Deadline day round up - it's a Given

Manchester City FC are delighted to announce the signing of
Shay Given from Newcastle United for an undisclosed fee.
The 32-year-old
goalkeeper has put pen to paper on a four-and-a-half year contract, and he moves
back to the north-west where he started his Premier League career with Blackburn
Rovers in 1994.

>>mcfc.co.uk

I know this one went through yesterday evening but I was struggling to get anything posted up last night.

Not a surprise given he arrived for his medical yesterday morning and Hughes gets the goalkeeper that he wanted to bring in:

"I have said for a long time that we need the
experience of a keeper like Shay. I am delighted that we have been able to
acquire such an accomplished keeper, and one is so highly regarded by everyone
in the Premier League.
"We are getting a very good keeper, and the
experience he has will help the two outstanding young keepers that we have here
in Joe and Kasper. I am looking for them all to grow as a group, and it's
important that we have that influence of a senior keeper."

Given himself was enthusing about the move, echoing some of the sentiments Craig Bellamy spoke about upon his signing:

“I have two young kids, I had just moved house in
Newcastle and there were a few things that could have made me stay there. I have
a lot of friends there, and the supporters there are fantastic. They have been
great to me for so many years, and I thank them for that. But I just felt that
this was an opportunity for me to come to a club that in my opinion are really
going to be going places.
“I am even really excited to be going training on
Monday, it's a new chapter in my life and one I am looking forward to.
“The
profile of the Club has changed dramatically, and there are already some
fantastic players here. It looks like some good players will come here in the
future as well, and I am sure the fans must be on the edge of their seats to see
who comes here. There is already the nucleus of a very good team here, and I
hope I can add to that. I am just delighted that they have chosen me to
strengthen their goalkeeping department as well.”

I've written about the arrival of Given in the lead up to his signing, and whilst he is undoubtedly a top class goalkeeper, I do wonder about the value of his signing.

I don't believe he is that much of an upgrade over Hart to justify consigning Hart to what could amount to 4 or 5 seasons on the bench (or even out of the club). Whilst with outfield players, different formations, tactics and resting are a common part of the game, it doesn't happen with 'keepers.

At best, Hart is now looking at half a dozen or so games a season, as clearly Given has not arrived to battle for the number 1 jersey. Far more preferable for me would have been to bring an experienced, veteran number 2 guy to push Hart (we can assume Kasper Schmeichel is now out of the picture) and challenge him to keep improving.

The ethos is of course though win now, and perhaps Hughes feels that Hart is still some way off being a top flight keeper and that Given can be the type of keeper who can win us points (in the way that David James used to) that, it has to be said, are so badly needed at the moment.

Shay a Given?

So it would seem:

SHAY Given was not in Newcastle's squad to face City this evening prompting further speculation the goalkeeper is on his way to Eastlands.

Magpies boss Joe Kinnear earlier admitted that he may lose Given, who has been at Newcastle for 11 years.

>>MEN.

Given's ommission for tonights game comes on the back of Joe Kinnear's comments this afternoon, which were as much a tacit admission of Given's impending departure as they come:

"He's done 11 years here and I think he wants a new challenge.

"I left Shay with owner Mike Ashley, club managing director Derek Llambias and Given's lawyer Michael Kennedy, and the talks went on for a few hours.

"It's out of my hands and I am still waiting for the final outcome.

"I would be heartbroken to see him go because he is one of the best keepers in the world. But Man City keep banging on the door to talk to him."

With that I would assume he would be in the ranks in time for the weekends game against Stoke.

West Brom v Manchester City preview

Venue: The Hawthorns Date: Sunday, 21 December Kick-off: 13:00 GMT

[BBC preview, MEN preview]

The first of a trio of games over the Christmas period which could either leave us in a genuine relegation scrap or lift us into a mid-table position where we can hopefully recover what has been an underwhelming first half to the season.

Although we are facing a West Brom side who are bottom of the table and without a win in ten games, we do have very little confidence heading into this game given recent results (particularly away from home) and with reports of disharmony in the camp.

Speaking to a West Brom fan at work though, he is approaching the game with even less confidence and is anticipating them being relegated. Given their lack of goals and hammering at managerless Sunderland last week, the game should be ours for the taking if we can throw off the shackles of our recent poor form.

Robinho is likely to miss out, but Richard Dunne will return to the line-up in what I imagine will not see many changes given the lack of options we have. The only real decision I see facing Hughes is the choice of who will lead the line, and perhaps given Caicedo's cameo on Thursday he should given an opportunity given the lack of success elsewhere?

Team news:

West Brom central defender Leon Barnett has recovered from a knee injury.

Roman Bednar is also pushing for a recall, while James Morrison and Borja Valero have been ill but are expected to recover in time to play.

Manchester City skipper Richard Dunne is expected to return after missing the Uefa Cup defeat in Spain on Thursday to deal with a family matter.

Robinho suffered a recurrence of his ankle injury against Racing Santander and faces a late fitness check.

Match stats:

• West Brom have won taken 11 points off us in the Premir League. More than against any other club.
• West Brom have gone ten matches without a clean sheet and failed to score in 4 of their last 6 games.
• We have our lowest Premier League points tally after 17 games since 2000/01 - when we were eventually relegated.
• We have won every game this season where we have kept a clean sheet.

