Manchester City 0 Manchester Uni£ed 1   Ronalgo off again
Sunday 29th November 2008 : GYKO at the Comstad

A club with United's priorities will not mind too much, either, about the £50,000 fine that will automatically be handed out by the Football Association as this was the second time this season they have collected six or more yellow cards in a match. Do not put money on United winning the Fair Play League but, equally, think twice before questioning whether they have the battling qualities to come from behind in this season's title race.

They won the 150th Mancunian derby because they passed the ball better and had a centre-forward who decided he had waited long enough to score the 100th goal of his career. Wayne Rooney was the outstanding performer, although an honorary mention goes to Michael Carrick. Between them, they dictated the pattern of a game in which the margin of victory was flattering to Mark Hughes's team.

The reason for that owes partly to Robinho's inability to impose himself. This was his weakest game since moving to England and, at times, he looked as though he was struggling from an old ankle injury. Stephen Ireland and Shaun Wright-Phillips, City's other main threats, flickered sporadically, and the home side did not really pose any threat until another Brazilian, Elano, came on at half-time.

His introduction with Pablo Zabaleta was an admission on Hughes's part that the first half had been horribly one-sided. Rooney was having one of those days when he shimmered with menace every time he took the ball. Park Ji-Sung was busy and effective and Ronaldo started off in great form, always wanting the ball and full of positive running.

Rooney would be left to reflect on a hugely satisfying day's work, scoring the game's decisive moment after City's goalkeeper, Joe Hart, had parried Carrick's left-foot drive. For Ronaldo, however, everything would change during the space of 10 second-half minutes.

His first aberration was to clip Wright-Phillips's heels, cutting short a counter-attack and earning him his first yellow card from the referee Howard Webb. It could have turned into red if Webb had taken a dim view of Ronaldo sarcastically applauding the decision. Instead, his exit was sealed when Rooney swung over a corner and the runaway favourite to be named European footballer of the year tomorrow inexplicably decided to bat down the ball with both hands.

Why he did it, only he will know. Ronaldo can be devastating in the air and the opportunity was there to have a go at goal. His argument was that he had been pushed by Micah Richards but there was minimal contact, certainly not enough to make him lose the trajectory of the ball. He took an age to leave the pitch and, on the way, complained that he had tried to stop play after hearing what he thought was the referee's whistle. Again, it did not wash.

City's fans enjoyed the moment but it was a small victory. Hughes will look back on that moment, in the third minute of stoppage time, when a combination of Edwin van der Sar's left hand and Patrice Evra's boot blocked Richard Dunne's effort on the goal-line, denying him an improbable equaliser. The home side will also reflect on Ireland hitting a post after Van der Sar's unconvincing punch, just after the half-hour mark.

These, however, were isolated moments on a day when, for every chance that City created, United had three. Even after Dunne's late chance the team in red elegantly counter-attacked and, alert as ever, Rooney noticed that Joe Hart was still running back after coming forward for the last attack. The striker lofted a wonderfully measured shot from just inside City's half, but the ball was in the air long enough for Hart to get back and stop it dropping just under the crossbar.

Man City: Hart, Richards (Sturridge 76), Kompany, Dunne, Garrido, Wright-Phillips, Ireland, Hamann (Elano 46), Vassell (Zabaleta 46), Robinho, Mwaruwari.
Subs Not Used: Schmeichel, Ball, Jo, Ben-Haim.

Booked: Ireland, Vassell.

Man Utd: Van der Sar, Rafael Da Silva, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra, Ronaldo, Carrick, Fletcher, Park (O'Shea 90), Rooney, Berbatov (Giggs 83).
Subs Not Used: Foster, Anderson, Nani, Evans, Tevez.

Sent Off: Ronaldo (68).

Booked: Rafael Da Silva, Fletcher, Ronaldo, Evra, Carrick.

Goals: Rooney 42.

Att: 47,320

Ref: Howard Webb (S Yorkshire).

Schalke 04  0 Manchester City 2    City Cruise through
Thursday 27th  November 2008 : Johannes Berendt for GYKO at the Veltins Arena

 
Goals from Benjani and Stephen Ireland gave Manchester City a precious Uefa Cup victory at Schalke.

