European qualification

There was a recent comment left over at tldorc which threw up the suggestion that failing to secure seventh position this season (therefore not qualifying for next seasons Europa League) may actually be in our favour.

So much of recent focus - ie, since the defeat to Hamburg - has been about trying to make a late run to get back into Europe that there hasn't been much analysis on exactly what effect participation in this seasons UEFA Cup has had on our league fortunes.

Whilst most would consider European qualification of any sort a success from a season, for ADUG this will clearly not be enough to satisfy their ambitions. The revamped Europa League is not what they had in mind when they took over, the promised land (and cash) of the Champions League is of course the aim that must be achieved.

It is easy to forget at this juncture quite how early our season began way back in the Faroe Islands, and it is testament perhaps to the training methods of Mark Hughes and his staff that we do still look relatively fresh at this stage, and able to still challenge for that final qualifying position.

Looking at Aston Villa, they had a great opportunity for Champions League qualification this season, but - coupled with a fantastic run by Arsenal - simply ran out of steam, no doubt in part because of the diversion of the UEFA Cup, and they may not get another chance like the one they have had this season.

Now I don't believe that the UEFA Cup campaign has been the ruin of our league season, far from it, but it has to have taken its toll, and rather much has had to do with the changes Hughes has sought to introduce, which haven't all been succesful but the vast majority of which I believe we are beginning to see signs of fruition.

If then, the Champions League is the target, looking ahead now to the 2009/10 season, will we be best served by not qualifying for the Europa League?

Summer signings are now (and will continue to be) speculated about with a feeling that a lack of European football will be a hindrance to our chances of signing certain 'top name' players, but my view is that it is the Champions League that is the attraction and Europa League or not, this will not affect our potential to lure players.

With a more settled squad now, which has had the benefit of at least half a season together, with the long term absentees returning plus any new additions in the summer, we will go into 2009/10 with what is arguably our best ever (certainly that I can remember anyway) squad. With only the league (and domestic cups) to focus on, we could focus everything on making a real run at a Champions League place, which we all know will be such a difficult thing to achieve.

I'm not saying my preference is for us to avoid seventh place, and the UEFA Cup this season has in the main been fantastic to watch. And from the noises coming out of the club the focus is still very much on qualification, but if the bar is now set at a far higher standard, does this include the Europa League?

City 2 Hamburg 1 (Hamburg win 4-3 on aggregate)

A fantastic performance then. Full of the passion, purpose and vigour that has largely been missing for the most part this season. Given the criticism directed at the players and management over the past few weeks (much of it justified) they are due credit for their approach and performances in last nights defeat, which left many players literally dead on their feet at the final whistle.

It was though as frustrating an exit as we could have endured. After going 1-0 down early in the game, the tie could have been dead and buried yet Hamburg's goal appeared to spur us on even further - with the knowledge that three goals, not two would be required.

For every bit as impressive Hamburg's attacking play was in the first leg, so were we last night. Elano and Robinho, so often lambasted at every quarter were wonderful in attack and committed in their defensive duties, and once again combined superbly with Stephen Ireland - oh for a fit Shaun Wright-Phillips in addition to that trio.

As far as chances go, we had more than enough to should (not could) have won the game without the need for extra time. Elano's free kicks were inches away, Robinho was unlucky on his one on one, whilst Caicedo will probably have nightmares about that miss. You do wonder what the presence of a truly world class striker would have made to the scoreline.

The recriminations of the defeat can wait. We have the rest of the season to play out now, without the prospect of challenging for European football next season. But, for now, let's savour the performance of last night and hope that it can become a template for the standards we all want to see in each and every game.

Hamburg preview

The despair following the Fulham defeat has made may for an air of bullish optimism ahead of th crucial esecond leg at home to Hamburg.

Shaun Wright-Phillips is the latest to talk up our chances, saying:

"All I'll say is that it's not over until the fat lady sings. It's not finished 'til the whole tie is done.

"We're recognised as being very good at home, and if we play the way we usually do, we will make enough chances to win 2-0. It's a matter of taking those chances on the night. We have to put them on the back foot straight away.

"Anything is possible. If we go out there and play the way we know we can on Thursday, it will be difficult for Hamburg. Everyone is confident, we've spoken about it already and we have got the belief that we need."