We are not know for having too much success when featured live on TV, and there is a real danger that coming away with a defeat will leave us in the bottom three and really begin to expose some cracks.

The key to victory for me will be Ireland and Wright-Phillips, and if they have good days we will be good value for all three points so with that in mind I'll go for a 2-1 victory.

And so it continues

Manchester City will decide on Sven-Goran Eriksson's future within three weeks, an adviser to club owner Thaksin Shinawatra has said.

Pairoj Piempongsant, a Thai businessman who helps City recruit players, said the club was still chasing Barcelona's Ronaldinho and would make a decision on both soon. "The negotiations must be complete by June 15, which include the team manager," he said.

>>guardian.co.uk

In some respects it was almost a blessing to actually get some news given the way the sage that plagued the end of season has managed to drag on as we head into June and almost into the Euro 2008 tournament.

Although still effctively in charge at the club, it is surely inconceivable that Sven will be around for next season and reports continue to link him elsewhere, with agent Athole Still not short of a word or two for the press.

The difficulty is who will be replacing him? It may be that Thaksin has dropped the ball as far as Scolari is concerned and may now be scrambling around for another suitable candidate (of which there are not an abundance of) but the danger of course is unless it is resolved on way or the other soon enough, then pre-season will shortly be upon us.

With our qualification to the UEFA Cup, pre-season will have to be dragged forward given the first qualifying round is scheduled to be played July 17th - which may of course involve a trip along the M62 for our 'home' leg.

The date of July 17th must surely be too early to believe any of our Euor 2008 participants or playes involved in World Cup qualifiers will be involved given their summer exertions, leading to very much a fringeand young looking squad taking the field - not a prospect that should be relished too heartily given the way we fared on our end of season trip, despite us being announced as one of the top seeds.

We also have the issue of potential new recruits to the club, and of course the rumour mill is churning 'targets' out at a furious rate. Can we be actively looking for new players given our managerial limbo?

If so, it begs the question who is actively behind this? Thaksin? His 'advisors'? The shadowy Pini Zihavi? There has also been speculation as to exactly what cash we do have, and it is a figure that could be reduced given Lazio's apparant reluctance to meet the initial valuation of Rolando Bianchi.

Whilst it has been nice to break away from the shambles that is occurring at the moment, it is surely of concern that nothing has been announced thus far and one hopes that June 15th is at latest the date where we can at least draw some closure and move on as this will only give the new manager (and players) a month to familiarise with one another and put together a coherent and cohesive unit.

Sven proved last year it can be done but the situation this time round is far, far different.

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.

Bids for Given and Santa Cruz reported

After another relatively quiet day on the transfer front, some activity was reported on this evening with suggestions that bids have been made for Shay Given and Roque Santa Cruz.

The Mail reports that an £8 million bid for Given has been tabled, whilst The Times states an offer of £15 million has been put to Blackburn for Roque Santa Cruz - but does indicate that either Tal Ben Haim or Nedum Onouha are included in any deal.

Both players have of course been linked regularly with us but I still have reservations about both players. Yes, Hughes got the best out of Santa Cruz last season at Blackburn but is it not an indication that no other side appears interested in him?

Maybe we have to trust Hughes's judgement given his close relationship with the player but prior to him joining Blackburn, Bayern could not get rid soon enough and he does have a chequered injury record.

The phrase 'one season wonder' is written all over him.

As for Given, he is a good 'keeper but I don't share the view that he is world class. I think there is a case you can argue that because of his workload in the Newcastle goal, the perception of him is skewed slightly.

What I think would be a better fit for Joe Hart is for a solid, experienced number 2 to come in and push him to continue to elevate his game rather than bring in a decent 'keeper to replace him and push back his progress - perhaps terminally.

Unless we can go out and land a Buffon or Casillas, we should steer clear of trying to replace Hart.

The Hughes sacking

The official statement from the club which confirmed Saturday's worst kept secret:

“Prior to the current season beginning, with significant investment in players and infrastructure in place, the consensus between the Board and coaching staff was that appropriate agreed targets should be set for the 2009/2010 season.

“The targets were agreed as a result of the player acquisition strategy of the club being radically accelerated in the summer as a result of very favourable conditions for any buying club. It was also based on the fact that the infrastructure of the club had been overhauled completely at great cost in order to create the best possible environment for the team.

“A return of two wins in 11 Premier League games is clearly not in line with the targets that were agreed and set. Sheikh Mansour and the Board felt that there was no evidence that the situation would fundamentally change. This is a particularly difficult announcement given the personal investment over the past 15 months on all sides and we would like to put on record our respect for and thanks to Mark Hughes and we wish him the best in his future career.”

Whatever your opinion of Mark Hughes and whether he was the right man for the job - and I would put myself firmly in the pro-Hughes camp - it cannot be argued that there was no justification for his sacking given the frustrations of the past couple of months. It is a huge surprise though given that Hughes was backed when steering the club through the growing pains of last season and then handed such sums in the summer.

However, the two key issues central to this are the timing and manner of the decision to sack him. As Jack over at TLDORC pointed out, the decision was not made in order to secure the services of Mourinho or Hiddinck - Mancini has been out of work for sometime and no clubs seemingly on the horizon for him.

