Manchester City

[JacknDanny]

http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11661_5459243,00.html

I always knew M.O.N was a shrewd cookie

[JacknDanny]

From skysports:-

City close on Toure deal

Arsenal stopper to have talks with big spenders

Sky Sports sources understand Manchester City are close to agreeing a £16million deal with Arsenal for Kolo Toure.

The central defender is to return from the club's pre-season training camp in Austria to undergo talks with City officials and manager Mark Hughes.

City reportedly failed in a bid to sign the Ivory Coast international in January but appear to be close to landing their man this time around.

When quizzed on Toure's future on Monday, Arsenal chief Arsene Wenger said: "We'll see what's happening in the next 24 hours."

City boss Hughes is eager to add defensive reinforcements to his ranks having already pepped up his attack this summer, via the high profile additions of Carlos Tevez, Emmanuel Adebayor and Roque Santa Cruz.

Bids for Chelsea captain John Terry and Everton stopper Joleon Lescott have failed to bear fruit, with Toure seen as a viable alternative.

He is having a medical :D

Great buy for City, its getting better by the day

[EastSaxCol]

Just out of interest. How long do you reckon that Hughes has got if Manchester City aren't in the top four early season and they struggle as many think that they will ?

Six weeks I reckon.

[JacknDanny]

Just out of interest. How long do you reckon that Hughes has got if Manchester City aren't in the top four early season and they struggle as many think that they will ?

Six weeks I reckon.

I dont think so.

There were opportunities at the end of last season to get rid of him.

These owners are smart guys, they are not going to replace him anytime soon when he has just invested their money in players.

Top 4 is not expected. Top 6 is

I do not think they will struggle at all, thats just wishful thinking from clubs who wish they had the money.

[EastSaxCol]

Just out of interest. How long do you reckon that Hughes has got if Manchester City aren't in the top four early season and they struggle as many think that they will ?

Six weeks I reckon.

I dont think so.

There were opportunities at the end of last season to get rid of him.

These owners are smart guys, they are not going to replace him anytime soon when he has just invested their money in players.

Top 4 is not expected. Top 6 is

I do not think they will struggle at all, thats just wishful thinking from clubs who wish they had the money.

I think it more based upon the received knowledge that having however many talented individuals doesn't make a team. Which sounds reasonable enough to me. I think that many are wondering if Hughes has the ability to handle all those egos and mould them into a team. Got to say that I've heard that from pundits and I have no idea who they support.

Whether they'll struggle. I really don't know.

[mrbojangles]

I always knew M.O.N was a shrewd cookie

Yeah same here jack. He knows his stuff. I've ALWAYS said that

[mrbojangles]

Great buy for City, its getting better by the day

Oh yes. I need the season to kick off........... quickly. The anticipation is killing me....as well as O'Neil

[LeungKen]

Great buy for City, its getting better by the day

Oh yes. I need the season to kick off........... quickly. The anticipation is killing me....as well as O'Neil

Who've you got for the first few games BJ ?

[mrbojangles]

Great buy for City, its getting better by the day

Oh yes. I need the season to kick off........... quickly. The anticipation is killing me....as well as O'Neil

Who've you got for the first few games BJ ?

Blackburn away

Wolves home

Pompey away

With Barcelona away, thrown in the middle, ken

Edited July 29, 2009 by mrbojangles

[LeungKen]

Looks like 4 points and a loss to Barca to me..............

Chok Dee

[mrbojangles]

Looks like 4 points and a loss to Barca to me..............

Chok Dee

I do you hope your predictions are wrong ken

[StevieH]

christ citizens, what's happened to michael johnson? pietastic.

http://www.mcfc.co.uk/Players/Midfielders/Michael-Johnson

[JacknDanny]

christ citizens, what's happened to michael johnson? pietastic.

http://www.mcfc.co.uk/Players/Midfielders/Michael-Johnson

Hes doing a Stevie Ireland impersonation + 15kg

To be fair to the kid, he has had maddening injuries, hasnt played a full game for a year, and is far from being fully fit.

