stuart Pearce.
A shame that some Blues probably decided against this game in favour of Lancashire's C&G semi-final defeat against Warwickshire at nearby Edgbaston.
We now travel onto Sunderland on Tuesday night for an away game in which we should start as firm favourites to take all three points and with Portsmouth at home to come, although I really should know better as a City fan than to look ahead of games, we can certainly set ourselves a good platform in the first month of the season.
City head off to Birmingham for a Saturday tea-time game at St.Andrews this weekend with both sides coming off the back of 0-0 draws last weekend.
Richard Dunne is expected back after missing last weekends opener but played 45 mins for Ireland against Italy in midweek. The decision facing Stuart Pearce will be whether to leave out Sommeil or Jordan to accomodate his return.
Otherwise, I expect Pearce to name an unchanged line-up.
Birmingham are hoping that Emile Heskey will be fit to complement an attack of Forsell and Pandiani and I expect this to be the biggest danger facing City tomorrow as this was an area that Steve Bruce looked to strengthen from last season.
I would hope for a big game from Darius Vassell on a ground where is expected to receive some stick for his previous life as a Villa player, whilst David James will undoubtedly receive a 'warm welcome'.
Not going to be a TV classic I wouldn't imagine and the most interesting point of the game could be City's unveiling of our limited edition third kit - a colour beautifully described a 'blaze yellow'.
The kit will then be on sale but limited to just 5,000.
The one and only time I remember us wearing a yellow kit before (correct me if I'm wrong anyone) was away at Arsenal about 10 years ago and we were on the wrong end of a 4-0 defeat (come on, it was City playing at Highbury!!), but I expect tomorrow's game to be a lot tighter and my hunch says a 1-1 draw.
Denmark 4 England 1. So, it was all David James fault was it? Ok, first goal aside what could he realistically have done about the other three? An inept second half performance from an England side widely considered to be one of the challengers for the World Cup next year is tossed aside amidst the pictures of James lampooned with donkey ears and the like, a defensive performance bordering on the shambolic but still James is the one led out to be publicly stoned.
Thankfully Stuart Pearce leapt to his defence, stating that 'it has always been that way with David, people pick up on any mistake he makes but all I am concerned about is what he does for us on Saturday and he has not let me down yet'.
A view shared by the (sane) majority of City fans who are only really concerned with the fact that he has been in outstanding form since joining us, and long may he continue to do so.
Elsewhere, two young Blues have been farmed out to Championship sides to gain some experience. Willo Flood and Karl Bermingham have joined Coventry and Burnley respectively. It is a good move for both players as Flood has lost his way a little since making his debut last season whilst Bermingham impressed for the reserves last season and continued this form into the pre-season. Hopefully, both players will come back the better for this as opposed to disappearing off the City radar.
Stuart Pearce reacted with dismay over Bolton's £4 million valuation of midfielder Stelios, who City placed a £1 million bid for last weekend. Pearce insists that he will not up the valuation and hopes the fact that he is in the final year of his contract and the deadline is approaching will force Bolton into a re-think as if Big Sam thinks he will get £4 million for him he must be mad - although he must already be if he thinks Bolton are a decent side.
Whilst most of the press today led with the fact that Alan Smith had declined an England call-up to replace the injured Andy Johnson, deciding to turn out for United's reserves and jeopardise his future international chances, it occured to me that Darius Vassell could have signalled the end of his own international ambitions by signing for City.
Following Smith's snub, Sven decided to call-up Charlton's Darren Bent instead, pushing Darius further down the queue after being leap-frogged last season by Defoe, Johnson and Crouch.
Admittedly, he did have an injury-plagued season last year, but prior to that played an integral role in helping England to Euro 2004 and also played in most of the tournament.
However, it is suprising to think he may have played his last game for England, until you realise he may have fallen the same way as two former England internationals in Danny Mills and Trevor Sinclair, both players who played vital roles in the World Cup in 2002 yet have played the sum total of ZERO times for England since they signed for City and have both fallen so far off the international radar they would probably struggle to get picked for Scotland these days.
