Citizens Talk Manchester City Blog

Cook is trying his best for Manchester City but ending up looking like a dud each time and so it is again with Fernando Gago since the Real Madrid midfielder only obviously wants to come here because of the money. Gago isn't the least bit perturbed by Cook's supposed scandalous treatment of him and is obviously still ready to consider a move during the summer. But the real problem that is being exposed by all this is that nobody quality enough really wants to join us yet. Gago might be an Argentine international and at Real but he's not playing regularly and not rated that much. Argentina is also lousy with Maradona in charge so we're still picking up the scraps left by those ahead of us. We've done well with some like Barry and Tevez but the rest are questionable. I guess it is left to Mancini to actually win us something to start turning heads and give us something to bargain with. The Carling Cup was a possibility that was put to rest by United so now we need to get the FA Cup while getting into the Champions League.

The latter is something I really believe we can get. Manchester City is now just a few points back and we have a couple of games in hand. Win those and we're ahead. Mancini has also been doing rather well since his arrival and getting the team to scrap for the wins instead of being frustrated by draws like under Hughes. I still enjoyed our time under Hughes and rate him as both a manager and person, but his downfall was the inability to turn draws into three points. Made himself an easy target and now Mancini has come in to 'turn things around'. There might also be a different aura to a person who has led teams to trophies and that's what Mancini is. He's won the Italian title several times although his track record in Europe is questionable but probably the best of the rest for Manchester City - much the same with players for us.

Going to Hull this weekend and that should be another win for the Italian. Manchester City have all the strikers on great form and Adebayor might have looked disinterested last week but still scored. Tevez should be in the team as usual and his work rate is crucial as always. I do hope to see Bellamy get a start because we always look more dangerous going forward with him working hard on the flanks. However not sure how long he will remain a hardworker because he is notorious for playing hard for the manager first before the team and with Hughes gone, remains to be seen how long he can remain a good disciplined boy that he only seems to be when Hughes is in charge. Three goals should be expected and all from the Citizens.

So I've had to take some time off after that nasty last second loss to United on Wednesday for my Manchester City. We really looked like having a great chance after rocking them with another brilliant Tevez goal. Going into extra-time might have seen the momentum shift to us. As the gaffer Mancini said (nice ring to it) we were hardly in trouble except for the 10 minutes in which we allowed them back into the tie. Perhaps the truth is that we shot ourselves in the foot (again) with that 10 minutes. That was the opening that United just needed to turn the whole thing around. Grudgingly, they are the champions and with all that experience, know what it needs to get back into the thick of things. We can only blame ourselves for letting it slip.

The high points would be the confirmed departure of Robinho (unfortunately only out on loan since no other club can afford him now unless we let him go at a discount) and the continued good form of Tevez. The Brazilian might have loads of talent, but the truth is that he is a disruptive influence and really has a mental problem. You only need to know that he thought he was going to United to realise that he lacks any cohesive thought up there. He does not realise he is paid to do a job and you can bet that he'll continue to flop even back at Santos. He'll whine and cry about having to play in a team that nobody notices and him not being made the star again. Couldn't believe Pep Guardiola actually wanted to bring him to Barcelona - the guy isn't that good a judge of quality afterall. First that Russian defender(?) and then now Santos. Good thing his own players warned him of Robinho and they pulled out.

Tevez scored again and the wee chap is looking like a better signing for us than United. The main difference should be him getting regular games for the Citizens while at United he was always nothing more than a benchwarmer. The latter is no slight to him since it would be difficult for anyone to unseat Ronaldo and Rooney, and with Fergie the spitter always more keen on players like Berbatov, Tevez the workhorse was always to be far back in the queue. He doesn't lack the skillz, but his workrate often overshadows everything else. If Mancini can teach him new tricks, he could blossom into something really really special with us. I've decided to give the new gaffer the benefit of the doubt as well and he is proving to be the right man for the job. Might have failed at his first challenge with the semi final defeat, but I see nothing less than getting into the Champions League for sure. Spurs are bound to slip up somewhere and Liverpool are really relegation material except for some bursts of form here and there. Aston Villa lack something special that we have in abundance. We should see more for sure after this weekend.

