Lesson In Pride

City 3 QPR 2: Worth Every Penny

noreply@blogger.com (Crouchy) — Wed, 16 May 2012 12:48:00 +0000

It was in the dying minutes of the match against Newcastle, in the wee hours of a Sydney Monday morning, that I decided to embark on probably one of the most foolhardy, yet most amazing adventures of my life.

In truth, it was an idea that I had much earlier in the season, when City were scoring for fun and running away with the title. If we were three points clear going into the last game against Queens Park Rangers, knowing that Premier League glory was assured, I started to squirrel away some cash with the intention of "ducking over" (ie. hopping on a 22-hour flight) for the match and revel in the celebrations of the first title in 44 years. I wanted to make sure we were assured of winning the title first of course, as this is City we're talking about, if anything could go wrong...

I'm not proud to admit that part of me was internally cheering on Newcastle during that game. A draw or loss would mean that I would escape having to make that huge decision — one that I would most certainly regret no matter what I decided.

And as celebrations continued after the match, conversations got a bit more drunken and with the bravado that only comes after having several pints too many, announced my intentions to the rest of the group.

"Don't bother, it won't be worth it" they derided. "You're crazy, you won't do it".

Taking a four-figure bank loan to fly halfway around the world and back for just over a weekend is hardly the most fiscally responsible thing to do. But if I stayed at home and we won the league, then I'd regret it for the rest of my life…

And you know what, it probably was crazy, but it would have been crazier not to. After all, how good would it be to say that you were there when we ~~were shit~~ won the league for the first time since 1968? Sure, you could be there the next year, or the year after that. But it wouldn't quite be the same, would it?

But for forty-odd minutes of that second half, my internal monologue was something completely different. Standing in position at the back of 116, arms folded, feeling physically ill, too stunned to sing, there was only one thought that kept running through my head.

'You are the biggest fucking wanker that has ever lived. You've come all this way, spent all this money, and we're fucking losing. You're going to be the biggest laughing stock on the internet, your mates are going to take the piss for life. You absolute dickhead'.

I watched with fingers over my eyes as all nine QPR defenders held out resolutely, and Paddy Kenny managed to make save after blinding save. Even as Dzeko headed in at the start of injury time, no-one around me seemed to celebrate. It all seemed too little, too late. Nice goal, but ultimately futile.

And then the moment any Blue that was in the ground on Sunday will never, ever forget.

Because I was stationed of the ground, it was hard to make out what actually happened in the scramble on the edge of the box as Balotelli got that miracle pass away. However I clearly remember time standing still as Aguero took the ball past the final defender — it was like watching that extreme slow motion footage they shoot at thousands of frames per second.

The sheer wall of noise after the goal is burned into my memory. It wasn't a simple loud cheer of "yes!" like most goal celebrations are. It was a deep, guttural sound, louder than any I've heard at or watching any football game. I ended up in the row in front of me, then somehow back into the row behind where I started, between continual cries of "fucking have it" and "fucking get in", as I discovered upon video review. Unlike many around me, there were no tears — I was simply to shocked to adequately digest everything that happened. But every subsequent viewing of the goal in multiple languages on YouTube and again on Match Of The Day inevitably leads to me welling up.

Walking back to town from the ground was a surreal experience. Not too many people were overtly celebrating. There were some making teary phone calls to mates and loved ones, a few tried to start songs — but I, like most, just simply wandered back to Piccadilly in a daze, trying to get my head around just what had transpired. And whether that actually *had* happened or not?

The earlier feelings of disbelief soon made way for feelings of "let's fucking party!" — and considering the amount of alcohol consumed in the hours following, it's a surprise I woke up at all, let alone with the least offensive hangover of my life, still basking in the realisation that yes, we had won the title for the first time in 44 years, and god damn it I was there to see it.

But where can you possibly go from here? There may never be another goalgasm like that again — hell, there may never be another moment like that in football ever again. And no-one can ever take that memory away from those that were there that day.

It cost me an absolute packet, but was it worth every penny. An unbelievable, unforgettable four days, and a story I can dine out on for the rest of time.

WBA 0 City 0: Never has there been such finesse and nostalgia...

noreply@blogger.com (Crouchy) — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 12:56:00 +0000

Yes, you're eyes are not deceiving you — it's a new post on Lesson In Pride, months after apparently giving up on the lucrative career of professional football blogging (and how can you possibly compete with the 'tatical' observations of one Duncan Jenkins?).

It may seem strange that with the many amazing events that City have been involved in over the past six months or so — qualification to the Champions League, winning the FA Cup, leading the top division at Christmas for the first time since 1929, and of course, the small matter of beating the Rags 1-6 at Vermin Towers — it's a turgid, frustrating draw away at the Hawthorns that has finally inspired me to get behind the keyboard. Okay, it's the culmination of a few things, but yes, that 0-0 is the catalyst for this post.

I haven't done mountains of research into this, and I am more than happy to stand corrected — but I'm convinced that fanzines and blogs are more active when the team is doing poorly than doing well.

Whether people can't be bothered to devote a lot of time and effort to something that will be read by a few hundred people (at best), or the ease of use of Twitter (people's attention spans can be maintained over 140 characters more often than over a whole post), or whether blogging is just not the done thing anymore — but it can't be a coincidence that so many quality Manchester City blogs (as well as this one) have fallen by the wayside over the past couple of seasons. A simple scroll down the fan-sites on mcfc.co.uk will show a large percentage that now lie dormant.

Following City these days is a much different proposition than it once was. Not better, certainly not worse, but different. I know It certainly doesn't seem as fun as it once was. I suppose there's more pressure when you're expected to pick up three points every week, not just enough points to stay up for another season.

There's the constant questioning of your support — worse still if you're an overseas supporter with no trace of a Mancunian accent (keeping an old SeasonCard on your person is a good deterrent from accusations of bandwagon support).

There's the unrealistic expectations of some supporters (whether or not they have been supporters prior to 2008 is another question), who believe the sky is falling just because we've dropped points away to West Brom. Christ, in 2005 we would have been celebrating that solitary point well into January...

Conversely, there's the 'York Away' brigade, who debunk any criticism of the team and their performance with "we're in the top four, just think of where we were back in 1998 and be thankful". As generous as Sheikh Mansour is, I don't think he's spent the GDP of South America to languish in the lower divisions playing Huddersfield Town and Carlisle.

It may be difficult to explain, but the result at West Brom was a reassuring one. Typical City™ hadn't reared it's ugly head for a while, but there it was at the Hawthorns. The pangs of nostalgia I felt when we were chasing a decisive, game winning goal (which would of course never eventuate) were uncanny. As good as it is to win matches by four and five goals (and boy is it good), there's a different kind of emotion when searching for the one goal that you know will decide the match, and the anticipation that comes with it.

