Stoke City 1:0 Manchester City: Poor away form continues!

A strengthened side, big spending, improved performance, same old city! We barely got a shot on goal in 90 mins, despite playing 50 mins vs 10 men. I don't accept that the losing a player helps the other side. We didn't take the initiative and failed to take an advantage on the game.

Robinho didn't have the best of games, but at least he still able of creating the sublime. Wright-Phillips ran down too many blind alleys and struggled to get into the game. He doesn't get much protection from refs, so the sending off was fully deserved today. Steven Ireland had another poor game, his final ball is poor, which meant there was little outlet for Bellamy to run in behind the Stoke back four.

Hughes has stated we lacked muscle in the box. He should of utilised Felipe Caicedo much sooner than he did. We needed a target man and he is certainly a handful in the box. Elano again should of been used much sooner, he came on showed with his range of passing how good he is. It was just a shame the rest of the attackers where not playing their top game. A change was needed as soon as delap was sent off, we dominated the 1st half and should of capitalised, not capitulated with lazy defending from Richards and bridge.

A poor showing in the final third let down what was going to be a reasonable performance. This is very disappointing result , considering the progress we have made in the last two games. With the chairman and cook watching on, it will be interesting what happens over tomorrow and Sunday transfer wise.

A very frustrating performance from our players today!

Stoke City Vs Manchester City: Preview

Well no signings completed before 12, means we won't be seeing any more new faces in tomorrows away battle at Stoke.

I expect the team to pretty similar lineup, but we are sweating on the fitness of Pablo Zabaleta who went off with cramp during our win on Wednesday. Swp is also a doubt after being brutality taken out by Guiterrez, If he misses out, it could see Bellamy move right and one of our young strikers taking the lone position.

An obvious aim for Hughes new and improved side is to put an end to our awful away form. We dealt with Stoke very easily early on this season and should go on and win tomorrow, considering their very poor form. They are a big solid side,but with a more solid defence and midfield, i feel much more confident of going into the game and winning. If we want to to have a decent league table finish this season, we need to start a good run and beat the likes of Stoke and Boro.

No transfers. Mark Hughes has had another Roque Santa Cruz bid turned down. I can only see this as a blessing. I'm not sure why he is so determined to buy one player, who simply isn't that good. We await a deal from Shay Given to be confirmed. I hope we get it over and done with quickly.

predict another City win!

New links

Over the past month i have worked on the sites, updating links and format. I have just agreed to have my site hosted on a mobile phone feed. It looks a good system so i am happy to be apart of it.

You can now get ‘News of the Blues’ posts, plus Man City match reports and scores, sent direct to your phone using a free service called Natajak. All you need to do is 'CLICK HERE', register and install it on your mobile. Natajak make no charge for the service, it runs on most phones that can access the internet and works just about anywhere in the world. It can also be used to text, email and even share photos.

Whilst you visit this site, please look at the other blogs going. There are some really good MCFC sites that are updated regularly. If you too own a blog, feel free to leave a message and i will add it too the links.

Again if you would like to contribute to the site, feel free to leave a message, I'm happy to consider anyone interested.


Back to the football.

Given? Santa Cruz? The transfer window is about to slam shut, does the club have any surprises in store, or are we going to disappoint everyone. I hope Given signs because goalkeeper is the one urgent position needing filling. It's rumoured he has handed in a transfer request at the club. Joe kinnear has slammed a derisory bid of 5 million, but they can't be hoping for much more. But as we don't see to care about over paying, why stop now!

Santa Cruz deal has been on/off over the window. Blackburn has just loaned Matt Derbyshire to Greek side Olympiakos. So even if they do sign another striker, i doubt they will want to sell RSC. I for one don't want him, especially for the price. I'm Not sure who misses out from the squad that beat Newcastle if we have an extra striker.

Manchester City 2:1 Newcastle United: Building Form.

