Bitter and Blue: March 2009

Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Clear out planned

MARK Hughes is ready to wield the axe in a bid to break into the top six next season.

The City boss will radically overhaul his squad, with a number of star signings expected to arrive in the summer.

Up to 16 senior players will be heading out of Eastlands as with the Blues ready to again be one of Europe's major players when the transfer window opens, the club is keen to clear the decks.

Those departures, added to fresh funds provided by ambitious and committed owner Sheikh Mansour, will raise cash and free up wages for the Blues' top transfer targets.

City chief Hughes, who seems sure to keep hold of the managerial reins despite constant rumours to the contrary, has so far had only 24 hours plus the notoriously difficult January transfer window to spend Sheikh Mansour's millions on the men he wants to help the Blues gatecrash the `big four' dominance.

>>MEN.

This following on from yesterday's speculation with regards to potential arrivals, and the sooner normal service is resumed the better as international breaks really do leave you scratching around for news.

No real surprises on the list in the article and all appear surplus to requirements given the expected arrivals for next season. I'd imagine that most of the press focus as to who may be leaving the club over the summer though will focus entirely on a certain Brazilian.

Youth team to feature in international tournament

CITY'S young stars will head out to the United States on Friday morning to record another major milestone for the club's world-renowned Academy in the wake of April's deserved FA Youth Cup triumph.

The Boy Blues have been invited to the prestigious Dallas Tournament in Texas on the strength of that Youth Cup victory over Chelsea and will kick off on Sunday against the cream of the Italian crop from AC Milan.
Jim Cassell's youngsters, who have never before played in what has become one of the world's top youth tournaments, will follow that Group A appetiser with games against Toronto and the leading Mexican club Tigres.
The potential opposition in the semi-finals is no less daunting. Group B is headed by Brazilian holders Sao Paulo and also incudes Eintracht Frankfurt, while Group C boasts River Plate of Argentina and Vancouver Whitecaps.
Academy manager Cassell said: "It's an honour for us to be invited to such a prestigious tournament. The age group is Under-19 but we'll take a younger squad to give them experience. It will help to educate the younger ones about playing against foreign opposition."

>>mcfc.co.uk

The days best City links 03/31/2009

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Monday, March 30, 2009

Hughes questions Zabaleta omission

"I'm surprised, given the season that he has had. He's been outstanding ever since he's come here from Spain. He's also shown his versatility for us, something that I feel is a real asset in a player.
"He's able to adapt to a variety of positions. So sometimes you can change formation without having to make substitutions if you have a player of Zaby's flexibility on the pitch.
"That's a good trait to have, and Pablo is a great help in that respect. His performances levels in midfield this season have been excellent, while his performance at full back goes without saying."

>>mcfc.co.uk

He certainly has had an impressive season, not least because of the demands of playing in multiple positions. As impressive is the face he hasn't suffered a dip in form that the majority of imports to the Premier League experience during their first season in what is a very demanding league.

In the running for player of the season?

Speculation time again

Mark Hughes, the City manager, has identified Ribéry among an ambitious list of potential end-of-season targets that includes John Terry, Thierry Henry and Roque Santa Cruz. Despite his public statements to the contrary, Hughes is also open-minded about letting Robinho leave and one option discussed at length in both Manchester and Abu Dhabi is for City to offer the Brazilian in a player-plus-cash exchange for Terry or Ribéry.

>>guardian.co.uk

Fabio Cannavaro is set to snub a move to Manchester City after insisting he does not want to quit Real Madrid.
The veteran defender is reported to have been targeted by City as they attempt to shore up their defence for next season.
Boss Mark Hughes is considering bringing in an experienced international to play alongside the likes of Micah Richards.

>>mail online

It didn't take long for a brief lull in Premier League action to get the 'City to sign everyone' stories circulating once again.

Given an international free summer though, don't expect it to change anytime soon though.

Petrov nearing a return

Manchester City have been boosted by the news that Martin Petrov is back in training as the season approaches its business end.

The Bulgarian winger has been sidelined for most of the season after sustaining knee ligament damage in a World Cup qualifier back in October.
But City boss Mark Hughes confirmed the 30-year-old is now back in training and is close to a return.

>>skysports.com

It is excellent news that all appears to be going well with Petrov's rehab and he is coming back at what is very crucial time for us, something that was echoed by Mark Hughes:

"You can introduce that energy and enthusiasm those players will have on their return.
"Sometimes in a long, hard season there's a dip, and you'll see that in certain players. If you've got the option just to take them out of the firing line, that's great to have.
"We've got players who are itching to get back into the side and that's going to be a real boost."

Given the importance of our games at present though, it will be difficult to see Petrov getting much first team action solely for the sake of easing him back in - especially so given how long it takes to recover sharpness following an injury of this nature.

Still, he will be a great weapon to have on the bench and could be vital in helping turn a game or two in our favour.

Thursday, March 26, 2009

Short break

I'm away for most of the weekend so things are likely going to be quiet on the blog. If anything newsworthy occurs, feel free to fill up the comments.

Nielsen joins Wrexham on loan

GUNNAR NIELSEN, the Blues' newest goalkeeping recruit, has joined Blue Square Premier League club Wrexham on loan for the rest of the season with the aim of getting regular football under his belt in Wales.
Gunnar, an Under-21 Faroe Islands international, played in Tuesday night's reserve match against his old club Blackburn Rovers, having signed a two-and-a-half year deal for City last month as a free agent.

>>mcfc.co.uk

Richards adds to list of casualties

Micah Richards has become the third City player to withdraw from international duty.
The defender joined up with the England Under 21 squad having sustained a hamstring injury in the latter stages of Sunday's win over Sunderland, but he will now leave Stuart Pearce's squad and returns to City as a precautionary measure, with Villa's Gabriel Agbonlahor doing the same.

>>mcfc.co.uk

As the piece says, he becomes the third player to withdraw from international duty this week (after Vincent Kompany and Valeri Bojinov) and reports suggest Shaun Wright-Phillips may also be doubtful as well.

Although it is nice to see City players line up on the international stage, our own interests are of greater importance and I doubt Mark Hughes is too disappointed. Given the importance of the remaining league fixtures and the tilt at the UEFA Cup, a short break for the majority of the squad could come at precisely the right time.