Much has been made of the target of sixth place that Hughes was set at the outset of the season (something Hughes was at pains to state he was on course to achieve), but this was when a Champions League position was thought too much of a leap for 2009/10. Given Liverpool's poor start to the season, this is no longer the case. There is a very real opportunity for the club to achieve fourth position this season, and whilst the victory over Sunderland puts us back in touch with the top four, my thoughts are that the club are going all-out to achieve Champions League qualification this season - and this for me is why the decision has been made to sack Hughes.

What they have likely assessed is that although the season so far has been satisfactory, it hasn't been good enough given the chance to take fourth place. Far too many opportunities have been missed over the eleven games that the club statement references, opportunities that could cost us fourth spot. They clearly felt that Mancini is someone who can come in and achieve this.

Whilst I don't agree with the decision - and it goes against the owners previous rhetoric of long term planning being a decision with the short term very much in mind - it has been made and I can see why it has been made.

What many have found distasteful though is the way in which the club went about it. Mancini has obviously been lined up prior to the sacking (with some reports suggesting as early as the beginning of December), and whilst that is not uncommon in football when changing managers, the fact that the club have been accused of leaking the news to the press on the morning of the Sunderland game does not sit well and reflects badly. This then led to the situation where the speculation snowballed throughout the day.

Regardless of the merits of sacking him, he deserved better than the ending he received.

Guardian interview with Joe Hart

There is a lengthy interview in todays Guardian by Daniel Taylor with Joe Hart, who has made a solid start to his season with Birmingham. In it he talks about the decision to bring in Shay Given, his start at Birmingham and his future prospects:

"I was comfortable about how I had done. OK, I wasn't perfect, but which goalkeeper is? I still felt I had been playing well but he [Mark Hughes] felt he had to bring in another goalkeeper and I suppose it his job to make those decisions. What I would say is that everyone else I spoke to at that time was really supportive. All the supporters were really appreciative of what I had done and how I had been playing."

"I just laughed," he says, but he is shaking his head when he says it. "I didn't know what to think, to be honest. I'd heard people talking about it happening. It was in the papers. So I approached people at the club and asked if it was true. They said, 'Nothing is final and ra ra ra.' Then, right at the end of January, Shay was training with us. I just had to accept it because what else could I do? I just thought, 'Whatever!' But there was no point being bitter or stroppy about it."

I thought at the time that Birmingham was a good fit for Hart. During their 2008/09 promotion season, they were largely a tight, defensive side and it appears that this approach has continued over to this season, benefitting Hart as opposed to him being behind a side with a propensity for leaking goals.

"There's no guarantee I will ever play for them again," Hart says. "I would love to but, if I'm not needed, then fair enough. I'm at Birmingham now and I've got nothing to do with Manchester City any more. I still find myself supporting them, their result is the first one I look for and I want the lads to do well, but Birmingham are my priority now."

At the time that Given arrived, I did question the move, believing Given would not be an upgrade over Hart but Given has been nothing short of superb since he arrived. He brings an air of composure to the position that young goalkeepers don't generally have and has proved himself not merely a goalkeeper whose stock was high playing behind a porous defence at Newcastle.

What this has shown though is that Given is going to be the guy for the next four or five seasons, and being sat on the bench will not benefit Joe Hart - particularly if this season sees him solidify a place in the England squad (and don't forget, David James will certainly be done after the World Cup).

It therefore looks increasingly likely that we have seen the last of Joe Hart in a City shirt.

Sunday transfer round up - Richards to Arsenal?

Biggest 'story' circulating around today concerns Micah Richards, amidst a reported £7 milion bid from Arsenal. This of course following on from reports at the end of last week linking him with both Wigan and Bolton.

I don't see a situation where Mark Hughes sanctions his departure, and certainly not for a fee of just £7 million. Arseblogger summarily dismisses this link too.

One interesting point worth speculating on though with this story is that it doesn't appear as though Richards and Vincent Kompany have forged the best of relationships, and given the acquisition of Nigel de Jong seems to point to Kompany moving back into defence, could this be something Hughes may factor in?

We were discussed quite extensively on Sky Sports 'Sunday Supplement' this morning, amongst other things discussing Richards. Ian McGarry from The Sun was on the programme and struck as being very 'anti-City'. Remarkably, he suggested that Richards needs to leave the club in order "to get more games". During the programme, he also stated it was well known that Mark Hughes would not be in charge next season and that Robinho was "desperate" to leave the club - so much so that he has come back from Brazil early in order to try and engineer a move.

Make of all that what you will.

UPDATE 17:38 - Sky Sports have an article and video up on their site featuring McGarry's comments:

The Shay Given link has surfaced again today, partly because of reports suggesting David James could move to Newcastle as a replacement for the soon to be departed Given. From what I've read of James, he appears settled on the South Coast so I don't see him moving up to the North-East - especially given Newcastle's current plight.

With just a week to go though before the window shuts for the season, I'd imagine there will be avenues being explored right until the deadline a week tomorrow. Strongest links of course remain Shay Given and Roque Santa Cruz, and I would still be surprised if deals were not concluded.

Although we have two games this week (Newcastle on Wednesday and Stoke on Sunday), expect transfer news to dominate the headlines this week as things heat up before the window shuts at 5pm on February 2nd.

A look ahead to the season

If we headed into the 2007/08 season with a large degree of uncertainty around the club following the arrival of a new owner, manager and squad, then the eve of the 2008/09 season is surrounded by scenes of chaos.

