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(Revised article since this morning - to which there were 18 comments)

visit www.mcfcstats.com for all your Manchester City match and player statistics.

After returning from City’s win against West Brom and switching on for the second half, I have to say I have not laughed so much after seeing Everton beat Trafford Rangers in the FA Cup Semi Final. The highlight was undoubtedly watching Ferguson flap his arms so much at the penalty that never was that the red-nosed one almost took off!

However the other talking point seems to have been overlooked by the press, but hopefully not Rafael Benitez, but also involves the ageing Glaswegian. It is clear that Ferguson must have some sort of dementia after his comments and actions earlier this week and his subsequent semi-final line-up. Let us recap:

Without need or invitation Surly Alex Ferguson continued his war of words with Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez over a matter that had absolutely nothing to do with the arrogant interfering Scot.

Obviously still feeling humiliated by the 4-1 pasting his team suffered at the hands of Benitez, Ferguson used the tactic he has perfected over the years; vicious uncontested psychological warfare.

In part of Ferguson’s outburst, the Scot blasted Benitez for labelling Everton as a small club. “Everton are a big club, not a small one which Benitez arrogantly said,” pronounced the all-knowing oracle. Mmm, so how much disdain did Ferguson show to Everton and the FA Cup by fielding a team full of has-beens and kids? His thinking was obviously that United only had to turn up to beat Everton. For once justice was done and the team that wanted to win came through in the penalty shoot-out.

The other part of his sermon to the sycophantic press corp that were present that day related to Rafael Benitez’s one second “game over” hand gestures that upset Blackburn boss Sam Allardyce. There were not even any words spoken here but Ferguson felt compelled to jump to the defence of “Big Sam”, who obviously isn’t “big” enough to look after himself, even though he had already said his piece on the matter. For those of you with short memories, Ferguson and Allardyce are as thick as thieves since the BBC’s investigation pointed the finger at their sons activities as agents; hence both manager’s reluctance to speak to the Beeb.

Ferguson’s “holier than thou” self-opinionated style surfaced once again. “Arrogance is one thing. You cannot forgive contempt, which is what he showed Sam Allardyce last weekend. When Liverpool scored their second goal he signalled as if the game was finished. I do not think Sam deserved that. Sam has worked so hard for the LMA (League Managers’ Association) and he’s had a weakened team. I just thought it showed contempt. In my experience no Liverpool manager has ever done that. It was beyond the pale.” If Allardyce is working hard for the LMA, who cares?

Ferguson should have been reprimanded by the authorities for sticking his big red nose into other people’s business, but the weaklings in charge continue to let him get away with it. Ferguson is so full of his own self-importance that like all the other megalomaniacs throughout history, they actually believe that everything they say is correct, and therefore will never accept an opinion that collides with theirs, nor will they allow a question to be asked that would contradict an opinion that they have already bestowed on those stupid enough to listen.

Ferguson went one better than Benitez in his belittling of Everton with his own hand gesture, before the game had even started, by completing a team sheet that showed more contempt and arrogance towards big club Everton, and would have fired up everyone connected with Everton even more. City fans look forward to thanking them personally next Saturday at Goodison!

When Jagielka scored the winning penalty and the camera cut to Ferguson I made a few hand gestures of my own towards the screen that would leave nobody in doubt how little respect I have for this fool. I am sure I wasn’t alone!

All credit too to David Moyes. If indeed he did make the comment that the snivelling weasel that is Mike Riley is a ManUre supporter, it was a master stroke! Ferguson had a swipe at Moyes in his post-match interview by claiming that this was the sole reason why Riley didn’t give the penalty. He seemed devastated that a Scot (and fellow member of the LMA) could be so disrepectful to a Knight of the Realm, and to sink so low in the psychological game that Ferguson has dominated for years. The good news is the young pupils are learning from the master (Mark Hughes take heed), and it may just confirm that the time is nigh for the old lush to retire.

All non-Manyoo fans hope and pray there will come a day very soon when The Worlds Greatest Football Team (copyright) and their arrogant supporters are so starved of success that they would relish the opportunity of reaching a cup final. I wonder how their supporters felt having paid all that money to watch a reserve team?

I don’t think manutd.com even realise how much they are detested by everybody else in the footballing world, and it is days like yesterday that put a smile on the face and a bounce in the stride of every football supporter that thankfully hasn’t been indoctrinated into the “Theatre of Dreams” cult.

I bet even Liverpool fans were cheering on Everton with the rest of us!

What do you think?

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After returning from City’s win against West Brom and switching on for the second half, I have to say I have not laughed so much after seeing Everton beat Trafford Rangers in the FA Cup Semi Final. The highlight was undoubtedly watching Ferguson flap his arms so much at the penalty that never was that the red-nosed one almost took off!

