MATCH REPORTS 1999/2000

AUG 8 MANCHESTER CITY - WOLVERHAMPTON 0-1 (0-1)

Report by: Sharon Hargreaves

Ah, the delights of football in August. A sunny day, a few chilled pints of good Northern beer sunk in the Gardeners before the game, a rousing performance by the lads and a pleasant drive home through the green English countryside. If only. I shivered through most of the game (yes yes I know, my own fault for not taking a coat), was too hung over from the night before to even be able to smell beer let along drink it, we lost and it took us over five hours to get home through some pig-awful rain and thunderstorms.

Still, the football wasn't too bad. We were always going to lose this, Wolves always beat us 1-0 and we needed some sort of reality check after Wembley and beating Liverpool in the pre-season warmup - results like this might actually make Joe realise we need a striker and quick! Kennedy and Granville made their league debuts for us, so we lined up with Weaver, Edghill on the right and Granville on the left, Wiekens, Morrison, Horlock, Jeff Whitley, Kennedy, Cooke, Goater and Dickov. Amongst the subs were Crooks and Taylor but I didn't hear who else - Bishop?

City started off brightly and should have had a penalty in the second minute when Goater was fouled, shame he's too honest (or not quick-thinking enough, hmm I wonder which one it is) to dive when fouled in the area. I don't think the ref would have given it anyway, he wasn't exactly unbiased to say the least - there were some bad tackles flying in from both sides during the game but it always seemed to be us who were penalised. Sob no-one likes us any more sniff. We were more than a match for Wolves in the first 15 minutes, Granville and Kennedy were linking up well down the left and Cooke was finding plenty of space on the right, as we dominated the midfield and kept Wolves pinned back in their own half. It was therefore somewhat inevitable that Granville would pull a hamstring and be subbed, on came Crooks and Edghill dropped into the feared left back position. From where he had a nightmare. I don't like the constant moaning about Edghill that goes on, as when he does play well he's one of the most talented players we have - however Sunday was not his day. He couldn't pass more than about five yards in any direction with any accuracy and it was no surprise when it was a mistake of his that let the incredibly over-rated Robbie Keane in to score. I can't believe the amount Wolves are supposed to be asking for him, if he's worth £20 million then Gareth Taylor's a better player than Ronaldo.

Wolves had threatened despite the territorial advantage we'd had - 10 minutes before they scored they'd hit the post after a free kick although I'm sure Weaver had it covered. We'd looked pretty ineffectual up front although Curle had cleared one off the line and we'd had a good chance when their keeper had come charging out of his area only to miss the ball. Why is it that when a keeper of ours does that the opposition score, but when one of theirs does it there are immediately two defenders tracking back to clear the ball? Not fair. The ref had continued to only give us free kicks when to continue would have give us a chance on goal, don't know why he bothered as I don't think we were going to score. Our best chance - and the only one their keeper had to save - came from a Morrison header after a corner from Cooke, somehow the keeper got his fingertips over it to tip it over the bar.

At half time it was 1-0, nice not to hear any boos though as the teams went off the pitch. The crowd had been a bit quiet really, apart from the ritual booing of Keith Curle whenever he got the ball (which was quite often) there hadn't been a great deal of singing going on. The second half was more of the same. We dominated - I think they only had one shot on goal in the whole of the second half, but we just couldn't turn possession into anything more dangerous. There was a spell of about 5 minutes where we had countless corners and they cleared it off the line every time, or the keeper just managed to get his hands to it, or Wiekens was fouled as he jumped for the ball, or Wiekens was fouled as he ran in towards the ball, but all to no avail. Crooks was replaced by Taylor, whose only real contribution of note was to almost break the keeper's neck as they both jumped up for a ball - I don't think he meant it... Whenever we'd had the ball around their area for too long (i.e. more than about 2 minutes) one or other of the Wolves players would go down pretending to be injured and demanding the trainer came on, so it would have served them right if we'd managed to score in the six minutes of time added on that were played. However, it wasn't to be.

