Soccer City FC

Net closes in on Phil Brown

2009-11-03T05:16:00.000-08:00

He was given a stay of execution by his new chairman but I still fear Phil Brown’s days are numbered.

Adam Pearson returned to the club two years after his departure, replacing Paul Duffen, who saw the club join the Premier League under his tenure but also accrue alarming levels of debt at the same time.

Pearson immediately backed Brown ahead of a crucial clash with Stoke next Sunday but refused to confirm whether he would stay on further, saying:

"Phil will be manager on Sunday but there's no point me saying he's got a job for life, that's not the case. We need results, quickly, and that puts pressure on everyone at the club."

Damning praise indeed.

What makes Hull's position near the bottom of the Premier League all the more worrying is the comments from Deloitte last week regarding the club's finances.

The club, which has the seventh highest wage bill in the top flight, apparently needs to raise £23million just to cover their costs before the season is out. The Premier League TV money is vital to that and if it is taken away, it’s hard to see where the money is going to come from. The club's most bankable asset, Michael Turner, has already been sold while other high earners, such as Giovanni and Jimmy Bullard, have little re-sale value.

Sadly, Brown or no Brown I see Premier League relegation ahead for the Tigers. Their fantastic start to last season raised expectations to unrealistic levels and their plummet down the table and subsequent struggles this season is more realistic for a club which spent much of the last decade in the bottom two divisions.

Sadly, during their brief stay at the top table they have maxed out the credit card and with little or no assets to pay it back, the administrators may soon be knocking at the door. Once that chain of events has been started the decline will prove very hard to arrest...just ask Charlton and Leeds fans.

If they upset the Premier League football betting odds and win on Sunday, this may give Brown a stay of execution. But while they can win that battle I can’t see them winning the war and I fear a swift return to the Championship, and all the financial woes that entails, is beckoning.

Rolling back the years?

2009-10-26T15:14:00.000-07:00

Yesterday's 2-2 draw against Fulham felt more like a capitulation than a draw. Walking away from Eastlands on a cold, wet Sunday evening, the first questions that came to mind were as follows. Was this an aberration? Or have we just taken a massive step back into last season?

I try not to be a pessimist, nor the fan who has a short memory. Our start to the season has been excellent. But the manner of this draw brought back some unwanted memories. The bloke on my left summed it up. At 2-2, with Fulham looking decent value for the winner, he turned to his mate, sighed, and uttered the words: “I’ll settle for a point.”The reality is that we should not be settling for a point. We really should not be going to 2-0 up at home and then drawing games, not with this squad of players.

The defence

Clearly still not right, and by today’s standards there appears to be some way to go before we are talking top four. The warning signs were there in the first half when Bobby Zamora ballooned an effort over the bar from yards out and with Given sprawling. The concentration of Micah Richards worries me. He was in no mans land in terms of stopping the cross that led to the first Fulham goal. Clint Dempsey’s equaliser was down to the central defensive pairing, and if I was pushed to name names I’d point the finger at Joleon Lescott.

And let’s also not forget that Fulham had the chances to win the match.

The really worrisome point is that our current defensive frailties are beginning to stand out. I don’t have much tactical nous, but if I were the next opposition manager to visit Eastlands, I’d certainly tell my centre forwards to get in amongst Toure and Lescott and pressurise them at all costs.

The midfield

We know what Fulham are about. They are about patient, disciplined football, two banks of four. Mistakes are kept to a minimum. The left hand knows what the right is doing. For this reason I think a midfield combination of Barry and Ireland would’ve been more potent. De Jong has been playing very well, and away from home when we are certain to be under the cosh we need him. But I think we need to be more ambitious at home against non-top four teams. Hughes talked about the need to shift around Fulham’s formation, manoeuvre it out of shape to create space to play into. With two defensive minded, tidy midfield players in Barry and De Jong, I think we gave ourselves less of a chance to accomplish this. Petrov was the positive in this department – his switches of play were good, but we didn’t take advantage of them.

The other side to the defensive-offensive midfield debate is that we already had four very potent attackers on the field in the form of Tevez, Adebayor, Petrov and Bellamy. So to place another offensive minded player – like Ireland – on the pitch would be a big risk against a Fulham team looking to hit us on the counter. It is swings and roundabouts. We all know Hughes has a conundrum on his hands tweaking the team against every new opponent. Perhaps sometimes there can be too many options on the table for a manager that has, in the past, been forced to work with very limited resources.

The attack

Tevez was the better striker in the first half. He created a few chances for others and had two very good scoring opportunities himself. I certainly admire the Argentinean for all his toil, but the £25.5m man should be putting away these opportunities.

Adebayor was off form. He wasn’t on the ball enough, we didn’t see enough of his power and pace, nor his ability to run at defenders. And whilst I’m harping on about Adebayor, I’ll also say that for a big man he doesn’t win enough headers for my liking. Still, his talent is so huge that he should’ve made a bigger impact on this game.

Implications

This result was all the more disappointing because of the results around us. A win would’ve seen us jump to third place, making ground on United due to their Anfield defeat, and overtaking Arsenal, Spurs and Liverpool. Fulham are a good team, but we should be putting them away at home if we want to think about nicking fourth and / or beyond.

I don’t want to sound overly negative. It is still early days and we have hardly lost touch with the top four. Arsenal drew – albeit away from home - in a very similar fashion yesterday and of course Spurs were defeated at White Hart Lane against Stoke – which must have been a real gutter for them. Perhaps all of this is evidence that the league is changing in the sense that it will be a tighter affair this time around. I hope that is the case, rather than the other more depressing scenario that despite so much investment, the Blues are still in the business of throwing away games like the City teams of yesteryear.

Fragility and greatness: the return of Michael Johnson

2009-10-24T04:53:00.000-07:00

The first quarter of the season has brought many positives for Manchester City, perhaps none more satisfying than the return of academy product Michael Johnson.

The young midfielder made a substitute appearance in the 3-1 win against West Ham and was then on the bench for the visits to Aston Villa and Wigan Athletic. If he keeps his fitness and continues along his current path, a regular place in the first team squad must beckon. This represents a fantastic achievement for the lad from Urmston.

Flashes of greatness: a new talent emerges
Since breaking into the City first team in 2004, Johnson has already experienced much of what the game has to offer. Initially, these came in the form of unforgettable highs. It was playing in Sven-Goran Erikisson’s free-flowing, high octane, high risk attack of the early 2007/08 season where Johnson really made his mark, scoring the winning goal in a 1-0 win over Derby County.

Picking up the ball at the halfway line, Johnson showed his guile by rounding the opposition midfielder, his strength by brushing away the oncoming challenge, his linkup play by interchanging passes with Elano, his first touch by deftly knocking the Brazilian’s pass into a goal scoring position, and finally his goal scoring instinct, as (in full stride) he struck the ball with the outside of his boot and curled it around the keeper into the back of the net.

Irrespective of the opposition, the strike was immense and indeed was all the more so because it represented so much more than a goal. It represented a player who had the whole package. Later, Johnson went on to score a similar goal against Aston Villa. Surrounded with the new, exciting talent of the Eriksson era, the world was at Michael Johnson’ feet.

Rumour and injury: the nightmare begins
But that world soon shattered. Soon after Johnson scored his wonder goals he was sidelined with a reoccurring abdominal injury. At first the midfielder was out for a short period, but further abdominal problems eventually caused him to miss the majority of last season.

And then rumours began to emerge that all was not well with the young midfielder. For someone who was attempting to get fit, he was supposedly being seen far too much in the wrong places at the wrong hours. With the club struggling to get to bottom of his injury, the lad was losing his way. Hughes’ assistant Mark Bowen could’ve been interpreted to indicate as much when he gave an interview to the Daily Telegraph in December 2008:

“Michael is a young lad who has been unlucky. He has had a nagging injury that has held him back. When Michael in on the training ground and is focused he is a fantastic asset for this club. When young players have been in and out of action as long as he has it can mess your mind up a little bit because they just want to be out there playing. He has just got to be strong, fight through it, train hard and get back in the team. In the early part of the season he was a big player for us and we miss him.”

Seeing Johnson interviewed about his fitness on Sky Sports News, it was easy to believe that he had lost his way. He looked extremely uncomfortable and nervous, and it was clear for all to see that he had gained a lot of weight.

The Bell albatross
Johnson’s build, gait, footballing attributes and surging runs into the box from midfield positions earned him comparisons with Steven Gerard. But the heftier comparison came in the form of Colin Bell, for many fans the greatest player ever to play for the club.

The sidelines of a football pitch are a lonely furrow to plough for any player, but for one such as Johnson, such a young boy with the weight of Bell on his shoulders, I suspect those furrows were immense. To add to this, he has had to sit and watch the unprecedented upheavals that have taken place at the club over the last year. Witnessing the City midfield get stronger with every transfer window – first Kompany, then De Jong, then Barry, whilst excellent additions for the average fan, certainly cannot have been good news for the returning Johnson. With his starting place in midfield long gone, he was in real danger of being overtaken by bigger events.

A welcome romance
However fragile, Johnson’s re-emergence in pre-season, coupled with his return to first team action must be taken as a huge positive. Hughes and his team must also take some credit. In these situations, I believe mental toughness is just as important as physical fitness. Indeed, I think the stronger you are mentally, the less likely you are to get seriously injured. It has been no surprise to see Hughes building up Johnson’s confidence, first talking of the midfielder’s great potential and then speaking of how Johnson started so well in the early days of the Hughes regime before his major injury. Knowing full well that the minds of idle young men can wander, the key for Hughes and his team has been making Johnson still feel wanted, still feel as if he has a major part to play in City’s future. I think they have got it exactly right. Johnson’s pre-season return prompted Hughes into this statement:

"I thought it was a good exercise for us, a lot of players had good periods, but a big positive was Michael Johnson getting through 45 minutes. We are absolutely delighted with that. I was really pleased with what he was able to produce in that time. If we can get him back at anywhere near the level that we know he is capable of then it's like an extra player for us this year.”

I couldn’t agree more. The academy has produced some good graduates in recent years. Micah Richards, blistering when he first emerged, has since hit a sustained patch of inconsistency. If Nedum Onouha keeps on building up his game in the quiet and assured way that he has to date, he is certain to become a formidable international-class defender. Stephen Ireland has become a vital cog in the City engine room, attracting attention even from Old Trafford. Ireland’s dynamism, footballing brain, energy and goals make him a cut above most players. You can see from his performances that he is ready for the Champions League. And then of course we have the raw talent of Daniel Sturridge, spirited away by the clutches of Ancelotti’s Chelsea. All of these players are good. Some are excellent. Others outstanding. But Johnson is better. With the ability to do it all, he has the potential to reach the greatness that City fans would like nothing better to see coming from one of their own.