Benjani found the back of the net in the 32nd minute following a neat cross from Daniel Sturridge, who featured instead of the injured Robinho, before Ireland doubled the lead in the 67th minute.

The win in Gelsenkirchen puts Mark Hughes' side top of Group A and they need just one point from the final two pool matches to secure passage to the next round. "It couldn't have gone any better for us," Hughes said, "we had a game plan and the players executed it perfectly – it was a very accomplished performance."

The City manager made two changes from the side that beat Arsenal 3-0 at the weekend, with Sturridge replacing Robinho, who was nursing an ankle injury. The former Germany international Dietmar Hamann also found himself in the starting line-up, replacing Pablo Zabaleta (thigh). Vincent Kompany and Richard Dunne featured as centre-backs, with Micah Richards and Javier Garrido completing the back four. Also missing for the visitors were Elano, for personal reasons, and Gelson Fernandes (hamstring).

Sturridge set the pace for an entertaining first half just five minutes into the game when he delivered a dangerous cross from the left which flew past everybody. Joe Hart then made a spectacular diving save after Heiko Westermann had sent Jermaine Jones into the clear with an incisive midfield pass.

The Germany midfielder pulled the trigger from 14 yards out on the right, but Hart diverted the ball for a corner. The Schalke goalkeeper Manuel Neuer was alert too, catching a promising cross from Richards under pressure. After Hart saved a 20-yard volley from Jones, Darius Vassell tried his luck with a shot from outside the right corner of the box which flew well wide.

There were chances on either side, with Neuer saving a header from Vassell and Hart clearing from Kevin Kuranyi inside the six-yard box. The visitors eventually opened the scoring in the 32nd minute following a superb counter-attack.

Kompany turned the ball over for Sturridge to dart down the left wing and the 19-year-old outstripped his opponent and fired in a low cross. It failed to reach Ireland in the middle but Benjani was there at the far post to sweep the ball home.

Schalke failed to create any significant openings in the rest of the half but were vulnerable to counter-attacks, with Neuer denying Ireland from 14 yards out. The rebound was driven in by Benjani and Ireland knocked it home – only for the linesman to raise his flag.

Michael Ball replaced Garrido after the break as City's defence continued to stand tall against Schalke's toothless attacks. It was the visitors who had the first chance of the half when Shaun Wright-Phillips' right-footed shot from 30 yards out forced Neuer into a good save. Richards then saw the first yellow card of the match for stopping a Halil Altintop counter-attack. The resulting free-kick, however, brought no danger.

Ireland was also cautioned shortly afterwards – but moments later, in the 67th minute, the midfielder found the back of the net for a second time, this time legitimately. Benjani had a strike blocked in the left channel, and the ball landed at the feet of the unmarked Ireland who easily beat Neuer with a low shot.

The sell-out crowd of 54,142 fans grew impatient with their team's fruitless attempts to break down City's defence. Substitute Gerald Asamoah came closest in the 76th minute, but his header from seven yards out was superbly saved by Hart. Jo then replaced Benjani in the 84th minute, and the in-form striker received a standing ovation from the 3,000 City fans in attendance as the game drew to a close.

Schalke 04: Neuer; Westermann, Rakitic (Asamoah, 63), Bordon (Howedes, 73), Pander, Engelaar, Jones, Rafinha, Farfan, Altintop (Sanchez, 80), Kuranyi. Substitutes not used: Schober (gk), Kobiashvili, Ernst, Zambrano.

Manchester City: Hart; Richards, Kompany, Dunne, Garrido (Ball, h-t), Wright-Phillips, Hamann, Ireland, Vassell, Mwaruwari (Jo, 84), Sturridge. Substitutes not used: Schmeichel (gk), Evans, Ben-Haim, Berti, Logan.

Referee: A Tudor (Romania).