The days best City links 03/26/2009

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Bojinov ruled out

Manchester City striker Valeri Bojinov is out with a hamstring problem and has gone to Munich for treatment, while Hertha Berlin have refused to release Valeri Domovchiyski for duty on the basis that he was not called up in time under FIFA regulations.

>>irish independent.

Let's hope this is nothing more than a minor injury, likely a natural reaction to playing again after being out for so long.

Ticket offer suspended

BARGAIN-hunting City fans have beaten the credit crunch by snapping up all the initial allocation of £5 and ‘kid of a quid’ tickets for the UEFA Cup tie with Hamburg within eight hours of them going on sale.

Around 15,000 seats were snapped up by non-Seasoncard holders and sales are now temporarily suspended.

>>MEN.

It appears then that the game is set to be a sell-out, given the assumption that most, if not all season ticket holders will snap up tickets.

It does seem as though the club has been caught out a little bit here and has probably underestimated the demand for tickets given they have had to suspend sales to non-season ticket holders. In retrospect it does seem a strange decision not to have put tickets on sale solely to season ticket holders for an initial period and then open it up to all fans.

You do wonder how many fans who have been to the majority of UEFA Cup games this season are now going to miss out on this tie.

The days best City links 03/25/2009

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

YouTube clip

I know there is a ton of these that have done the rounds on YouTube but this one did make me laugh:

Options with Petrov

In discussing the current form of Robinho, Mark Hughes talked about the loss of Martin Petrov this season:

"Robinho's favoured position is on the left-hand side, cutting in, but we could also play him off the front," said Hughes.
"I certainly think you could play them both him and Petrov in the same team.
"If we had the benefit of Martin Petrov all season it would have given me a lot of variation.
"We could have changed things around because he would have given the opposition different problems.
"You want someone who will take people on and get crosses in. On occasions, we have lacked that ability this season."

For me the loss of Martin Petrov has been huge this season, particularly early in the season. Whilst Robinho is a wonderful talent and is a dangerous threat coming in from the left, I do feel that at times he can get isolated from team mates, reducing the effectiveness of his undoubted attacking threat.

With the return of Petrov on the left, this would of course free up the possibility of Robinho in a more central role, a role for me that would make him a far more dangerous prospect - not least because of the added threat and attention that Petrov himself brings.

With Valeri Bojinov firmly on the comeback trail, if we can hopefully get Petrov and Michael Johnson back in the frame, then added to the January signings, the squad is beginning to have that quality in depth and provide the variety of options that will be required if we are to really develop.

The return of Richards

"Micah got the headlines because of the goal, but I thought he played with real determination, getting forward and having a positive effect in the opposition half. He was tiring towards the end because of the amount of energy he has expended in two games during the week.
"Maybe in a few games this season he's lacked a bit of the confidence you would expect, but he's still a young man. We forget sometimes that he's only 20. He's had quite a number of games for somebody so young, but you will have fluctuations in form and that's what has happened to Micah this year.
"There have to be allowances for the fluctuations that all young players have. When they burst onto the scene, they shine brightly, but then there's a point where you need to take them out of the firing line.
"Maybe Micah hasn't had that opportunity because he's such an outstanding player and athlete that it's taken a couple of years for him to have a dip in form and that's a credit to him.
"For a consistent run of many games, he was outstanding but his form this year, along with others, has fluctuated. I haven't been in the position to give him the rest he possibly needs on occasion.
"That's when form is affected, but he's come through it - he's played his way through it and that's important. Now he seems to be coming good again at the business end of the season."

>>Mark Hughes

Inevitably with an international break upon us that the spotlight falls again on Micah Richards after he was overlooked once again by Fabio Capello. Richards himself has been speaking of his ommission from recent squads:

"It does hurt when the England team get together," said Richards. "I played 11 games on the bounce for England and I thought I played well in all those games.
"I was a little unlucky to get an injury at the wrong time and then Wes Brown and Glen Johnson both came in and did a fine job and it has been hard for me to get back in.
"But my confidence is back again. I'm enjoying my football again at right-back and I feel like I'm knocking on the door."

There is no doubt that the move back to the right back position has benefited Richards after really beginning to struggle in the middle, and he is showing some good form of late - although talk of being 'back to his best' is a little overstated. As Mark Hughes stated, it is easy to forget how young Richards is and that dips in form are very much part of the growing pains of a young footballer.

Richards was unfortunate that he was injured when both Wes Brown and Glen Johnson ran into form, but there is an overriding feeling within the game that Fabio Capello simply doesn't rate Richards as being technically good enough at the top level. It is a point open to discussion but there is a definite truth to that view from the games I have seen him play for England. He is a young player though who is still learning the game, and one thing an absence from the England squad will do is sharpen both his attitude and focus, which should benefit ourselves in the process.

Benjani set to return

CITY striker Benjani will step up his return from a long-term leg injury when he lines up for the reserves against Blackburn tonight.

Benjani has made only 10 appearances for the Blues this season and last played in the 2-1 defeat against West Brom on December 21.

Daniel Sturridge, also recovering from injury, will play as will Darius Vassell and Javier Garrido in a strong looking side.

>>MEN.

The days best City links 03/24/2009

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Monday, March 23, 2009

Ticket prices slashed for Hamburg

Manchester City Football Club are delighted to announce fantastic ticket prices for the forthcoming UEFA Cup quarter final second leg against Hamburg on April 16th at the City of Manchester Stadium.

In an amazing one-off sale starting this Wednesday, all adult tickets will be available for five days only at a rate of just £5. After that date, tickets will be available at a remarkably competitive £10 for a further ten days up to and including April 8th, after which admission will double to £20.

All supporters can purchase tickets from Wednesday 25th March, with Seasoncard holders seats being held until Sunday 29th March, after which they will be released.

>>mcfc.co.uk

It is no secret that our attendances for UEFA Cup games this season have been disappointing in comparison to a fairly consistent average in the Premier League.

Although prices have been cut already, the club announced a drastic cut in prices for the quarter-final second leg in a bid to fill the ground as near to capacity as possible.

There has been plenty of theory on why the attendances have been so low in the UEFA Cup, but for me it comes down to three main reasons:

People are unwilling (even with reduced prices) to pay 'extra' for tickets in this competition on top of Premier League games.
All games have been shown live on TV.
The quality of opponents has not been overly glamorous.

