Reminder: 1st Annual MASSIVE Australian Blues weekend!

Just a reminder about the upcoming Sydney Blues weekend, which will take in the Liverpool game on Sunday 21 February, as well as the 5-a-side tournament. Originally posted on 7 November.

We have already had interest from as far and wide as Perth and Melbourne, so to confirm your interest in either of the events, please contact us via one of the many ways at the top of the site.

Our interstate friends are more than welcome to join the squad too.

Supporter's Club 5-a-side Tournament Details
Date: Sunday 21 February
Time: 10:00am
Location: Harbord Bowling Club, near Manly
Cost: $180 per squad, so around $20 each

Hope you’ve been practising your darts for the Pub Comp and don’t forget the banjo!

Please find attached information with regards to the Supporters Club Australia 5-A-Side competition organised by TNT Magazine and LoveFootball.

Whilst it’s 5-A-Side squad numbers can be up to 12, plenty of games will be played so a good idea to get a good squad number, a rolling sub system will operate.

The Event will be held on Sunday 21st Venue and we'd love to see Man City there, Clubs are already signing up and it's sure to be a great day.

The competition venue will be the Harbord Bowling Club on the Northern Beaches, it has bar facilities aswell as food available etc so ideal for teams bringing supporters along, venue for after competition presentation to be confirmed – we have moved from our previous venue due to the demand and this will enable us to use more pitches.

Again we will be using synthetic surfaces so all good from a weather perspective.

The cost will remain the same at just $180 per squad, this includes venue hire, officials, insurance etc so great value for money, anyone requiring an invoice on the day please advise and I’ll bring it along.

Also on the day we have allocated a pitch for a junior coaching event, Love Football’s qualified coaches will be on hand to ensure any children taking part have a great time, cost will kept to a minimum for this and will advise asap what this will be.

Look forward to hearing from you soon and of course to registering your team, information will also be available via www.footyfansdownunder.com

Any questions or queries please do not hesitate to get in touch.

Regards,
Lee.

Sydney Blues v Liverpool Live Screening Details
Date: Sunday 21 February
Time: Midnight, for a 2am kick-off.
Location: Cheers Sports Bar, George Street.
Cost: Nil

Dear City Fans,

Whilst I realise I’m writing to you at a time when our hearts are heavy with the Carling Cup defeat I hope what you read cheers you somewhat.

I’ve had great response to the original letter sent out regarding the 1st Annual MCFC Australian Supporter’s meeting. We have a large contingent of Perth based fans flying in for the match and people coming from Victoria and across NSW.

Hopefully everyone has found accommodation, but if you are stuck please let me know and we will assist at our end as much as possible.

Please continue to spread the word and take note that the game has been moved to Sunday night (our time) in order to give Liverpool a chance to appear on TV against one of the big four. This may mean altering some of your travel arrangements or changing your plans for the Sunday night.

We will be watching the match in Cheers Bar on George St, so this restricts the event to over 18s.

Please bring any flags, banners and of course, your city shirts as we hope to turn the place Blue! Cheers is a Liverpool supporters pub and whilst we have an uneasy alliance with them most days, match days mean all bets are off. It would be great for them to turn up and see City have overrun the place!

For the other events such as the bowling and sightseeing, no money is required currently as we will all be able to pay on the day. I am currently looking into having some shirts printed up to celebrate the weekend and am just gauging interest from people at the moment. As we all know it takes numbers to make things like this happen so let me know if you would be interested.

Sorry to anyone if I’ve missed your calls or emails recently as I’ve not long got back from the States (where I met some awesome Blues) but am now fully focused on making this weekend the best it can be!

Your browser may not support display of this image. Please pass this letter on to anyone who may have missed the original, and let them know the weekend of the 19th of February, Sydney is the place to be if you’re a Blue!

Looking forward to seeing you all,
Brendan Smith.

After speaking to Gerard from Cheers, we may be able to attract sponsorship for this day, whether it be subsidies or beer. We'll let you know.

Hope to see as many Blues from acrross the country as we can!

Robinho out on loan

Confirmed on the Official Site. He will play for Santos until the end of the season.

The Club can confirm that it has reached agreement with Santos for Robinho to join them on a six-month loan. The agreement takes immediate effect and ends on August 4.

Santos will assume all of the player's contract terms, including wages and bonuses. Robinho will travel to Brazil on Sunday to begin his loan period.

