City v Reading - Whatever Will Be, Will Be

City went into the game knowing exactly what was waiting for them should they win. I'm not fond of this for two reasons, and as this is my blog and I can do what I want with it, I'm going to complain about them before I get onto the match report. Firstly, the winner would get a semi-final place at Wembley. I know that The FA have to pay the £900 million it cost to build the stadium somehow, but it's ridiculous that the nearest of the four teams playing there (Stoke) are 154 miles away. It also devalues the final somewhat, as the teams will have already played at the stadium a few weeks before. We also knew that it would be United that the winners would play, as the draw was done half an hour before we kick-ed off. Even without taking into account the potential opponents (and it was the worst possible draw for us), what is the point of having the draw after only three of the four games have been played? All four games were played over two consecutive days, so how difficult would it be to wait an extra couple of hours? I'm not wanting a return to the days when the draw was on a Monday lunchtime, mainly as I'll be at work then so can't watch it, but our game finished at half six, so it's not like 'the children' would have to stay up really late to watch it.

Rant over, and onto the game. The best news of the day, and possibly the whole week, was that Nigel de Jong had made his return from an ankle injury, and took the holding midfield role alongside Viera. Tevez started up front, and Mario had recovered enough from his alleged allergic reaction to take a place on the bench.

City started the way they played on Thursday against Kiev, without any real cutting edge, although at least the defence looked much more secure. After about twenty minutes, Silva started to pull the strings, and City started to threaten Reading's goal. Unfortunately, the times when the shots were on target, thy were straight at the Reading 'keeper. In fairness to McCarthy, he was in the right place when needed, and a couple of saves needed sharp reactions.

The second half started the same way as the first, with City in control and creating plenty of chances, but none of them were clear cut. Things were starting to get tense, as the last thing we needed was a replay. Fortunately, Richards was on hand with quarter of an hour to go to head in Silva's corner. The corner was played into exactly the right position to meet Micah's run, but he still needed all his strength to put a bullet header into the corner of net.

Following the goal, City took their foot off the gas, but were still comfortable, with Reading only managing a single shot on target, which was comfortable for Hart. They were reduced to lumping the ball towards the box, which Kompany and Lescott comfortably dealt with, and the game finished one-nil.

Nige was given the man-of-the-match award in the stadium, and it's difficult to argue against him. He showed how much we missed him in the month he's been injured, and the defence looked a lot more secure with him in front. The only other contenders were Kompany, who was composed at the back, and Silva, who was our main attacking threat. McCarthy may have a shout from a neutral point of view, but I don't have that, so couldn't say.

So, we're five weeks away from the semi-final at Wembley Stadium, and against that lot just outside the city, here's a stat to end with: the only time we've ever played them in the FA Cup semi-final, we won three-nil. We then went to lose the final against Bolton, who are in the other semi. Arse.

Brockham Res v Holland Sports - An Easy Three Points

Our six-pointer against the team one place above us (and therefore the relegation zone) was called off, as Holland Sports were unable to get a team together. This means we get the points, and draw level with them, although they've got a much better goal difference.

That's it really. Sorry there's nothing more to day

Dynamo Kiev 2 - 0 City - Kievan Rush

City travelled to Kiev for this last 16, first leg tie in the Europa League, and apparently it was cold. I say apparently, but the ITV4 commentators talked about that fact that it was cold about every five minutes. I think the cold was mentioned more often than Clive Tyldesley bangs on about ‘That Night In Barcelona ^TM’. It was minus 2 ^oC, minus 5 if you add on the wind chill factor. It’s been colder than that here in Dorking at night in the last week, and I don’t understand why so many people seemed shocked that it was cold in Ukraine in early March.

Enough about moaning about people moaning about the cold, onto the game. City made 2 changes to the team that beat Wigan at the weekend, with Dzeko and Kolarov in for Tevez and Viera, with Barry taking the captain’s armband. The game started off pretty even, with City’s full-backs getting forward at every opportunity. Richards, in particular, didn’t seem too concerned with defending, and instead looked like he was playing inside-right, rather than right-back. In spite of this additional attacking pressure, City seemed rather toothless up front, and didn’t create any real chances.

The deadlock was broken after 25 minutes, and it was the home side that managed it. Shevchenko managed to lose his marker, and then beat a hesitant Hart to a near post cross and turned the ball in first time. It was a little harsh on City, who had matched their hosts, but Shevchenko showed why he is a world-class striker, even if he didn’t shine whilst playing for Chelsea. Not a lot else happened in the remainder of the first half, both teams comfortable on the ball, but not really creating any chances.