Although the game will be shown live, points 1 and 3 have been met by this initiative. The attendance for this game (given our involvement in the tournament has shifted to a new level) was something I was keen to see, but I would be amazed now if the added interest coupled with the low ticket prices resulted in anything other than a near capacity attendance.

Our most fouled player?

Perhaps a fairly obvious answer, but any surprises at who it is?

Hughes on Hart's future

"Joe is going to be England's outstanding goalkeeper for the next 10 or 15 years.

"But it is right that we have been able to take him out of the fire, allow him to step back and see where he is.

"It is different with outfield players, because you can keep taking them out and putting them back in again. You can't do that with a goalkeeper, and there are too many examples of young lads who have ended up burnt and scarred and never recovered."

>>MEN.

One of the factors in which I argued against the signing of Shay Given was the point Hughes made in the last paragraph - that essentially you cannot have two number 1 goalkeepers in a squad because, unlike outfield players, squad rotation and resting players is simply not required in the way it is for outfield players.

I must admit to having to accept though that Given's arrival has been a resounding success. He has made a number of key saves for us, and although Richard Dunne and Nedum Onouha have forged an impressive partnership, credit surely must be given (no pun intended) to Shay Given who has more than played his part in our recent impressive defensive performances - conceding just ten goals in eleven games so far since his arrival from Newcastle.

As for Joe Hart, his ability is not in question but I think Given's experience and maturity has brought a degree of stability to the position that was not there when Hart was in goal. That is not to say Hart is finished at the club, and I do feel that if he is patient enough, he will eventually win back the number 1 spot.

Next season though is a big one given it will be the season leading up to the World Cup. My own preference, and no doubt Hart's, would be for him to go out on loan for the season to keep him playing at the top level and also put him firmly in the frame for a World Cup berth.

If Hughes sanctioned a loan, I think it is clear that a Premier League side would snap him up - a move that would benefit all parties concerned in both the short and long term.

The days best City links 03/23/2009

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Sunday, March 22, 2009

Hughes on Sunderland victory

From skysports.com:

"We had chances to win more comprehensively but towards the end we got a little bit nervous only because we obviously had a really hard game on Thursday.
"Some of the guys were cramping up so we needed to make changes. Sunderland were always going to throw balls into our box and hope something would drop for them.
"Overall we're delighted with the win. That's six home wins on the bounce so we're delighted after a good result in terms of getting into the next round in Europe and then a win against a spirited Sunderland side."

News on Hamburg

Hamburg claimed a crucial 2-1 victory at Schalke to move to within a point of Bundesliga leaders Hertha Berlin.

There were no goals in the first half but the game exploded into life with 20 minutes to go, Paolo Guerrero making the initial breakthrough.
Guerrero made it 2-0 in the 75th minute but Jefferson Farfan reduced Schalke's arrears five minutes later to set up a nervous finale.

>>skysports.com

Partnerships

With figures courtesy of the vast resource that is mcfcstats.co.uk, I've taken a look at the various defensive partnerships that have featured for us over the season so far, covering both league and the various cup games we have played. It does make for some interesting reading and certainly throws up some trends and useful pointers.

I've broken it down to show games played (and further to won, drawn and lost) but also, and perhaps more importantly for a defensive partnership, the goals against average (GAA):

Dunne/Richards : P14 W6 D2 L6 GA17 GAA 1.21
Dunne/Onouha : P11 W5 D3 L3 GA 11 GAA 1.00
Ben-Haim/Dunne : P8 W2 D3 L3 GA 9 GAA 1.13
Ben-Haim/Richards : P7 W3 D0 L4 GA 13 GAA 1.86
Onouha/Kompany : P4 W2D0 L2 GA4 GAA 1.00
Kompany/Dunne : P2 W1 D0 L1 GA 1 GAA 0.5

The move of Vincent Kompany into defence was a relatively short lived one, and the results appear to be positive during his spell in defence, but it always felt the move was one borne out of necessity and he is proving valuable indeed in midfield.

It is interesting given the criticism that the Dunne/Richards partnership received earlier in the season that I expected their stats to be far higher, but of those partnerships that have featured significantly, it is unsurprising that the current Dunne/Onouha pairing has been the most succesful both in terms of results but also the number of goals conceded (now at a round goal per game following the 1-0 victory over Sunderland earlier today).

How much of that is down to the arrival of Shay Given is open to debate (and I'll have more on this shortly), but undoubtedly his greater experience at the very least has meant the goalkeeping position has been a far more settled on of late.

What I think is the key component in the Dunne/Onouha axis though is that in Nedum Onouha, we have a 'footballing defender' (something I've always felt he is more so than Richards is) alongside the more 'basic' elements of Richard Dunne. Although slightly skewed by the start of last seasons performances, in the end was the Dunne/Richards pairing undone by the fact that they are just too similar?

Now, and arguably for the first time since Sylvan Distin left for Portsmouth, we have a settled pairing that do complement each other. How fantastic is it to also see Nedum Onouha finally put a sustained run of fitness and form together to begin to show just exactly the type of player that most of us have thought since he first emerged.

With the stats to back their pairing up, I would think it is safe to assume that amidst a season of change in the position, Richard Dunne and Nedum Onouha look as though they are set to provide a long term answer.

The race for seventh

A win today was vital in our bid to finish the season in seventh position and guarantee European football for next season.

In my original post on this, I calculated that 53 points should be enough to ensure a seventh place finish. The table (including todays games) is as follows with all sides having eight games remaining:

Wigan 41 points
West Ham 41 points
Fulham 40 points
City 38 points
Tottenham 38 points

The 53 point threshold means that we still need to gain 15 points from our remaining fixtures - and with 4 winnable home games this is possible, but we are looking at the necessity of wining one of our difficult away games.

It is getting bunched with five teams realistically playing for that final European place and there all sides are showing form in recent weeks. What effect continued involvement in the UEFA Cup may have (particularly if we get to the semi-finals and have a real shot at winning it) is unknown but could feasibly hurt our chances.

Something definitely worth watching though.

City 1 Sunderland 0

[men report, sky sports minute by minute report, setanta match report]

A win that was expected, and although not as comfortable as was thought prior to the game, it is another three points nonetheless, maintaining our impressive home record this season and providing some further evidence that we can 'grit out' victories - after a European week and against ten men no less.