I'd like to think I fall somewhere in between the Chicken Littles and the Happy Clappers, and it concerns me that there seems to be these two distinct elements of our support. But I think the exact point where I thought "you know what, this isn't what I signed up for" was in the pub at 3am against Norwich, where a chorus of fans in this season's City kit (none of whom I had seen before) started a stomach-curdling chant of "Now you're gonna believe us/we're going to buy the league".

Gaining new supporters, or worse, bandwagon-jumpers is inevitable as we become a more successful football team and a better club. However, if the majority of our support can remain grounded whilst things are going well, yet level-headed and measured when things are not, then City will hopefully never be as plastic and soulless as that mob up the road.

Merry Topofthetablemas, and Happy Blue Year. Sorry for rambling. And here's to posting more often.

Can you please do us Aussie fans a quick favour?

noreply@blogger.com (Crouchy) — Tue, 17 May 2011 02:15:00 +0000

That's right folks, it's time for more VOTING!

Except this time, it's not to get us a free junket to the other side of the world. You'll be doing City fans all around the country a favour.

http://www.foxsports.com.au/football/premier-league/foxsportscomau-gives-users-the-chance-to-vote-on-which-barclays-premier-league-matches-to-broadcast/story-e6frf4a3-1226056393366

Fox Sports, the Australian broadcaster, only has the rights (and capability) to show five fixtures on the final day. Unless the Bolton v City match is one of the five selected, then we won't have the chance to celebrate the conclusion of a successful season with a live screening of the game.

So click the link, click the game, and you're done.

Ta very much!

City 2 West Ham 1; and a gratuitous Bin Laden reference...

noreply@blogger.com (Crouchy) — Tue, 03 May 2011 12:35:00 +0000

Manchester City look to have all but secured Champions League qualification (you can read a bit more about that below) after grinding out a 2-1 victory over bottom-placed club West Ham United. And with Manchester United and Tottenham failing to pick up a point between them, a good weekend quickly turned into a great one for City fans. And Arsenal fans too, I suppose. Well, except for one, of course...

Manchester City were always going to be too strong for West Ham considering the difference in league position, and of course the matter of City having spent almost as much money on players in the off season as the US had in Afghanistan etc...

The task was made even tougher for West Ham before the clash, with Scott Parker missing the match ~~to sign a contract with Tottenham~~ with injury. Not even director David Sullivan could be bothered making the trip up to the match, such was his resignation to the outcome. But aside from a calamitous opening fifteen minutes, in which even the goal-shy Nigel de Jong managed to get on the goal sheet (and not from a mistimed slide tackle, amazingly), the Hammers didn't disgrace themselves by any means.

They could have concievably drawn the game too, had Carlton Cold's late effort found the net. It seems quite apt that a player with that name goes around for West Ham. Just like the beer, the Hammers were a lot bigger in the 90's and struggle to remain relevant today. And I'd hardly describe anything they do on the football pitch as "crisp"...

Carlton Cole — definitely a poor man's Becks...

It looks like "that's yer lot" as far as West Ham go for this season. Professional-overseer-of-relegations and Toad-From-Toad-Hall-understudy, Avram Grant, is still of the belief his side can amass 39 points and avoid relegation — if their season followed that same trajectory (seven points in the next three games) they'd be leading the league by 16 points.

Of course, the chances of that happening are about as likely as those of him being around to celebrate when they eventually attain that tally, in September 2012, are about as unlikely as Nigel de Jong ever scor... oh.

The Race For Fourth (Or Third?) — 4 games to go.

noreply@blogger.com (Crouchy) — Mon, 02 May 2011 03:22:00 +0000

Manchester City moved within touching distance of the all-important Champions League place, courtesy of a 2-1 victory over West Ham. Coupled with Tottenham's recent failures against West Bromich Albion and Chelsea, fourth place is really City's to throw away.

It's at this point where the maths become extremely simple.

Tottenham sit on 55 points, with four matches to play — and two of those are formidable fixtures against City and Liverpool away from home.

The absolute most points they can amass from those fixtures is twelve, which would bring their total to 67. Therefore, with Manchester City currently sitting on 62, and with a vastly superior goal difference to the chasing pack — all it will take is five more points from the next four fixtures for City to be almost mathematically certain (massive goal-difference swing aside) of finishing in the top four.

Even the most pessimistic fan would find it hard to devise a scenario where City could now miss out on qualification. Being as conservative as possible, Manchester City should pick up a minimum of four points from the final four fixtures.

Both Everton and Tottenham have presented many problems for City in the past, so it's difficult to predict wins against either of the two — as long as City don't lose on 10 May against Spurs at Eastlands, then qualifcation is all but assured.

4. Manchester City

Games played: 34
Goal difference: +22
Recent form: 4 wins, and 2 losses. 12 points from the last 18 (4th).
Points: 62

Upcoming Fixtures:

A Everton (7th)

H Tottenham (6th)

FA Cup Final: Stoke City

H Stoke City (10th)

A Bolton (8th)

Predicted points total: 66 (4 more)

5. Liverpool
Games played: 35
Goal difference: +15 (7 worse off than City)
Recent form: 4 wins, 1 draw, and 1 loss. 13 points from the last 18 (2nd).
Points: 55 (seven behind City)

Upcoming Fixtures:

A Fulham (9th)

H Tottenham Hotspur (6th)

A Aston Villa (13th)

Predicted points total: 62 (7 more)

6. Tottenham Hotspur
Games played: 34
Goal difference: +7 (15 worse off than City)
Recent form: 1 win, 4 draws, and 1 loss. 7 points from the last 18 (13th).
Points: 55 (seven behind City)

Upcoming Fixtures:

H Blackpool (17th)

A Manchester City (4th)

A Liverpool (5th)

H Birmingham City (15th)

Predicted points total: 63 (8 more)

The M-word Debate: Tin Hat Time

noreply@blogger.com (Crouchy) — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 01:38:00 +0000

It's important (and the done thing, reading other blog posts) to preface this post by saying most certainly do not agree with or sing about Munich — especially the 'Runway' song, and I tend not to refer flippantly to the Rags by that particular term either. Of course, calling them Munichs is just about as geographically accurate as calling them Mancs...

But unlike many others, I don't see how the now-infamous song belted out on Monday night at Ewood Park has manage to cause an international incident.

There is a section City support who refer to fans of Manchester United as "Munichs". There are many City supporters who say they would never chant anything unpleasant or inflammatory about Munich but see no issue with using the word itself as shorthand for United and their supporters. On Monday night, there were several thousand of them. If the 1958 disaster is not being mocked, or directly referenced, then is the term in isolation offensive? Certainly distasteful, but no more so than racist/homophobic chants towards opposition players or fans?