If you look at Liverpool's sterling (if ultimately in vain) effort at Chelsea in the Champions League as evidence a tie can be turned around then we are certainly still in with a shout. Of course it will be difficult and we cannot afford to cede possession and territory to Hamburg in the manner we did in the first leg.

Hamburg did suffer defeat in the league last weekend (as did we of course), but they certainly looked a capable side and have the potential to cause us problems, and talk of tiredness needs to be put to one side as I imagine we will need to keep the tempo and pace of the game high throughout the whole ninety minutes.

Team wise things are looking a little rosier and Shaun Wright-Phillips (ankle), Vincent Kompany and Wayne Bridge (hamstrings) should overcome injury problems and I would be amazed if Robinho's exile from the side is extended further.

As I posted in the aftermath of the defeat in Germany, I don't see how we keep a clean sheet which will make our efforts that much harded to have to score three rather than just two to advance to the semi-finals.

Can we do it? Of course we can. We are very much odds against and it is vital that we pick up some momentum early and run with it. A full house backing the side and a 1-0 lead at half-time could make things very interesting indeed.

Would it even be a surprise if the tie went to extra time?

Rallying call

"We have a huge game now against Hamburg on Thursday in the UEFA Cup and it's very important to show the fans what we can do. We're hurting now, but we have to be positive and make a fresh start from today."

>>Nigel de Jong.

Whilst the feeling (in terms of turning the tie around) appeared to be positive following defeat in the first leg, the mood has changed somewhat following the Fulham defeat with much of the comment on forums and message boards fairly resigned to elimination from the UEFA Cup on Thursday.

Is there any hope of turning the tie around? It appears that the ownership are going to be in town for the game - with sections of the press trying to link the game to a 'last chance' for Hughes - and I don't doubt that an exit on Thursday will be quickly followed by unnamed quotes and comments from various 'sources'.

A quick look at odds around on UK Sports betting sites shows we are favourites to win the tie, but that we are not favoured to do enough to get the necessary scoreline to progress, and I'm not sure we will be appearing on too many soccer betting coupons this week.

Trying to take positives ahead of Thursday though, the fact we have to scoring it least two goals is perhaps the one thing in our favour. Having to score a minimum of two goals ensures we have to attack, there is no other option. Hamburg will also be wary, knowing that an early goal could unsettle them.

There will be a full house, I'm sure in good voice and backing the side (despite recent disappointments). The side will know that an early goal will be the best way of keeping the fans onside. With this in mind, I'd expect Hughes to feature an attacking side, featuring both Elano and Robinho as Hughes has no alternative but to go for broke.

It is potentially set up to be a landmark night on Thursday, and history shows that many managers have faced situations where they were on the brink before a game, or moment, turns their fortunes around.

Could Thursday be that one for Mark Hughes?

Inexperience

The biggest disappointment for Hughes was the manner in which his players could not take advantage of scoring so early. A more experienced side would have slowed down the game and quietened the crowd. It needed composure, a sense of authority. Yet by the time Mathijsen headed in a ninth-minute corner Given's goal was under siege.

Daniel Taylor makes a valid point here in his match report in The Guardian. It is easy to forget how inexperienced in terms of European competition our line up was last night, and having gone ahead so early in the game we then found ourselves under tremendous pressure before Hamburg finally got back on level terms.

Perhaps a more experienced and wiser side than ourselves would have been able to navigate through that period in the opening ten minutes. Taylor also makes reference to the crowd and it certainly sounded an intense atmosphere last night which may have affected the players. You do wonder if we could have displayed a greater degree of control immediately after going ahead if we could have been successful in closing out the game and putting ourselves in a very strong position indeed heading back to Eastlands.

As it is, despite the belief that is eminating from the camp today, we really have left ourselves a mountain to climb next week.

Reaction to the Hamburg game

"The third goal obviously makes it difficult for us, but I have just said to the guys now that we have to think positive. We know we can score goals at home, but it was disappointing after scoring so early.

"Hamburg are a good side, they have had an outstanding season and we can see the reasons why. They were a threat at set-plays, and were a big & athletic side. At the end we had a lot of walking wounded, we didn't even finish with 11 men because it looks like Benji has re-ruptured his thigh muscle. We also had a few that were not at the peak of their powers because of injuries they already had.