As I hoped, Bojinov continued his recovery and managed over an hour on his first start and given more important days ahead, the appearance of Craig Bellamy as a substitute was also a welcome one. It was a surprise to see Garrido not automatically replace Wayne Bridge, and I get the impression that Mark Hughes may have ducked a far trickier decision as to who to leave out from the side.

Disappointing to see Micah Richard's forced off with a hamstring injury, but not before scoring the goal - his first for some time - that won the points. We are far less threatening from set pieces than the makority of sides so it was pleasing to score one via this route. The game of course could have been far more conclusive and there were opportunities wasted (most notably the Robinho penalty miss - why didn't Elano take it?) that could have altered the scoreline if not the ultimate outcome.

Sterner tests undoubtedly lie ahead for us, but heading into the international break we are fairly well set for a big end of season push both domestically and in Europe. I'm sure there will be many fingers crossed that we see a full complement of healthy players return following the international break.

Clear out

"In fairness there have been a few signings in the 18 months before I came to City where in-depth background checks weren't carried out," Hughes told the Daily Star.
"In the circumstances the club felt that they needed a big influx of players in a short period of time.
"We're now looking for an optimum number of top-quality players to carry us through a long, hard season. So we will look at the numbers.
"Some players will look at their own situation and feel that they won't get that many opportunities in the future.
"They might feel it's in their best interests to move on. I would imagine there are situations where I probably agree with them. It's all about making sure the club is stronger."

>>skysports.com

I think it is fair to say which players Hughes is referring to (and the full articel provides a handy list) given the players from previous regimes (ie, Sven) who have largely been jettisoned this season - certainly so over the second half.

It's by far from being conclusive - and there is no real word from ownership on the subject, but there is certainly no signs that Hughes is thinking of anything other than him being in charge for the long term.

Sunderland open thread

Fill up the comments...

Hughes to be offered new contract?

Amidst the preview of today's game from telegraph.co.uk was this interesting bit:

Mark Hughes's future as manager of Manchester City remains a hot topic and sources close to the club suggest there may be a twist to the saga – the offer of a new contract.

The Welshman, who has two years of his current deal to run, has been encouraged by feedback from the club's owners and is ready to make a long-term commitment.

Hughes said: ''I have heard about the possibility of a new contract and hope the owners come in to open talks. Right now, I have no doubt I will be given the opportunity to take the club forward."

This really would add something to the debate about whether or not Hughes is the right man for the job, would it not?

Sunderland preview

In my contribution to The Observer's preview of today's game, I focused very much on the race for seventh place. Yet, with yesterday's results at the bottom end of the table, the threat of relegation has once again been raised in certain quarters.

It is not a threat I subscribe to though given our impressive home return this season, and the sheer number of teams between ourselves and the bottom three who, simply put, are not collectively good enough to put enough results together to see us fall into trouble.

A win today though (in a game which we are clear favourites) would see us again move up the table and be just a win off West Ham in seventh - a distinct possibility if we can just resolve our away woes.

Team wise (from BBC Sport) is as follows:

Stephen Ireland and Wayne Bridge picked up ankle and hamstring injuries respectively in Manchester City's Uefa Cup win over Aalborg and are doubts.
Vincent Kompany, faces a late fitness test on his toe injury but striker Craig Bellamy (knee) may feature.
Sunderland defenders Anton Ferdinand and Nyron Nosworthy are available after recovering from hamstring injuries.
Tal Ben Haim is unavailable under the terms of his loan agreement with City while Kieran Richardson is suspended.

It is of course a bonus that Nigel de Jong will return, and I would like to see Valeri Bojinov given a start today. Wayne Bridge has improved since he joined the club but I think Garrido is a serviceable replacement. Stephen Ireland's absence would be a huge blow though, but if he does miss out it is hoped that others (notably Robinho and Elano) really step up to replace both the style and industry he has brought this season.

Sunderland are not out of relegation trouble and know a win today would help their cause greatly. They do not have a great record against us in recent years and their away record is patchy this season. One area we have been consistent in this season is beating those sides at home that we really ought to be doing.

This isn't something I really see changing today and I would expect us to take all three points, likely with a 2-0 victory.

The days best City links 03/22/2009

Hughes wants UEFA Cup glory - Manchester City - Football - Sport - Manchester Evening News
tags: City

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Saturday, March 21, 2009

Danish pair on trial

Manchester City have handed trials to 16-year-old duo Marco Larsen and Mads Pedersen.

The FC Midtjylland youngsters are believed to have caught the attention of City's scouts whilst representing the Denmark U16 national team in matches against Republic of Ireland, Portugal and Spain.
City have since requested permission to run the rule over the promising teenagers at their Platt Lane academy, as the club seek to continue their fine record in youth development.

>>skysports.com

Hughes on Ireland

From the mail online:

'I think he is an example to every one of the players in the squad.
'He made a decision at the end of last season that he wasn't happy with the way his career was going. He made a conscious effort to do something about it.
'Because of the work that he has done and the work some of the coaches have put in, it has enabled him to become a better player. Everyone can learn from his example.'

There is no doubt that Ireland is very much a firm favourite of Hughes, and deservedly so. At this stage of the season he looks to be sure bet for our player of the year.

Amazing to think that he was so close to being offloaded on the eve of the season.

The days best City links 03/21/2009

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Friday, March 20, 2009

Thoughts on Hamburg

Since the draw was made yesterday, concensus opinion has been that drawing Hamburg was as bad a draw as we could have been handed, eroding some of the 'name on the cup' feeling that eminated in the aftermath of the penalty shoot-out.

I'm not so sure though. Whilst Hamburg are undoubted a tough proposition, there were worse draws out there. My knowledge of the Bundesliga is not great, with my information generally being garnered from Rafael Honigstein's updates on the Football Weekly podcast.

Having listened to it over the course season, it seems there is a general feeling that Hamburg have perhaps overachieved during this campaign. They currently lie in fourth place in what is a very tight and competitive Bundesliga - all of this after losing Rafael van der Vaart and Vincent Kompany in the summer, and then Nigel de Jong in January. From Honigstein's comments in a recent episode, it is felt they could be running out of steam at the wrong team, or from our own perspective, at exactly the right time.

Their home record is impressive though on all levels, in contrast to an average away record (although better than our domestic one) and I do feel that whilst playing away first is to our advantage, the first leg match in Hamburg will likely determine the outcome of this tie.

