Manchester City

[muckypups]

I shall be watching with interest today Mr B...

Opinion in Thailand and Manchester on the new owner..

[mrtoad]

From those comments, it seems that the Thai's asked believe that there will be an influx of Thai players into Man City

[muckypups]

I hope so....

[tw25rw]

From those comments, it seems that the Thai's asked believe that there will be an influx of Thai players into Man City

Would sell a lot of (fake) shirts, but won't happen soon.

[mrbojangles]

Half time

west ham 0 - 1 man city

Well worked goal and we're looking good.

Come on city

[Plus]

Dream start, I agree. The goal was marvelous, West Ham's defence just melted away.

[ThaiPauly]

I reckon that the game was on a few seconds delay...no sign of Thaksin , picture froze quite a few times, was this when the picture cut to him do you reckon???

Very nice of the good Doctor to give Sven an ILTK yellow wristband to wear, what great marketing for himself , he never misses a trick does he.

All the politics aside...you were good...very good, it was the match I chose to watch and could not helped but be impressed.

Not lookng forward to playing you so much this season.

Well done

[Bredbury Blue]

Looking good, looking good! First 30 minutes way better than anything last season. New players all looked decent. Actually it was Hamann that amazed me, he had a excellent game...leg transplant maybe? Dunne and Micah in the middle held us together when it mattered. Kasper looked just like his Dad, very assured, athletic and confident. Most amazing thing in the whole game for me was the assist for the second goal, an amazing run through several players, under pressure and touch back...it was Nedum showing the brazillian skills! Looking good, looking good!

[ThaiPauly]

I have just seen replays and they DO show Thaksin...looking very happy

[Bredbury Blue]

Quite a few loses of signal but Frank was shown on several occasions.

[JacknDanny]

Excellent performance and great result.

I thought Richards was man of the match, and we finally appear to have some midfield creativity in Petrov and Elano.

Very encouraging!! Come on you Blues!!!!!

[Bredbury Blue]

Richards was probably the most noticeable but there were no weakest links for a change. Great to see that we threaten teams for a change. Looking good!

[keddy]

Richards was probably the most noticeable but there were no weakest links for a change. Great to see that we threaten teams for a change. Looking good!

Man C played well, especially the first half hour. I thought the Irons would come back into it- but when Freddie couldn't get his foot on Mat Etherington's cross -it was not going to be our day. Well played though, especially Petrov who looked a cool customer.

[scousemouse]

Richards was probably the most noticeable but there were no weakest links for a change. Great to see that we threaten teams for a change. Looking good!

Man C played well, especially the first half hour. I thought the Irons would come back into it- but when Freddie couldn't get his foot on Mat Etherington's cross -it was not going to be our day. Well played though, especially Petrov who looked a cool customer.

I thought the boy petrov looked a bit special .

[tw25rw]

Just got in from the game.. City much the stronger team and well supported as usual.. Waited over an hour to get pics of Thaksin, but didn't see him. Saw one of the Gallachers from Oasis outside. Will put the clip on youtube.

If SGE had a yellow wristband, it was probably a Livestrong one. Loads of people have them.

[mrbojangles]

Happy days. The weekend couldn't have been any better. and united held to a draw at home by 10 men Reading

If SGE had a yellow wristband, it was probably a Livestrong one. Loads of people have them.

I think all the football teams wore them. Something to do that with that missing girl Maddie, i think

[spot]

Have to admit that City looked far better than last season. Everybody seemed really up for it.

The derby match should be a good game.

[mrbojangles]

Yeah, cheers Spot. To say they have only been together for such a short time, 2 of them only got their work permits on friday. I thought they played marvellous. One touch football which we haven't seen at city for quite sometime.

[mrbojangles]

Match report from Skysports:-

City give Sven perfect start

Sven Goran Eriksson's reign at Manchester City got off to the perfect start as goals from Rolando Bianchi and Geovanni gave his side a 2-0 win at West Ham.

Bianchi, the most expensive of Eriksson's eight summer recruits at £8.8million, touched in a cross-shot from Brazilian midfielder Elano to reward a bright opening spell for the visitors on 18 minutes.

The Hammers, who finished last season with seven wins in nine games to avoid relegation, improved after a sluggish opening half hour, but they rarely troubled keeper Kasper Schmeichel, one of six City debutants in the starting line-up and eight in all.

Another of those, Geovanni, wrapped up the points five minutes from time, striking a low shot past Robert Green after a rampaging run from Nedum Onuoha.

For the Hammers it was a miserable day with the high point the return of Dean Ashton.

Possession

Despite dominating possession for long periods in the first half, Alan Curbishley's side failed miserably to put any pressure on rookie keeper Schmeichel.

Eriksson must have feared for the 20-year-old, son of great Dane Peter.

Yet Schmeichel was a virtual spectator as City's defence, protected superbly by Dietmar Hamann and Michael Johnson, kept the Hammers at arm's length.

All the threat came from the visitors, with Martin Petrov particularly prolific in the shooting department.

The Bulgarian midfielder let fly from all angles without being able to beat Green.