But he is one for the future

[JacknDanny]

ONOUHA SIGNS 5 YEAR CONTRACT.

http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11095_5460386,00.html

This to me is every bit as good as any signing we have made.

I really like this kid. He is a true professional with a fantastic attitude, and a very, very good player. He will play for England within the next couple of years.

[bkkjames]

Beginning to wonder why the shiek didn't just buy arsenal - perhaps it's family rivalry?

[mrbojangles]

This to me is every bit as good as any signing we have made.

I really like this kid. He is a true professional with a fantastic attitude, and a very, very good player. He will play for England within the next couple of years.

Yeah I agree 100% jack. Top lad and a cedit to our academy.

[bkkjames]

This to me is every bit as good as any signing we have made.

I really like this kid. He is a true professional with a fantastic attitude, and a very, very good player. He will play for England within the next couple of years.

Yeah I agree 100% jack. Top lad and a cedit to our academy.

OFFICIAL: Elano Leaves Manchester City For Galatasaray

The Brazilian has made the switch to Turkey overnight...

30 Jul 2009 07:57:30

Elano has quit Manchester City to join Galatasary, the Turkish club has confirmed.

Italian rivals AC Milan and Inter were believed to be interested in the player, but Sky Sports News is reporting the Brazilian international to have made the move for a fee believed to be close to €9.5 million (£8m).

The news has been confirmed by Galatasaray's official website, which pictures the creative middle-man on its front page.

"Brazilian national football team player Elano Blumer (27) has signed a four-year contract with Galatasaray after playing at Manchester City for two years," a brief statement read on the club site.

The Citizens have started to reduce their squad size, and Elano becomes the fourth player to leave after a slew of purchases this summer.

Gareth Barry, Roque Santa Cruz, Carlos Tevez, Emmanuel Adebayor and now Kolo Toure have all arrived at Eastlands.

Ched Evans has been sold to Championship outfit Sheffield United, while Valeri Bojinov and Felipe Caicedo have made loan switches to Parma and Sporting CP respectively.

[mrbojangles]

I quite liked Elano but it seems Hughes didn't.

Also, out of the 10 strikers we did have. It looks like this now:-

Emmanuel Adebayor

Robinho

Roque Santa Cruz

Carlos Tevez

Valeri Bojinov (looks like he might be off to Parma)

Felipe Caicedo (out on loan for the season to Sporting)

Jô (out on loan for the season to Everton)

Benjani Mwaruwari (not long me thinks till the door is shown)

Craig Bellamy (as above)

We could possibly now only be left with 4 strikers. I think we might be back in the market for more strikers

[JacknDanny]

I quite liked Elano but it seems Hughes didn't.

Also, out of the 10 strikers we did have. It looks like this now:-

Emmanuel Adebayor

Robinho

Roque Santa Cruz

Carlos Tevez

Valeri Bojinov (looks like he might be off to Parma)

Felipe Caicedo (out on loan for the season to Sporting)

Jô (out on loan for the season to Everton)

Benjani Mwaruwari (not long me thinks till the door is shown)

Craig Bellamy (as above)

We could possibly now only be left with 4 strikers. I think we might be back in the market for more strikers

Time to recall Jo.

That is until Everton play ball and let Lescott go

[bkkjames]

I quite liked Elano but it seems Hughes didn't.

Also, out of the 10 strikers we did have. It looks like this now:-

Emmanuel Adebayor

Robinho

Roque Santa Cruz

Carlos Tevez

Valeri Bojinov (looks like he might be off to Parma)

Felipe Caicedo (out on loan for the season to Sporting)

Jô (out on loan for the season to Everton)

Benjani Mwaruwari (not long me thinks till the door is shown)

Craig Bellamy (as above)

We could possibly now only be left with 4 strikers. I think we might be back in the market for more strikers

Time to recall Jo.