The race for seventh

Although we had a setback at Chelsea last week, we did not lose much ground in the race for seventh given that West Ham only managed a draw at home to West Brom. However, Wigan and Fulham moved ahead of us and Tottenham are now on our tails.

If 53 points is the magic number, we need to achieve 18 points from now nine games, whilst West Ham (the side in possession) require only 13 points to secure seventh spot based on the calculations from my original post on this topic.

A win at home to Sunderland on Sunday would do wonders for our hopes of achieving this, especially as though West Ham have a tricky looking fixture away to Blackburn at Ewood Park.

Bojinov called up to Bulgaria squad

Manchester City striker Valeri Bojinov has been recalled to the Bulgaria squad for their World Cup qualifiers with Republic of Ireland and Cyrpus.

>>skysports.com

Of course it is great to see him back and this is a big reward for all of his dedication and persistence in returning to action.

It is a danger though (as we saw with Martin Petrov) with players going off for international duty, likely playing ninety-minutes, when we are bringing them back slowly into action and given his history there is a real worry that he could break down.

Looking at the UEFA draw that was made earlier today, what is seeming an stranger decision by the game is quite why he was ommitted from our UEFA squad.

Draw

Quarter finals:

Hamburg v Manchester City
Paris St Germain v Dynamo Kiev
Shakhtar Donetsk v Marseille
Werder Bremen v Udinese

Ties to be played on 9 April & 16 April

Semi-finals:

Werder Bremen/Udinese v Hamburg/Manchester City
Paris St Germain/Dynamo Kiev v Shakhtar Donetsk/Marseille

Ties to be played on 30 April & 7 May

The definite plus point with both fixtures is that we are away from home first in both which I think suits us much better.

Thoughts?

Thursday, March 19, 2009

The last eight

Following tonight's results, the quarter-finalists in this seasons UEFA Cup are now known. They are as follows:

Dynamo Kiev
PSG
Manchester City
Hamburg
Marseille
Udinese
Shaktar Donetsk
Werder Bremen

On the evidence of tonight, all remaining sides look as though they could cause us problems, but are any that dangerous you would want to avoid them at all costs?

Aalborg 2 City 0 (aggregate 2-2, aet). City win 4-3 on penalties

There aren't many positives that you can take from this evening except that we are in the draw for the quarter finals (held Friday lunchtime).

It was disappointing to even get to the stage where we relying on penalties though after doing the hard work both last week to gain the two goal advantage, and of course for eighty-five minutes tonight where we played out a dour game to put more than one foot in the quarter-finals.

We have had a penchance this season for conceding silly goals in Europe, and once again this was the case this evening where we allowed Aalborg back into the game with five minutes remaining, a goal which gave them the impetus to throw everything forward and they were rewarded when Ched Evans was penalised and the game was taken to extra time.

Despite the introduction of Elano for the extra thirty minutes, we didn't create anything of note, and Aalborg in truth looked the likelier to snatch a goal, but inevitably (as with all extra-times it seems) the last ten minutes were played almost at walking pace as both sides settled for the penalty shoot out.

Prior to Shay Given making his first save, I thought to myself that he didn't cut an imposing figure in goal for the shoot out, but his save put us ahead and credit to the penalty takers who hit some decent spot kicks and we now take our place in the final eight.

Clearly we have to improve on tonight's performance to have any chance of further progression, but whilst our away form in the league has been patchy, on our travels in Europe we have posted a decent record this season. By the time of the quarter finals we should also welcome back on or two of our injured players so the hope is that we are in better shape by then.

A definite warning tonight though, and hopefully one that hits home as we bid to get past the quarter final stage which has dogged us in recent times.

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

The days best City links 03/17/2009

Virgin Media Sport | Football | Premier League | Video Index
Highlights from Sunday's game.
tags: City

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Monday, March 16, 2009

Schmeichel loan turned down

According to reports:

The Denmark Under-21 international is thought to be eager to get some first-team action under his belt before the end of the season but with just one substitute appearance in the Premier League that is unlikely to happen at City.
Despite his lack of football this season the club appear to be reluctant to let him leave, even if any deal was only on a temporary loan basis.
"Of course it is disappointing. But I can't say more," Schmeichel told Ekstra Bladet.

Pardew's Partridge moment on MoTD2

I know many words and phrases (rightly or wrongly) fall into footballing (and the wider sporting)lexicon, but perhaps airing it on a national platform such as MoTD2 wasn't one of Alan Pardew's greatest ever moves.

For all the hammering the BBC has took in recent times, I'm sure it isn't the last we have heard on this.

Don't expect to see Pardew back on air any time soon.

Sky Sports - Days of our lives

Just a quick post to publicise that Sky Sports 'Days of our lives' series features the City trio of Mike Summerbee, Francis Lee and Tommy Booth, tonight on Sky Sports 1, 10pm.

The days best City links 03/16/2009

Dominic Fifield assesses Robinho's contribution at Stamford Bridge as the £32m Brazilian fails to show his worth | Sport | guardian.co.uk
tags: City

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Sunday, March 15, 2009

Chelsea 1 City 0

[guardian.co.uk report, MEN report, telegraph.co.uk report]

The omens for today weren't good, and there was a sense of inevitability once Chelsea went ahead today and unfortunately, if anything it was Chelsea who were the likely of the two sides to score again.

I thought that with Kompany and de Jong out, relying on a more attacking midfield may have worked in our favour in that rather than sitting back we would take the game more to our hosts. That did not work however as the trio of Lampard, Ballack and the returning Essien stifled our attempts at creativity and were impressive themselves going forward.

Inevitably with another away defeat, and another fairly drab performance the critics would be out but it is easy to forget we were up against a very good side, who, despite the advances we have made this season, are still some way ahead of us.

Mark Hughes felt that we paid the price for Thursday's exertions and it is no doubt difficult to maintain a challenge on both fronts:

"I think that our efforts on Thursday took a little bit of sharpness out of us that we needed today. Against a side like Chelsea you have to be dynamic and have a physical presence to drive the game.
"We did not have that in our play today, and our absentees would have helped in that respect. Maybe we were just a little lightweight in key areas, and as a consequence once we went behind we found it difficult to get behind Chelsea and cause them problems in the attacking third of the pitch.
"There's the disappointment of conceding a goal like we did, but we kept going. There was not a great deal of tempo to the game, it was slow and methodical and that suited Chelsea rather than us. We were always trying to get back into the game."