Manchester United fans have sung about Hillsborough. They've mocked Marc Vivien Foe. They've mocked the Leeds fans who were stabbed in Turkey. It's not a valid argument to justify any form of offensive chanting, just because they're the ones wot done it too — but there is more than one guilty party in this equation.

Most curiously, I have witnessed (with my own eyes) United fans almost goading City fans into singing about the disaster, by themselves making aeroplane gestures — undoubtedly in the hope that they can claim pantomime outrage when a City fan returns the favour.

Perhaps when United cease using the disaster to their advantage, and City fans cease referring to a Bavarian beer-loving town in an unnecessary wind-up, the chants will stop. And then the perished can finally rest in peace.

Hopefully, that day will be soon. City fans who are against the references to Munich can do their bit and not sing about it. There will be some that do — but ultimately, that's their choice.

I'd prefer if we didn't though. We cop enough unnecessary and unsubstantiated flak in the media as it is — let's not give anyone anymore ammo. Be impeccable.

Manchester Remembers — brought to you by AIG.

Spotted: Sydney Blue at Wembers!

noreply@blogger.com (Crouchy) — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 00:48:00 +0000

The inside back of yesterday's Daily Telegraph (the Australian one), featured Fox Sports commentator, Sydney Blues hall-of-famer, and all-round top bloke, Simon Hill, giving his all from the stands at the semi-final of the FA Cup Sponsored By Ian.

Simon will be one of the several Australian Blues making the pilgrimage to London for the final, so if you spot the man at The Roundabout/The Green Man/Wembers (and he's not hard to miss, with him being 6'4" and all), buy him a pint.

Nice one Si!

Bobby Manc: World's Sexiest Athlete?

noreply@blogger.com (Crouchy) — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 00:38:00 +0000

No, not Roberto. Although he is fairly dapper. And those flowing locks... *swoon*

Anyway, here is Roberta Mancino, who I'm assuming is either a relative of Roberto, or the alias he uses at 2am on Canal Street...

Mancino is a BASE jumper/sky-diver. And I know what you're thinking. Yes, she's done it in the nude. Wow!

Some fairly NSFW links are below
http://www.mensfitness.com/advice/hot-women/roberta-mancino
http://www.totalprosports.com/2010/11/12/roberta-mancino-named-the-sexiest-female-athlete-pics/

This eez important!

The Race For Fourth (Or Third?) — 6 games to go.

noreply@blogger.com (Crouchy) — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 01:24:00 +0000

Whilst many people have talked about the unpredictability of this season, there have been some elements that have been painfully too familiar.

United cantering to another title, despite being written off as "not that good" and "past it" — a mistake people have been making for years — and unfortunately, players such as Bryan Riggs and Paul "I got there as soon as I could" Scholes are still able to have an impact, despite their combined age of 104.

Arsenal playing the best short-pass-tippy-tap-tippy-tap-olé-olé football this side of Barcelona (and Brisbane Roar), but finding ways to throw away points that even Manchester City haven't thought of yet. It's amazing they're still anywhere near the title race, considering they've thrown away a four goal lead at Newcastle, conceded a 102nd minute equaliser against Liverpool, and lead by two goals in both fixtures against Tottenham, only for the games to finish 2-3 and 3-3 respectively.

And as for City... after spending more on new players this year than the entire GDP of Kiribati, we find ourselves in the exact same quagmire that we did last season — a battle for fourth place with Spurs, including a ding-dong winner-takes-all home play-off in the final days of the campaign.

Using a bit of statistical analysis and plain old guesswork, we've tried to predict how the season will turn out.

4. Manchester City

Games played: 32
Goal difference: +20
Recent form: 2 wins, 1 draw, and 3 losses. 7 points from the last 18.
Points: 56

Upcoming Fixtures:

A Blackburn (16th)

H West Ham United (19th)

A Everton (7th)

H Tottenham (5th)

FA Cup Final: Stoke City

H Stoke City (13th)

A Bolton (8th)

Predicted points total: 66 (10 more)

Trying to be as realistic/conservative as possible, Manchester City should pick up at least ten points from the final six fixtures.

Winning the next two matches would mean that City would be in the box seat for qualification to the Champions League. However, Blackburn and West Ham are both in danger of relegation — and of course, matches against relegation threatened teams are notoriously tough at this stage of the season. And West Ham have the same results as City over the last six matches (2-1-3 for seven points), so they're not to be taken lightly. Having said that, with the Blues on a high from their recent FA Cup semi final win, these two teams should present little danger for City.

The games against Everton and Tottenham however, may present a problem. Both are teams that we City struggled to beat in recent seasons — we've lost four on the trot at home against both clubs. There is also a short turn-around between the two games to consider (the Everton game is on Saturday, the Spurs game just two clear days later on the Tuesday), which means that Mancini may be forced to rest key players like David Silva and Nigel de Jong ahead of the clash against Tottenham. City may only take one point from these two fixtures — if any.

The game against Stoke, just three days after the FA Cup final against the same opponents is an interesting prospect. Especially when a Manchester City win could inversely help Stoke qualify for the Europa League by virtue of being the Cup runners-up and the winner (City) qualifying for the Champions League.

Conservatively, we've predicted that City will only win one of the last two fixtures — a win against Stoke and a defeat at Bolton (most likely on the back of goals to Daniel Sturridge and Martin Petrov). Even so, City should manage enough points to sneak ahead of Spurs, even with a defeat at the Reebok.

There's still a slight chance that City can even overhaul Arsenal and claim third place. The Gunners have drawn five of the last six games, with the only winning coming against the hapless Blackpool. But ultimately, success in the FA Cup, and reaching the fourth and final Champions League qualification spot should be the main focus for the team and the fans.

And I'm sure we'd all take that if offered.

5. Tottenham Hotspur
Games played: 32
Goal difference: +8 (12 worse off than City)
Recent form: 1 win, 4 draws, and 1 loss. 7 points from the last 18.
Points: 54 (two behind City)

Upcoming Fixtures:

H West Bromich Albion (11th)

A Chelsea (2nd)

H Blackpool (18th)

A Manchester City (4th)

A Liverpool (6th)

H Birmingham City (15th)

Predicted points total: 65 (11 more)
For the second consecutive season, an away match against Manchester City will be key in deciding fourth place — and we know what happened last time. But wins against West Brom, Blackpool, and Birmingham, with draws at City and Liverpool, should see Tottenham fall one point short.

Rags in Sydney — They Do Exist!

noreply@blogger.com (Crouchy) — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 02:53:00 +0000

I usually leave the "merciless slagging of opposition supporters" to the tosser at Republik of Mancunia (don't visit the site, it's bad for your health), but I couldn't resist on this occasion. I stumbled upon this on Saturday night... it's a membership form for the Manchester United Supporters Club of NSW.