The news that hogged the headlines today was the shocking dismissal of Mark Hughes as Manchester City manager. Announced after leading the team to a 4-3 defeat of Sunderland at the City of Manchester Stadium, the (ex) gaffer was promptly dumped unceremoniously by our Arab owners and replaced by the Italian Roberto Mancini. Most important to note is that it has revealed the true faces of the people owning and running Manchester City now - they are quite clueless and this will be a musical chairs thing for sure. Hughes only had 2 defeats in the whole season - yes, the team had a uninspiring run of 7-8 draws but you cannot expect to bring in so many new players and have them produce immediately. Many people claim that Chelsea did just that when Abramovich and Mourinho arrived, but before the Portuguese, he had guys like Ranieri put a team together, and added just 2-3 players to turn things around. The majority of them played together for a few seasons prior to that. Mark Hughes should have been given more time. He clearly could get the best out of many players except for Robinho. The Brazilian should have been let go and really is not a marquee player by any means. What has he truly done in Europe apart from a few party tricks and then going psychotic at each club? Be prepared for Mancini to go as well at the end of the season if the team doesn't qualify for the Champions League, and if they do, Hughes laid the groundwork for him. It is sad to see this happening but what did we really expect from our club like Manchester City anyway, right?

Roberto Mancini is in for a tough time. In the first place, I'm shocked we went for a guy that has been desperately hawking himself to just about every club available since he was fired from Inter Milan. Also, he has no experience in the Premiership and now he needs to lead one to the Champions League. Ok, Mourinho didn't have any experience either but he won the Champions League with Porto. Mourinho won three Serie A titles in a row in a Serie A that did not have Juventus and a depleted AC Milan, the first title was given to them by a judge and the rest is history. They also promptly signed all the players who left Juventus after they were relegated. Basically, in a no-contest league. In Europe, he fared badly with Inter. They hardly got anywhere. This guy is unproven despite what his resume shows. He might also struggle with strong personalities. For now we shall back him as fans should, but I do not have a good feeling about Mancini in charge.

As for the game against Sunderland - what a cracker! It was classic City and good thing it ended in our favour. 4-3 to the Citizens and the goals were great. Credit to Sunderland for having a real go at us and we only just about shaded it in terms of a deserving result. Also a good way to sign off for Hughes. I hope he finds a good club to rebuild his career. Maybe Liverpool might be looking.

Here are the goals for you in case you missed them Man City 4 Sunderland 3:

 

So much can suddenly turn on its head and in a bad way after losing to a major rival for a top four spot. Manchester City was wrapped in chaos after being taught a lesson by Spurs, but what followed could only be possible for a dramarama club like ours, apart from Newcastle. Immediately after the shambles at White Hart Lane, news filtered out from the dressing room that players were at each other throats accusing one another of not pulling their weight on the pitch and all that. Truth is none of the players did anything and all should be brought back down to earth. There wasn't much comment from the gaffer except his usual best impersonation of Ferguson or Wenger. We also learn that Joleon Lescott will be out for quite a while and now we don't really have any proper defence for the next few games - not that we have really had any for the last few matches, mind you. And finally, everything culminated in the revelation that Hughes might be off sooner than expected despite his one-sided claims that the club owners back him fully. Gary Cook apparently sounded out Guus Hiddink for the job and luckily for Hughes, the Dutchman decided not to join the party.

But all this would be more unnecessary distraction for the gaffer. Already he has apparently arranged another fire meeting with the owners to talk about his future, dressed in the charade that it is to discuss possible January transfers. You can use the telephone for that, or even some high tech conference thingie considering how filthy rich we are now. It has to be something more important than buying another 20 million pound defender for Hughes to pack his bags for a meeting. There is more to this than meets the eye and we shall see what happens in the following months. If the results continue to deteriorate, I'm sure we'll see someone new regardless of whatever project Hughes claims to be building. It's not really his project afterall, so they just need to change a new manager when things aren't on track.

