Bolton 2-0 Man City      Good old City - Predictable as ever!
Saturday 21st January 2006 : David Smith for GYKO at the Reebok

Jared Borgetti and Kevin Nolan were on target as Bolton ended a run of four Premiership games without a win.
Borgetti struck from close range in the 37th minute and Nolan added a second four minutes later following a Stelios Giannakopoulos free-kick.

Manchester City were a shadow of the side that played so well in the derby win against Manchester United.

City hardly created a serious chance and Nolan could have added a third as Bolton eased to the victory.

Bolton lost Jay-Jay Okocha, El-Hadji Diouf, Abdoulaye Faye and Radhi Jaidi to the African Cup of Nations - but it made little difference to Sam Allardyce's side as they cruised into a two-goal lead at the interval.

Bolton put in a 'professional' performance and we had no idea how to break them down

The opening exchanges provided little in the way of quality, with the only real incident an accidental clash between Stelios Giannakopoulos and Richard Dunne that forced both players off with head wounds.

But Bolton were in front eight minutes before half-time when Borgetti swooped from close range after Nolan's flick came off Stelios eight yards out.

Nolan then tested David James from long-range before he scored Bolton's second after 41 minutes.

Stelios' free-kick rebounded off Dunne and fell kindly for Nolan, who was perfectly-placed to beat James.

City fared little better after the break in a scrappy affair, although Dunne had a half-chance which he failed to take.

And boss Stuart Pearce made a double change after 67 minutes in a bid to inject fresh life into his side, sending on Robbie Fowler and Antoine Sibierski for Darius Vassell and Albert Riera.

But it was still Bolton who made all the running, and when substitute Matt Jansen made inroads into the City penalty area, Nolan should have done better than shoot well wide from the edge of the area.


Bolton manager Sam Allardyce said "We were down to our last 12 or 13 professionals here, but they gave me everything and we fully deserved to win.
"We got the right result, full effort, commitment and a lot of belief - all the things that have contributed to any success we have had here.

"Our strength in depth has been excellent this season and that is why we have achieved so much.

"It was good to see Kevin Nolan end a barren spell with a goal and now we hope Jared Borgetti can continue in similar vein after his first Premiership goal."


Manchester City manager Stuart Pearce:
"We have got to stop gifting cheap goals to teams. If you do that it erodes all the good things you do.
"There hasn't been a time this season when my team has thrown the towel in. We can play reasonably well, but then switch off and concede from a quick free-kick.

"It erodes confidence and we need to be more hard-nosed and hard to beat. You really have to earn your goals against Bolton. Other teams have that mentality and we need to be the same."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Bolton: Jaaskelainen, O'Brien, Ben Haim, N'Gotty, Gardner, Nolan, Campo, Fadiga (Vaz Te 22), Davies, Borgetti (Jansen 79), Giannakopoulos, Vaz Te (Hunt 90).
Subs Not Used: Walker, Fojut.

Booked: Davies, Ben Haim.

Goals: Borgetti 37, Nolan 41.

Man City: James, Jihai, Dunne, Distin, Jordan, Sinclair, Barton, Ireland, Riera (Sibierski 67), Cole (Fowler 67), Vassell (Croft 76).
Subs Not Used: Musampa, Onuoha.

Booked: Jihai, Sinclair.

Att: 26,466

Ref: R Styles (Hampshire).


 

Manchester City 3 Manchester United 1
Saturday 14th January 2006 : Get Your Kits Out at the COMSTAD

                        The Real City of Manchester


Sir Alex Ferguson scurried out of Eastlands with his head bowed after 10-man Manchester United suffered their third derby-day defeat in four years.

The Manchester United boss claimed the atmosphere at City's plush new home is nowhere near as intimidating as Maine Road. But the noise at the final whistle was deafening as the 'Blue Mooners' were sent into orbit by a richly-deserved victory.

Trevor Sinclair and Darius Vassell took advantage of slack defending to put the hosts into a clear lead at the break.

Ruud van Nistelrooy did breathe new life into United's dreams 15 minutes from time, after Cristiano Ronaldo had been sent off for a wild lunge at Andy Cole.