As I said earlier, there is no doubt he has been a disappointment this season. After scoring 15 goals in his opening season (and even that was perceived to be a failure according to most experts), he has only contributed one this season, in his last match against Scunthorpe.

Again, in fairness, it was his signing that started the ball rolling. That showed the world's players that City are an attractive prospect (if only for the wages). So we owe him thanks for that, at least.

Robinho's £32.5million transfer fee was always used as a stick to beat him with, and after every shot of target or unsuccessful dribble the vultures would circle.

But a loan to Santos is ridiculously unambitious by Robinho. If you can't motivate yourself to play well for two of the biggest clubs in the world (Manchester City and Real Madrid), then you have a big, big problem.

He really has no ticker whatsoever, so despite irregular flashes of brilliance, Robinho was hardly value for money.

A real shame.

Carling Cup Derby Day at Cheers (Second Leg)

Absolutely massive turnout for the Carling Cup semi, all things considered (and that thing is the 7am kick-off). I've never seen so many people in there at that time of the day. We comfortably outnumbered the Rags (having said that, it's pretty hard to tell as they don't wear colours... the Irish accent is a dead giveaway though).

A lot of new faces... hopefully we can see you again in the future, starting with Portsmouth at midnight on Sunday.

Fantastic group shot (hi-res). What a bunch of champions.

Gavinho and Rohan exchange beard maintenance tips (this is not a joke).

Sydney is blue.

The Blues quite easily outdo the Rags in both quantity and volume.

FA Cup Round 5 Draw

It's Stoke City at home.

This will be a good test, as they played some decent football (really) on the way to a 3-1 defeat of Arsenal. But with the Gunners, the Rags, Liverpool, and Everton all out of the FA Cup, we have a great opportunity to go deep into this competition as well. Domestic cup double? Why not!

The tie will be played on February 13 or 14.

The full draw is as follows:

Southampton v Portsmouth
Reading v West Bromwich Albion
Fulham v Notts County or Wigan Athletic
Chelsea v Cardiff City
Bolton Wanderers v Tottenham Hotspur or Leeds United
Derby County v Birmingham City
Manchester City v Stoke City
Wolverhampton Wanderers or Crystal Palace v Aston Villa

Song For A Future Generation?

We've recently been tinkering with the blog and introducing a few changes... but this next one is likely to be one of the biggest.

When we discussed the idea of setting up the blog, it was simply designed to act as a tool to connect and introduce other Manchester City fans in Sydney (and to a lesser extent, all around the country). Originally, there was not going to be a large focus on news or match reports, as there are other blogs out there that do it much better than here.

Analysing the visits to the site reveals that the amount of people who find the blog from North America and the United Kingdom is about two-thirds of the number that visit from here in Australia. We do have a lot of visitors from overseas, and using the name Sydney Blues in somewhat insular. We are also going to grant access to those fans in Melbourne and Brisbane so they can also post their news.

Very shortly the official name of the blog will change to Lesson In Pride. This was chosen for a number of reasons, predominately because it features in one of our best songs, but also because as any City fan in Australia can attest, following the Blues from 10000 miles away surrounded by Rag glory hunters really is a lesson in pride.

One of the main frustrations is that the blog name, the twitter account, and the domain name (mcfcaus) don't match. As a result, the address of the blog will eventually move to lessoninpride.blogspot.com, with a look to our own domain. The content and layout will stay exactly the same... just renamed. The focus is still very much on events in Sydney, with a smattering of news from back in England. This won't change.

If you have any questions or concerns, get in touch with us in the usual ways. It'd be good to hear your feedback.

Plenty of outs... but where are the ins?

The first three weeks of the transfer window were rather uneventful — especially considering our untold wealth — with Patrick Vieira the only addition.

However, there has been a flurry of activity recently, unfortunately all in the wrong direction.

Felipe Caicedo's loan at Sporting was terminated, and he has moved to Malaga until the rest of the season. And Jo — the significantly more expensive, and slightly more shit striker — has moved from Everton to Galatasaray to join such luminaries as Harry Kewell, Lucas Neill, and Elano.

And in a good move for all concerned parties, Vladimir Weiss will go on loan to Bolton. He gets valuable Premiership experience that he just couldn't get here, with the advantage of not having to move house, with Bolton just up the road. And Bolotn get a bloody good player. Can't wait to see him get some games.