Until now, it was only rumour that this organisation still existed — considering they can't even get a team together to play in the five-a-side tournaments anymore. After a quick perusal at this membership form, it's no wonder why they're so anonymous.

Now at the Sydney Blues, I know we've always tried to be as inclusive as possible and it's never been about making money. It's about getting as many people in Blue shirts yelling at a television screen as possible, and spreading the word about City in a country infested by Rags.

We offered scarves this season (which went down a treat apparently, considering we ordered thirty and have none left), as a way for fans to spread the word all over the globe. They've been sighted in Manchester a few time since, and even popped up in Ukraine and Greece.

Meanwhile, the Sydney Rags supporters club apparently has the hide to charge $60 a season for a membership card, and er... a t-shirt. And a monthly magazine.

Unfortunately, we don't offer a snazzy membership card, but you do get a lifetime subscription to this fine website. And the pleasure of our company, of course.

Next season, we will most likely have "proper" membership (yes, you can get a card if you like), and that will also entitle us to a place in the queue for tickets, in case we feel like a pilgrimage to Wembers again.

Rest assured, it won't be $60. How obscene.

[Edit by Gav - we weren't going to link to their site, but this is too good to pass up -http://www.manutdnsw.com/gallery/supporters-tournament.html have a look at the final photo of the set. Check out Sydney Blue stalwart, Brendo doing some awesome photbombing!!!]

City 1 Rags 0: We're the famous Sydney Blues and we're going to Wembley!

noreply@blogger.com (Crouchy) — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 02:08:00 +0000

Normally, we'd do some kind of post-match postmortem, using big words and ham-fisted analogies to make some sort of judgment or comment about the game.

We won't do with this game for a number of reasons — the most pertinent of which is that I don't actually remember that much about the game. I know Berbatov missed a couple of sitters in the space of a couple of seconds. I think we did actually score a goal (that happened, didn't it?), and I remember Wigan winning away at Blackpool because I had them on my multi. Apart from that, nothing.

The one thing that will always remain with me was the sheer unbridled ecstasy of Yaya Toure's goal. I don't think anyone there has celebrated like that in their lives! I had a half full beer at the time, where that went afterwards is anybody's guess. Rohan probably wore it, most likely.

We've had countless nights at Cheers in the past, and this was probably the biggest yet. I would say most memorable, but again I (and I suspect many others), don't remember that much about it.

So to everyone who joined in with the laughs, the songs ("Can you hear United sing? No, noooo.... shooooooooooooooooooooosh"), and the many renditions of the Poznan, thanks for coming down. I know there were some new faces I've never seen before, I'll try to remember your names next time you're down there and I'm more sober. Especially "Troy Dann" in his bloody big hat.

You're all legends.

More photos from the night are on the Lesson In Pride facebook page, here.

Liverpool 3 City 0: You build me up, just to tear me down...

noreply@blogger.com (Crouchy) — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 04:33:00 +0000

You would have thought after all these years of supporting City, we'd have learned by now.

How many tiiiiiiiimes (Sydney Blues in-joke right there) have we thought "maybe, just maybe, this is the end of Typical City™".

All we need to do is beat Middlesbrough and we're in Europe. Bring on the trophies.
We've been taken over by a Thai Prime-Minister, we're set for life. Bring on the trophies.
We're in the top four at Christmas, sign Sven up for life. Bring on the trophies.
We've been taken over by rich Arabs and they've just bought Robinho. Bring on the trophies.
We've just smacked Sunderland, get past Liverpool and we'll smack the Rags in the FA Cup. *This* time, we'll take home a trophy.

We fell for it. Again.

So just when we'd thought the Blues had turned the corner after the 5-0 demolition of Sunderland, Mancini's men put up one of the meekest displays seen this season, as they were beaten ~~like a Southport DJ who refused to play Phil Collins~~ convincingly by three goals to nil.

However, a sight more heart-breaking than any opposition scoreline was that of Carlos Estevez trudging up the tunnel with a hamstring injury that almost certainly will keep him out of the FA Cup semi final on Saturday.

In situations like this, it's important to try and keep a sense of perspective about things, and not over-react. Many of the same City fans that were calling Mancini a tactical genius last week are now calling for his head.

"We did not play for the first 20 minutes, when Liverpool played very well. But tonight I made some mistakes, so it is my fault. The players could do better, but I made mistakes."

"I’m sorry for the fans, because we only started to play after 20 minutes. It’s for me to know what I did."

"Liverpool started quickly, they are strong at home and we conceded a lot of chances to them early. After that we played, but not in the first 20 minutes. With all the other teams having won at the weekend, it was important to win this game but it is important we forget this and prepare for the semi final." said Mancini, conveniently overlooking the fact that we played shit in minutes 21 through 93, as well.

Although it was nice to see him admit that defeat was his fault (although there were not many players who could hold their heads up after that performance either), how about accepting responsibility for the fact we're on track for a lower points tally than last season despite spending over £100 million?

I really don't want to turn this into a slag-the-manager/slag-the-players post. Because that's not what this website, or indeed the Sydney Blues, is about. There's enough people out there tripping over themselves to put shit on the club as it is — and some of them even claim to be City fans. But there is I one burning issue I have with the manager — and it would be interesting to see if I can ask him this in the flesh (without hearing the words "important", "strange", or "this is a football").

How come every crunch game, every must-win game, every game where something big is on the line — we fuck it up? And it can't be chalked off as another occurrence of Typical City™.

I can't think of him winning an absolutely critical game. I know loads that we've lost. Carling Cup semi second leg, Rags at home, Tottenham at home, Everton at home, Rags away, Kiev away and home, Chelsea away, Liverpool away and etc and so forth.

The manager has this weekend to prove us wrong. Save your job Roberto — and more importantly, save our season.

Carlos Tevez Nominated for Player of the Year Award. Rightly so?

noreply@blogger.com (Crouchy) — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 03:16:00 +0000

City's talismanic captain Carlos Tevez has been nominated for the prestigious PFA (Professional Footballers' Association) Player of the Year gong. The rest of the players on the shortlist are:

Charlie Adam (Plucky Little Blackpool)
Gareth Bale (Tottenham Globetrotters)
Samir Nasri (Arse)
Scott Parker (West Ham United)
Nemanja Vidic (Rags)

Whilst Tevez's contribution has undoubtedly been instrumental in this season's campaign, I find it hard to agree that he's been the most influential member of our team, let alone the entire Premier League. He has contributed nineteen goals in the league, but is in a bit of a rut recently (by his standards anyway), having just scored twice in the last ten appearances in all competitions.

I also have some questions about other members of the shortlist — namely Charlie Adam — who started the season with a bang (great for those of us smart enough to pick the lad in fantasy football), but it's no coincidence that as Adam has faded over the course of the season, so have Blackpool.