An owner on the run, reported problems with the finances and players being sold behind the managers back are all things that have been encountered over the past week, with reported armageddon just around the corner.

It wasn't expected to be this way though given that in comparison to last summer, the club was looking as stable and in as strong a position as most of us can surely remember.

The furore over the sacking of Sven had subsided, and despite some protest the overwhelming majority of support was behind Mark Hughes, who had done a steady job so far in assembling and shaping his backroom team, getting to grips with the squad and slowly changing some of the culture aspects that he was not impressed with from the previous regime.

Jo arrived for £18 million, there was a (serious, if we are led to be believed) bid for Ronaldinho, Tal Ben Haim cam in from Chelsea and Hughes was looking to add one or two more pieces ahead of the Premier League kick off.

Much of that is now up in the air which is a tremendous shame as despite our rivals perhaps spending more than ourselves, I feel we are in a great position to be able to kick on and improve upon last season's largely impressive showing.

The arrival of Mark Hughes followed the appointment of Garry Cook to the club. Cook came in with a strong reputation in the business world on the back of his career at Nike, and it is clear he is expected to really take the club forward off the pitch (particularly to the world wide market).

His appointment of course saw the departure of Alastair Mackintosh - a move which I'm sure too many didn't lament, but also saw John Wardle step down from the board, a move which is tinged with regret given the depth of his feeling for the club.

I've been impressed with Hughes so far. He has had a fairly understated approach as he gets to grips with the club (particularly the size) following his arrival from Blackburn. Like Sven, he appears impressed with the talent at his disposal, and has talked up the Academy prospects in glowing terms. He has brought in his own trusted backroom staff in Mark Bowen, Eddie Niedzwecki and Kevin Hitchcock and where Sven perhaps fell down in certain areas, Hughes appears more canny and is far more familiar with the inner workings of the Premier League.

Despite the off field issues that we are currently facing (and things could conceivably get a whole lot worse in the near future), what we can be positive about is the current state of the squad which is undoubtedly in a far healthier position than this time a year ago.

Hughes has culled some of the deadwood (none of which will be missed) and the two additions (Jo and Tal Ben Haim) will undoubtedly improve the squad, but equally positive is the extra year that the likes of Hart, Onouha, Richards, Johnson, Ireland, Sturridge and Evans have under their belts.

Whilst we are perhaps a veteran keeper light following the departure of Andreas Isaksson, Joe Hart has truly emerged as the undisputed number 1 during 2007/08 - a season in which he became the heir apparant to David James in the England squad and impressed all observers and has a long future ahead of him. Kaspar Schmeichel is an able deputy, but his desire for first team football may force a move sooner rather than later so Hughes will undoubtedly be casting an eye around for a futher back up keeper to bring in.

Defence has been our strong point (and saving grace on many occasions) over the past few seasons, and with the addition of Tal Ben Haim we are in an even stronger position, given that Richard Dunne has penned a new contract and Vedran Corluka (unless there is another twist) is to remain at the club.

Ben Haim looked impressive against Milan on Saturday, and I think that despite the success of the Richards-Dunne axis last season, he will partner Dunne sooner rather than later - although given how frail we appeared last season when Dunne and Richards were out, additional cover was vital.

The problem left back spot has not been addressed as yet however, and neither Ball or Garrido are an ideal long term answer. Ball, primarily a defensive player, does not offer much in the way of going forward whilst Garrido is the complete opposite in that positionally he is poor defensively but I would be tempted to begin the season with him for the way he could potentially link with Petrov on the left hand side, although I do expect Hughes to 'play safe' and opt for the more steady presence of Ball.

The midfield area does currently throw up a number of condundrums, and is an area I'm certain Hughes is desperate to reinforce - both centrally and on the right hand side. Centrally, we have the trio of Hamman, Gelson and Johnson who I'm sure will rotate with each other early on but (as like most sides) we do lack a genuine dominant midfielder - think Michael Essien or Patrick Vieira in his prime, and the danger is without one of these, we can get overrun against sides who possess genuine quality, pace and power in that area.

On the left hand side we are well set with Martin Petrov likely to be the fulcrum for much of our attacking forarys, and he really will be a threat for opposing sides this season. A concern is with his potential workload given the number of competitions we are involved in, and Hughes will have to be careful not to burn him out too early on in the campaign.

There are plenty of candidates for the right hand side, but all still leave plenty of questions unanswered, and this is an area Hughes will also continue to look at. Elano has featured most prominently during pre-season, and will be an effective player wherever he features, but he does appear marginalised when out on the right and does operate most effeciently when tucked in behind the striker(s), but this would appeat to go against how Hughes is looking to line the side up.

Ditto to a degree for Stephen Ireland, who showed impressive flashes last season and undoubtedly progressed, but arguably turned in his best displays when deputising for Elano in that more advanced position. Like Corluka, speculation has raged with regards to his future, and I feel it would be a shame to cut ties with him at this stage of his career with so much potential ahead.

Youngsters Kelvin Etuhu and Vladimir Weiss are expected to show progress throughout this season and should get some exposure to the first team set up.

Remember a time when there was a dearth of quality strikers at the club? Now, the exact opposite is the case. Even allowing for the departures of Corradi, Dickov, Mpenza and Samaras, we are still well served with both quality and potential in the ranks.