One player who did manage to keep his place in the England set-up after signing for City was David James, although despite turning in the most consistent form of his career was jettisoned by Sven following a media hounding at the start of last season.
So Darius, turn in the season of your life, out-score Rooney, Defoe and Henry in the Premiership, and you may still find yourself on the outside looking in.
Signing for City, seriously damages your international career.....
City have announced on Saturday lunchtime they have tabled a £1 million bid for Bolton's Greek midfielder Stelios Giannakpoulos. The 31 year old midfielder is out of contract at the end of the season and are hoping to have the bid accepted as Bolton face the prospect of losing him for nothing at the end of the season.
The timing of the announcement upset Sam Allardyce for one, accusing City of attempting to unsettle the player, and citing this as the main reason he was left on the bench for their game at Villa.
Admittedly, the timing was a little strange but as soon as news gets out one way or the other from sources close to the player/club insider/current squad member (* delete as appropriate) then surely the timing doesn't make any difference. In this day and age, are there many transfers that happen which don't involve an influential role played by the press with the right word here and there?
Allardyce today has indicated that a higher bid may force Bolton's hand and has challenged City to come up with an improved offer and that the club would hold a meeting with Stelios and his agent.
Would he be a good acquisition? Stuart Pearce thinks so, stating that he 'ticks all the right boxes' for him, well, I'm hoping that he meant footballing wise and not some dating agency feedback form.
He would be an option for the right-hand side to replace SWP and is a useful player in my opinion, and capable of getting you ten goals a season. He is apparantly a 'young 31' (hey, I might use that one myself next time I'm out but I'm digressing here) with typical cliched attributes involving engines and motors thrown in a for good measure.
If we are to sign him then I still think it is imperative that we still get a creative midfielder in, as I think Saturday was evident that we still lack that guile and craft which would have opened up games like that.
What? You mean it's the not the guy who runs EasyJet? Damn, here I was looking forward to 'EasyTicket' down at Eastlands....
Hmm, not exactly the most inspired opening day result and it will probably be a game that we will look back on down the line as two points dropped.
To be fair, when it was announced that Richard Dunne and Nedum Onouha had not been passed fit after all and the back four would line-up as Mills-Sommeil-Jordan-Thatcher the odds on keeping a clean sheet would not have been too short.
Chris Kirkland has taken most of the plaudits from the game, pulling off a number of saves which helped earn the Baggies a point, although the most gilt-edged chance fell to West Brom with Gera missing an easy header from six yards out.
Overall though, West Brom at home is really a game that we should be taking full points from and it is a frustrating start to the season.
One interesting footnote to the game was the opening day attendance of just short of 43,000 which is a disappointing for an opening day crowd and must rank as one of the lowest league crowds we have posted since moving to the stadium. Perhaps the allure of the new stadium is beginning to wear off after a couple of seasons and some of the 'new' or returning fans who were squeezed out towards the end of the Maine Road era are beginning to drift away?
Prices have been kept relatively constant at the stadium and although West Brom are not a big attraction, it is imperative that the club get off to a good start to ensure that there is some momentum maintained.
And onto the third and final instalmment of Bitter and Blue's season predictions, focusing on the relegation scrap and the mad scramble to avoid the drop into footballing (and financial) oblivion.
Blackburn:
Mark Hughes has begun to build an extremely solid side, very much in the mould of his playing style but lacked a cutting edge up front, scoring only thirty-goals last season. Has added the troublesome Craig Bellamy who was bombed out of Newcastle and must hope he can add some goals which should lead to mid table safety.
Portsmouth:
A team that this years promoted sides will look at as one to copy, in that they survived their first season in the Premiership and have been able to build on that ever since. Manager Alain Perrin came in at the end of last season and although he has lost Yakubu to Middlesbrough, have managed to add a couple of players which should help keep them up.
West Brom:
Ridiculed when he took over from Gary Megson, and bottom of the league at Christmas, Bryan Robson achieved the unbelievable and kept West Brom up on the final day. As a squad they have tinkered more than added quality over the summer, bringing in Chris Kirkland on loan but failed to add a goal threat. Should still have enough due to the lack of real quality in the three promoted sides.