I'm not too bothered though. There wasn't too much of note in the game but we were definitely not out-played, and with a bit of luck (or someone who could score goals) could have easily come away with at least a point. We'll play worse than that and win games this year, and we aren't going to come up against many defences as well organised as Wolves were - it said a lot that Curle won the man of the match award. However, we do need someone who can break through solid defences and just give that bit of extra oomph to our attack and I'm not sure we have anyone capable of doing that. I would have liked to have seen Allsopp instead of Taylor on Sunday as he at least has the speed to run at defenders (if not the skill to take the ball with him) and I think we missed Brown in midfield, but other than that we've got the makings of an extremely well-balanced team. I was a bit worried about how Morrison would cope against better attackers than he had to deal with last year, but he was awesome in the air. He's also still very scary so I won't say a word against him :-)

There's a long way to go yet...

AUG 11 (WLC1/L1) MANCHESTER CITY - BURNLEY 5-0 (1-0)

Report by: Phil Hartley

I bet that Stan Ternant, the Burnley players and fans are sick to death of us, a 5-0, to follow the 6-0 earlier in the year. I bet when each subsequent goal was scored after the first, the Burnley Directors were knocking a couple of thousand or so off their expected attendance figure for the 2nd leg. Bearing in mind that only 11,000 and odd turned out for this one, it could be a very eerie Turf moor in a couple of weeks!

The match itself was very much a game of 2 halves. We 'won' the first half 1-0 and the second 4-0, and I think that those scores do indicate the level of performance in each half. City lined up with the same team as Sunday with the exceptions of Crooks on from the start at right back and with Tiatto on the left. We started very positively with several good opportunities not capitalised. However, Burnley also had several good chances, the best being towards the end of the first half when a woefully underhit backpass from Crooks was intercepted by Melon, but Weaver spread himself well to save.

Although we created some good chances, this first half performance was not particularly thrilling. City's main tactic was a long ball, usually trying to find the flanks, but sometimes straight down the middle, and of course it rarely came off. I need to clarify this; it was not a case of 'hoofing' the ball as far as it would go, we were (Morrison in particular) trying to find players in positive, attacking positions but you do wonder about their assessment of their own abilities at times. When someone like Ronald Koeman for instance, used to pick out a team mate with a 60-yard pass, it was praised, quite rightly, as a superb pass, a great piece of skill. This is because it is difficult to pick someone out with a controllable 60-yard pass. Yet our players think they can do it all the time! The 'long ball' is a valid tactic - at times, not to the virtual exclusion of short passing or running with the ball. Kennedy and Cooke (a bit better, but still not firing in all cylinders) together with Goater saw a fait bit of the ball, but Horlock and Whitley's main contributions were simply in breaking up Burnley's midfield. Except on sporadic occasions, they didn't get the opportunity to contribute to the attack. The same could be said to a lesser extent of Tiatto and Crooks.

The first goal when it came was simple but well worked. Horlock, Dickov and Goater beat Burnley's off side trap and, with Cooke also joining the strikers in the box, Kev had the choice of 3. He threaded a pass to Goater who made no mistake from 6 yards out. Apparently Royle had 'words' with the team at half time, particularly it seems with both wingers. Kennedy was able to raise his game with a flourish, poor Cookie unfortunately wasn't and was subbed by Bishop around 10 minutes into the 2nd half. I don't know what it is with Cooke at the moment. His touch seems to have deserted him and his self-confidence must be diminishing. I think Royle should stick with him for now, a goal or a good assist I'm sure will do the trick. Before Cooke's exit, Kennedy scored the second with a terrific curling RIGHT-footed shot from the edge of the box. It took everyone by suprise, not least Crichton, the Burnley keeper.

When Bishop was introduced, the change in our style of play was amazing. Although being 2-0 up would obviously have helped the players relax and play better, this guy makes us play. Suddenly there was variety, movement off the ball, one-two's and some superb attacking moves. Whitley and Horlock were able to get more involved going forward. Kennedy had a more free role and terrified the Burnley defence. A special mention must go to Danny Tiatto - he was excellent and got better as the game went on. Defensively he made several good interceptions, the best being a sort of 'flying, overhead, trap' (know what I mean ??). He was also positive going forward.