Another good result. A confident showing of decent football and drive. Both debutant's played well. De jong, considering he hasn't played for some time was extremely disciplined only really made 1 error in 70 mins. Craig Bellamy gave a performance i expected, full of searching runs and high work rate and capped of a good game with a decent goal, his 1st debut goal of his career.

The Squad was pretty much as to be expected. The solid midfield meant the likes of Barton had little chance of imposing themselves. I was slightly worried once Hughes removed Zabaleta for Gelson, i saw a typical city moment coming. Steven Ireland wasn't on best form, i was hoping Elano would of been given the shout ahead after his last performance, he is the best passer in the side which would be ideal from Bellamy. Robinho was full of flicks and deep runs, less effective on goal, but a very satisfying performance. Swp gave a gallant performance despite being taken out several times and deserved a penalty himself.

We were not as effective in the second half, as Newcastle tried to exert some pressure, but we look much more assured at the back. Kompany as captain was simply outstanding, not a reference i would like to make, but he reminds me of Jaap Stam. Nedum Onouha is looking really good and is reaching his massive potential. I struggle to see how Dunne can win his place back in the side. One key error from Bridge led to the goal, but he and Richards had fairly decent games, i am confident this defence could take on most attacks.

Hart started to distribute quickly from the back, but as soon as he is under pressure he flaps. He doesn't breed confidence at the back which is worrying. Punching a ball at chest height, it's not good judgment. I think it's time he stepped aside and sat back for a couple of season. Shay Given was at the ground yesterday, but didn't feature. Hopefully he will be is the side for the stoke game. He would be an ideal choice for Hart to learn a few things from.

Manchester City Vs Newcastle United: Preview.

After a good break in Tenerife the side return to Manchester refreshed and strengthened. New additions in Bellamy and De jong along with the return of Robinho from Brazil should lead to a pretty exciting squad setting up tomorrow night. I hope De Jong does start, he hasn't played for a while having been injured before the winter break in Germany, so his match fitness is probably not there. But as he likes to remind us he's a 'training animal,' so i expect him to be starting. Bellamy will be facing one of his many former clubs and will want to go and prove himself to the toon and of course our fans.

Pab Zab played in the defensive midfield last match and i can see him continuing tomorrow in that role. With Dunne suspended for four games, it will give Nedum and Kompany a chance at centre back. i am hoping Nedum will get a good run at the back he is full of ability, only too often his body fails him, we don't want another Ledley King.

Robinho should start will Bellamy and SWP, i am unsure who Hughes will pick out of Ireland or Elano. I personally would pick Elano who was brilliant vs Wigan and simply outwitted and out classed the Wigan side in every way. To drop him after a performance like that would not be productive.

The Wigan match was the best display of a team performance we have had all season. I hope we can build on this and punish Newcastle. I don't know if Joey Barton is fit and set to play, but if he is, make sure we give him the 'welcome' he deserves. Perhaps give an unofficial welcome to our new goalie who will surely sign after the match?

Confident of another home win!

Bullied, Belittled and Bored.

Not written for a while since our signing of Nigel De jong. Not much has happened in the real world since, although we seem to be the target for some very unfavourable reporting. Both BitterandBlue and TLDORC have covered this in some detail recently. Our player being linked in unfounded transfer rumours even when they have denied all on their personal sites. Near slanderous sledging from certain Journalist who have simply lied and have been out of order. It's no surprise that the Sun is home to one of the Culprits.

City have become easy targets for abuse because we tried to sign one for the Best players in the world. A response that has it's grounds in jealousy that city shouldn't be allowed to try and buy Big Stars. Only a few including the Award Wining Sports Journalist Martin Samuel's have been decent enough to report without bias or an agenda. His recent interview with Mark Hughes was a refreshing break from the rest of the tabloid rubbish.

Transfer wise, nothing conclusive to report, only rumours. Shay Given is a certain target and it will be interesting to see if the deal will be done, we need an experienced goalie to take the reigns from the inexperienced and naive Joe Hart who needs to sit out a season or two and develop his game away from the spotlight.