After some insightful half-time analysis from ITV ("it’s cold"), it was time for the second half. The start of the half was delayed slightly, as Balotelli didn’t come out with the rest of the team, and when he did, he looked out of sorts, before being subbed for Tevez after about 10 minutes. There was much speculation as to what had occurred. Had he been taken ill, was he not liking the cold, had he lost a contact lens, and many more were banded about. The reason given after the game was that he had had an allergic reaction to that specific type of grass. This is the first time I’ve ever heard of this, but I am aware of a long-jumper who is allergic to the sand that they use.

The game just trundled along to it’s conclusion from here, with Gusev adding a second for Kiev with the only real chance of the second half. City piled on pressure in the last few minutes, but every long ball into the box was easily cleared as the Ukrainians held a strong defensive line.

City have it all to do next week at COMS, and if Kiev can defend as well as they did in the first leg, then I struggle to see how City will get the two goals needed just to take the game into extra time.

Top Four or Pot Won

It’s a question that has been asked by and of a lot recently of City fans: would you prefer a top four finish, and the Champions League qualification that comes with it, or would you rather end the now 35 year trophy drought. The question is being asked more now as, at the time of writing, we’re in third place in the league, in the last 16 of the Europa League, and in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup, against the lowest ranked team left in the competition. Whilst I would love us to do all three (and win the league as well, but being seven points off top spot, I suspect that’s out of reach), it has got me thinking which is better and/or more important.

A top four finish, and the associated Champions League qualification, was reportedly Mancini’s target at the beginning of this season. Qualifying for the Champions League would help City attract players come the summer transfer window. For me, whilst this is oft quoted, is probably the least important reason, at least considerably less than it has been in previous seasons. We are already able to attract top players, such as Tevez, Yaya Toure, Silva & Balotelli, and our squad now needs mere tweaking, rather than the overhaul that has taken place over the past few years. Our name (and reputation for paying high wages) has already been spread, and it is clear that we are going places, so the need to make a ‘statement signing’ has diminished, and the need for Champions League football to help smooth out that signing isn’t needed.

What does make entering the Champions League urgent are UEFA’s Financial Fair Play rules. These state that clubs entering a European competition must break even over the previous three years. This comes into play in two seasons time, so the money received from being in the Champions League next season will help to ensure that we do not end up blocked from entering in future seasons. The financial incentives for appearing in the Champions League are staggering: almost €8m just for entering the Group Stage, and that’s before TV money, ticket sales, advertising revenue, additional win/draw bonuses and other payments are taken into account. This is by far the most important reason as to why we must finish in the top 4 this season.

All this comes alongside the emotional reasons why being in the Champions League is so important. I’m too young to remember the old European Cup, so the Champions League is my only knowledge of top European football. I know it’s only a side issue, but UEFA do know how to brand it, even if they have mucked up the UEFA Cup/Europa League. Everyone knows the logo, of the football made up of stars, and the theme music still after all these years has the ability to make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up. I could write pages about that song, imaginatively titles ‘The Champions League’, but all I will say for now is that it’s often imitated, but never equalled. Anyone remember The Premier League’s anthem? Exactly.

This season is also our best chance for a while for a top four finish. Liverpool were abysmal at the start of the season, but now with Dalglish at the helm, they seem to have turned the corner, and with Suarez looking good and Carroll having great potential, you can't rule them out of being in the mixer again next season. The same, to a lesser extent, could be said about Chelsea, who surely can't be as bad next season as they have been for the last couple of months of this. Let's not forget how well they started the season, so we know they're very capable of it. Should Spurs get a second season of Champions League football, they will be able to strengthen further, and will be able to handle laying twice a week better than they have.

One final point on the Champions League is that, quite simply, the best teams are in it. The players and management want to be playing against the best players and teams in the world, and that can only happen in the Champions League. Whilst we’ve had great fun in the Europa League this season (The Poznan, Alan and others), with the greatest respect to Aris Thessaloniki, Timișoara and FC Twente, they’re not Barcelona, AC Milan or Bayern Munich. Who doesn’t want to see how Kompany will cope with Messi, the midfield battle between de Jong and Gattuso and Tevez trying to beat Casillas?

When it comes to the other side of the coin, ending the trophy drought, it pretty much exclusively comes down to emotion. I’m 27. In my lifetime, we’ve not even got to a final, never mind actually won anything. In fact, we’ve only been in one semi-final, and that was last year, in the Carling Cup against United, and we know how that ended. In the FA Cup, we’re just one game away from the semi, and that game is against Reading, the only non-Premier League side remaining.