Dickov was blatantly pulled down on the edge of the area (not a single complaint or appeal from Burnley) and super-Kev made no mistake from the penalty spot. Allsopp and Taylor replaced Goater and Dickov, with Taylor powerfully heading the 4th from a Horlock cross (2 assists and a goal is not a bad return). Kennedy wrapped up the scoring with another 'unexpected' 25 yarder, which may have taken a deflection. In truth we could have eclipsed (clever, eh?- for our non-European subscribers, we had a total eclipse earlier in the day) the 6-0 thrashing we dished out at Turf Moor last season, and although in the first half, Burnley looked a better team than when we last met, we certainly looked the team from the higher division.

So the main learning points in my opinion were that Tiatto looks an able replacement for Granville, certainly more effective than Edghill and (not rocket science, is it!), we look a far better prospect when we supplement the 'laser guided (sic)' long passes with some quality passing through the middle. I know he's 34, I know that he's not a tough tackler, I know that he's not quick, I know that he's not going to score many. But we need to find a place for Ian Bishop. He's like the final piece of a jigsaw that completes the picture. After hearing Royle's comments on GMR, he seems to view Bish' as a 'last 20-minute' man, which although makes sound sense on one hand - he can come on and change the focus of our play and therefore the game - I still feel that we'll play more cohesively with him in from the start. Problem is I can't see Joe dropping either Horlock or Whitley, and indeed I agree that currently they deserve their places. For me, on current form, Cooke is the most likely to make way. As mentioned above, not yet, give him a chance. If we can get the best out of both wingers, it will be a delight to watch. However, if Cooke eventually needs a 'rest', Bish is the man. So, disasters excepted, we should be safely through to the 2nd round, where we may meet one of the 'big boys'. Avoiding relegation, consolidating and aiming for promotion are the priorities, in that order. However, a 'cup run' (what's one of those?) would be a nice distraction!

AUG 14 FULHAM - MANCHESTER CITY 0-0 (0-0)

Report by: Bill Hardman

Fulham vs. Man City Saturday 14th August. 3:00pm at Craven Cottage. A warm but overcast afternoon. Sell out crowd of about 17 thousand. City supporters gathered at the Bishopıs Park end on the uncovered terrace. Parking problems and general congestion in this part of West London resulted in many City fans arriving some time after kick-off. The match was preceded by Mohammed Al-Fayed, the owner of Fulham FC, parading round the pitch accompanied by the extraordinary Fulham mascot 'Sir Cravenı, three bodyguards, his personal assistant, a couple of gofers, and the new manager. Mr. Al-Fayed announced plans to build a new 30 thousand all seater stadium at the ground. Existing traffic congestion and poor of transport facilities implied that this plan is even sillier than the pre-match parade. Most plans for new stadia these days involve extensive car parking, and good road and rail facilities.

City lined up:

                  Weaver
  Crooks     Morrison Wiekens     Tiatto
Whitley       Horlock Bishop     Kennedy
               Goater Dickov

Fulham had Stan Collymore in attack, and he looked lean and athletic in stark contrast to Morrison in the City defence. For the first 5 minutes or so City hardly got the ball out of their own half. It looked as though we were missing Cooke on the right, but eventually got into the rhythm of the game and started to make some progress. All attacks came down the left via Tiatto and Kennedy. Morrison was dominant in defence, and City were winning all the aerial ball at the back. A war of attrition developed between Collymore and Morrison. Collymore was frustrated that he was not winning the ball in the air despite his height advantage, and started pushing and elbowing, Morrison retaliated, perhaps getting the retaliation in first. Fulhamıs Horsfield actually caused City more problems than Collymore and in the first half Fulham looked far more likely to score than City. Fulham wasted a couple of opportunities from unforced City errors. Kennedy put across a couple of promising crosses from the left, but neither Goater nor Dickov looked likely to connect. In the second half there was a change of atmosphere, it started to rain, and City started to get more possession. As the game went on it eventually looked as though City might snatch the game. The home supporters became restless and began shouting for substitutes. City came close with a long shot from Horlock then Collymore started a pushing contest with Morrison which ended with both players getting yellow cards. As it was the City captainıs second, he was sent off. At this point it looked as though Fulham could win the match. Morrison had been very influential for City, but Vaughan came on for Kennedy, and played very well alongside Wiekens. Strangely the loss of Kennedy did not have the effect that could have been expected. The remaining City attacks were effective and Tiatto played a blinder on the left despite getting a knock. For the last few minutes Fulham besieged the City half and though the ref. appeared to allow about fifteen minutes of injury time it ended 0-0.

