Goodbye dead wood!

I'm sure i wasn't the only Blue who shed a little tear at the thought of the club having to part ways with several overpaid numpties who've somehow managed to get away with masquerading as professional footballers these last few years. Danny Mills sole contribution whilst picking up the best part of £8m for his efforts was a scorcher against Everton at Eastlands in a game so early most of us were still asleep. He's not played a first-team game for us in three seasons, believe it or not, and hasn't turned out for anyone else since the start of last year, one of the last remaining memories of the often forgotten side of Kevin Keegan's time as manager. His 54 appearances for the club will no doubt go down in legend, one of the greats.

More broadly, Mills will probably be remembered as nothing more than an angry young man. I've been racking my brain for career highlights, erm, well, he did play for England nineteen times, somehow, playing every minute of our glorious ascent to the dizzy heights of the quarter-finals in 2002. He had earlier earnt a big-money move to Leeds, though their stewardship at the time means that can probably be taken with a pinch of salt, they also paid well over the odds for giants of the game such as Michael Bridges, Seth Johnson, Michael Duberry & Dominic Matteo. My own abiding memory of the man will be him repeatedly being tormented by Thierry Henry. Idiot!

Also leaving us is fans favourite Darius Vassell, whose strikerate of 1-in-5 could be at best described as poor. He too is a player who managed to represent his country on several occasions, serving them well enough for short while, running around like a headless chicken otherwise. There was the briefest hope of him looking like a Premier League striker when he linked up with Andy Cole during his first year here, before said player moved to Pompey for an extra couple of gold coins a week, a move which of course moved out frightfully well for the lad. Once Cole had left, however, Dangerous Darius just about limped into double-figures over the next three seasons.

You'll sometimes hear football fans say that they're not always too fussed about a player's ability, so long as they put in a shift, but when you see the likes of Vassell, not afraid to run about for ninety minutes, admittedly with his eyes shut most of the time, you realise that particular sentiment is absolutely ridiculous. Vass, barring that Goal of the Season contender at the Stadium of Light when he gave their 'keeper the eyes and trickled the ball into the far corner with his studs, couldn't shoot for shit. Neither could he judge the offside rule, pass, cross, or, seeing how he's seemingly thicker than he is tall, prove any danger at all from set-pieces. If he does get his move to Turkey, i do wish him luck, in the sense that he's always struck me as a fairly nice chap, and him playing for any football club that isn't Manchester City has to be good news.

Didi Hamann, to give him a little credit, played an quite important role for us the season before last, doing a bit of the donkey-work behind Johnson and Elano. In his pomp he was a fine player, but not here. He arrived in peculiar circumstances, having already signed for Bolton that summer. His last act for the club proved to be a perplexing throw-in assist during 0-3 humbling at the hands of Notts Forest in January. I guess we can only draw the line under short-fix transfers like this now. He was bought, although relatively recently, in a time where the aims of the club were completely different to now. Pearce's instructions then would've simply been to keep us in the division, and on a minuscule budget, whereas now we've got a wealth of options, especially in that position, and anyone deemed not up to the job will quickly be replaced.

The other two senior players being released are Glauber Berti and Michael Ball. Berti, well, for the six minutes we saw of him, will be remembered fondly by supporters. Like Ball he arrived on a free transfer, but sadly couldn't make any impact whatsoever on the first-team. He kept going, though, training well according to the manager, happy to take his place on the bench and come in if needed. Nice of the club to give him a send-off, but he probably shouldn't have been here in the first place. Ball, as we said below, did okay in parts. We all know his shortcomings, no need to go over them, but another signed during more difficult times. His goal at Preston and his stamp on a certain orange former-United winger stand out.

So then, five players, 313 moribund appearances, a massive 24 goals, 41 bookings, and one red card, who've probably cost the club anywhere up to £25m in transfer fees and salaries all told, none of them really doing anything more than putting in the occasional shift. I wish them all the best, well, most of them. Although clubs will always make signings that sometimes don't work out, i hope that these chumps are the last of Championship- standard, over-the-hill journeymen sort.

Mixed fortunes for our lads in Sweden & South Africa!

The seemingly never-ending circus of football has over the last two weeks given us tournaments annoying for differing reasons. Firstly, the Confederations Cup, officially a dry-run for next year's World Cup but pointless in a footballing sense. It did, in truth produce some interesting moments; Spain's first-half demolition of New Zealand, Brazil/Egypt, America's humbling of apparently unbeatable Spain, all sadly completely overshadowed by a load of mongs constantly blowing horns.

We did, though, get to see two of our very own, Brazilian duo Elano and Robinho, both playing key roles in Brazil's winning of the tournament, something they seemed surprisingly overpleased with. Robinho scored a goal in the groupstage tie against the USA, then made a further three assists, including expertly hitting the crossbar with precision from two yards out to allow teammate Fabiano to score the equaliser in the finale. Elano also chipped in with three assists in the competition, all from corners or indirect free-kicks, which must've confused City fans having watched him constantly fail to beat the first man with them for us.

Truth be told, the Elano we see for Brazil seems to be a completely different Elano to the one who sporadically bothers turning up for Manchester City. He had quite a good end to the season, and obviously hit the ground running when he first arrived, but the year in between largely saw him playing with his head up his arse. Internationally, however, he seems to play with an extra intensity, have much bigger roles in games and is unarguably one of Brazil's key players. It makes me question whether we get the most out of him, but also, if we really work on too much by the way of set-pieces in training. I was certainly surprised by Brazil's occasional direct style, and how clinical they were from set-pieces, generally involving Elano, whereas at City it's a notorious bugbear of the fans that we rarely trouble sides from them at all.

Over in Sweden, a typically 'almost but not quite' story, an England side lead by former City coaches, Stuart Pearce and Steve Wigley and involving three of our players got through to the final before being on the end of a bit of a beasting from a Germany team they could have knocked out in the earlier rounds. Joe Hart played three games and had quite an eventful tournament overall, including saving and scoring a penalty in the semi-final shoot-out, then receiving a booking shortly after that ruled him out of the final. Hart, for me, is the best of the young English 'keepers. I really don't want to see him leave but understand why he must play next season to have any chance of impressing Fabio Capello.

Micah Richards and Nedum Onuoha formed a partnership which, barring a perplexing last half-hour against Sweden, looked extremely solid. Both also managed to score important goals, again from set-pieces and overall made positive impressions. As the final goes, Germany were simply stronger on the night. Their first goal was very well worked and the second, well, a bit of a howler from backup goalie Scott Loach. Without the presence of a real striker England were always going to struggle if they went behind, and the game was essentially done at 0-2. Over the tournament as a whole, Ned proved what we already know, that he's solid, able to do the basic things right, and on his day a physical match for anyone. Ricahrds' performances might just give us food for thought. He looked horrendous at full-back last year, and not that great at centre-half just before, but he demonstrated in this tournament that he can still be defensively sound, and in an attacking sense seemed much more like the Micah of old.

The future of Michael Johnson.

Rumours surrounding the future of City midfielder Michael Johnson have been doing the rounds for months now. I guess it says as much about the instant information-yearning society we live in nowadays as anything, that a footballer out for a lengthy period of time who's then spotted occasionally socialising is quickly painted out to be a disinterested beermonster through some sort of sordid game of Chinese whispers. I personally think we owe the lad a bit more support. Unless the official word changes from the cause of him being out of action being a serious abdominal injury then as a fan i'm inclined to believe it.

