MATCH REPORTS 1998/99

NOV 7 OLDHAM - MANCHESTER CITY 0-3 (0-2)

Match report by: Svenn Hanssen

JR decided to go for the 4-4-2 formation that proved victorious last saturday. The only change being Ian Bishop getting the nod from the start instead of Danny Allsopp. The young Aussie was accompanied on the bench by Paul Dickov and Michael R. Brown. Two changes to Oldham from last weekend as Duxbury and Holt replaced Sinnott and Orlygsson.

City had only lost once on Boundary Park before this afternoons match, and it was expected to be a tight derby, as Oldham struggled to get out of the relegation zone, and City aimed against the top of the table.

City looked strong during the opening minutes. The win against Colchester had perhaps given the players some confidence. Also the on-loan Michael Branch and new signing Andy Morrison looked very lively during the opening minutes. Captain Kevin Horlock was in command, and after 17 minutes, fellow midfielder Lee Crooks found Richard Edghill on the right. The right-back crossed perfectly into the crowded area, where Horlock swept in from the left to open the score.

City continued to put pressure on the Oldham defence, and after 26 min Bermudian striker Shaun Goater put the ball over the bar after good work by co-striker Branch.

Only 5 minutes later City got a free-kick in a dangerous position. Bishop and Horlock lined up facing the wall, and it was the captain who slotted home his second goal with the keeper beaten.

Half time score: Oldham 0 City 2.

City looked comfortably in the lead, and Oldham never got close enough to test Nicky Weaver thoroughly. The City defence looked rock solid, and Horlock ran the midfield confidently. 9 minutes into the second half Michael R. Brown replaced Ian Bishop and 12 minutes later the youngster hit the back of the net, but the referee disallowed the goal because of an infringement.

The score only lasted 2 more minutes. 68 minutes into the game Goater nodded down to Morrison who hammered the ball into the net with a powerful right-foot drive. The big defender could have copied the effort one minute later, but missed.

Oldham made some changes to get into the game, but never looked like scoring. Instead Mason and Branch came close at the other end of the field. The Oldham keeper did well to intercept Browns effort, while Branch hit the bar after leaving the keeper stranded.

City cruised in and, for once, secured the victory all the way to the end.

This was top against bottom. City looked very cool and comfortable. Oldham just couldn't get close enough to prove dangerous. The defence looked solid, and when the attackers don't score, it must be relieving for JR to have a defender who scores in every match. Also Horlock will be satisfied after grabbing two more goals this afternoon. This was just the way everybody was expecting/hoping City would go through this season. Hopefully this was just a taste of games to come.

NOV 10 WYCOMBE - MANCHESTER CITY 1-0 (1-0)

Match report by: Colin Jonas

'Welcome to today's visitors Manchester City. And who would believe that City would be here for a league match'. Thankyou Mr. Tannoy Man. Yes who indeed. For the last visit to Wycombe in September 1995 for a Coca Cola Cup match, City were in the Premiership and included the likes of Kinkladze, Beagrie and Quinn in the side. I went along to that match with an ex-work colleague who supported Wycombe. Patronisingly I commented on how nice it was that these Cup matches allowed the likes of Wycombe to play the big teams like City. Funnily enough for this game I didn't bother to get in touch. Can't think why.

Wycombe's ground has improved considerably since the last visit. Seats for the away fans behind the goal, and a large new two tier stand with executive boxes along one side of the pitch. Certainly far from the worse ground City will be playing at this season. However, on tonight's form I wouldn't be surprised if City are visiting 21 new grounds next season. Thankfully, I didn't hang around after the game to hear if Mr. Tannoy Man said 'And who would believe that City would be here for a league match and get beaten 1-0'.