Performances:

Weaver:   8 - One excellent save, good game.
Crooks:   7 - OK game, but Edghill is better at this position.
Morrison: 7 - Strong game marred by a few errors, war with
              Collymore and sending off.
Wiekens:  8 - Good game, and in control.
Tiatto:   8 - Played very well indeed.
Bishop:   7 - Class act, lacking a bit of pace.
Horlock:  7 - One good shot from long distance second half missed
              by inches. More required.
Whitley:  7 - Gritty performance, lacks vision.
Kennedy:  7 - Skilful, attractive play. Kept being caught offside.
              Works well with Tiatto.
Dickov:   6 - Worked hard as usual. Unrelenting play, continuous
              dialogue of ineffective complaints (shirt pulling,
              pushing, offside decisions).
Goater:   5 - Unable to get on the end of crosses from the left.

Sub:
Vaughan:  7 - On for Morrison, and did very well.

Perhaps this is some sort of parallel universe where bad is good and vice versa but this was a nil-nil draw away to Fulham in the league, the City captain was sent off, and the match was OK. So it's two league games, one point and no goals. What price a new striker?

AUG 21 MANCHESTER CITY - SHEFFIELD UTD. 6-0 (2-0)

Report by: Tony Burns

The first visit of the season to the Academy is always special and a family holiday in France meant that this was actually our first game. We had been to the pre-season friendly against Liverpool and enjoyed a pretty good pre-season performance from the Blues.

It was great to enter the hallowed portals once again on a glorious sunny Manchester day. The stadium resplendent with new logos here and there, some new seating in the Gene Kelly stand and a new bank of seats under the electronic scoreboard between the Platt Lane and Kippax. My favourite addition to the ground though has to be the seagull suspended from the corner of the Kippax. It seems to be close enough to the away fans in the North Stand, that if it were real and the wind direction and velocity were favourable, dollops of seagull shit could be deposited periodically on the away fans adding to the general joy of a visit to the 'Theatre of Sheer Hope'

I don't really know what it's there for but I hope that our performances remain good enough for the plastic seagull to stay put and not fly off to sunnier climes. I had travelled to the Academy in fear of my trousers falling down and the risk of being arrested for improper behaviour, a risk well worth taking when I explain why. You see, at the Liverpool game I realised as I got out of the car that in the rush to get home from work, get changed and get to the ground I had left my belt of my trousers. I knew instantly the implications of this oversight - if we were to win then I would quite simply have to acknowledge the portents and the impact my belt-less trousers had on the game - we won and I knew my responsibilities for the rest of the season. So if you see someone in the family stand with trousers around ankles, please wave and say hello and explain to the stewards the importance of this and the potential disastrous impact pulling them up could have. If you don't believe the power of the belt think back to the first game - a home defeat! So now yet another ritual has been added to our pre match preparations my children ask quite openly in the street - "Dad, will your pants fall down today?" the looks of concern from the neighbours as I say "Oh I hope so darlings" is a real joy.

I made my way to the Dennis Tueart bar for a ritualistic pre match pint and noted the 10p increase on the price of a pint. This, added to the 20p increase on the match programme, actually caused my pants to tighten so no worries at this stage. As I sipped my pint I couldn't help but smile at the typing mistake in the programme - our opponent on Bank Holiday Monday: Snottingham Forrest - perhaps that's something to do with Lincoln Green? Moving onto the action - as ever the glorious feeling of expectation was heightened as the now familiar tune of Ronaldo's Revenge blasted out from the PA, followed by Right Here Right Now and then the evergreen Blue Moon.

The first noticeable thing was the very smart and clean cut coiffeurs from some of our players. Messrs Dickov and Weaver in particular showing lean lines to the nape of the neck. Our opponents for the day would have enhanced any post war photo shoot - resplendent in red and white striped shirts, with black shorts. Thin black lines separated the red and white stripes on the shirts with a white stripe down the centre of the sleeves. Black knee length hose with two red hoops complimented this rather natty ensemble. Well-done Sheffield, your football may have turned out to be crap, but you certainly looked the part.

As the teams took up their position on the turf I noticed the new style nets - reminiscent of the Wembley nets - delightful right angles being made in the top corners as the supporting posts (pale blue) inform the shape of the net - delightful to see, I've always liked a good right angle.