With Stephen Ireland's rise to form this season and the money now available to the manger to sign players it's probably easy to forget just how good a prospect Johnson looked during Sven-Goran Eriksson's season here. He was, in my opinion, one of our most important players that year; a great foil for Elano, a good passer of the ball, creative, could snatch the odd goal, and was well capable of backtracking and winning possession, too. Indeed, over that season i personally thought that along with Vedran Corluka he was a good shout for our Player of the Year, an award which went to Richard Dunne. As happens when any promising prospect comes through, there will be inevitable over-the-top comparisons. Johnson was, by some, both in the media and fans of the club, compared to Colin Bell. I'm sure most of us took those comparisons with a pinch of salt, but for people to make them he must have made a significant impression nonetheless.

His recent public appearances, firstly at a supporters club function, and then this weekend on Sky Sports News, have for some reason been met with ridicule by elements of our support. I'm not particularly sure why. The boy hasn't played or been able to train properly for nine months, any period of inactivity as such will result in a significant drop in fitness. If you've ever stopped keeping fit yourself you'll know, it's not at all out of the ordinary to put on a couple of pounds each month. To me, he looked a little overweight, but that's no big deal, he'll shed that weight quickly once able to train fully once more. I wouldn't read too much into it.

Stories, though, continue to spread like wildfire regards the player's social habits. To be fair, Mark Hughes himself has hinted that Johnson's problems may well involve more than his injury, but i think that's to be expected. Imagine being on the verge of a footballing career for your hometown club, doing what you love for a living, potentially winning silverware or England caps, plus of course the other trappings that come as part of the game these days. An injury that sounds both as serious and rare as his, resulting in months spent twiddling thumbs, even the possibility of retirement hanging over you, that's going to effect the lad's morale. If he's a little fed-up, or whilst immobile manages to maintain some sort of social life to keep his chin up, then what's the problem?

These rumours, of course, are probably just that. I know i've not seen him falling out of nightclubs, neither i suspect has anyone else, not with regularity anyway. More likely is that some idiot spots him once, if at all, out having a quiet night with friends, as everyone should be allowed, tells his pals, they tell theirs, the idle gossip spreads through forums and gets discussed by fans at games and before you know it the exaggerated, even fabricated tales are, by some at least, taken as gospel. It just strikes me as a little petty, and if i'm honest, hypocritical. We're soon on the backs of the press for rumour-mongering, yet lots are spreading muck like this themselves. I appreciate that rumour is a part of football, and often fun in regards to transfers and the like, but scurrilous gossip about a young player like this is a bit too much, in my opinion.

I've every faith that Johnno will get over his knock, regain his fitness and play a big part in the future of Manchester City. Not only is he a very good player, but he's an Academy product and a local boy, so that's more reason why i want him to be a success here. I'd love nothing more than seeing him and Ireland pulling the strings in our midfield whilst surrounded by some of the world's best players. I just hope that some of the fans who've been giving him stick can get behind him instead of spreading ridiculous and seemingly completely unfounded rumours.

MVF: Gone but never forgotten.

Yesterday marked the six-year anniversary of the passing of former City midfielder Marc-Vivien Foé. He had joined us on a season-long loan deal that summer from French champions Lyon, where he'd spent two seasons following his first stint in England at West Ham. During his year here he chipped in with several important goals, including doubles on three occasions, and despite an indifferent start had become something of a cult hero amongst supporters. He also has a special place in City history, being the last player representing the club to score a goal at Maine Road.

In the direct aftermath of his death questions were asked about the necessity of the Confederations Cup. It is, by and large, a needless tournament. I can understand that countries need to prepare to host major competitions, but surely that needn't involve a further two-week tournament that seemingly neither interests major players too much or fans. The tournament will, and rightly so, always be remembered for Marco's passing rather than anything that's ever happened by way of results or performances.

As it goes, the player's Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy meant that he could have passed away at any time. Had sad events not have unfolded in France that summer they could well have at any given point in the future, for City, Lyon, or wherever else he may have chosen to play the following season, so in that respect it's probably wrong to lay any blame at the hands of tournament organisers, though i do think it's important that professional footballers, irrespective of how much they're paid, receive sufficient rest. There were players, for instance, who, with the Confederations Cup then held every two years, plus World Cup's and European Championship's both every four, other tournaments like the African Cup of Nations taking place and regular domestic season's, could have barely had any rest between 1996 and 2006.

Marc will always have a special place in the hearts of City fans, and football fans in general to a certain extent, as rare as it is to lose players in such fashion. I guess that as fans we attach a certain sense of immortality to our heroes, so to have one snatched away at such a young age might be especially difficult to deal with. What made him stand out from the crowd, however, was his obvious enthusiasm. There aren't many who, like him, seem to always play with a huge smile on their face. We'll never forget him.

Friday mp3: Stephen Fretwell

Stephen Fretwell moved to Salford from Scunthorpe the best part of ten years ago, and started gigging locally whist at university. Towards the end of 2002 he released his debut EP 8 Songs. Two further EP's followed over the next year or so, Something's Got To Give and The Lines, both brilliant.

In 2004 he released his debut long-play, Magpie, with singles 'Run' and 'Emily' especially receiving a great deal of airplay. It was a great record that probably didn't get the credit it deserved. 2007 saw the release of follow-up Man on the Roof, seamless again. He's been a bit quiet since the second record, recently doing a short tour but nothing seemingly in the pipeline as far as releases go. This track appears to be a new demo.

MP3: Stephen Fretwell - Alabaster
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Look Back: City 3 Oldham 3, Premier League, 29/08/92

Our third home fixture of the debut Premier League season saw future City gaffer Joe Royle bring his Oldham side the short distance to Maine Road. They had started the season relatively well, securing a good point at Stamford Bridge on the opening day before winning four points from home games against Palace and Forest, dropping points at Highbury just a few days previous. We'd begun the year, as you might expect, by failing to find anything resembling consistency; a point at home against QPR in Sky's first ever televised Monday night game, defeats without reply at Boro & Blackburn and a home win against Norwich City.

The phrase 'game of two halves' is probably overused nowadays, but this really was, six goals in little over half an hour and then Oldham defending for their lives for the second period. Peter Reid's time at City seems to be looked back on with mixed feelings amongst City fans. No-one would argue with the finishes, two consecutive 5th's and a 9th in which we ended up only the one win off another top six spot. The style of football, though, seemed to attract its knockers. I remember us playing some good stuff around that time, but there's no doubt that this particular game did nothing to quell the opinions that Reid and Ellis's long-ball tactics weren't everyone's cup of tea. On a brighter note, it did see the debut of young midfielder Garry Flitcroft.

We started the game brightly, Keith Curle floating a free-kick upfield from the centre of the park, Michel Vonk jumping well and heading the ball down into the path of Niall Quinn who swept a curling finish across Jon Hallworth, 1-0. Just a few minutes later and we'd doubled our advantage, another free-kick, the ball falling to David White who crashed an effort off the bar, Vonk fumbling the ball back in and Neil Pointon, who had left City for Oldham that summer, turning into his own net. Match more-or-less over then, not quite.

Oldham, to be fair to them, didn't give up. Shooting towards a boarded-up Platt Lane Stand, and just as the heavens seemed to open, they got one back. A corner on their left, a flick on, leaving Richard Jobson (another future Blue) to head past TC. Three goals in the opening ten minutes, those still finishing off pre-match pints no doubt gutted. On conceding, we upped the anti somewhat, Ian Brightwell being just off-target with a cracking effort, and White and Quinn being their typical menacing selves. We managed to further our lead shortly later, a long ball over the top, Pointon losing his bearings, White latching onto a throughball and hammering home from the edge of the area, 3-1. Even the most pessimistic Blues probably thought we now had this one wrapped up, erm...

