MATCH REPORTS 1999/2000

OCT 2 MANCHESTER CITY - PORT VALE 2-1 (2-0)

Report by: Tony Burns

Our two defeats away from home meant that we really did have to win this one, if we were going to maintain our excellent start and excellent league position. I think experience at the Academy last season showed that many of the smaller teams coming to Maine Road were there to simply enjoy the day, enjoy the big crowd and with one or two exception come for the draw. I have to say Port Vale's tactics were weird, the only team I've seen in a long time who didn't even come for a point, they were that bad. At the end of the report I've included some statistics that indicate that despite the two defeats away we're still well on course for a good finish.

I think their nickname is The Valliants, but I can't for the life of me think why, it would make more sense for that name to be used to describe their supporters, although a medical intervention might be more appropriate with the simpletons who pay money to watch that rubbish week in week out. You have to go back to 1928/29 for their most successful season (5th in the second division). On yesterday's performance it won't be long before they're back in the second division again.

Anyway, for those of you not in Manchester the weather on Friday and Saturday morning had been pretty appalling: very very wet and it was a real credit to the ground staff that the pitch was as playable as it was, although I must say that the grass looked a little longer than normal. On the way down to the ground we had stopped fror a Guinness at the most excellent hostelry The Gardeners and the contrasts in the weather at about 2.00pm was such that we could actually sit outside to enjoy in our drink. Remarkably the weather stayed dry as we walked down to the ground, and although I had thought the crowd might be a little less than of late, there were actually 31,608 there - another superb attendance.

There were not too many Vale Fans, but I guess that’s not surprising as they only have an average attendance of about 5,000 or so. Those that had made it were allocated to yhe roofless Gene Kelly stand, and as I carefully avoided the steaming dog and horse sh*t that fills the alley ways around the ground, I prayed for freezing cold rain to provide a complete Manchester welcome to the Variants. In fact I don’'t think I've ever seen so much dog and horse sh*t in one place as yesterday (other than when I was in Rotherham a week or two ago). There was so much of it that I wondered whether or not horses and dogs could have a bad day - you know when your guts are really off after a night on the beer etc, it certainly seemed that way to me, or maybe the Vale fans had walked that way earlier and had just got a little over excited in the crowds.

As we waited for the kick off I couldn't help notice that the plastic seagull seemed to be in distress. In fact it seems that its fastening lines were either tangled or coming away and it hung almost on its side as it flapped around in the swirling wind. I do hope it can be fixed, as I for one will be very disappointed if it goes.

Regular readers will know that it's about this stage of my report that I do my fashion section and comment on the playing attire of our opponents. Well, it will be a bit different in this report, because it quite simply was cr*p. The green of the goalie's outfit was dull and faded (from a car boot sale perhaps?) and the outfield players were dressed completely in the most ridiculous yellow - in fact my 16-year-old daughter captured it perfectly when she said to me 'what's that kit all about then'!

The officials were as smart as ever and Mr Baines from Chesterfield had a pretty decent game, particularly when he refused to listen to the appeals for a penalty in the second half from the stupidly attired Vale players.

The game itself was pretty much typical of City this year. We simply dominated it. Six minutes into he game Kennedy lashed the ball goalwards only to see it strike the upright. Ian Bishop, who started this game and played the full 90 minutes was immediately effective and for me went on to become Man of the Match. It was good to see Danny Granville playing again and he looked sharp as he combined with Kennedy. Dickov was very unlucky not to score what would have been a sensational overhead kick on about the 11th minute, as he showed himself to have a degree of acrobatic skills normally restricted to members of a circus troupe. It really would have been a cracker

Kennedy again was in top class form as he tore down the left wing time after time, dazzling our dim-witted opponents at will. I think the dullards from Port Vale must normally play on a miniature pitch, as it seemed that not a single one of them knew they could use all the pitch and even come near the City goal. It was as one sided as the Sky commentary when the Rags are on (oh and on that score hard luck Marseille, I was gutted when the Rags got their goals in midweek)

Round about the 30th minute, Ian Bishop hit a superb ball from inside, but near the edge of, the 18-yard box (the ball had rebounded from a Jeff Whitley shot) and from the moment it left his foot it was always going in. The ball rose on its trajectory and smashed into the net causing that most magnificent of sights; that really is what football is all about - the magnificent spectacle of the net billowing out to retard the leather projectile as the beaten keeper is left clutching at nothing.