The poor turnout of Sheffield fans was a disappointment, I heard on the radio that they had returned 1,500 tickets, those that had managed to make the short trip across the Pennines sat smelting in the sun, dreaming of better days. Their eloquence was demonstrated midway through the first 45 when the clear benefits of the Government's imposed Literacy Hour were evidenced by the guttural chanting in unison of "You're the shite of Manchester" - I was unclear though whether this was aimed at City fans or the mock seagull, ho hum.

Oh but for the Joy of Six - I suppose I'd best move onto the game itself. No doubt others will have written a more football focussed review than I, so I won't overdo it. I was impressed with this performance for a number of reasons. Goater for me was great, at moments his touch was sublime, Kennedy and Cooke showed great promise of entertaining games to come as they rampaged down the wings, Weaver as solid as ever, Morrison always strong and dependable. There was a moment around the 25th minute or so when The Goat looked like a Brazilian conjuring a swiftness of foot with an impossibility of balance as he created his own samba rhythm to weave through the Sheffield players. Kennedy brought the crowd to its feet on more than one occasion conjuring that majestic and magical sight of a footballer streaking purposely towards goal against a colourful and crowded backdrop of fans rising from their seats to the harmony of an expectant and rising wall of sound.

Just after the half-hour Tiatto was subbed (looked like an ankle injury) did anyone else notice that he only had one T in the middle of his name on his shirt? His replacement was Bishop - and with the exception of a couple of sloppy passes his contribution to the game was first class. With the half time break approaching and the score at 0 - 0 we were gifted a couple of penalties in the space of less than 5 minutes. The first a clear hand ball, the second when Goater was brought down as he was about to round the keeper, from where we were it looked a penalty, but I gather from after match commentary it may well have been outside the box. In any case Horlock whipped home both penalties; the second against the substitute goalie who had replaced the dismissed United keeper (Davidson).

The second half was a great performance and very, very enjoyable. We were rampant and, if I tell you that with a final score of 6 - 0 Sheffield can consider themselves lucky, you'll realise how in control we were. As well as the six that went in the net, we hit the post and the bar, we missed clear cut chances and near open goals - it really could have been 12 or 14 nil. Goals from Kennedy, Dickov, Goater and Taylor completed the rout. This game was a delight to be at. I was impressed with some of the football that we played and the desire to want to score more even at 6 - 0 up. Great team spirit was in evidence again and there is without doubt much to look forward to. It will be a hard and closely fought season. If we can play like that on a regular basis and our defence/midfield can repeat its trick of conceding few goals again, the seagull will stay in the Kippax, teams won't want to come to Maine Road and nobody will notice if my pants fall down.

AUG 24 (WLC1/L2) BURNLEY - MANCHESTER CITY 0-1 (0-0)

Report by: Walter Smith

The '5-0' did me a favour I thought. I don't like missing cup games as, if and when we do win a proper trophy, I want to be able to say that I followed our progress all the way. Nevertheless after the '5-0', I thought that I could be excused last night's trip. I started a small business last year (doing OK, but still not earning much personally), the missus started a new job a few months ago necessitating long hours being worked and meaning it's usually my responsibility to pick up our lad, Dan from nursery and feed and entertain him during the week. Therefore (sorry about being so long-winded), the result of this tie being in the bag meant that there were no difficult arrangements, logistic, financial or emotional to be made for the return leg.

But..., the missus took a day off and I had missed my opportunity to get a ticket for the Bolton Match (because of this damned postal system they've introduced). The lunchtime edition of the Manchester Evening News revealed that Shaun Wright-Phillips would play at some stage, and for the rest of the afternoon I considered the pro's and con's of attending the match. The con's were pretty obvious; it was basically going to be a nothing game and indeed one which we may even lose due to the lack of importance. It was going to cost £11 to get in, plus petrol, programme and doubtless a beer or two. However as the afternoon progressed, I found more and more reasons why it might actually be a good idea to go. Firstly, as mentioned above, I couldn't get to Bolton which would mean missing two successive local games. Additionally, particularly after the Norwich game was postponed, there were few games I was likely to attend during September (1 home league game for a whole month! Who decides these fixtures!?) Seeing Wright-Phillips and some of the other 'fringe' players seemed a reasonable excuse to go. The acquisition of a potentially valuable away ticket stub was also a good reason to go. But what swung it was to test the 'Lucky Underpants Theory (LUT). I won't bore you with the details of this at the moment (you probably have your own version anyway), but suffice to say, pre-season and 4 games in, there is a pattern! If I went to the game, it would have to be virtually straight from work, I certainly wouldn't have a chance to get changed into my ritualistic match day attire, including those ever-so-important underpants which were in the wash following our exertions against Sheffield United. If we lost (so long as it wasn't 6-0 of course) it wouldn't matter and it would prove the LUT. If we won, it would free me from the bondage of ensuring that I had to wear those underpants every time I attended a match.

