Honeymoon over?

47,000 people booed the entire minutes silence yesterday as Liverpool beat City one goal to nil. That is what you may think if you believe some of the rubbish that has been posted on the Internet. I was in the East Stand and I did hear some noise coming from the direction of the away fans. It is a shame because it was probably only around 10 people, if that. The media need to appreciate that every club has a small group of idiots and that the entire fans should not be tarnished with the same brush. This is the problem with a minutes silence. At many grounds yesterday they opted for a minute of applause. This should be implemented more often as it allows the person's life to be celebrated and it also drowns out the sound of any scumbags who feel the need to object.

I am not able to give a full opinion on George Best as he was before my time so sadly I can only comment on what others have told me. He was clearly an excellent player. Personally, I didn't feel that a minutes silence was necessary all over the country. It should been at the club's discretion. I fully observed the silence though.

City went into the game with the only change being Barton for Sun in midfield. Vassell had a chance early on which he should have scored, this would have set a different tone for the rest of the game. It was not the most entertaining match I have seen all season. City spent far too much time passing it around the back and then hoofing it forward, this was simple for Hyypia and Carragher who looked like they could have stood there and headed the ball back all day. When Liverpool were in posession City were guilty of backing off. It was a very frustrating game. It would be difficult to pick out a star player for City.

Kiki Musampa is one of the fastest players that City have. When tracking back, Kiki Musampa is one of the slowest players in the side. I do wonder what is going through Musampa's head. Is it that he is on loan and doesn't care because he is going to be in Madrid next year? Is it that he knows there are no other left wingers that can replace him? Is it that he is too good to have to track back? Stuart Pearce MUST drop Musampa against Charlton. I know he creates chances but he is far too complacent about his place in the side. I think a game on the bench might just give him the kick he needs. Joey Barton was very ineffective in midfield, he must have thought he was playing for Liverpool the amount of times he passed to them. Stephen Ireland failed to make an impact the way he has done over the past few weeks but this can be expected from a player of his age.

January can't come quick enough for Manchester City, Stuart Pearce needs to sign at LEAST three experienced. A left winger, a creative midfielder and striker please Stuart. Roy Keane? No thanks. There are a few problems with any potential signings. Firstly, can anyone think of any realistic targets, I mean names? Secondly, should we lose against Charlton and Birmingham, City are no longer looking like a team capable of finishing in a European place which is less likely to attract players which may have considered it when we were flying high. Anyway, January isn't here yet so in the mean time it is Charlton away. I'm looking forward to it, it doesn't get much better than away trips to the capital.

I'm going to be quite controversial with my team selection for the Charlton game. I would like to see Barton play on the right, similarly to the role he played against West Ham (or was it Everton?) I would like to see Sinclair play on the left (I know that he is out of position but see the above about Kiki) I also think that it might be time to see Fowler given a chance, he showed against the reserves that he is fit. Why not give him a go?

Is the Pearce honeymoon over? Knee-jerk reaction, I know. We will know the answer to this question on February 1st after a tough christmas period and a transfer window.

F. C City?

Blues are getting fed up of the people who run the club and the people who run the Premiership in general (Namely, Rupert Murdoch). The early kick off’s, the expensive tickets, the expensive shirts, the lack of quality signings, the lack of supporters on the board... The list is endless; it is not a problem that has just developed overnight. It has been developing for some time now.

Fans patience can only be pushed so far. Needless to say I was not overly surprised when I saw in ‘City till I cry’ that some Blues are looking into the possibilities of a break-away club.

News broke out last week that Sky’s monopoly on live Premiership football is coming to an end. ‘Good news’ I hear you cry? Chances are that Sky will still hold around 80% of live Premiership football with the other 20% going to another company. It is highly doubtful that ITV or BBC can afford it. Rumours are that NTL are going to put a bid in for the rights. Fans with Sky will just have to do what fans with only terrestrial have been doing for years, go to the pub. Fans with only terrestrial will just have to do what fans with only terrestrial have been doing for years, go to the pub.

I find very little to admire about Neil Warnock but I did like it when I heard that he turned down a rather large amount of money to have a Sheffield United game moved so that it could be broadcast by Sky. He’s still a tit though.

The question is: Could you do it? Could you stop watching City? Cut all ties? Wash those memories away? The answer for me is no. I would relish a sunny at the end of August at 3pm singing the afternoon away. What about a frosty Saturday in January? Besides, I love London away trips too much.

I’m a great believer that things will change for the good. It simply can’t go on like this. Sadly, the only way I see things changing are if the government intervene, given their problems I think that football is the last on their mind.

My suggestion for those who are considering the break-away club: Why bother starting another non-league club? There are plenty already out there.

Midweek round-up

Back to the real action this week with Blackburn making the short trip to COMS. They are coming on the back of a 4-1 thrashing against Charlton a fortnight ago so it should be quite a good game. Expect it to be a nitty gritty encounter. Shame that Joey is going to miss out though.

Not much City news this week other than we have been linked with Galasek. Don't know much about him to be honest. Danny Mills has said he wants to end his career at Hereford Town. I'm sure once he's annoyed everyone in the premiership he can go annoy some non-league fans. Danny is the kind of player that you hate unless he is playing for your team.