Werder Bremen Midfielder Diego has been linked. The player is currently banned for Strangling an opposing player and has also been caught Drink Driving, although he denies being drunk! He is a Classy player apart of the same Satos side that Elano and Robinho has such great success at. He left for Porto and later joined Werder where is has become a player of great importance along side Frings. Who knows if there is any truth in the rumour, i hope there is!


Robinho has returned from Brazil and should be ready to play the toon on Wednesday night.

Nigel De Jong Deal Done!

The Best bit of news we have had in days.

Manchester City Football Club are delighted to announce that the signing of Nigel de Jong from Hamburg SV for an undisclosed fee has been completed.

The 24-year-old Dutch midfielder with 29 international caps inked in a four-and-a-half year contract after agreeing personal terms and passing a medical earlier today

A top class Dutch international who can add the necessary bite and efficiency in the midfield. He has a decent amount of time to train with the squad, here and in Tenerife.

Aftermath!

I am pretty disappointed at how the proceedings have gone, especially after the Ronaldinho debacle in the summer and the intense media scrutiny on the Kaka deal, has made it all very unpleasant. Allot of journalist have simply been irresponsible, i wish the club would do more to dismiss damaging news in these papers.

Garry Cook has supposedly blamed Milan for bottling under a pressure, some have suggested, the cynical ones, that Burlosconi has used this as a popularity contest. He flew back from Gaza yesterday and managed to keep Kaka. This speculation will do us no favours.

Whats next for city?

Robinho has left the city training camp in Tenerife. It's been reported that he has flown home to Brazil for his 25th birthday. The Sun have suggested Hughes did not want him to leave. There is no Official statement from the club, which is very poor, only Garry cooke on the Radio. You really want to listen to his if you haven't already.
Robinho must of have had his flight booked, because, there can not be many flights from Tenerife to Brazil. This is not what we need at the moment, makes the club look like a joke. Very disappointing.

More signings to come? De jong should be joining city soon, although if he watches SSN and listens to the constant city bashing, he might not!

Official Statment from MCFC

The Deal is off!

Manchester City has terminated its discussions with AC Milan over the possible transfer of the player Kaka.

Following a meeting in Milan today, the Club felt that it was unlikely that the two parties could reach common ground for an agreement.

The discussions reached only a preliminary stage and the player was not involved at any time. No commercial terms were framed.

Commenting on the situation, Garry Cook stated: "Whilst Manchester City Football Club has an obvious interest in world class players of the quality of Kaka, we owe it to our fans that such a transfer must work on every level; commercially, financially, in terms of results on the field and within Manchester City's broader community."

Kaka stays in Milan

What a shame! We await an official announcement from the club.

Burlosconi has stated Kaka is staying with Milan.

Silvio Berlusconi has specified the contents of his conversation with Kakà, who announced the decision to stay at Milan: 'It is an extraordinary young man, exceptionally, the example to be followed in sport said the president is a great - man. He withdrew the money, saying it prefers the affection of the people, the Milan, the friendship of his companions. And 'someone who believes in what he does "

Oh well, we have bellamy!



More to follow. City have apparantly never spoken to Kaka and pulled out of the deal.

Signing Number 2: Craig Bellamy

Well there will be rejoicing in the streets of Manchester Tonight. The 29 year old Welsh striker Craig Bellamy has signed a 4 1/2 year contract to join City as the second signing this January.

I'm not entirely sure what we have planned for Bellamy, is this it for strikers now? Where are we going to play him. Surely 15 million is too much for a backup.
He has a poor injury record, niggling hamstring problems, but we can get as much out of his as possible. He's fast, athletic and trains hard according to Hughes, so it's right down Hughes street, buying a player he is very familiar with.

I will be much happier when De Jong signs, not impressed with today's business but i will have to grit my teeth and accept that he's now our problem.