Before half-time we somehow managed to concede two further goals. Firstly, Mike Milligan backheeled their second (i shit you not) after some good work from Ian Olney and Paul Bernard down the left, and then, following another set-piece, the mulleted Mike Milligan miskicked a volley which, heading well wide of the goal, seemed to deflect of Gunnar Halle's knee and into the net. 3-3, ffs!

After the break we continued to play very well, but sadly the luck we might've needed had all but dried up. Steve Redmond headed off the line, Mike Sheron hit the post with a volley after a teasing run down the right from Brightwell, the ref denied us a penalty after Niall Quinn was felled, and Quinn and White both forced terrific saves from their 'keeper.

So, a draw then, a disappointing outcome after holding comfortable first-half leads, but a great game. It wasn't all bad. David White had obviously done enough to catch the eye of the then England manager Graham Taylor, and was called up to make his only appearance in a friendly game against France. We also went onto follow the point up with back-to-back away wins at Wimbledon and Sheffield Wednesday, and we'd do the double over Oldham after a 1-0 win at Boundary Park in January. Our form would, as usual, be patchy. Good wins at Everton and Chelsea, and a 4-0 spanking of champions Leeds proving the highlights in a year that would prove to be yet another in which we demonstrated our inability to make a semi-final after a 2-4 home defeat by Spurs in the FA Cup.

Team:
Coton, I.Brightwell, Phelan, Curle, Vonk, McMahon, Simpson, White, Sheron, Quinn, Holden
Subs: Flitcroft, Reid

Player of the Year.

In a season that's proved so up and down it's somewhat difficult, barring the obvious exception, to compile a list of those who've played consistently well. There were those who came in and did well at various points, such as Nedum Onuoha or Shay Given, but over the complete season there really were few who maintained their good form throughout. Nonetheless i've compiled a list which i'm sure won't include too many surprises...

5) Shaun Wright-Phillips
I'm sure there wasn't a single Blue who wasn't absolutely ecstatic to see the little fella back in the shirt. He's undoubtedly a bums-on-seats player, and would've surely been around the top of any supporter's lists of players they'd like to see at the club. Since he left we'd lacked not only the flair he brings, but the energy and heart that he's shown since making his debut over ten years ago. He's linked up fantastically well with Stevie Ireland and Robinho, and has, especially at home, weighed in with his fair share of both goals and assists. There are few greater sights than a winger in full flow, and when on top of his game he's a sheer joy to watch. We, in truth, need him to push on again next year if we're to have any chance of challenging the top four. As i've spoken about recently, he needs to demonstrate he can perform regularly away from home, and stand up and be counted when teams might see kicking up to death gives them a better chance of earnings results against us than trying to play anything that vaguely resembles football.

4) Robinho
I'm sure we've all heard the opinions of numpty fans of other clubs declaring our record signing's first season in England a failure. I'm not sure what sort of planet they live on, to be honest. He obviously suffered a bad run just after the New Year, but to say he's so far proved anything less than a success is pretty deluded. We're not in denial about his shortcomings, he does sometimes go missing, and there have been games this year, mainly away from home, that he's offered very little. He doesn't, to offer him a little support, receive as much protection as he probably should from officials. There've been times this season when people have kicked lumps out of him, but because of his lightweight nature he doesn't get decisions go his way. Admittedly, he's not helped himself in this respect by occasionally going down a little easily. To come into a new league, however, and one that's much more physical than most others in Europe, and to, in a relatively poor side score almost one in two, whilst at times playing as more of a wideman than forward, really is a decent showing. He's an exceptional footballer, of that there's no doubt, if we can improve elsewhere and maybe have more than the one or two who are on his wavelength then perhaps we'll get even more from him.

3) Pablo Zabaleta
Though i'm sure we all appreciate the more delicate and creative side to the game, i'm sure every football fan up and down the country occasionally likes to see a player who simply works hard, and when needed, isn't afraid to give the opposition a good boot up the arse. To describe Pablo Zabaleta in such a fashion is probably doing a disservice to his footballing ability, but there's no doubt that he's endeared himself to the City support by, let's say, putting himself about. Vedran Corluka may have been the smoothest of operators, and although i still think he's a player we shouldn't have allowed to leave there's no doubt that at times we felt ourselves willing him to show a touch more steel. Zab looked okay at right-back, no less, no more, but when called upon to do a job in the centre of the park he never once shirked his responsibilities. There was the odd time over the season where he may've gone a little too far, lets not forget he nearly relieved Xabi Alonso of a leg, and that wasn't the only time that he looked a bit, erm, let's say naive in regards to his tackling, but i'd sooner players occasionally went in a bit too strong then not at all. He's a cult hero and rightly so. I suspect he may end up suffering from being a jack of all trades, king of none, but the longer he's here the better. He's a winner, and we need as many of those as we can get.

2) Vincent Kompany
For me, Vince is the embodiment of the 'Mr Consistency' tags that have so often been associated with the likes of Denis Irwin, Sami Hyypia or Gary Speed, for want of some better examples. He's an 8/10 player nearly every week, someone who makes few mistakes and leads by example. I'm not quite sure what his best position is, but when moved back to centre-half he looked just as at home as in midfield. At times towards the end of the season, when Richard Dunne was serving yet another ban for a needless sending-off, he seemed to conduct himself extremely well, warning teammates away from the referee and seemingly talking to him with respect. To be honest, he's struck me as captain material from day one, and i suspect that he may well serve as vice-captain to Gareth Barry next year. In central midfield he's proved to be a man who can do simple things well, rarely looking pressured and with a great temperament. He's simply done little wrong all season.

1) Stephen Ireland
No contest really, the boy's been exceptional all season. I have to admit that a year ago i wouldn't have been that bothered to see him move on. He did reasonably well under Sven, but gave no possible hint that he might go on to prove himself our absolute outstanding player as he has. He really deserves credit for knuckling down and transforming himself into such a terrific footballer. There was never any doubt he had the skills needed but there were perhaps questions about his dedication and drive. Not wanting to go unnecessarily over the top here, but he's fast turning into the complete midfielder. He can tackle and break up play, has got a terrific eye for a pass, an engine that's almost unrivalled, and he's proven that he can finish, too, it's almost unimaginable that in such a short time he's gone from being an unspectacular squad player to the more improved footballer not only here but in the entire division. We shall see whether he can reproduce his form this season with regularity, indeed he'll need to, but it goes without saying that there's not a player i could name who i'd be happy to see take his place in our first-team.

Sturridge leaves, no-one's really bothered...

The tale of young Daniel Sturridge is a curious one. He's a player of undoubted talent, yet one that in our current situation we're maybe not as sorry to see go as we may've been in previous times. Firstly, we have to bear in mind that we in essence tapped up the player ourselves, so it would probably be hypocritical of us to accuse Chelsea of using underhand tactics despite the fact we've knew he was heading there for months. There's no doubt, though, that losing an Academy prospect is initially disappointing, although admittedly small news at the moment.

Whether or not Sturridge's chances over the past season have been limited in part due to the fact the club knew he was off is a moot point. Since coming unto the full squad three years ago he's not demonstrated enough to suggest he's worthy of a new big-money deal. I personally rate the lad, he's got all the attributes a young striker might need, but i question the sense in his move to Chelsea reserves.