However the other talking point seems to have been overlooked by the press, but hopefully not Rafael Benitez, but also involves the ageing Glaswegian. It is clear that Ferguson must have some sort of dementia after his comments and actions earlier this week and his subsequent semi-final line-up. Let us recap:

Without need or invitation Surly Alex Ferguson continued his war of words with Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez over a matter that had absolutely nothing to do with the arrogant interfering Scot.

Obviously still feeling humiliated by the 4-1 pasting his team suffered at the hands of Benitez, Ferguson used the tactic he has perfected over the years; vicious uncontested psychological warfare.

In part of Ferguson’s outburst, the Scot blasted Benitez for labelling Everton as a small club. “Everton are a big club, not a small one which Benitez arrogantly said,” pronounced the all-knowing oracle. Mmm, so how much disdain did Ferguson show to Everton and the FA Cup by fielding a team full of has-beens and kids? His thinking was obviously that United only had to turn up to beat Everton. For once justice was done and the team that wanted to win came through in the penalty shoot-out.

The other part of his sermon to the sycophantic press corp that were present that day related to Rafael Benitez’s one second “game over” hand gestures that upset Blackburn boss Sam Allardyce. There were not even any words spoken here but Ferguson felt compelled to jump to the defence of “Big Sam”, who obviously isn’t “big” enough to look after himself, even though he had already said his piece on the matter.

Ferguson’s “holier than thou” self-opinionated style surfaced once again. “Arrogance is one thing. You cannot forgive contempt, which is what he showed Sam Allardyce last weekend. When Liverpool scored their second goal he signalled as if the game was finished. I do not think Sam deserved that. Sam has worked so hard for the LMA (League Managers’ Association) and he’s had a weakened team. I just thought it showed contempt. In my experience no Liverpool manager has ever done that. It was beyond the pale.”

Ferguson should have been reprimanded by the authorities for sticking his big red nose into other people’s business, but the weaklings in charge continue to let him get away with it.

Ferguson went one better than Benitez in his belittling of Everton with his own hand gesture, before the game had even started, by completing a team sheet that showed more contempt and arrogance towards big club Everton, and would have fired up everyone connected with Everton even more. City fans look forward to thanking them personally next Saturday at Goodison!

When Jagielka scored the winning penalty and the camera cut to Ferguson I made a few hand gestures of my own towards the screen that would leave nobody in doubt how little respect I have for this fool. I am sure I wasn’t alone!

All credit too to David Moyes. If indeed he did make the comment that the snivelling weasel that is Mike Riley is a ManUre supporter, it was a master stroke! Ferguson had a swipe at Moyes in his post-match interview by claiming that this was the sole reason why Riley didn’t give the penalty. He seemed devastated that a Scot (and fellow member of the LMA) could be so disrepectful to a Knight of the Realm, and to sink so low in the psychological game that Ferguson has dominated for years. The good news is the young pupils are learning from the master (Mark Hughes take heed), and it may just confirm that the time is nigh for the old lush to retire.

All non-Manyoo fans hope and pray there will come a day very soon when The Worlds Greatest Football Team (copyright) and their arrogant supporters are so starved of success that they would relish the opportunity of reaching a cup final. I wonder how their supporters felt having paid all that money to watch a reserve team?

I don’t think manutd.com even realise how much they are detested by everybody else in the footballing world, and it is days like yesterday that put a smile on the face and a bounce in the stride of every football supporter that thankfully hasn’t been indoctrinated into the “Theatre of Dreams” cult.

I bet even Liverpool fans were cheering on Everton with the rest of us!

What do you think?

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Season 2008-09 Match 41
Barclays Premier League
WEST HAM UNITED 1 MANCHESTER CITY 0
Upton Park
Sun Mar 1st 2009 - Kick-off 12:30
Attendance: 34,562.
Ref: Mike Dean.

MCFC starting line-up changes - (1) De Jong replaces suspended Wright-Phillips.
Manchester City: Given, Richards (Caicedo 15), Onuoha, Dunne, Bridge, Zabaleta, De Jong (Bojinov 89), Ireland, Kompany, Robinho, Bellamy (Elano 66).
Subs Not Used: Hart, Garrido, Vassell, Glauber.
Bookings: Kompany (69), Ireland (90).
Sent Off: None.

Goaltimes:
0-1 (71) Collison

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Season 2008-09 Match 40
UEFA Cup Round of 32, 2nd Leg
MANCHESTER CITY 2 FC KOBENHAVN 1 (agg 4-3)
City of Manchester Stadium
Thu Feb 26th 2009 - Kick-off 19:45
Attendance: 26,018.
Ref: Selcuk Dereli.

MCFC starting line-up changes - (1) Wright-Phillips replaces De Jong.
Manchester City: Given, Richards, Onuoha, Dunne, Bridge, Zabaleta (Elano 82), Wright-Phillips, Ireland, Kompany, Robinho, Bellamy.
Subs Not Used: Hart, Garrido, Vassell, Glauber, Evans, Caicedo.
Bookings: None.
Sent Off: None.

