When Manchester City reached their first Wembley FA Cup semi final the big joke was Carlos Tevez had to sit on the front seat to give directions – he was the only one who knew the way! That was 23 months ago, before Roberto Mancini brought the curtain down on 35 success starved years and started to deliver annual silverware to City’s trophy cabinet. It was therefore somewhat ironic that […]

Never mind what he does behind the wheel of his Bentley Continental or his Porsche Cayenne, Carlos Tevez has moved slickly through the gears in recent times with three goals in his last three Manchester City appearances. His solicitor says he doesn’t understand the word ‘constabulary’ – hence his inability to respond to police speeding notifications – but all City fans will hope he doesn’t have to mess around with […]

For saying it was the War of the Roses, Leeds United offered petal garlands rather than a thorny fight as they were pruned, plucked and deadheaded by a resurgent Manchester City. Whereas the team from Yorkshire were as threatening as garden gnome with a limp fishing line City went at their trans-Pennine opponents with the football equivalent of razor sharp secateurs, cutting them down to size with brutal ferocity. Neil […]

When it comes to the War of the Roses and the FA Cup it’s the men on the Yorkshire side of the Pennines with the bragging rights in the 21st century. Leeds United have twice visited Manchester and on both occasions gone away victorious – once to be expected, the other a massive shock result. It was 13 years ago when high flying Leeds of the then Premiership, beat City […]

When Pablo Zabaleta, a little known unheralded Argentine defensive midfielder made his Premier League debut, the eyes of the football world fell upon Manchester City. But the combative £6.45m signing from Espanyol – bought the day before Sheikh Mansour acquired the club in late August 2008 – was a million miles away from being the subject of the global gaze. No, that ‘honour’ belonged to Brazilian ‘superstar’ Robinho, the £32.5m […]

Fresh from ending a 37-year win famine at the Emirates, Manchester City go to one of their unhappiest of hunting grounds seeking progress in the FA Cup. Acknowledged as having the most effective 12th man in English top flight football, Stoke City will be banking on the vociferous Britannia Stadium crowd to help ease their passage into the 5th round of the Cup. It’s 14 years almost to the day […]