And this is where the real romance of Johnson’s return emerges. The midfielder is special not only because of his footballing abilities but because he may buck the wider trend of the club in recent times. He is the young, homegrown talent that we as City fans all want to see mix it with the rest of the expensively assembled squad. If he could rise to this challenge, it would be proof that, through the mediocre years since returning to the Premiership, the academy really was capable of producing the kind of class that could compete at the top of the game.

Of course, rising to that challenge is one thing. Overcoming it is something else. The task facing Johnson is bigger than the task facing Richards or Shaun Wright-Phillips for the simple reason that he is coming into probably the most highly competitive area of the team. But if can get fit and stay fit, he stands a great chance of overcoming the barriers of first team selection that stand in his way, just as John Terry and Steven Gerard overcame similar hurdles.

A fit again Michael Johnson will bring another dimension to a squad that it already hugely talented. Questions of fragility remain, but I am sure I would not be alone by saying that I for one would like nothing more than to see him answer those questions that are now surely heading his way.

Is the dream turning into a nightmare for Notts County?

2009-10-20T02:36:00.000-07:00

A few months ago I wrote a blog comparing the fortunes of England’s two Magpies – Newcastle and Notts County.

Back then Newcastle were in despair, mourning the loss of their Premier League status. Meanwhile, County were sky high, revelling in their new found wealth.

Their takeover in July, by the mysterious Munto Finance group, promised a bright future and lofty ambitions included Premier League football once more for the oldest league club in the world.

It got better.

Sven Goran Eriksson was dramatically introduced as director of football; the glamorous figurehead for what was to be a glorious revolution. The club heavily invested in new players, including Man City keeper Kasper Schmeichel and, now infamously, Sol Campbell.

They deserved to be taken seriously and with the media glare firmly focused on the club, they began to outgrow their lowly League Two status.

But League Two is where they currently reside, like it or not, and for Campbell it proved too much. A defeat against Morecambe on his debut proved the tipping point for the former Arsenal defender, who asked to be released from his contract, citing broken promises over new signings.

It proved embarrassing for the Magpies, with their marquee player calling it quits, but with Eriksson and manager Roy McFarland guiding the team, things still looked bright.

Then questions began to be raised about the true identity of the club's owners. Newspapers began to question the validity of the takeover and the FA met to discuss the ownership issue. They are still to ratify it officially.

The uncertainty continued on the pitch when, after a 2-2 draw with Torquay, manger Roy McParland was sacked. Then, just a week after rejecting overtures from North Korea, Eriksson emerged as the favourite in the international football odds for the Sweden national job.

It has proved to be another negative headline story in what has been a frantic, turbulent and unpredictable few months for the Nottingham club. If Eriksson departed, it would seriously damage the club's reputation and the credibility of its mysterious owners.

For a club that has battled for its very survival in recent years, it may be wrong to say the dream has turned into a nightmare just yet. But if the rumours and scandal continue much longer, I imagine many County fans will wish the takeover never happened.

As for the other Magpies? Well, with the hangover of relegation successfully eased, they sit joint top of the Championship and look well set for an automatic promotion push.

How things change.

Tickets Punched - USA On Its Way To South Africa 2010

2009-10-11T08:51:00.000-07:00

The USA Men's National Team defeated Honduras last night in CONCACAF qualifying 3-2, to cap off a thrilling second half of end-to-end football that saw both five goals scored as the Americans "made the cut" for their 6th straight World Cup.

This was a crazy match, surrounded by upheaval before it even began, as Honduras is suffering through an internal political crisis that added extra angst to the proceedings along with the fact that (bizarrely) US soccer fans were left with no way to watch the game on TV. FIFA, in their infinite wisdom (you'll note my sarcasm), gifts the hosting country of WC qualifiers the broadcasting rights of their matches to sell on the open-market. Unfortunately and annoyingly, the rights were sold to a crappy Mexican broadcasting corporation, that refused to allow the game to be seen on anything other than a few closed-circuit outlets. Most US fans were forced to watch via online feeds like JustinTV just to get a glimpse of this critical game.

And what a game it was, as scrappy Honduras, surely the surprise shock of CONCACAF's qualifying campaign, threw their heart and soul against the occasionally shaky back four of the United States. Starting out with a powerful and perfectly placed free kick to net their 1st goal (by Julio Cesar De Leon) in the 47th minute, the Hondurans surely felt the match was headed their way until surprise starter Connor Casey muscled his way above both a Honduran defender and the keeper to powerfully head home the equalizer only 8 minutes later in the 55th minute. The goal seemed to shock both the home team and its fans as the US began to build up attack after attack and finally cracked the scoring sheet yet again in the 66th after an inch-perfect pass by Landon Donovan gave Casey his second goal of the night. To its credit, Honduras continued to attack with abandon, causing constant difficulties down the right flank but it was the USA who would strike again on a beautiful Landon Donovan free kick from the left-side of the box after Connor Casey was tripped up.

US fans must have breathed a sigh of relief at that point only to watch in agony as the Hondurans nearly scored their second only to have it over-turned due to offsides. Unfortunately, for nerve-wracked Yanks everywhere, Julio Cesar De Leon finally scored the Honduran's second goal at the 78th minute ratcheting up the pressure ten-fold. After another near-miss from a flubbed Bicycle-Kick attempt, Hondurans everywhere erupted in excitement as a hand-ball foul by Jonathan Spector had the referee pointing to the spot for a PK attempt. Carlos Pavon lined up and promptly skied his kick over the crossbar. Pavon was gifted another chance to equalize for the hosts but his close-range header again sailed harmlessly over the bar.

After about 3 minutes of intense injury-time play, the US had weathered the storm and booked a position in the upcoming World Cup.

A few observations from this match from a US fan's perspective:

The Good - The US played much better in midfield for large portions of the game, something we've not seen from them with any consistency, Good finishing with the sole exception of Benny Feilhaber's missed 1v1 with the keeper around the 90th minute that could have put the game away, and finally, the team maintained its composure despite the intense circumstances

The Bad - Momentary lapses of concentration on defense are still a major cause for concern.

The Ugly - With this loss, a hard-working, talented, and very deserving Honduras side's chances for a World Cup spot are in serious jeopardy. Here's to hoping that the US will put forth a strong effort against Costa Rica enabling Honduras to qualify. Their fans were classy and respectful during the US National Anthem and after the match, actually applauding the US for its success. This was a bit of a shock coming from the classless Mexican team and fans in Azteca - they could learn a thing or two from the Hondurans.

Has Ferguson over stepped the mark with Wiley dig?

2009-10-08T03:12:00.000-07:00

He is the master of the mind games. He has used the power of the press to manipulate a plethora of situations back into his favour. But after his latest attempt to cover up his sides failings, has he gone too far.

For those who have not yet heard, here is what Ferguson said in the aftermath of United's last gasp 2-2 draw with Sunderland:

“He didn’t add any time on for the goal we scored. There were only four minutes and two seconds’ injury time. There should have been another 30 seconds, but he was actually walking up the pitch after the goal, needing a rest. He just wasn’t fit enough for a game of that stature.

“The fitness of both sets of players, the pace of the game, demanded a referee who was fit. He’s not fit."

“It’s an indictment of our game that we see referees from abroad are fit as butchers’ dogs. We’ve got some good referees in our country who are fit, but he wasn’t. He was taking 30 seconds to book a player as he was taking a rest.”

Damning words indeed towards a ref Ferguson was all too happy to have a laugh and a giggle with after his side had scored a 95th minute winner against Man City a few weeks back.

At 49 Wiley could be forgiven for having to take breather in what was another frantic Premier League game. But in these days of professional referees there is no way he would have got near the Old Trafford pitch if he was not deemed fit enough.

So is such a personal attack on Wiley necessary?

After all he is basically suggesting that Wiley is physically not up to the job and is bordering on the slanderous. Ferguson knows the tests referees need to go through and it seems just a needlessly personal remark to make, whatever his frustrations at his sides' performance.

A few weeks ago when United scored in added time of added time everything was rosy. Now, when United couldn't grab an injury time winner to go on top of their injury time equaliser, he goes straight to the ref. I can imagine Ferguson's reaction if a reporter suggested at 67 he is past it and is not fit for modern management!

Therefore I personally feel Ferguson doesn't really care whether he is right or not in this case, all he needs is for the baying press to talk about his post-match comments rather than his sides poor on-field performance. It’s a clever tactic used by several managers in the Premier League. It shifts the intense media spotlight away from the players and gives the manager breathing space to work with them, get things right next time and improve their odds of winning the Premier League.

I guess the very fact that I'm blogging about this, rather than United's performance, proves it worked and Fergie still knows what he is doing.

But that doesn't mean he's right.

Manchester City's season so far

2009-10-03T08:10:00.000-07:00

Any reasonably minded City fan cannot really complain. Eight competitive games played, seven won. Its been a strong start to the new season. Actually, no. Its been more than strong. The victory against West Ham makes it City's best league start since 1961.

The defeat of Arsenal
The real high so far has been the 4-2 defeat of Arsenal, a match that will go down in Eastlands history because of the intensity in which it was played and controversy that it produced. The skill, pace and power of Emmanuel Adebayor is something that City fans should cherish. Such a shame for these talents to be dampened by the attack on Robin van Persie. I am not fully convinced that the Arsenal striker’s head was the intended target, but that Adebayor went for some part of van Persie is not in doubt. Seen in the longue duree of the game, the actions of the former Arsenal man become a bit more understandable. The intensity that Wenger’s men directed towards Adebayor was there for all to see. But stamping on another player is not the way to do business and I have no qualms over his ban.

The hatred that existed between Adebayor and the Arsenal fans before the game has now surely been increased tenfold by that infamous goal celebration. Lost in the rhythms of a highly charged game it was a stupid thing to do, but also I think excusable. That is much easier to say when you are on the winning side. And being a City fan, I will always be biased of course.

The mainstay of City's success
If the goals of Adebayor represent the icing on the cake of a season that has started so well, it has been the energy, concentration and pure footballing savvy of players like Gareth Barry that represent the foundation upon which this early success has been built.

Clearly this is an area in which the team has massively improved. Grinding out wins against the likes of Blackburn, Portsmouth, Crystal Palace and Fulham means that the team is already displaying a resilience that I have never seen in twenty-odd years of supporting City. Barry’s ball pursuit, ball retention and ball distribution skills are not only of a very high quality but are also consistent. Moreover, they seem to have spread throughout the team. Although it was against lesser opposition, the Palace game is the best example of this new kind of tenacity. Palace gave us a hell of a game, and attacked with bags of energy and speed. City teams of old would have withered under this style of play – that this City team didn’t is highly encouraging.

A Derby to remember
What a match. I disagreed with all the media hype surrounding this fixture – that it was a judgement on whether we were going to be real challengers to United’s title. People forget that Derby games are never a good measure of where the two teams are at. It’s a cliché, but form really does go out of the window. We’ve gone to Old Trafford in the past with much lesser teams and have got much better results, so I don’t accept linking the outcome of this fantastic game to the position of City’s project.