Keeping the same line-up that won convincingly at Oldham, City lined up in a 4-4-2 formation as follows:-

              Weaver
Edghill  Wiekens  Morrison  Vaughan
Mason     Bishop  Crooks    Horlock
          Goater  Branch

Not much of a change from the 5-3-2 formation that City have been playing with all season. The only difference being that Horlock didn't drop back into defence as much. But then again, he didn't get forward much either. City started well. Horlock and Vaughan producing great saves from Martin Taylor in the Wycombe goal inside the first 5 minutes. I was confidently thinking this was going to be a walk over. City had all the play and it was only going to be a matter of time before we scored the first of many. But that goal never came, despite countless corners and constant pressure City couldn't find a breakthrough. Even though it was all City, their keeper didn't have to make a decent stop for the rest of the game.

On 34 minutes disaster struck. A long ball out of defence caught Wiekens slightly wrong footed. Their centre forward easily outjumped Wiekens and headed the ball into the path of Andy Baird right in front of goal. Edghill alert to the danger dived in at the last moment and nicked the ball back to Weaver. However, Baird fell over Edghill's outstretched leg and the ref awarded a penalty, booking Edghill in the process. For me, it was a great challenge and definitely not a penalty. I'd brought my Dad along for the game to show him how City have 'developed' since the days when he use to take me as kid. Anyway, he thought it was a penalty. But then his eyesight's not what it was. Looking at the TV replay of the goal it looked like a penalty as well. But then the angle wasn't as good as mine. Nevertheless, a penalty it was and Simpson put Wycombe one up.

The biggest cheer of the day was reserved for the kid's penalty shoot out at half-time. The Green team were thrashed and afterwards both teams did a lap of honour. As the Green team came round they were clapped and cheered as if they'd won the FA Cup. Have we fans developed an affinity with losers?

As our real bunch of losers came back on there was no change in the line-up or performance. City still had the majority of the ball, but showed nothing in front of goal. Early into the second half, Joe Royle made a rapid succession of changes. Dickov on for the ineffective Branch. Brown on for Bishop and Allsopp on for Mason. Dickov looked lively, but his end product often let him down. Nevertheless he showed more bite up front than the disinterested Branch.

Still City didn't create any clear cut chances. Crooks hit two way over, as did Edghill. Goater headed over from the one corner City had that wasn't immediately cleared. Brown hit a couple of tame shots at the keeper, and despite all City's possession they didn't look like scoring. When the assistant linesman displayed 2 minutes injury time to be played, I still hoped we could get our customary late equaliser and go home relatively happy. But no, City didn't even come close. The whistle went and that was that. 5 defeats already this season and 10 points off the leaders. The best City can hope for realistically is a play-off place and promotion via the play-offs at Wembley (which is probably the most exciting way to get promoted). However, if City can't force a bottom of the table team like Wycombe to make more than 2 saves in a match, and none for the last 85 minutes then the best we can hope for is 'consolidation' in Division 2. In my last match report at Millwall, I enthused about 2 City players in particular :- Nick Fenton and Lee Bradbury. Joe Royle subsequently dropped one and sold the other. I guess after supporting City for 28 years I obviously don't know much about football!

Anyway, for what it's worth, here's my summary of the City players tonight. I shall be careful not to be too enthusiastic about anyone just in case Joe Royle is reading! Although, on the evidence from this match it won't be difficult.

Performances:

WEAVER: Didn't have anything to do apart from the penalty. 6

EDGHILL: Best performance in a long time. Good quality balls out of defence. Consistently took players on and often beating them. Unlucky with the penalty. My Man of the Match. No doubt our next player to be sold! 8

VAUGHAN: Usual poor balls out of defence. Great run and shot early on. Reliable defending. 6

WIEKENS: Caught for the goal. Classy player though he is, I would still prefer to see him play in centre midfield and dictate play further up the pitch. Not tall enough to play centre half. Should make way for Fenton or Sheila. 6

MORRISON: Good solid performance. No spectacular goals this time, but good defending. Won every tackle and could make a good partnership alongside a taller centre half. 7