After this to be honest the rest of the first half was a bit of a joke, it really was one sided. We lost Goater to injury (replaced by Allsopp) and not long after Bishop smashed home a second great goal after Dickov had done great work to cut the ball back in from what looked to be a difficult angle. At 2 - 0 you would have bet on a 4 or 5 goals margin being the final result. The second half was pretty much the same balance i.e. all one sided but we did lose our way at times. We still had more chances than you can shake a stick at and we just don't take anything like enough of the chances that magic boots Kennedy slings across. Dickov was unlucky when he hit the post around about the hour and how Whitley didn't score later on I just don't know.

Port Vale got their goal on their one and only visit to the other end of the field and it proved to be a simple tap in for the Vale number 15 - Martin Foyle (probably their best player).

Oh, I forget to mention how pleased we were when it rained, brilliant, City fans nice and dry in the North Stand, away fans nice and wet and cold in the Gene Kelly. I had to laugh though when the stewards gave out the pac- a-macs to the City fans in our new magnificent scoreboard stand - it looked like a special Klan meeting (or some sort of plastic lovers fetish meeting) as they all slipped into their white rain macs with pointed hoods) Prior to the match I had visited the Vale web site and I was going to include some trivia about the club, but as they were so cr*p I can't be bothered, other than to say did you know there are over 2,000 bulbs in the Vale scoreboard (I bet they don't light up very often though)

OK, finally what does all this mean then? Well, the couple of defeats away from home mean that our points per game has dropped to an average of 1.9, we need it to be at an average of 2 per game if we are to secure an automatic place. Current trends mean we'll finish on 87 points and that will give us third place and a place in the play offs. We must increase our goals per game as our hit rate is only 1.4 and we have a declining goal trend. A win in our next game week will put us back on track and despite recent set backs, three points from our next game will put on track again for a top two finish. If you want more stats, picture and previous match reports etc check out my website at http://members.xoom.com/bluenews.

One last point I was told by friends in the Kippax that there is a new craze - people are bringing salt or pepper shakers into the ground to create a sort of Madchester Samba beat. Anyone know anything more about it? (honest that's not a wind up - the next banana craze?)

OCT 16 TRANMERE - MANCHESTER CITY 1-1 (0-0)

Report by: Phil Hartley

OK, lets deal with the important issues first...Have you noticed how sickly poor Moonchester is looking lately? On Saturday he did his best to entertain the crowd with his usual shenanigans, but his once bright blue head looked particularly insipid to me and his arms and legs were white! Whats happening? Are we not feeding him properly? Has he picked up some sort of interstellar flu? B*llocks to a new striker, let's spend the money on getting Mooney into the nearest BUPA hospital! Ahem!

Tranmere is a great ground for visiting supporters; a massive away end (which we filled of course), reasonable facilities, decent, safe parking and of course the marvellous 'Mersey Clipper' public house about 30 seconds walk from the ground. Unfortunately, although we have yet to lose at Prenton Park, we never win here either! City had the usual line-up of recent weeks, with Taylor making his first start in place of the hamstrung Goater. Edghill was suprisingly left on the bench in favour of Lee Crooks. The first half was truly awful fayre. I seem to recall Jeff Whitley having his usual couple of rugby conversions and that's about it. Tranmere were fighting for their lives, closing down and tackling anything that moved. They also had an infuriatingly successful offside trap which we couldn't get to grips with. Tranmere's main attacking tactic seemed to be Dave Challinor's jaw-dropping long throw (he can throw the ball further than Dickov can kick it!). Big Wayne Allison whom I would have thought would have proved a handful was well marshalled by Morrison and Jobson.