Hamburg Claim City agree Deal for De Jong

SSN has reported Hamburg are claiming to have agreed a deal to sell the highly talented Defensive midfielder Nigel De jong to Manchester City. Hopefully personal terms will be tied up quickly and we can get him in soon as possible.

A busy day in the transfer window for city, along with the much maligned Bellamy set to join for a bizarre fee that would make it Craig's 8Th club in 9 season.

Also news out of Milan, Kaka and his father Bosco Leite are in talks today with Berlusconi and uncle festa(Galliani), whilst Garry Cook left again for Milan this morning. We have to wait and see!

...

Steven Ireland has missed out on an Ireland call up again. It's stevie prerogative if he wants to join back up with his national side and obviously he still feels he isn't ready for a call up. It's a shame for both stevie and his national side.

TLDORC has an excellent video link to a rant from a city fan about the Kaka deal and the endless slating in the press city has received.

Craig Bellamy Open Talks with City!

Well Sky tonight have stated West Ham have allowed on 'strike' forward man Bellamy is allowed to open talks and have a medical with Manchester city. The fee is rumoured to be around 13/14 million. Bellamy was omitted from West Hams squad as the beat Fulham 3-1 earlier today.

I am really not a fan of Bellamy. An ageing striker, who has a poor injury record, rarely gets into double figures scoring wise and is an extremely difficult, arrogant man who has fallen out with teammates and staff at pretty much every club he has been at. A premier league journey man, i don't see the wisdom in buying him. We have plenty of support strikers. Robinho being a pretty good one, not to forget Bojinov and the likes of Sturridge. If we need a striker, it's a goal scorer we should be after, not a slight improvement on Vassell.

A poor mans Robbie Keane, except just as expensive.

Manchester City 1:0 Wigan: Massive 3 points!

We can breathe at last! A great result and on the whole, the best team performance we have seen all season. Grinding out results is what we have been needing to do all season. The good teams grind out results, today was a major step in the right direction.

The 1st half was entertaining, we were fully on top, and should and could of had more than 3 goals. Robinho, Sturridge and SWP all had good chances to get us in front. Elano was majestic, sublime passing and a work rate which we haven't seen for some time. Our defence looked solid. Nedum on the left side of centre along with the extremely competent Bridge who made an impressive debut.

The second half, started with a bit more energy. We got our goal through a great weaving run from Robinho and skillful endeavour from Sturridge. Zabaleta finished with great competence and ability to top off a superb performance. The game was then spoilt by an act of petulance from Richard Dunne, it was such a petty thing to be sent off for, but dunney should know better. Zaki acted disgracefully and should of booked himself for elbowing Dunne.

John Merrrick has complained about the referee Lee Mason today, for not giving his side a penalty when Cattermole dramatically tripple piked in the box. Although Jon ignored the fact that his side were brutal and fouled at every opportunity. Cattermole was lucky to stay on the pitch. The ref even ignored Kirklands professional foul on SWP, which for me deserved as much a red card as Dunne petulant kick. Mason was a disgrace today, as were his assistants. The amount of time the ball had gone out and the linesman allowed play to continue for both sides. He allowed Wigan to get away with everything.

We stuck in today and really showed some character. Robinho worked to the very end as did his compatriot Elano, who simply oozed class today. Our attackers were facilitated by the ever brilliant Kompany and the Brilliant Zabaleta in a defensive midfield role, which he owned today. The team had great balance today. Micah and Dunne playing together on the right was more solid, nedum played his best match for some time and used his great pace. The midfield was solid and allowed SWP, Elano and Robinho create for the tricky Sturridge, who does sometimes try and over complicate things.

We deserved this today, the fans were brilliant and we needed a strong showing from the players. Who knows, our next match could see Kaka in the city blue. I am personally more excited about De jong and a Goalie, thought Hart was the weak link today, he has obvious talent and made a couple of good saves, but he doesn't command his box and wastes too much ball.

Now we can go back to concentrating on transfers again!

Manchester City Vs Wigan: Preview.