MASON: Neat little passes. Kept possession well, but nothing spectacular. 6

BISHOP: Same as Mason. 6

CROOKS: Good solid performance. Good tackles and neat passing. But again too similar to Mason and Bishop. City need more variety in their play. They kept possession well, but no real cutting edge. Any of these could make way for a winger. Is Craig Hignett going to make any difference? For me, he's the same as these three, so here's hoping he doesn't find the attraction of living near his kids as great as the money he's receiving in Aberdeen. Anyway for Crooks: 6

HORLOCK: So so performance. Horlock is probably the best player City have nowadays and so much is expected of him. But just like his other midfield colleagues nothing special. Nothing happened from his umpteen corners and free-kicks. Just one of those days I guess. 6

BRANCH: Can't say I was excited when I heard he was coming to City. Reading that he'd scored about three goals in forty odd games for Everton didn't exactly inspire me either. But, nevertheless Joe Royle has given him a big build-up and stories of a million pound bid earlier in the day led me to believe he was a read find, 'the player that would help us forget Gio'. But Oh dear, oh dear. What a poor performance. He consistently lost the ball. Didn't once beat a Wycombe player, and just didn't look interested. I expect we'll hear stories from Royle about how he's still coming back from injury and still finding his feat in this Division etc. etc. Let's hope so, because if ever there was a team in need of a saviour right now it's City. But for me Michael Branch doesn't look to be that man. 3

GOATER: As much as I'd like to please our friends in Bermuda and give Goater at least 5 points, I'm afraid I can't. After losing the ball with his first 3 touches I decided to count Goater's success rate on the ball so that I could give an objective account of his performance. Goater was given 22 clean passes throughout the game. This doesn't include the 50-50 challenges of which he won none. Of the 22 passes, possession was immediately surrended to Wycombe on 14 occasions. My Dad commented that City would have been better off playing with 10 men. Enough said. 3

DICKOV: Replaced Branch on the hour and although busy his final pass lacked accuracy. 4

BROWN: Replaced Bishop shortly after Dickov came on and looked good. He was willing to take players on, and make something out of nothing. Something that his other midfield colleagues were reluctant or unable to do. 7 ALLSOPP: Replaced Mason for the last quarter of an hour, but made no impact. 3

Overall, City dominated the game and had at least 80% of the possession. The problem was up front. Lack of inventiveness and attacking ideas was City's downfall. Oh, for somebody to run at the defence and show some imagination.

On that note there was an article in the Times on Saturday (7/11/98) under the heading 'Quote of the Week'. Commenting on his life with Ajax, Georgi Kinkladze said "It's OK in Holland, but it's still not as good as Maine Road. I really miss the place."

Thanks Joe Royle. Thanks a lot!

NOV 13 (FACR3) MANCHESTER CITY - HALIFAX 3-0 (2-0)

Match report by: Simon Fink

There was a strange atmosphere at Maine Road tonight. We recorded the smallest ever crowd for a FA cup game at our place. A kind of premonition of even worse times to come when away supporters will outnumber home fans? Ummmm, it wasn't very comfortable but at least better news on the footballing front.

City started quite brightly. After about 10 minutes a three man move beginning with a good pass from Goater to Dickov and then a perfectly weighted diagonal pass from Dickov to Russell led to Russell stabbing the ball past their goalie, though it looked like the fellow could have saved it.

Halifax looked hopeless. We showed some tidy passing at the back and then generally booted the ball up to the forwards who mainly failed to control the ball very well. But, no matter. Goater to Dickov, Dickov slid another well judged pass to Russell who this time flicked the ball with the outside of his left foot past the advancing goalie and into the bottom left corner of the goal in front of the North Stand. A well worked goal. A goal, the build up to which, though short, gives one hope and the finishing, gives one more hope.

Half time. The second half was fairly subdued. One bad tackle by Vaughan went unpunished. Halifax tried hard but we contained them. All their efforts were from long range. They did win a lot of corners though and must have had more than us by the end. Before the end though, Russell was put through by Mason (not sure actually) and ran to the goal line before driving a low pass to Goater who scored his trademark goal, from 1 yard out.