But the arrival of Robbie Fowler from the bench just signalled more misery for Ferguson's side - and the man who revels in waving five fingers at United fans to signify the number of Liverpool's European Cup triumphs, finished off their 11-match Premiership unbeaten run in injury-time.

There have been some pretty significant lows in this season for United, notably the Champions League losses to Lille and Benfica - but few to rank alongside this debacle.

Beaten 4-1 on this ground two seasons ago and 3-1 on their last visit to Maine Road 12 months previously, Sir Alex Ferguson's side melted into near non-existence.

All over the field were out-performed and out thought red shirts.

Ronaldo displayed all the fancy tricks but precious little end product until the diabolical lunge on Cole which resulted in his dismissal midway through the second half; Van Nistelrooy showed the touch of an elephant in trying to hold the ball up; Rio Ferdinand was brushed off the ball with ridiculous ease by Vassell.

Then there is Mikael Silvestre.

The French defender has long since given the impression of a man out of his depth. At no stage did Silvestre look comfortable in dealing with the combined threat of Cole and Vassell, and it was his blunder which gifted the Blues their second goal.

Amid the carnage, it was hardly surprising United new-boy Patrice Evra looked ill at ease.

Still, at a cost of £5million, Ferguson might have expected more from the former Monaco man who was comprehensively outplayed by Sinclair and eventually replaced at half-time.

Evra was certainly conspicuous by his absence when Sinclair fired City in front just after the half-hour.

It was hardly a goal out of the science manual, just a straightforward matter of desire as Stephen Ireland reacted first to reach the knockdown when Gary Neville half-cleared a Joey Barton cross.

Ireland prodded the ball on - and Sinclair, unmarked, swivelled on the edge of the six-yard box and smashed a volley into the bottom corner.

United had one chance to equalise when Ronaldo finally found a killer pass and slipped Wayne Rooney through.

One of three men - alongside Ryan Giggs and Edwin van der Sar - exempt from criticism for their dismal first-half efforts, Rooney galloped into the area but could not beat the superb David James with his low finish.

Within minutes, City had doubled their advantage.

When Sinclair beat Evra for the umteenth time in an aerial battle to win James' long punt downfield it was the blue shirts who were on their toes. Cole nudged the ball on; Silvestre missed it, and Vassell drove home. It was easy, as the City fans were quick to remind their United counterparts who were squirming in their seats.

Ferguson's decision to introduce Alan Smith at the break seemed a clear admission his midfield was too weak to counter Barton's strong running, and it was probably no coincidence United had improved in the second half until Ronaldo was sent off.

The Portuguese youngster took the sorry walk down the tunnel, accompanied by security guards and the howling of a few thousand City voices bellowing down his ear.

Thirteen years ago, the Red Devils had also found themselves two goals adrift of City at the interval. On that occasion, they rallied to win. I reminded the guy in the next seat of that occasion when a similarly gutsy performance was wasted when they sat back and tried to defend their lead after half time.

Had Rooney or Ronaldo managed to find the target with half-chances not long after the re-start, another famous comeback might have been on the cards.

But by the time van Nistelrooy rifled home his 18th goal of the campaign, there were only 15 minutes left - and the visitors were down to 10 men.

The miracle recovery never became anything more than highly unlikely, and it was left to Fowler to administer the last rites on any vestige of a United title challenge with a great srike past the helpless Van Der Sar.

All in all a good day for Stuart Pearce, Man City and their supporters and the City of Manchester. As the Euston trains start to arrive back in London tonight their fans will reflect on Fergies critisism of the COMSTAD's atmosphere and wish their own monstosity in Stretford could generate something close to it!!

Man City: James, Jihai, Dunne (Onuoha 69), Distin, Jordan, Sinclair, Barton, Ireland, Riera (Musampa 77), Cole (Fowler 77), Vassell.
Subs Not Used: Sibierski, Croft.

Booked: James, Fowler.

Goals: Sinclair 32, Vassell 39, Fowler 90.

Man Uni£ed: Van der Sar, Neville, Ferdinand, Silvestre, Evra (Smith 45), Ronaldo, Fletcher (Saha 71), O'Shea (Richardson 86), Giggs, Rooney, van Nistelrooy.
Subs Not Used: Howard, Brown.

Sent Off: Ronaldo (66).