Irrespective of the injury time (or should that be Taggart Time) controversy, I really believe that this was a game that we should have got more out of. After a shaky start, we equalised and ended up dominating the first half. After the break we were our own worst enemy, with the very qualities that have brought us so much success (ball pursuit, retention and distribution) deserting us for the best part of the second half. In this desertion lay the real reason for our defeat, not the supposedly sublime attacking talent of United. They are clearly a top side, but the mistakes we made coupled with our inability to keep hold of the ball meant that United were able to press and press. Goals were thus inevitable.

The real sublime attacking talent of this game came in the form of Craig Bellamy. The Welshman was already on blob with his fizzing strike against Arsenal, but his goals at Old Trafford were a step up again. It will be interesting to see what happens when Robinho returns to the squad. For me, the Brazillian will need to do something to warrant starting ahead of Bellamy. Still, this is what we want – competition for places all over the pitch.

Having come back for the third time it was difficult to stomach coming away from Old Trafford with nothing. For Owen to score the winner will go some way towards justifying Ferguson’s gamble on a gambling man. Irrespective of what Ferguson may say of the Manchester rivalry, his joy at the final whistle showed just how much it meant to put one over on City. For me, Ferguson can enjoy this victory all he wants, but I think we stand an excellent chance of returning the favour at Eastlands.

The departure of Richard Dunne
From the moment our new owners were installed, the future of Richard Dunne, one of City’s most reliable servants of recent times, was in doubt. His move to Aston Villa on transfer deadline day was unsurprising, but for me was tinged with a little bit of sadness at the way in which he exited the club.

There is little room for sentimentality in football, and I accept that in footballing terms Richard Dunne was not the long term answer for the Manchester City of the future. But it is sad when you hear rumours of Garry Cook attempting to sell the City captain behind his back. We may never know the extent of the truth behind Dunne’s words, but I tend to believe him. There has been a bad taste in the mouth ever since a bullish Cook spoke in August 2008 of the need to replace steady, workmanlike players such as Dunne with global footballing superstars: “China and India are gagging for football content to watch and we’re going to tell them that City is their content. We need a superstar to get through that door. Richard Dunne doesn’t roll off the tongue in Beijing. Ronaldinho brings access to major sponsors and financial reward.”

Cook may well have been speaking the truth, but his comments were reckless and potentially highly disruptive. Speaking about the club captain in this way also showed a complete lack of respect – a word that City’s current owners seem to quite big on. Finally, Cook’s comments showed a lack of understanding. Dunne was the best thing about City up until very recently, with four player of the year awards in a row telling a story. The defender was a rock of stability in what was, at times, an extremely volatile and turbulent environment.

If Dunne is right, and Cook was trying to force a move behind the Irishman’s back, then this shows poor form. It is also surprising, given how savvy and in-touch the club seems to have been with everything else.

Good luck Dunney. You were good, but in the end you were the victim of wider machinations. Thanks for the massive effort over the years.

Conn’s trilogy
Our newfound prominence in the English game has given rise to some fantastic City analysis in the papers, coming in the shape of three big articles from The Guardian’s David Conn. Here’s some points I found interesting from Conn’s reporting:

The New Owners: for big business, for prestige, and for the love of the game

Conn’s first report focuses on the new owner of the club and his objectives. Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al-Nahyan is said by his friend and City Chairman, Khaldoon al-Mubarak, to have wanted to buy the club for two central reasons. One is the Sheikh’s supposed love of football, the irresistible pull of embarking on a “great football journey” that will finally bring sustained success to a club that has always underachieved.

The other motivation sounds much more realistic: to develop a business capable of reaping a long term (and probably lucrative) returns. But it doesn’t end there. Conn sheds light upon the really fascinating element of the deal: how City appear to have become a tool of the UAE’s foreign policy. Although the Sheikh is a businessman, and his purchase of the club has been a private one, his position as a member of the ruling family of Abu Dhabi also makes him a political figure. The nature of the Premier League meant that when Mansour’s deal became public knowledge, it became global public knowledge, a tool for Mansour to communicate with a new global audience. And herein lies the politics. The takeover of Manchester is now playing a big part in the global prestige of Abu Dhabi and, therefore, the UAE. The words of our Chairman echo this: “We are acknowledging that how we are handling this project is telling a lot to the world about who we are. The UAE is different from other Arab countries. People think the Arab world is one, but it is not. This is showing the world the true essence of who Abu Dhabi is and what Abu Dhabi is about.”

Khaldoon goes on to describe how the new Manchester-Abu Dhabi connection is much more than about football: “The reception from day one, from the fans, has been absolutely incredible. There is an element of bridge-building, of understanding, between the Arab world and England. It was never intended. The intent was business and football, but it has come along, as part of this journey.”

Disarray and disrepair: how we almost lost everything

Conn’s second instalment is perhaps the most alarming read. Here he analyses the last days of the Shinawatra regime, seeing as it did the appointment of Hughes as Manager and Cook as Chief Executive.

The revelation here comes in the form of Hughes’ naivety, and his admission that he nearly walked away from the club. Then Chairman Thaksin Shinawatra was clearly a wealthy man – perhaps even a billionaire – but his murky political background meant that he was facing corruption charges in his home country of Thailand. And that in turn meant that up to $2BN worth of his wealth was frozen by the Thai government, which was bad for City – and Hughes.
“The reality wasn’t exactly what was described and sold to me,” said the Welshman. That may be so, but one would’ve thought that one could work things out. As Conn reports, Shinawatra had after all been facing the charges since 2006. Clearly, for a manager coming into the fray the picture was not transparent. My view is that Hughes took a gamble.

Then there was the club infrastructure. Hughes quickly realised that the training facilities were shot and in addition was having to address suspicious goings-on within the club in the form of attempts to sell players behind his back.

The bottom line is that there was no money. The by now infamous cash flow story – when former chairman John Wardle has to loan the club £2M in order to pay playing personnel – it completely true. We were on the edge of a precipice, the worst debacle in the club’s history.

Should we be surprised? Probably not. We were living up to the ‘typical-City’ tag after all. The difference this time was that instead of there being mistakes made on the field, there was mistake after mistake made off it – and with a good deal of stupidity thrown into the pot.

As Conn appears to suggest, it started with Wardle and Makin. Why did our previous owners even think about selling the club to a man facing wholesale corruption charges? Here were two men that were bailing out of a sinking ship.

The cacophony of errors carried on with Cook. “I deeply regretted my failure to do proper research on Thaksin,” said the City Chief Exec. I cannot understand how a former Nike Brand Jordan president fails to do the research on his next employer.

The real twist of it all is this – would there have been Mansour without Shinawatra? Indirectly, Wardle and Makin may have just delivered us into the most financially powerful football club on earth. And there’s a twist with Hughes and Cook too. Despite their naiveties Shinawatra actually delivered the club two very talented individuals. I doubt whether Mansour would’ve appointed either, but as it happens the Sheikh has stuck by both because of the qualities they bring to the club.

We shouldn’t be surprised, for the simple reason that this was City – ‘typical City’ – a club capable of plundering the depths and touching the heavens in the same sentence. But strangely enough, things have somehow fallen into place.

Culture wars: the exorcism of ‘typical City’

Conn finishes his trilogy by detailing how the Hughes-Cook-Khaldoon axis has set about revamping the culture of the club, curing the ‘typical City’ disease.

For Hughes, it is about stamping out the bad habits of the previous regime. These include eradicating a cliquey dressing room that had been allowed to become so through Eriksson’s signings. Of course, here we are talking about Elano. Part of Hughes’ solution to this has already been well documented – offering the squad a ‘no-excuses culture’ – or in other words giving them everything they need to perform to best of their ability in every game so that there is no opportunity for them to whine. It is also about developing greater linkage between the youth academy and the senior squad, giving our younger players key opportunities to learn from top quality professionals in the first team. There are certainly a lot of latter about at present.

For Cook and Khaldoon, it is about thinking big off the field – something City have never done. In Conn’s previous articles, Khaldoon has talked about how he found the infrastructure of the club ‘unacceptable’ upon arrival. New, top line gym and treatment rooms were in place weeks after Khaldoon first set foot in Manchester. For Khaldoon also, it is about what image the club is projecting. Conn draws attention to this by emphasising a lengthy debate between Khaldoon and Hughes over the signing of Bellamy. The Chairman was clearly not convinced by this target and Hughes most likely had to do a bit of explaining to get his man. Khaldoon’s unwillingness to immediately yield could’ve been to do with footballing reasons, but I doubt it. It could’ve been to do with Bellamy’s chequered medical history perhaps. There’s a business dimension too: I can’t see Bellamy’s shirt sales competing with the likes of Robinho’s. But I also think that image also played a part. The Welsh striker has a history of disciplinary problems. Did we really want to sign a player who did not seem capable of channelling his aggression in the right direction? Did we really want to sign a player that appeared to be incompatible with some of the values of Abu Dhabi as outlined by Khaldoon himself: commitment, discipline and respect? At the moment Hughes is being proved right.

Cook’s role in the exorcism comes in the form of thinking globally, something that was embodied by the audacious move for Kaka. A big buzz word for Cook must be ‘ambition’. We may have ultimately failed, but as a club we showed massive ambition by lodging a bid for probably the most talented player in the world at the height of his powers. Moreover, the bid was credible and could’ve gone through given the right climate. Off the pitch, Manchester City has never thought bigger or had as much bottle in its entire history.

This exercise in exorcism is about mobilising the resources of the club to achieve three interlocking objectives: making big money, winning big trophies and projecting a positive image of Abu Dhabi worldwide.

All of this seems light years away from the days of Peter Swales. And it is.

Old Trafford classic

2009-09-22T02:11:00.000-07:00

Despite the Premier League’s reputation for being the most exciting league in the world matches like Sunday’s Manchester derby don’t come around too often.

I am supporter of neither team but I couldn’t help but be caught up in the breathless drama of it all. Local tussles such as this can often degenerate into passionate but scrappy affairs, with the fear of defeating leading to a drab draw.

But Wayne Rooney’s early strike on Sunday appeared to unleash a spring that had been wound up tighter and tighter during the build up to this encounter, with managers, players and fans all trading verbal blows. It became a derby match full of everything a spectator would hope to see. Great goals, great saves, great tackles; passion, drama and excitement - A true advert for the Premier League.

There was also plenty of controversy to add into the mix. Owen’s goal in the 96th minute will no doubt have infuriated Mark Hughes, who had just seen Bellamy seemingly rescue a point for his determined outfit.

Speaking of Bellamy, the Welshman scored two fantastic goals but then blotted his copybook with a needless cuff on a pitch invading supporter. The game summed up Bellamy really, he has bags of skill and talent but also struggles to keep his temper in order - there was no need to wander over to the supporter, who was being held by down two stewards, and hit him in the face. Just concentrate on what he is good at.