Good win by England last Saturday. No point going to Germany next summer though, we have already won it haven't we? Oh sorry it's just that what the papers were saying. If Robinson wouldn't made some crucial saves early on we would have been baterred.

It's getting into mid november now and it is not far until the January transfer window opens, should be interesting to see what happens. Some people are saying that Psycho will be handed a '£10m warchest' others are of the feeling that Wardle won't spend a penny. I don't expect anyone to leave the squad to be honest. I think the defence is pretty sorted, the goalkeeping situation is fine aswell. A striker is a necessity, someone with power and pace please Stuart. A few names which have been thrown around are Dean Ashton, Andrew Johnson and Dave Nugent. There was a story in the sun the other day saying that Steed Malbranque was ready to sign a new contract at Fulham so that may be out of the window.

Either way Pearce needs to strengthern, it is clear that with a few injuries/suspensions that the squad becomes very thin in certain parts. The youngsters have done an excellent job at filling the gaps but I think some experience needs to be brought in aswell.

Let's see what Wardle and co come up with.

England must beat Argentina

Nothing much happening this week on the City front. Someone has extended the loan etc. etc. Pearce has allegedly taken the squad on a retreat the the Lake District to build team moral.

This Saturday is the England v Argentina friendly it shouldn't be a bad game. It is refreshing to see the powers that be select a friendly against a good team. The game is being played in Switzerland which makes sense really with most of the Argentina team being based in europe. I wouldn't have minded seeing Taggarts reaction if they were holding it in Argentina.

Now I am not a Sven fan at all, I find it disgusting how much he is paid for what he actually does. Take this weekend for example. On Saturday he was at Ewood Park, Sunday he was at Old Trafford and Monday night he was at the Reebok. He just seems to get paid to watch premiership football and then goes and picks Crouch. The issue is that we have qualified now so to get rid of him now would be a huge mistake.

Despite what Tord Gripp (another member of the premiership pay per view team, and I'm not talking about Premiership+ on Sky) says I think that Sven will resign after the World Cup. If England win he will leave because he can do nothing more. If they do poor he will give in after the Sun put his address on the front page or something.

If England want any chance of winning next years world cup then they should be able to win games like this Saturday, or at least put in a good performance. The problem is that you don't know which England are going to turn up, the Northern Ireland England, or the team that only seem to turn up on the big ocassions and get a result.

The main reason why I believe England will not win the World Cup is that there is a lack of, quality, back up players in every position. The starting eleven virtually picks itself but there are some injury prone players in that eleven and we can't expect them all to stay fit throughout the world cup can we?

If either of the centre backs are injured/suspended then there are quality to replace them. This can't be said for many of the other positions. If Ashley Cole is injured then we have Wayne Bridge who hasn't played a game all season. If Joe Cole is missing then there is nobody that can play on the left. If England's only hope, Wayne Rooney, is missing (opponents will be out to wind him up in the world cup) then he is replaced by none other than Peter Crouch.

How can people say he is being hassled purely because of his height. If Jermaine Defoe had gone through the season failing to score or make an assist he certainly wouldn't be in the squad. As Sven put it, he is certainly 'special'. Sven seems to be one of the greatest believers of 'Class is permanent, form is temporary' which I am a big follower of myself but I fail to see any class where Crouch is concerned.

Anyway that's all for my ramblings on the national side. I predict a 2-1 victory to England on Saturday and then it's back to business with Blackburn at home a week on Saturday. I fancy us to bounce back from the Fulham defeat. It's a shame that Joey is going to miss out a midfield battle against Savage. The fucking wanker.

City deservedly beat at the cottage.

The size of the squad was ever apparent yesterday as City lost 2-1 to Fulham thanks to a brace from Steed Malbranque. The left wing was a problem as a semi fit Musampa only lasted 40 minutes to give way for Sibierski.

Andy Cole showed just why Pearce won't talk about his contract until the summer. The former Fulham player (like a few other players) seemed to drift in and out of the game and, like the other forwards, was sucked in to the offside trap every time. Darius Vassell had a very average game.

Joey Barton lived up to his reputation as a loose cannon and could have easily seen red for an early tackle on Malbranque, he then proceeded to be wound up by Boa Morte. Sibierski didn't do a whole lot wrong when he came on but as the guy sat next me put it as he came on for Kiki 'Great, one lazy twat for another.'

One advantage to come out of the game was Lee Croft, city's man of the match for me, linking up well with Ireland for the goal. Every time Croft got the ball, there was a hint of excitement in the air. Dare I say that it was Shaun esque? Danny Mills did his usual trick of winding everyone up in sight and was strangely replaced by Sun Jiahi. BWP did well when he came on and scored a corker only for to be ruled (rightly) offside.

This performance showed just why Pearce still has a lot to do with the team and I'm sure January can't come quick enough for this squad when Malbranque should be snapped up in an instant along with a young enthusiastic striker.

Thoughts?