Finally we are back. The team have had a nice break and have been able to re-coup. Robinho is back and has trained all this week. Swp is a possibility, as again the Clubs medical assessment team seem to over estimate every injury. So who are we expecting to see? Wayne Bridge will make his debut finally after signing before the Forest game. Depending on SWP fitness we could see Zabaleta move up the field and Richards slot into the right back role. Nedum Onouha is back to full fitness too. We will need to be strong in the midfield, so Kompany is likely to be partnered by the less reliable gelson.

Wigan have been playing well recently, apart from their defeat to United earlier this week. We have a terrible record against Wigan and it's about time we put this run to bed. We need the results and tomorrow is a good place to start. Wigan are a big physical side, we need to be able to cope with that, and hope our attack is as succinct as it can be. Robinho will be our key, especially without Ireland and possibly SWP.

Ideally we would have a player like De Jong in to add the grit in the midfield. But as we don't Hughes has to deal with a depleted squad. The buzz around the ground tomorrow will be about Kaka, but we must not forget the immense need for results. Our season needs a boost and i would 'just love it' if we beat Wigan tomorrow.

From the Ridiculous to the Sublime!

It has suddenly started to liven up this transfer window. With only 1 singing so far, city fans all around have been questioning why we haven't been able to build on the side quickly. I am still worried that we haven't been linked with any other defensive players since Scott Parker. This is a major concern this window, building and reinforcing the shambles that has been our defence.

Last nights news on SSN about city opening talks with Kaka spread across most city forums like wildfire. What are we meant to think? One minute we are making extravagant bids for premier league journey men such as Bellamy and Parker, next were offering unthinkable sums for one of the greatest players in the world! What kind of team are we actually building. I'm not convinced that it all adds up. The signing of Kaka could simply change everything, we would look a much greater prospect for 'bigger' players with Robson and Ric on board.

Without much clarification on the transfer, apart from general speculation from journos, are we too expect Kaka in this window or at the end of the season? If any deal is made, it is not likely to come quickly, complicated legal process need to be addressed. Kaka is a world star and has several contracts with top brands associated with his current club, they would need to be tweaked and adjusted to allow him to move.

The likelihood of Kaka turning out for the Wigan game isn't very high, but are we going to be bringing anyone else in before then? We currently have 6 1st team injuries with SWP, Hamann out and Ireland suspended, the midfield is too lightweight to cope with wigan, fingers crossed something can come through tomorrow to add some steel.

SSN report City open talks with KAKA!

I enjoyed turning to SSN tonight, We have opened talks to sign Kaka, one of the best player in the world. His signing would show a significant shift in morale and perception from fans and pundits alike. I for one am really excited just at the prospect of paying bizarre sums for some one actually worth it.


other rumours doing the rounds tonight, is Raul Albiol and villa set to join city on Thursday. Valencia hoping to get Rodrigo Palacio in from Boca as a replacement before they sell.. Who knows about that, just have to sit it out and see what comes of it

Old man Hamann ruptures Ligament!

I have grown tired of this transfer window already, even Stoke have signed more players than we have. We seem to be caught up in a pointless battle with West Ham and Blackburn over player that know one really wants at the club, apart from Hughes. If he really wants these players, i don't see what the problem is, he has already offered far too much for them, why not give them what they want and have done with it. Early statements about not getting ripped off, were nonsense, you will always pay over the odds to buy players in January.
We still have a fair amount of time, but obviously there is some need of reinforcing before we play anymore games. We were lucky to be given some breathing space, due to the incompetence and penny pinching manner of peter storrie at Portsmouth. With Wigan being our next opponents Saturday, some midfield muscle would be ideal. The wigan midfield is full of big strong players, the likes of Palacios and Kapo offer strength and flair. City will be without Ireland and now with Didi Hamann who is out for around 3 months, after rupturing ligament whilst toe punting a ball in training. This is a recurrence of an old injury and could mean that he has played his last game for the club.
There is a direct need to fill this position 1st rather than wasting time on Bellamy and RSC. A decent striker is needed in the long run, i don't see the need to rush for a second rate one, when we score plenty of goals already. The weakness in the midfield and at the back needs to be addressed. Robinho stated earlier this season, this exact problem, Hughes need to build from the back and address the issues that are causing good players to have a serious dip in form.
It's a frustrating time for all city fans, who seem to be pretty divided on how lenient we treat Hughes failure so far this season. It's not something i want to get embroiled in at the moment as i don't see any change on the horizon. Our concern is to get the right quality of player into the side, who must have the right personality to fit the squad as well. We must act quickly, last season January window became a farce, mainly down to Dr Thaksin political trouble and lack of funds, and again the incompetence of Portsmouth as a business and a football club. I don't want to wait until the February to get any new faces in, we are in need of a new faces and names for morale alone!

