When Manuel Pellegrini arrived at the Etihad he was handed an extensive ‘to do’ list by Manchester City’s CEO Ferran Soriano, a list which famously comprised the winning of five major trophies in the next three seasons. Whereas it’s far early to be dusting off the cheque book and investing in a deluxe silverware cleaning kit, City’s manager has been able to put a dirty big tick in the first […]

So that’s two vital away wins in two cup competitions on consecutive Wednesday nights for Manchester City. Football wisdom has it that it’s results and not performances that count. It’s just as well then for Manuel Pellegrini. Last week in Moscow it was a case of watching paint dry – literally as well as metaphorically – as the Russians gave the dreadful Khimiki Arena turf a makeover. City then laboured […]

As ‘Johnny Foreigner’ arriving in town, Manchester City never really expected a red carpet welcome to the Russian capital – they had however hoped for something better underfoot than a surface more suited to the ‘Cabbage Patch ‘dolls. Forget any notions of the Russian steppes – those vast tracts of grassy treeless plains – Manuel Pellegrini’s men might be better off in their ‘wellies’ as they prepare to cope with […]

Manuel Pellegrini rang the changes, the Etihad rang out rejoicing in victory and just about everybody in the 47,267 crowd would happily have the rung ref Jonathan Moss’ neck! ‘The Engineer’ – Pellegrini’s nickname – re-tuned his Manchester City machine after both Aston Villa, but more tellingly, Bayern Munich, had thrown dirty great spanners into the works, to see his much changed City side beat their Everton bogey. In the […]

As the smoke palls lift on the Bayern blitzkrieg – delivered with frightening ferocity and infinite finesse in equal measure – a battle bruised and Champions League chastened  Manchester City need to re-group and heed the lessons of their Munich mauling. It’s been a while since City were rendered so impotent as was witnessed by a packed Etihad Stadium on Wednesday evening, but as has so often been said, a […]

If Manchester City’s purple patch of form is to continue then the Villains of Aston will be more black and blue than claret and blue come five o’clock tomorrow afternoon. Statistically City like to play Villa more than any other Premier League rival – they’ve beaten them more than any other top flight side – 18 times in total. They’ve won seven of the last nine encounters, drawn one and […]

Manchester City’s ‘Ministry of Defence’ is creaking under the stresses and strains caused by an ailing department of health and the continuing absence of leader Vincent Kompany. The team which has boasted the least goals conceded for the last three seasons, is facing a shortage of manpower across the backline as they square up to the annual rigours of the Battle of Britannia. It’s vital that Manuel Pellegrini’s company of […]

It wasn’t pretty or overly entertaining, but in the end it was enough as Manchester City ambushed Hull’s Tigers and bagged three vital points, putting their title ambitions back on track. Wounded by the rabid criticism following the Cardiff defeat, City were expected to return to winning ways against Premier League newbies, after all, it had been three years and 106 games since the men in sky blue suffered back-to-back […]

On the basis that one swallow doesn’t make a summer then one bluebird flying high, shouldn’t mean a long, cold winter lies ahead for Manchester City. Yes, the defeat at Cardiff City was unexpected – some would argue unacceptable – but the knee-jerk over reaction by the twitchy naysayers among City’s support is equally unpalatable. The more shallow among the sky blue brethren went into social media meltdown in the […]

Manchester City were resoundingly stuffed by a bunch of Canaries at the end of last season as their goose was well and truly under cooked with an insipid defence of their Premier League crown. Now, under new management, City can do their best ‘phoenix from the ashes’ impression by killing off a murder of Magpies as the curtain goes up on a hugely promising new campaign at the Etihad Stadium. […]