On the whole, we didn't play badly and that's about all you could say about us except I have some more. We looked a class above Halifax, (small comfort I know) and good enough to be at least in the same company as Crewe, Port Vale and Bury.

Performances:

Weaver - Nothing at all to do in the game except boot the ball occasionally and fetch it from row A.

Crooks - Looks a bit like Mike Doyle from a distance but the similarity ends there. A true donkey but I suppose teams in this division have to have a few.

Vaughan - Likes to mix it but good enough for division 2.

Morrison - The most unfit footballer I have ever seen playing professionally, fantastically slow but assured, hard, skillful and with some presence. A perfect division 2 promotion player.

Wiekens - A class above the rest of the defence. I would even say classy.

Bishop - Completely anonymous in this game.

Mason - I'd like to see him hit a pass of more than 5 yards but at least he's trying.

Horlock - Not his best game, mainly anonymous but some terrible crosses.

Goater - A poor man's Naill Quinn. A bit awkward and gangly but some of this makes it difficult to play against him. He needs to put on 40 pounds but not lose any speed. Shouldn't be a problem.

Dickov - A livewire but too lightweight. I'd definitely have him in the team every week. With a bit more confidence he should be wreaking havoc in this company.

Russell - A very poor man's Dennis Tueart but good enough for the 3rd best division and with a good run in the team and some confidence, could even turn out to be as good as Nicky Summerbee (remember him?, the w***ker). Actually, the way he took his second goal, I can't understand why he hasn't scored loads more. Maybe he will now.

On the whole I saw more than enough to make me believe we should stroll into Division 1 (I'm ignoring the first part of this season) and at least we still have never lost in the first round of the Cup.

NOV 21 MANCHESTER CITY - GILLINGHAM 0-0 (0-0)

Match report by: Sharon Bennett

TG was great, why do City always have to try and spoil things just when you're enjoying yourself? Having not quite recovered from the post-Friday night hangover I had to forgo the usual pre-match pint and settle for a coffee - only because I was cold, honest, not because I couldn't take any more beer. This at least meant I made it to my seat before the team announcement instead of missing kick off because the Kippax bar was still open. Horlock and Edghill were both suspended so Crooks dropped back to right back and Mason and Bishop both played in midfield, where they were joined by a not-quite-fit-and-looking-a-bit-porky-again Jamie Pollock. Russell kept his place up front after his performance against the mighty Halifax the week before. Full line up was Weaver, Vaughan, Wiekens, Morrison, Crooks, Mason, Pollock, Bishop, Goater, Branch and Russell. On the bench were Dickov, Brown and Tiatto.

City's best early chance came from Shaun Goater, who had by far his best game for us. A hopeful (surely not?) ball forward was chased by Goater, he then rounded the keeper (yes, that Goater, not a different speedy one) and shot from an impossibly narrow angle. Ooh, ooh, is it in, oh no it's hit the post aargh oh well can't be long before we score a bucketful.

Gillingham had obviously come to defend and did it well, every member of their midfield and defence looked at least 7 feet tall. I often get this feeling watching City - surely, with the exception of Dickov, most of the team must be over 6 foot? Why then do we always look so small? Their forwards, Asaba and some other ex-Brentford player whose name I've completely forgotten, looked threatening in patches but Wiekens and Morrison dealt with everything as competently as ever. I'm still waiting for Morrison to drop to the level all our other players who made promising debuts soon fell back to, but there's no sign of it yet. I only remember him making one mistake in the first half, when he let a high ball bounce instead of clearing it straight away, but he still made it difficult for the Gills' striker to get a shot on target and there was no danger of a goal coming from it. He also managed to take two of their players out of the game completely when they had to be subbed - fair (if hard) tackles both times, at least when he gets stuck in he does it accurately. Branch ran forwards a lot and won a couple of corners for us early on but looks too lightweight to make it in this division. Although it's nice having some speed up front for once I wouldn't be too bothered to see him go back to Everton - all defenders have to do is bump into him gently and he gets knocked off the ball. Our corners were still rubbish in the first half, don't know what they'd been practicing on set pieces but it obviously wasn't that.