GAME OFF

Well it appears the game is now off. Most people would of set off already, so i feel sorry for them! But it gives us time to re-group and strengthen and perhaps make some more transfers.

Portsmouth Vs Manchester City: Preview

Well what can we expect tomorrow. We take on a side we beat 6-0 earlier in the season, but now both sides have been weakened through either injuries or the transfer window. Pompey have of course lost two players in Diarra and Defoe in mega money deals, whilst we are without Ireland(suspended), SWP(injured)and it's generally considered that Robinho will miss out on the tie as he hasn't trained fully with the squad all week.

Our only transfer to date in the January window is Wayne Bridge, who should get a chance to shine in a back four that has been poor all season.

The side is likely to consist of Sturridge, Caicedo upfront or a variation of! I presume the likes of Gelson, Elano, Hamann, Kompany are all set to feature, i wonder if Hughes will give the likes of Weiss a chance on the bench. Or will he go for the mighty Vassell to frighten the Pompey defence.

We don't usually get much joy at Fratton Park, so what can we expect? Another lacklustre performance or are we going to show a bit of guts. Can Hughes galvanise a side severely down in confidence. I'm not convinced nor am i optimistic, but it's city so you never know whats going to happen.

Hughes Failing to Build on Bridge!

Well today's big news is our extortionate bid for Santa Cruz has been turned down by Blackburn. In my eyes this is a blessing, there is a difference in paying over the odds and just getting ripped off.

Hughes has also admitted city have failed with a joint bid of the average Scott Parker and the disruptive Craig Bellamy.

We made a double bid which was rejected and we haven't got back to the table on that one."

Zola doesn't want to sell his 'best' players! Also Hughes doesn't think we have made a bid for Given and didn't elaborate on whether we would be doing so in the near future! So 8 days in, we have still only signed one player, which was before the Forest debacle. I think we will have to be more patient than 1st anticipated.

There is some worry about the Pompey game as they have a tinpot ground, and have had to bring in giant blowers to heat up their frozen pitch, hopefully with rising temperatures the pitch will be ready for sat.

Santa Cruz bid expected in 48hours!

According to SSN, who also reported this several days ago and that we would sign Scott Parker. Why have we waited for so long to bid on Santa Cruz i don't know! But i guess what ever we do bid, it will be far too much for a very much over-rated striker (rated only by Hughes). But if Hughes is still in charge, most of us could predict that this would happen sooner or later.

This could be another none story, it's not fact, just reports from Sky Sports sources.

Hughes Sacking rumours hit the betting market!

Rumours tonight on several City Forums is that Hughes isn't going to last the week. It's clear all has gone quiet on the transfer market, our apparent deal for Parker has faded and now been removed from the SSN. Basically the rumours are that ADUG are looking to recruit a manager before they rid of the not so 'sparky' Mark Hughes.

Betting has been suspended by most bookies sites, on Mark Hughes being the next manager to leave. Obviously this ties in to most city fans reading the rumours on the forums. Bookies hedging their bets and suspending the market.

Well let's wait and see!

Silence descends over City.