Additionally, the nomination of Gareth Bale (on the back of THREE GOALS IN MILAN!!!11!! LOL TAXI FOR MAICON!!!1!!) proves that the Tottenham Globetrotters circle-jerk is still alive and well, despite Spurs losing by four goals in Madrid this morning. Of course, it would be no great surprise if he did win, considering Bryan Riggs won the award two seasons ago on the back of twelve appearances and one (!) league goal.

So in response, our completely non-partisan and unbiased nominations for the LIP Player of the Year, are as follows:

Vincent Kompany (Manchester City)
Nani (Manchester United)
Kevin Nolan (Newcastle United)
Samir Nasri (Arsenal)
Rafael van der Vaart (Tottenham Hotspur)
Javier 'Chickenburrito' Hernandez (Manchester United)
Honourable mention: David Silva (Manchester City)

Have we got it even more wrong? Let us know.

City 5 Sunderland 0: Blood on the dance floor...

noreply@blogger.com (Crouchy) — Sun, 03 Apr 2011 15:08:00 +0000

There's something magical about a big Manchester City win. You just can't beat it. On the back of one ninety-minute display of "totale calcio" by City, the dark clouds of an deteriorating 2010-11 season quickly disappeared, to be replaced by a glorious, intense double rainbow.

Last week, fourth looked a million miles away. Now, with that win, plus just about every team in our vicinity failing (draws to Arsenal, Chelsea, and Tottenham, plus defeats to Liverpool and Bolton. Unfortunately the Rags won, but annoyingly, they've been nigh on invincible all season). We have a big chance to make history, and it's time for City fans to keep the faith.

Yes, it may have been a five-nil thriller — but it was only Sunderland. A team that has been in free-fall since selling Darren Bent in January. A team that has not scored in seven hours of football since February 12, and has collected one point in the last twenty-one available. It's not that impressive a result, really.

Not everything is black and white in football — indeed, the scoreline sometimes does not tell the whole story, and can often unfairly flatter or shame a team. In this case, the winning margin was not so much of importance, rather the manner of victory was. We looked dangerous every time we had the ball. It's very difficult to remember the time we dominated a match so convincingly.

You are not alone if you believe that Roberto Mancini and his tactics are too defensive/negative/Italian. There have been occasions this season where he has definitely told players to keep it in the closet, rather than go all out for the win. However, it's a myth that is easily believed by the tabloid junkies — just like the one about the Tottenham Globetrotters being some bastion of good old-fashioned attacking football, despite scoring less goals than all three promoted clubs this season.

Now that the team is back from an international break — and the manager can no longer peddle the tired "we are tired" excuse — we saw a different Manchester City. And it's no surprise that we looked so good in the first match of Adam Johnson's return (scoring nine minutes in was definitely not a bad way to signal it either), plus with Yaya Toure in a slightly deeper role in defensive midfield, and dare I say it, without Gumboots Gaz to slow everything down.

Mancini is now in a bit of a jam. Does he stick with the tactics that have so far led the side to third in the league and the semis of the FA Cup Sponsored By Ian, or does he go with this new cavalier attitude that we saw against Sunderland against the better sides like Liverpool and United? Seven games left in the league (one of which we'll be there in the flesh), and it's already shaping up to be a grand finale. I have butterflies already!

In honour of Mohammed al-Fayed's curious decision to build a statue of Michael Jackson at Craven Cottage, this post is littered with MJJ song titles. How many can you find? Leave the answer in the comments. Shamone!

Could City's "tiredness" and "defensive crisis" been avoided?

noreply@blogger.com (Crouchy) — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 01:15:00 +0000

The rather meaningless international break — or 'Interlull' as it's more appropriately called — is usually looked forward to as a chance to recharge the batteries towards the end of a busy campaign (especially in days gone past, where we didn't exactly have a whole host of international stars... we might have sent Paulo Wanchope to a CONCACAF qualifier occasionally).

But with today's City consisting almost entirely of full-team or Under-21 internationals, there is always the possibility of one or two coming back crocked. Last season, it was Robinho and Tevez, now apparently it's Micah Richards and Jerome Boateng.

It's a big blow for Maicon, who is arguably our most improved player from the season before. He'll likely be out of the game for a month, but has even resorted to setting up a Michael Jackson-esque oxygen tent in his house in a bid to speed his recovery.

"It is not what I wanted to hear at all," lamented Richards, in a quote we lifted directly off the Official Site.

"I felt sick when I was told. I knew from experience when I did it that it felt like a bad one but I was hoping for the best."

City's defensive options were weakened further with the news that Jerome Boateng suffered a knee injury ~~breaking into a jog for once~~ training with the German squad.

Coupled with the absence of Pablo Zabaleta (who had returned to Argentina to visit his gravely ill father) and Kolo Toure (who is now the face of Subway's 'six sandwiches with six grams of fat or less' ad campaign in the Ivory Coast), City are down to the bare-bones defensively. It is suggested that Derrick Boyata and the uncapped Reece Wabara will join the squad for the next match against Sunderland.

Exiled-blue Chief Ned Onuoha is currently on loan with the Black Cats, and thus is not allowed to play in the contest.

In football injures are to be expected, and a to a degree, planned for (although drug suspensions and family bereavement certainly aren't), perhaps some questions need to be asked about Roberto Mancini's loan policy.

What would we give to have Onuoha lining up at right back this weekend? Or Bellamy giving us some fresh legs (well, as fresh as those 31-year-old knees could be) in the last twenty minutes when we desperately need a goal? Or Emmanuel Adebayor getting caught offside for the tenth time in the match? Or Wayne Bridge... doing whatever Wayne Bridge does?

There's almost a full team (a total of ten players) plying their trades at other clubs — many of whom at City's expense — who could at least be giving us another option instead of Yaya Toure slogging his guts out for 90 minutes every single match.

It could well be the difference between third and fifth.

Etihad Coming Home: We (well, you) did it!

noreply@blogger.com (Crouchy) — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 20:39:00 +0000

As you may or may not have noticed (I'm going to go with the former, considering we've been flogging it like a Flemington favourite for the past six weeks), we were finalists in the Etihad Coming Home competition, in which two fans could win a trip back to Eastlands for a match.

We're still waiting on the final word from the Official Site, but by all accounts (ie. email confirmation), we did it!

We haven't got exact details yet, but the game that we will 'come home' to is the clash against Spurs, which has been rescheduled for 10 May.

We thought we were in a with a chance, considering our visible our campaign has been, but never did we think we could actually win. Especially when last years' winner, David and Steve Salt, accrued over 20% of 8000 votes. How were we ever going to get two-thousand-or-so votes?

Thank you to everyone who voted and campaigned on our behalf, and commiserations to the other entrants — it's just a shame Ol' Sheikhy can't put his hand in his pocket to send them all

over.