Booked: Rooney.

Goals: van Nistelrooy 76.

Att: 47,192

Ref: S Bennett (Kent).


 

Manchester City 3 Scunthorpe 1   No walk over here
Sat 7th January 2006 : Gerrard Weeks for Get Your Kits Out at the COMSTAD


Scunthorpe threatened to add their name to an unhappy Manchester City list of lower league cup conquerors at the COMSTAD this afternoon.

The Premiership side, beaten by Halifax, Shrewsbury, Oldham and Doncaster amongst others in knockout combat down the years, found themselves behind to League One Iron in the FA Cup third round.

Teenage Irishman Andy Keogh did the damage after 16 minutes when he strode through City's non-existent defence and rolled a neat shot under David James.

Robbie Fowler was handed his first Manchester City start since April.

Fowler's Blues future has been cast into doubt after making just two substitute appearances all season but with Pearce looking to arrest a slide that has brought City just two wins in their last 10 games, he turned to the former England man to partner Antoine Sibierski in attack.

In all, Pearce made three changes to the side beaten by Tottenham on Wednesday, while Scunthorpe boss Brian Laws brought back Peter Beagrie, who made 52 league appearances for City in a four-year spell during the 1990s.


City enjoyed a lot of early possession but visiting goalkeeper Tom Evans came confidently to collect Stephen Ireland's corner after Richard Hinds had turned the ball behind the line.

Michael Rose slid in to rob Trevor Sinclair, then Neil Mackenzie intervened when Fowler tried to slip a pass through to strike partner Antoine Sibierski.

Hinds nodded away from danger under pressure from Fowler after Sun Jihai had galloped down the left flank.

Andy Keogh was penalised for a push on City skipper Sylvain Distin as Scunthorpe tried to push forward, then Ian Baraclough fizzed a free-kick just wide after Stephen Jordan had fouled Cleveland Taylor.

City were enjoying plenty of possession but as the 15-minute mark passed still had not created a clear-cut chance.

Scunthorpe did have a scare when Sinclair lofted a cross over Evans that bounced inside the six-yard box but Fowler was unable to retrieve it.

The former England striker found himself clean through shortly afterwards but drilled his shot just wide.

It proved a costly miss as Scunthorpe immediately went to the other end and took a surprise lead.

Right-back Cliff Byrne played the initial pass forward which Baraclough was unable to control. The ball rolled through the midfielder's legs and with Richard Dunne pushing forward looking for offside, Keogh suddenly found himself in open space.

The striker quickly galloped into the box, ignored Dunne's sliding tackle and rolled a precise shot under David James.


City were rattled and James needed to race from his goal to prevent Keogh getting on the end of another long ball played out of the Scunthorpe half.

Andy Crosby and Hinds both made important clearances as City pressed forward, then James added to the air of desperation at Eastlands by blasting a routine clearance straight out of play.

Barton left Beagrie on the deck when he won a 50-50 tackle. The City midfielder pushed forward and saw his shot loop onto the roof of the net after it had deflected off Crosby.

Keogh was causing the City defence all sorts of problems but after a visitors attack broke down, Sinclair led a counter, feeding Sibierski, whose cross was heading for Fowler until Bryne hacked it away.

Sibierski failed to convert Sun Jihai's far-post cross as he leapt with Rose, then Evans got well behind a fierce Barton drive from the edge of the area.

Keogh left Dunne for dead with a smart turn on halfway and Barton was forced to bundle the young Irishman over to prevent Scunthorpe breaking forward again.

The visitors almost scored again nine minutes before the break when Beagrie caught City napping with a quick free-kick that released Keogh inside the box.

He quickly squared the ball and had it not been for Distin's clearance, Sharp would have tapped in number two.

Crosby was booked for pushing Fowler over on the edge of the area in stoppage time but the City striker's free-kick was woeful, straight into the Scunthorpe wall.


Pearce took action at the break, replacing Onuoha with Lee Croft, a move which saw Sun revert to right-back, offering the newcomer the left wing berth.

Fowler blazed an early shot wide after he had exchanged passes with Ireland but the veteran forward was soon on the scoresheet thanks to Croft's invention.