Decision made at 5.30 PM and with the blessing of Mrs Hartley, I left at 6-30 PM, making my way to Turf Moor. The journey was easy, as was parking and I expected to enter an empty stadium. This is half correct as the official attendance was only 3,500ish and you could almost count the Burnley fans in the other 3 stands. But there must have been at least 2,500 in the City end. City fans again prove their remarkable loyalty- 5-0 up and we still bring the crowds. Maybe everyone was testing their own version of the LUT!

The match itself was predictably uninspiring, despite Royle trying to boost its importance by suggesting that anyone who didn't 'perform' would not be playing on Saturday. I think that I can confidently state that, injuries permitting, even if Jamie Pollock for instance, had scored a hat trick and assisted a further 3 goals, he would not have been in the starting lineup on Saturday!

City used a worrying 4-5-1 formation, with Gareth Taylor (replaced by Allsopp half way through the second half) as a lone striker. I say it was worrying because I have a feeling that Royle was experimenting with a possible 'away' formation, packing the midfield intending to make us difficult to breakdown. Although the formation worked in a defensive way (though against Burnley, remember), poor Gareth Taylor and indeed Allsopp may as well not been on the pitch. Although Taylor's er, inadequacies are frequently highlighted, you couldn't blame him entirely for this particular dire performance. It must be difficult playing upfront, unassisted by the midfield. I might be idealistic, but I would prefer to see City play our own game;- 4-4-2, perhaps with one of the wingers withdrawn if we really do need to strengthen the centre of midfield. City lined up as; Weaver, Crooks, Jobson, Wiekens, Edghill (back at left back whether he likes it or not), Cooke, Pollock, Bishop, Brown, Kennedy and Taylor. Allsopp replaced Taylor, Vaughan came on for Wiekens who had been booked and had suffered a nasty clash of heads and finally, Wright-Phillips (more in a minute) came on for Cooke with about 20 minutes to go.

Bishop was upended in the first few seconds and that was about it in the 'passion' stakes until a little flurry of tackles in the last few minutes of the half. A particular Burnley player (Lyttle?) threw himself to the ground every time he got anywhere near our penalty area, we had a few half chances and that was that really. The second half their shorts).

On to the game. City never looked in trouble during any part of this game. Burnley had a player Little who kept going down in the box, (Ginola would've been proud of his effect on English football). Throughout the game Jobson looked steady and solid and formed a good partnership with Wiekens. Lee Crooks seemed solid enough, but again I'm not happy with Edghill. He finds it hard to pass with any accuracy and I also find that he passes short to the wingers, putting them at a disadvantage. I hope Granville is on the way to recovery, because he does look like a Premiership leftback. I prefer him to Tiatto, because he doesn't get caught out of position as much, and his temperament is very good. Anyway......

Back to the game; the midfield was on top and my man of the match was Ian Bishop. He has a very calm head when others are flying in, his touch and vision are way above any other midfield player on the Maine Road books, and he also looks fit and hungry. Brown and Pollock did a lot of huffing and puffing, and were both effective without being inspirational. The two wide players continue to be our best form of attack, whipping in crosses at regular intervals.

At half time as the as the players were coming out, Moonchester pointed at Little and started diving in the box. He did this numerous times (as had Little) and this for me was the best part of the night. Well funny. I suppose you had to be there really, Moonchester what a star.