"We just have to pick ourselves up, we have another game at the weekend that becomes really important for us, and then we will focus on the second leg. We do certainly do not think that the tie is over."

>>Mark Hughes.

HAMBURG gave City the elbow on the banks of the Elbe last night, but the fast flowing tie is still very much in the balance.

The in-form Germans came from behind to snatch a deserved advantage thanks to a disputed penalty and a late effort from substitute Paolo Guerrero but the Blues have a precious away goal in the vault for what will be a pulsating second meeting at a sold out Eastlands next Thursday.

>>MEN.

Such are the fine margins in European football that a decent result can become a rather poor one in an instant, and so it was in north Germany last night as a late goal from the shin of a Hamburg substitute left Manchester City with everything to do at Eastlands next week.

>>mail online.

The result flattered us. Hamburger were so comfortably the better side that for us still to be in the tie is a good result. Were it not for Shay Given's heroics, and some profligate HSV finishing, we would need much more than 2-0 at home next week. Winning by two clear goals is going to be tough; but it's not insurmountable.

>>tldorc.

It started off so well, our name was already being etched onto the Cup and then it all crumbles, the team, the result and our dreams.

>>we've got robinho.

It is the hope that hurts. For one minute, Manchester City could dream of European glory putting an end to 33 barren years. The remaining 89, though, left their hopes of doing so hanging by a thread.

A confident, composed and devastating comeback from Hamburg produced goals from Joris Mathijsen, Piotr Trachowski and Jose Guerrero to cancel out Stephen Ireland’s early opener and, had Shay Given not repaid a further chunk of his transfer fee, could easily have ended Mark Hughes’s side’s European dream on the banks of the North Sea.

>>telegraph.co.uk.

Hamburg 3 City 1

I wrote in the preview for the game that above all else an away goal would be crucial - and on the evidence of tonight Stephen Ireland's goal after just 30 seconds is our only glimmer of hope heading back to Eastlands for the second leg.

It was such a dream start to go in front so early, but before we could capitalise on this advantage Hamburg were back in the game and in truth it was no more than they deserved, with Shay Given making a number of saves before they got back on level terms.

From that moment on we were well and truly second best as Hamburg looked the brighter, livilier and more purposeful side. Our attacking fulcrum of Robinho, Bellamy and Sturridge - despite their movement - could not maintain possession which made it difficult to bring Ireland and Wright-Phillips into the game enough in key areas.

Counter this with the excellent front line from Hamburg, led superbly by Olic, who had a fantastic evening. Perhaps our long season finally caught up with us in some respects but we were second to the ball, and looked tired and leggy for the most part, chasing the game for the majority.

On the balance of play it wasn't a surprise that Hamburg added a second, and there can be no complaints regarding the award of the penalty, which was dispatched easily past Given. At 2-1 though, this would have left us with a slight advantage I believe but we could not hold out and Hamburg got what could be the vital goal to put daylight between the two sides and ensure the first leg finished 3-1.

Can we recover from tonight? Of course, as although a 2-0 victory sees us through I don't see that we will be able to post a clean sheet this time next week. It could be set up for a great night this time next week, but in the aftermath of tonight's defeat it does seem a long way away.

Hamburg open thread

Fill up the comments...

Hughes on Hamburg

"We won't be able to win the tie here but it is possible we could lose it – that's the key," said Hughes. "We don't want to be in a position in which the second leg is beyond us. We want to make sure we are in a decent position when we go back to Eastlands and hopefully have a great European night because there have not been that many over the years."

>>Mark Hughes.

Added to the injury worries we have, Hughes comments do seem to be a clear sign that it won't be the most adventurous line-up that will be fielded tonight - with the hope being that we can nick an all important away goal along the way.

It won't be easy of course, and the loss of Vincent Kompany could have a big bearing on the outcome of tonight's result.

Hamburg preview

[BBC preview, MEN preview]

Mixed emotions appear to be the mood around the blogosphere heading into tomorrow's Quarter final first leg in Hamburg.

On the one hand we have put in some good performances away from home in Europe this season with plenty of parallels being drawn with our group stage game at Schalke where we came away with an impressive victory. However, counter that with some abject displays on our travels away from home in the league.