And then... there's Robinho, who may be loaned back to his original Brazilian club, Santos. Robinho's case is a tricky one — there is no doubt he has been a disappointment this season, and his perceived lack of effort and care is concerning. But, in fairness to him, it was his signing that started the ball rolling. That showed the world's players that City are an attractive prospect (if only for the wages). So we owe him thanks for that, at least.

Where's the players to replace them? Get spending Robbie!

Carling Cup Derby Day at Cheers

Here's a couple of pics from the match on Wednesday... about a dozen hardy souls made it to Cheers for the ridiculous 7am kick off. Gavinho had to duck off early, so Rohan was a half-time substitute.

A good day and good atmosphere considering the time.

We also had the video set up as part of our bid for the Etihad competition... it'd be great though if next time everyone can slide in and get in shot! You serial-phantoms know who you are!

Be there on Thursday for the second installment. Come on you Blues!

It just wouldn't be a day/night at Cheers without it.

For those predicting defeat on Derby Day Part II...

I told you so.

For those predicting defeat on Derby Day...

Just consider this, almost two years ago:

Hart, Onuoha, Richards, Dunne, Ball, Vassell, Ireland, Hamann (Sun 84), Gelson, Petrov (Garrido 87), Benjani (Caicedo 75).

Beat a team consisting of:

Van der Sar, Brown, Vidic, Ferdinand, O'Shea (Carrick 73), Nani (Park 64), Scholes, Anderson (Hargreaves 73), Giggs, Ronaldo, Tevez.

Despite setbacks such as form, injuries, and a new manager — games against United are rarely predictable. We've beat United with far worse teams that we're going to put out tomorrow.

So get behind the team and just think, if tomorrow doesn't quite go to plan, we have a chance to make amends next week.

Santa Cruz's Latest Injury Blow!

Derby Day live screening details

Date: Wednesday 20 January
Time: Kick-off is at 7am
Location: Cheers Bar, George Street
Cost: Free entry of course, $6 pints of Kilkenny/Guinness. There may also be bits and pieces for breakfast.

I've had a couple of emails from newcomers to the Sydney Blues about Derby Day on Wednesday, so I thought I'd add a few more details.

The bar is technically closed... well not closed, but they don't go out of their way to advertise that they're open. The front doors will usually be shut — just knock on the door and say you're there for the City game and you'll be sorted.

I know it's very early in the morning, but there's no reason we can't bring the same atmosphere to the night matches. Bring your singing voice! If you need to knows the words of a song, just ask, we have a lyric sheet available (which is available for download here).

I'll be trying to take as much video as I can of the day, to put the finishing touches on our entry for the Etihad competition. If someone could assist with this it would be most appreciated.

It's a big day Derby Day, and I really hope we can get a good turnout, despite being in the early morning. You might even make it to work on time...

Come on you Blues!

Where's the heart of your City? Sydney, of course!

Here's the latest promotion from the official site:

We are the Heart of the City and our fans and our players are at the heart of the club.

To celebrate the fans of MCFC that are based around the world we want to discover those places at the heart of different world cities where supporters congregate to connect with the club. These are special places where on matchdays, the team are cheered on by fans as they would if they were at the stadium. They act as community outposts, where City supporters abroad or on holiday can still connect with their beloved Blues.

To recognise this we, in partnership with Umbro, will be producing 20 limited edition ‘Heart of the City’ fan plaques which we will send out to different bars/social clubs who we feel are the heart of their city.

Following the inaugural ‘Heart of the City’ plaque that was presented to the NRG bar in Abu Dhabi during the club’s tour of the Emirate last November, the next destination we need suggestions for is the USA, specifically the East Coast.

If you and your friends have a favourite place where you regularly gather to watch City games in this part of the world, we want to hear from you. Email any details, stories and photos of your suggested Heart of the City to mcfc@mcfc.co.uk

How fantastic would one of these look in the Cheers Bar? We'll let you know if we're successful.

The most important signing we could make this window

Vieira? He's important definitely, but a short-term solution. Ansaldi? Hamsik? Steed Malbranque? Nope, it's this man:

Petrov is out of contract this summer and could leave on a 'Bosman'. It's the kind of transfer our skint neighbours from just outside Manchester would die for — similar to when they signed Michael Owen, except Martin is actually good.

Just imagine if he "did a Tevez" and ended up at Vermin Towers. I'd cut myself.

Mancini, sign him up.

Mancini bar scarves available

Ever wanted to be a successful Manchester City manager? You need a few things, such as tactical nous, a slightly greying windswept bouffant, the ability to fit the phrase "very important" into every sentence, and a cool looking scarf.