The second half began, Taylor was taken off to be replaced by Allsopp who straight away looked more effective. After 65 mins Brown crossed in for Cooke who took the ball down well and chipped the keeper, 1-0 superb goal. Wright - Phillips came on for Cooke and played out wide on the right??? He is very fast and the Burnley players didn't know how to handle him. He's so small and quick and must be a nightymare (err.. forgetting the shorts was bad enough Walter, but a "nightymare"? Ed.) for big defenders. If they touch him, he'll go down. His shorts and socks met in the middle because he's so small. City sang 'You must be Niall Quinn in disguise', I thought it was funny. He laid off a beautiful back heel which was confidence in itself and he could be a star this season. Chant of the night had to be ' You've got more players than fans'. A good win but not much of a match. Jobson should be up to the task on Saturday and this was a big plus. Sorry I've not told you more about the game, but there really is so little to tell. Very uninspiring. Roll on the next round. Started wearing the brightest yellow woolly hat in the world, so come over and say hello. You will see the hat, you can't bloody miss it.

AUG 28 BOLTON - MANCHESTER CITY 0-1 (0-1)

Report by: Walter Smith

Got into Bolton and followed a Blue to the right bus stop in Bolton town centre. Now I don't know about you, but if I'm making my way to away matches in places like Bolton, where civilisation hasn't quite caught up with Manchester, wearing colours I sometimes feel is for the very brave or very stupid. Anyway I got talking to this bloke and he seemed sensible enough so I put him in the brave category. Now I couldn't get a ticket for the City end, but I managed to get one for the Bolton end and I thought as long as I keep my mouth shut, I'll be OK. Got to the ground which I thought was impressive, a bit out of town, but otherwise similar to Reading's ground last year. The thing is though it only holds a maximum of under 25,000. Can't wait to see what our new ground is going to look like. Entered the ground, on with the world's brightest hat, (my lucky yellow hat), 'OK just keep your gob shut, you'll be OK.'

Took my seat ready for kickoff, when 10 fellow blues sat round me, with MCFC tattooed on knuckles there was no way they were keeping quiet. One started chatting to me, I told him I was City, he confessed to me 'We'll be all right, there's 11 of us now. We'll fight our way out if it kicks off.' MMMmmm Great I thought, only surrounded by 1,000 Bolton fans. Anyway the game kicked off, the lads next to me start shouting 'C'mon City' . Oh dear, I could smell trouble, (no not from my trousers).

Bolton seemed to be playing the better football, the line up was Weaver, Edghill, Jobson, Wiekens, Tiatto, Horlock, Whitley, Goater, Dickov, Cooke and Kennedy. Bolton had a shot in the first 5 minutes, just a bit later they had a one on one with Weaver, but Weaver was doing a cool impression of a cucumber, and palmed it around the post, the Maine Road faithful started 'Weaver, Weaver' (this happened on a regular basis all afternoon). City had a shot from Dickov in the first half, as this happened scuffles broke out in the Bolton end, (keep it shut, practising my best Bolton accent in my head). Bolton were bossing the midfield and easily cutting past Edghill on the right, suddenly Kennedy picked up the ball in the middle of the park, and ran right at the Bolton defence with no other options he took aim and fired, their goalkeeper was left clutching air, 'one nil in your cup final' the blokes next to me went mental, oh dear (I afforded myself a smile). We're going to DIE, scuffles broke out all around us, my lucky hat was working so far, 1-0 up and no digs in the head yet.

At this point I went to the toilet and so missed the Cooke, Bishop substitution. (anyone know why?). Coming back from the bog, I noticed loads and loads of riot police, I thought I'd try and get in the City end 'No chance pal' was about as polite as I got. Took my seat for the end of the first half and watched the Bolton fans getting very upset at the City taunts. Oh well, just keep the gob shut. At half time my phone rang. Someone I know in the City end had spotted the lucky hat. I just thought 1-0 will do me. If we'd scored again the City fans around me would've gone off on one, and something resembling WW3 would've broken out.

During the start of the 2nd half, which I thought was City's best part, they looked the business. They could have scored at least a couple (notice Johnson scored again for Ipswich). Taylor came on for Goater (well that's our scoring done for today). Why bring him on when you can give youth a chance? Kennedy played a very neat 1 -2 with Goater and Goater played the ball in slightly behind Kennedy who tried to back heel it (Kanu v's Middlesborough) into the net but missed it, poetry in motion. Bolton then tried for a point but came up against a City defence in no mood to give them what they wanted. City battled hard and got 3 valuable points, no argument from me. I decided to leave the ground after 87 minutes to avoid a riot with the disappointed Bolton fans. Roll on Forest.

