East of COMS - Malaysia

Meet the Citizens

2008-10-04T14:08:00.001+08:00

Following City, as they (me and my subconscious) always say, is like watching a Ben Stiller movie.

As evident in There’s Something About Mary, Meet the Parents/Fockers and The Heartbreak Kid, to name a few, just when things seem to be going well for Mr. Stiller, you know that a disaster would befall upon him.

He keeps on going, nevertheless, throughout the movie; in his own archetypal Stiller, indecisively confident way.

The media couldn’t highlight enough the 6 – 0 thumping of Portsmouth at (Middle) Eastlands a few weeks back. And just as gimmicky, the Carling Cup defeat to Brighton was sensationalized as much. Journalists were put to the test as they tried to come up with the cheekiest ‘being wealthy means nothing-related’ headline the next day.

‘Rich’ was the most searched word for that day on Thesaurus.com.

But we only have ourselves to blame as the team fielded, though not as strong, was a decent enough side. Credit to Brighton and I hope they prosper to win the cup so that we could, as most glory hunters across the globe would, repeatedly mention how ‘we lost to the winners’.

Losing at the JJB wasn’t that easy to swallow either. Fair enough, we lost by a goal due to the theatrics of Wilson Palacios; which could’ve easily earned him a spot on Broadway and making a bigger name for himself -- than playing for Wigan.

The matter of fact though, sadly, was our lack of aggression. Steve Bruce’s men simply outplayed us.

It was one of those games where you just know that it wouldn’t end up to your favor. They were superior in the air and every loose ball ended up in the possession of the men in blue and white stripes; including Titus Bramble. The need for a ‘ballsier’ approach to games like these remains the only positive of the game.

Fresh from the aftermath of tormenting my digestive system after the second day of Raya, I stayed up to watch the UEFA Cup clash with the Cypriot giant, AC Omonia Nicosia.

Though we cruised into the group stage by winning 2 – 1, I do have to point out that everyone in the team, Mark Hughes included, needs to be orientated further on the history of the club. While being up by two goals may be comforting enough to some, this is City that they’re handling.

As proven by the late goal by a rather resurgent Omonia side, Sparky needs to realize that he can never be too complacent; no until the final whistle. Bear in mind, in Meet the Parents, Ben Stiller got screwed during the ending credits.

Now bring on Liverpool.

Continuing the City Enigma

2008-09-26T12:05:00.003+08:00

A joyous 6-0 thumping of Pompey in the league is followed by a penalty kicks’ loss (after a 2-2 deadlock) to little Brighton in the Carling Cup three days later. Sharin smsed “Typical city!”. Yes, it’s still the same old City!!

Too much celebrations after our biggest win in the Premier League? Our superstars can’t play well in front of small crowds? The Carling’s not important enough to be seriously bothered? Half of our ‘heroes’ of the weekend romp were on the field too. Surely the Seagulls can’t be half as good as Redknapp’s boys. At the end for such ‘mismatches’, it is always about how much heart we put into it.

We have walked this path many times before and will forget soon enough. Come the weekend, another game’s up, another battle looms and we will still be cheering again for our City.

Buying over the World ?

2008-09-11T21:12:00.002+08:00

There is nothing wrong in having very rich club owners. But having those who unabashedly flaunt their wealth is really something. The joke now is Man. City is buying over the world!

I can’t believe the astronomical prices quoted for some rumoured City’s targets, undoubtedly some of the best footballers around. It does put the world and players on alert that Eastlands is the happening place to be; not necessarily immediately but surely in the future. However, the mere mention of a City’s interest will now lead to clubs asking for the blue moon and the sky (almost).

An intended public relations coup or some unbridled emotional lapses? It will not be easy to do deals and do we really want to over over pay (like giving AF a Stg. 130 m. warchest)?

For the time being, we are still bathing in the golden hues of riches beyond imagination - enough feel good to last quite a while. But let’s get back to work or rather let the on field action takes centre stage. That’s where the ultimate excitement of a football fan rests and where the real battles are fought. Go City go !