Manchester City 3 Arsenal 0 (nil)    The Joy of Three
Saturday 22nd November 2008 : Mick Bailey at the COMSTAD for GYKO

No captain, no goals, no points, no chance of the title. Dispensing with their loudly critical leader on the field helped Arsenal's cause not one iota here. William Gallas remained in the home counties, but his words of criticism were physically embodied in his team-mates at the City of Manchester Stadium.

One of the youngest teams Arsène Wenger has ever used in a Premier League match looked out of their depth, disjointed and unready for the fight. Meekly succumbing to a Manchester City side with a fine internal crisis of its own simply confirmed the concerns - defensive error compacting on defensive error as Stephen Ireland, Robinho and Daniel Sturridge delivered a rare home win.

Perhaps more worrying, Wenger ducked the obvious problems; a man who usually takes on any question refusing even to discuss Gallas's exile from the squad. 'Nothing was disturbing before the game. We had a good focus, we were well concentrated,' he said. 'I believe it is a flattering victory for Man City.

'We gave everything. It is not as negative as it will come out tomorrow and we have to take that positive and keep the belief. In a strong club, you have to sometimes go through that period and it is how well we deal with that situation that will make our future.'

Mark Hughes offered a more accurate assessment: 'That is only the second time we've been able to beat Arsenal in the Premier League,' he said. 'It is a significant victory for us and we were good value. We've had to put up with difficult weeks all year. You can only go up against the opposition that's set up before you.'

Harsh is the life of the modern Premier League manager. Having stood by his captain through on-field sit-downs and no end of criticism of his defending, Wenger had to endure Gallas cataloguing his team-mates' lack of respect, confidence and sense of perspective - oh, and all but name Emmanuel Eboué and Samir Nasri as troublemakers-in-chief.

For Hughes there was the quandary posed by Elano's vocal discontent at losing his starting place. Not a smart move to slap down Robinho's best mate when the owner had sunk unprecedented millions into the Brazilian, yet the manager could ill afford to leave his authority undefended.

Undefended is a term that could be applied to City's nets of late. With one win in eight Premier League fixtures and at least two goals conceded in 10 of their preceding 11 games, Hughes has been fretting about his side's inability to play the 'hard, pressing, physical game' his Blackburn team had thrived on.

The visitors were already struggling with personnel problems. Emmanuel Adebayor's ankle injury, Theo Walcott's shoulder, Kolo Touré's calf, Cesc Fábregas's suspension and Gallas's tongue diminished Wenger's options. The captaincy defaulted to Manuel Almunia, young Gavin Hoyte was asked to mark Robinho and every outfield substitute was a teenager.

What ensued was a grim first half, short on quality and opportunities for either side. An uncomplicated Benjani charge drew an unconvincing challenge from Johan Djourou, allowing the African to slip possession to Pablo Zabaleta. The right-back aimed for the penalty area, Gaël Clichy sliced the ball against Mikaël Silvestre and to Ireland, who gambolled on and chipped the keeper.

Eleven minutes into the second half, Wright-Phillips caught Robin van Persie idling in possession and streamed into the counterattack. A well-timed pass released Robinho on to Almunia and a gorgeously judged lob doubled the score. Well might Robinho have told the matchday programme: 'I believe my technical ability comes from God.' Pointedly, the striker sent a message to manager and Arab owner by calling Elano from the bench to celebrate it.

An habitual practice of late, that embrace should soon have been swiftly repeated - Robinho unfortunate to see a darting run and diving header skim wide of a post before a linesman's flag incorrectly canceled out a cheekily backheeled finish. Hughes took the sensible option and brought Elano on to raucous cheers.

Wenger had already started ringing the changes, throwing in Aaron Ramsey and Carlos Vela. Nicklas Bendtner's shot was well saved by Joe Hart, Van Persie ballooned over, then was picked up for a 'George Best' steal from the keeper's hands.

The best the fates could manage was to take Robinho out of the game with an ankle injury, sustained as the forward rounded Almunia and tried to finish a sweet Elano through ball. As the whistle neared, Djourou needlessly hauled down Daniel Sturridge at the byline for a penalty the substitute happily converted. Arsenal's day, like their season, had gone from from bad to worse.