The second half had to be better and it was, marginally. Gareth Taylor, who was pretty anonymous throughout, ran on to a through ball on the left edge of the penalty area. He was going nowhere really, but Tranmere's inexperienced keeper, Murphy clattered the big centre forward and an obvious penalty was given. Only a yellow card to the keeper which in my mind was correct, but you never can tell nowadays, can you? Super Kev slammed home the spot kick yet again and we sat back expecting a few more goals. Immediately after the penalty, Tranmere were there for the taking. The keeper looked nervous, fluffing a back pass, but although we now began to play some nice stuff in little flurries, we couldn't (again!!) kill off the opposition. Dickov had a reasonable shout at a penalty when he was tackled/ brought down in the area. Taylor somehow didn't get to a right wing cross from 3 yards out. Allegedly the ball was punched off his head, which of course should have resulted in another penalty. I must say that although having a great view, I didn't see this punch, but this could have been down to me concentrating on Taylor's movement and lack of success, I don't know. Doubtless other reports will confirm this incident.

Notwithstanding our lack of killer instinct, Tranmere weren't at the races and with 10 minutes to go, I would have happily had a bet on the result being another 1-0. Then the officials, led by Premiership ref, Dermot Gallagher, decided to get in on the act. Dickov, burst through the middle on to a pass, with only the keeper to beat. Although he looked suspiciously offside, due to the space he had, it was a well timed run. Apparently the linesman (sorry 'assistant referee') momentarily raised his flag, but changed his mind. Dickov's shot was appalling, more of a pass back than a shot. A Tranmere defender placed the ball (with his hand) just outside the area and took a 'free kick'. The linesman flagged, presumably for hand ball, which surely it was, but Gallagher waved play on. A quick break by Tranmere got the ball to Allison who rounded Weaver and was taken out by Horlock, who had no alternative really. Kev was sent off and Mahon scored from the resultant spot kick. This was a crazy situation and surely extremely poor officiating by the referee. They say play to the whistle, but I certainly didn't hear any peeps or toots during this chain of events. The City players obviously didn't and it seems likely that the 'assistant referee' didn't either based on the contortions he had with his flag. Although our players shouldn't escape criticism completely, (they should not have been caught cold by a hopeful punt upfield) this was a mess of a situation, which if it hadn't resulted in a goal and possibly more importantly the suspension of a key player, would probably have been forgotten. If Dickov wasn't offside, then no offence had been committed and the Tranmere player committed a hand ball offence. If Dickov WAS offside, but the ref chose to play-on, the Tranmere player committed a handball offence. If the ref wasn't sure what he was doing, he should have blown and maybe given a drop ball. If he did in fact blow for an offside offence (although I'm sure that he didn't) then we got our just desserts. Everyone makes mistakes, but this one not only cost us 2 points, but also the services of Horlock for probably 3 games. There can be no appeal, as Horlock's action was a sending off offence, despite the fact that he probably should not have been put in that position.

Nevertheless, although we certainly deserved a better fate, this was not a good performance by the Blues. Although sporadically we looked the 'classier' side, Tranmere did not allow us to play how we wished. This will happen again and we must impose ourselves more. To coin a Joe Royle phrase "We must earn the right to play our football". The lack of goalscoring again cost us. Tranmere's penalty may have been a consolation if we'd had a more cutting edge. Despite his media protestations to the contrary, I'm certain that JR is NOT happy with his strike force and that he is desperately trying to find an addition. It's been said many times before, but we MUST score more goals. Goater has been doing the business, Dickov's all round contribution is excellent except in the crucial goal-scoring stakes. Taylor, I feel either can only be used as a sub or he needs an extended run, with all the risks that that involves. I must say that personally I don't think that I'd be prepared to take that risk. There must be a Premiership player we can get on loan to 'tied us over' (Ian Wright, Paul Kitson, Daniele Dichio, Stan Collymore even!) In my opinion the lack of goals has cost us 5 points so far (2 points today and 3 against Norwich). Spread over the season, at the same rate, we will lose 21 points only due to not finishing our chances. You don't need to be Einstein to realise that we can not afford to throw away such points.