West Ham:
Finished sixth in the Championship, but were promoted in the play-offs and probably saved Alan Pardew in the process. Have added the promising Danny Gabbidon and James Collins and Teddy Sheringham's experience up from will be vital. Look to be a little light on experience but I think they have the potential to put enough wins together.
Fulham:
Had a good first season under Chris Coleman in 2003/04 but slid dramatically last season and did not ensure their safety until late in the season. Have lost Edwin van der Saar and Andy Cole, and doubts remain over the future of Malbranque and Boa Morte. Do not have the quality or depth to be able to survive this season.
Wigan:
Head into their first ever season in the top flight with everyone writing them off. Well, I'm no different. Despite being able to spend Dave Whelan's cash, Paul Jewell has been unable to attract the quality needed to make an impact. Are also set to lose striker Nathan Ellington to West Brom as well. Simply, will not have the quality required to stay up.
Sunderland:
Won the Championship last season a couple of years after being relegated. The Championship squad did not look strong enough and they appear to have aimed to low in their summer acquisitions, as although they brought players in early they do not have either the Premiership experience or quality to sustain any threat in the Premiership.
West Brom at home. Instantly takes me back to the game last season when somehow we managed to only take point from a game where we were 1-0 up for the majority of the match and restricted them to ZERO shots on goal.
With just ten seconds left on the clock and the chants of 'One Bryan Robson' sarcastically ringing round the ground, a long hoofed ball from the back was somehow half-volleyed from 25 yards by Dunney past a stranded David James who was racing out to collect the ball.
Truth be told, it was a cracking finish as Dunney has struck it perfectly on the turn after watching the ball drop over his shoulder.
As bad as that was, it got worse at the Hawthorns a few weeks later.
I digress though, and onto this seasons match-up.
City's build up has been dominated by the Barton incident and several injuries which have hampered Pearce's build up. However, Dunney is expected to be fit and named captain in Distin's absence, with Mills returning at right-back. Trevor Sinclair's bright pre-season will probably earn him a start with new boys Cole and Vassell starting up front.
West Brom look to be a workmanlike side who will graft hard and may likely start with just one up front as they may be satisfied to go away from Eastlands with a point.
Will be a key game for us as we have not been handed the trickiest of starts looking at the fixture list and despite the injuries, Pearce will be looking to carry on from last seasons finish into the early part of this season.
On the eve of the season opener at home to West Brom, Danny Mills has lashed out at former manager Kevin Keegan, citing the lax discipline and the poor training methods under Keegan's reign as the reason he lost both his form and place in the City side during the second half of last season, before praising new boss Stuart Pearce, stating that the players are 'happier and working harder'.
Mills is expected to start tomorrow, but perhaps only due to the injury problems we have experienced leading upto the season. It is arguable that when we return to full strength as to whether Mills will be in the line-up.
I don't think this has done Mills any favours as he did become a target for the boo-boys last season and although there well documented problems at the end of the Keegan reign, it smacks of Mills trying to the lay the blame for his poor form on someone elses shoulders instead of his own. It also find it sad that he has chosen to look back on last season rather than focusing on the forthcoming one, and unfortunately it again leaves a tainted view of KK's time in charge.
Elsewhere, on the BBC sport website, Mark Lawrenson has tipped us to finish seventh this season, citing our strong defence and the arrival of Andy Cole and Darius Vassell to complement a fit Robbie Fowler.
Bit of a surprise this one for me as in the past Lawrenson has not always been complimentary about City but always good to read a favourable report I guess.
You never know, the MEN might even give us some good press soon....
Whilst Stuart Pearce continues to try and bring in new faces right up to the start of the season, former City favourite Ali Bernarbia has played a big part in two players potentially moving to the club.
Winger Yasser Hussein has been offered a six-month deal by the Blues and is hoping to sign with the club subject to being approved for a work permit. The problem currently lies with the fact that although he is a Qatar international, they are not ranked in the top seventy nations in the world which means he is not likely to be granted a work permit.
Liverpool have also found themselves on the wrong end of this ruling as Chilean winger Mark Gonzalez had his application also turned down.