It was Elano who provided the touch of class though. Deployed just behind lone striker Bianchi, Elano found space intelligently, never lost his composure and always threatened to cause problems.

The 26-year-old had already fired one snap-shot over when he collected Stephen Ireland's short pass after Luis Boa Morte had lost possession inside the City half.

Indication

Quickly sensing Matthew Upson might lack half a yard of pace, Elano ran straight at the England defender, then skipped round him with the minimum of fuss.

The low cross invited a far post finish and Bianchi - fourth highest scorer in Serie A last term - was on hand to tap home.

Curbishley gave a clear indication of what he thought about West Ham's attempts to level by hauling off both Boa Morte and Lee Bowyer during the interval.

For the moment Ashton, the man most Hammers fans and watching England coach Steve McClaren really wanted to see, remained on the bench. But the introduction of Matthew Etherington instantly brought the home side more threat.

Micah Richards needed all his impressive strength to prevent Craig Bellamy getting his head to Freddie Ljungberg's cross and with Schmeichel suddenly starting to wobble, the Hammers went for it.

Ljungberg was an inch away from turning home Etherington's cross but, with just under half an hour remaining Curbishley called on Ashton, who had not played a game since breaking an ankle on England duty 12 months ago.

Yet, with Richards matching Ashton stride for stride and jump for jump, the move actually stopped West Ham's flow, allowing City to force themselves back into the contest.

But the golden moment Ashton had been waiting for arrived 11 minutes from time as Etherington picked him out with a deep cross.

The striker took aim from 10 yards, only to see his first-time volley skim the crossbar.

It was the nearest West Ham came to spoiling Eriksson's day before substitute Geovanni rammed home number two four minutes from time.

[totlanh]

What a difference a new manager and a few new players can make eh?Ever since Svens arrival a new feeling of confidence appears to have set in at City and that permeated itself onto the pitch on Saturday and i must confess i have not seen a more assured 30 minutes football from a City side for a long long time!!All players looked good but i was particuarly excited by Elano and maybe he is going to be the new Kinky eh??Lets not get carried away though its only 1 game but a very encouraging one.GET IN THERE CITY!!!!!

[Bredbury Blue]

What a difference a new manager and a few new AND BETTER players can make eh?

[tw25rw]

What a difference a new manager and a few new AND BETTER players can make eh?

Last time I remember City being strong was in the 70s.. After long succesion of shit chairmen and managers, they finally have a good combination. I can see them getting into Europe or even pushing for a CL spot. Now Sven doesn't have to pick English players, he can show what a good manager he is.

[mrbojangles]

Now Sven doesn't have to pick English players, he can show what a good manager he is.

Absolutely.

[mrbojangles]

From the BBC:-

West Brom keen to recruit Miller

West Brom boss Tony Mowbray is set to sign Manchester City striker Ishmael Miller on a season-long loan.

The 20-year-old has come through the City youth ranks but has not scored in 20 senior appearances.

Mowbray told West Brom's website: "Ishmael is a young player who has been on the fringes at Man City in a difficult period for their club.

"He'd play as a striker if we managed to bring him in and he would offer different assets to what we have."

[mrbojangles]

Well here you have it boys, official. From skysports http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11096_2660570,00.html

Light hearted banter

City better than United

One of the longest running football pub debates is set to be laid to rest thanks to new research from Carling.

For years fans have argued over whether City or United are the best and now the matter can finally be settled - City are officially the more successful team.

To kick off this season's Carling Cup, the sponsor analysed the records of all the "Uniteds" and "Citys" since the League Cup started in 1960/61 and surprisingly the Citys came out on top by quite a margin.

Each of the 13 Citys and 13 Uniteds in the top four divisions were awarded points based on how far they progressed in the League Cup each season.

The research also examined the different footballing decades to ascertain the dominant teams in the last 47 years.

Key highlights from the City v United research include:

West Ham United and Norwich City are jointly the most successful teams in League Cup history

Manchester City have been more successful in the League Cup than Manchester United

Rotherham United and Norwich City were the most successful teams in the League Cup during the 1960s

Norwich City were the most successful team in the League Cup during the 1970s

West Ham United were the most successful team in the League Cup during the 1980s

Manchester United were the most successful team in the League Cup during the 1990s

Manchester United have been the most successful team in the League Cup since 2000

Carling Cup Sponsorship Manager Richard Smith said: "The City vs United debate first came up when we were talking through the Carling Cup first round fixtures and it soon became one of those pub conversations that refused to go away. We thought we ought to apply some science to it and get a proper answer.

"We looked back through the 47-year history of the Cup to work out if it was United or City who came out on top. We were surprised with the results but looking back on the last few years, it's always been a case of expect the unexpected with the Carling Cup - hopefully it's a good omen for this season's competition."

[mrtoad]

No mention of Torquay United then?

[mrbojangles]

From skysports:-

Sven hails Elano

Manchester City boss Sven Goran Eriksson believes Elano will get even better following his impressive Premier League debut.

The Brazil international set up City's opener in their 2-0 win at West Ham before unsurprisingly dropping off the pace in the second half.