Man City: Hart, Zabaleta, Richards, Dunne, Garrido, Wright-Phillips, Ireland, Kompany, Vassell (Elano 73), Robinho (Hamann 82), Mwaruwari (Sturridge 88).
Subs Not Used: Schmeichel, Onuoha, Evans, Ben-Haim.

Goals: Ireland 45, Robinho 56, Sturridge 90 pen.

Arsenal: Almunia, Hoyte (Ramsey 60), Djourou, Silvestre, Clichy, Nasri, Denilson, Song Billong, Diaby (Vela 69), Van Persie, Bendtner.
Subs Not Used: Fabianski, Wilshere, Gibbs, Lansbury, Simpson.

Booked: Song Billong.

Att: 44,878

Ref: Alan Wiley (Staffordshire).

Hull City 2 Manchester City 2     Ireland at the Double
Sunday 16th November : Evan Fanning at the KC for GYKO

The Premier League is often touted to be the most entertaining league in the world and there would have been few in the KC Stadium who would argue with that as Hull City and Manchester City played out a lively 2-2 draw. As for quality, well that's a different story. Both sides benefitted from defensive mistakes that would have been more at home in the playground, before Stephen Ireland and Geovanni gave the game some credibility.

Both sides had lost their previous three league matches, and in the absence of the suspended Richard Dunne, the Manchester City manager Mark Hughes made the odd decision to hand Robinho the captain's armband. While the Brazilian may have offered a different style of captaincy to the 'roll your sleeves up' leadership of Dunne it was a familiar story on the pitch as City soon found themselves behind.

Hull took the lead in the 14th minute without even breaking sweat. Micah Richards' pass across the edge of his own box seemed risky, but Tal Ben-Haim's decision to play the ball back to goalkeeper Joe Hart rather than clear upfield was downright careless. The backpass was hopelessly short and Daniel Cousin was left with the simple task of poking the ball past the onrushing Hart. To make matter worse, the Manchester City goalkeeper was injured in the process and was replaced shortly after by Kasper Schmeichel, and is now unlikely to join up with the England squad for Wednesday's friendly in Germany.

It was a case of anything you can do we can do better, or rather anything you can do we can do worse, as Manchester City equalised eight minutes before half-time. There was no danger as Kamil Zayatte picked up the ball in his own penalty area after Robinho had lost possession. But rather than clear the ball, the centre-back elected to run across the face of his own goal, losing control of the ball with his second touch and Ireland merely had to roll the ball into an empty net. It was a most bizarre goal, but one that was in keeping with the contest as a whole.

Ireland got his second shortly before half-time in a manner that was every bit as brilliant as the first two goals were comical. Javier Garrido broke down the left and picked out Ireland with a clever pass. The midfielder took one touch before curling a delightful half-volley which gave Boaz Myhill in the Hull goal no chance. It was Ireland's sixth goal of an extremely impressive season.

Geovanni attempted to improve the all-round standard with a bicycle kick which went over the bar two minutes into the second-half, while Marlon King forced Schmeichel into a full-length save moments later.

Geovanni then tried his luck with a free-kick from 40-yards which, predictably enough, didn't threaten Schmeichel, but when Hull were awarded a soft free-kick on the hour Geovanni once again stepped-up. This time his shot took a big deflection off the head of Vincent Kompany and gave Schmeichel no chance.

Zayatte partly made up for his earlier error when he blocked a goal-bound Robinho shot, after the Brazilian had been put-in by an incisive Ireland pass. In the ensuing scramble Darius Vassell completely missed the ball when presented with a glorious chance to restore the lead.

Geovanni again threatened from a set-piece, or rather three set-pieces after referee Phil Dowd twice ordered a free-kick on the edge of the Manchester City area to be retaken - booking both Shaun Wright-Phillips and Ireland for encroachment - before the third attempt cannoned off Vassell and out for a corner.

By this stage there were few players brave enough to take more than one touch of the ball for fear of what mistake they might make. Vassell had one last opportunity to snatch all three points but his finish was extremely poor when one-on-one with Myhill. If nothing else, it was an effort in keeping with the spirit of the game.