This is not to duck the issue of our poor form though and the disparity in our home and away form appears no nearer to being resolved. This is though in contrast to our performances (Racing Santander excepted) in the UEFA Cup, where we have generally impressed - albeit against sides who would not be among the Premier League elite.

The race for seventh probably looks beyond us (despite our home form) if West Ham triumph tomorrow evening so given the opportunity we have in the UEFA Cup, perhaps our focus needs to be very much on the one competition we can still achieve success in this season.

The days best City links 03/15/2009

‘No regrets’ on Wright-Phillips’ return - Premier League, Football - The Independent
tags: City

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Saturday, March 14, 2009

Chelsea preview and open thread

On the face of it, this game is not set up well for us.

Woeful on the road against a side who are generally impenitrable at Stamford Bridge, and who have been buoyed by the arrival of Guus Hiddink as they look to finish the season with some silverware.

Injury wise, we will be without the important midfield duo of Vincent Kompany and Nigel de Jong (along with Craig Bellamy), but given the lack of defensive options in midfield, this will see Mark Hughes adopt the same likely line-up as in midweek against Aalborg.

Both Chelsea and ourselves are amongst the top scorers in the league so far, and as Shaun Wright-Phillips states, we have been playing some excellent counter attacking and creative football in the past few games.

If anything therefore, by being forced to commit more in attack this could be where we can snatch an unlikely victory. It will be difficult however, but if we are to claw back some ground in the race for seventh (West Ham face West Brom on Monday) we do need to take something from at least one of our difficult looking away fixtures.

Game notes

Chelsea have won seven of eight against (including Robinho's debut earlier this season)
Chelsea have kept 15 clean sheets in 23 games against us
We have managed only one win and one clean sheet on our travels this season

Stephen Ireland interview

An excellent and frank interview with Stephen Ireland in today's Mail. Most of the areas covered are old ground, but there was one interesting part which lifts a lid on quite how bad things were at the tail end of the season:

May 11, 2008, on the A1 between Middlesbrough and Manchester. He is in his girlfriend’s car. 'It was the last day of the season and we had lost 8-1 at Boro,’ he remembers. 'I didn’t get the team bus. I got Jessica to drive me home and I thought to myself: "This can’t carry on. My career and my reputation are not right."
'After that game we didn’t even get a b******ing. I was so depressed at seeing that people didn’t really care. People were laughing. It was the worst moment of all for me.

Harsh to pin all of that on Sven of course given the way his authority and position were undermined, no, destroyed by the antics of Thaksin during the latter stages of 2007/08.

Perhaps though, it does suggest that the job Hughes took on was far more difficult than most people give credit for.

Thursday, March 12, 2009

City 2 Aalborg 0

[guardian minute by minute report, timesonline report, MEN report]

A very comfortable evening overall, which would have been even more so had we managed to press home the two goal advanatage we held at the half.

Much more had been anticipated from an Aalborg side unbeaten in seventeen games but on the evidence of this game, it is difficult to see quite how they despatched Deportivo so convincingly in the last round, or even their bright showing at times in the Champions League group stage.

An early goal was crucial and Felipe Caicedo provided that with a smart first touch and neat turn to slot home to put us ahead within the first ten minutes. The goal did seem to spark Aalborg somewhat and they put a nice spell together and served notice with a couple of close calls on our goal. It was excellent timing then when Wright-Phillips added the second - a nice strike following a good run from the half way line.

With the absence of Kompany and de Jong, a lot rested on Pablo Zabaleta's shoulders and I thought he played an important role as the 'spoiler', allowing the more creative types to play to their strengths. Robinho in particular during the first half was afforded plenty of space and used this effectively to create a number of opportunities and we really did play some lovely football, some of the movement a real joy to watch.

We did appear to be a touch cautious in the second half, perhaps understandably so as we would have been wary of conceding what at that stage would have been a crucial away goal for Aalborg, and the latter stages of the game were not without a scare or two. Taking a 2-0 scoreline to Denmark next week does also leave an element of doubt in the tie and make the first half hour of the second leg crucial indeed.

I did predict beforehand though that a 2-0 scoreline would be something we would be happy to take with us into the second leg and given the space that will be available as Aalborg have to attack, it would have to be a very disappointing evening next Wednesday should we fail to progress from this position of strength.

Villa talks held

VALENCIA vice-president Fernando Gomez has confirmed they have held talks with Manchester City regarding the possible transfer of star striker David Villa.

The Spanish club are in deep financial trouble and admitted for the first time last week that they may need to cash in on some of their prized assets in a bid to ease their problems.

Spain international Villa, who is arguably the club's most valuable player, penned a six-year contract with Valencia only last August, tying the 27-year-old to Los Che until 2014, but it now seems the Primera Liga outfit are resigning themselves to him leaving.

>>MEN.

This could be very interesting.

It is no surprise that Valencia are in dire financial straits, and the likelihood is their biggest creditors are likely to insist on a fire-sale to recoup money that is owed.

Previously though, Villa has not indicated any desire to head to the Premier League and it is likely his preference would be for a move to either Real Madrid or Barcelona.

However, our financial muscle would allow to (considerably) outbid either of those clubs and it was suggested by Sid Lowe on the Football Weekly podcast that it wasn't inconceivable that Valencia could even go out of business.

Which, if a move comes solely down to money, we are very much in the box seat.

Culture change

Only 14 words long, the sentence spoke volumes. Hughes's pronouncement highlighted the need for everyone within Eastlands to pursue excellence through unstinting endeavour, a point that Robinho and Craig Bellamy have also made, while emphasising the reality that success rarely arrives overnight.

"It's been too long,'' said Hughes of City's 33-year wait for major honours. "For the amount of time they've been in the top tier of football they should have won more trophies. We are trying to change the mentality of everyone here and that takes time. But we are starting that process and will be helped if we can progress in trophies like the Uefa Cup. We're in good shape. That first trophy is important to everybody.

>>telegraph.co.uk

Jack posted on this topic in length yesterday, and I do feel it is an important topic and gets to the very heart of what Hughes has been attempting to achieve this season.

When ADUG took control over the club last summer, there was a lot of talk and expectation in terms of Champions League qualification. That clearly has not materialised, and in truth, was never likely to this season.