You can get one step closer, with the 'Mancini bar scarf', available soon on the Official Site. I don't know how practical it will be to wear a scarf considering it's well over 30 degrees at the moment, but hey.

Besides, I was rocking this look back as early as November — if anything he stole it off me!

They will retail at £8 each (rip-off), but if you want to get one, grab some other gear as well because of the £15 postage (bigger rip-off). If enough people want one, I can do a bulk order to save cash.

Reasons to love Patrick Vieira

Number one: He reckons we can win the league.
Number two: He hates that Roy Keane.
What's not to like?

Carlos Tevez: Premier League Player of December

We were all amazed by Carlos Tevez's contribution in the past month (eight goals in all competitions), and it seems the rest of the football world noticed too, with the Argentine crowned the Premier League's best player of December. From the official Premier League website:

Manchester City striker Carlos Tevez has won the Barclays Player of the Month award for December.

The Argentinian produced a string of impressive displays last month, scoring seven goals in six matches to boost his side's title challenge.

Tevez's impressive month included scoring the winner against Barclays Premier League leaders Chelsea, an equaliser against Bolton Wanderers and a goal against Sunderland in their 4-3 victory.

When Roberto Mancini took over the scoring didn't stop with a goal against Stoke City and a brace in the 3-0 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers.

This is the first time Tevez has won the Barclays Player of the Month award, after bursting onto the Barclays Premier League scene with West Ham United in the 2006/07 season.

The decision was made by the Barclays Awards Panel, which includes representatives from football's governing bodies, the media and fans.

I'm fairly certain that the last City winner of this award was Micah Richards in September 2007, and Sven Goran Eriksson may have picked up the Manager's award in the same month. So that's our first trophy for the season, hopefully we can make room in the cabinet for one or two more.

Patrick Vieira move imminent

The transfer window has been open for a week now, and there hasn't been activity by any Premier League club at this stage, save for a managerial change as Owen Coyle went to Bolton from Burnley. It should come as no major surprise that the first player transfer of the window should be to Manchester City — a club that has a shitload of money and a new manager willing to spend it.

Most major news sources in England (such as the BBC and the Guardian) are suggesting that Patrick Vieira is to join City on a short-term deal — most likely six months, possibly as long as eighteen months.

Vieira has spoken of his desire to join the club, and for one last shot at making the French squad for South Africa:

"It's over, after a year in Turin and three-and-a-half years in Milan... I wanted to go to the World Cup and I need playing time."

"I have objectives and I can't achieve them by staying at Inter where I am not part of the coach's choice.

"What's important for me is to go to Manchester City, to show the coach that I am the same as I was during the period when he was at Inter. All this will help me get into the France team."

And Inter manager Jose Mourinho has all but confirmed the move:

"I should give a special mention to Vieira, who certainly played his last game with us... I don't know where he will go, maybe England which he likes a lot, but we should thank him for what he has done."

"The club decided not to renew his contract, which is coming to an end, and to accept the offer of another club."

"I will miss him but I don't have the right to demand anything from a club who has done so much for me. He had an impeccable game [against Chievo]. It was the perfect farewell to us, and I want to wish him all the best for his new career."

It's interesting to note the similarities in the way that Roberto Mancini and Mark Hughes go about their transfer business.

Patrick Vieira played under Mancini at his previous club. He also has an enormous amount of Premier League experience. He is a winner — FA Cup, European Championships, World Cup, and the Premier League. These are the same qualities that Hughes looked for when signing such players as Sylvinho, Wayne Bridge, Carlos Tevez, and Kolo Toure. Proven winners.

So Vieira may be on the wrong side of thirty (33 actually) and may be using us solely as a vehicle to qualify for the World Cup. But he still obviously shows that hunger and desire to perform at the highest level, even if it means moving to a different league to get that opportunity.

Motivation won't be an issue for Patrick — but fitness may be. And if it doesn't work out, no harm done really.

UPDATE 09/10: Vieira unveiled on the Official Site. Good signing.

Manchester City's financial records released

And boy do they look good!

You can read the full article on the Official Site, but here's the important bits:

Turnover for the year ended 31st May 2009 increased by 6% to £87.0m (2008:£82.3m), with this increase being offset by a significant increase in operating expenses to £121.2m (2008: £83.9m) primarily driven by increased playing staff costs.