One player who won't have work permit problems is former Barcelona midfielder Pep Guardiola. At just 34 he still probably has a couple of years left in his career and has come to the club on the recommendation of Bernarbia who played alongside him in Qatar last season when Guardiola earned player of the year honours. After leaving Barcelona, he moved to Brescia and Roma in Italy before a failed drugs test saw him move to Qatar.
He is currently on trial and if succesful, a season long deal could be sealed for him to join initially for this season.
After looking at the top six positions yesterday, we move onto the mad scramble for the teams who are aiming at scraping into European competition, with also one eye on an outside shot at cup glory.
Newcastle:
This season could have the potential to go really tits-up for Newcastle. After a season of disarray, things have only slightly improved over the summer and they head into the season uncertain and with holes in their squad. However, Souness is a fighter and Shearer's goals will help a much improved midfield providing they can remain injury free.
Everton:
A team, who in my opinion miraculously qualified for the Champions League last season, which more to do with the inept performance of some of their challengers. Came a bit unstuck against Villareal this week though. Have struggled in their pursuit of additions to the squad and are very one dimensional in their attack. Should still have enough to finish top ten though.
City:
Within a whisker (well a last minute penalty from Robbie Fowler) from the UEFA Cup last season thanks to a storming late run under the caretaker manager-ship of Stuart Pearce. The pressure is now on him as holds the position and has to come to terms with the loss of SWP. The additions of Vassel and Cole could be crucial and Pearce has said he hopes they can get 30 goals between them. A good season in store, but inconsistency may still hurt us as always.
Bolton:
I was once a fan of Big Sam and fancied him as a potential manager at City but having seen Bolton a couple of times last year I quickly changed my opinion. True, they are a very physical side who will pressure you for ninety minutes but I cannot stand watching them. Another team who have struggled to attract players over the summer and their UEFA Cup participation could distract them from the league campaign.
Birmingham:
Fell away badly last season and really underachieved after adding to their squad from the previous season. Have added Forsell and his goals from Chelsea and Pennant from Arsenal and should improve on last year. Still look a little light squad wise to mount any sort of serious challenge though.
Villa:
For Villa, also see the analysis for their cross town rivals. Bringing in the likes of Aaron Hughes, Kevin Phillips and Stuart Taylor will not improve a squad that has lost Darius Vassell (who I am warming to after pre-season) and Thomas Hitzlsperger. Perhaps a lot of potential is lying untapped at Villa but they will again finish on the outskirts of European qualification. Could this be the season Doug Ellis finally goes though?
Charlton:
Charlton are apparantly splashing the cash to make a real challenge for Europe this season, but didn't they do that last summer? Too often they have horrific spells of form at some stage of the season which sees them threatened with being sucked into a relegation battle but have enough to end up finishing mid table. No change for this season.
Well, what eve of the season blog would be complete without some predictions eh?
Before I get onto the serious business of who will finish where (and why), I found some individual bets for City on Skybet which I thought made intersting viewing.
Unsuprisingly, we are 500/1 to win the Premiership, but more worryingly we are 50/1 to finish bottom!
However, they view us as 16/1 to finish fourth and a generous (in my opinion) 11/8 to end the season in the top ten.
But the bet which caught my eye at odds of 15/1 is City to finish top of the league given a forty point handicap. Assuming Chelsea cannot have as succesful a season as last year and I take them to win it with ninety points, then we would only need to finish up on fifty-one points for that to come in. Got to be worth a cheeky tenner??
Anyway, Premiership winners and losers as follows with part 1 featuring the top six:
Chelsea:
Anyone else going to win it then? Thought not. Added to the squad this season with Hernan Crespo's return, Asier del Horno and of course with the signing of SWP. Maybe closer than last season but Jose will still be lifting the title. Let's just hope SWP manages to collect a medal.
Arsenal:
A lot will depend on how they cope with the loss of Viera but it could be the making of Fabregas and Flamini in midfield. With Henry and the emergence of Reyes and van Persie they will always have plenty of goals in them. Wenger has a desire to reclaim the crown but it won't be enough - just.