The City substitute had already had one dart down the touchline when he received the ball back from Sinclair. He quickly took on Byrne and got to the byline before pulling a cross back to Fowler at the far post who drilled straight into the net.

The visitors were totally on the back foot and were soon behind too as Ireland played an inside pass to Fowler who steadied himself before slotting home a precise shot which bounced in off the post.

Scunthorpe were now in danger of being swept away completely and it needed a good tackle from Hinds to prevent Sinclair bursting into the area.

Manager Brian Laws responded to the change in fortune with two changes on the hour mark, Beagrie and Byrne the men sacrificed for Matt Sparrow and Steve Torpey.

Keogh was denied an equaliser by a smart save from James after the Scunthorpe striker had been presented with a half chance inside the City box, allowing the hosts to charge forward and grab number three.

Rose protested his innocence when he fell in the box under pressure from Sinclair but the linesman was quick enough to spot a handball and Fowler stepped up to convert a 16-minute hat-trick.


With the game won, Pearce introduced Bradley Wright-Phillips for Sibierski.

The youngster rolled a shot across goal when he might have been better teeing up Fowler, then Dunne nodded wide as the minutes ticked down.

Scunthorpe continued to work hard but there was no way back for the north Lincolnshire outfit.

Another poor performance by City who will have to step up more than one gear if they are going to come out of next weeks Derby match with Man Uni£ed.

Teams:

Man City : James, Onuoha (Croft 45), Dunne, Distin, Jordan, Sinclair, Barton, Jihai, Ireland, Fowler, Sibierski (Wright-Phillips 69).

Subs Not Used: Sommeil, Cole, De Vlieger.

Goals: Fowler 48, 56, 64 pen.

Scunthorpe :  Evans, Byrne (Sparrow 61), Crosby, Hinds, Rose, Taylor (Goodwin 71), Baraclough, MacKenzie, Beagrie (Torpey 62), Keogh, Sharp.

Subs Not Used: Musselwhite, Butler.

Booked: Crosby.

Goals: Keogh 17.

Att: 27,779

Ref: A Hall (W Midlands).



Manchester City 0 Tottenham 2    New Year - Same old City
Wednesday 4th January 2006 - Get Your Kits Out at the COMSTAD


Tottenham's march towards the Champions League gathered momentum at the COMSTAD as Martin Jol's men exploited Manchester City's defensive frailties to end the festive period six points clear of old rivals Arsenal.

The Manchester public must have known what was about to occur as a new Premiership Low attendance was recorded for the mighty COMSTAD.... the stop at homers were wise!!

A Sylvain Distin blunder gifted Mido the opportunity to sign off in style ahead of his African Nations Cup commitments with Egypt and City had long since run out of ideas when Robbie Keane lashed home his seventh goal of the campaign to wrap up a deserved win.

While the result sends Jol's progressive side into the New Year with a firm belief they can land that cherished top four spot at the expense of a side they have lived in the shadow of for so long, for City boss Stuart Pearce January promises to be a difficult month.

All the early season promise has disappeared in run which has seen them collect just two wins from 10 league outings.

Tottenham were well worthy of their third win of the Christmas period, with Mido causing the hosts major problems.

Nevertheless, they needed Distin's misjudgement to see them on the road to victory after a drab opening half hour.

Pearce has already lost his temper once during the Festive period over City's chronic defending, when they went down 4-3 in a Boxing Day thriller at Wigan.

Distin was fingered that afternoon too for allowing himself to be muscled out of his one-on-one confrontation with Jason Roberts.

It was not so much a physical problem this time round, more a mental explosion.

The inquest began as soon as Mido wheeled away in triumph. Distin was clearly unhappy with David James, although it was not clear exactly why.

The only plausible reason was that the City goalkeeper had advised his captain to let the ball run behind the dead-ball line.

Either way, someone wearing a City shirt was guilty of a chronic error of judgement as Aaron Lennon raced past the stylish Frenchman and cut a pass back from the byline.

From his touchline berth, Pearce, a member of the 'clear it and argue later' school of defending, was fuming.

With Distin and James hopelessly out of position, it was left to Richard Dunne to try to keep Mido's first-time effort out.

The Irishman thrust out a leg hopefully, but only succeeded in diverting the striker's shot into the corner.