Though the following week at work will be hard to take for City fans to take, when the dust settles on this extraordinary game they will take heart from the fact they pushed their neighbours so far. United needed to be at their best to beat City on Sunday, something they haven’t needed to be in previous years. I get the feeling it won’t be long before the blue half of Manchester comes out on top in these local tussles.

For the rest of us we can just sit back and enjoy the spectacle, which will go down as one of the greatest games in Premier League history.

Fickle Finger of Blame

2009-09-15T07:59:00.000-07:00

Saturday Afternoon, Middle Eastlands Stadium in Manchester and Emmanuel Adebayor rises above a sparse Arsenal defence and nods in the clinching third goal of an enthralling back and forth encounter which adds substance to the blue half of Manchester's claim that they are Champions League bound....discuss!

Except that we're not discussing it are we, the pulsating match that took place, Adebayors own performance, City's display of pacy counter-attacking football and an electric atmosphere have all been over shadowed by Adebayors apparent revenge mission against Arsenal.
I feel sorry for Robin Van Persie, the Manchester City FC stewards (who deserve most if not all the credit here!), City fans and Mark Hughes who were all afftected directly by Adebayors pathetic attempts at retribution against, in his own mind at least, the Evil Empire of Arsenal.

Now please note here that i've not mentioned the Arsenal fans, as the question i'm now asking is who are the real culprits in this over-zealous game of one upmanships between fans and players?

Adebayor will undoubtedly be punished for his mindless, Usain Bolt like 90- yard dash to the Arsenal fans with the sole purpose of winding them up. The excuse that he was caught up in the moment loses credence when you consider the length of time that it actually took him to get down the other end, he knew exactly what he was doing......I think a better defence would be to say he was paying homage to Forrest Gump but didn't know where the Eastlands tunnel was in order to run down it!?
However lets take a small moment to imagine what was running through Adebayors head at the time, and it muddies the water of damnation just a little!

Even whilst he was playing for Arsenal, Adebayor was being booed by his own fans and abused by those who are supposed to be his supporters all because he had the sheer audacity to speak to another football team who had enquired about his services. I mean how dare he?? He's playing for Arsenal, why would he ever want to speak (with Arsenals permission) to the multiple time European Champions who have some of the worlds greatest players at their disposal, are one of the oldest and most respected on footbal clubs and who play in one of the Cathedrals of our beloved game?? He must be mad right??
So for this "indescretion" he his vilified by his own culminating in a move to Manchester City, which of course is proof that he was just after a big pay-day all along. But us fans are too dignified to move to another company that patys us more right.....WRONG!

Adebayor aside, players have to put up with the most ridiculous fan expectations, demands and sickening abuse that would result in arrest if it was done on the street. I've heard people say that Adebayor "shamed football" on Saturday, but what shamed me was the horrible chant labelling Adebayors family as slaves and prostitutes. So answer me this honestly, if someone came up to you in a pub on a Saturday night and said "here mate, your dads a no good car washer and your mums a dirty ass stripper" what would you do?? My bet would be a lot worse than Adebayor did!

It gauls me that after an entire match worth of goading and poking Adebayor with a stick, Arsenal fans then have the front to demand Adebayor be suspended for baiting them back! Now I do feel sorry, as I said, for the innocent Arsenal fans who don't get involved in the more sickening chants as they didn't deserved to get squashed by their cohorts but it doesn't excuse the level of abuse that now plagues our game.
In the last 4yrs of being a United season ticket holder, i've heard the following;

1) The Adebayor song that was sung by Arsenal fans on Saturday
2) Hissing noises being made by Uniteds fans, at the Tottenham fans.....and if anyone doesn't know the significance of this then believe me your better off not knowing!!
3) Stretford enders striking up a chorus of "Your wifes a Geordie ****" in the direction of Ashley Cole
4) The now infamous song relating a then crippled Eduardo, to the equally disliked figure of Heather Mills

Now you might say anyone taking this to heart needs to grow up a bit, and god knows that most of these players are paid enough that it more than makes up for the grief they get from opposition fans.....however I do feel that as football fans we need to take a long hard look at ourselves and admit that we have as much a part to play in on the pitch behaviour as the players have in off the field behaviour.

Think about the most annoying 10 customers you have at work, now imagine that those customers are allowed to sit next to you all day, once or twice a week, and sing derogatory songs about your lifestyle, your family, your performance etc etc etc
Now imagine you do something such as flip the bird to that same group of annoying customers, and not only are you suspended for it but you have hacks from all the papers camped on your door step harrassing your family for the next few days because of it.....are you telling me you wouldn't feel the slightest bit agrieved by it all???

I know lifes not as simple as that, football is a passionate sport and we're all guilty of over stepping the mark here and there, what I'm saying is simply that if we're capable of over stepping that mark on the terraces then surely we cannot be so quick to condemn others for doing so on the pitch.

International Break Brings Off Field Drama

2009-09-08T04:05:00.000-07:00

International breaks mean nothing to me if I'm honest, of course I watch my own contries games but I never feel as involved as I do when United are playing or even just watching another league game. So from my own personal viewpoint an international break is about as much fun as a tournament free close season.
However this international break has been different!

In recent times we have had the debate over simulation or diving or whatever you want to call it, my own personal word for it is cheating! Sparked by Eduardo's attempts at "earning" a penalty against Celtic that was hardly deserved, In Eduardo's defence it wasn't the worst example i've ever seen however it was a dive and he didn't help the matter by sporting a grin that is only equalled by a toddler who has gotten away with having his hand in the cookie jar!
However Uefa have been silly over this, Eduardo is NOT the only player guilty of this sin and to single him out and suddenly slap him with a ban is bordering on insanity. All that was needed from UEFA was a simple statement to say that anyone caught cheating in this manner is from now on subject to investigation and a possible ban, to punish without precedent or warning is not a logical step.

My own view is this, there is a VAST difference between playing for a penalty or free kick and diving for one! The Arsenal vs United game gave us 2 perfect examples however, Emmanuel Eboue (one of the worst offenders in football) literally launched himself into mid-air with no United player within 12 inches of making contact and then has the gaul to wag his finger at the referee when he was booked.
Then we have Wayne Rooney's penalty incident. Now before any of you accuse me of wearing Old Trafford tinted spectacles, I am the first to admit Rooney has been guilty of diving before and Ronaldo should've wore goggles the amount of diving he did! However like it or not that incident WAS a penalty.
Manuel Almunia made a grave error in rushing out to meet Rooney when he posed no real threat on goal, what Rooney did is what all players attempt to do and that is take advantage of an opponents mistake. Rooney knew full well that by getting to that ball first and prodding it out of the way, Almunia would clatter into him and foul him. It is not the attackers responsibility to avoid contact, it is the defenders job not to make it.

I hope you see the difference between the 2 incidents on display at Old Trafford, and the difference in the 2 theories in general.

This issue has now been lost in the wilderness and dwarfed by the larger and much graver issue of irregularities in youth level player transfers.
This to my mind, is something that must be stamped out immediately for the good of the game on a local and global scale!
Firstly 14, 15 & 16yr old boys should not be uprooted from their home (and in some cases their countries) to be brought here and pressurised into making it as a footballer or going home as a failure and with no qualification to start earning money with. Dangling the dream lifestyle in front of youngsters and then whipping it away from them in an instant is neither fair nor right.
Then we have the issue that the top clubs are scouring Europe for young talent instead of looking locally.
This is where American Sports leads the way, their treatment and handling of young sportsmen is second to none! They play for colleges/university who have academic standards that must be met in order for them to be allowed to play their chosen sport. If they don't learn, they don't play, if they don't play they don't get to chase their dream of playing in the NFL, NBA, MLB or NHL.
Then the teams pick the players based on their talent, which some may say is a bit cattle market, but it gives the lesser teams the first picks which means they get the better players and if god forbid the players don't make the grade then they still have a University degree to fall back on and a vocation to follow!
Why not implement a similar system in UK sport? The better players will always end up at the big clubs, but it gives the lower league clubs a basis in which to make themselves more financially stable and then build a team for at least a few years. It could be based on a county system so teams only take players from a catchment area and that would mean less upheaval for the youngsters.
Uefa have quite rightly jumped all over this issue, but they need to know prevent this from happening rather than punish the offenders. A transfer ban on all those under 18yrs old would ensure these players get a good grounding before moving around, then it means transfer fees have to be exchanged and that the selling club can at least have some control in the matter instead of just losing promising young players for pittances.

My only reservation about this story is that suddenly after making no comment whatsoever when the transfer occurred, teams are suddenly pouring out of the shadows to claim they were robbed of players. Whilst they may well be telling the truth, it does raise the question as to why nothing was said before and why official complaints were not raised before accusations are slung around in the media??

I have a feeling that transfer bans will loom large for Chelsea, Man City, Man United, Arsenal, Liverpool and maybe more for importing foreign talent against the rules....the bigger issue is if it has been going on between English clubs and what will happen to them??

John Barnes on the brink as Tranmere plummet.

2009-09-07T07:12:00.000-07:00

Usually the lower divisions offer calmer seas for managers to negotiate. Away from the cash rich goldfish bowl of the Premier League, fans and chairman are more sympathetic to the restrictions placed on lower league managers.

But given that Bryan Gunn was sacked less than a week into the new campaign those days appear to be numbered. Certainly in League One, which looks like being at it’s most competitive for years.

If Gunn was fired after one heavy defeat then new Tranmere boss John Barnes must be really feeling the heat.

To say they have made a bad start is to put it mildly. Five defeats out of six have left Rovers second bottom and the fans restless with the news of their ever increasing football odds of relegation.

While keen to give Barnes a chance they remain puzzled as to why former boss Ronnie Moore, a man used to working within lower league budgets, was let go in the first place, especially after a respectable finish last season, when only an 88th minute header from Scunthorpe’s Cliff Byrne nudged the Iron ahead of Tranmere in the play-off places.

Faced with another year in football league One and further budget cuts Moore was sacked ,with the club citing falling attendances as one of the reasons behind it.

From the outside it looks like the Tranmere board have put their faith in Barnes’ reputation from his playing days, where he was one of the best midfielders of his generation. This would then inspire the players to greater heights and encourage the fans to return to Prenton Park to watch Barnes’ young charges strut their stuff.

Barnes’ immediate problem was lowering the wage bill as further budget cuts were made and he has been forced to trim the squad. This meant it was a very youthful looking Rovers side that took to the field at Yeovil’s Huish Park on August 8. But five defeats on the spin with 12 conceded and none scored have left the fans baying for blood

To be fair to Barnes the club have had to play many of the top sides. But it is the manner of those defeats that have hurt the fans the most and they have begun to question Barnes’ ability to turn it around.