However, ahead of today's first leg tie at home to Aalborg there is a growing realisation that the UEFA Cup is a trophy we can genuinely land. Although league form has precluded us from the promised lands of the Champions League, in terms of our development (and to erase past failures).

It cannot be understimated quite what us winning a trophy after such a barren spell would signify in terms of our intentions for future achievement, almost laying down a marker - and far more so than a top four finish would do.

To me, that's why the opportunity we have in front of us in the UEFA Cup this season cannot be passed by.

The days best City links 03/12/2009

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Aalborg preview and open thread

We return to UEFA action tomorrow, with the competition stepping up a gear with a quarter-final place at stake.

A Danish side once again stand in our way, not for the first time of course this season, and each time the quality of opposition has been higher than previously faced. I would expect the same to occur from an Aalborg side who despatched Deportivo comfortably in the last round, and showed glimpses of promise in this seasons Champions League group stages.

Despite showing some maturity in this competition (particularly so in the last round win over FC Copenhagen), I'm not convinced a home tie in the first leg suits us, but if we can replicate the home form we have shown over the course of the season so far (both in the league and UEFA Cup) then we could put ourselves in a really good position for the second leg.

A note of caution should be exercised though given that once again, we will be light up front with Craig Bellamy definitely missing out (along with Nigel de Jong), although Robinho is set to return. It will be a big blow of course if Vincent Kompany is ruled out and would leave the central midfield area looking weaker than usual.

The competition this season does not appear to have caught the imagination so far, but as we head to the final stretch of the league campaign it is only serving to heighten the prospect of success in the UEFA Cup.

Defensively it will obviously be important to avoid an away goal, but this is an area we have been impressive in of late but cannot afford to concede goals in the manner we have done in Europe on occasion. Similarly to the Villa game, Shaun Wright-Phillips will be key and a positive of his rcent domestic ban is that it may just have freshened him up at the right time (as it appears to be the case with Richard Dunne).

A big game then and any win is of crucial to take with us to Denmark next week, but if we could come away with a 2-0 win tomorrow evening I'm sure that is something Mark Hughes would settle for.

Odds

I stumbled across some odds the other evening which stated we were only 3/1 to win the UEFA Cup this season.

I appreciate that the odds in European competition will always be skewed as far as British clubs are concerned but they do seem to be very low considering we are only at the last sixteen stage.

There has been growing talk though of achieving things in this years competition, and whereas in some competitions in recent years (think our recent FA Cup quarter final appearances) there was more of a hope of winning the competition, this is a competition I genuinely believe we can win, and more importantly, should win.

The last round saw some of the more difficult potential opponents (namely Milan) knocked out, and a glance at the last sixteen also shows that there are some fixtures that will definitely eliminate some tricky looking sides (Ajax v Marseille, CSKA v Shakhtar and Galatasary v Hamburg) so I do think it is right that expectation is growing.

Are we justified favourites though?

Sunday, March 08, 2009

The race for seventh

Following the win over Aston Villa, Mark Hughes proclaimed that a seventh placed finish was very much on his agenda:

"Seventh has to be realistic for us and we will work to that end," Hughes said. "We have targets. We are still in the Uefa Cup and we have high hopes of progressing further. But our bread and butter is the Premier League and I would like to think we can achieve something in it this season."

With United recently winning the Carling Cup, and the final four of the FA Cup featuring United, Chelsea, Arsenal (more than likely) and Everton, this will ensure that a seventh placed finish will gain automatic entry into next seasons Europa League.

The last five seasons have seen the following points totals secure seventh spot:

2007/08 - 58 points
2006/07 - 56 points
2005/06 - 58 points
2004/05 - 55 points
2003/04 - 53 points

West Ham are in possession right now with 39 points from 28 games, an average of 1.39 points per game. This suggests that this average over the final ten games will project a seventh place finish of 53 points, lower than any year since 2003/04 (and lower than our own tally of 55 points from last season of course).

With ourselves sitting on 35 points at present, this therefore means we will need a minimum of 18 points (or 6 wins) from our final 10 matches, a task not impossible given our home form of late, but will be difficult given our away form - particularly looking at our remaining fixtures.

Seventh place is definitely attainable, but clearly more consistency needs to be shown over the final quarter of the season and you do wonder what effect a continued run in the UEFA Cup will have on our league form. There are a number of teams bunched together with designs on seventh place, but realistically it does look to be between ourselves and West Ham.

It will be interesting to see if the projected target of 53 points will be enough, and is something that I'll definitely revisit as the season progresses.

The days best City links 03/08/2009

City Youth 1 Norwich Youth 0 - Manchester City - Football - Sport - Manchester Evening News
tags: City

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Saturday, March 07, 2009

Club end Thailand association

Manchester City have closed their Thailand operations following former owner and ex-prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra's sale of the club, ending City's ambitious plan to become "Asia's Premier League team". Jimmy Heosontaty, City's former representative in Thailand, said a plan for an academy had been abandoned and the club's merchandise shop, launched to great fanfare last year, had closed due to a lack of interest.
"We saw no point in carrying on after the [Shinawatra] family sold their share," said Heosontaty today. "City still have fans here, but there's not a lot of interest any more."

>>guardian.co.uk

The club recently announced the addition of a 'Brand and Marketing manager', with the intention of really driving forward the clubs profile around the world.

I don't think Thailand would have been the most lucrative market as it was, but without the link to or involvement with Thaksin, even more so.

The days best City links 03/07/2009

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Friday, March 06, 2009

The days best City links 03/06/2009

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Thursday, March 05, 2009

City 2 Aston Villa 0

[telegraph.co.uk, guardian.co.uk report, MEN report]

A very good win. Let's not forget that despite stuttering of late, Villa's record is very impressive - their away form even more so. Mark Hughes was particularly impressed, labelling it a 'complete performance':

“It was a well deserved victory and I thought we were excellent especially in the first half when some of our play was outstanding,” declared the Blues boss.

“We created lots of chances thanks to the fluidity of our movement and our passing. It was there for all to see and we could have been out of sight by half time.

“The team hunted in packs and followed the game plan and that’s what I want to see more of but I was really proud of them last night and proud of the fans too who lifted us when we got tired towards the end.

“We were dangerous going forward and tight at the back and that is a great combination. The second goal was a reward for the team and the fans. We had some superb interplay and a really good tempo to our play.”