Well I've generally had enough of the crap written in the papers such as the mail or the Guardian to the Mirror and the Sun. The journo's seem to spend most of their time on the busiest forums picking up any rumours to fill their columns.
It's the same stuff day in day out. One minute Hughes is getting sacked, the next we are still on to sign Kaka. Laughing in the showers, Hughes storming the board. As a club we have lost the plot.

Despite rumours on Sky that we had agreed a deal for the average Chelsea reject Scott Parker, West Ham slammed the deal, insisting Parker is staying put. We are being fed the same names in the press every day. It's a wonder if Hughes will get his 'request' of instant transfers, because at the moment there is nothing more than rumour. What are we to think, are ADUG delaying deals while they contemplate Hughes future or we hours away from making several signings.

What is clear is all is not well, something big will happen soon enough!

This is going to be a very interesting week. Not one i am particularly looking forward too.

Scott Parker next!

According to Sky sports news tonight we have agreed personal terms with Scott Parker. He is a tougher tackling midfielder compared to most of midfield and is certainly signed for his defensive duties. Can't say i am overly excited by this deal, we will have to wait and see how much we will over pay for him, but I'm sure it will be too much. Rumours are that's it's 12 millions, which would be crazy considering he went for less than that when signing for Chelsea and that was when he was at his best..

It's an improvement at least, he can add some bite to the midfield. But if you were expecting the likes of cambiasso, diarra then you are going to be deeply let down this window. He is going to be the replacement for elano as i see it. Better than Didi and Gelson, it's a small step forward.

4 more to come then?
*Roque Santa Cruz
*Kolo Toure
*Given
*?

Manchester City 0:3 Nottingham Forest: Hughes blames the players!

1st of all, may i congratulate Forest who came to play football and brought a brilliant crowd with them. They fully deserved the win today and i believe Billy Davies will do a top job for them.

Now today was poor, there is no escaping that. Most of the team didn't look like they wanted to be there, with the only.. kompany, zabaleta (despite errors) and caicedo really showing they had some fight in them. But without Ireland, Swp, Robinho we look devoid of anything. Elano today only played when he was given the ball, he argued with sturridge because their seemed to be no clear indication from the manager who was playing where. The defence again was appalling Dunne, richards, ball and hart have generally have looked poor all season, Mr consistent zabaleta even made a poor error today.

Now Hughes has come out and blamed the team! Now, obviously the team have to take blame for the performance it was pathetic, but the nature of his attack is poorly timed and dangerous. If perhaps one or two player were not performing it would be understandable but it seems this poor form and low morale has affected the whole side, you have to ask why? He basically stated that our team of last season isn't good enough, which i find quite odd. It is clearly of quite high standard and certainly more than good enough to beat a struggling Forest side. Hughes has started pointing fingers, is he too arrogant to see he had a hand in this defeat? The selection today was odd, two holding player at home vs forest. This is hugely negative move. He finally decided to move Sturridge upfront in the second half but then moved gelson out left! This is another odd move, considering gelson is a right footed holding midfielder and isn't in any particular form. The introduction of Hamann did nothing for us, but slow down our midfield and leave Elano out left. No sign of the lad Clayton on the bench, the reserve captain, who has certainly got the ability to get involved! No sign of other promising youngsters like Vlad Wise? At 2-0 down, i expected Hughes not to do a like for like swap with Jo and Caicedo, but to take off a defender or midfielder. Jo actually showed he could handle himself on the ball, yet Hughes had removed the big target Caicedo who had come closest to scoring!

Hughes also has to look at why his team have performed so poorly all season. His time for blaming the old regime is quickly running out. The team looks low on leadership, organisation and morale. Surely Hughes has to take a large stake in the blame for this. The money we have has papered over what has been a poor stint in management for Hughes. I don't find it as easy to accept that Hughes can buy himself out of trouble in a team that isn't as poor as he states. He has failed the get anything out of what he had, but is been given the a pot of gold to repair all that he has broken!