Hull: Myhill, McShane, Turner, Zayatte, Ricketts, Boateng (Halmosi 85), Ashbee, Marney, Geovanni, Cousin (Barmby 76), King.
Subs Not Used: Duke, Doyle, Garcia, Folan, Giannakopoulos.

Booked: McShane, Marney.

Goals: Cousin 14, Geovanni 60.

Man City: Hart (Schmeichel 19), Zabaleta, Richards, Ben-Haim, Garrido, Wright-Phillips, Kompany, Ireland, Mwaruwari (Jo 76), Robinho, Vassell.
Subs Not Used: Onuoha, Michael Ball, Hamann, Elano, Evans.

Booked: Ben-Haim, Wright-Phillips, Ireland.

Goals: Ireland 37, 45.

Att: 24,902

Ref: Phil Dowd (Staffordshire).

Manchester City 1 Tottenham 2         Suicide City
Sunday 9th November 2008 : GYKO at the COMSTAD

Back in late September, when Gelson Fernandes applied the coup de grâce in a six-goal rout of Portsmouth, Manchester City appeared to be on the brink of a sea change. Bankrolled by the formidable wealth of Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan and bolstered by the arrival of Brazil international Robinho for a British transfer record fee, City's ambition of landing a Champions League spot - initially the subject of much scepticism - was suddenly being viewed with renewed seriousness.

So far, though, the promised end has not materialised for Mark Hughes and his men. While Harry Redknapp, Hughes' managerial adversary that day, has scarcely put a foot wrong since - he has masterminded five victories and two draws in seven subsequent Premier League outings with Portsmouth and Tottenham - City have just a solitary win against Stoke in the credit column.

City's third successive league defeat, in a game that saw Fernandes and Richard Dunne dismissed after Robinho had given them an early lead, leaves Hughes with some hard questions to answer when he travels to Abu Dhabi this week for his first meeting with Sheikh Mansour.

For Redknapp, however, life could hardly be rosier. Darren Bent followed up his midweek hat-trick against Dinamo Zagreb with a two-goal salvo that lifted Spurs out of the bottom three for the first time since mid-September and, after their wretched start under Juande Ramos, Tottenham finally have their first away win of the season. The late dismissal of Benoit Assou-Ekotto notwithstanding, things are looking up at the Lane.

The afternoon had begun in promising fashion for City, Robinho opening the scoring against the run of play after Heurelho Gomes, the Tottenham goalkeeper, was unable to gather a Darius Vassell effort. The Brazil international gathered the loose ball and slotted home for his eighth goal of the season.

Fernandes' 26th-minute dismissal for early fouls on Luka Modric and David Bentley turned the game on its head, however. Within three minutes of the Swiss midfielder's departure, Tottenham were level, Bent capitalising ruthlessly on Dunne's failure to intercept a long ball from Modric.

The subsequent introduction of Dietmar Hamann failed to inhibit the growing influence of Modric, who should have done better when through on goal shortly after the interval. But the decisive moment came in the 65th minute, when Tom Huddlestone and Jermain Jenas combined to set up Bent, whose shot cannoned in off the post to continue Tottenham's remarkable resurgence.

City ended the game with nine men when Dunne was shown a straight red card seven minutes from time. The referee, Mike Deane, decreed that the Republic of Ireland defender had hauled back Bent as he closed in on goal. Deane found himself reaching for his pocket again six minutes later, Assou-Ekotto seeing red for a challenge on Pablo Zabaleta.

Man City: Hart, Zabaleta, Richards, Dunne, Garrido, Wright-Phillips, Ireland, Fernandes, Vassell (Hamann 31), Robinho, Mwaruwari.
Subs Not Used: Schmeichel, Onuoha, Elano, Jo, Evans, Ben-Haim.

Sent Off: Fernandes (26), Dunne (83).

Booked: Fernandes.

Goals: Robinho 16.

Tottenham: Gomes, Corluka, Woodgate, King, Assou-Ekotto, Bentley, Huddlestone, Zokora, Jenas, Modric (Lennon 71), Bent.
Subs Not Used: Cesar, Hutton, Pavlyuchenko, Campbell, Dawson, O'Hara.