OCT 19 BIRMINGHAM - MANCHESTER CITY 0-1 (0-0)

Report by: John Wilson

An early season 6-pointer. Birmingham's form this season and their final placing in recent campaigns suggests they will be there or thereabouts at the end of the season. So the result of this match could make all the difference at the end of the season. Oh Dear, Oh Dear, Oh Dear - what had Sky done to us! I approached the match trying to blot out the results of the Wolves, Southampton and Ipswich games hoping that the players would do the same.

Exiled in Leamington Spa this was one of the easy ones to get to for me. Met girlfriend Lisa in The Clock on the A45 for a couple of pints of the black stuff and an interesting Caribbean chilli con carne (a bit heavy on the coconut and light on the hot stuff for my liking). The journey to the ground was so smooth and the parking unusually easy that we arrived a full 25 minutes before kick-off. This gave me a chance to watch the players go through their warm-up, Moonchester's dance steps and the Birmingham City 4-year old cheerleaders nearly die of hypothermia. The ground has changed quite a bit since my first visit here in season 77-78. Only one stand from that era remains, The Main Stand. I actually sat in the Main Stand over 20 years ago because my mates who had been the previous season had been battered in the un-segregated terracing and refused to go back in there. Things have improved over the years but I am still wary as Birmingham have more than their fair share of nutters.

The teams came out, City in all white doing a good impersonation of Leeds United. Was this an omen? Leeds are after all top of their division! Birmingham's strip was an abomination. The team was the same that started against Tranmere with the un-concussed (no such word but you know what I mean) Edghill in for Crooks. Birmingham allegedly had 8 players out, the most noticeable Lazaridis, Furlong and Ndlovu. Lazaridis has apparently been doing for them what Kennedy has for us. So, this was as good a time as any to play them. The weather was cold but dry and should have been conducive to good football.

City just didn't seem up for this game. We probably had 2 efforts in the first half - a deflected Bishop 30-yarder and a Morrison header from a corner which ended up going well wide. We were sporadically putting some neat passing together without going anywhere, but the main problem was when the opposition had the ball. City just let them run with the ball unchallenged. It wasn't that Birmingham were doing anything special. Morrison seemed the only one to care and on a number of occasions had to make last-ditch tackles after the midfield had invited the brummies to the edge of the box. Weaver had made one good save early on and with 5 minutes to half time I remember thinking that we had got away relatively unscathed given our lack combativeness and passion. During the next 5 minutes, even though it didn't seem possible, City actually moved down a couple of gears. Luckily, Weaver went into overdrive. In the space of a few minutes he made three great saves and saw a free header clip the top of the bar. Half-time and nil - nil, unbelievable.

City had to do better in the second half and they were kicking towards us. Right at the start of the half City got a corner. Birmingham cleared and I was just about to remark that - we would never score no matter how good Kennedy's crosses were when we only had three men in the box and they had about eight - when the ball came back to Kennedy who put in a peach of a cross for Jobson to rise at the far post. Jobson's header was heading straight towards me and seemed to be in slow motion. At first I thought the keeper was going to get it, then I thought it would hit the bar, however it arced nicely between the two - YESSSSSSS! I then realised that it was probably going to be total panic for nearly a whole half and that the silly duffers had scored too early. However, for about 15 minutes after we scored we actually started to pass the ball around and Birmingham were not getting many touches - exactly what you want when one nil up away from home. This didn't last for long, the players soon realising that this wasn't the City way and reverting to type.