The return of Bojinov has been a real boost this summer and he has probably played himself into a starting position with his displays. Vassell - despite his limitations in terms of goals, is a worker and has shown an ability to link well with Bojinov so far. Benjani showed glimpses following his signing from Portsmouth in the January transfer window and will feature regularly.

With Jo's absence at the Olympics, this has allowed Daniel Sturridge and Ched Evans to gain more exposure, with Hughes clearly impressed both players (perhaps moreso Sturridge) earmarked for that impact role from the bench.

The one concern could be early on, with Jo absent and Vassell possibly missing through injury and if Hughes does not want to throw Evans and/or Sturridge in so early, it may mean a reprieve for Rolando Bianchi who appears very much on the fringes, with all parties perhaps hoping for a suitable bid from a Serie A side to put an end to a move that has not panned out as hoped.

The season of course has commenced already from a competitive standpoint, with progress made so far in the UEFA Cup qualifiers, which augmented with the friendlies, has provided us with a good test during pre-season.

Should we progress as hoped to the group stages of the UEFA Cup, it will of course mean a large number of games this season and we do have to guard against struggling to juggle everything as many sides have struggled to do in previous seasons.

Our rivals for that top six finish have all added well this season, although it has been interesting that most sides have also been forced to sell to allow some of these moves to be made. The top four for me is out of reach (for now at least) and it will be the useful teams filling those positions, and I see Everton, Portsmouth, Aston Villa and Tottenham as being our chief rivals for the forthcoming campaign.

As we head into the season, on the pitch things are looking positive with what I believe to be our best squad for some time, supported by a proven manager who is clearly ambitious and will demand success. The worry of course is that over the past week off the field incidents have hit the headlines, even going so far as to suggest impending financial meltdown - which might not be too fanciful a suggestion.

An owner with an outstanding arrest warrant is at best an embarrasment and severe distraction, and at worst a precursor to all sorts of instability for the club's present and future. All Thaksin has confirmed so far is that he has no intention of selling the club, but now he in self imposed exile, will he realistically have a choice with his frozen assets well out of reach? And how will this affect the futures of both Mark Hughes and Garry Cook, both of whom gave up a significant amount to join the club?

So much of course now appears up in the air and it a case of heading into the unknown until the dust settles a little, but despite finally looking like we could be on the cusp of a degree of relative normality, the Manchester City soap opera clearly shows no sign of abating and the next nine months or so could see the club experience events that could leave even the most hardened observer shaking their head.

My predictions

Premier League - 8th
FA Cup - 5th round
Carling Cup - Quarter finals
UEFA Cup - Last sixteen
Player of the season - Martin Petrov
Top goalscorer - Valeri Bojinov

Media predictions

• goal.com
• bleacher report
• footballing world
• the guardian
• football 365
• guardian.co.uk
• epl talk
• sky sports
  

Kaizer Chiefs 1 City 0

A disappointing end to the tour of South Africa as we were defeated 1-0 in the Vodacom final by the very side we had defeated by the same scoreline earlier in the week.

Mark Hughes continued to ease players back into the fray with Adebayor, Dunne, Onuoha, Craig Bellamy and Shay Given given their first starts of the tour, whilst Robinho was introduced for the second half.

Whilst any victory is welcome, I'm sure Mark Hughes would have been more focused on answering certain questions as he formulates his plans heading into the new season.

Given the chopping and changing of the line-up over the three games it is difficult to draw too much from individual performances, but from what I did see it is clear that Gareth Barry is going to be an integral part of our midfield. He does look a real leader and someone who is able to control the game.

Whilst both Martin Petrov and Shaun Wright-Phillips started the final, both struggled to make a big impression and I don't see Hughes often favouring a 4-4-2 line-up as such, which could be bad news for the pair.

I'm certain that he will adopt the 4-5-1/4-3-3 line-up with Robinho and Tevez supplementing a main striker. This will also allow a centralmidfield trio of Barry, Ireland and de Jong (given Vincent Kompany's absence at the start of the season).

Of course Wright-Phillips and Petrov on the bench does provide plenty of options, but it could be a frustrating time for both.

In goal and defence, the positions appear to be more or less set should no further additions arrive, but the fact that Tal Ben-Haim featured twice in South Africa reinforces the need for defensive additions.

Sunderland preview

It is a measure of recent contrasting fortunes of the two sides that should Sunderland defeat us this weekend, there will be just ten points between us, an amazing figure given until recently we were eyeing Europe (via the conventional route at least) whilst Sunderland were mired deep in relegation trouble.

I have no doubt Sunderland will fancy their chances given the recent flourish in their fortunes where they finally banished their away day blues, whilst we are sliding fast and Nedum Onouha became the latest injury problem to beset us.

It has been a strange past week or so for the club (including the Ronaldinho speculation), and you get the impression that things are just drifting aimlessly as we head towards the season with us heading nowhere fast - even our route into Europe doesn't depend on results on the pitch, but there are still a handful of games remaining and the aim has to be to finish as high as possible.

At the very least the players must be thinking ahead to next season, and almost auditioning for that campaign given the increasing likelihood of players arriving during the summer. Whilst there have been one or two murmurings from Sven, he is not the type to bang his fists on the table but he needs to light a fire under the side to get them out of the funk they are currently in.