The team were awful today and their efforts were disgraceful and they should be ashamed. But i keep reading in posts on blogs and forums, long lists of our player that are not good enough. I'm pretty sure our team on paper is and was last season far superior to Blackburn's. The likes of Dunne, Richards, Elano (top assist rate in the premier league last season) have suddenly become not good enough. I worry if Hughes feel the only way to deal with it is to point the finger and simply go and and buy replacements. Why Cant Hughes Galvanise a pretty decent squad and and get them playing for him, but instead we have ended up with situations like this.


* Wayne Bridge watched on today after his over-priced move from Chelsea. Would we have been better if he played today, i doubt it. Hughes has the luxury of replacing all the poor performing players now, it will be interesting to see how many he buys. 3,4, 11?

Manchester City Vs Nottingham Forest: Preview.

City take on Forest, who have just appointed Billy Davies as their manager, a good choice, may i add. Although he wont be in charge tomorrow as apparently the caretaker John Pemberton will still be in charge whilst billy sits in the stands. Despite the transfer window opening, Sadly there will be no new names on show. But Wayne Bridge will probably be watching on as finalises his deal with the blues.

This is another cup we have a chance to do well in. Our early season failings in the Carling cup should spur this side on to progress at least to the latter stages of the FA cup. Mark Hughes managed to get Blackburn to a Semi-final in the Fa cup, hopefully he can at least repeat that performance this year, if not better it.

i expect a strong team as Hughes knows that he has to ingrain the winning mentality into his side.

“I have always felt that cup runs help your league form. Doing well in a cup competition gives you a boost going into a league game, you’ll be confident so for me it’s not a hindrance,”

The likes of Evans, Onouha, Benjani and possibly Ireland are set to miss out on tomorrow cup bout. But otherwise, we should see sturridge feature, perhaps with big felipe caicedo upfront.


* A bit of interesting rumours has surfaced on Bluemoon from a poster in the UAE. He is apparently well linked with powers that be in the region and has lots of information on club business. Believe him or not, doesn't matter to me, he has made some interesting statements.
* we have rejected offers for garrido, and a loan deal for sturridge.
* we are in contact with Kaka and his father whilst he is in the region.

Read his posts to find out more, but it's compelling stuff.

The Silly Season begins: City set to Bridge the gap!

I tuned into sky sports about 02:30am this morning to see how many player we have signed as i be lived we would be organised and ahead in the market. Sadly we haven't signed anyone, this may be down to the fact that it's a bank holiday and the FA can not finalise deals if they are not in!

The main rumour this evening is Wayne Bridge will be our 1st signing, the deal should be done in 24 hours. Not a big fan of bridge always thought he was vastly over-rated, the amount of times he has been picked for England despite spending most of his career on the bench! But he is far better than ball, and he is pretty decent going forward as well.

Roque Santa Cruz could also be signed with 24 hours. Big Sam is happy to let him go, giving him a bizarre amount of capital to buy new players. We are being ripped off here, but again, he's a big target and can hopefully be a provider for robinho and the like. Hughes going for the familiar, he better hope Roque isn't another one season wonder!

It appears one of our targets the Brazilian come spanish international Marcos Senna has denied he is leaving Villarreal. Sadly this makes it more likely Hughes will target the average West Ham midfielder Scott Parker.

Kolo Toure has apparently had a transfer request turned down at Arsenal. He is clearly not happy at the club. He should be an ideal candidate for Hughes to reinforce our poor defence.

Well exciting month ahead, no doubt we will continue to be linked with hundreds of players. Hughes wants to act quickly and hopefully is already well advanced in talks for several players. It will be interesting to see how much he will get to spend!

Of course some of these rumours will be rubbish. The club like to work privately and wont leak any information on players. ADUG are not going to over spend on transfers or personal demands, ie lassana diarra. This may count against Santa Cruz as well. ADUG may well be working over KAKA whilst he is in the middle east...who knows?

My big tip for star signing is : Buffon