It's difficult to describe the last half hour. It was all down the other end from the City fans so those watching on Sky will have a better idea of how close Birmingham came to scoring. The City penalty area resembled a pinball table with white flippers propelling the ball outwards only for it to be pinged straight back in by those damn blue flippers with the funny white stripes. City did have one good chance in the second half. Edghill was dithering on the edge of the City box and looked like giving the ball away. Instead he fired a long ball upfield towards the right corner flag and Dickov gave chase. Dickov beat the defender to the ball, stopped the ball almost on the line and turned quicker than the Birmingham player who slightly impeded him. He was just about to throw himself to the ground whilst complaining to the linesman when he realised he had the ball and Whitley was in acres of space. The pass was good and all Whitley had to do was shoot past the keeper into the net. He spent too long teeing up his shot (probably understandable after his recent attempts at getting into the England/Ireland/Zambian world cup rugby teams as a kicker) and a defender got back, taking the pace off the ball and the keeper saved comfortably.

The final whistle went and immediately chants of "we are top of the league" went up. Surely both Charlton and Fulham couldn't have lost? Could results really have gone our way and were we to go top after playing so badly? Walking down the steps of the stand the result from Marseille was announced - I never felt more like singin ' the blues & & & - you know how it goes.

The real reason for this turn of events - my lucky yellow anorak. Strictly speaking it's not really an anorak - more of a waterproof, windproof and at the moment loss-proof jacket. It was bought a few days before the Port Vale game and due to the seat position - front row of lower Kippax - was worn to good effect, both on and off the pitch. It's second outing was on Tuesday night. Need I say more. So, if towards the end of the season we have a crucial match on a gloriously sunny day and you see someone looking like they are going on an Everest expedition wearing a yellow anorak - you know why!

OCT 23 MANCHESTER CITY - BLACKBURN 2-0 (1-0)

Report by: Ben McDermott

What a difference a year makes! Exactly a year ago me and my wife suffered a Manchester downpour of tropical proportions and then (drenched to the skin) had to suffer a 1-0 defeat at the hands of the mighty erm Reading. It was horrible. With Tiatto getting sent off early in the first half and then City capitulating after a really soft goal. Little could I guess that we'd be travelling to the Madjetski stadium and pasting them later that season (what kind of an arrogant pranker names a stadium after himself. Anyhow despite the troughs and trenches created by rugby, City played them off the park with incredible free kicks from a certain Cooke and a finally Goater converted one of his several chances.

But if the wheel of fate had turned completely when we arrived late to see City despatch Blackburn. We made the real mistake of travelling up from London Village on the first sat of half term (don't get caught out by this!) and ended up spending five and half hours on the motorway.

So I missed Blackburn's early domination and a near miss by a blue. "It sounds like the sea," said my other half as the barmy army rued a near miss as we ran down an alleyway. (Moss Side dogs must be the size of cattle judging by what we had to dodge!). Getting into our seats we only had five mins to wait for City's opener. It was created by Horlock seeing the space on the left. He played Kennedy in and there was only one player to get that ball. But it was the work of Goater and Dickov that created Edghill's goal. Dickov back tracked taking his marker out of the six yard box and, as the ball went in, Goater faked to shoot. Edghill ended his run almost in the net. Wish I'd seen Edgy's run it must have been something. The fitness of this City team is a marvel to behold.

Blackburn looked dangerous on the ball and there is class rippling through the team (though cr*p defending against the brilliant Kennedy) but they took the wrong decision when in front of goal. As Ipswich's David 'Jock' Johnson will confirm, sending a screamer into the top corner isn't necessarily going to beat Weaver. They also didn't have the bottle of Whitley and Horlock who harried and snapped at the heals of the Blackburn midfield. In Whitley we have the most exciting 20 year old in the country. Very few in midfield actually win the ball in the middle of the field and Whitley seems to do it for fun. Even when he takes a tumble taking the opposing player down with his tackle, he's first up and looking for a pass. This lad is premiership class, shame he's chosen Northern Ireland, not England.

Second half, Dickov made a superb fake and was on goal. Hack! Penalty! The Blackburn player should have been sent off under modern rules because it was a definite goal scoring opportunity. Filan did well to save off Horlock, though don't think he'll miss many this season. But those who knock Dickov, should note the amount of ball that we win simply because Dickov runs at the keeper as he kicks (bound to get a Paul Walsh someday!) Not to mention his tackling and holding the ball up, but with new strikers coming, it can only improve his game but I hope he stays No 1 choice.