He would, in all likelihood, have had more of a chance of a run in our first eleven had we not signed Robinho. I'm not sure they're too dissimilar. Both neither out-and-out forwards nor wingers, but somewhere inbetween the two, both having pace and skill in abundance but perhaps lacking work ethic, heart and physicality. At City he simply wasn't going to get games. If Robinho does get injured, Martin Petrov will come in, and Danny's not really the kind of player who can lead an attacking line should Santa Cruz suffer a knock, so in that sense, i can see exactly why he chose to leave us, with that i have no problem, the stats don't lie, he's made twelve starts here in three seasons.

My problem with Danny's move is that i don't think he's gone for anything but the money. It might be a bit hypocritical of us to throw accusations around like that, indeed lots of clubs have been saying the same about players that've moved here in the recent past, but how is he going to get more time on the field at Chelsea when he's achieved so little of it here? They have Drogba and Anelka, both proven forwards both domestically and in Europe. Then they have Solomon Kalou, and young Di Santo, plus they're said to be looking to spend big on a new forward. Where does Sturridge fit into that, i'm not sure?

Anyhow, what's done is done, i just hope the tribunal compensate us accordingly. I guess it's a tricky business to put a realistic valuation on such a player. Our arguments that he could potentially be top-drawer really carry no weight. Likewise Chelsea could quite easily use his lack of chances here to drive the fee down. It's really difficult to say what he's worth. He could potentially be a £20m player, yet again he could end up being released by Chelsea in a couple of years and carving out a career in League One. The £10m we're allegedly asking for is probably a little optimistic on our part, as is the £3m offer of Chelsea's. I expect the ruling to come in closer to their valuation than ours, but we shouldn't be too disappointed with that. The Academy costs around £2m a year to run, or so i've read. Since its beginnings we're well in profit, in part thanks to the SWP transfer to Chelsea. I guess we just have to accept that some make it, some don't, some flee the nest and some in turn find their way here. In any fashion, with the strikers on their way here at the moment, life's too short to get annoyed at some big-headed prospect or another moving on.

Santa finally signs!

In a sense it's quite a relief that so many of the potentially drawn-out summer transfers appear to be being tied up so early after the season's end. Firstly, two of last summer's big talking points, Barry leaving Villa and the Showpony absconding from Old Trafford, both failing to happen then, being either done, or pretty much certain already. One that's grown as tiresome as those has been our year-long pursuit of Blackburn forward Roque Santa Cruz.

Blackburn, understandably, didn't want to do business last August, with new boss Paul Ince hoping to keep his star asset, although the player soon started making murmurings of his intention to quit the club. His form until the New Year was patchy at best, just four goals in sixteen appearances, albeit whilst hampered by a recurring knee injury. A couple of weeks earlier Blackburn's board had bitten the bullet had sacked Ince, replacing him with stuffed brown envelope loving ex-Bolton boss Fat Sam Allardyce. Signing the player from then on, even injured and wanting away, wasn't going to be easy, Sam eager to bleed us for every last pound he could.

The common consensus at the time seemed to be that a deal was a mere formality for January, but we were left with a deadline day face-off, the club, on the back of the Kaka non-deal, not wanting to be seen to overpaying, and Blackburn, knowing we were desperate for a centre-forward, allegedly demanding £20m, even £25m. We tried bartering, sources indicating we went in as low as £12m, which was rejected out of hand, then bidding a further three times, all less than the asking price, all turned down. In the end, the deadline passed, we were left without the targetman we needed, and Blackburn with a player who would go on to score only twice more all season. It was around this time that we learnt, almost certainly through a leak from his agent, that the player had a release clause in his Blackburn deal which gave him the option of leaving once the season had finished should the club receive a certain offer, said to be £17m.

Anyhow, news broke today that a stringent medical was imminent and by teatime we had wrapped up our second big-money signing of the summer, Mark Hughes finally getting his man. I'm pleased it's done, in all honesty, it had been dragged out for far too long. As said yesterday, i don't particularly feel strongly either way about the signing. I'm certainly not disappointed with it, he's shown he can be a real danger at this level, and we definitely need an out-and-out centre-forward, but i think we had other options. My concern, however, is whether we can keep him fit. I'm looking forward to seeing him in a blue shirt, though, i must say, it's been far too long coming.

Goal of the Season.

One thing that will stick in my mind from this season, aswell as the takeover, and Robinho arriving, and us being terrible away, and the mini-UEFA Cup run, will be the sheer number of great goals we managed to score. As fans we'll take any, i'm sure, but it's particularly nice to see a well-taken, well-crafted move, or a spectacular finish, and luckily we've had our fair share. I've tried to compile a top ten, it wasn't easy, several good goals missed out, like Didi Hamann's volley in the Faroes first game of the season, a couple from the maulings of Pompey and Hull, or Robinho's well-taken effort at Goodison. As you might expect the list is dominated by two players in particular...

10) Robinho v Blackburn, away, December.
Super-sub Danny Sturridge picks the ball up towards the right side, cuts in and spots a gap between two Blackburn defenders, slips through a perfect weighted pass, Robinho controls with one foot, slides home with the other to save the game.

9) Robinho v West Brom, home, April.
Ireland picks up the ball and bombs forward before clipping a lofted ball over the heads of the West Brom defence. Robinho volleys home with his weaker left foot without even breaking sweat.

8) Garrido v Liverpool, home, October.
Direct free-kick just to our right. Gary curls the ball over the wall and into the top corner. Reina didn't even move. Cracking stuff.

7) Ireland v Everton, away, April.
Much like the goal in Hamburg, Stevie makes up half the length of the pitch in seconds, latching onto a curled Robinho return ball and slotting past Howard.

6) SWP v Villa, home, March.
Ireland to SWP, back to Ireland and again to SWP, who curls home into the far bottom side. A perfect passing goal.

5) SWP v Aalborg, home, March.
Ireland wins the ball near the centre-spot, pick out SWP on the right who cuts inside the full-back, runs at the centre-half and smashes an unstoppable effort into the top corner.

4) Robinho v Twente, home, November.
Picks the ball up on the corner of the box, comes in onto his preferred right peg, wallops a smashing curling finish right into the far top corner, 'keeper stranded.

3) Ireland v Hamburg, away, April.
Superman, well inside his own half, whips a ball out to Robinho on the left flank and almost busts a lung to get onto the return pass before slotting home to give us an early lead. The fitness shown here is outstanding, and the speed, too, something that is probably not thought of has one of the primary assets of his game.

2) Ireland v Hull, away, November.
Receiving a cross from the left Ireland somehow controls the ball, opens his body and volleys into the far corner. Amazing technique. Had Bergkamp done that people would still be talking about it. Brilliant!

1) Robinho v Arsenal, home, November.
SWP collects the ball on the half-way line, runs with it, slides a perfect pass between two defenders for Robinho to control and effortlessly chip over the stranded Almunia. I'm still trying to fathom how he did this. To chip a moving ball like that takes some doing, i'd have thought. A truly fantastic finish.

Agree? Disagree?

Squad Overview: Forwards

Having scored 83 goals over the season it probably doesn't make too much sense that we're in such a rush to give our frontline such an overhaul. Indeed 58 league strikes was the highest outside of the Big Four. By the sounds of it, though, we'll be seeing at least one big-name forward arrive this summer, and although the stats don't really back it up, i think we need it.

At the season's start we were all rather excited about our new big-money Brazilian forward. Little did we know he'd look like he couldn't hit a cow's arse with a banjo in his first dozen or so starts, fall down the pecking order and spend the latter part of the season on loan at a club who would quite comfortably finish above us. Like other Youtube world-beaters we've signed in the past, Jo didn't seem able to transform his occasional greatness in a poorer league into anything vaguely resembling form in the Premier League. Now, i don't think he's an awful footballer and to be fair to him, lots of players have needed much longer than a third of a season to make an impact, but i don't see where he's going to fit in here. He's neither the out-and-out centre-forward we need, nor good enough to play over Robinho.

