Thanks for the memories.

A long time ago I stood on the side of Ewen field on a wet Sunday afternoon to watch a Mike Sweeney eleven take on City in a charity match. It was the one and only time I saw George Best play football live. Towards the end of the match George picked up the ball on the edge of his own penalty area, beat about half a dozen players and managed to get the ball about a foot from goal. He then looked up, and set off back the other way, beating almost every other player on the pitch, and finally putting the ball in his own net. I’ve never seen skill like it, and I really don’t think I ever will again.

Thanks for the memories George.

RIP.

No jinx here.

Football fans are a superstitious lot, and I’m no different. Since the West Brom game I haven’t had time to post anything, mostly preparation for the new job. In the meantime City have played two won two and sat briefly on the top of the league. With this in mind I’m not posting any opinions or predictions about Saturday’s home match against Pompy. We’ll see what the situation is on Sunday; I may not post again until our unbeaten run is ended.

Reserves.

City beat the smoggies 2:1 with Wright-Phillips and Ireland getting our goals.

City - Schmeichel; Warrender(c), Collins, Onuoha, Richards; D’Laryea, Croft, Ireland, Miller (Etuhu 65); Wright-Phillips, Sibierski (Laird 65).
Unused subs: Matthewson (GK), Bennett.

Middlesbrough - Jones; Liddle, Hines, Cooper, Wheater; Doriva, Cattermole, Kennedy (Walker 75), Johnson; Maccarone, Craddock (Watling 75).
Unused subs: Clough, Pennock (GK), Burgess.

Full match report here.

Not the fat airline owner.

My numerous contacts have indicated that the proposed court action by Bolton for City’s disgraceful attempt to buy Stelios Giannakopoulos is just paper talk. I can’t see what they’re whinging about, it’s not Psycho’s fault that Stelios has a £1m get out clause in his contract. Bolton have spit their dummy out. I wouldn’t mind if he was a world beater, he’s just a 30 something right sided midfielder. I’m sure we had more of a case against Chelsea for their theft of SWP.

Willo Flood has been sent to Coventry, but I think it will do him good. A loan spell could be just what he needs, especially if he isn't going to get a regular game in the first team this season. Remember Joe Corrigan before he went on loan, he was fucking awful. Willo will come back ready for next season as a player to rival SWP.

I also think that Psycho should pull Dunney out of the Ireland squad; we don’t need him aggravating his injury, especially with the derby so close.

City 0:0 West Brom.

This sounded like a game of two goalkeepers, with a sprinkling of crap refereeing thrown in for good measure. The make-shift defence played well, but I’ll still feel better when Dunne and Distin are back.

Full match report here

v West Brom.

We have never beaten them at home in the premiership; in fact the last time we did them at home was March 2000 in the first division. Last season they played the majority of the match with ten men, and a freak own goal by Dunne cost us the full three points, we settled for a draw with Anelka scoring ours. Let’s just hope they don’t have luck like that on Saturday.

Prediction: City win 2:1

Geoff Horsefield said on sky sports yesterday that he thought West Brom would finish in the top half of the table. I must admit I thought he was taking the piss; in fact they are one of my tips for relegation. I really don’t rate Robson, and even if he does pay £3m for Nathan Ellington, they’ll still go down.

Football quiz.

1. What do you eat whilst watching football ?
a. Munchies in front of the TV.
b. A pie from the kiosk in the ground.
c. A prawn sandwich.

2. How far do you live from the ground ?
a. I used to live in a nearby town, but I’ve moved.
b. I bought a house on the same street as the stadium.
c. I live in Singapore.

3. Do you have a replica shirt ?
a. I was bought the 1990 away shirt as a present.
b. I buy the new home shirt every other season.
c. My wardrobe contains 48 replica shirts from the last 5 seasons.

4. Your club directors piss you off, do you ?
a. Write a why oh why letter to the BBC.
b. Carry on regardless, it’s the club you love not its staff.
c. Spit out your dummy and form a new club.

5. Why do you support your team ?
a. It was the closest ground to my home.
b. My father, my grandfather and all my family support them.
c. I was looking for another team after Liverpool went shit.

6. Other fans invade your forum, do you ?
a. Log off and have a cup of tea.
b. Give as good as you get with your extensive knowledge and wit.
c. Shut the site down and go and tell your mum.

7. What do you think of opposition players ?
a. I don’t know about them, as long as we win I’m happy.
b. I check opta before each game to see who the danger men are.
c. Anyone who doesn’t play for us is shit.

8. You get a free ticket to see your team, do you ?
a. Give it to one of your mates, he would appreciate it more.
b. Offer it to a fellow fan on the forum, you have a season ticket.
c. Sell it on eBay; it’s too far to travel from Singapore/Cornwall/Dublin.

9. How much do you read about your club ?
a. The Observer sport pages on a Sunday morning.
b. I have a library, I even read past player autobiographies.
c. Janet and John go shopping, then I’m on free reading.

Check your result:

Mostly A’s:
You’re an armchair fan, it’s a while since you went to the ground but you at least you could find it if need be. You might not spend time and money on following your team, but you love your club. Well done.

Mostly B’s:
Congratulations, you’re a proper bone-fide fan. You follow your team through thick and thin, rain or shine. You are the one everyone else phones to answer the quiz questions. You’ll probably have your ashes scattered on the pitch.

Mostly C’s:
You’re a rag ! Your team play in a swamp just outside Manchester. You’ve never been to a game in your life and the only reason you support them is because your mates do. The fact that Cornwall has no premier league teams isn’t a proper excuse.

Grape vine #002

The former Barca midfielder Josep Guardiola has started a week long trial at Eastlands. He is unlikely to play in Saturday’s match against West Brom, but could play midweek against the Smoggies. This bloke is a legend in Spain, but I can’t help thinking that this is just another twilight years pay day for an over the hill player well past his best.

Last night’s reserves match also saw Nedum Onuoha and Antoine Sibierski come through almost a full match unscathed. I think we might see Nedum play alongside Dunne until Distin comes back from injury.

Finally, Ben Thatcher gets a call up to the Welsh side to face Slovenia later this month.

Reserves.

City reserves get a draw at the Hawthorns coming from a goal down to finish one each.

West Brom - Hoult; Hodgkiss, Moore, Forsyth, Carter (Baker 75); Dyer, Chaplow, Davies, Smikle; Elvins (Nicholson 75), Kamara. Subs not used: Daniels (gk), Pringle, Kelleher.

City - De Vlieger; Warrender, Richards, Onouha (Laird 81), Collins; Croft, D'Laryea, Flood (Johnson 90), Bennett; Sibierski (Etuhu 72), Bermingham. Subs not used: Matthewson (gk), Grimes.

Goals: West Brom - Kamara (36) City - Bennett (52).

Match report here.