City moved up a gear and Blackburn started to wane. Frandsen made nice runs across the front of our back four, but didn't really threaten like he did in first half. (though I missed most of it, thank god). It was the Irish man who was taking the crowd's breath away. For a left winger he is a big fella, and fast too. Watching him kick the ball behind Kenna (?) for a one-on-one sprint was supremely arrogant and a joy to watch. I don't think there is a level of humiliation that Kennedy wouldn't put defenders through: the class moment was juggling the ball on the by-line before whipping in a cross for Dickov to score! Well he should have scored. Only a gimp costume and root vegetables would have Kennedy's rightback feeling worse about himself.

Blackburn's goalie was earning his corn with saves from Morrisson (bet it stung) and Whitley on the line, although he couldn't do much about a shot from Horlock/Bish (?) that slammed off the post. Though I wish Weaver wouldn't juggle the ball in his penalty area in front of strikers even the greatest mess up. But Edg did a Gazza Euro '96 on right hand side to foil a Blackburn attack. A Kennedy corner, late run from the Ratter and it was curtains for Blackburn. 10 minutes comfort zone was brilliant. Premiership, Shmemership. Bring on the Rags!

The ref was the best for ages. There is nothing to say, 'cause he was pretty spot on.

OCT 27 MANCHESTER CITY - IPSWICH 1-0 (0-0)

Report by: Tony Burns

It was great going to the match - knowing that as long as we won we would stay top irrespective of other results. Before the match, I had been thinking about how the match might pan out and the likely result. I was certainly confident that we would win but I was uncertain as to how easy or difficult it would be.

We'd made hard work on the first half against Blackburn before getting our act together in the second half and I sort of rated Ipswich on a similar scale. In fact a week or two back I figured that Birmingham, Blackburn and Ipswich would all be tough games and I guess I would have settled for five points from those three games - the prospect of making it nine was a welcome one indeed.

I also figured that as it was a midweek night match and combined with our great form we would get a decent crowd, I guessed at about 28,000. I was wrong on both counts.

As kick off approached it looked like we'd have about 25-26 thousand there then with a minute or two to go the place just filled up, with people still coming in after the kick off. It ended up a staggering 32,799!

I reckoned that the farmers from Ipswich had added to the delay for fans getting in, tractors, combined harvesters and rickety old charabancs had added to the packed car parking and cluttered up the roads in. Fair play to the country folk, they filled the Gene Kelly and that's a hell of thing midweek and so far from home.

Initially I was a little confused to see the Ipswich away strip - I thought they had had to borrow their outfits from the stewards - sort of bright orange shirts with Greene King written on them (whatever that means) with blue shorts with orange and white stripes on them. The orange combining tastefully with the upper torso covering.

Mr John Kirby officiated and according to the programme notes he is the football leagues longest serving referee (13 years). Additionally, I was fascinated to note that he's a self-employed auditor from Sheffield. Mr Martin Atkinson (red flag) and Mr Paul Pawson (yellow flag) acted as assistant referees (I think they used to be called linemens) and Mr C Dunn acted as fourth official.

The game kicked off on time and we were immediately launching a spirited attack towards the Platt Lane goal - but other than these first few minutes the first half was an uncomfortable one for us as our forwards lost their way and the Ipswich offside trap proved to be too strong. The game had strong overtones to the Blackburn match, as we just couldn't find our way through. In fact, I think we were fortunate to go in at the end of the first 45 at 0-0. The seagull (who I shall now refer to as Jonathon - as in Jonathon Livingstone seagull) had swung madly throughout the first half I don't know if this was because of the wind or the fact he was perturbed by the odd folk in the Gene Kelly. In any case I was relieved to see Jonathon settle down a little during the interval.