Recent years have seen us struggle to get past the Quarter-final stage of competitions (with some dismal exits along the way) but this year we do have real opportunity. Undoubtedly we are now surrounded by the elite sides in the UEFA Cup but we should class ourselves in that group and we really should believe that we can win the tournament.

Mark Hughes, whilst cautious, is certainly looking at progressing onwards:

'Hamburg are doing exceptionally well domestically and will be confident having won again at the weekend, so it`s a big test for us. We've really enjoyed the UEFA Cup run and we have every intention of keeping it going.

'We're looking to get a good result, and then bring it back home in front of a full house for a great European night in Manchester.

'The stakes are higher now we are at the quarter-final stage of the competition, there is a lot of focus on this game and everything becomes higher profile the nearer you get to the final.

'We met them in pre-season, but things are very different for both teams now. I have come up against Martin before and had a decent record against him in competitive games, hopefully that will continue.'

We have plenty of injury worries heading into the game of course. From BBC Sport:

Kompany has a hamstring injury which he picked up in the Premier League defeat by Arsenal last Saturday.Former Hamburg midfielder Nigel De Jong is also out as he is cup-tied. But left-winger Martin Petrov (knee) and midfielder Stephen Ireland (ankle) have both travelled to Germany after overcoming injury problems.

Hamburg will without a number of key players as Bastian Reinhardt, Thimothee Atouba, Romeo Castelen, Maxim Choupo-Moting, Guy Demel and Alex Silva are sidelined through injury. However, Paolo Guerrero (ankle) and Collin Benjamin (thigh) returned to training on Wednesday and could be involved.

The presence of Stephen Ireland will be key. He along, with the trio of Wright-Phillips, Robinho and Bellamy have looked good in European games and without the duo of Kompany and de Jong much will rely on them.

Hughes does have a big decision on his hands as it is inconceivable he will not replace with Kompany or de Jong with either Gelson, Zabaleta or even Hamman. It is likely then that one will line up alongside Elano and which ever option he selects, it isn't our strongest line up.

Jack mused on what would be a good result and I don't think there are many of us who wouldn't take a 1-1 draw at this stage. An away goal though is imperative, with 2-1 almost more preferable than 0-0 given the importance of an away goal - something particularly the case given our inability to register clean sheets in the competition.

I've always said the first leg will determine the outcome of this tie and my view on that hasn't altered. Can we do it? Of course we can, and I do feel we will go through from this tie.

It will likely take a win at Eastlands to ensure it though.

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.

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.

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

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.

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?

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.

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.

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?

City 2 FC Copenhagen 1

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

An impressive victory for me. Despite the overall lack of quality from our opponents, I thought we showed the patience and savvy required to ensure progression was achieved and it provided further evidence of the recent good progress being made.

Whilst the scoreline was at 0-0 there was always the threat of being caught cold, but in the first half we controlled the game well, dominated possession and created a number of chances that on another day could have seen us go in at half time with a two or three goal lead.

One criticism from the first half was the over reliance on long diagonal balls to both Bellamy and Robinho - thankfully rained in during the second half, where there was far more quick, short passing moves that provided some wonderful football as we pressed for the goal that would settle nerves.

Robinho was guilty of a couple of bad misses before Craig Bellamy eased us into the next round with a well timed brace, capping what was a fantastic performance from him. Full of industry and enterprise, he has also added goals (one thing I was sceptical of when he signed) and he truly has looked a fantastic addition to the side.

Putting aside reports of spats with Robinho, I thought the front pair linked together well, with Robinho perhaps too wide on occasion, but their attacking presence aligned with Ireland and Wright-Phillips was there to see. It is worth noting Robinho's contribution, marrying both 'graft' and the quality touches and decisions which were a joy to see.

Defensively I thought we were sound and stuck to our task well. The concentration levels were there (injury time excepted) and I was impressed with Shay Given's command of the back four. Like Bellamy, an impressive addition.

Through to the last sixteen now - something not achieved for some time - and whilst Aalborg will be a step up in quality from the Danish opponents we have faced this season, there is a definite sense that some momentum is building in our season which will auger well as we bid to to win the competition.