That is until Everton play ball and let Lescott go

Lescott confirmed this afternoon according to Goal.com

[Jockstar]

Rangers vs. Man City Report

Written by Jadams

Wednesday, 05 August 2009 22:04

Rangers took on Premiership opposition in Manchester City at Ibrox tonight in a friendly match. The Premiership team jetted into Glasgow on Wednesday morning with a full squad, only missing Carlos Tevez who had a shower accident. Who slips in a shower anyway?

A home crowd of 45k turned up to see the Scottish Champions’ first home match of the season, after a relatively successful preseason so far. Rangers started slowly, with City dominating early possession. Robinho and new signing Adebayor failing to make Alexander work with long shots. The game burst to life when Davis played a fantastic ball to Novo who dragged his shot well wide. Novo didn’t take long to make amends as Miller’s tenacity set upping up a Novo goal via McCulloch and Papac.

The lead never lasted long as City, just after another wasted chance by Novo, scoring with a fantastic goal from Stephen Ireland. Half time score was 1-1.

With no substitutes, the Ibrox crowd roared on Rangers. Naismith was unlucky not o win a penalty as Craig Thomson waved play on. City scored with another stunning strike from Martin Petrov which gave Alexander no chance. Right after the restart, Rangers went forward and pressed on City. Within a minute, the ball was in the City net after wonderful play from Davis and Mendes, setting up Miller to lob former Celtic player Given to make it 2-2.

Both managers flung on the subs, Smith bringing on Fleck, Aaron, Velicka, Lafferty and Boyd. The game opened up as a result, with both teams having decent chances. However, old man Weir won the game for Rangers as he used technique, that Adebayor lacks, to volley home from 8 yards. City’s £150 trillion team was no match for 63 year old Weir, who used his zimmer frame expertly to fend himself from his man marker.

Summary

A well deserved win from the home team, with some fantastic football played. The home crowd were delighted to see Davis playing so well. The other star player was Bougherra. Naismith, McCulloch and Mendes also played very well.

Not quite the Chelsea 2007 game, but a good run out against the Premiership’s top spenders.

Rangers goalscorers: Novo (19), Miller (54), Weir (90)

RANGERS: Alexander; Whittaker, Weir, Bougherra, Papac; McCulloch; Novo, Mendes, Davis, Miller

Subs: McGregor, Boyd, Velicka, Niguez, Beasley, Lafferty, Fleck

MAN CITY: Given, Richards, Dunne, Toure, Bridge, Barry, De Jong, Etuhu, Ireland, Robinho, Adebayor

Subs: Taylor, Zabaleta, Petrov, Ben-Haim, Bellamy, McGivern, Weiss, Clayton, Vidal

Manchester City goalscorers: Ireland (27), Petrov (52).

[LeungKen]

"City’s £150 trillion team was no match for 63 year old Weir, who used his zimmer frame expertly to fend himself from his man marker."

. . .

Did you post this report in the Manchester City Forum accidentally JS ?

[mrbojangles]

Don't be too quick to gloat ken. It could come and smack you on the chops.

Tevez and Santa Cruz still haven't played in a city jersey yet and these friendlies are about trying to get experience for the team (who to be honest, are really a bunch of strangers) to gel. I'm not really expecting too much for at least the first month. Getting one new player in can be hard enough to adjust but with the amount we have brought in will obviously take time. As long as we are ready for 20th Sept

[LeungKen]

Don't be too quick to gloat ken. It could come and smack you on the chops.

Not the dreaded Black-Pudding again.....

[mrbojangles]

Don't be too quick to gloat ken. It could come and smack you on the chops.

Not the dreaded Black-Pudding again.....

With the Ferret still attached

[LeungKen]

This is turning into a Spike Milligan script for the Goons.

I'd better get out of here before the season starts.