New Dawn at Eastlands

2008-09-10T21:04:00.002+08:00

1.9.2008 is a momentous day. Now everybody’s is talking about Manchester City. Before, I can gobble up almost every online MCFC news item. Now I just cannot cope. Help because it is not going to end anytime soon.

Once we were easily dismissed and brushed aside; now we get some respect if not wariness and disbelief. Look at all those doubting Thomases, moral guardians, cynical critics and ignorant pundits. It is simple envy and sour grapes. Which fan will not welcome such a glorious fortune to fall their club’s way?

Sharin Osman, can remember those days when he had to beg or bribe to get hangout places to switch to the live game featuring City. Now (for the time being), he only needs to shout out the name of Robinho to get his wish!

Yes, we are in the big league now but certainly we will not get big headed. Long suffering faithful corps of ol’ Sky Blues knows better. We have been through hell and back. It will be (our usual) heart-stopping topsy-turvy ride, only now we (er.. I mean ADUG) have plenty of petrodollars to pay for our thrills. What a comforting thought, what a turn of events. Yes, Dunney it's really surreal.

The power behind the takeover

2008-09-04T10:20:00.002+08:00

Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan

(source : Wikipedia )

Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan is one of the sons of the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan and is a member of the Royal Family of Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates. Sheikh Mansour is an accomplished horse rider and has won a number of Endurance Racing tournaments held in the Middle East region.

Sheikh Mansour also fulfills a number of responsibilities and undertakings in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. In the current UAE Federal Cabinet, Sheikh Mansour holds the post of Minister of Presidential Affairs for the country's President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan. In addition, Sheikh Mansour serves as the Chairman of First Gulf Bank, one of the fastest growing and most successful banks in the region, and as a member of the Board of Trustees of the Zayed Charitable and Humanitarian Foundation. Sheikh Mansour believes in educating the youth of U.A.E and has established scholarship programs for U.A.E students to study abroad.

He is also chairman of the International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC) and Chairman of the Emirates Horse Racing Authority (EHRA).

He is married to Shaikha Manal bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, daughter of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime minister of UAE and the ruler of Dubai.

Sheikh A Tail Feather

2008-09-03T14:02:00.003+08:00

This piece is a bit overdue. The urge to write it was at its peak some two days back but with the state of shock that I was (and still am) in, I could barely type a word.

It was like waking up in the morning and realizing that Megan Fox is sleeping soundly beside you with the serenity of her angelic face hiding behind the pillow; not to mention the minimal amount of clothing covering her.

That, was about how I felt as a Manchester City supporter on Tuesday morning. It was only less than 24 hours before that the club was taken over by the Abu Dhabi United Group whom immediately made bids for Dimitar Berbatov, Robinho, David Villa, Mario Gomez and Donald Trump.

Though 'only' the Robinho bid bore fruit (despite Chelsea's cheekiness in putting replica shirts with his name for sale on their official website), breaking the British transfer record in the process, City's attempt at swiping Berbatov under Sir Alex Ferguson's red nose had unintentionally (of course) caused the Glazers to fork out an extra £7m for the Bulgarian's service.

Suffice to say, instead of waking up beside Megan Fox, they woke up beside me.

It was only less than a month ago that City was portrayed by the ever truthful media as being on the brink of doom. Dr. Thaksin Shinawatra's frozen assets, Mark Hughes' departure and long time club excess baggage Danny Mills' new contract; to name a few.

Hope though, goes hand in hand with being a City fan. It's been 70 years the club made history by being the only reigning league champions to be relegated. 70 years and, as the old saying from Maine Road goes, we're still here.

Suspicion started to creep into me in the first few weeks of the season. Despite all of the negative allegations clouding the club, namely Shinawatra's £2m loan from ex-chairman John Wardle and a £30m loan against the TV money, City signed Vincent Kompany; coined by some as one of the finest defensive midfielders in Europe. The notion, only further amplified with him winning the Barclay's Man of the Match in his debut, the day after he signed; allowing him to only learn the names of the other players from their jerseys during the game.

