The title might be a little misleading as I don’t believe the City fan we spoke to is an actual Sheikh from the land of Dubai but with the amount of white dish cloths placed on the heads of city fans when you visit the City of Manchester Stadium nowadays it’s hard to tell.
It’s always nice to find out why the upcoming opposition think they’ll beat us or have a hatred for the dwellers of N17 we know nothing about so we spoke to Neil Haynes-Jones over on twitter (follow him HERE if you so wish), a City fan for over 30 years and apparently still bitter over the 1981 Cup Final. Here was me thinking they got there own back on Black Wednesday.
With the end of last season still fresh in the minds of both sets of supporters it was hardly surprising the “random” fixture generator selected an early rematch. So we had to ask was their a massive sense of disappointment when they failed to get into the top 4 last season?
I think there was a sense of disappointment, but then again it was in our hands and to be honest all the draws that we had against the poorer clubs cost us dearly, not being involved in a relegation battle is always a bonus!
I also feel that there was a higher expectation level from all the other fans in the Premiership than the Citizens of Manchester….
On a personal level I’ve always felt a sense of camaraderie with city fans mainly because of their local red rivals and the fact they look at not being involved in a relegation battle last season as a bonus. Of course that is slowly changing the richer they get 
Which brings me nicely onto the question of what’s happened in the blue half of Manchester over the last 12 months.
Personally I hate what is happening to what was “my club”. We have gone from everyone’s second team to the team that everyone wants to fail. As I am exiled in Worcestershire, my kids had the dubious honour of being the only 2 kids who had City shirts….Not any more…..
City had somewhat of an up and down season last time around with Mark Hughes coming in just before the cash did. Most looking from the outside could see his days were numbered whether he did well or not. Our 3-0 win at White Hart Lane in December last year was probably the final nail in the coffin for a man that managed the same points as his successor but couldn’t get his team to convert draws into wins. If they had we wouldn’t be about to play with Young Boys. So who would Neil prefer, Hughes or Mancini?
When Hughes was appointed I wasn’t happy, I honestly didn’t believe he was big enough for the club, But I’d have him other Mancini any time!
The Sheikh’s have spent more money than the British Government have got in their coffers since taking over and this summer has seen them get their wallets out again. So far they’re main signings have been Yaya Toure, David Silva, Aleksander Kolarov and Jerome Boateng, totalling an £80m outlay. So far who’s the best signing?
David Platt! No it’s Yaya! I think he will be a huge presence for us next season.
I would think so too on the reported £220,000 per week wage he’s getting!! They do still own their first big signing, Robinho, who looked good when last season started but once it started getting a little cold and he was making trips to Burnley he became uninterested and was loaned back to Brazil mainly to get his negative attitude out of the dressing room. Like fans of any club Neil just wants players who give 100%:
I’d pack his bags! I don’t like players who don’t want to play. End of.
There seems to be a lot of unrest in their ranks at the moment. With the new 25 man squad coming into effect many players at City aren’t sure whether they’ll be playing. Redknapp and other managers have already expressed their desire to grab a bargain when the time is right. This brings in the question of Craig Bellamy. It seems Spurs have been tracking him before the end of last season, and judging by his failed attempt at a tackle on Younes Kaboul that led to our winning goal in May followed by that hand shake and wink at Redknapp, it looked like he was already thinking he might be on his way too. Neil, however believes he’ll go elsewhere:
Go to Fulham, Hughes can manage him…no one else can. The man is a talent but also so unpredictable. I love what he does on the pitch, but its all the afters that annoys and frustrates.
So with all that money at Mancini’s disposal and still over 2 weeks left of the current transfer window who else if anyone will be signed and with the squad they’ve got should they be looking at challenging for the title this year?
I really want to see Stephen Ireland at the club next season! What can Milner bring that Stephen doesn’t already have? Do we really need to spend any more money? Lets see where we are at Christmas, then get the pennies out!
If we had to buy someone else I’d love to see Balotelli at City next season….The lad’s a bit mental and will fit right in…I think he could become a talismanic figure like Cantona did for The Rags….
As for challenging for the title we have too! If we don’t mount at least a token challenge for the title this season, there could be worrying times ahead!
I can only presume worrying times will be only top 3? It’s funny what new pressures a huge pile of cash brings. Maybe it’s true what all those moaning lottery winners say? I’d still like to give it a shot though. With all that money I’ve found it odd that City haven’t come in for any of our players as far as we know. I’m sure that has a lot to do with new contract extensions being signed so they know they’d have to pay through the nose but when monies no object?
If we could buy a Spurs player I’d love Peter Crouch. Shaun Goater MBE, was one of my favourite players ever to have graced a City shirt and to be honest Peter Crouch is a poor man’s Goater!
Modric could bring an added dimension to any team and Pavlyuchenko, when he’s on form, looks good. I’d also welcome back Corluka, he did a great job for us!
I thought Dos Santos was destined for greatness, but nothing materialised..
We’ll see what happens with regards to that last comment. There’s a very good probability that the little Mexican might start against City on Saturday so fingers crossed he’ll do the business. Who knows, maybe he’ll score the winner and City will offer £30m on Sunday?
Finally let’s have a prediction for the City season and the opening game at White Hart Lane:
We’ve got to be looking at top 3, but c’mon its City you know for a fact that we will be “lovin’ it” at Easter then be hanging on for dear life by the end of the season.
As for Saturday’s game they’re usually pretty good aren’t they….?? I’d love a City win, but settle for a draw…2-2.
So there you have it. A City fan who is enjoying the wealth of new signings and the possibility of competing at the top (and more importantly finishing above United) but still has the old sense of impending doom that his team will let him down when it really matters. Sound familiar? Maybe that camaraderie I was talking about won’t fade away just yet.
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