Dickov as ever was all over the place, chasing everything; Kennedy who had been well marked in the first 45 showed more agility throughout the second half and began to weave his now familiar brand of magic. Dickov, not wanting to be outdone by magic boots Kennedy received a superb pass from Edghill, lifted it over the Ipswich defender before sending in a magnificent cross to Horlock who slammed the ball into the net. That was about the hour, and although I didn't think we would lose, I was not at all certain that we would hang on. Ipswich came back at us and for those of you who were not there if I tell you that Weaver produced a series of world-class saves you just would not believe how world class they were. The man is a goal keeping sensation. This man will become the England number one. There is little that is so certain. His opposite number Richard Wright pulled off a great save from Taylor (who had replaced Dickov) but whilst his was one stunning save - Weavers were just one after the other. This was a tight finish – Weaver saved two or three impossible attempts on goal, one on the line that the Ipswich players thought had crossed but it hadn't.

Without King Nick we would have lost - the deference that man gets from the crowd is astonishing (and thoroughly well deserved). Imagine 30,000 people bowing to the man and shouting Weaver, Weaver, Weaver. In fact such was his astonishing performance that he received an amazing ovation at the end and as ever he responded well to it - running to each part of the ground to offer his own humble thanks to his followers.

I thought Edghill was excellent, Morrison as ever was superb and although mentioning individuals, it has to be said that even when we're not looking sharp and having to play far too deep the team function as a team and it will that sheer spirit that will do wonders for us this season. Although Ipswich are higher up the table I actually rated Blackburn as a better team. Johnson the Ipswich hotshot added little to the game although he did go off injured - there was certainly nothing from him (on that performance) to suggest that he is worth the estimated £6m. Although I'm sure he is a great player, he just didn't get the opportunity to show it tonight.

I met up with my brother after the game at a spot near the Kippax car park that we now (as a family) have christened Rotherham corner (because of the piles of dog and horse crap everywhere and the shanty town appearance of the corrugated iron makeshift walls). Despite our win and retention of top spot, the night had not been without its disappointment. Walking back to the car we discussed the game and also the source of our disappointment, the rags had won in Croatia - still it might get better on Saturday as we both realised that we love Aston Villa and think they are a great team. To try and bring some luck to the weekend fixture we have decided that until about 4:50 on Saturday he shall be called John and I shall be called Gregory. We firmly believe that this sort of positive mindset can make a difference.

So what does this mean to the stats then - well it did nothing for our strike rate in fact this has now dropped to 1.4 per game, this is not too much of a problem whilst we drive down our goals against which is impressive at 0.5 per game. Overall performance charts suggest that we have an 80% chance of winning at Port Vale on Saturday and that if trends are maintained we will win 1 - 0. Of course we need to factor in some other variables such as Port Vale at the bottom, the arrival or our new striker Peacock who may well gee up our front line and these factors are difficult to build in for predictions. What I do know though is that we are still at the top and putting clear water between ourselves and fourth place and looking good for a high finish. In fact if current trends are maintained we will finish up in first place on 95 points. Heaven knows what it will be like once we really hit form.

To check out all performance indicators visit my website at http://members.xoom.com/bluenews

OCT 30 PORT VALE - MANCHESTER CITY 1-2 (1-0)

Report by: Phil Hartley

A day of mixed fortunes, all working out in the end, thankfully. Got to Burslem in good time, aided by the excellent directions for a different route than usual, given in the last programme. Easy parking just beyond the ground and outside the excellent 'Park' Pub. A good mixture of fans, big screen TV, and I missed the first (and second) of several heavy downpours. As I approached my seat in the ground, I got that feeling that I've really only had twice before "oh, oh, it looks like a dodgy seat". My seat at Vale Park was one of the worst in our end. I was sat at that 'sweet spot' (sic) where the cross bar of the goal at our end, obscures a sizeable chunk of the other goal and the pitch. I'm usually pretty lucky with seats. I once had a very similar vantage point at Oldham a few years ago, but the worst ever seat I've had a ticket for was at the Crystal Palace Coca Cola Cup game a few years ago (we lost 4-0) where my full priced seat was absolutely smack bang behind a post, which if you did not move would have resulted in seeing less than 10% of the pitch. Luckily there were plenty of spare seats on that occasion. Perhaps other subscribers have stories about 'dodgy seats'.

