[Archived] Man City Preview

[waggy]

i hope we can get at least a piont from this game,with the foolham game being off,we might be in the bottom 3 for a while if we do not gain something from the citeh game,heart says 1-1 head says 1-3

[LeChuck]

Nice to see the lads getting slated before the season has started.

Slated? Come off it, I did no such thing.

The key part of my post was 'as a partnership'. I wouldn't be too worried about either playing alongside one of our better midfielders, but the thought of them together worries me.

[roversfan1]

Nice to see the lads getting slated before the season has started.

Nobody has been slated as far as I can see - just people making predictions based on their own gut instincts and a dose of realism...I would love to see us win and will go there hoping we do and supporting the lads right from the off but I honestly cannot see us taking 3 points from the game!

That doesnt make me any less of a fan, just a realist who knows the limitations of our fairly average squad!

[joey_big_nose]

---------------Di Santo

-Pedersen------------------Diouf

--------Warnock---Andrews

---------------Nzonzi

Givet---Samba---Zurab---Jacobsen

--------------Robinson

I am not sure McCarthy is going to start. The signs from preseason are that he is not considered a regular. If we do start with two up top it is probably going to be Di Santo and Roberts, but I think Sam may prefer to go 451 to stifle the Citeh midfield.

We will lose this game barring an absolute miracle. If we had Dunn, Grella, Emerton and Reid fit we might stand a chance. But as it stands we are very weak.

Need Di Santo to have a blinder.

[PAFELL]

As its now only 2 days away from the game, I thought we were lacking this thread.

Once the preview is done then can the Mods move all the posts from here into that one?

Anyway Lads n Lasses, the new season is about to begin. We staved off relegation following Ince's demolition job and the new season is upon us with Sam rebuilding us step by step. Hopefully we can be abit more optimistic on this board about the new season.

Saturday should see a full house, 8000 mancs in town, supporting (glory hunting) their team, a big media interest in the match following their £100m spending spree (Thanks for the £18m for Crocky) and a large number of new season ticket holders down at Ewood.

So let’s get behind the boys, let’s sing our hearts out and let’s burst the City bubble. Let’s take back Ewood.

LETS KEEP THE BLUE FLAG FLYING HIGH – FOREVER & EVER

Prediction - 2-1 Rovers - MGP with a free-kick to win it!

Most teams this season playing city will treat it like a cup tie. Every club in the country will want to burst their bubble. Rovers especially after last seasons home draw. It is pay back time and I think Rovers could sneak a win. There is no pressure on Rovers in this game, it is all on city. They may have a decent forward and midfield, but the defence is still the same.

[nellybc]

Rovers 2-1

Robinson

Jacobsen - Samba - Givet - Warnock

Diouf - Nzoni - Andrews - MGP

Roberts - McCarthy

Di Santo to come on and score the winner

[Plastic Head]

This is the stuff.....

Dunny: Kick 'em in!

[67splitscreen]

Just over 1000 tickets left.

RS 27

JWLT 65

JWUT 500

BBEUT 460

I think it is safe to say it is/will be a sell out.

[tcj_jones]

I can't imagine that any of Di Santo, Kalinic or N'Zonzi would be starters on Saturday nor for a fair while yet. With our lack of CM options, I'd therefore expect Warnock to begin in the middle. Presuming Samba is fit, this is the line-up I'd expect:

Robinson

Jacobsen / Samba / Zurab / Givet

Diouf / Warnock / Andrews / Pedersen

McCarthy / Roberts

I don't think we'll win this. In fact, I'd be very pleased with a draw, but I reckon we'll lose. 2 - 1 City.

[bigcol]

Can't see us winning this one unfortunately. Would be happy enough with a draw, but I'm thinking a 2-1 defeat is on the cards. Di Santo with a consolation late on after coming on from the bench.

Really looking forward to this one, wife's rang me to say season ticket has arrived this morning. Let's get behind the lads!

[Presty On Tour]

This is the stuff.....

Dunny: Kick 'em in!

Yep kick lumps out of em, get in their faces and take the game to City. If we back off and let them play we are going to get punished.

Norwich made 14 signings and look what happened to them first game. If Dunn or Reid are fit, they simply have to play. KA and Nzonzi will be out of their depth!

If Dunny is fit I think we will play

Robinson

Jacobson Samba Zurab Givet

Diouf Dunn Warnock Pedersen

Di Santo McCarthy

Shame Kalinic isn't available, I don't understand how it takes a week for a work permit to be delivered!

I'm going for a 1-0 win for Rovers, Pedersen with a rocket!