The signing itself was quite a peculiar one. Whether it was tied up before Eriksson left, okayed by Shinawatra or Hughes had any final say, we don't really know, but it's safe to say that we overpaid, massively overpaid, let's not be funny. Something else we're not sure about, of course, is what we paid, even roughly. Sources generally seem to suggest it was between £17m & £19m, but others have said higher, some have even suggested a significant part of the deal might be in the form of add-ons based on appearances, goals, European qualification and silverware. Whatever the truth, we're at a point where we have a highly-paid, big-name forward on our books who seems nowhere near our first team, in the manager's plans, or more importantly, sellable.

For most of us i'm sure even knowing we have Robinho is still quite dizzying. I think he's done quite well. People will point to the goal drought he suffered after the New Year, or the fact that he went missing in some, no most of our away fixtures, but i'm not sure that's all his fault. He's moved to a new country, a new league, has had to adapt to a new style of play in a team which isn't all that great and not awash with Spanish or Portuguese speakers. We've also been lacking a real targetman for him to play off. Nearly a goal a game in new league, i'm not sure we could have realistically expected too much more. We're going mainly off the stats here, too, he's shown skill i've rarely seen by players of this club, he's exceptional, he really is. He can finish, he links up extremely well with Ireland especially, but others too, he makes passes and runs before 99.9% of footballers would even think of them. I'm already quite giddy about the thought of him linking up with a better calibre of player next season, bearing in mind that his one-in-two was achieved playing alongside the likes of Felipe Caicedo!

Talking of 'Big Fel', well, a player who certainly splits opinion. I don't mind him, to be honest. He's extremely raw, sometimes looks like a bit of a donkey, but he's physical, fearless and strikes me as the type of player that will improve with games. He's already come on significantly this season, a year ago i'd have never even thought him worthy of being anywhere near the first-team. I'd be tempted to hang onto him, as unlikely as it might be that he'll start many games. He could be a useful squad member, handy from the bench.

Rumour has it that Craig Bellamy has already started some extra training for the off-season in the hope of getting his place back for the next campaign. He certainly added something when he came in, and we know what we're going to get with him. Him and Robinho, despite alleged words, started linking up quite well, and he scored some vital goals. He also showed that at home especially he can drift into a number of positions, out to the flanks, drop deep, play the role of the assistor or finisher, i enjoyed watching him. With targets said to be on their way, mind, i'm not sure just where he fits into the jigsaw. Over a season a club will need a couple of players for every position, and i think he'll get chances, but moreso as a replacement for Robinho, or Tevez should he sign. He's proven at this level, we shouldn't forget, it's just unfortunate that he picks up knocks so frequently. There was probably, no disrespect to the lad, a certain amount of panic in the signing, Hughes was after all fighting for his job for a while, but i think £10m (as confirmed by Hughes, not the £14m reported by the press) represents fair value. We need four or five good forwards, and i'm more than happy for him to be one.

Those that i'm really not all that enthusiastic about are Benjani, Daruis Vassell & Ched Evans, for differing reasons. Let's get the easiest out of the way first, Vassell. To be fair to him, he did come in at a very difficult time for the club, and for a while him and Andy Cole did form quite a fruitful partnership, but, and it's a big but, he's bobbins. He's a striker, only he doesn't score goals, so we play him on the wing, but he can't cross, is deceptively slow and easy knocked off the ball. He can't pass, tackle, see runs, beat a man over a few yards, he's no use whatsoever. He's a player who might struggle to get into even a promoted side's strongest eleven, and knowing how things go, he'll probably join one and come back to haunt us.

Benjani's not much better. It frustrates me even talking about the man. It's been reported that we may have promised Portsmouth up to £8.5m for him, albeit some paid over appearances that he'll hopefully never get the opportunity to make. He can, if i'm completely honest, occasionally give defenders a bit of a tough time, chase and harry, physically get the better of some, create chances, but he can't finish and i think we need to accept that he was yet another stop-gap signing, ship him out and move on. In the past it may have been good enough for players to perhaps lack ability but put in a shift, not so much now. If i see his cheesy face grinning loudly after flashing another shot twenty yards wide i'll go mental.

Ched Evans has shown that he can cut it in the Championship, and the lad puts himself about and rarely goes missing, but i'm not sure he's going to make it at this level. If we can get a couple of million for him it's probably best for all parties if he moves on, but he'll do so with our regards. I could imagine him scoring goals by dropping a division, maybe even in the SPL. Another Academy product, Danny Sturridge, i'll talk about in more depth later, but needless to say it looks like he'll be leaving. It's a shame, i really think he's got all the attributes to be a top player, but if he's not got games over the last three years (only twelve starts) then i'm not sure he will over the next few when we've more resources and won't really be able to give youngsters as much time to grow into the first-team as before. I hope he goes to a club where he'll get games, maybe Fulham, West Ham or Blackburn. I'm not sure he will, of course, but not doing so would probably only fuel the rumours of him leaving for a significant payrise.

That leaves 'The Boj', seemingly one of the unluckiest players in football. The first injury came out of the blue, the second was bloody frustrating, rumours of him looking to return to Italy after the club have spent two years supporting him whilst he's sat on his arse, well, a little annoying. I like him. He's got that edge to him that endears players to fans, he looks strong, full of spirit and technically quite sound. I'd really love to see him get a run of games under his belt. He was, understandably i guess, a bit hit and miss during his cameo appearances this term, but there were really encouraging flashes. He'll need time to build up his confidence again, but i'm sure we're all hoping he can. He might not start as first-choice next year, but over a season we'll need cover, and until he's proven himself fully fit i'm not sure he could have any qualms with not playing a more regular role.

Regards those coming in then, well, we seem quite down the line with the Santa Cruz deal, at long last. I don't have strong opinions either way against he potential arrival. He looked brilliant in his first season at Blackburn, a world-beater, but he's struggled with injuries this year and his attitude has appeared a little off ever since we registered an interest. I appreciate that we need a targetman, and he has a lot of the attributes a good forward might need, but we need players to come in and be fit enough to play a full season, and his career's been littered with knocks. It will be a relief to see us a bit more commanding in the air, and having someone who the likes of Robinho & Ireland can play off, but i'm not sure he's done enough to justify the fee we're paying. I'd have maybe been tempted to look elsewhere, but at the same time i'm quite excited about his arrival, and trust the manager's judgement.

We've spoke about Carlos Tevez recently, but to recap, it would be a huge statement of intent. We need to be building a squad which enables us to never field teams with weak links. He's proven, perhaps not a natural goalscorer but a scorer of important goals. He'll also, should he arrive, bring with him an engine, a work-rate that perhaps we've lacked in some areas. The thought of him and Robinho playing off Santa Cruz is extremely exciting, we couldn't have dreamt of options like these just a couple of years ago as Pearce's side was boring us rigid. With Bellamy, Bojinov and maybe Caicedo (though the £6m/£7m bids being mooted would probably represent good business for us) to push the potential front three, the times ahead might be pretty bloody exciting.

Friday mp3: The Horrors

The Horrors wouldn't normally be my cup of tea, in all honesty. The first record was shocking barring a single or two, and catching them live a year or so ago supporting someone whose name escapes did nothing to change my mind. I'd pretty much written them off as wannabe Cramps, haircuts over substance.

