Manuel Pellegrini could yet scale new Champions League peaks in Italy, just four days after Manchester City left their supporters feeling as flat as a mountaineering holiday in Holland. Already qualified for the knockout stages, a win in Turin would guarantee City top slot in Group D, but any repeat of Saturday night’s lily-livered lethargy against Liverpool would see City hard pressed to beat Fray Bentos never mind Juventus. Abject, […]

Realistically, Manchester City remain as Champions of England for another 48 hours or, at best, until next Sunday afternoon when the ribbons on the Premier League trophy will go a deeper shade of blue. In truth City surrendered the title to Chelsea with three abhorrent away losses at Liverpool, Burnley and Crystal Palace, prior to the derby day horror show at Old Trafford. A tidal wave of disappointment and under […]

Space was the ‘Final Frontier’ for Star Trek’s Captain Kirk and the crew of the Starship Enterprise as they vowed to ‘boldly go where no man has gone before…’ The cult science fiction TV series of the late 1960s and early 70’s swept all before it and now, here in 2015, another Captain whose surname begins with ‘K’ has some spatial issues to address, if he wishes to enter previously […]

Manchester City’s champs became chumps as complacency, sloppiness and fatigue provided an escape route for a battling Burnley to pull back two goals and gain a deserved point. In a pathetic second half display – right up there with the CSKA Moscow debacle – City imploded with an error strewn, lack lustre offering, one that contradicted all the credit accumulated in a nine-game winning streak. The ‘p’ in professional was […]

Arguably the most glamorous game in the club’s history, Manchester City finally shape up to face Barcelona in the Champions League last 16, after 64 days of drooling anticipation. Of all the teams in the world, it’s the men from the Nou Camp who get the juices flowing when it comes to delivering the beautiful game in its purest form. After being edged out of the Group D winners spot […]

Manchester City ushered in the New Year with an ‘average’ three goal salvo and another ominous outing of their sharp-shooting armoury. The only thing average about Manuel Pellegrini’s side nowadays is the stunning strike rate with which they dispatch opponents – it’s now 57 goals in 20 games – and no sign of the floodgates closing anytime soon. City performed with grace and poise at a Liberty Stadium with a […]

Literally as close as A to B, sharing a tiny border crossing and producing world class footballers, Argentina and Brazil have a profound influence on the fortunes – or misfortunes – of Manchester City. Like chalk and cheese, City’s Argentine imports have generally been A+ achievers whereas the Boys from Brazil have struggled to hit the dizzy heights of a B-minus, more often than not amounting to nothing more than […]

Professor Manuel Pellegrini’s class of 2013 emerged with top marks, but forget any notion of ‘A’ grades, this was a triple ‘F’ showing – fast, fluid and fantastico! The feel-good factor was flowing – positively oozing – out of every pore at the Etihad Stadium, after City annihilated a bewildered Newcastle United, who were clearly out of their depth within six minutes. That’s all it took for David Silva to […]

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. […]

Who do we tend to distrust the most in life? Used car salesmen, estate agents, politicians…? During times of economic hardship, pay freezes and bleak employment prospects you would expect the democratically elected members of Parliament (MPs) to lead by example – the powerbrokers of Westminster to let their actions rather than their words do the talking – so what do they do – they recommend awarding themselves an inflation […]