Sadly I feel Tranmere have gone for the glamour option in a bid to win back the fans but have lost sight of the realities of league one, which is tougher than ever this year.
Great players don’t always make great managers and unless we see a dramatic turn around, I think we may have to add Barnes to that list.

Season So Far & Predictions

2009-08-27T04:31:00.000-07:00

Hello again everyone, my apologies for not being able to analyze my picks from the opening weekend, been having a little computer trouble. For those of you keeping tabs I'm sure you'll agree I didn't do too badly!?
Anyway I thought I'd offer my thoughts on the season so far as well as giving a shortened version of my pics for this weekend.

The opening weekend didn't provide many shocks. Most of the big 4 looked rusty, but only Liverpool paid for it but against a Spurs side who are looking vastly improved this year and playing with a lot of confidence. The biggest shock to me was Evertons capitulation against Arsenal, I watched every second of that game on ESPN and i've never seen a display that lacked as much creativity as Evertons that day. Arsenal were good, but i've not seen anything yet to convince me that they will sustain a challenge for honours they thrashed a shocking Everton fair enough, beat a poor Stoke side....so what? And Celtic although probably not the better team can probably count themselves hugely unlucky to have been 2-0 at Parkhead!
In the chasing group Spurs and City have started well, City fans will be especially pleased with the clean sheets and Spurs fans with the fact they have been pegged back or gone behind and still gone onto win. Spurs teams of previous years may have folded under Liverpool pressure in the opener, this team seemed to thrive in it.
Villa have been the Jekyll and Hyde of the opening games, woeful against Wigan and yet sensational at Anfield!? As for the rest its as you were last year really, Burnley have had a good start and they will need that to get them through the dog days of December and January against quality opposition, Portsmouth are relying on takeover being able to buy quality otherwise the writings on the wall i'm afraid.

Of course all this can change in an instant, and drawing any solid theories about challengers and relegation fodder is pointless until at least October/Novemeber. However this weekend throws up interesting match-ups that will act as an early indicator as to how teams will fare due to a lot of top clashes, or relegation 6 pointers.......if you can call them that at this stage.
Here are my "expert" picks for the weekends Premiership action;

Blackburn Rovers vs West Ham United
Blackburn have looked unspectacular to say the least, they have lost Franco Di Santo through injury and a direct quote from a City fan friend of mine after the opening day game which he attended stated "the ball spends more time in the air than a boeing 747". Typical Alladyce stuff really, but will it work against Upson and co?
West Ham have been shown up by a mindless section of their fanbase, thats not the West Ham fans I know! West Ham fans i've met are lively, passionate and knowledgable and its a pleasure to talk football with them and share a drink before a game.......who those imposters were I do not know!
Look for a response from Zola and his players, showing the true West Ham pedigree

Verdict: Blackburn 0 - 1 West Ham

Bolton Wanderers vs Liverpool
Liverpool have been poor to start the year, it looks like the tag of "Title Favourites" is weighing on them a little. Rafa is ranting already, Gerrard is off form and troubled and Fernando Torres would be best served concentrating on playing his game rather than chasing referees!
However don't get any false hope Bolton fans, you've been no great shakes this year either and Megsons comment about how they are treated differently to all other Premiership teams was laughable, smacks a little of excuse mongering to me!
I tipped Bolton to go down, nothing I've seen has changed that

Verdict: Bolton 1 - 3 Liverpool

Chelsea vs Burnley
One of the more intriguing games of the weekend here, Burnley are off and running with two really good home wins. However they play open football and only an inspired display from Jensen stopped United getting a result. They were beaten easily on opening day by a big strong Stoke side, Chelsea are no midgets either I think this will tell in the end.
CHelsea are starting to click and Lampard looks like he LOVES the 4-4-2 diamond system they use....all this leads to one thing

Verdict: Chelsea 2 - 0 Burnley

Manchester United vs Arsenal
Interesting game this one, United looked good against Wigan but poor against Burnley and average against Birmingham. Which is more likely to happen this weekend?
Arsenal will be confident, but rocked by the news Cesc Fabregas is out of the game with a hamstring strain. Can they be as composed and effective without him?
Look for an Scholes and Fletcher midfield combo to harrass Arsenal and nudge them out of their stride, it might just come down to who takes the chances.

Verdict: United 1 - 1 Arsenal

Stoke City vs Sunderland
Stoke are another of what I affectionately(ish) call the Premierships RAF squadrons, but despite not playing dazzling one touch football they are effective! Sunderland have started well, but unlike West Ham at Blackburn I don't think they have the right defenders to handle this kind of attack.

Verdict: Stoke 2 - 1 Sunderland

Tottenham Hotspur vs Birmingham City
Birmingham have been a bit of a riddle at the start of the campaign, they've picked up points without ever really getting out of the blocks in games. However they have been playing teams who have been rusty or just plain poor.....Tottenham are bang in form, have quality all over the pitch and are confident. They will also want to prove that they aren't going to drop points against so called lower teams this year

Verdict: Tottenham 3 - 0 Birmingham

Wolverhampton Wanderers vs Hull City
Put these 2 teams together and you have a solid mid-table outfit. Wolves create more chances but don't have the players to take them, Hull don't create as much but look like they have forwards capable of scoring goals!
Hull will be the better defensively for sure, but Mick McCarthy has for once fashioned a good footballing side this will be a pretty good game

Verdict: Wolves 1 - 1 Hull

Aston Villa vs Fulham
This is more of the guess which Villa will turn up, than guess the result. If the Villa from Anfield turn up then they'll sneak a win, if the opening day Villa show up then expect Fulham to wander back down the M1 with the points.
However look out for Villa, if they sign Distin/Dunne and Warnock as is rumoured they will be a very hard team to beat

Verdict: Villa 1 - 0 Fulham

Everton vs Wigan Athletic
Everton will be desperate for a result here, they've clearly been distracted by the atrocious behaviour of Joleon Lescott. It wasn't the sole reason for their embarrassment by Arsenal but it contributed i've no doubt. Against Burnley they were no better and without their best defender.
Wigan have flattered to deceive, they took advantage of a poor Villa performance and whilst playing some attractive stuff have not really threatened since.

Verdict: Everton 1 - 0 Wigan

Portsmouth vs Manchester City
This is, in a strange kind of way, a key game for City. This is exactly the kind of game that they would lose in previous seasons (similar to Spurs). Playing well against a poor side in massive turmoil, they should turn them over easily but there-in lies the test!! Will City go into the game focused or complacent?
For Pompey fans its hard to see where the hope comes from, they've not looked like scoring at any point this season and look like a team hoping for a saviour. Will the new owner be that man, well even if he is its not going to help them in this game!!

Pompey 0 - 2 City

Premier League openers – what have we learnt?

2009-08-25T03:41:00.000-07:00

Pause for breath – two weeks of the Premier League are down and already we have had our fair share of headlines. But what have we learnt so far? Here are a few things I have noticed.

Arsenal may do better than many predicted

A flying start if there ever was one; the Gunners charged out of the blocks with that massive 6-1 win at Goodison Park. Goals continued against Pompey as well as that win over Celtic in the final round of Champions League qualifying. The only question mark maybe over the squad depth, does Wenger need to strengthen before the deadline?

Key player – Thomas Vermaelen. The ‘Verminator’ is already a cult figure with the Arsenal fans after a great start to his Gunners career.

City are in business.

Two games two wins, the Arabian revolution is well underway at Eastlands.
It has been the talk of the summer, how will City cope with the influx of new signings? Well it seems like they will be just fine. The one thing that has surprised me has been their defending. Yes they have an impressive forward line but at Blackburn in particular they were made to scrap for the result and are yet to concede. An exciting season ahead for City fans.

Key player – Emmanuel Adebayor, Two goals in two games is just what City needed from their big money striker. The key is sustaining it throughout the season.

Everton need players.

With the Lescott deal seemingly completed Everton need to strengthen their squad desperately. Their whole pre-season has been tainted by the Lescott situation and with no players arriving the team has looked stale and dis-jointed in their two opening games. With others around them adding players to their squad, Moyes has some work to do if they are to repeat last year’s 5th place finish.

Key player – Anyone who Moyes brings in

The promoted trio could stay up.

The land mark result was, of course, Burnley’s win over Man United but all three promoted clubs could stay up this term for the first time since 2002. Wolves grabbed their first ever Premier League away win at Wigan while Birmingham got four points at home and were unlucky to lose at Old Trafford. Bear this in mind before placing any Premier League football bets as some of the other Premier League strugglers may start to get worried.

Key players – Robbie Blake, James McFadden and Andy Keogh, all earned their sides valuable early season points.

Spurs may finally challenge the top four.

They flatter to deceive most years but after a flying 100% start Harry Redknapp may finally have turned Spurs into the real deal. Jermin Defoe is in red hot form, Luka Modric is finally justifying his transfer fee and Aaron Lennon is producing an end product to his pacy runs and dribbles. Injuries in defence may let them down, Woodgate and King will always miss games. But it maybe the year were things finally click at the Lane.

Key player – Jermian Defoe, continued his England form with his club to help Spurs win all three of their games.

Blue Dawn

2009-08-14T14:54:00.000-07:00

A new Premiership season is on our doorstep. For City fans, it is perhaps the most eagerly anticipated season in the club’s history. Do we step forward into a new, exciting era? Or has nothing really changed? Will we forever be consigned with the ‘typical City’ disease? The answers are coming.

In the league, I predict that we will finish in 6th place. Our first opponents, Blackburn, will represent a tough test. Indeed, Allardyce and his men are already talking of a tough battle that lies ahead.

If Hughes had bought fresh talent from the likes of La Liga / Serie A / Bundesliga, then I could understand the threats currently being levelled at City’s newcomers. What we all know of course is that Hughes has done the exact opposite. The assertion that Blackburn will ‘kick lumps’ out of City does not completely stand up given than they will be facing a team of weathered Premiership professionals. Clearly the game is City’s to lose and the key question mark hangs over the team’s ability to understand and gel with each other under competitive Premiership conditions.

The biggest unknown
There’s been a lot said over Mark Hughes’ job prospects. There is no doubt that there is big pressure now on the Welshman and his team. Many – including an increasingly irate David Moyes for one – would probably like to see us fail. Hughes will know this, just as he will know that as a manager, these are the moments that you have to seize with both hands. No other club in the world has the resources that he has at his disposal. These are the kinds of chances that only come along once.

There are many unknowns ahead. Yes, this is now Hughes’ team, but in a sense we are starting again. It is a whole clean slate up front and, to a certain extent, in the engine room.

It could be perceived that in these first few games Hughes may, strangely enough, be at his most vulnerable than at any other point during his tenure at the club. I would tend to agree with this assessment.