After seeing this years second LP, Primary Colours, receive a couple of extremely positive reviews i decided to give it a whirl and was pretty shocked. As unfamiliar it might be for bands, particularly British guitar bands, to outdo their debut, i was surprised just how much of an improvement it was, and one achieved with seeming a complete change in direction, drawing comparisons to The Jesus and Mary Chain, Echo and the Bunnymen, Joy Division & My Bloody Valentine.

It's the best record i've heard this year, maybe in a few.

MP3: The Horrors - Scarlet Fields
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Look Back: Villa 1 City 2, Division One, 01/04/90

89/90 was very much a season of two halves. The first (ish), under Mel Machin, had yielded only four league wins in sixteen, three of them, strangely, very handsome victories, including the infamous 5-1 mauling of them lot. The second, under Howard Kendall, saw us lose only five of twenty-two, leading to us escaping the dreaded drop by a whopping five points.

Despite Kendall having quickly turned us into a more solid outfit with the signings of the likes of Peter Reid, and with the goals of Mark Ward, we went into this game only a point clear of the relegation zone, and with this the start of three consecutive away trips. As it happens, we went on to secure sixteen points from the following eighteen, but this was undoubtedly the result that gave the players the confidence to go into those games with their heads up. Villa, lest not forget, were clear at the summit and with a decent chance of only their first title in eighty years.

We started the game, in a peculiar combination of home and away kits, quite positively, with Mark Ward & David White both having good attempts at goal. Peter Reid, terrier-like in the midfield, and Clive Allen, dropping deep to create, both playing very well. It was Villa, however, who scored first. The gigantically-foreheaded David Platt picking up the ball after some good work by Cascarino and Olney, turning us twice before laying the ball back for Gordon Cowans to smash home.

We always looked in the game, though, having plenty of possession in the middle and putting the home side under pressure, and after stopping a Villa break in the midfield we got the ball to Mark Ward who gave the defender the shoulder and belted a left-footed shot into the top corner from just outside the box, admittedly with the aid of a slight deflection. This would be the first of several important goals he'd score that season. From there on in, despite Villa looking good on the counter with the likes of flying winger Tony Daley, we always looked like winning. It just felt like one of those days where things were meant to be; the sun was out, we had a big away following there, the TV cameras were present, if i remember rightly, and we seemed to be getting the run of the ball.

In the second half we continued to create chances. Clive Allen hit the bar from a flicked-on corner, David White had an effort or two, it felt like something was coming. It did arrive after a ball was swept out from the right-back position, into Ward who floated a ball over to the left-wing for White to chase. He cut in onto his favoured right peg and smashed a ball against the post which luckily fell at the feet of Peter Reid, who made no mistake for his first City goal to wrap up a much-deserved and vital victory.

Team:
Dibble, Lake, Harper, Redmond, Hendry, Reid, Ward, White, Allen, Quinn, Megson
Subs: Brightwell, Heath.

Squad Overview: The Wings

When news broke that day in late August that Shaun Wright-Phillips was returning to the club, i'm sure i wasn't the only City fan almost foaming at the mouth at the thought of him and Martin Petrov ripping full-backs up and down the country to bits. Sadly, it's not quite worked out that way. Shaun had quite a decent season, he linked up well with Robinho and Stevie Ireland, scored a few important goals and was largely very good. Petrov however, despite his shortcomings, like his inability to track back, his occasional short fuse, and his his up-and-down form, is still, on his day, one of the most natural widemen i've seen.

If i've a criticism of Shaun at all, it's that he's very much a home man, though i guess that could be said for the lot this season. Barring his debut double at Sunderland he did relatively little on the road. I'm not saying that's entirely his fault, he needs service, and in turn, when we might be called on to play a more direct style, people with a bit more presence in the box to be on the end of his own. What he does provide, at Eastlands more regularly, is the tenacious buzz and ability to go at his man. He's always struck me as the epitome of a 'confidence player', and infront of his own crowd he seems to grow, gain that extra willingness to get the ball down and really give his full-back a tough time. With players with such pace, too, we've shown that we use can be dangerous both when sides back off us, and when they come forward allowing us to break at pace. Wright-Phillips has been, and i'm sure will be, an integral part of our squad, and with him in the side i always fancy us for a goal or two. He's done well.

The reason i say squad, though most might disagree, is that with the players coming in, either those who've arrived or are said to be on their way, i'm not sure we'll be playing with out-and-out wingers. With us sounding like we're in for more than one centre-forward, and providing two of Roque Santa Cruz, Carlos Tevez or Samuel Eto'o do sign then i can't imagine it being anyone other than SWP pushed out, assuming Barry, de Jong and Ireland are the trio behind. Five into three just doesn't go, not forgetting Bellamy, of course.

Petrov, well, i'm not entirely sure he's Mark Hughes' type of player. As i said above, there's no doubting his ability when he's got the bit between the teeth. Over a few yards his acceleration's unparalleled, it's a pleasure seeing him give and go, motoring on like a madman. Plus, he can whip crosses in for fun and has the sweetest left foot. When he's on form he's a top player, there's no doubt about that, but i also get the impression that he'd not be the greatest to have around the training ground. Even on the pitch you can sense that he's quite temperamental when things aren't going his way. I'm just not sure where he fits in, especially if Robinho continues to play to the left of the forward three. I'd be more than happy for him to stay, but i wonder how content the likes of him would be to sit on the bench and play when needed.

Of the also-rans, Vladimir Weiss strikes me as the most exciting. Just the one appearance this year, but needless to say he did more in that than Kelvin Etuhu has in his fifteen since making the step up. Etuhu's always given me the impression that he's clumsy, not a great crosser of the ball, strong, but without good control or acceleration, i'm not convinced. Weiss, on the other hand, seems more willing, tricky, pacy, i think he's got a big future. Whether he'll get so many games next year i'm not sure, a season out on loan might do him good, whilst Etuhu should probably be looking for something a bit more permanent. Overall, i'm happy enough with what we've got on either flank, and if anything i could imagine next season seeing us being far from short on either side.

Khaldoon's words to the press...

Ever since news of the takeover broke there's been a certain amount of apprehension from the press, some understandable, i expect, lots not. Almost immediately, and admittedly with a little help from a certain podgy-faced pretend Doctor, we were going to sign the world's best players, all of them, at once, football done. Of course we didn't, i mean, we bid for a couple, one came, much ado about nothing. Once the transfer window had clicked shut the attention turned to the future of the manager; Hughes a dead man walking, out of his depth, not in the plans of the owner's, probably doesn't even pick the team. A load of shite the lot of it, of course.

I can, to a certain extent understand some of the opposition to foreign owners, football after all should not be some sort of willy-waving contest for folks with more money than sense, but the fact is that it has been for some time, and unless all clubs are going to be forced to compete on a level playing-field, e.g debt-free, then foreign investment is only going to increase as clubs up and down the land attempt to keep up with the Joneses. The days of hooky car salesman with a few bob buying top clubs are gone, it makes sense than those with the vastest wealth possible will end up showing their interest, and perhaps if people would've been more against the changes in ownership of clubs years back then they wouldn't have anything to get on their high horses about now.

I guess what i'm trying to say is that owners should be judged on what they do, and how they carry themselves, not which country they're from or how they earnt their fortune. Lumping foreign owners into one basket is nonsensical, it needn't be that black and white, some will do a great deal of good for clubs and some won't, much in the same way that some British owners go about their business the right way and a fair few don't. Since ADUG took over they've conducted themselves the right way, said all the right things, allowed Garry Cook and his team to push the club forward off the pitch and most importantly, have shown an unwavering support for Mark Hughes when, in truth, many wouldn't have and most of the media was awaiting his sacking with baited breath.

