Saturday 16 August 2008

CAN I HAVE A WORD?

What a week it has been at Manchester City. After a quality performance against AC Milan resulted in a 1-0 victory courtesy of a sublime strike by Valeri Bojinov, things has soon deteriorated both on and off the pitch.

A 1-0 defeat in the UEFA Cup second qualifying round first leg at the hands of FC Midtjylland was a bitter pill to swallow, especially with so many disappointing performances all round. Michael Johnson obviously decided to send the cardboard cut-out version of himself to play instead of the real deal, and Richard Dunne had an absolute nightmare. But it isn’t fair singling out solo performances or the lack of them, as a unit the team just didn’t perform at all. Mark Hughes looked understandably furious, and who knows just how much the off-the pitch business at City is actually affecting the players.

Speaking about that, just what the hell is going on at the club? Nobody will speak out and put the fans’ minds at rest- but it needs to be done to quell the rumour-mongering. Thaksin is a fugitive that’s for sure- does he actually care about the club though? Does Vedran Corluka want to be playing in a City shirt following the contrasting statements released by both City and his agent. What’s the deal with Stephen Ireland’s future? There are just too many questions that haven’t been answered. Garry Cook needs to speak out- and it needs to be soon.

The opening weekend of season 2008/09 is finally here, and we travel to Villa Park, minus their former striker Darius Vassell who frustratingly always seems to score against them (trust him to be injured). City have a decent away record at Villa though, but Martin O’Neill has an enviable team and they will be looking to start their season with a bang, knowing that we are low on morale. I would love to go into the game with confidence, but I have to be realistic. A point would satisfy me from the Midlands.

The results of my latest poll are in. I asked who you thought had been the most impressive during pre-season. 60% of you thought that Bulgarian Martin Petrov had been, with a couple of votes going to Daniel Sturridge and Vedran Corluka. The new poll is open now so get voting!

Keep the blue faith as always,

Emily



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