AUG 30 MANCHESTER CITY - NOTTINGHAM FOREST 1-0 (1-0)

Report by: Duncan Madden-Ross

A fine strike from Shaun Goater after only thirteen minutes took City into second place after today's 1-0 home win against Nottingham Forest.

Goater's third goal of the season was sufficient to gain the Blues all three points at Maine Road, but despite dominating the first half City had the woodwork to thank twice in the second half for maintaining Nicky Weaver's record of six consecutive clean sheets in league and cup, a total of ten hours of football that City haven't conceded a goal since Robbie Keane's strike in the opening day defeat at home to Wolves.

A Maine Road crowd of 31,857 saw City move second in the table behind leaders Ipswich. An injury to Gerard Wiekens ruled the Dutchman out of this afternoon's game, but his absence was countered by the return from suspension of skipper Andy Morrison, who partnered Richard Jobson at the heart of the City defence. Shaun Goater and Danny Tiatto were passed fit after picking up knocks at Bolton at the weekend, while Mark Kennedy had been cleared to play before reporting for international duty.

There was no Shaun Wright-Phillips on the bench for City, but his father Ian Wright was in the Forest attack, although David Platt had to do without the injured Carlton Palmer and Nigel Quashie, with Mannini and Melton coming into the side.

Forest started the brighter of the two sides, but it was City who had the first shot in anger when Cooke fired high over the bar. Scimeca then fired over for Forest from fully 30 yards before City took the lead on 13 minutes. Kennedy's brilliant through ball should have been cut out by Mannini, it wasn't, and Shaun Goater strode forward to the edge of the box before firing past Crossley into the corner of the net to chalk up the striker's third of the season.

Mannini then limped off for Forest with a hamstring pull on the quarter of an hour to be replaced by Hjelde. On 24 minutes, Kennedy's cross was headed clear by Matrecano only to Goater, whose volley went inches wide. A few minutes later City should have had a penalty when Hjelde held back Dickov when the striker was in the act of shooting, but Forest escaped punishment. Dickov then had a shot blocked before Tiatto's long range drive went over the bar.

Ian Wright had a rare opportunity on the break for Forest as City appeared to take a five minute breather but the chance was snuffed out. Goater then shot straight at Crossley from an angle, as the half ended with Terry Cooke's cross being cleared by a beleaguered Forest defence as David Platt's side appeared to be more than happy to hear the half-time whistle.

City should have gone two up minutes after the break when, from Morrison's long ball, Goater took it around Crossley and from a tight angle he took his time before seeing his shot cleared from close to the goal-line by Matrecano when he should have squared the ball to a furious Kennedy. Minutes later, a rapid Forest counter-attack was led by Rogers, who crossed for Wright, only for the striker to be denied by a brave block by Weaver with the ball going out for a corner. Jeff Whitley then had a great chance for City after a slick one-two with Horlock, but he shot hurriedly over the angle. Whitley missed with a couple of further shooting opportunities before Freedman nearly surprised Weaver with a volley which dipped over the bar.

David Platt brought on Marlon Harewood for Petrachi twenty minutes from the end. Minutes later, Scimeca's free header from a corner should have been the equaliser but the defender could only glance it wide. Then Ian Wright chested the ball down and volleyed the ball against the outside of the post to come within a whisker of the equaliser. Joe Royle responded by bringing on Bishop and Crooks for Cooke and Tiatto before Goater nearly embarrassed Crossley following Scimeca's backpass, with the Forest 'keeper eventually collecting after Goater had knocked the ball away from him. The woodwork thwarted Forest again near the end when Chettle's free-kick from distance clipped the outside of the post, before the City goalscorer Goater was replaced by Gareth Taylor.

With City hanging on to a certain extent, Andy Morrison and co. saw off any late Forest threat to make it three league wins on the trot for Joe Royle's side and a current league position which only the most ardent of Blues fans could have dreamed of at the start of the season.

by Svenn A. Hanssen, svenn@hanssen.priv.no