The week after saw the return of the club's prodigal son, Shaun Wright-Phillips who came to City when he was 15 because Nottingham Forest thought he was too small. Winning the club's Young Player of the Year award four times earned him an 'SWP – Legend' banner courtesy of the fans. In tears (from a stomach bug apparently) after his last game for City, Shaun left for Chelsea for £21m. After only 43 appearances at Chelsea, Shaun came back and immediately scored two goals during his emotional return at the Stadium of Light to secure a 3 – 0 win over Sunderland.

Excluding the £12m made from the purchasing of SWP (which was amazing business doubtlessly), the wealth of City's new owners is estimated to be, in the words of analysts scrutinizing the deal, a lot.

The takeover couldn't be timelier. It's a gift that the fans have earned after all these years. And it's only evident that they've gone through enough and there's simply no room for glory hunters, whom had all gone to the other Manchester club anyway, from whom we won six easy points from the Manchester Derby games last season, ironically.

But let's not get too carried away.

While it's true that City will be fronted by the golden Brazilliant! triangle of Elano-Jo-Robinho with Martin Petrov and Shaun Wright-Phillips bombing down the flanks in between the rotational intelligence of Michael Johnson, Stephen Ireland Vincent Kompany and 55-year old Dietmar Hamann, causing chaos and massacre to the opposition's defenders while City's own defensive line, remaining calm with full composure, features the veteran Richard Dunne as the captain alongside England's most prized defender Micah Richard together with Olympic gold medal winner Paulo Zabaleta and future England number one Joe Hart in goal cumulatively promising football beyond orgasmic...

...let's not get too carried away. This is City we're talking about here.

Oh, what the hell. Get in!

BBC interviews Noel Gallagher on the 'staggering' takeover, why not:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/front_page/7595458.stm

"It'll be nice to know that every gallon of petrol a Manchester United fan buys is going into our kitty."

Don't Blow Our Bubble

2008-01-21T09:14:00.000+08:00

Perhaps the only news more sensational than Kevin Keegan’s appointment these past few days is Manchester City’s signing of Iraqi superstar, Nashat Akram. The announcement was made on Akram’s website, only to be removed a few days later. Presumably due to letters from the club who made no announcement whatsoever of this big signing; one that Sven has been talking about it seems with a week away to the closing of the January window.

Well, there’s Akramgate and Subside Sport’s take on the transfer window circus. RIP Marc Foe.

City came into the West Ham game having won by the odd goal against the same team on the same pitch some four days earlier. It was an FA Cup tie and like any other ties, albeit the drama of plumbers playing against megastars, the entertainment level is always a hit or miss. Sad to say, this one was a drab. Yet winning the trip to play the mighty Sheffield United team in the next round was all that matters.

The ghost of City’s six-goal trashing into the hands of the billionaires at Chelsea seems to be haunting our league position, and will continue doing so all year long. As much as I would like to see us as sharing the fourth spot with Liverpool, Everton and Aston Villa, we had number ‘7’ beside our name all week long. A position that would lead me to showering Stuart Pearce with praises though if we’re in 2006.

A headline on the Manchester Evening News a few days ago read ‘Arrivederci Bianchi’. It’s a pity that the speculation of City’s second ever priciest signing leaving Eastlands is getting stronger. I’ve always liked Bianchi and credits to him for the few praises I’ve gotten off the ladies for my Bianchi-burn. The few goals he’d scored for us have been gorgeous. His performance last night however, portrayed the very reasoning behind Sven’s preference to start him at the bench most of the time.

The £8m that Frank forked out for him seemed a bit like the £90m our neighbor splashed for Djemba² (wish my name was squared). He was ineffective, as was the whole team bar Joe Hart. We looked a bit tired against a very average West Ham team I should say. Nevertheless, hats off to the Curbs Clan (sorry) for a very spirited performance. Even Uncle Hamann cited the Hammers as unlucky to not get away with all three points . City, on the other hand, was lucky to get away with a point. The Association of FA Referees seemed to have made up for their error during the Blackburn game and awarded a goal to an offside Vassell.