[LeChuck]

Presuming Samba is fit, this is the line-up I'd expect:

Robinson

Jacobsen / Samba / Zurab / Givet

Diouf / Warnock / Andrews / Pedersen

McCarthy / Roberts

Exactly the same as I would expect too.

Well, possibly swapping Andrews and Warnock if I'm being picky.

[Alan75]

When are we playing City. As I can see a lot of loving and crying happening when Bob flemming and Capt Kayos meet up after been separated for a whole season.

There wont be a dry eye in the ground - Must remember my tissues.

[CAPT KAYOS]

Not holding hope for the rest of the season at this point in time but for Saturday I am.

3 v 1 Rovers - just had a feeling about this result I aint convinced Citeh have turned into this unbeatable team from last season despite their signings

It takes time and doesn't happen overnight - I have said it before , if there is one team that can shoot itself in the foot more times than Rovers its Citeh without a doubt.

[dazmaz]

im going to say 2-1

Mcarthy with a tap in after a save from given and MGP with a 20 yard screamer or a free kick

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

A very hard fought 1-1

Att: 29,600

[philipl]

I don't like either football club in Manchester.

Call it small town mentality or Blackburnian pride but growing up in the '60s I witnessed first hand the ebbing of football power from the great old town clubs to the city behemoths who seemingly merely have to exist to be popular or well-supported. And to rub our noses in it, every night down at the bottom of the back page of the LET (in those days) was an advert urging kids to join "Uncle Ted's Junior Skyblues" from some twerp in Little Harwood although no doubt these days he'd belong on some register or other

City added insult to injury by being promoted in place of Rovers in that dread 1965/6 season. Two yers later we were drawn against them in a much postponed FA Cup tie. Flu did for me joining the 42,000 crowd at Ewood when it was eventually played and City ran out 4-1 winners.

There are some saving graces to City- we do beat them with greater frequency than the Red Scum, most notably 4-0 at Ewood when Garner broke the Rovers' scoring record only for the Hillsborough Disaster to be enfolding at the same time 48 miles across the Pennines.

That said City have popped up with some unwelcome wins against us. The 3-2 home defeat towards the end of '94/5 with Rossler proving a complete pain set-up a nail bighting end to our Championship winning season and there was the 6-0 thrashing at Maine Road. I guess on Saturday we fear a repeat of that or of the 4-1 beating we took when City clinched promotion back to the Premier League on our turf in front of the visiting hoardes who were everywhere including our pitch. Only once before had visitors so comprehensively taken control of Ewood- when there were 28,000 for Bolton's promotion back to the first division in the late '70s and the oldest cowboy of them all, Frank Worthington secured a 1-0 win for the visitors. Has to be said the Notlobbers acted with far more decorum then than the Citeh chavs did 22 years later.

City supporters seem to divide into two sorts- unpleasant aggressive lowlifes and the more intelligent ones who are almost apologetic about supporting the bluemooners which is understandable as City are by far the smallest of the truly big city clubs around. Their Trophy cabinet heaves with Second Division (and its successor) championships and runners-up medals; some ten in all which shows what a yo-yo club they are. They have even had spell in the third level during the life of the Premier League trailblazing for the likes of Sheffield Wednesday, Nottingham Forest, Leeds United, Southampton, Norwich City and Charlton Athletic.

City were looking candidates for a rapid return to lower levels when their Thai turned up and even again when he left!

City's senior domestic honours of two First Division Championships, four FA Cups and two League Cups is obviousy inferior to Rovers and is only seven trophies better than Blackburn Olympic's in the second club stakes. OK they can look down on the likes of Port Vale, Bradford Park Avenue, Birmingham City and the Bristol clubs but both Sheffields can look City squarely in the eye and City are nowhere in comparisson with Everton.

So to renewal of old friendships or not in the case of RSC who will be missing with knee trouble.

I don't care what happened subsequently but Mark Hughes was a damned good manager for Blackburn Rovers and in terms of league achievement and winning things has thus far failed even to match what he did at Ewood during hs tenure at the Eastlands council stadium.

Having said that, Sparky must have been through the emotional roller-coaster as players were brought in on his budget with whom he had no influence over, he had to stand up to his Chief Operations Officer trying to flog his squad off without his knowledge, he's been through the near bankruptcy and gone close to a complete ban on transfers at the end of Thaksin then been rescued by a family that could buy and sell Abramovich at least six times over.

Through all this he has had the ever present figure of Gary Marketer Cooke as his boss and seen the club reduced to global laughing stock as they tried and failed to spend £135m on Kaka.

Sparky has obviously had a thick skin to say the least but at £3.5m a year I get the impression he would wear a Coco the Clown outfit on the touchline if his masters so-decreed. Mark Hughes is no longer the dignified charasmatic presence he was at Ewood and hat stature has gone forever.