Which brings me to the next point - we aren't doing all that bad now, are we? True, with all the money Manchester City has spent, we are expected to do big things like qualify for the Champions League and winning the title. But honestly now look at our players and who has truly won the title? Even Tevez wasn't a regular for United when he got a medal. It will take a couple of seasons for this lot playing together to develop the mentality for it. Mourinho did it in his first season but he benefited from having a group core that had been together for years. Despite all that, we might be in 8th place but the reality is that there are hardly many points separating the few teams around the top. The standings change frequently week on week. Win today against the Black Cats and we might suddenly be back near the top four. Ferguson and Wenger have been around for ages and they aren't joking when they said things would be tight this time.

Finally, the game against Sunderland today should get us back on the roll. With all due respect to the Black Cats, we are much better at the moment and the players would want to put up a good response to the mess we served up in North London. The crowd should also be behind them 100% and Sunderland are in a bit of a jam themselves. No Darren Bent, no Sunderland, it appears. That's bad for them but good for us. Three points, and we'll be right back in it.

First of all, welcome to my blog about Manchester City. Just a humble Citizen here deciding to write about my thoughts and feelings about my beloved club and latest news involving them. It will be a disappointing start to the start of my Manchester City blog, as we failed to build on the fantastic win over Chelsea and ended up drawing -again-, this time with Bolton, a team we should really beat if our ambitions for Champions League football is serious. It was disappointing to see our defence again playing like a bunch of schoolboys and letting the Trotters just take advantage of basic errors and scoring.

The only bright point about the whole match and result was that we showed great spirit again in coming back three times. Each time Bolton scored and went into the lead, we came back strongly. The Premier League is now finding out how difficult it is to beat Manchester City this season. While we shouldn't have been in each of those three situations in the first place, at least it is telling me that we really have something special building here. It is also one of Mark Hughes' best selling point to the owners. He is putting together a side that is clearly united, apart from Robinho whom I really do not trust, for all his abilities. Adebayor might have had a reputation for putting himself before the club, but that we can take care of when the situation arises. For now, he is clearly playing his heart out for us, and has something to prove to his detractors at the Emirates.

Tevez was again a bright spot as well and he is clearly on one of his scoring sprees. Another brilliant goal and might have had more although I am very realistic about my expectations about the wee man. He is a great workhorse and an enthusiasm second to none, but clinical finisher he is not. Scorer of great goals but not of many. Still, again a clear catalyst in the side and together with Bellamy, the two created havoc throughout. What we have upfront is great pace and movement. Hughes is trying to, dare I say it, replicate the United model at City. For once, I'd say nevermind that, as long as we do better and beat those imposters at their own game.

Going on to Mark Hughes, he is seething again at another referee. This time it is Mark Clatternburg that is suffering the Welshman's wrath. Rightly so too. That was a really scandalous decision against Bellamy. A dive? Trying to con him? And what about that smart alecky comment to our staff during half time? Bellamy might fire his motormouth endlessly, but the guy is committed to the cause and no one can doubt his passion on the field. Hughes is also the one man who has consistently brought out the best in him. Done it with Wales, then at Blackburn and now with the Citizens. Clattenburg obviously forgot how fast Bellamy can be. The crazy one didn't even put on a dramatic pose when going down. We were denied a free kick at least and might have scored from one. We might not have deserved a win, but that certainly took away the momentum when we were just about on the up. In the end, Bolton were lucky to get away with a 3-3 draw with Manchester City. A better result for them than us, that's for sure.

Nothing much we can do about that for now. Bellamy will miss the next game and will be missed. But I have faith in the rest of the team. Tevez is in the form of his life. Given cannot be beaten by a winning goal. I do think we're going to deal a big blow to Spurs' Champions League hopes on Wednesday while boosting our own. We should really not draw that one anymore and expect Hughes to do what is necessary to win at all cost.