We had plenty of doubts heading into this game with the forward line depleted, and this was exacerbated with Nigel de Jong's injury, but this was perhaps further evidence that we are maturing as a side in the respect that we are able to close games out - which previously in the season we were unable to do.

It was of course our fifth successive home win, and despite setbacks that we have encountered, we are making undeniable progress. Other positives from a playing side were Shaun Wright-Phillips getting on the scoresheet, Gelson Fernandes getting a half under his belt after a long absence and Valeri Bojinov continuing his recovery from injury.

As good as the win was itself, with West Ham winning at Wigan the three points were also vital for our quest for seventh position and we remain four points off that but move up a couple of places in the standings.

The big question with ten games remaining is can we transfer some of the progress we are making into our away form.

The days best City links 03/05/2009

Football: Mark Hughes's decision to ship out Jo to rivals Everton could carry a high cost for injury-hit Manchester City, says Paul Doyle | Sport | guardian.co.uk
tags: City

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Wednesday, March 04, 2009

Aston Villa open thread

Fill up the comments...

Club announce further appointments

From mcfc.co.uk:

Following last week’s meeting of the Board, Manchester City Football Club is pleased to announce three new appointments to its Executive Leadership Team:
Graham Wallace, Chief Financial & Administration Officer
Responsible for leading and managing all Club financial matters in addition to overseeing the Information Technology, Human Resources, Legal and Administration functions. He joins the Club from IMG, where he is Senior Vice President of Finance for IMG’s worldwide Sports Media and Entertainment businesses.
David Pullan, Brand and Marketing Officer
Responsible for growing the Club’s supporter base. He joins the Club from Aegis Media, where he was President of Isobar Global Client Management.
Brian Marwood, Football Administration Officer
Responsible for supporting the Football Manager by building world-leading football infrastructure which will meet Mark Hughes’ requirements in terms of academy liaison, overseeing of medical, sports sciences and performance analysis, talent identification and player support.

The two positions of most interest are the 'Brand and Marketing Officer' and 'Football Administration Officer'. Clearly the club are really aiming big in terms of developing worldwide exposure and untapped potential overseas and this appointment seems a clear acknowledgement of that.

Perhaps more applicable to on-field matters is the appointment of Marwood, and it is interesting to see his role and responsibilities. It does not, on the face of it at least, appear that he is arriving as a technical director or at a position 'in charge' of Mark Hughes, more working alongside (or even for) him. It seems a strange role job description though, covering a multitude of roles that appear to function perfectly adequately at present.

Marwood appears to very much be a 'Cook man', so does his appointment then suggest further evidence of Hughes's position being secure for the long term?

Tuesday, March 03, 2009

City v Aston Villa preview

[MEN preview, setanta preview, avfc.co.uk preview, tldorc preview]

A meeting tomorrow evening between two sides who are desperate for the points to sustain bids for the European positions - Villa's of course having far loftier ambitions than our own at present.

Mark Hughes feels that the pressure of occupying fourth place, with the accompanying expectations are beginning to tell on our opponents, and there is a certain degree of truth to that. Villa have stuttered in recent matches and have thrown away a couple of excellent opportunities of late to put a huge distance between themselves and Arsenal.

There are signs that Villa are tiring after a season that began in the Intertoto qualifiers, and their surrender in the last round of the UEFA Cup is evidence that Martin O'Neill is aware of this. To be fair to O'Neill though (and this is something he has acknowledged) is that this is arguably as good a chance as Villa could get to secure Champions League qualification and if there are sacrifices that have to be made then it is something he is willing to do.

I am intrigued to see Villa tomorrow. Whilst Villa have impressed this season from what little I have seen, I do think they over achieved though. By that I do mean it as a compliment, as I think that (like he did at Celtic) although they have talent in the side O'Neill has implemented a system that really does get the maximum out of his side - perhaps the sum being greater than its parts.

Villa have of course been held up as an example of the 'build slowly' approach that many think we should (or indeed are) adopt, pointing to the length of time O'Neill has been in charge as a reason to give Hughes time to develop 'his' squad, playing 'his' football.

Team wise, Emile Heskey will likely be absent tomorrow evening for the opposition, whilst we ourselves are hit by injuries in attack with both Craig Bellamy and Robinho ruled out leaving a suddenly light looking attacking threat. Valeri Bojinov of course returned on Sunday at West Ham but it is unrealistic to expect him to have an impact over the full ninety minutes just yet - although other options are not particularly appealing.

Defensively we have looked far more solid of late, with the addition of Shay Given solidifying the defence and Richard Dunne benefiting from his spell on the sidelines to come back fresh into the line-up. Our fortunes however will depend largely on the duo of Shaun Wright-Phillips and Stephen Ireland. Both players form has been patchy of late if truth be told and they need to step up over the next month or so to compensate for the loss of other key players.

Both sides will fancy the win I imagine, but I see a frustrating evening for both sides, with the spoils being shared in a 1-1 draw.

Bellamy blow

CITY striker Craig Bellamy is set for at least three weeks on the sidelines with a knee injury sustained against West Ham.

Welsh international striker Bellamy, who has been in a rich vein of scoring form since his January move to Eastlands, has suffered a new knee injury - not a recurrence of an old problem - but is having more scans.

>>MEN.

A definite blow given the very impressive start he has made to his City career.

With Robinho likely ruled out for the Villa game it does leave us very light up front. Despite his return on Sunday though, you hope that sense prevails and that Valeri Bojinov is not rushed back into the starting line up ahead of schedule.

Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Monday, March 30, 2009

Thursday, March 26, 2009

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Monday, March 23, 2009

Sunday, March 22, 2009

Saturday, March 21, 2009

Friday, March 20, 2009

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Monday, March 16, 2009

Sunday, March 15, 2009

Saturday, March 14, 2009

Thursday, March 12, 2009

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Sunday, March 08, 2009

Saturday, March 07, 2009

Friday, March 06, 2009

Thursday, March 05, 2009

Wednesday, March 04, 2009

Tuesday, March 03, 2009

about me

A successful transfer window?

Have we seen the last of Robinho?

subscribe to bitter and blue

search

Bitter and Blue fantasy league code

payday loans

add this

donate to bitter and blue

twitter

twitter

city blogs

football betting

city links

websites of interest

top refering links from the past 30 days

archive

other sites

feedjit live traffic feed