If it wasn’t for the glorious archetypal Titus Bramble backpass at the Everton - Wigan game, we would’ve been leveled with the Toffees at the fourth spot. City however, is a bit ‘typical’. All the Liverpool - Aston Villa game on Tuesday would do is bring us to either sixth or seventh. Alas in Sven, we trust.

Photos!

2008-01-11T10:00:00.000+08:00

Photos from Shaiful & Shahrin Bangkok trip in '05 and Ajim's trip to the COMS are up on our Flickr page: http://www.flickr.com/eastofcoms

City 4 - 2 Bolton

2007-12-17T10:07:00.001+08:00

I was at a club in Bangsar when we were playing our neighbors, the might Bolton over at Eastlands. As ESPN was showing the BIGGER match that is West Ham v Everton, I was struggling to avoid myself from peeking whenever the latest score of other matches pops up.

One’s strength can only be so strong. I threw a glimpse at the telly everytime the damn scoreline appears and at City 2 – 2 Bolton, I just couldn’t take it anymore and tried to enjoy the live band playing before heading home to catch the delayed telecast.

This has got to be, by far, our most ‘open’ game this season.

It was such a pleasant surprise to see Bianchi getting his first start in three months. His goal at White Hart Lane last week was just class and no one, and I mean no one, in our rather measly attacking line deserves the starting role better than him. That collar thing of his was sexy enough to earn him a place though I reckon it’s best placed on Harry Redknapp’s face.

Our goal wasn’t that but credits have to be given to Vassell for outrunning the Bolton defender (whoever it was, hard for me to care less for their players and their goals). And what about the second goal? There just couldn’t be a better time for Hamman to score his first goal in the glorious blue kit.

Three quarters of the game, both team were stuck at two apiece and we kept on terrorizing their defense like there’s no tomorrow. And as City legend Geovanni was getting all pumped up to get on to the pitch, the man he was supposed to sub Martin ‘Hysteria from Bulgaria’ Petrov burst into Bolton’s penalty area, leaving the defender (again, whoever it was) puffing and panting for air, before sliding it to Vassell to backheel it into the net.

And Geo was asked to have a seat. To make way for Spanish sensation Javier Garrido to take Petrov’s position; the position he played for his former club. And the Bulgarian left the stage with a standing ovation from the crowd.

Seconds later, it was Garrido’s turn to make a blistering run into the box and pass it to youngster Kelvin Etuhu who with such composure bolts the ball into the net. The game was in its dying minute and it was the perfect time for him to jump into the crowd, earning a yellow card in the process. One wouldn’t hurt.

Why on earth are people coining last night as GRAND SLAM SUPER SUNDAY ABOVE ALL SUNDAYS IN THE HISTORY OF MANKIND?

The four teams who played Sunday night weren’t even in the top four of the table.

We were.

Portsmouth 0 Man City 0

2007-11-19T21:06:00.000+08:00

Normally a nil-nil scoreline sounds like a very very drab and dour match was fought. However, in this case, nothing was further from the truth................. this really was a very entertaining match where our boys continued to show some steel in addition to the flair already shown. The entire match ebbed and flowed from end to end.......... great stuff.

Must admit that we were somewhat fortunate that David Nugent's crack hit the post and that Hart had to save brilliantly from Glen Johnson. Mind you, had Vassell managed to control the ball after that defence slitting pass with the goal at his mercy, it might have been a different story.

Anyway, honours even which was pretty much a fair result.................and we're still 3rd in the table. Yayyy!!!!!

CTID, Richard

Chelsea 6 Man City 0

2007-10-29T21:05:00.000+08:00

Aaaaaaaaarrrrrrgggggghhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Damn.................... .. I just knew it!!!!!!!!!!!!! It's all going to end in tears. Attractive as we are, we are still nowhere near the likes of Chelsea, Liverpool, Aresenal or Man U. Whatever possessed Sven to go into this game as if we were playing Derby, Newcastle or West Ham??? We should have gone into the game the same way we went in against Man U and Arsenal. Anyway, full credit to Avram and the Chelsea, we got utterly and completely hammered. Full marks to them................. and they were quite scary to watch. Very professional and clinical. They were also very hungry for every ball. I guess that Chelsea played so well that EVEN Shevchenko couldn't help but score.