Whilst struggling for the most part of the season - largely down to some dreadful form on their travels, when it matters Sunderland have pulled themselves together to launch themelves clear of the drop and having achieved the magical safety figure of 36 points could free themselves of the worries of relegation and end the campaign in style.

Given the resources available (and spent) by Roy Keane this season in achieving safety, it is a measure of just how big the gulf is between the Championship and Premier League, but with another spending spree in the summer anticipated, and with one eye on who may be coming up this season, Sunderland can justifiably feel confident of an extended stay in the top flight.

Team wise Sunderland boss Roy Keane will again be without midfielders Dwight Yorke and Dickson Etuhu. Yorke missed last weekend's 3-1 win at Fulham with a knee problem while Etuhu has been out for several weeks with a similar injury.

Nedum Onuoha is out for the rest of the season, leaving Man City short of options in the centre of defence. Vedran Curluka is likely to partner Richard Dunne in the middle, with Sun Jihai slotting in at right-back.

Not likely to be too exciting a contest I don't imagine, and a 1-1 is the most likely outcome.

An ill wind blowing for Thaksin?

I suggested last week that in the wake of further charges being levelled against him that it was surprising that the English press had been quiet with regards to Thaksin this summer, but the headlines this morning certainly put an end to that.

Reacting to comments coming from the club that Thaksin had been seeking additional investors to put their money into the club, the morning headlines were stating that the For Sale signs were busy being put up at Eastlands.

Of course, there were no direct quotes to back this up and I'm inclined to take this on face value that there is no intention from Thaksin to put the club on the market - something that was confirmed later in the day, and an element of sensationalism is not beyond the headline writers from Fleet Street.

Even so, it is worrying nonetheless to think we are in a position where Thaksin is in need of additional investment for the club given the levels of finance we understood to be available to him - even with a large portion of his assets continuing to be frozen, and is a stark admission that all is far from rosy for Thaksin at present as the political problems for him and his family continue to intensify.

This issue has now been suggested as the reason for a general lack of transfer activity this summer, with the reports of Corluka being sold to Tottenham (although he is 'surprisingly' playing this evening against Celtic) used as evidence and it does make the signing of Jo look questionable and the pursuit of Ronaldino even more so if the transfer purse strings are tight - something that could be exasberated further if we are having to stump up large sums this summer as part of the deals that saw the mass influx of players from abroad arrive this time last year.

Perhaps now though we are beginning to see the impact the continued legal troubles Thaksin is facing finally having a direct impact on the club if help is being sought and is a situation that many who greeted Thaksin with a touch of scepticism feared would one day happen.

Silence is usually fertile ground for rumours to start and given that the clubs response to the reports today have been far from conclusive, with only a brief comment:

"It is not true to say Thaksin Shinawatra is selling Manchester City," a City spokesman said.

"He spoke with Garry Cook this morning and those were the sentiments he echoed in very strong terms."

I don't expect the stories to subside though and given the season is now just 10 days or so away is hardly the ideal preparation - especially so given the apparant need for certain areas of the squad to be reinforced.

The danger is that for all the progress made last season, and the lofty promises made during the past year, we are in danger of standing still whilst those around us continue to move forward, and the concern for me at this stage is that once again off field issues could once again be the focal point of attention throughout the season.

Derby prediction

Although we were dumped out of the FA Cup at the weekend, we have every right to be bullish about this game as we make the relatively short trip to Pride Park given that Derby are in the midst of a horrible run which saw them also knocked out by Championship opponents, but more importantly are almost certainly heading for the relegation trapdoor and could indeed threaten an all-time low points record.

I doubt goals will be aplenty during this game, but our defence should be able to marshall an attack even less threatening than our own, but we could do with an early goal under our belts to settle any nerves and to inject a little confidence into our game.

Team wise, given that we don't have too many options available, there will not be too many changes (if any), although Sturridge may push for a start and Johnson must be getting closer to a return to action.

Given how he was drawn into a clash with Gary Speed at Bramhall Lane, it is highly likely that Robbie Savage will pay some attention to Elano during the game and hopefully Sven will have had a quiet word, and Hamman and co. will be on hand to provide some support.

A win from this game is an absolute necessity given our forthcoming difficult fixtures, and whilst it would not be beyond us to be part of kick-starting Derby's relegation survival campaign, a 2-0 scoreline in our favour is what I fancy - but not without one or two tricky moments.

Ronaldinho - fact or fiction?

Sven Goran Eriksson has admitted that Ronaldinho would be
welcomed at Manchester City with open arms.
City are believed to be keen on
bringing the unsettled Barcelona forward to the Premier League at the end of
season and have joined a host of other clubs in the race for the Brazilian's
signature.

>>Sky Sports.

The story was first reported in The Daily Mail on Saturday, but it was hardly a convincing piece given the piece ended by saying it was extremely unlikely any deal would go through given his wage demands.

The press have been all over the stroy today though, with Sven (unsurprisingly) giving a thumbs-up for the move.

How much credence is in the story is not really known of course, but the fact that Ronaldinho's brother/agent was a VIP guest at the club at the weekend is encouraging at the very least and Thaksin has spoken previously of a 'marquee' signing to fill the stadium and really put us on the map.