Sh*t on the Villa

Ok. We might not have a shit on them but I just wanted to say it. What a night. The best atmosphere at COMS I have witnessed all season. Could have something to do with the fact I sat in the South Stand for the first time this season.

Darius Vassell scored (as predicted by a certain writer on the internet somewhere) twice (ok I didn't say he would score twice, but I meant to put that) in a game which city were on top for about 70 minutes.

There was a 20 minute spell after Sommeil (I hope his injury isn't too serious, he was looking very solid at the back) went off where Villa were dominating but that was soon shot down.

There were many positives to take out of the first half including everyones new favourite player Stephen Ireland. This guy has the potential to be a City legend but I don't want to get too carried away with myself. Lee Croft had a suberb first half and it was good to see City play a 4-4-2 with 2 wingers, certainly added a lot more balance to the side. Sadly Croft was slightly at fault for the goal and he seemed to let it get to him a bit and Psycho was right to bring him off. Was he right to bring on Sibierski though? In my eyes probably not, but that is just because I blame him for everything possible. I know I probably shouldn't because he had a hand in Cole's goal but every other time he gave the ball away.

Distin, man of the match for me. Absolutely class, he makes everything so simple and the news last week about him getting a new agent seriously worries me. Danny Mills had a good game getting stuck in as usual, he looked a little shaky when moved to centre back but that is understood. My only concern is how long the "Shoooot" chants wil go on for.

The only player I am not sure about is Jordan. He is hesitant at times about whether to make a tackle or not. This could possibly be due to Kiki Musampa doing his tea pot impression on the half way line.

Well, that is my scattered views on the game. And as for the music in between the team being announced. What?

Fulham next and it is my first ever trip to Craven Cottage so it should be a good trip. I would go for the same starting line-up as last night but I have a terrible feeling that Pearce will prefer Sibi over Croft.

In other news, Bradley has signed a contract extension till 2009. Good news for the club as they have another potential star on the books there, he made a few good touches last night. Like all the other youngsters just breaking into the first team, we have to give them plenty of time. We did with little Shaun and that paid off.

Get the passports dusted off.

Ireland signs on

First of all sorry about the lack of updates. I have been busy. Nothing major happened in the past week. 1-0 loss against Arsenal which was a tad harsh from the little I saw on match of the day.

Speaking of the Arsenal game and Match of the day. Why did they spend an age analysing that penalty (which was a little silly but hardly crime of the century, it's no different from those lob pentalties that Henry does) and didn't mention the game one second? Cunts.

The biggest news of the past week is the news that Stephen Ireland has signed a contract extension. Excellent news. Ireland has only played a few games but has already impressed most of the blues I know. He is one of the most composed players I have seen in a long time, a lot of youngsters try to do to much where as Ireland will provide the simple 3 yard passes as cool as you like. He has also showed in his few appearances he has an eye for goal (I remember a half decent shot on target from about 25 yards against West Ham.) With news that Reyna (the most capped player for his country in the prem, a little fact I heard the other day) is out for a couple of weeks I see Ireland keeping his place in the side too.

Villa game on Monday which is a bit of a shitter to be honest. I'd take a Monday over a 11:15 start on a Sunday any day but it's still a bit of a farce that we haven't had a home game at 3pm since 27th August against Pompey. Still we have two on the bounce this month. I fancy us to beat Villa with Darius bagging against his former club.

When I started this blog I promised myself that there wouldn't be too much Manure banter but I can't help myself. Has anyone told Rio Ferdinand that they only play in red at home? He was appauling tonight against Boro.

What does Pearce see in Sibi?

Sibierski has been handed a contract extension at the club which will now extend his stay until the end of next season. When I was at the Bolton game (Sibierski should have had a hattrick in that game, but then again City did hit the woodwork 115467 times) a few weeks ago one of the people that sit near me made a very moot point; 'Pearce must see something in training that we don't see in the game.'

It sure got me thinking, first of all he has made 55 premiership starts for the club and I don't think anyone is entirely sure of his best position. When he is in midfield he gives the ball away alot, when he is played as a striker he can't finish, he couldn't hit water if he fell off a boat. I suppose his best position is playing behind a striker but for City to play him there that would mean changing the whole system at the moment, he is hardly a player to build a team around. I don't even want to think about his appearances on the left flank. He is the best header of the ball ever to play for City isn't he? Rubbish.

With SP giving young Lee Croft more and more chances from the bench I thought Sibi's role in the team was going to phase out through the season and see him on his way in May. Clearly not.

I apologise that my first proper post is a bit of a moan and maybe I am a bit harsh on the baldy, he is just one of those players that I just expect nothing from when he gets the ball. However 'Tricky Trev' was like that when he first arrived at the club and under Psycho he seems to be a new player so I hope I will eat my words. Let us not forget that Danny Mills isn't rubbish anymore too.

In other news Pearce is apparently looking at German striker Stefan Kiessling, and all I have to say on the matter is 'Who?'

P.S If anyone wants to write the odd article for this blog then please e-mail me on mcfcblog@gmail.com

Proof that Ferguson loves his current crop of youngsters

Stolen blatantly from football365 mediawatch.

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