Felt that we were a bit lightweight in midfield which is were we really lost the game. We really need a hard man in midfield............. or at the very least, a much younger version of Hamann. Also felt that Garrido did not have the best of games................... . but he'll learn, I guess. And another thing, Micah needs to calm down.

*Sigh* Lets see whether the boys can bounce back from this................... It's Bolton away, in the "Whatever it's called these days" Cup next...................

CTID, Richard

City 1 - 0 Birmingham

2007-10-24T17:15:00.000+08:00

Maybe our friend, Mr. Ric Turner was a tad harsh when he wrote in his latest blog entry, "I cannot abide Steve Bruce, a man so grotesquely ugly that his wife probably goes to work with him each day just to avoid kissing him goodbye in the morning".

But upon further reading, I suppose the man's got a point. Bruce's post match whining, given time, will one day match that of his mentor's, Sir Alex. Albeit numerous replays of how Michael Johnson's boots met the ball and the foul on him being shunned before his own challenge, Bruce relentlessly stressed how City didn't deserve the goal.

Nevertheless, why bother a United alum.

While City's performance wasn't as beautiful as the Newcastle match's or as gorgeous as Samaras' hair, the match highlighted the genius of a certain Vedran Corluka. Easily the most 'relaxed' football player in history, Corluka governed his area with such composure that every Birmingham attack from the left flank was repelled as if his and the opposition's body had different polarities.

At the end of the day, it was Elano Houdini's magic touch that bagged us another three points, to maintain the look of the top three positions of the table. And here's to breaking Chelsea's home record.

Man City 3 Newcastle United 1

2007-10-05T21:03:00.000+08:00

This has to go down as one of the candidates for goal of the season................... but I'm not holding my breathe. Back when young Shaunnie was coming into his own, he was scoring some cracking goals, the ones against ManUre and the Arse come to mind but yet they werenever featured at all when the pundits were talking about that seasons great goals....................... sigh. Anyway, beating Newcastle 3-1 was nice and the boys played some great stuff but we still need another 24 points before I breathe a little easier................... Hopefully we'll get it by January (here's hoping anyway).

CTID, Richard

Fulham 3 Man City 3

2007-09-29T21:02:00.000+08:00

The good news is that City scored 3 goals in a match..................... bad news is that we let in 3. This game was there for the taking, Although we all probably feel like this because our expectations this season are so much higher, I guess. Overall game was pretty exciting and Fulham were pretty good value for their 3 goals (even though all City fans felt that it was 2 points dropped). I do feel for Kasper and while he wasn't really at fault for any of the goals, IMHO, he does flap a lot at crosses and does need to work on his judgement on when to come forward. This I feel comes with experience and it is now time for him to take a rest. It was a pretty good run of games though.

CTID, Richard

City 1 - 0 Villa: Magic Johnno!

2007-09-18T12:09:00.000+08:00

To the dismay of some City purists, if you will, our own Michael Johnson is being touted as the new Colin Bell. While some claim 19 year old Johnno has got mountains to climb before he’s able to tie the King’s boots, Bell himself cited Johnno as resembling him during his heydays.

Whatever the verdict has been, we are blessed with one of the most talented youngsters in the league. Being brought into the City fraternity, from the Everton Academy, Johnson has climbed through the ranks into becoming a regular alongside Didi Hamman, since his debut in the senior squad last season.

Scoring two glorious match-winning goals in our first six games, Johnno is certainly a blessing to the City squad. The energy he brings into the game, together with new Blues Elano and Petrov, is simply mesmerizing. It’s great to see our midfielders causing quite the chaos around the opposition’s penalty box with their flair and fluidity. You know the defender would be gasping for air trying to keep up with Petrov. You know something great will happen whenever Elano gets the ball. It won’t be long ‘til our midfielders gel into becoming one of the best in the league. Our backline already are!