I still have my doubts regarding the true nature of this story, and it does strike as a nice piece of PR for Thaksin to show us being linked with a player of this stature - particularly given recent grumblings about our slide down the table, whilst Ronaldinho and his team would not be too displeased for stories linking ourselves and very wealthy owner ready to offer bucketloads of cash for his signature.

It is the latter which I still think as the most likely explanation, given there has been 'previous' regarding this from Ronaldinho (notably when he flirted with United to hike up an offer from Barcelona) and it appears to be a move to sting the Milan clubs into action, and I still believe AC Milan as the likely destination in the summer.

If he did sign for us then what a coup it would be though.

Reports of his demise are clearly premature, as although he has struggled for form and fitness this season he is undoubtedly amongst the top talents in the world still - although his star is fading slightly with a host of younger pups (Messi, Kaka, Ronaldo, Pato) nipping at his heels.

I remember seeing Ronaldinho play for Barcelona against us in a pre-season friendly which marked the opening of the new stadium and he was streets ahead of any other player on the pitch.

I would be staggered if I saw him play at that stadium again, this time in a City shirt, but you never know and if we did pull the signing off, then what a buzz we would have going into next season.

Hughes hails Given's presence

Speaking about the key presence that Given has become since his signing from Newcastle last January:

"Shay's been more than I could have hoped for in terms of his presence on the field.

"He's got a calming influence on the back four. That's made a marked difference to the way the guys in front of him have been able to defend.

"It comes from knowledge of the game. It comes from knowing when you need to take the sting out of games and when you need to build momentum.

"That starts from Shay and he has a great understanding, because of the Premier League experience that he has."

Given's performance has far exceeded that I expected since his arrival, and I don't think there can be any debate as to the value of his signing and that he brings more to the side than Joe Hart did.

That said, I have seen a little bit of criticism of Given in recent weeks, particularly related to his lack of size and ability to command the area. Perhaps this is as a result of us conceding from set plays but for me this is being very overly critical and the few problems we have had at the back not stemmed in any way from the goalkeeper.

Thoughts?

Hughes not on the hot seat

I expected a Black Monday type of scenario today the way texts and emails flooded in following yesterdays defeat - particularly when the morning started with a call from Xfm to provide some comments regarding the 'Hughes situation', yet it has been strangely quiet around the media.

Rather than just being 'coming out fighting' words, it does seem Hughes's comments have a ring of truth in that he is being backed by the board and busy preparing for the January sales and given that there has not even been a whiff of a 'Hughes out' report in the press today suggests that his position is very much safe.

In fact, Paul Aldridge also spoke out in support of Hughes today, with a very public backing:

"Clearly no one is comfortable where we are but I think the new owner is very pragmatic and understands things don't happen overnight and that it will take time for Mark to build the team, the squad and the ethos of the club how he wants it."

Opinion in the City blogosphere is split pretty evenly at the moment, with some being for the sacking of Hughes, and some taking a more patient line.

Managers clearly get less time these days to get things right (1.53 years being the average tenure of a Premier League manager) and the desire for instant success has only been intensified given the takeover has provided us with the 'world's richest club' tag, which was expected to bring with it the accompanying rewards of such a status.

Of course it has not happened as advertised, yet comparisons to Paul Ince at Blackburn are unfounded. Whilst we, like Blackburn are in the relegation zone, the concern tht Blackburn had with Ince was whether or not he could hoist them out of trouble. With Hughes, he surely has enough experience, pedigree and track record to warrant a greater deal of time in the job.

One good point that Jack made in his excellent recent post was that Hughes is very much a Garry Cook guy (having brought him into the club) and given the status and influence Cook holds within the club it is unlikely he will be keen to get rid of a manager that he trumpeted upon his arrival.

Sure he is under pressure (and perhaps the next three games have a 'must win' feel to them), but even given our current predicament, I would be amazed if was not our manager come the end of the season at the very least.

No permanent move for Hart

An interesting story coming from Alex McLeish today:

"City will take Joe Hart back at the end of the season," said the Birmingham manager. "There is no chance of us signing him in January. We asked the question and they said that won't happen. We never had an option from City to buy him. They said he was going out for experience to improve and he has improved. It doesn't preclude him from coming back and we can negotiate with City for another year. He has the comfort of knowing City really want him and he is part of their future."

Leading up to the opening of the January window, any speculation surrounding Hart suggested that a permanent deal was to be tied up by Birmingham ahead of his loan deal ending in the summer.

It is difficult to imagine Hart coming back and either he or the club really content with him merely sat on the bench, yet - and despite Hart's form - there is no conceivable way he dislodges Given from the side.

Hart himself hasn't committed either way as to his preference, yet (and given Mancini's endorsement of him) with Shay Given having at the very least another two or three seasons in him, for Hart to have a long term future with us then a succession of loan deals unless Given is finished may be the only viable option.

January window recap

A relief in some respects now that the January window has been and gone.

During the month (and leading up to it I guess) we were very much the hot topic in the media, with plenty of negativity (jealousy?) surrounding us and our attempts at reinforcing the side. So much has been written and speculated that trying to keep up with everything going on was a tough task.

We arrived at the opening of the window in a state of flux, criticism of Hughes from fans and media alike growing and were soon dumped out of the FA Cup with a dismal performance at home to Nottingham Forest.