United:
A trophy-less season, a hostile takeover, Rio's contract, it all added to a summer of discontent for United. Can this be continued into the season. Here's hoping. I don't think any team is quite good enough to challenge them for a top three position but I can't see them finishing higher. They will again come up (well) short in their holy grail pursuit of the Champions League but may have a favourable cup run depending on how many home ties against lower league opposition they are handed.
Liverpool:
They ended up concentrating on their Champions League campaign last season to the detriment of their league form, barely winning following European fixtures. This season, they will improve greatly but still won't be enough. Gerrard re-signing is obviously a big coup and Crouch is a favourite of mine but defensively they look suspect still.
Tottenham:
Could this be the year that Spurs finally achieve something? Although Frank Arnsen has gone to Chelsea, he has laid enough of a foundation and Martin Jol is a clever manager. Edgar Davids is a big signing for them in midfield and Jermaine Defoe will have a big season coming upto the World Cup. Will still lose silly games though.
Middlesbrough:
A club that maybe should have done better given the massive outlay by Steve Gibson over the years. They pipped us to the final UEFA position last year and another UEFA campaign could distract them this season. Will always have funds available and should still be good enough to be pushing a top six position.
A week after being ruled out for three months with a broken foot after trying to set a new distance world record for kicking a hotel door, it has been announced that Richard Dunne is back in training today and is expected to be fit for the opening game at home to West Brom on Saturday.
The news is a massive bonus given that Sylvain Distin is out for the first couple of weeks and is another strange development in the Dunne injury saga as initially the club announced he had not suffered an injury that would keep him out of any games, only to then disclose he had actually broken a bone in his foot.
His powers of recovery must be something else, but maybe the club will announce on Friday that he actually underwent a succesful foot transplant. I'll bet Nicky Weaver is looking on in sheer disbelief.
However this injury has been managed it is vital we have him back and hopefully if young Nedum Onouha is fit to play, we shouldn't lose too much of a step in defence until Distin returns.
Seems the possibility of a move for Steed Malbranque may be back on again. In what is becoming more on-off than a Hollywood romance, Stuart Pearce has signalled his intention to have 'one last crack' at landing the Frenchman. After returning to Fulham with an unsuccesful improved bid, it seemed that a deal was dead and buried amid some confusion over whether Fulham had turned down the bid or whether Malbranque himself had ko'd the deal with some reports suggesting he was happy at Fulham but if he did move it would be for Champions League football.
One factor could be the future of Jermaine Jenas as one of the Sunday's suggested Newcastle will move for Malbranque if Jenas does leave Tyneside.
At this stage it appears unlikely we will land Malbranque, but what is life without hope eh?
The only other player we have been linked with over the weekend was Villa's Nobby Solano. He has one year left on his deal with Villa and could be a short term answer to the right hand side of midfield vacated by SWP. Similar to Cole and Vassel, this is a signing that doesn't fill me greatly with excitement. He's not a bad player, but seems a bit hot and cold to me. With a full strength side, I think Pearce will have Reyna pencilled in for the right hand side and I don't see Solano has offering too much more.
City 3 Olympiakos 1. Final pre-season game saw City fall behind to a goal from Yaya Toure before second half goals from Darius Vassell and a brace from BWP won the game. Disappointing news beforehand was that Distin is now injured too (groin) and is missing the start of the season so our central defensive partnership is likely to feature two of Mills, Jordan, Sommeil and Onouha which gives it a very shaky look. It is not shaping up to be the ideal start injury wise as Sibierski and Fowler are also to miss the opener and with the fixture list throwing up a favourable start this doesn't help us in our quest to get off to a flier.
Trautman, Swift, Bell, Lee, Summerbee, Francis, Tueart, Kinky, Bernabia? All legends that come easily to most Blues, but every City fan must have had that first hero that they loved. Maybe the first player they saw score or whose genius touched them in a way like no other.
For me it was David White (back row-top left). Whitey first came onto the scene about the time I first started going on my own properly to City in the time of the old first division just before we got promotion under Mel Machin, playing alongside Redmond, Brightwell, Hinchcliffe, Lake et al.