But the realm of perception can be misleading and does not give us the answer to the biggest unknown: if things don’t go according to plan, just how far will the Khaldoon-Mansour-Cook axis go before it wields the knife? Everyone naturally assumes the worst because the law of football these days is based on return for investment. No return for investment equals the sack, at least that is the convention. But since when have City been conforming to the norm? How then, are we to gage Mansour’s flexibility, or what his reaction will be if we are adrift of the top five a couple of months into the season? As always with City, we are left guessing. It is a season of great promise and excitement, but also a campaign of murky unknowns.

Until the first ball is kicked in anger, there is nothing more to say except to wish Hughes and his squad the best of luck.

Here goes nothing.

The Opening Weekend: Predictions

2009-08-11T05:53:00.000-07:00

Thats right folks 11 long weeks are all but over, and after the highly entertaining entree of the Community Shield its time to get down to the serious nitty gritty. Stamford Bridge on a Saturday lunchtime is the venue for this years opening game and others will follow over the weekend where every single fan hopes for glory and entertainment for the coming season.......and Just for Men as a Christmas Present!!

For my part i'm going to play a couple of roles this year. As some of you may know I'm a fully paid up Season Ticket holder at Old Trafford and will be giving you the talking points from our home games from my point of view in the stands, who played well and who didn't, why did the ref miss that foul etc etc

However before the majority of weekend fixtures I'm also going to have a go at putting my footballing "knowledge" to the test to see how many games and scores I can get right, i'm hoping you'll add you own in the comments section and we can see who gets the best every weekend.....i'm afraid I can offer no prize money, have you seen the price of a season ticket these days!?!?

Anyway as is tradition we shall begin at the beginning, week one of the new Barclays Premier League campaign!

Aston Villa vs Wigan
Villa have lost thier leader in Martin Laursen, but Wigan have lost their flair and pace with Valencia now gone. The Latics defence will not be able to cope with the power and pace of Villa's attack.....

Prediction: Aston Villa 3 - 1 Wigan Athletic

Blackburn vs Man City
Worst possible game to start for City, even a big 4 team would have been better as they'd have been out to prove themselves. As it is City face their two biggest achilles heels, away games and mid-table teams......Blackburn will be up for giving the Nouvea Riche a bit of good ol Lancastrian 'Umble Pie!

Prediction: Blackburn Rovers 2 - 2 Manchester City

Bolton vs Sunderland
A lot of heightened enthusiasm at the Stadium of Light this season, some good young players hungry to show what they can do, up against a team of strong willed veterans. Won't be a classic by any means but it'll be tense and nervy and hard to call, I expect a late winner either way

Prediction: Bolton Wanderers 0 - 1 Sunderland

Chelsea vs Hull
After last seasons second half collapse Hull would've been hoping for an easier opening gambit than this doozy! No real quality added by Hull, going up against a Chelsea side who looked strong against the Champions at Wembley.....sorry Tigers fans this is a no brainer!

Prediction: Chelsea 4 - 0 Hull City

Everton vs Arsenal
Game of the day without a shadow of a doubt! Arsene Wenger will be cursing the fixture computer for this one, they've lost a physical presence in Toure and Adebayor and will be going against the best aerial team in the Premiership. Not to say Everton don't play football, they do!
Vermaelen will be in for a baptism of fire, and with some strikers back I expect Everton to make a positive statement here.

Prediction: Everton 2 - 1 Arsenal

Portsmouth vs Fulham
Wow Portsmouth are really pushing hard for the "yo-yo" tag that West Brom have been given. It seems to be as soon as something good starts going for them, something else gets in the way and drags them back down. They've lost Defoe and Crouch, I don't see Distin staying or Sol Campbell and Niko Kranjcar will be on his way by Januray!
Fulham MUST keep hold of Brede Hangeland so they can continue their good progress under Roy Hodgson, they are a good solid team with people capable of nicking goals for them and I don't see any trouble in this game for them.

Prediction: Portsmouth 0 - 1 Fulham

Stoke vs Burnley
This is an odd one as almost every year a newly promoted side turns over one of the mid-tablers from the previous season. Burnley are well equipped to deal with Stokes aerial threat and this is really just a Championship game for them in style at least. It may all come down to who can finish a half chance or produce a moment of Magic

Prediction: Stoke City 0 - 0 Burnley

Wolves vs West Ham
Another of the more intriguing games of the weekend, a Wolves side who have added some quality and have a lot of youthful skill and pace about them versus a Hammers team who will be expecting a progressive season under the watchful eye of Gianfranco Zola.
However as I said before there is always a promoted team that picks up a win on opening day, and to me this fixture looks the most probable source

Prediction: Wolverhampton Wanderers 2 - 1 West Ham United

Man Utd vs Birmingham
The team talk from McLeish is going to go something along the lines of "there's no better time to hit them than today, and they've not got Ronaldo anymore!" Its going to be a matter of go out and enjoy yourselves and we might pick up a point, and given Uniteds last 2 opening day fixtures (o-o against Reading, 1-1 vs Newcastle) he might have a point. However those two sides went down, so maybe McLeish will settle for a defeat?
Birmingham are an unknown quantity and with a new strikeforce taking on a United backline which is Brown, Neville, Van der Sar and Vidic-less....you just never know

Prediction: Manchester United 3 - 0 Birmingham City

Spurs vs Liverpool
This is going to be a matter of who is fit and who's not for Liverpool. Gerrard has just this minute pulled out of the England squad with a Groin "tweak". Carragher and Torres have both picked up ankle knocks. Combine this with Skrtel, Agger, Mascherano and Babel, it leaves Liverpool looking vulnerable.
Spurs however are starting to settle, under Redknapp they will not be caught cold and if Liverpool are without either Gerrard or Torres then it'll give them a big pre-match boost. Spurs defending will be the key, and again thats a matter of who they have fit!
In a battle of the treatment table, its going to be a tight and entertaining affair

Prediction: Tottenham Hotspur 1 - 1 Liverpool

The one thing I love about opening day is that you just don't know who is playing well, who has kept fit or who has lost a yard of pace. Its a bit like a blindfolded Bungee Jump where the guy who measures out your rope has lost his ruler!!
They are MY predictions anyway, if you think you can do better or just want to laugh at me when I get it wronger than Michael Fish in a stiff breeze.....then step up and add your own!

See you Monday!

Premier League ready for the off

2009-08-11T03:34:00.000-07:00

After a long arduous summer the Premier League is back. The first day of the season is always one full of optimism as each team starts with a clean slate and dream of success over the next nine months. But where will they finish? I have put my neck on the line here and gone for my predictions:
Top Four

1st) Man United
2nd) Chelsea
3rd) Liverpool
4th) Arsenal
Despite the loss of Ronaldo I still feel it's a safe bet that United possess enough quality to life the title once again. Carlo Ancelotti should inspire Chelsea to second but I feel the budget troubles at Arsenal and Liverpool will scupper their title charge.

Europa League spots
5th) Villa
6th) Everton
7th) Man City
8th) Tottenham
Controversial but I still feel there is a way to go before the oil millions make their mark on Man City. I still feel the club is unbalanced and boss Mark Hughes is a bad run away from the sack. Everton will perform well again but their small squad will struggle to cope with the extra games in Europe. I expect Martin O’Neil to strengthen his Villa squad before the deadline and should secure 5th. Harry Redknapp will ensure Spurs don't make a similar start to last year and should be a comfortable 8th.

Mid table
9th) West Ham
10th) Fulham
11th) Sunderland
12th) Bolton
13th) Blackburn
14th) Wigan
I expect around three or four points will separate these teams. But the tactical nous of Hodgson and Zola should see Fulham and West Ham secure a top ten finish. Sunderland have been spending big this year and the goals of Darren Bent alone should see them home comfortably. The North-West trio of Bolton, Wigan and Blackburn should gain enough home points to keep them clear of trouble.

Strugglers
15th) Stoke
16th) Wolves
17th) Burnley
Stoke surprised everyone last season and comfortably stayed up. I feel they will be found out to a certain extent this year but still have enough, especially at home, to secure safety. Premier League newboys Wolves and Burnley will look to take this opportunity with both hands. The standard of teams at the bottom of the Premier League is not what it was and I feel the pair can spring a surprise and stay up.

Relegation
18th) Birmingham
19th) Portsmouth
20th) Hull
Sorry Hull, Pompey and Brum fans but I predict relegation this year. Pompey have sold nearly all their best players and the uncertainty surrounding the club will have a negative affect on performances. Hull were in freefall last year and despite the summer break I feel that poor run will continue. Alex McLeish did really well to bring Birmingham up at the first attempt but I just feel there aren’t enough goals in the side to keep them up. However my relegation tips last year proved wildly inaccurate so there is hope for you guys yet!

Agree? Disagree? Feel free to add your comments below.

2009/2010 European League Start Dates

2009-08-04T15:34:00.000-07:00

July and August signal the start of the new seasons across many of Europe's top-flight leagues with several kicking-off before the English Premiership, Spanish La Liga and Italian Serie A.

Austria Bundesliga: Friday 17 July
Belgium Pro League: Friday 31 July
Bosnia-Herzegovinan Premier League: Saturday 1 August
Bulgaria A PFG: Friday 7 August
Croatia 1. HNL: Friday 24 July
Cyprus First Division: Saturday 29 August
Czech Republic Liga: Friday 24 July
Denmark Superliga: Saturday 18 July
England Premier League: Saturday 15 August
France Ligue 1: Saturday 8 August
Georgia Umaglesi Liga: Saturday 1 August
Germany Bundesliga: Friday 7 August
Greece Super League: Saturday 22 August
Hungary NB I: Friday 24 July
Italy Serie A: Sunday 23 August
Luxembourg National Division: Saturday 1 August
Macedonia First League: Saturday 1 August
Malta Premier League: Friday 21 August
Moldova National Division: Sunday 5 July
Montenegro First League: Saturday 8 August
Netherlands Eredivisie: Friday 31 July
Northern Ireland Premier League: Saturday 8 August
Poland Ekstraklasa: Friday 31 July
Portugal Liga: Sunday 16 August
Scotland Premier League: Saturday 15 August
Serbia Super Liga: Saturday 15 August
Slovakia Super Liga: Friday 10 July
Slovenia 1. SNL: Friday 17 July
Spain La Liga: Sunday 30 August
Switzerland Super League: Saturday 11 July
Turkey Super Lig: Friday 7 August
Ukraine Premier League: Friday 17 July
Wales Premier League: Friday 14 August

Middlesbrough: Which Mido Will Land At Zamalek?

2009-08-04T13:54:00.000-07:00

The turnover of clubs on Hossam Mido’s CV doesn’t look set to immobilise anytime in the near future as the Egyptian striker has engineered a career U-turn back to his boyhood club of Zamalek on a season-long loan.

Zamalek spokesperson Sabri Serag told the club's official website: "We paid Middlesbrough 4million Egyptian pounds to acquire Mido's services. We can also sign him permanently next summer if we pay £1million to the English side."