Sent Off: Assou-Ekotto (89).

Booked: Zokora, King.

Goals: Bent 29, 64.

Att: 41,893

Ref: Mike Dean (Wirral).

Manchester City 3 FC Twente 2     Robinho saves City
Thursday 6th November 2008: GYKO at the COMSTAD

Nobody could accuse Robinho of failing to repay his £32.5m transfer fee at Manchester City after the Brazilian once again helped paper over the cracks at Eastlands by inspiring Mark Hughes's team to a fraught Uefa Cup victory over FC Twente.       
   

Twente manager Steve McClaren, baited by the City fans throughout with chants ridiculing his disastrous reign as England coach, might not have enjoyed such a fruitless return to his homeland but for the brilliance of City's Brazilian forward.

In a game when City's defensive problems matched their attacking prowess, Robinho lifted the home side to an opening Group A victory by scoring one, making another and then twice hitting the post.

Still, had Twente substitute Stein Huysegems not fired over the crossbar from six yards in the ninetieth minute, Robinho's work would have been undone.

Mark Hughes is due to jet out to Abu Dhabi next Tuesday to discuss January transfer targets and club strategy with chairman Khaldoon al Mubarak, but the timing could have been better for the City manager.

With expectancy at Eastlands rocketing to the stars following Sheikh Mansour's takeover in September, it was perhaps inevitable that all the talk of Champions League football and global domination would quickly subside into the cold reality of a long-and-winding journey to the anticipated destination.

Progress under Hughes is beginning to level out, however, and the former Blackburn manager clearly needs the reinforcements that the transfer window will bring. For all the flair that City possess in Robinho, Elano and Shaun Wright-Phillips, the steel that ran through Hughes's Blackburn team is conspicuously absent at Eastlands and he must be itching to address that glaring frailty.

The soft centre was evident again against Twente, a group of players who passed the ball like any accomplished Dutch side, but McClaren's team should have been dispensed with in the manner of Arsenal's 4-0 Champions League qualifier victory at the Emirates three months ago.

Certainly, when Wright-Phillips opened the scoring with a fine goal following a crisp one-two with Jo in the second minute, it appeared as though City would go on to inflict another English hammering on Twente.

But Eljero Elia's equaliser fifteen minutes later, a cool finish from twelve yards after outpacing Micah Richards, gave warning of Twente's ability to punish any City complacency.

With such firepower, however, the home side always held the upper hand and Robinho restored City's lead twelve minutes into the second-half when he scored his seventh goal in eleven games with a curling effort from the edge of the penalty area.

Hughes used the goal as a signal to hand Benjani his first appearance of the season from the substitutes' and the Zimbabwean, out since the summer with a knee injury, took just four minutes to make his mark when he put City 3-1 ahead with an eighteen-yard strike that beat goalkeeper Sander Boschker courtesy of a deflection off defender Douglas.

Once more, however, City lacked the nous to close the game down and they gifted Twente a lifeline on sixty-five minutes by allowing the unmarked captain Robbie Wielaert to head in from a corner.

Man City: Hart, Zabaleta, Richards, Dunne, Garrido, Wright-Phillips, Ireland, Fernandes, Vassell (Elano 66), Robinho, Jo (Mwaruwari 59).
Subs Not Used: Schmeichel, Onuoha, Ben-Haim, Hamann, Evans.

Booked: Zabaleta.

Goals: Wright-Phillips 2, Robinho 57, Mwaruwari 62.

FC Twente: Boschker, Stam, Wielaert, Franco, Braafheid, Tiote (Janssen 79), Brama (Wellenberg 64), Hersi, Arnautovic (Huysegems 32), Nkufo, Elia.
Subs Not Used: Paauwe, Perez, Heubach, Gerritsen.

Booked: Elia.

Goals: Elia 17, Wielaert 65.

Att: 21,247

Ref: Nikolai Ivanov (Russia).