Albeit the victory, it was still too apparent that we need help up front. Though I don’t really rate Andy Gray, I had the same question in me throughout the game. Why Mpenza over Bianchi? I don’t really see any pace advantage in him nor did he have that sixth scoring sense. The 10 minutes Bianchi spent on the pitch surpassed whatever Mpenza did for the previous 80. Nevertheless, I could see how Mpenza really tried.

With pretty much the same concern, I believe we need Isaksson back. While the stats have shown how Kasper has only let in two goals in six games, I cringe everytime we give away a corner kick, to be honest. Though Kasper is a highly spirited, full of passion goalkeeper, he lacks something essential for goalkeepers; experience. I do believe that through the years, he will be a splendid goalkeeper. But for the time being, maybe with Isaksson between the posts, I won’t have to grasp my pillow every time a ball crosses into our box anymore.

We’ll be facing Fulham, Newcastle, Middlesbrough and Birmingham next before playing Chelsea at the Bridge on 27/10 (RM10 on the table we’ll win there, really). And I’m seeing us collecting a handful of good points from the four games ahead. Second in the table and things are looking good.

Blackburn Rovers 1 Man City 0

2007-09-03T21:01:00.000+08:00

On the plus side, the boys played well for oh, all of the first ten minutes or so. Then with practically Blackburn's first set piece, a corner, they go and score via Benni McCarthy on the 13th minute. After that it's practically one way traffic. Blackburn were up for it and City weren't. Garrido had a poor game and made Bentley look like a world beater. Both Dunne and Richards had nightmare games and were constantly pulled apart by the hard running of both Santa Cruz and McCarthy.

Basically it rained and Blackburn were physically more powerful and direct and it really knocked the boys off their stride. We've got to treat it as a learning curve for them and hope that they do learn from this. It's still early days but at least we should all of us come back down to earth now. The team is new and individually the players are pretty good. Sven has now got to get them playing as a team and for each other.

Still feel that we are short a pacey striker and a midfield hardman.

CTID, Richard

Arsenal 1 Man City 0

2007-08-27T20:59:00.000+08:00

Aaaaarrrrrgggghhhhhh noooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! For about 15 minutes after the penalty save did we dare to dream that maybe.................. just maybe we could get a point from the Gooners.................. then Fabregas had to dash all our hopes and dreams (good goal though) by absolutely smacking the ball in from close range.

Oh well, normal service has resumed I guess.................... As I said earlier, the only way now is down......*sigh*

Once again, it was a combination of the heroics of young Kasper and the entire back four, consisting of Garrido, Richards, Dunne and Corluka that kept the opposition at bay. While Arsenal had more of the possession, it was City that had the better chances in the 1st half. On the 65th minute, Richards mistimed his tackle and gave away a penalty. We all feared the worst but somehow young Kasper managed to keep it out and we all dared to dream a little. However, around the 79th minute Hleb came bursting into the box and the ball fell to Fabregas who lashed it home.......................

Young Kasper in his father's footsteps came running out for a corner on the 3rd minute of stoppage time and amazingly managed to get a header away but Almunia in the Arsenal goal did manage to save it................. would have been an amazing story though if young Kasper had managed to score though.

CTID, Richard

Man City 1 Man Utd 0

2007-08-20T20:57:00.000+08:00

Although City did start the game with 2 wins out of 2 and Utd with 0 wins out of 2, you couldn’t help getting this nagging feeling that all Utd’s frustrations were going to be taken out on a hapless City team with all City’s weaknesses and lack of Premiership experience being cruelly exposed. In the first 5 minutes Nani practically waltzed into City’s penalty box and young Kasper had to save smartly from the initial shot and header from the rebound…….. our worst fears were being realised. Worse was to follow with Bojinov falling awkwardly and had to be stretchered off to be replaced by Mpenza. For the next 20 minutes or so City could barely get out of their own half and Utd were very comfortably on top. At that point in time Utd had nearly 70% possession with City at 30%.