[mrbojangles]

Only a week to go. I've been moping around so much, even MrsBoJ can't wait for it to start. At least she knows she will have the World Cup to look forward to next year

[mrbojangles]

What is up with ol' red nose. He must be getting worried cos he's always on about how not worried he is

From skysports:-

Fergie - Hard to get in top four

United boss watching City's progress with interest

Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson feels Manchester City will find it difficult to break into the top four this season, despite their massive summer outlay.

Backed by the riches of the Abu Dhabi United Group, City are seen as credible challengers for a UEFA Champions League place and have even been tipped to mount a Premier League title push.

City's spending ahead of the new campaign dwarfs that of locals rivals United, while Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool have also been relatively frugal in comparison.

Arsenal are expected to have most to fear from City, but Ferguson believes money will not guarantee a disruption of the traditional top four in the table.

"It is difficult for any side to break into the top four with the consistency and the quality of the teams," said Ferguson.

"Over the last few years those teams have competed for the semi-finals and finals of European Cups. It is great consistency and a great level of performance.

"I think everyone in Europe recognises the league in England is strong, although some people are talking about Real Madrid and Barcelona starting to dominate again. I have my doubts about that."

City have raised the bar in the transfer market by buying the likes of Kolo Toure, Emmanuel Adebayor, Carlos Tevez, Roque Santa Cruz and Gareth Barry.

Ferguson added: "Ourselves, Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal are looking at what is happening there with great interest in how it will pan out.

"You look at the money that has been spent - every week City are on the back pages.

"None of us have gone into the market in a big way. In fact we sold players. It has been really quiet with the big four."

[mrbojangles]

This is amazing. Not long ago we boasted hardly any of our players as Internationals. Now look

From City's web site:-

It’s going to be a quiet week at Carrington with a host of City players being called up for international duty.

Gareth Barry, Wayne Bridge and Shaun Wright-Phillips are, as expected, travelling to the Netherlands for Wednesday’s game in Amsterdam, where they will face off against City team-mate Nigel de Jong. Micah Richards is with the Under 21 squad, who play their Dutch counterparts in Groningen.

Kolo Toure has got the call for Ivory Coast’s game against Tunisia in Sousse, but it remains to be seen if he will feature after the hip injury that forced him off from Saturday’s friendly against Celtic.

Robinho will be with Brazil to play Estonia in Tallin, while Craig Bellamy is set to lead Wales for their friendly against Montenegro in Podgorica. The only competitive fixture for a City player this week is the Faroe Islands’ World Cup qualifier against France, where back-up keeper Gunnar Nielsen is in the Faroese squad for the match against the 2006 runners-up in Torshavn.

Full list of call-ups:

Senior:

England v Netherlands, Wednesday: Barry, Bridge, Wright-Phillips.

Netherlands v England, Wednesday: De Jong.

ROI v Australia, Limerick, Wednesday: Dunne, Given.

Montenegro v Wales, Podgorica, Wednesday: Bellamy.

Bulgaria v Latvia, Sofia, Wednesday: Petrov.

Tunisia v Ivory Coast, Sousse, Wednesday: Toure.

Estonia v Brazil, Tallin, Wednesday: Robinho.

N Ireland v Israel, Belfast, Wedcnesday: McGivern.

Israel v N Ireland, Belfast, Wednesday: Ben Haim.

Iceland v Slovakia, Reykjavik, Wednesday: Weiss.

Faroe Islands v France, Torshavn, Wednesday: Nielsen.

Junior:

England U21s v Netherlands U21s, Groningen, Tuesday: Richards.

Slovakia U21s v Greece U21s, Wednesday: Mak.

Belgium U21s v Finland U21s, Wettern, Wednesday: Boyata.

England U21s v Montenegro U20s, Hawthorns, Tuesday: Vidal.

[Mali1964]

Lets see if you can beat Norwich new team start record at the weekend have your season tickets at the ready