This resulted in a Net Operating Loss of £34.2m (2008: £1.6m) and a Net Loss for the Year after amortisation of player contracts and financing charges of £92.6m (2008: £32.6m).

Match day attendances were up to 42,890 from an average of 42,081 in the previous season, with ticketing revenues ahead by £1.8m mainly as a result of the extended UEFA Cup run. TV Revenues were up 12% to £48.3m mainly as a result of UEFA cup performance, offset partially by a lower league placing than in the previous year.

Revenues from other commercial activities decreased by 8% to £23.3m mainly due to a £4.5m reduction in events revenues, primarily as a result of having no events based activities in the 08/09 season, whereas in the prior year the Stadium held the UEFA Cup Final as well as music concerts and a major boxing event.

Costs relating to amortisation of player contracts increased in the year, rising to £39.4m from £25.4m in the previous year and reflecting again the costs of building a new young playing squad. Interest payable and similar charges increased significantly as a result of the increased level of shareholder loans made to the business during the year.

Manchester City also confirmed today that subsequent to the end of the financial year, it has restructured its Balance Sheet with owner Sheikh Mansour converting all of his existing £304.9m shareholder loans made to the Club into equity. Sheikh Mansour has also purchased further shares to a value of £89.6m as a measure of his long term commitment to the Club.

So what this essentially means is we outlaid £92.6m more than we could make back. Considering the amount of money spent on transfers and wages, it's not too bad — and it's not that much more than the compound interest the Rags have to pay off every year just to stay afloat!

And the last sentence here is the most pertinent. We officially owe Sheikh Mansour nothing (except a shitload of gratitude). Every penny he has spent on the club in 'loans' has been converted to equity. So he just buys more and more shares, although he owns practically 100% anyway.

This is in contrast to the financial cluster-fuck of other clubs such as Portsmouth, West Ham, and Notts County, who are somehow owned by skint billionaires. We really are blessed to in such safe hands, for not just the short-term, but for the foreseeable future.

Breaking News: GAME OFF!

Ties to be played on the 19th and 27th of January.

Supporters Club Pub Competition

Date: Saturday 30 January
Time: 11:30am
Location: James Squire Brewhouse, Darling Harbour
Cost: $10 each plus whatever for beers

After our somewhat successful appearance in the 6-a-side tournament, we've been invited to the Supporters Club Pub Competition, where we will compete in trivia, darts, and pool.

Here's the details courtesy of Lee from Footy Fans Downunder:

Contact your supporters club to get involved either to be part of the teams or just to come along and support, if you don't have the details drop us line and we'll forward over your details.

It’s that time of year again where here at Footy Fans Downunder are pleased to announce details of the first Pub Comp of 2010, numbers are limited so register your clubs interest asap.

Basically the Pub Comp compromises of Supporters Clubs (only four clubs allowed) competing in three events during a Saturday afternoon, Trivia, Cricket Darts and then finally we finish on Pool.

Due to demand we have switched venues and people are now able to bring along children as the venue is much more suitable.

All events are team events with trivia being unlimited in numbers in team and the darts and pool requiring eight players from each team, many people just come down for the social element to cheer there Club on.

The date for next Sydney Pub Comp is Saturday 30th January and will be held at James Squire Brewhouse in Darling Harbour, kick off will be from 11:30 and it normally runs until about 5pm, all in all a great day out and a good laugh played in good spirits with plenty of banter but obviously no idiots, I’ve arranged many of these and they’ve always gone well.

James Squire's MC will also act as the referee for all of the events and the day has a cost of $10 per person but does include some lunch and many great spot prizes throughout the day obviously with a trophy for the winning team.

We really hope that you guys can enter a team and of course bring along plenty of support for what should be a real good day out so please get in touch to ensure your club is on the list to potentially lift the first trophy of the year.

Should you have any questions or queries please do not hesitate to get in touch.

With Crouchy and Gavinho on board, we should absolutely piss the trivia in. Darts and pool I'm a bit worried about though. Should be a good day out anyway, and a chance to bond with the Scouse and Toffee fans. The Celtic lads can do one though...

Contact Blue Roo on Facebook to confirm your interest.

FA Cup Round 4 Draw

It's Scunthorpe away!

We've now drawn Scunthorpe United in both the Carling and FA Cups, having defeated them 5-1 earlier in the season at Eastlands.

The tie will be played on January 23.

And for the record, our Carling Cup adversaries Manchester United will play... oh wait, that's right, they're out!