So to the City spending machine and it is truly gobsmacking, courtesy Football Transfers:

Players Purchased Fee/Player Sold Fee/Net Total

Season 09/10

 

Gareth Barry

£12,000,000/ Daniel Sturridge Tribunal

 

Roque Santa Cruz

£17,500,000/ Ched Evans £3,000,000

 

Gunnar Nielsen

Free (woohoo)/ Blumer Elano £8,000,000

 

Stuart Taylor

Tribunal/ Fernandes Gelson £6,000,000

 

Carlos Tevez

£25,500,000/ Adrian Cieslewicz Free

 

Emmanuel Adebayor

£25,000,000

 

Kolo Toure

£16,000,000

 

Total

£96,000,000/ £17,000,000/ £79,000,000

Season 08/09

 

 Jo

£18,000,000/ Andreas Isaksson Signed 

 

Tal Ben-Haim

£5,000,000/ Sun Jihai Free

 

Vincent Kompany

£6,700,000/ Geovanni Free

 

Shaun Wright Phillips

£9,000,000/ Georgios Samaras £1,000,000

 

Leandro Glauber

Undicslosed/ Matthew Mills £300,000

Pablo Zabaleta

£6,500,000/ Ashley Grimes Free

Robinho

£32,500,000/ Paul Dikov Free

 

Wayne Bridge

£12,000,000/ Rolando Bianchi Signed 

 

Craig Bellamy

£14,000,000/ Vedran Corluka £8,500,000

 

Nigel De Jong

£16,000,000/ Bernado Corradi Free

Shay Given

£8,000,000

 

Emile Mpenza

Free

 

Sam Williamson

Free

 

Total

£127,700,000/ £9,800,000/ £117,900,000

 

Season 07/08

 

Benjani

£7,600,000/ Ishmael Miller £900,000

 

Felipe Caicedo

£5,200,000/ Ousmane Dabo Signed

 

Valeri Bojinov

Signed/ Marc Laird Free

 

Elano

£8,000,000/ Nathan D'Laryea Signed

 

Vedran Corluka

Signed/ Stephen Jordan Free

 

Javier Garrido

£1,500,000/ Trevor Sinclair Free

 

Martin Petrov

£4,700,000

 

Geovanni

Free

 

Rolando Bianchi

£8,800,000

 

 

Total

£35,800,000/ £900,000/ £34,900,000

That is over £258m spent in five windows excluding the players for whom the amount was undisclosed making Chelsea look soporific in comparisson.

The teams for both Rovers and City are really a guessing game for Saturday- huge variety of permutations on both sides are possible. It does look like it will be a sell out which means I had better get a move on and get a ticket if I am able to go!

For me City were summed up by a question I heard behind me as we looked down on the Council-owned Eastlands Stadium on the flight from Malta: “Where's Old Trafford?”

Sorry for the delay in posting this. Some of you know I am looking after an unwell aged mother when I am in the UK- she is on the mend but we have had a really bad last 36 hours.

[Tim Southampton Rover]

When you see the figures written down like that, it puts even more pressure on Mark Hughes to get success this season. We keep hearing that the backers are in it for the long haul but I just can't see them standing by Mark Hughes if his team aren't fighting for the championship at the end of the season.

This is an ideal time for us to be playing them and if we get an opening day victory then that would be a massive confidence booster for our team.

Good read Philipl and I hope your mother get's well soon.

[braddock]

good write-up

i'd take a draw, but there's nothing to say we couldn't steal all three points

[vyeo]

Thanks for taking the time Phil. Good bit of research on city's history. Implicit disdain for City hits the spot! Hope we sneak a 1-0.

[RibbleValleyRover]

Decent preview Philip, thanks for taking the time to do it and i wish your mother a speedy recovery.

[JAL]

If Wayne Bridge is going to play left back then Rovers need a good right winger to get at Bridges.

Bridges provides the gateway to City's goal hes got be exploited.

[braddock]

If Wayne Bridge is going to play left back then Rovers need a good right winger to get at Bridges.

Bridges provides the gateway to City's goal hes got be exploited.

The entirety of their defence on an average day is penetrable at least once a game, possibly twice. Just gotta hope they aren't in form.

As for the rest of their team anything could happen. Hopefully robinho will suffer from the jet lag getting to the ground like he seemed to with every away game last season.

[AussieinUk]

Nice review Philip, sorry to hear about your mother.

Citeh 2-1

[trueblue]

Usual Philipl good read... full of figures, and wow! what figures!! thats some spending over the period !!

My best wishes and hopes for a speedy recovery to your mum Philip