Our lack of trophies has been used as a stick to beat us with for a long time already, I can remember the mocking at the 25 year anniversary, and the longer it goes on, the more intense it will get, especially now that we are seen as a threat. I remember being there when we were awarded the First Division (now Championship) trophy in 2002. Whilst it was in the grand scheme of things minor, promotion by far the most important achievement of the season, seeing a City captain lifting a trophy was still an amazing feeling.

I was one of the lucky ones who was at WembleyKinkladze was playing for Georgia, which is why I went), but being stood at the top of Wembley Way on that day in May is a memory that is going to stay with me for the rest of my life, even before taking into account what happened later. Memories like that are one of the reasons why we become football fans, and I want to experience days like that again.

One more thing in favour of winning a trophy. It gives you something tangible. A top four finish is nice, but, as the saying goes, you can't have an open top bus, with the players parading the league table. There's a special thing saying you are 'THE' FA Cup winners (or 'THE' Europa League winners, if you prefer) that you don't get from finishing in the top four. Top four is nice, but it's one of four, not the one of 806, which is the amount of teams that entered this seasons FA Cup.

Ultimately, for me, whilst I would prefer us to win a trophy, a top four finish is more important for the club as a whole. Winning a trophy would be great, and getting that banner at the Swamp taken down would be immense. However, it is just one day, ultimately. Finishing in the top four is more important for the future of the club. If we don't do it this season, it will probably become more difficult. If we don't win a trophy this season, there is always next.

City v Wigan - Just Enough

City went into the game against Wigan with a cloud hanging over them, following Kolo Toure's failed drugs test. Fortunately, Vinnie K was back from his hip injury, and came straight into the starting line-up.

City started the strongest, but couldn't make the pressure tell. Silva and Yaya Toure linked up well on several occasions, but the final ball just never made it through. Richards may have been lucky to escape with a yellow for a foul after 15 minutes. For me, if there was such a thing as an orange card, that's what he'd be getting.

On 38 minutes, the deadlock was broken. Silva took the ball into the box, and hit a rather tame shot. It took a deflection before getting to Al-Habsi, who let the ball slip through his arms and legs, and the ball trickled over the line. While the goal was lucky, it was the least City deserved.

City sat back in the second half and allowed Wigan back into the game. Alcaraz hit the post shortly after the restart, and the pressure kept coming. The times when City did manage to get the ball under control, they threatened, and had two penalty appeals each half, although they would have been harsh.

City had managed to hold out, but then in the last minute of injury time, Sammon was put through after a one-two with Rodallega. He put his shot past Hart, but fortunately, it was also past the post, possibly just clipping it as it went past.

So, at full time, it was 1-0 to City, who kept the run of only playing well for one half. Fortunately this time it was enough, but only just. Still though, it's three points closer to a top 4 finish.

Brockham V Horley - 05/3/11

We were playing against Horley, who are top of the league, but with us being bottom, no-one really fancied our chances. We had an ace up our sleeve, however, as our first team weren't playing. As Dave couldn't be there due to work, Scruff was in charge, and drafted in Morgo, Baker & Tom Bayliss. The biggest bit of team news was that 'keeper Murphy was dropped, in favour of Henry, who having just turned 16 was now eligible to play. Henry is very highly rated by the club, and the talk on the sidelines was that he was having trials with Brighton. All of this meant that I stayed on the bench, although at least Allan took the linesman's flag for the first half, which is the first time this year, apart from my one game in goal, that I've not started as lino.


The first half was pretty even, but we went in 3-1 up. It should have been more, but Morgo missed an open goal. He was two yards out, and not only missed the target, but the ball didn't even go out of play, ending up near the corner flag. Despite being promised at least a half, I didn't get on at half time, and even had to take over lino duties. Fortunately, after 20 minutes of the second half, with the score now at 5-1, Morgo had had enough, and I went on.

To say I was given mixed instructions is an understatement. I was told to play up front, play as the Trequartista, and to man mark their number 5, who was playing attacking centre mid. In spite of this, I managed to make a few good tackles and flick-ons, but I think it's fair to say that it was my worst performance for a while.

The game ended 5-2 to us, and with other results going our way, we're now off the bottom of the league, although we're still 3 points off third bottom and safety. It's Holland Sports who occupy that position, who have two games in hand on us, and it's them we play next weekend. Six pointer, anyone?