Keane should have doubled Tottenham's lead before City had a chance to clear their heads.

Yet again, Lennon was the provider, beating Stephen Ireland with ease before sending over a looping cross which Mido this time got his head to.

Dunne made the block but when the loose ball bounced back to Keane, the Irish international should have done far better than volley wide.

At least the setbacks sparked a poor Blues side into life, with Joey Barton predictably leading the charge.

After felling Mido with one powerful free-kick, Barton curled another into the sidenetting in what represented the nearest City came to testing Paul Robinson.

Spurs had their hosts creaking badly in the second half as they prodded away looking for openings, with Lennon a particular threat.

Every time the England Under-21 star took possession, Ben Thatcher was in trouble but mainly thanks to Dunne's stout defending and a misdirected volley from City old boy Michael Brown, they remained in the contest.

Brown has been linked with a move back to the Blues during this month's transfer window but, handed a rare start by Martin Jol due to Edgar Davids' absence, the former Sheffield United man took the chance to impress and nearly marked his reappearance with a goal as he flashed a late shot just wide.

Keane had the final word when - less than a minute after Bradley Wright-Phillips shot narrowly wide - he took down Mido's flick with a brilliant first touch, then shot beyond James.

One point from four festive fixtures is not an impressive return and the feeling Pearce's prolonged honeymoon period is now over was only reinforced by the boos which rang out at a couple of his second half substitutions.

The City chief may also have to deal with the aftermath of David Sommeil's studs-first challenge on Young-pyo Lee, which saw the Korean stretchered off 18 minutes from time.

Teams

Man City James, Onuoha (Sommeil 54), Dunne, Distin, Thatcher, Sinclair, Barton, Jihai, Ireland (Croft 70), Cole, Vassell (Wright-Phillips 70).

Subs Not Used: Fowler, Jordan.

Booked: Sinclair, Thatcher.

Tottenham Robinson, Stalteri, Gardner, Dawson, Lee (Pamarot 74), Lennon (Defoe 84), Carrick, Jenas, Brown, Keane, Mido (Rasiak 89).

Subs Not Used: Cerny, Pedro Mendes.

Booked: Carrick, Brown.

Goals: Mido 31, Keane 83.

Att: 40,808

Ref: A Wiley (Staffordshire).

Latest Transfer News - Haapala lands City Contract
Manchester City have agreed a six-month deal with Finland midfielder Tuomas Haapala.

The 26-year-old joined the club from MyPa on January 1 when the transfer window re-opened.

City manager Stuart Pearce told the club website, www.mcfc.co.uk: "He's got a lot of hard work to do to break into the side."

"But he does have the opportunity to impress within a small squad."

"If he takes that opportunity by the scruff of the neck and does well then we can get back and tell him that we want him to stay with us."
Get Your KIts Out says - This sounds like another cheap foreign crap signing

CITY TIE UP RIERA LOAN
Espanyol midfielder Albert Riera (pictured below right) has joined Manchester City on loan until the end of the season, according to the Spanish club.

City manager Stuart Pearce looks to have finally got his man after opposite number Miguel Angel Lotina agreed to part with the left-sided player, who joined the Primera Liga outfit in the summer from Bordeaux.

City have the option of buying the 23-year-old at the end of the season for £3.5million.

The former Mallorca player has only started four games for Espanyol this season, three of which were in the UEFA Cup, and on Friday met with Lotina to discuss the offer from City.

"I could not promise him minutes and I understand that Riera had an offer which would open doors for him as well as allow him to be better paid," Lotina told Marca.

"On top of this, he has the option of returning here in June or completing his move if they buy him.

"We have a lot to gain and little to lose. Players are those that decide their futures and it is not down to the coaches."

Get Your Kits Out says - what ever happened to the days when we used to buy players who were established in the team we were buying from? This guy is yet another make weight foreign mercenary for me although I hope I'm wrong I suspect I'm not. It's time we had a real good look at our buying policy. There are some quality players in the first and second divisions it just takes a bit of nouce to find them, remember Colin Bell who was kicking his heels at Bury when we moved for him and he was probably our best buy ever. Still we must trust Stuart Pearce's judgement on these two, only time will tell if his buying skills are up to his coaching skills. 

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