The ref was letting some really clumsy challenges from both sides go unpunished and Gillingham can count themselves lucky not to have had anyone booked in the first half. We won a free kick about 10 yards outside the area when Goater, who was on a run at goal (yes, the same Goater) was scythed down from behind. Surely at least a booking? Nah. Nothing came of the free kick as it was hit straight at the keeper, which seemed to be a bit of a pattern to all our shots. It wasn't a particularly eventful first half but as we'd had far more of the possession and the only decent scoring chance it was a bit disappointing to hear the team get booed off at half time. I suppose at least the crowd were making some noise. I'd hoped that with a high turn out of Gillingham fans (they filled their North Stands seats and had quite a few in the tinpot stand in the corner) there might be more atmosphere than normal, but nope. More coffee at half time (I was COLD) and we just knew we'd storm the second half. Mason and Bishop had both been anonymous during the first half, not helped by the fact that they aren't easy to tell apart at a distance but we could have only been playing with one of them and I don't think we'd have noticed any difference.

City did start the second half as if they'd had a rocket shoved up their bums as they attacked in numbers time and again. Goater was still chasing lost causes and Russell was making some good runs down the left - all too often though when he got his cross over Goater was on his own in the box with 4 or 5 defenders, he was playing well but I don't think he's capable of fighting off that much competition for the ball. Pollock was replaced by Brown after about 5 minutes and waddled back over to the bench - how can he have put on so much weight again in only 4 weeks? Dickov came on for Branch and carried on where Andy Morrison had left off, taking out another two of their players in record time. They did dive though, more time wasting tactics but as the ref was still refusing to book anyone they got away with it.

About half way through the second half Mason was guilty of the worst miss of the game - he ran well onto a through ball from midfield but with only the keeper to beat he shot wide to the right. It was turning into one of those days, but we still had all the play, all the possession and a blind and naïve belief that there could only be one winner. I lost count of how many corners we won early in the second half - these were at least better than what had been tried in the first half as Russell and Bishop worked a series of neat short corners followed by good crosses in from Russell. From one of these Goater had another chance that, had it been against us, would have gone in - this time the defender on the post turned the ball out for another corner. Just after that the keeper came to catch the ball and fell awkwardly, spilling it on the floor. Goater just didn't quite have time to turn and try to get the ball off him although even if he had he probably would have been penalised for making the 'keeper fall in the first place.

Vaughan got a ridiculous amount of abuse after mishitting a shot from the left. OK, it did go about 60 feet in the air, but I don't think starting a chant of "Vaughan is a wa**er" is going to help. By all means have a go after the game, but not during - how many times has this been said before? At least it was good to see how many people stood up for him when the boos and chants started - a couple of minutes after that he got a standing ovation (from our part of the crowd anyway) when he controlled the ball really well on the half way line and skipped past two defenders before a third managed to come across and clear it.

That was about it. Their number 10 was booked (at last) for about the 10th bad tackle he did in the second half. I don't remember Weaver having to make a save after half time, but on reflection we didn't look as if we knew how to win. We see far too many well organised defences like this come to Maine Road for a draw and we never fail to disappoint them. Our defence was steady and didn't make a mistake, Brownie when he came on played well and helped out all over the pitch, our forwards ran well and got into some good attacking positions, we must have had 70% of the posession - but we still couldn't score. At the start of the season we were creating tons of chances and Goater was missing them - he'd score far more now, the way he's played in the last couple of games, but the chances aren't there any more. When faced with a defence like that we're completely clueless - there isn't anyone who's capable of that little bit of magic that can split defences and lead to spectacular goals. Or indeed goals at all. It's getting more and more frustrating every game and Stoke are looking a long long way ahead.....