Bolton Wanderers 2 Manchester City 0  Dunne Over Again
Sunday 2nd November 2008 : Trevor Baldwin for GYKO at the Reebok

RICHARD DUNNE, the own-goal king, added to his unfortunate tally yesterday but manager Mark Hughes was more dismayed by another away-day flop by Manchester City’s flair players.

For all their skills, Robinho, Shaun Wright-Phillips, Elano and Stephen Ireland were outfought and outplayed by a Bolton side who ended their goal drought, climbed out of the bottom three and eased the pressure on Gary Megson.

Defender Dunne has been more prolific at the wrong end than Ricardo Gardner, scorer of the first goal, has been at the right one.

When Gardner, a first-half replacement for the injured Riga, broke the stalemate after 76 minutes he was claiming his first goal for almost six years.

But it was a more familiar story when Gardner’s cross was diverted into the City net three minutes from time. This was the eighth time in his City career Dunne has stuck one past his own keeper – and his second in just weeks after his spectacular effort at Newcastle.

However, Hughes defended his captain Dunne and heaped the blame on City’s failure to match their hosts’ aggression and determination in a show that will only strengthen his case for funds when he visits the club’s Abu Dhabi owners later this month.

He said: “It is difficult for any player in those situations when the ball is sliding across the six-yard box. You hope to get something on it and clear your lines but unfortunately they go in sometimes.

“But I’m more disappointed that the ball has come over in the first place. That was key for me rather than the actual own-goal. In the end, we were guilty of playing too many long, straight balls in to players who were marked.

“Bolton worked hard for each other and we were not able to play the game we wanted. We’re a team that is technically very good but on occasions and in certain games you need different qualities and at the moment we haven’t got the variation in personnel to be able to do that.”

City look a million miles from being contenders but at least Hughes will be given cash to improve them, whereas Bolton boss Megson must work with what he has got.

But after this first home win since the opening day of the season, Megson was happy enough especially as, for once, the boo-boys were not on his back.

He will never win popularity contests here despite keeping the club up against the odds last season. But the graft and honesty of his players will give Wanderers a good chance of avoiding the drop again.

Megson said: “That was not that different to virtually every game we’ve played this season. The difference was that we bagged two goals.

“Gardner made a big difference when he came on. He’s a great lad and I’m delighted for him.

“Hopefully this gets people off our backs. But if they are going to boo, I would rather they aim it at me than the players.”

The irony for City is that both goals came after Hughes had attempted to shore up his midfield, with Didier Hamann coming on for the talented but erratic Elano.

Bolton’s opener arrived when Robinho lost possession in Bolton’s half. The home side scored from a devastating counter-attack that involved Matt Taylor, Fabrice Muamba, Kevin Nolan and a superb cross from full-back Gretar Steinsson that Gardner “shinned” into the roof of the net.

He was given the benefit of doubt although he looked marginally offside.

The second goal came when City again lost possession in Bolton’s half.

Jlloyd Samuel sent Gardner racing down the left, and his cross was turned home as Dunne tried to stop the ball reaching Kevin Davies.

A wag suggested he should have let it run through to Davies, who has not got the most prolific strike-rate.

Jussi Jaaskelainen marked his 400th Premier League appearance with good stops from Robinho, Ireland and Ched Evans. But Hughes admitted City just did not do enough to warrant a point.

Bolton: Jaaskelainen, Steinsson, Cahill, Andrew O'Brien, Samuel, Riga (Gardner 43), McCann, Nolan, Muamba, Taylor, Davies.
Subs Not Used: Al Habsi, Hunt, Smolarek, Helguson, Shittu, Basham.

Booked: Jaaskelainen.

Goals: Gardner 77, Dunne 88 og.

Man City: Hart, Zabaleta, Dunne, Ben-Haim, Richards, Wright-Phillips, Kompany, Ireland, Elano (Hamann 69), Evans (Sturridge 69), Robinho.
Subs Not Used: Schmeichel, Onuoha, Garrido, Fernandes, Caicedo.

Booked: Zabaleta.

Att: 21,095

Ref: Mike Riley (Yorkshire).