Now for the Academy Award-style speech... feel free to leave now...

We'd like to thank:

The fellow members of the Sydney Blues, and especially Brendo The Jet, for without whom there would be no club.
Sydney Blues-in-exile Andeh, Adam, and Bri for getting behind the bid — we need to catch up for a pint of Coopers (if they have it) in Manchester.
Fellow City bloggers Jack from TLDORC and Danny from Bitter and Blue for giving us a shout-out.
Christian and the team from The Football Sack, as well as Lee from Footy Fans Down Under.
The two sexiest men in Australian television, Ricky M and Frank (you're wasted on 513 Ienco...)
Ricardinho and Damo from the Bluemoon forum for letting us campaign there, as well as Dave Mooney from the Bluemoon Podcast for plugging us mercilessly.
Rozzi and the crew from Bluewatch forum — pints will definitely be distributed at Mary D's lads.
Members of the 'Send Blue Roo Home' facebook page, and the various Facebookers and Twittererers who voted or encouraged others to do so.
A very special thanks to Monnie and honourary Sydney Blue, Steve Kinsey, for their campaigning at various pubs and football matches.
Lastly, every person that voted, and especially the loyal readers (all twelve of you) of the Lesson In Pride blog.

And of course, it wouldn't be an acceptance speech without thanking the academy, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, and God Bless America!

[VID] Archive footage: Tottenham Globetrotters v West Ham

noreply@blogger.com (Crouchy) — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 06:55:00 +0000

LiP has managed to get our hands on some exclusive archived footage, believed to be of one of the most cavalier sides of their era — the Tottenham Globetrotters.

The Globetrotters were said to be a breath of fresh air, at a time where dour, scarf-wearing foreigners were boring the pants off spectators. With Gareth Bale, the bestest left-back come left-midfielder in the world to call on, Tottenham were soon banging in goals for fun with their ultra-attacking, devil-may-care attitude.

Punters at the time simply could not get enough of their revolutionary new style of football, in which a pacy winger would try to land crosses on the head of street-light masquerading as a footballer, who would then knock them down for Rafael van der Vaart.

Enjoy this piece of history!

Etihad Coming Home competition: Voting closes Sunday!

noreply@blogger.com (Crouchy) — Fri, 18 Mar 2011 15:30:00 +0000

If you didn't know already (and it's hard to see how, considering we have been absolutely flogging the life out this on Facebook, Twitter, the blog, and various forums), but the Etihad Coming Home competition — in which two City fans from around the world will be flown back to Manchester for the match against Spurs — is closing soon. Like, very soon.

Two of the Sydney Blues regulars, Matt and Gav, are a one-in-eight chance of going back home. But we need your votes to make it happen!

So if you like what we do at Lesson in Pride, please drop us a vote (if you haven't done so already). To do so, click the link below and vote for Matt Coleman.

The Sydney Blues are a proactive organisation — no matter the opposition, or if the kick-off is at daft o'clock, we meet up to cheer the lads on, just as we would if we were at Eastlands. To see an example of this against United last month, watch the following vid (and watch out for flying beer!):

To see the entry that got us into the final eight, and was shown on the big screen against Blackpool, watch this one instead:

As much as we love watching the games and making droll observations from Down Under — it's not the same as watching it in the flesh. So please help us to make a dream a reality!

For more information on how you can send us home, like the cause on Facebook.

City 'til we die,

Matt Coleman (Crouchy).

City 1 Kiev 0: More "Waluigi" than "Super Mario"...

noreply@blogger.com (Crouchy) — Fri, 18 Mar 2011 09:24:00 +0000

Manchester City limply exited the Ropey League at the Round of 16 stage — despite winning 1-0 on the night — after failing to overturn the two-goal deficit inflicted from the first leg by Dynamo Chicken Kiev.

It was a valiant effort by those ten players that could be bothered staying on the pitch, dominating the game for long periods despite the numerical shortfall.

For not the first time this season (or even not the first time against Dynamo Kiev), Mario Balotelli has let down the club, and probably more concerning than that, the manager that has defended him so vehemently. He was only on the pitch for 35 minutes, but even it that time managed to miss a gilt-edge chance, and throw his toys out of his pram on a regular basis.

At his wit's end, Mancini has turned to Super Nanny Jo Frost for inspiration, and relegated Balo to the naughty chair before Sunday's game at Stamford Bridge.

"I don't think he'll be in the squad," he mused.

"If Mario thinks, he could be a fantastic player. But this is his problem. When he does stupid things like tonight it's difficult for him, for me and for the team."

Whether City would have worn down Kiev to at least force extra-time we'll never know, but Mancini certainly seemed to think that they were a chance against a team that never looked like scoring an away goal that would have killed the tie.

Defenders of Joey Bartelli (if there are any left) will suggest that his petulance is due to 'his tough up-bringing'/'being racially abused his whole life'/'his homesickness'/'being just a kid'/'not being tucked into bed as a child' or a combination of the lot. But this constant defending and mollycoddling of Balo is part of the problem.

It's probably the same excuses he used, or people used, to explain his attitude when he was six. And twelve. And sixteen. And now at twenty, with the potential and the talent to be absolutely anything, he is still a little boy. An arrogant, petulant, ill-tempered boy who may wear a Blue shirt, but does not play for City.

I'm not sure if he can play for the club again this season, unless he has a complete attitude overhaul. His cards have been marked. Opposition teams are going to goad him into a reaction, and referees are going to penalise him knowing he has a reputation for doing so.

Maybe Baliability would benefit from some time in the reserves, but you'd get the impression he'd just stink up the pitch for the whole 90 minutes.

I try to like him, I really do. I found him quite refreshing at first. I even bought myself a Hatotelli... but it's extremely difficult to defend a player that has such disdain for the club that pays his wages.

Say what you like about Jo's shitness (and believe me, we have) at least you get the impression that he actually tries to not be shit.

Baliability needs the assistance of an adult to complete even the simplest of tasks, such as dressing himself, or going pot-pot.

It's still the wrong way around Mario! Oh forget it...

'Council House' no more: Manchester City to rename stadium

noreply@blogger.com (Crouchy) — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 10:25:00 +0000

Manchester City have been granted permission by the Council to sell the naming rights to their (well, the council's) stadium.

The Blues hope that ~~not spunking millions of pounds on footballers like Roque Santa Cruz~~ a sponsorship deal at the City of Manchester Stadium will help the club to become more financially self sufficient as new UEFA financial "fair play" rules kick in next year.

The ruling means that football clubs who want to take part in European competition have to ~~be funded by the Spanish government~~ break even over a three-year rolling period, starting from the 2012-13 season.

The move mirrors that of Premier League rival Arsenal, which sold the 15-year rights of its stadium to Emirates airline for nearly £100m in 2006 — however it is believed that particular deal was heavily front-loaded to pay for the construction of the stadium.