Despite some bumps along the way, what is clear is that we are in a far stronger position as bid adieu to January than we were at the beginning of 2009. The quartet who have been signed are of a similar disposition - solid internationals, experience at the top level but still with good years ahead of them.

In addition to the new arrivals, we also have three of our long term injured players in Michael Johnson, Valeri Bojinov and Martin Petrov on the way back, players we have clearly missed over the first half of the season and should provide a real strength in depth to the squad.

Who arrived?

Wayne Bridge, Nigel de Jong, Craig Bellamy and Shay Given arrived during January, and all four strengthen not only the squad, but the first choice eleven. Bridge, although culpable for two goals so far, is a better option than Javier Garrido, and most definitely an upgrade on Michael Ball. Nigel de Jong's impact will be two fold. Both as an impressive holding/defensive midfielder in his own right, but also in allowing Vincent Kompany to drop back and improve the central defensive area.

I wasn't overly enthused with the prospect of Bellamy the footballer arriving (let alone Bellamy the person), wondering how he would fit into the line-up, but having seen him in two games so far he does offer something different than the other forwards we have on the books. My misgivings about Shay Given have been well documented, but he is a good goalkeeper. Quite how good he is, and how much of an upgrade over Joe Hart he will be is something I will be keen to see, but if Hughes was intent on bringing in a 'keeper then unless we were going to splash £100 million on Gigi Buffon then Given is clearly the best option that we had.

Who didn't arrive?

Two big names - Kaka and Roque Santa Cruz, both of which ended frustratingly. The pursuit of Kaka was well documented with some of what was written about our attempt to sign him bordered on the disgraceful.

Perhaps we did make our approach for him too early in our 'project', but when you have an opportunity to sign arguably the best player in the world you cannot pass that up. Yes, it was always going to be a long shot, but one that was surely worth exploring.

Today's Roque Santa Cruz news was a microcosm of the whole pursuit of the player. The signing being off, then on, before falling through at the last. The reported fee of £25 million was way in excess of what his value is, but we are not operating in a normal market. We do need the player, and without an alternative being brought in run the risk of lacking the presence Hughes so desperately wants over the course of the season.

Seeing some of the deals that have been concluded, you do wonder though why both ourselves and Santa Cruz (given his desire to sign for us) weren't more forceful in pushing the signing through.

If Hughes is still keen on landing Santa Cruz in the summer though, Sam Allardyce and Blackburn could rue turning down the reported £20 million as I don't see them getting an offer anywhere near that figure in the future.

Without question though, this is now very much Hughes's side. The team is now made up of players he has either brought to the club or his type of player. His future is still unsettled though as the season so far has been a disappointment overall.

Heading into February, we are sat in mid-table and despite the talk of relegation for me that is not an issue. Looking up, we are five points off 7th position at present with FC Copenhagen in the UEFA Cup in a couple of weeks time.

The owners have shown a patient approach so far since taking over the club, and the January signings do point to being Hughes's ones as opposed to the marquee signings believed to be favoured by ownership.

Clearly questions remain at this point, and Hughes has a job on his hands to win over the many doubters amongst the fan base, and with no off-field distraction now the window has closed, focus will firmly be on what happens on the pitch.

Putting a positive spin on our current position though we do have an opportunity to ensure that the 2008/09 season ends up being a relatively succesful one.

For Hughes's long term future prospects, it may need to be.

A wanted man

BANGKOK: Thailand's ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who is facing numerous corruption and power abuse charges here, is seeking political asylum in Britain.

In a statement issued to the government-owned NBT television channel, Thaksin said he was leaving for London where he has a home because Thailand's justice system was not being fair to him and "practised double standards."

Thaksin, who was ousted by the military in a coup on Sept 19 2006 after five years in office, also said that his life was in danger, adding that he had to use a bulletproof car while travelling in the country.

The policeman-turned-telecommunication billionaire was supposed to testify at the Supreme Court on Monday in connection with a 772mil-baht (about RM76mil) land purchase at Rachadaphisek Road here six years ago.

>>thestar.com

And current events at the club get even more bizarre.

Not a surprise that he wound up in London given the reports late last night that he failed to catch his flight back from China to Thailand to ensure he could testify in court this morning, and effectively Thaksin (and his wife who has already been found guilty of course) is now on the run given that an arrest warrant has been issued.

"What happened to me and my family and my close relations resulted from efforts to get rid of me from politics," Mr Thaksin said in the hand-written statement.

"These are my political enemies. They don't care about the rule of law, facts or internationally recognised due process."

There was no mention in the statement that he would seek asylum here in the UK, but it would certainly be an interesting move if he did apply for asylum - one which I'm sure the Government hopes is not forthcoming.

Not being familiar with the Thai political and judiciary set up, I don't know if Thaksin and his wife can be tried in abstentia. Even if he isn't, what the Premier League will make of the whole situation from the perspective of him being a 'fit and proper' person will also be worth keeping an eye on, given that they now have an owner of one of the clubs under their umbrella who could be classed as a fugitive.

A headache that I'm certain they could do without, but one I'm sure that they have to address and my view is that despite being back in the UK in close proximity of the club, Thaksin is unlikely to adopt a high profile or appear to have much of an active interest in the day to day running of the club as he tries to decide upon his next move, given that it appears his opponents will not be content to adopt the 'out of sight, out of mind' view I'm sure he is hoping for.