Final score 0-0

Good to meet lots more people though at the TG, thanks to Bob and Clive for doing such a good job, and it's true (sorry David) - Cheadle Blue really is the spitting image of Jamie Pollock!!

NOV 28 LUTON TOWN - MANCHESTER CITY 1-1 (0-1)

Match report by: James Nash

I went to the game last Saturday with two friends Ian, a Luton fan, and Sue, a City fan, who just happen to be be a couple. We had to go in the home end, what with the City end sold out as well as being accompanied by Lutonian relations, so us two City fans kept very quiet during our goal and theirs.

Sue & Ian had a bet that whoever's team won would have to make the dinner that night, leaving the loser to sulk more happily that way. We ended up eating a take-away curry in front of Match of the Day, watching some decent football not the half-baked crap we'd been unfortunate enough to watch earlier. It pains me to say that but Luton and City were both as bad as each other.

Admittedly, it was a cold day and with all the rain before the game and during the second half, playing conditions were bad but for most of the game, it was a comedy of errors. Players were constantly falling over, making very poor passes, not using space properly, etc. etc. If either side had been half decent, they would have run away with the game.

City did play well first half and they should have been 2 or even 3 up by half time, especially with Goater, definitely onside, missing a sitter; he was clean through and didn't even force a save. Then Luton should have won it at the end, their otherwise impressive full-back Simon Davies missing an even more glaring headed opportunity.

With Morrison withdrawn, we seemed to switch to 3-5-2 (or maybe 5-3-2 or even 5-2-3!) and I knew instantly we weren't going to win the game. One thing which annoys me: why do City always come out early for the second half and then line up in formation before the other team has appeared? First, it looks stupid and second, it immediately exposes our tactics or any half-time changes. If a tactical novice like myself can see these things, opposing managers and players must see them a mile off.

Our defence played well. Weaver made three fine stops and Wiekens was superb throughout yet again. Gerard has been my City man of the match every time I've seen us play this season, with the exception of Russell in the Cup game. Morrison was very good as well until forced off; I wasn't too surprised when he failed to come out for the second half, having taken quite a tumble heading a dangerous ball away. His headed goal from a corner was well taken but a bit soft for a defence that had previously only leaked two League goals at Kenilworth Road all season.

Remember at school when the P.E. instructor used to shout "You're crunching! Spread out!". That's what happened for long periods in the game. At one point all 20 outfield players were within 20 yards of each other and there were spells of 6 or more successive thrown-ins to Luton. Not very surprising that neither midfield impressed then. Luton were mostly to blame, their defence pressing up to the half-way line from the off, with City being forced to do likewise. Russell put in lots of effort but didn't seem to know if he was playing left midfield, winger or third striker. Tiatto on as sub was notable only for his dreadfulness; we would have been better playing with 10 men.

Our forwards should have exploited Luton's offside trap but they just weren't good enough. After his miss, Goater didn't look interested until the last 5 minutes, barely bothering to jump for challenges as per usual. Taylor might not have been match fit but he looked awful. He can't hold the ball up and him and Goater just got in each other's way some of the time. I'll give him a few games to shape up but the early signs are not good.

A word of praise to the referee who was one of the best I've seen in this division. Fair and firm, only booking players when merited. My one moan is that both corners leading to the goals looked suspiciously like goal kicks to me. Better a 1-1 than a 0-0 though. The Luton fans didn't make a peep in the first half and the City fans did themselves proud in comparison, considering the quality of the fare on offer wasn't much to shout about.

Although both sides had their moments and the chances to win it, it was a fair result in the end. I would have settled for that before the game, considering Luton's defence is the best one in the League at home. I have a feeling we might be meeting this team in North London sometime in May. I hope not, if only for the sake of my friends' relationship!

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