The most ideal candidate for naming rights would be rival Emerati airline and club sponsor Etihad — although calling the ground "Etihad Stadium" would lead to some confusing conversations for Melbourne-based fans.

At any rate, a naming rights sponsor would not only help to balance the books for City, it will also end the clunkiness around the City of Manchester Stadium/COMS/Eastlands debate that still hasn't been decided upon since moving from Maine Road seven seasons ago.

As long as the club doesn't go down the same egotistical path of Wigan's DW Stadium (HRH SM Arena?) or sell the rights to the highest bidder at the expense of a half-decent name like many American stadia (Minute Maid Park, Petco Park, Consolidated Transnational Stadium, Preparation H Arena et al), then I think it's a great idea.

Manchester City to play all home games at Etihad Stadium? Result! Oh...

City 1 Reading 0; Micah's head gives City fans a semi...

noreply@blogger.com (Crouchy) — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 11:56:00 +0000

Manchester City set up a mesmerising, tantalising semi-final with Them Lot Down The Road, after edging past Reading in a now customary less-than-inspiring performance.

Lack of depth has been a recent concern for City, however Mancini was able to call on the fit-again Nigel de Jong, and Subbuteo Wright-Phillips for this match — the latter of which showing a glimpses of the form that made him a terrace favourite for many years. It was fitting that the by far the best two players on the pitch were involved for the goal, with Maicon Richards nodding home a David Silva corner to ensure progression.

"It felt amazing," he declared, thankfully managing not to swear unlike last time the defender scored a header from a corner in the FA Cup.

"To come through the youth academy and to get us so far in the competition is an unbelievable feeling. We have United in the semis, which makes it more special. We can't wait."

"It makes it more interesting. If we want to win the competition we have to beat the best." Richards whooped, whilst wearing his favourite sequined fur robe.

Richards wasn't the only one getting all giddy about the prospect, with the club releasing a range of Wembley-inspired merch just minutes after the final whistle. There's nothing that says "small-time" like a piece of cheap commemorative tat to celebrate the fact that we're not quite as shit as we used to be.

It's foam hands this season, next we'll be shouting "DE-FENSE! DE-FENSE!" when the opposition has the ball. An oversized thumbs down from me.

Man City are my favourite soccer ball team. We're number one! USA! USA!

The (over) commercialisation of the game is not something limited to clubs of course. The fact fans of two teams from Manchester (and surrounds) will have to spend an inordinate amount on tickets, as well as an inordinate amount on train/fuel to travel all the way to Wemberleeeeeee for a cup semi-final is ridiculous.

I mean, if we have to travel miles from Manchester to a soulless dump full of cockneys and day-trippers, couldn't they just have held it at Old Trafford? (Insert obvious joke about 'it may as well be a home game for them if it's in London' here).

The semi-final will be played on the weekend of 16/17 April, which is when the match between Manchester City and Tottenham is due to take place.

And in an amazing piece of segue and a disgraceful piece of shameless self-promotion: voting is still open in the Etihad Coming Home competition, where two Lesson In Pride contributors and Sydney Blues regulars, Matt and Gav, have a one-in-eight chance of seeing that aforementioned City/Spurs game live at Eastlands. But we need your votes to make it happen!

So if you like what we do, we'd really like you to vote for us (if you haven't done so already). You've wasted five minutes reading the rest of the post, so please waste another minute of your time clicking the link below and voting for Matt Coleman.

Kiev 2 City 0; Allergies, excuses, and media blackouts...

noreply@blogger.com (Crouchy) — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 05:46:00 +0000

Barring an extraordinary turn-around in form in the reverse fixture, Manchester City look likely to crash out of the Ropey League at the Round of 16 after a limp 0-2 loss to Dynamo Chicken Kiev. And by failing to score a vital away goal, the Blues will now need to score at least three in the return leg to progress.

I haven't seen Mancini's post-match interview, but I imagine that it will be along the lines of "we are tired", "we're playing every three days", "it was cold", "the pitch was not good" or some other ham-fisted attempt to justify a flaccid City performance (does Kolo Toure have a pill for that too?) by almost everyone on the pitch — and that includes the referee. UEFA ban coming for LiP methinks!

And not for the first time this season, Mancini is having to defend the performance of Mario "Top Deck" Balotelli, who had to be taken off early in the second half after suffering an allergic reaction to ~~cold weather~~ ~~hard work~~ the grass. He still had plenty of time to pick up a now customary booking, of course.

"He had an allergy, I don't know what, his face was swollen. He wanted to come out for the second half but he had this problem 10 seconds before coming out for the second half. I came out one minute before the players and I didn't see Mario" Roberto explained, without actually explaining anything. Like how he got through the first forty-five minutes just fine.

Mancini opted to start with a midfield three of Zabaleta, Gumboots Gaz, and Yaya Toure...

Speaking of managers speaking, or rather not speaking — earlier this week, Slur Alex Ferguson from That Club Up The Road came under fire for enacting a strict policy of blanking every media outlet possible — whether that be the BBC, Hale Preparatory School's monthly newsletter, or seldom-updated and overly-wordy Manchester City blogs. This blackout even extended to said-club's own television station, leaving a gap in programming that had to be hastily filled by repeats of Bargain Hunt, where two teams scour the lower leagues of Europe to find "value in the transfer market".

As easy as it is to describe Ferguson's bully-boy attitude to the media as "petulant" and "deplorable" (that's because it is), I sometimes wonder whether that would be a better alternative to what Manchester City are doing at the moment.

There's no doubt that City's Official Site is fantastic. There's plenty of fresh content, and most importantly, it doesn't look like a dog's breakfast compared to some other football websites. Watching the kitman going the gurn and doing some bit about the Oscars? Fine. Eating like your favourite Manchester City player? That's okay too. (Or if that doesn't take your fancy, you could always eat like your favourite Manchester City supporter...)

But then on the eve of one of the most important games in the context of this season, the club posts this video on Facebook, showing the team piss-farting about in the hotel before the match — and right in front of the manager too! Maybe if Mario had shown that kind of urgency during the match, the side wouldn't be in the predicament they're in now?

Sure, the friand-eating, square-framed-glasses wearing types that usually work in "Social Media" think this kind of publicity is the greatest thing since bikes came with fixed-gears, but can you imagine this happening at another club? Do you think Ferguson would have stood for that? Is this the kind of thing teams with "winning mentalities" do?

I don't mind the side losing occasionally, but when it seems the team can't be arsed, it winds me up no end. Especially when I then can't be arsed to turn that into 600 or so words of "witty" prose...

#UkraineFact: The national anthem of Ukraine is the Tetris theme Type B.