Every ounce of promise exhibited by the 26-year-old has been eclipsed by a negligent tendency to become embroiled in off-field antics, and this coupled with a fiery temperament has been a major source of aggravation for his endless list of employers.

North African giants Zamalek can be credited for unearthing the uncut diamond little short of a decade ago but while the everlasting hope was that he would stamp his impression on Europe with a downpour of goals, it was the tremors of his toys thudding the ground in the aftermath of yet another face-off with his superiors which have developed into his forte. Ten clubs in as many seasons as a professional pays homage to Mido’s inability to settle and such a fact must act in opposition to any would-be suitors, strengthened over the past two seasons with the rapid occurrences of injury.

Yet home comfort could provide relief for Mido as the window of opportunity draws to a closer shut, the age of immaturity sailed past years ago and the last opportunity to charm one of Europe’s watchmen is now distinctly on the horizon. Establishing a partnering with Amr Zaki in the Zamalek attack should prosper in the lesser-standard of the Egyptian Premier League, thrusting Mido back into the international setup in plenty of preparation for the 2010 World Cup if he can consign fitness woes and attitude turmoil to the past.

The former Gent, Ajax, Celta Vigo, Marseille, Roma…(BREATHE)…Tottenham, Middlesbrough and Wigan frontman has it all to prove to discard his bad-boy reputation and, galloping towards the peak years of his career, naivety and rawness are not legitimate reasons for attracting unwanted attention anymore. Even as a character that cannot be divorced from controversy, the urgency to execute a cunning strike of the ball and delve into the goalscoring charts once again has never been so great.

Season 09/10: A Preview

2009-08-04T05:23:00.000-07:00

Since the whistle blew on Chelsea's FA Cup triumph over Everton at the end of May, the papers have had a whole lot of business to talk about and the poor little mites who type out page after page of transfer gossip on Teletext ahve gone on long term sick with repetitive strain injury. One thing is for sure, this coming Premiership season is going to be one of the most anticipated in years!

I have a feeling there will be one or 2 more twists in the Transfer Market before this month is over, but presuming there isn't I'm going to give you my take on the nerve shredding 8 months that lie ahead

THE TITLE & TOP 4
The Arabian revolution at the "Middle Eastlands" has thrown one major question over the Premier League upper eschelons....."are City for real?"
My own opinion is that they will win a lot of home games, even against the established favourites such as United, Liverpool and Chelsea. However they have to go out and prove they can win away from home, the addition of a terrier like Tevez is key to this but the flair players like Robinho, Adebayor, Petrov and more must show some steel to along with guile otherwise they'll be 5th at best.
Arsenal are looking shockingly short of strength, determination and leadership. They, like City, have to show they know how to fight and not go to the likes of Stoke and Burnley to get manhandled out of 3 points! How many years can Wenger allow this to happen before he stops crying and does something to rectify it.
Unless City really do show some true grit then the Premiership Title will end up at either Anfield, Old Trafford or Stamford Bridge. Ronaldo's departure hurts United a lot as he is a genuine goal threat from anywhere on the pitch, Michael Owen isn't that threat but a combination of Rooney, Owen an improved Berbatov and others stepping up might make for a more balanced unit.....but they again must step up.
Chelsea have added little over the summer, but they started appallingly last year under Scolari and that won't be repeated with the players seemingly responding to Ancelotti.
For the first time in over 10 years the Anfield regulars have GENUINE hope that this will be their year! It all depends on if Gerrard can maintain last years form, and if Torres can stay healthy....if they do, I hate to say it but Liverpool are champions.
Prediction;

1) Liverpool
2) Chelsea
3) Man Utd
4) Man City
5) Arsenal

THE MIDDLE GROUND & EUROPA
Positions 6 through about 12 should be hotly contested next season, and with Redknapp in charge of Spurs from the start I expect them to come out on top of this bunch but they will be psuhed all the way by Villa and Everton. Villa just haven't added enough to their squad for me, the loss of poor Martin Laursen is a big big blow to them and a player i'm not sure they can replace. Everton will have strikers next season, which is something they did not last year! They may well lose Pienaar but Arteta's return makes up for that, and with Fellaini and Cahill bombing into the box for crosses Everton might be the Dark Horse of the league and even contest a top 4 finish. However as it stands I think an overall lack of creativity will hinder their push and they willbe in the Europa League spots.
Just outside Europe will be Fulham, they have kept ALL their squad thats in Europe this season and Hodgson is a savvy manager who will keep them motivated. However the fact they are in Europe this season might strain the squad and they will probably end up around 10th competing with the likes of an improved Sunderland, Blackburn and West Ham
Prediction;

6)Tottenham
7)Everton
8)Aston Villa
9) Fulham
10) Sunderland
11) West Ham
12) Blackburn

RELEGATION & MISERY
This is going to be an epic battle next season, basically everyone that we haven't covered above will be scrapping for their lives to avoid the dreaded drop. Obviously Burnley start as favourites, they have little money to invest and have only a handful of players who have experienced the Premiership before. However Reading, Wigan and West Ham in recent years have all shocked the "experts" by finishing much higher than anticpated and I guarantee that nobody will work harder than the Clarets next year (look out for a hugely competitive Blackburn vs Burnley derby!!)
Hull managed to escape last season basically because of Newcastle Uniteds shambles of a football club, this year they will need an increased effort or the second half collapse last year might turn into a full season collapse this term!
Personally I don't think Stoke can improve on last year, they won't take anyone by surprise this year and I can't see where there goals come from other than set-plays, and in the Premiership set-pieces will not keep you afloat for long.
Wolves and Birmingham are interesting clubs to watch, Wolves are certainly the better equipped to stay up but in McCarthy they have a manager who has never succeeded in the Premiership yet. Birmingham have experience and passion, but may lack a cutting edge and these two clubs survival may depend on how the Midlands derbies against each other and Villa turn out.
Bolton for me are in REAL trouble, under Sam Allardyce they were supremely fit and athletic and had the belief that they could beat anybody on their day. Megson doesn't invoke that same belief and doesn't utilize Big Sam's scientific approach, they have some decent players but have aimed their spending on classy players who simply don't want to play for them and as a result have missed out completely on adding anything of note. In a similar vein to Stoke can they over achieve again and make set-plays and long ball football work for them enough to survive?
Portsmouth are another team in dire trouble, after a fire sale and a manager who to me doesn't look like inspiring any hope in anything they might struggle. If they stay up it'll be down to their home form and their fans!
Prediction;

13) Wigan
14) Hull City
15) Wolves
16) Stoke
17) Birmingham
18) Bolton
19) Burnley
20) Portsmouth

Obviously these are just my idea on how the season will pan out, and i'm sure that you have your own thoughts, and i'd love to hear them. But one thing I do know id that this yearwill be a dogfight from start, I don't see a clear winner or loser in any game. There are going to be some cracking battles, and i'm particularly looking forward to the Villa/Everton/Spurs/Man City/Arsenal match-ups......i think they will produce some great entertainment and prove the one thing we all know.....

The Premiership is the best league in the World!!

This is Our Hated City

2009-08-03T13:25:00.000-07:00

It’s taken a while. A few years in fact, but finally Sir Alex Ferguson is talking about Manchester City again. For the record, let me just say what a privilege it is. We should all feel honoured.

Within the space of a week, the manager of the red half of Manchester recently delivered a number of tongue lashings for Mark Hughes’ City. It seems the pulpit has now well and truly reopened across Greater Manchester. And not only across the GM region either. Over the course of the last few weeks Rafa Benitez and David Moyes have both sniped at the actions of Manchester City Football Club. It’s nice to know that we are back on the radar.

Ferguson’s salvo
United’s pre-season tour has seen Fergie speak more about those around him rather than his own squad. Perhaps he intends for it to be that way. Speaking from the team’s pre-season tour of Fast East Asia, in one interview the United boss rubbished City’s chances of breaching the top four and then criticised the wisdom of signing three high profile strikers.

Given just after City had signed Emmanuel Adebayor from Arsenal, the second interview was much more interesting. Ferguson argued that the Togo international had in fact sounded out United and Chelsea after agreeing to join City. Then rather startlingly, when prompted to give his opinion about the recent controversial poster of Carlos Tevez (sky blue background with the title ‘Welcome to Manchester’) that has appeared on one of Manchester main shopping streets, Ferguson came out with this: "It's City isn't it? They are a small club with a small mentality. All they can talk about is Manchester United, they can't get away from it. They think taking Carlos Tevez away from Manchester United is a triumph. It is poor stuff."

Dave Wallace, editor of the City fanzine King of the Kippax, gave the perfect retort. Wallace was speaking in the Manchester Evening News (MEN), directly to those who had splashed the Tevez poster with dots of red paint, but his words are also relevant to Ferguson: "They like to dish it out - like the poster they've got at Old Trafford showing how many years it is since we won anything - but they really can't take it back. It shows just how bitter they are."

With regards to the saboteurs with red sponges, another City fan posted on the MEN website: "Bit of advice lads, get a longer ladder and don't use water-based paints next time, it's been lagging it down today and it's all washed off."

Benitez and Moyes get in on the act
Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez took the first dig at City at the beginning of the summer. “The question is do you make the right decisions and do what is best for your career? If it's just for money sometimes you will make mistakes and I've been surprised by some decisions this summer – like Barry. I won't say too much but it was clearly 100% for money. The most important thing for me, though, is the passion of the players."

And then last weekend, Everton boss David Moyes seems to have accused City of tapping up his centre back Joleon Lescott: "It is about showing respect - and we are not being shown that. I've always tried to contact the managers and show respect to them in terms of transfers and no matter how much money I might have to spend I would always want to keep that up. It goes back to the managers having a drink together after the game, to the fact managers will still phone each other up when they are looking for a player. That is part of the way it should be done."

The messages of sniping
It is good to know that all of this sniping – particularly with United - is alive and well. Dig below the surface though, and there are serious points to be had.

Ferguson had a point about the imbalance in Hughes’ transfer policy. But since then, Ched Evans, Felipe Caicedo and Valeri Bojinov have all left the club in one shape or another and now a defensive gap has been plugged with the arrival of Kolo Toure.

However true or untrue, Ferguson’s claim that Adebayor sounded out the top clubs during his move to City suggests that he has come to Eastlands for the money. Benitez echoed this with his criticism of Barry’s move. The big question to ask here is whether these players have indeed come to City just for the money, or is it more than that? Money has certainly got a big part to play, but in today’s game, money is heavily linked to ambition. There is a blurring in this linkage which makes it very hard to gage the true motivations of players like Abebayor, Barry, and Santa Cruz who have not necessarily won big things with previous clubs. The money motivation does come into it much more with the Tevez and Toure signings, players that have been successful with the big clubs but who have now took a step down. Had they signed, Samuel Eto and John Terry would have also come into this category.