The 26-year-old capture from Shakhtar Donetsk has barely trained with Eriksson's troops after featuring in this summer's Copa America.

Although the Swede concedes Elano is not the strongest on the ball, he believes he has the strength to cope with the demands of top-flight football in England.

"I think he's a fantastic player, I had seen him before the Copa America but in those games he was absolutely incredible," he told the club's official website.

"If you are a great player on that stage, you can play anywhere in the world. He has vision, technique, but he's also working very hard.

"Physically, he's very strong - he's not Micah Richards, but he's not weak! He can cope with the Premier League, I'm sure of it.

"He had not really trained since the end of the Copa America, and he's had just one full week with us, so of course he will get better."

[mrbojangles]

From skysports:-

Ljungberg backing Eriksson

Freddie Ljungberg has tipped Sven Goran Eriksson to be successful in the Premier League.

Ljungberg featured for West Ham on Saturday as Manchester City began life under Eriksson with a 2-0 victory at Upton Park.

The former England boss has signed eight players since being appointed at City and Ljungberg feels he is more suited to club management.

Ljungberg thinks his fellow Swede will continue to spring surprises this season.

"He could do very, very well," he said in The Sun.

"When he became England manager, he didn't like not seeing players on a day-to-day basis.

"He likes his players to be together and to be happy, and he is very good at improving team morale.

"He has signed some good players, he has done well at club level and won most things. He is a great coach."

West Ham goalkeeper Robert Green was also impressed with the way Eriksson set out his City side at the weekend.

Green said: "He'll do very well. Tactically, he got it spot on against us."

[mrbojangles]

From the City web site:-

Sven not looking beyond tonight

City are fully focussed on tonight's first home game of the season against Derby, with next Sunday's game against Manchester United not on the radar, according to Sven-Goran Eriksson.

Despite the imminent visit of the newly-promoted Rams, it was almost inevitable that the Manager would be asked about the derby at Tuesday's press conference but in response Sven said:

"I haven’t said one word about next Sunday, absolutely not, and I am not going to. The big game for us is the game with Derby. You have to only look at the next game and not what is happening after that."

Now having been back in club management for over a month, Sven is clearly relishing the hurly-burly of the Premier League with games following each other thick and fast.

"Whatever team you are manager for, if your own team doesn’t have the work ethic and doesn't work hard during games, you will not win. It doesn’t matter if you are top or bottom, because the opponents always work very hard.

"That’s the beauty of the Premier League, every team are physically and tactically prepared for 90-plus minutes where the pace is incredible, whomever you meet. That’s why everybody wants to play and everybody wants to watch the Premier League wherever you go in the world."

Sven is also urging that everyone does not get too carried away after the Saturday's fine start to the season at Upton Park.

"It was one game! I think it’s important to keep our feet on the ground and not be thinking that we are among the best, hopefully we will be one day."

The boss also confirmed that City are still very much in the hunt to bring more players to the club before the end of month, saying that the number of players he is after is, "A minimum one – maximum three."

[mrbojangles]

From City's web site:

Memorable City-Derby County meetings from the past 15/08/2007 07:48

Tonight we welcome Derby County for their first ever visit to the City of Manchester Stadium, with Billy Davies’ side looking to build upon the point they earned on the first day back in the top flight at the weekend.

It is five years since the Rams were last in the Premier League, but look a little further back in history and you will see that City-Derby matches were sometimes crucial to the outcome of the old First Division championship.

City’s final game of the 1971/72 season saw the Blues beat Derby 2-0 at Maine Road thanks to goals from Lee and Marsh. The former would, as we will see, eventually move to the Baseball Ground but the latter’s arrival from QPR a month before is still the subject of heated debate to this day.

The charismatic Marsh was signed when City were mounting a serious challenge to regain the league title they had won in 1968, but many Blues fans still feel that his arrival altered the balance of the side, and indeed City stumbled as the season drew to a close.

But these were the days of the league programme finishing at different times for different clubs, thanks to mid-winter cancellations and cup ties going to second replays. City’s win was their last game of the campaign, but Derby still had some left to play and despite the 2-0 victory City had little chance of winning the title.

In a further bizarre twist, Brian Clough had taken his Derby squad on holiday to Spain when they found out that they had won the title thanks to Leeds United losing to Wolves just over a week later.

Wind forward to December 1974, and Derby are going strongly for what would be their second title in four seasons, this time under the guidance of Dave Mackay. The wily Scot had bought Francis Lee to the Baseball Ground at the beginning of the season, and so it came as no surprise when he scored on his return to Maine Road!

The goal, which helped Derby beat City 2-1, is famous for the commentary of Barry Davies. With Lee’s smile at scoring against the club that sold him against his wishes telling it’s own story, Davies urged ‘Match of the Day’ viewers to “Look at his face! Just look at is face!”

Meetings between the two clubs have been less frequent down the years, but a 2-1 win for City in April 1991 had another memorable moment. Niall Quinn had already scored when goalkeeper Tony Coton conceded a penalty and was sent off in the process. The big Irishman went between the sticks himself and saved Dean Saunders’ spot kick, staying in goal for the rest of the match and seeing City through to a 2-1 win.