He banged in plenty of goals playing initially as a right winger - and was one of the hat-trick hero's against Huddersfield, before playing as a central striker later in his career.
It was in this position he earned his first and only England cap against Spain before making way in the next game for a certain Alan Shearer. If only he hadn't fluffed that chance in the opening couple of minutes...
Whitey scored 96 goals in 341 appearances before he eventually moved onto Leeds in a swap deal for David Rocastle before finishing his career at Sheffield United.
His finest moment for me was the cross he put in against United for the fifth goal in the 5-1. An absolute stunning first-time cross that to this day I don't know how he managed to put it right on Andy Hinchcliffe's head without breaking stride.
There were plenty of City fans who did not like Whitey and he did possess a unique ability to dribble the ball out of play and the word 'deadly' would not readily be associated with him. It is difficult for a home-grown player to have a long career at City without the boo-boys at some stage getting on their back, but David White will always be my first City hero.
Earlier on today, City had a £4 million bid for Fulham's midfielder Steed Malbranque turned down. It is not expected to be the end of the matter as City office junior, I mean spokesman, Paul Tyrrell was quoted as saying 'We retain a strong interest in the player' - meaning, expect an improved offer in the next couple of days.
I think this would be a great signing for us and identified him as a player to go for as soon as the SWP cheque cleared. He is the type of creative player that we need in midfield (especially the centre) and would give us that ball carrying presence we have lacked since Eyal Berkovic departed, plus I have actually seen him attempt a tackle which is more than could be said of Berkovic. He has also averaged 10 goals a season at Fulham which would replace the loss of SWP in that respect.
I would hope that we make an improved bid in order to land him.
At least one horrible rumour can be put to bed now after Everton unveiled the signing of Phil Neville today for a fee of £3.5 million from United. There was that nagging fear that Stuart Pearce would go all crazy and blow some of the SWP money on him. Thankfully, Desperate David Moyes got twitchy and pulled the trigger on the deal to take Phil to Goodison.
It was a scenario that reminded me of a very cheesy nightclub on a Saturday night and a drunken young male. Picture the scene - it's getting towards quarter to two (or beginning of the season if you like) and after being blown out by Parker, Bellamy, Sissoko, Taylor etc, our young male (David Moyes) sinks his pint and thinks 'right, one last go' and manouveres onto the dancefloor where he sees someone who catches his eye.
'What's your name pet?' he enquires.
'Phil. Phil Neville' comes the reply, and a beautiful romance is born.
Fresh from a biting at the hands of Joey Barton for his troubles after trying to act as peacemaker, Richard Dunne promptly takes out his pent up anger and frustration on a hotel door.
Only Dunney goes and breaks a bone in his foot - an injury first described by Stuart Pearce as 'a slight crack' (or was that Psycho's analysis of the evenings events?).
Many an opposing forward on the receiving end of one of his 'challenges' must surely have sympathised with the plight of the door.
From missing the start of the season, it now emerges that he will miss the first THREE months of the season, tearing apart the backbone of last seasons side. Dunne was far and away player of the season last year and his absence leaves a void that now has to be filled by either Sommeil or Mills as the obvious replacement Nedum Onouha is also crocked (along with Weaver and Fowler), quickly evaporating what little pre-season optimism is remaining following the sale of SWP.
Joey Barton has again made the headlines - and this time on a far wider scale than he would ever had hoped.
Only a week ago after being sent home from the Blues pre-season tour and subsequently fined and ordered to attend anger control classes, he has unwittingly found himself playing a role in a murder manhunt.
Less than a week ago in Liverpool, teenager Anthony Walker was murdered by a gang in what police believe was a racially motivated attack. After making an initial arrest, police announced that they wished to speak to two further individuals - one being a Michael Barton, the younger brother of Joey. Police believe he may have fled the country to Europe and after being thrown into the spotlight once again, Joey has made a TV appeal for his brother to give himself upto the police.
In the appeal, Barton called the murder was "horrific" and "senseless", adding those responsible "must be brought to justice".
Hopefully, the appeal by Joey will have some impact and that his younger brother will hand himself over to police so he can help in whatever way he can to bring the killers to justice.