As for Benitez and Moyes, well, they ought to step back into reality.

Benitez is still smarting over the failure to acquire Gareth Barry last summer. The charge that Barry signed for money is, I think, a tactic to make himself look better in the eyes of the Liverpool faithful. Who, after all, would want to sign a player motivated purely by money? Apologies Rafa, but I can’t buy into that. You had a whole summer to meet Villa’s asking price, and you failed to do that. Players aren’t going to wait around, and this summer you got burned. You should have acted quicker, its as simple as that.

Moyes’ tapping up accusations are the sign of a manager that does not want to lose one of his prize assets. I like David Moyes and I like the idea of what he has done at Everton, plus what he is trying to do. Had Moyes arrived as a manager a decade or so earlier, he might well have been another Ferguson or Clough, men who built glory through footballing skill, judgment and intuition alone. But the days of building glory in that fashion are behind us. Now, if you’re going to be successful on a big scale, you need the big cash base. Then the skill, judgment and intuition comes into play.

Moyes seems to talk of a time where the tapping up of players didn’t happen. Tapping up, sounding out, call it whatever you want – it has always gone on. Agents will always talk and players will always listen. Of course, that does not make it right. But it is football. Tapping up – in one form or another - is all around us.

For City fans solely, the words of Ferguson, Benitez and Moyes are evidence of how far the club has come this summer. As a club, as a set of fans, we are not used to being hated. Instead we have been traditionally seen as the lovable, harmless club of Greater Manchester, a club to either make occasional fun of, to offer commiserations to, or to simply ignore.

But a new hatred appears to be focusing on Eastlands. They are beginning to hate us for our money. They are beginning to hate us for our ambition. They are beginning to hate us even before we have kicked a ball.

Zenit Poach Torino Winger Alessandro Rosina

2009-07-28T08:40:00.000-07:00

Former Russian Premier League champions Zenit St Petersburg are on the verge of capturing Torino captain Alessandro Rosina for seven million euros.

The departure of single-capped Italian international Rosina, born on 31 January 1984, had been expected due to Torino’s plunge into Serie B.

Zenit currently stand in sixth position and Dick Advocaat affirmed his side’s necessity to step foot into the transfer market and introduce fresh faces following on from their weekend draw to reigning victors Rubin Kazan.

Can Sven succeed at Notts County?

2009-07-27T02:24:00.000-07:00

It was an announcement that made many people check their calendar to see if it was an April fool. But no it is true; Sven Goran Eriksson has joined Notts County.

The Nottingham side play in League two, England’s basement division, and finished a lowly 19th last season. But after years in the doldrums a recent take-over by a Middle Eastern consortium has breathed new life into the Magpies (I blogged about their takeover on this site a few weeks ago.

Now with financial backing they have lured the former England boss to Meadow Lane as director of football. He will work with current boss Ian McParland, setup a scouting network, a training infrastructure and hunt down new players. In a press conference this week Sven revealed he is aiming for the Premier League. No pressure then.

It's certainly high ambitions for a club, the oldest league side in the World, that last played in the top flight in 1992 – the year before the Premier League was formed.

But will Sven be a success?

Critics are already claiming the Swede is following the money and is unlikely to stick out his five year deal; after all he has received over £7 million in severance pay after leaving his previous three jobs before the end of his contract.

But Sven has hit back at those claims, saying he could have gone to Italy if it was for money and prefers the challenge, a similar one to when he started his managerial career in Sweden. He is almost building the club up from nothing.

But the vagaries of England’s lower leagues are very different to the Premier League or International football. Sven knows nothing of the players in the division and so will have to rely on his coaching staff to update him on key players.

Similarly, a Man City style shopping spree is not allowed as league rules state salaries should be no more than 60% turnover.

But the lure of Eriksson and the ambition the club is showing should be enough to attract the players required to get out of League two and the Championship is a realistic aim within three or four years.

Many clubs like Hull, Doncaster and Fulham have skipped up the divisions within a few seasons. The toughest call will be the jump from the Championship to the Premier League. The Championship is a very tough division and if County are to get out of it I suspect the Arab riches will have to come into play.

If Sven and County are to achieve their aims it would be like something out of a computer game, an almost unbelievable reality that many County fans will struggle to comprehend. But after all the years of suffering at the bottom of the league ladder it seems a safe football bet that not many people would begrudge them this dramatic change in fortunes.

Europa League: Qarabag Deny Rosenborg Progression

2009-07-25T12:52:00.000-07:00

Azerbaijani Premier League outfit FK Qarabag surpassed their very own milestone in UEFA club competition through a shock victory over Rosenborg BK in the wake of a decade-long anniversary celebrating the nation’s first away triumph. The mementous win came in the second batch of qualifiers for the inaugural Europa League, a prestigous and recognised platform than the now-defunct Intertoto Cup which was the backdrop for Qarabag’s prior success on the European continent.

Restraining the 20-time Norwegian champions to a goalless stalemate in Trondheim last week, Qarabag approached the return leg entirely aware that expectations regarding their own progression were muted even with the scoreline elegantly balanced. Step forward Scandinavian linchpin Rosenborg, one of the customary suspects of the UEFA Champions League who have enjoyed progression to the group stages on no fewer than eleven occasions between 1995 and 2006. Logically superior in every aspect associated with a football club - finances, facilities, calibre of playing staff, heritage and such - Rosenborg would surely casually saunder over the carcass of a tattered Qarabag to await the challengers beckoning at the next hurdle.

Predictions focused on Rosenborg’s restoration to dictating domestic honours as they currently stand unbeaten with a mid-season lead of four points at the pinnacle of the charts, whereas Azerbaijan’s top-flight is in transition from one season to the next and would suggest any clubs involved in European competition would buckle under the peak fitness levels of their rivals. The signs of a perplexing outcome, however, were in motion from the first leg as the draw ensured an unscathed Qarabag could lure Rosenborg back into their own territory and instigate home advantage.

Rashad Sadygov’s timely strike after 45 minutes assured the celebrations ten years ago were eclipsed to leave Azerbaijan with a representative in the Third Qualifying Round, proving once and for all that naïve assumptions are a false disguise in the sport. Rosenborg were sent packing, wounded, mortified and wordless in the anticipation that their Tippeligaen lead will prevail into championship glory and not sink in the same regret as their European conquest. The challenge posed by FC Honka of Finland looms for Qarabag, so perhaps we won’t have to wait another decade until the next continental blow is struck…

Manchester United: News Update

2009-07-17T05:20:00.000-07:00

Breaking News

Manchester United have announced the signing of Mame Biram Diouf, a 21yr old striker from FC Molde for an undisclosed fee.
Diouf will remain at FC Molde until January and then join up with his new teamates in the next transfer window. Diouf has been with Molde for 3 seasons scoring 38 times in 73 appearances for the Norwegian club.

United have had their eye on Diouf for a couple of years now, and were ready to bring him in next summer but had their hand forced by other bids being lodge for Diouf in recent weeks. Luckily for United they have had a fantastic relationship with Molde (they bought Ole Gunnar Solskjaer from them in 1996) and so the Norwegians made United aware of the other bids.
So despite Sir Alex Fergusons insistence that United would have no more transfer activity, they have swooped to land the highly rated youngster who has represented his native Senegal at Youth, Under 21 and Olympic levels and has recently been courted by the French Football Association.

End of Business??

Despite Fergies claims that after the signing of Diouf the transfer window is shut to him, it is expected he will still look to bring in another high calibre striker. The signing of Michael Owen was a nice piece of business for United and all indicators are that he is fighting fit, however Sir Alex will not be taking any chances and will want more than Federico Macheda or Danny Welbeck as backup.
Fergies rants about the spiralling costs of transfers and his declaration that United will have no more signatures is simply a way to keep rumours at bay and stop any potential signings having inflated prices slapped on them.
Klass Jan Huntelaar is still on Uniteds radar as Real Madrid seem to be lowering their asking price and, judging by the fact that Frazier Campbell has been allowed to leave and Danny Welbeck will be sent on a season long loan to a Championship side shortly, is further indication that Sir Alex will want a little more depth to the striking rotation.

Furthermore don't be too surprised if another Midfielder winds up as a new addition to Uniteds ranks, doctors and coaches alike are still unconvinced that Owen Hargreaves knee troubles are behind him. Hargreaves has been left out of Uniteds tour of the Far East (sadly curtailed due to Terrorist Activity) and will not be anywhere near fit until at least September. This has led to speculation Ferguson and his staff will try to pick up a bargain defensive minded player to compete with Darren Fletcher, the likes of Marcos Senna, Christian Poulsen and even Patrick Vieira are all possibilities perhaps even on loan.

Good Ow-men?

Pardon the Daily Star type play on words but I couldn't resist!
Of Uniteds summer signings only one has so far been issued with a squad number, and that is Michael Owen who has been given Uniteds legendary No.7 shirt. Whilst some people don't believe in lucky numbers or any such voodoo nonsense, there is no denying that the No.7 is of massive importance in Old Trafford folklore.
Goerge Best, Bryan Robson, Eric Cantona, David Beckham and Cristiano Ronaldo have all been regular wearers of the famous shirt, and if Owen can reciprocate anywhere close to the output/status of any of those players then his stint at United will be a distinct success.

And Finally.......

At exactly this time next month we will all be sat reflecting on the opening weekend of the NEW Premiership season. The waiting is almost over, and all the painstaking searches of websites, teletext and newspapers can stop as we will have actual football back!
Will United miss Ronaldo? Can the Top Four be broken? Which signing will flop or succees....the answers will begin in a month!

Transfer Round-Up: Lucarelli Reunited With Livorno, Juventus Capture Melo, Maxwell Close To Barcelona Switch

2009-07-16T03:39:00.000-07:00

Newly-promoted Serie A club Livorno have completed the homecoming addition of former Amaranto favourite Cristiano Lucarelli from Parma on-loan for the entire season. The 33-year-old veteran striker returns to the Tuscan vicinity where he netted an impressive 92 goals between 2003 and 2007. Read On -- Lucarelli Leaves Parma To Rejoin Liverno via Goal.com

Felipe Melo will make the transition from Florence to Turin as Juventus have confirmed the arrival of the Brazil international midfielder from Fiorentina, with Marco Marchionni moving in the opposite direction. Read On -- Juventus Confirm Melo Signing via Independent.co.uk

The champions of Europe, Barcelona, are on the brink of landing their first window signing as a fee of £4.2m has been accepted for Inter Milan's Brazilian left-back Maxwell. Read On -- Barca Agree Maxwell Deal via SkySports.com

Olympique Lyonnais should replace the void left by the departure of Qatar-bound Juninho with Lille's fellow-native Michel Bastos for €18 million. Read On -- Bastos Will Sign For Lyon via SkySports.com