Mansour, we're told, keeps a low profile in his business dealings, and why wouldn't he? It was made very clear from early on that Hughes and his staff have complete control over the football side of matters, Cook and his over off-the-pitch dealings, and Khaldoon Al Mubarak would act as Chairman, giving the both his support and reporting back to the group. People who don't follow the club seem to forget that Al-Fahim was quickly removed from his role, the first sensible step on a charm offensive that appears, in part at least, to be finally starting to work. Mubarak, from what i've seen so far, strikes me as a fair man, one without an ego, and someone who'll do everything in his power to assure the club not only shows progress, but that does so in the right way, a fair way, and whilst showing decorum.

His comments this week, just go to further prove to those who'd rather deal in banter and rumour than actual facts, that there is a firm plan, and ADUG are far from a bunch of power-mad billionaires just hoping to come in, attempt to turn a club into some sort of perverse Championship Manager fan's wet dream, throw their weight about and then get on their bikes. Despite us having more money to spend than most it's still a case of accounting for what goes out and comes in, and although we may well have to pay a premium to tempt particular players we have budgets, ideas about values of players, and something vaguely resembling a wage structure.

The man blatantly isn't a mug, far from it. Everything he's said so far (and it's not a lot, other chairmen take note) has made complete sense, and he seems very aware that things will take time, and have to be done in a certain manner. I really couldn't imagine the club being in better hands, he particularly has completely impressed me. There was no hint of panic when results weren't necessarily as consistent as we'd have hoped, no stories leaking out of the camp, no battles of will, the owners have simply backed Cook and Hughes and let them get on with things, it's a refreshing approach, and certainly the right way.

Squad Overview: Central Midfield.

Central midfield has been a puzzling one this season, i must admit. On one hand we've seen a squad player who most of us were happy enough to see the back of just twelve months ago transformed into as consistent a player as there's been in the entire division, on the other, despite investing anywhere between £19m & £24m, depending on which paper you read, on two central players who've impressed, we've still at times appeared threadbare and weak in the department.

To start off on the highest note, Stevie Ireland has obviously been quite brilliant. I can't imagine why a single person who's watched us regularly this season might think anyone else has been our best player. He seems to have turned into the complete midfielder pretty much overnight, and to imagine we almost sold him to Sunderland, christ. He's our engine, nothing less, and not only wins the ball, and is hungry for it, but can pass, pick out runs, score goals and has a terrific pair of lungs on him. Without him in the side this season we might've been in trouble, and the partnerships he's forged with Robinho has, so far, been an absolute joy to watch. He IS our side, it's that simple, i can't imagine being happy to see him replaced by anyone, i really can't.

In a way, i'm struggling to critique any of our regular midfielders, they all did well, but at the same time we managed to at times be bullied in the middle of the park, show a complete lack of organisation, and put so much pressure on a defence that probably isn't as leaky as it appears. Vincent Kompany, as i think i said in a previous post, did very little wrong all season. He proved to be a calming influence, a mature head, a simplistic approach, no frills. We suspect he'll move back to centre-half for next season but he did nothing wrong all year to warrant him not being in the team in midfield, we're just more likely to significantly strengthen there.

Nigel de Jong came in, admittedly overpriced, though i'm quite sure stories of us being able to sign him for a couple of million shortly down the line weren't true, and despite a little ring-rust initially, started playing really well. Having seen him play for Ajax i wasn't sure he was that sort of player, but like Kompany, albeit a bit deeper, he showed that he's a man who can do the simple things well, and put himself about a bit, too. He's a player i'm quite fond of, though admittedly haven't seen enough to say how good a buy he'll prove to be with any real authority. For next season, though, i'll be happy for him to start.

The recent signing of Gareth Barry, i'm guessing, will make up our midfield three for the coming campaign, especially if we do sign a targetman and, as the media are having a field-day with, either Carlos Tevez or Samuel Eto'o. I think Barry will prove to be an astute signing; he's got plenty of games under his belt, an England regular, captaincy experience, scores goals, makes goals, is a danger from set-pieces, and can play in a number of positions. Barry & Ireland infront of de Jong looks decent to me, no complaints there at all.

It does, however, leave us with a bunch of players in those positions who might not play, or even be needed, though i appreciate the need for a strong squad. Primarily, Elano and Michael Johnson. Now the latter, a touchy subject, i'm not counting my chickens over, but i'm much more likely to believe the club line of a tricky injury than the forum gossip/bullshit that's been floating around these last few months. There's little i'd love to see more than Ireland and Johnno bossing a City midfield whilst surrounded by some of the world's elite. Whether Ireland would've got a regular spot had Johnson been fit is probably a valid point, but there's no doubt in my mind that both are potentially real top-drawer Premier League players. I hope Johnno will play at least some part next season.

Elano proves to me every time i watch Brazil that he's a fantastically-talented footballer. Yes, he's generally part of an side that's better than ours, but even with the likes of Kaka and Robinho alongside him he seems to take charge, dictate play, score and create goals, when for us, despite being a spotkick king and offering sporadically exciting displays at home he seems half-arsed, uninterested, not up to it. I wonder if we can keep a player like him happy with not playing week in, week out. I'm not convinced he's a first-teamer now. I'd have him behind Barry and obviously Ireland, and he's not going to get in playing to either side. With that in mind i worry what sort of influence he could have on Robinho. Hughes really is stuck between a rock and a hard place; does he sell him and risk Robbie becoming unhappy, or does he keep him and not play him and have something similar happen a little further down the line? I guess it's up to the player to prove he's good enough to play every week, but for now he's a replacement for Ireland, in my opinion, and nothing more.

Remaining are Didi Hamann; who i'm expecting will be released after doing very little since being here, though a great player in his day, and Gelson Fernandes; someone who seems to have varied in form from being 'the latest Vieira' to a headless chicken, more often than not nearer to the latter. I'm completely unmoved about his future, i must admit. I thought he looked good early on, and for his country last summer, but he doesn't fill me with confidence. I suppose that we might need a backup for de Jong, though we do have other players who can cover, mainly Barry with Elano coming in. I'd get rid.

A player i've not yet mentioned is Pablo Zabaleta. I'm not completely convinced about him at full-back, as i've said, but he ended up proving a real success when pushed into midfield. You got the impression he didn't have his bearings there initially, but he got stuck in, never failed to put in a shift, kicked and harassed a few, really did an admirable job. Is he good enough to play there every week, no, not if we've got hopes of really pushing on, but occasionally, sure, i very much doubt he'd let us down.

To sum up then, for those of you forcing matchsticks into eyes after ten paragraphs, i think we'll go with a three, and i'm pretty happy with what we've got - Ireland, Barry & de Jong. Beyond those, too, Elano, Johnson if fit & Zabaleta covering, well, it looks pretty strong to me. It's probably one of only two areas of the side, along with Shay Given in goal, that i'm very happy with. Bring it on!

Tevez; will he, won't he?

Things seem to be reaching a conclusion in regards to the future of the Herman Munster-headed one from across the road. Sources (read: bored office workers) have been reporting that we've had a deal tied up for a couple of weeks. I'm pretty dubious about those tales, to be completely honest. I personally think these 'in the know' rumours are nothing more than tittle-tattle that's been gaining momentum since TalkSport were talking bubbles a week or so back. I mean, i'd love to believe them, i really would, but i've rarely known internet sources to be correct at all, and that particular station's never too far behind in the nobby stakes.