Goaltimes:
1-0 (73) Bellamy.
2-0 (80) Bellamy.
2-1 (90 +3) Vingaard.

Stat 1: 11 - Micah Richards has set a new club record by playing in eleven European matches in the same season.
Stat 2: 12 - City have now played more European matches in one season than any other in their history. If City are to reach the Final, they will have played 19 matches.

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Season 2008-09 Match 39
Barclays Premier League
LIVERPOOL 1 MANCHESTER CITY 1
Anfield
Sun Feb 22nd 2009 - Kick-off 15:00
Attendance: 44,259.
Ref Watch: Phil Dowd. Refereed 17 W5 D4 L8. Not a good referee for City, and one to avoid. Not won under him in 3 years. Only every won one of the 13 Premier League games he’s taken charge of (Charlton 5-2 away in December 2005). Took charge of our last game last season (Middlesbrough 1-8) and first one this season (Aston Villa 2-4).

League Record: P26, W9, D5, L12, F43, A35, Pts 32. Position 10th (down one place).

MCFC starting line-up changes - (1) De Jong replaces the suspended Wright-Phillips.
Manchester City: Given, Richards, Onuoha, Dunne, Bridge, Zabaleta, De Jong, Ireland, Kompany, Robinho (Caicedo 88), Bellamy.
Subs Not Used: Hart, Garrido, Vassell, Elano, Evans, Weiss.
Bookings: Dunne (32), Kompany (74).
Sent Off: None.

Liverpool: Reina, Arbeloa, Carragher, Skrtel, Dossena (Aurelio 76), Benayoun, Mascherano (Babel 83), Leiva, Riera (El Zhar 63), Torres, Kuyt.
Subs Not Used: Cavalieri, Hyypia, N’Gog, Spearing.
Bookings: El Zhar (76).
Sent Off: None.

Goaltimes:
1-0 (51) Bellamy (to be confirmed).
1-1 (78) Kuyt.

Stat 1: The first league draw at Anfield in 10 matches since 1992-93.
Stat 2: City’s 50th away league played on a Sunday.

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What would have been an excellent result in Copenhagen was once again spoiled by defending that would make a junior football coach blush in embarrassment.

Every opposing club now knows this weakness and is the reason for City’s pathetic away record.

There is no excuse for this, as Richards, Dunne and Bridge are international players, so the blame must lie with the defensive coaches.

Until the club change their approach, or the coach responsible, the club will not proceed.

[Steve Kay]

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Visit www.mcfcstats.com for the biggest on-line website for Manchester City FC - Every match, every line-up and every player’s record since 1890. 

Season 2008-09 Match 38
UEFA CUP - Round of 32, First Leg
FC KOBENHAVN 2 MANCHESTER CITY 2
Parken
Thu Feb 19th 2009 - Kick-off 20:05 Local (19:05 UK)
Attendance: 30,159. 
Ref: Pavel Kralovec (Czech Republic).

MCFC starting line-up changes - (3) Richards, Dunne and Wright-Phillips replace Logan, Elano and De Jong. 
Manchester City: Given, Richards, Onuoha, Dunne, Bridge, Wright-Phillips, Zabaleta, Ireland, Kompany, Robinho (Caicedo 89), Bellamy.
Subs Not Used: Hart, Garrido, Vassell, Elano, Evans, Weiss.
Bookings: Bellamy (43), Richards (83).
Sent Off: None.

F.C. Kobenhavn: Christiansen, Pospech, Laursen, Antonsson, Wendt, Kvist (Vingard 60), Kristensen, Norregaard (Gronkjaer 70), Hutchinson, Almeida, Santin (N’Doye 59).
Subs Not Used: Coe, Jensen, Nordstrand, Jorgensen.
Bookings: None.
Sent Off: None.

Goaltimes:
1-0 (29) Onuoha.
1-1 (56) Almeida.
2-1 (61) Ireland.
2-2 (90) Vingard.

Stat 1: 10 - Micah Richards has set a new club record by playing in ten European matches in the same season.
Stat 2: 10 - City have now played more European matches in one season than any other in their history. If City are to reach the Final, they will have played 19 matches (not 21 as reported on BBC 3 during the live match!).

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After another dismal away defeat against a team in the lower half of the league, something has to change in the summer, and it appears the only question that remains is - who goes? Before we all point the finger at the manager let’s look a little closer at the situation.

If results are anything to go by, Mark Hughes simply does not seem to learn from defeat after defeat away from home, but one thing is for sure, our Brazilians DON’T do away games!! It is as if they need to have the home crowd around them to encourage them to play. If that is the case then we are better off without them, because as a manager you expect your most influential players to perform wherever a match is played. 