Here's the full draw:

Southampton v Ipswich Town
Reading/Liverpool v Burnley
Millwall/Derby v Brentford/Doncaster
Bristol City/Cardiff City v Leicester City
Stoke City v Arsenal
Notts County/Forest Green v Wigan Athletic
Scunthorpe United v Manchester City
West Bromich Albion v Plymouth/Newcastle United
Everton v Nottingham Forest/Birmingham
Accrington Stanley/Gillingham v Fulham
Bolton Wanderers v Sheffield United/Queen's Park Rangers
Portsmouth/Coventry City v Sunderland
Preston North End v Chelsea
Aston Villa v Brighton and Hove Albion
Wolverhampton Wanderers v Crystal Palace
Tottenham Hotspur v Leeds United

The moments of 2009

5. A Club In Tatters
Manchester City 0 Nottingham Forest 3

It is fitting that we should start the countdown at the very first match of the calendar year — the meek surrender in the FA Cup to Championship-strugglers Nottingham Forest.

The match was a turning point in City's season. Incensed by the inept performance of the side, Hughes reportedly asked the owners to immediately invest further in the squad. As a result, Shay Given, Craig Bellamy, and Nigel De Jong were added in the transfer window — players who have at times been instrumental in City's success in 2009.

It's interesting to note that Darius Vassell, Jo, Dietmar Hamann, and Michael Ball never played for the club again, and rumours were abound that the latter two deliberately played poorly to undermine the manager's position. Based on the perfomance that day, nothing would surprise me.

4. Champions League... You're Having a Laugh
Manchester City 1 Barcelona 0

Manchester City had the honour of competing in the Joan Gamper trophy in front of over 90,000 fans in Barcelona. And winning 1-0 at the home of the winners of the Champions League (as well as the Club World Cup, La Liga, UEFA Super Cup, Copa del Rey, and Supercopa de España if you don't mind) certainly made the football world sit up and take notice.

Some of the biggest teams in Europe such as Inter, Milan, Juventus, and Bayern Munchen have been invited to take part in this match in the past, and it's a testament to ADUG that we are now considered in the same breath as the elite.

3. Those Famous European Nights at Anfield Eastlands
Manchester City 2 Hamburg 1

Last season, the UEFA Cup often provided an unwelcome distraction, especially early in the season when we struggled for form. However, it was great to play against some new opposition and to go on some quality Euro away days (especially Schalke). Despite our struggles in the league, we managed to make it to the last eight, which was a fantastic achievement all things considered.

The second-leg of the quarter-final against Hamburg is one that will live long in the memory. The club offered tickets at £5 a piece to ensure a full house, and the atmosphere was amongst the best seen at home for a long, long time. Despite winning 2-1 (with Elano hitting the woodwork twice from set-pieces), it was not enough for City to win on aggregate.

It was yet another competition that Manchester City had crashed out of at the quarter final stage, until...

2. Quarter Final Hoodoo Busted
Manchester City 3 Arsenal 0

Having already beat Arsenal's first team 4-2 earlier in the season, victory over Arsenal's kids would have seemed a fait accompli to the neutral. However this was City we're talking about, the team that had failed at the quarter-final stage numerous times in the past.

After a nervous, scoreless first half, City ran away with the match courtesy of two amazing solo goals from Carlos Tevez and Shaun Wright-Phillips, and a late goal by Vladimir Weiss, set up by a winding touchline run by Craig Bellamy.

1. We Was Robbed
Manchester United 4 Manchester City 3

For approximately 95 minutes, this was the game of the season. And probably still is from a neutrals point of view. But a goal in the sixth minute of four minutes of injury time is still a bitter (arf!) pill to swallow.

Some fans were silent in disbelief, some cried, some punched glasses in frustration... but deep down I think all fans saw this as proof that our time is not too far away...

Redemption begins on Thursday.

Manchester City special on ONE HD

Just a heads-up that there will be a Manchester City special on digital free-to-air station ONE HD on Monday night, "Manchester City's Greatest Goals". What better way to get in the mood for the Carling Cup match this week?

I hope to set up the PC to record and upload it, but if not, make sure you tune into it anyway.

The Magic Of The FA Cup
10:00 PM Monday 4th January
Manchester City's Greatest Goals

Manchester City is primed for success after appointing Italian legend Roberto Mancini as coach. To celebrate, ONE's Beautiful Game Monday puts the spotlight on Man City with this week's look back into the archives for their Greatest Goals.