What is for certain is that he's a very good player, though i'm sure we've all got his last season's league goals stats to hand just incase he decides to go elsewhere. He's got a lot i admire from a player; he's tough, works his socks off, and makes up for what he might lack in finesse with an engine that's rarely seen nowadays. I think our support would love him, and all the more knowing that as the darling of the Stretford End he decided to leave the dark side for their more illustrious city neighbours. More than any other player on the books of them lot at present, i'd like us to sign him. He's not their best player, but he's the fans favourite, they'd be gutted to see him move here, as much as they might try and deny it.

Personally, i'm not sure how much of a chance we have of convincing him to come. There are things in our favour, obviously; location (assuming reports of him not wanting to leave the region are true), United's rivalry with Liverpool (it is of course their biggest fixture of the season, hmmmm!), and the salary we can offer, which i'm sure will be greater than that on the table from any of the other interested parties. We can also, and most importantly, offer regular first team football, a place every week, not the arse-splinters on the weekend once he's bagged a winner midweek. We're an exciting opportunity, there's no doubt. He could be a god here, he really could, and he strikes me as being the sort of player who might give more as the big fish in a small pond rather than one of a number elsewhere.

What's against us, though, is the obvious, we're not involved in a European competition, let alone the Champions League, and there's no guarantee we will be in a year's time, or after that, whereas The Rags, Liverpool, Chelsea, Barca & Milan will pretty much always have that carrot to dangle. There's also the fact that Tevez would pretty much burn any bridges left at Old Trafford by crossing the city. It's patently obvious that Manchester United mean a lot to him, would he throw that away, i'm not convinced. I'm not entirely sure he wants to leave The Swamp, and neither am i sure that his complaints about not getting games are warranted. He's played 97 games there in two years, starting 71, he's hardly a reserve. His point can only be that he's started certain vital games from the bench, and it's safe to say that we probably couldn't offer him those kind of games quite yet. With Ronaldo gone, too, a change of system might see him earn even more starts.

The impression i get is that he's still trying to force Fergie into promising him a regular first-team place, and that if that happens then United will remain his first choice, after all they can offer pretty much everything else he's looking for - a good salary, no uprooting his family, European football. I can't imagine him moving to Liverpool, really. I think that would be more of a kick in the teeth to the prawn sandwichers than coming here, plus, i'm not sure they could afford to sign him outright. Chelsea would arguably have two strikers infront of him, aswell, and are a side who have generally played 4-5-1. Barca, well, that would probably have to involve Eto'o moving on, as i believe he will, but even then i think they'd be more likely to invest in Benzema, Ibrahimovic, Ribery, Villa or a number of other players. Milan seem to be in transition and would obviously involve another move. They have the money, their aging side needs the sort of injection he could give, but again, the sounds from his people seem to suggest he'll remain in England.

I'd love to see Carlito in a City shirt, i really would, and i think it might've happened sooner had Madrid not moved for Ronaldo. I'm just dubious as to whether Sour Alex will allow the club to lose two of the fan's favourites in one summer. I'm assuming he'll have most of the incoming money to spend, and i'm sure he knows that however much he doesn't fancy Tevez, it would please their fans no end to see him retained. He almost certainly also doesn't want to give the impression that 'ickle Citeh' have poached one of his key players. They're still big favourites, they really are. We'll welcome him with open arms should he decide to make the switch, but at the same time i'm not getting too excited about the prospect. As much as we'd like not to admit it, they've got he upper hand. I just hope the player makes the right decision, because he could be a legend here.

Squad Overview: Centre-half

A while back someone told me that we'd know City were making progress when Richard Dunne was no longer a shoe-in for our Player of the Season award. I've all the time in the world for Dunney, he's been a great servant, but if we've any serious hopes of pushing on then we must replace players who simply aren't good enough to play regularly in our first team, and sadly, he's one of those that must make way.

Richard is, and always has been, a player who has divided opinion, and one whose performances have seemed to swing wildly from the extremely competent to the absolute miserable, often little middle-ground. To be fair to him he's done well to still be in contention after nine seasons, especially remembering his situation during his early days at the club, when Kevin Keegan was extremely close to giving him his marching orders. Since then he's gone on to be pretty much the perfect role-model; no headlines, no strops, a solid pro respected by most, just unfortunately one who remains to be about as blooper-prone as they come. This season more than any he seems to have constantly been doing his best to feature on the customary Yuletide DVD's; his fair share of own goals, more frequent sending-off's, clanger after howler after dropped bollock.

As much as i love the man, and am extremely proud of his great service (350 appearances), we really cannot let sentiment get in the way of common sense. Next season's a huge one for us, we need a side that's possibly even good enough to be challenging the top four, Richard Dunne simply isn't good enough. With him having the armband, too, and on quite a healthy contract, i'm not sure it's realistic to expect him to sit on the bench. Plus, we won't be short of offers, a few sides lower in the division will take a chance on him. I don't see any scenario whereby he might stay if not guaranteed a starting place.

A player who for me hardly put a foot wrong this term was Nedum Onuoha. I had my doubts about him, i really did. I often thought he looked cumbersome and slow, particularly at full-back, and at centre-half i really couldn't see him getting a good run, but he was fantastic in the second half of the season. You really couldn't expect to meet a better young pro. He could've left here and got regular games at most Premier League sides, but he's knuckled down, come in and out of the team, done what's been asked of him, never once complained. He's a terrific example to other young players at the club; if you're good enough you'll get games, it might not happen overnight but you'll be given a chance. At times he's looked mature beyond his years, and i'd say he was probably our best defender this season (not that there's been too much competition!).

With the signing of Gareth Barry i'm pretty sure Vincent Kompany will now move back. When called upon to play there this season he's looked excellent, he's a player who's never failed to impress. He seems like a really sensible lad, on and off the pitch, i even think he's captain material. I'm not sure our midfield really looked that strong this season, defensively speaking, but i can't remember Vince making a mistake. He strikes me as being the type of player that knows how to do the simple things well, and i'll be interested to see how he does over a season at the heart of the defence.

Beyond the regulars, i'm hoping for a swift departure from Tal Ben-Haim. He's a player i've never rated. He looks overweight, uninterested, unsure in possession, i'm really not sure why we signed him. He's another who we won't struggle to move on, though, so he must have something about him.

I'd like to see us spend big money on a proven top-drawer centre-half. Someone who can come in, marshall the backline, organise us, lead from the back, an all-commanding lump of a stopper, a John Terry, but not John Terry, who i doubt would come here in a million years. Of domestic players who we might have a chance of getting, though not all in that mould, i'd be relatively happy with any of Ricardo Carvalho, Branko Ivanovic, Kolo Toure, Phil Jagielka, Joleon Lescott, Brede Hangeland, Jonathan Woodgate, Matt Upson, even Gary Cahill. I'm not really a huge watcher of European football, but Daniel van Buyten, Giorgio Chiellini, Diego Lugano, Raul Albiol, Diego Godin, Gonzalo Rodriguez, Joris Mathijsen & Philippe Mexes are just a few names who would be a vast improvement.

Centre-half, for me, is the position i think we absolutely have to get right. As good as our squad is, and for all the technical ability we have going forward, we at times seem unable to just defend with no frills, if at all. I think we need to add steel, not only in the middle but perhaps in both full-back positions, as previously discussed. We concede a lot of 'silly' goals, unforced errors, bad marking or positioning, us generally being sloppy. Plus, there's the fact that we concede a fair few from set-pieces and have virtually no presence ourselves from them at the other end. With the addition of a striker our forwards and midfield pretty much picks itself now, imo, but at the back i'm not quite so sure. With the addition of one of the above, however, aligned with an in-form Onuoha and Ned's switch, i'd be pretty confident about us in the middle.