The other 'problem' was that sat next to me was a very friendly, nice old gentleman, with whom I had a decent conversation before kick off and at half time about tactics etc. However, during the game he insisted on giving me a running commentary and opinion on virtually every kick! I don't mind the odd comment / mini discussion on salient points during the game, but for goodness sake...!

Anyway, when the teams ran out, again I felt down. Surely JR wasn't going to play the unsuccessful and boring 4-5-1 formation that he experimented with at Burnley away? Yes he was. And where was Bishop?

The first half was a truly wretched, wretched performance. Scapegoats were easy, but the real problem was the formation. One of the pleasing aspects about our play this season so far has been the almost seamless change from 4-4-2 to 3-5-2 to 4-3-3 at various points during a match. Not exactly Cruyff's (the real one) 'Total Football' of the 70's, but certainly showing the versatility of the team. However this abomination of a system is just plain crap. The packed central midfield area including Crooks, Whitley and the returning Pollock just got in each other's way. It seemed that no-one knew who was the 'holding' player, who should support the attack, who should tackle or who should be providing the passes. The result was that no one did anything of any worth. Kennedy was all over the place, either in a 'free' role, or more likely just trying to get a touch of the ball. Similarly poor Terry Cooke had about 3 touches, 2 of them being fired at him on the touchline, being unable to control them and resulting in a Vale throw. Gareth Taylor did exceptionally well in getting one shot in (going wide as usual). Despite what you may have heard, although being a little more purposeful, Port Vale weren't much better. They probably couldn't believe what they were seeing! Rougier had a shot impressively turned away by Weaver and that man Martin Foyle yet again scored against us, Edghill going AWOL and Morrison not reacting quickly enough.

I'm sure that I wasn't the only one, but I said to my new friend at half time that JR had to change the shape and should bring on Bish and Wright- Phillips for Crookes and probably Cook. Even so, I was still suprised that JR did exactly that before the start of the first half. I've got to give Joe much respect for that decision. Many managers would have stuck with it for the first 15 minutes or so, by which time it may have been too late to change the result. Joe effectively admitted his mistake and put it right at the first opportunity. Good man!

The change was immediately apparent from the kick off. The players looked more comfortable, knowing where they should be and what they should do. Bishop was pulling the strings in midfield, ably assisted by Pollock. Kennedy and Granville were beginning to exert their authority on the left and Gareth Taylor looked far happier having the wee man upfront with him. This is the third occasion that I've seen Wright-Phillips, each time for a little longer and each time looking a lot better. He was terrific. Electric pace, good touch and skill and certainly not afraid to throw his weight around, what little there is! It was comical seeing him 'backing into' Vales 6'6" central defender (name escapes me). Wiekens replaced the injured Morrison early in the second half. It looked like he'd never been away. Although Jobbo has done superbly, it would be great to see the Morrison / Wiekens partnership working again. It's such a long time since they played together.

Although Vale could have taken a 2-0 lead, with Pollock clearing off the line, it was virtually one way traffic. The first goal, when it came was indeed an own goal from Granville's teasing centre, but Shauney deserved a lot of credit for getting in amongst the flying boots and making the goal happen. As was always likely to be the case, once we equalised, Vale didn't want to know. Kennedy had a powerful shot well saved, but from the resultant corner, Granville planted a downward header into the back of the net. Vale had a free kick saved by Weaver near the end, but there was never any danger of not gaining another 3 points.

As well as the footballing performance, it was clear that the players were really enjoying themselves in the second half, none more so than Mark Kennedy. Every corner he took, he was giggling away like a 3 year old having their toes tickled! At the final whistle, he revelled in getting us to cheer every time he implored us to do so (and we did just like sheep. Good fun though!) Our team spirit was again evident, with the players hugging and backslapping each other as they made their way off the field.

So six points clear and I still haven't spoken to a blue (including myself - not that I talk to myself, but you know what I mean!) who has publicly proclaimed that we'll go up this season. I'm still not prepared to think such thoughts yet, but its getting harder!

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