City 1 Wigan 0; goals on Silva platters, and you can't spell Tourette's without Toure...

noreply@blogger.com (Crouchy) — Sun, 06 Mar 2011 03:08:00 +0000

The man with the sexiest feet in world football, Asian Dave Silva, underlined just how important he is to Mancini's City (although to be fair, everything is important to him), scoring the only goal in a 1-0 win over Wigan that was at the same time, a hell of a lot closer than it should have been, as well as a lucky three points.

No matter that it owed so much to hapless Wigan keeper Ali Al Habsi, who produced a howler of Massimo Taibi proportions. But City could easily point to the several other chances they had in the first half to kill the game.

It's important to note that this match was City's forty-fifth of the season, just shy of the 48 last campaign. This means that by the time we play Dynamo Kiev in the Ropey League next week, the players will have played the same amount of fixtures by midway through March as they had through the entirety of last season. Let's just hope that tiredness is not an issue and City don't chicken out of a competition they have a decent chance of winning. Chicken out against Kiev... Chicken Kiev... is this thing on?

With City still in the hunt in three competitions, Mancini is probably lamenting his decision to send a total of ten first-team players out on loan.

"Every other team has 20 or 22 players to choose from and you need that if you are playing every three days," Mancini said. "We only have 15 or 16 at present. When we recover all our players it will not be a problem but since January we have been unlucky with niggling injuries".

This situation is definitely not helped then by Kolo Toure's suspension from the club, for taking what is only described as a "specified substance". What the specified substance is, has not been er, specified. But it is thought that it was a slimming pill belonging to his wife. Not too dissimilar from the "my Mum gave me a fluid tablet to get rid of the double-chin" excuse offered by Shane Warne when he tested positive for a diuretic on the eve of the 2003 ICC World Cup, then.

Joleon Lescott's massive forehead must be pulsating at the thought of getting more game time for City, as Toure could face a ban of up to two years as a result.

Where Kolo sits amongst such "luminaries" as Ben Johnson, Adrian Mutu, Barry Bonds, Mark McGuire, and a monthly rotation of continental European road cyclists, remains to be seen.

As it turned out, Arsene Wenger leaped to Toure’s defence, offering that the player merely took a diet pill and had done the same at Arsenal, also, due to weight problems. While that’s far more harmless than injecting steroids or choking down pain-killers like you're on the set of Two and a Half Men, it’s still against the rules — even if the offense is somewhat comparable to jay-walking.

Meanwhile, City will face Reading in the FA Cup quarter-final, leaving the side just one win from Wemberleeeeeee. And despite his side having precisely fuck-all to play for, Gerard Houllier has defended the side he put out in the 3-0 loss to City in the last round, saying "I told the boys you don't have to be ashamed of the performance, you've done well". Proving that the man who thought that a 37 year-old Robert Pires could still play Premier League football is a liar, as well as an idiot.

[VID] Sydney Blues v Liverpool

noreply@blogger.com (Crouchy) — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 03:20:00 +0000

Here's the highlights and penalty shoot-out from the recent Supporters' Club 5-a-side tournament in Sydney. This is the quarter final between Manchester City and Liverpool.

Don't forget, some of the best players of all time have missed penalties. Ronaldo. Team Beckham. Roberto Baggio. Not all of them from three yards, however...

City 1 Fulham 1; and Hughes on the defensive (irony overload).

noreply@blogger.com (Crouchy) — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 12:22:00 +0000

In a result that undoubtedly delighted lazy journalists, United fans (happy anniversary Blues, 35 years and we're still here) and residents of Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch, Mark Hughes FC held Manchester City to a 1-1 draw at Eastlands — in doing so picking up Fulham's eighth point in the last four meetings between the clubs at the CoMS.

Of course, we could talk about the match — such as how ineffective we looked without David Silva, how we actually looked more likely to score when a striker (Dzeko) was replaced with a midfielder (Uncle Pat), or how on earth I managed to miss a penalty from three yards yesterday — but people will not shut the fuck up about how good it was for Poor Old Hard Done-By Mark Hughes to get revenge against the three-DM-playing, job-stealing, poster child of negative football Roberto Mancini, as if he was the only manager in the history of football to be replaced before his contract had expired.

Having said that, a 'handshake' between Hughes and Mancini spoke volume of the disdain that they have for each other. Hughes is obviously aggrieved because Roberto took his job, Roberto unhappy that he was stuck with Roque Santa Cruz.

Hughes said of the 'snub': "I always think you should offer your hand in whatever circumstances, no matter how difficult it is.

"I did it and did it with sincerity after my team had been beaten 4-1 at Craven Cottage earlier in this season. I acknowledged his team were better.

"Maybe I misread it but I don't feel Roberto really acknowledged the efforts of my team and what we had done by the manner he offered his hand, by not looking at me."

Mancini rightly countered with the accusation Hughes had done exactly the same thing in November following one of City's best performances of the season.

"In London he did the same," said Mancini. "I know he said something but I couldn't understand what."For you it is may be the best thing in the match, for me, no. It is not important. He should be happy. His team got a draw against us."

Spot the difference?

In fact, Hughes was lucky to receive anything other than a bloody lip after the cheeky way he had a dig at Mancini and the club during the week, then having the hide to defend the job he did at Eastlands. Maybe if he spent more time worrying about defense on the pitch rather than off it, he'd still have a job at City...

"If you look at the City side now, I would suggest some of their main performers, and strongest, are the likes of Vincent Kompany, Nigel de Jong and Carlos Tevez. They've had a huge impact for City." he claimed. Obviously neglecting to mention the fact that Vincent Kompany wasn't a regular starter for Hughes, and has come to the fore this season playing exclusively at centre half. Or the fact that under Hughes, de Jong was a destroyer who passed sideways or backwards, but is now vital link between defence and attack.

He's got some nerve if he's claiming Tevez was his signing. He might have signed while Hughes was manager but that's about it.

If you spend several billion pounds on footballing talent, such as: Jo, Tal Ben Haim, Pablo Zabaleta, Shaun Wright-Phillips, Vincent Kompany, Glauber Berti, Robinho, Wayne Bridge, Nigel de Jong, Shay Given, Craig Bellamy, Gareth Barry, Roque Santa Cruz, Kolo Toure, Carlos Tevez, Emmanuel Adebayor, Joleon Lescott, and Sylvinho (enough players to make an entire match day squad and still leave out Jo) you'd expect one or two of them to be not all that bad, wouldn't you?

And he's doubly cheeky for suggesting that the reason those players he did sign, only underperformed because of the new manager.

"Along the way, some purchases haven't worked for whatever reasons, not really in terms of the ability those players have, but because of circumstances and the thinking of the management team and the coaches. And that happens when there's a change in management."

I'd take City under-performing our way to third place this season any day of the week, than what Hughes dished up under his tenure. Alas it seems that it's not only the managers who can't help but reopen old wounds.