Then, around the 30th minute, a little neat pass from Elano’s managed to release his fellow Brazilian, Geovanni, who found himself in acres of space and charged forward. Only Vidic seemed to realise the danger as there were no other Man Utd defenders in sight. As Vidic moved up in an attempt to close the gap Geovanni let fly from a good 25 yards out with the outside of his right foot. The ball hit Vidic and deflected to the left of the goal seemingly heading away from the goal before it swung back and just about shaved the inside of the left goal post. Yessssssss!!!!!!!!!!! One nil to the Mighty Blues!!!!!!!!!!! What a difference a goal makes to everyone’s confidence. After that, City began to boss the midfield and stroked the ball about without any Utd player getting so much as a sniff of the ball. And when a Utd player did get the ball they didn’t know what to do with it…………… Utd’s earlier confidence and swagger had all evaporated simply because they found themselves a goal down.

Utd did regroup in the 2nd half but the City defence led by Richard Dunne and the man-of-the-match Micah Richards repelled everything that Utd threw at them. Once again, there were a few wobbly moments by young Kasper but in the main he did alright and that’s 3 consecutive clean sheets that he has had. He is still young and has a long way to go though.

Final result Man City 1 Man Utd 0. A perfect start to the season and a perfect start to the week. Must remember to keep feet on the ground as it is STILL early days but it is so difficult to wipe this idiotic grin off my face. We’re playing the Gooners next on Saturday at Highbury………. oops, I mean the new Emirates Stadium. Being City we’ll probably get hammered next weekend but for now, at least let us enjoy the fact that we have beaten the Champions and that we are now top of the table.

Oh City, you got me singing the blues…………………………….

CTID, Richard

Man City 1 Derby County 0

2007-08-16T20:56:00.000+08:00

Well, our first home game has come and gone. Must remember to keep feet on the ground………………. Remember to keep feet on the ground………………………. Keep feet on the ground……………………… It is still only early days but things are certainly looking on the up. Not a brilliant performance by any stretch of the imagination but certainly another effective one. Both Johnson and Ireland continue to improve but for my money the man of the match should be Didi Hamann. The man was just immense, very cool and very aware of his surroundings. A very good holding player that allows other team mates to go bombing forward……………… If only we had him 5 years ago. Goal was very well taken by Johnson, after a lovely one-two with Elano, Johnson lashed it home from the outside of his right foot, bending it round the left of the keeper. Young Kasper did look a wee bit out of his depth for a few moments in the first half but grew in stature as the game progressed. Made a few very very good interceptions on crosses. Went to work with big grin on face…………….. Can’t help thinking that it is all just a dream and that I am going to wake up any time soon. The derby is up next on Sunday 19th of August............................ can we keep this up???????????

CTID, Richard

West Ham 0 Man City 2

2007-08-13T20:56:00.000+08:00

The weekend has just flown by and I can't think of when I have been this excited after the first match of the season. Watched the match at Souled Out in Desa Sri Hartamas and it was great catching up with Saiful & Son (no, it is not a trading company), Shahrin, Rizal and Jeremy. Thought our boys played well overall with a very professional performance. Some wobbly moments midway through the second half but goals from debutantes Bianchi and Geovanni contributed to the perfect start to the season. Young Kasper was not really tested but looked okay generally. Might be in a minority here but I did think that the white kit looked okay...................... KJ, you started this site, you going to meet up with the rest of the gang soon. Not quite sure what our record is but as we all support a less "glam" club there aren't really that many of us. I think that most number of people that we have had was last year's derby game at OT where we all met up at My Home Bistro, also at Desa Sri Hartamas. Including wives, girlfriends and kids, I think that we had more then 15 people. Maybe this year we can do better.

CTID, Richard

Season 2007/2008 begins

2007-08-10T20:54:00.000+08:00

Okay guys, don't really know how many of you are going to read this but this is one of the most exciting pre-seasons in all my years of following the Mighty Blues. However, we must all not get carried away as these new players are going to need time. We also need to be mindful as to how long Mr. T is going to remain at the helm. If something were to happen and he leaves us suddenly, our beloved Club will be up the creek without a paddle. We also haven't met up for sometime.................. Can we at least try to meet up within the next 2 or 3 months? Unfortunately, I won't be around for the Manchester derby next Sunday, August 19th. Any of you guys meeting up?

CTID, Richard