Looking back, in twelve away league matches, City have won one, drawn four and lost seven, and the only Brazilian outfield goal was Robinho’s saver at Blackburn. Contrast that to eleven Brazilian goals in thirteen matches at home!

In those away games, of the three Brazilians, only Jo started in the win at Sunderland (Robinho hadn’t signed by that time). In the four draws Elano and Jo started one each (but not in the same game) and Robinho played in three, and in one game (Fulham) none of them started.

In the seven defeats, Elano has started five, Robinho five and Jo just once (the game at Wigan when all three Brazilians started).

These stats indicate that the more Brazilians you put in your away starting line-up, the greater chance there is of losing! 

At home, Robinho has started every game since signing, Elano has started seven and Jo started three early on in the season, the last one being the end of October!

The big question is how patient the club will be in their quest for honours. If our owners judge the season’s success on league position and qualification for Europe, then Hughes is living on borrowed time, because the away games are about to get just a tad more difficult, and some of the home games are against teams battling for survival. Hughes would probably take finishing in ninth position now if he could.

Unless there is a significant change in fortune away from home, Hughes’ only hope then is that the Board see that the Brazilian way doesn’t work in England, and change strategy by offloading them all.

In my current frame of mind I would strongly consider this approach, but it is highly unlikely to happen, because it would be seen as a major backward step in making City a global brand. Therefore the most likely outcome is that there will be a complete change of management, and the club bring in a world-renowned manager with experience of attracting then getting the best out of these fragile talents we call superstars.

Agree or disagree, or is there another way forward?

by Steve Kay   

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We challenge you to remember the squad numbers of all the City players since the 1993-94 season when squad numbers were first introduced by the Premier League. Just to make it a little more difficult, instead of doing it season by season, we’ll do it number by number, so that you’ll have to jog your memory back the same distance in time each day!

Each day we will give you a different squad number, and today’s is Squad Number 10. 

If you want to play catch-up, the answers to all the lower squad numbers are shown on earlier pages of this site.

Clue: There have been only six players who have worn the number 10 shirt.

Add your guesses as a comment, and get your mates to have a go, and tomorrow night we will give you the answers to tonight’s question, and move on to the next shirt number, and so on each day until we have completed the highest shirt number officially worn, which is…..?

Remember that in some seasons there may have been more than one occupant of that particular squad number, and only players appearing on the actual team sheet of an official match recorded on www.mcfcstats.com count.

Squad numbers were only introduced by the Football League in season 1999-2000, so there is a gap of three seasons when City wore the usual 1 to 11 numbers.  

Good luck!

SQUAD NUMBER - 10

1993-94 -
1994-95 -
1995-96 -

1999-00 -
2000-01 -
2001-02 -
2002-03 -
2003-04 -
2004-05 -
2005-06 -
2006-07 -
2007-08 -
2008-09 -

Answers to yesterday’s poser:

SQUAD NUMBER - 9

1993-94 - Quinn
1994-95 - Quinn
1995-96 - Quinn

1999-00 - Dickov
2000-01 - Dickov
2001-02 - Dickov
2002-03 - None
2003-04 - Wanchope
2004-05 - None
2005-06 - Cole
2006-07 - Mpenza
2007-08 - Mpenza
2008-09 - Bojinov

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City’s disastrous away form, especially against teams at the lower end of the table, continues. Does Hughes know what he is doing in away games? Add your comment now!

Season 2008-09 Match 37
Barclays Premier League
PORTSMOUTH 2 MANCHESTER CITY 0
Fratton Park
Sat Feb 14th 2009 - Kick-off 15:00
Attendance: 20,018. 
Ref Watch: Lee Probert. Refereed 2 W0 D0 L2. First game was the Nottingham Forest FA Cup defeat in January.
League Record: P25, W9, D4, L12, F42, A34, Pts 31. Position 9th.

MCFC starting line-up changes - (2) Logan and Elano replace Richards and Wright-Phillips.
Manchester City: Given, Logan, Kompany, Onuoha, Bridge, Elano, Zabaleta (Evans 78), Ireland, De Jong, Robinho (Caicedo 66), Bellamy.
Subs Not Used: Hart, Berti, Garrido, Fernandes, Weiss.
Bookings: De Jong (19), Ireland (80), Bellamy (85).
Sent Off: None.

Portsmouth: James,Johnson, Campbell, Distin, Hreidarsson, Pennant (Belhadj), Basinas (Mullins 67), Davis, Kranjcar, Crouch, Nugent.
Subs Not Used: Begovic, Pamarot, Utaka, Kanu, Gekas.
Bookings: Hreidarsson (85).
Sent Off: None.

Goaltimes:
0-1 (70) Johnson.
0-2 (75) Hreidarsson.

Stat 1: Shaleum Logan makes his first start for City (has made two previous substitute appearances).

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