A "Kinky" Comeback

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Manager’s December Review –

An unbeaten month in the league with only two points dropped, them coming away at Spurs where I’d usually be happy with a point but they had no manager at the time and sat in 13th so it was a little disappointing. The rest of the month was just brilliant, ending with a victory in the Manchester derby to end United’s 9 game winning streak and close the gap to just 6 points going into the new year.

The Champions League ended for me with a dull 0-0 draw away at Porto and we finished 2nd in Group C. The draw for the 1st knockout stage is a tough one but we will try to overcome the strength of Real Madrid and make it further in the competition.

My December player of the month goes to Diego Lugano. A series of solid performances kept us strong at the back and he play in every single game in December without any fuss, and also scored his first goal for the Club against Sunderland. I think a permanent deal will be looked at in January because he is currently one of the first names on the team sheet. Again in December, Wellington Nem won the Premier League Young Player of the Month award after another month of impressive performances that have led to him being a key player already.

I was also very proud of honoured to be awarded the Premier League Manager of the Month award for December. 6 wins and draw, 15 goals scored and only 5 conceded made this my best month yet and I can’t thank the players enough for how well they have bounced back from a disappointing start.

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Tuesday 1st January – West Ham United v Manchester City (Premier League)

MCFC Starting XI – Friedel, Lugano, Kompany, Nastasic, Maicon, Kolarov; Garcia, Rodwell; Silva, Sinclair, Tevez SUBS – Hart, Lescott, Clichy, Toure, Milner, Nem, Aguero

WHU Starting XI –Jaaskelainen, Demel, Collins, Reid, Potts; Benayoun, O’Neill, Nolan, Jarvis; Carroll, Cole SUBS – Henderson, Diarra, Noble, Maiga, Spence, Collison, Vaz Te

City travelled to Upton Park with a team lacking energy and fitness following a Manchester derby, but the team battled and came out on top. One goal from Carlos Tevez was enough for the three points, but that man made the game a lot harder when he was sent off in the 65th minute and forced his team mates to hold on for the three points.

Final Score – West Ham United 0 Manchester City 1 (Tevez 38)

MOTM – Winston Reid

Attendance – 32,650

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Saturday 5th January – Fulham v Manchester City (FA Cup 3rd Round)

Following his dismissal in the match at West Ham, Carlos Tevez was fined by the Club and reacted very badly, with speculation coming from the Club that the player is now looking to leave. He will serve a one match ban and many doubt he will be at the Club much longer. Kinkladze looks like he might lose two strikers this month with Mario Balotelli likely to leave as well.

MCFC Starting XI – Hart, Lugano, Lescott, Rekik, Maicon, Kolarov; Garcia, Milner; Nem, Sinclair; Dzeko SUBS – Friedel, Kompany, Zabaleta, Rodwell, Johnson, Suarez, Aguero

Fulham Starting XI – Schwarzer, Rangel, Hangeland, Hughes, Riise; Williams, Sidwell; Dejagah, Petric, Duff; Berbarov SUBS – Stockdale, Rodallega, Kacaniklic, Gutierrez, Senderos, Baird, Riether

The Cup gave us a little break from chasing United in the League and the team that was put out included a few squad players, and the bench even included Michael Johnson who had been on loan at Doncaster for the past 6 months. The team didn’t let the fans down and City’s name is in the hat for the next round, where City will face League 1 side Notts County at the Etihad Stadium.

Final Score – Fulham 0 Manchester City 2 (Lescott 67, Dzeko 70)

MOTM – Joleon Lescott

Attendance – 22,745

Very good going, keep battling for the title

Mario Leaves, As Luuk De Jong signs

Two big pieces of business happened at Manchester City today, firstly Mario Balotelli left the Club on loan. Balotelli joins FC Porto until the end of the season with a £16m fee already set if Porto want to keep him on a permanent basis.

As one striker leaves, manager Georgi Kinkladze made a big move in the transfer window spending £20.5m on 22 year old Dutch striker Luuk De Jong from Borussia Monchengladbach. The Dutchman has made 9 appearances for his country scoring one goal and comes with a growing reputation in German football for scoring big goals in big games, having scored 10 goals in 17 games already this season. De Jong will wear the number 9 shirt for City.

Kinkladze said, “I’m happy to see the deal for Luuk done, he is a young striker with a big future and I’m hoping he can add to the already strong attacking line-up we have.” When asked about the departure of Mario Balotelli, Kinkladze added, “This will give him an opportunity to play some football in a top European league. Unfortunately Mario and I never saw eye to eye and he hasn’t really featured in my plans so it is good for both of us that he has left.”

Many expect Carlos Tevez to also leave the Club in January, but no deal is in place right now for that to happen, and according to our sources City are expected to spend more in January but no names are being mentioned.

Interesting, can I see a screenshot of de Jong? Hopefully he'll score more than Nigel did

I just hope Porto will not pay the 16M fee for Mario.

And De Jong is a nice signing

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Saturday 12th January – Manchester City v Southampton (Premier League)

After an impressive 6 months on loan, where he made 14 appearances and scored 1 goals, Diego Lugano has joined Manchester City on a permanent deal thought to be worth around £1m.

MCFC Starting XI – Friedel, Lugano, Kompany, Lescott, Maicon, Clichy; Barry, Milner; Silva, Nem; Aguero SUBS – Hart, Zabaleta, Richards, Rodwell, Sinclair, Garcia, Dzeko

Southampton Starting XI – Boruc, Coleman, Hooiveld, Yoshida, Forren; Cork, Gardner; Paulo Jorge, Hoolahan, Ramirez; Lambert SUBS – Davis, Clyne, Fonte, Lallana, Rodriguez, Fox, Dickson

A lacklustre performance today has cost Man City two points, as a spirited Southampton side walk away from the Etihad with a well-earned point. The game will also cost City there leading goal scorer for 3 weeks as Sergio Aguero was taken off with a groin strain.

Final Score – Manchester City 1 (Nem 45) Southampton 1 (Lambert 22)

MOTM – Jos Hooiveld

Attendance – 47,142

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Tuesday 15th January – Norwich City v Manchester City (Premier League)

MCFC Starting XI – Friedel, Lugano, Kompany, Lescott, Zabaleta, Clichy; Rodwell, Milner; Nem, Silva; Dzeko SUBS – Hart, Richards, Kolarov, Barry, Sinclair, Maicon, Tevez

Norwich Starting XI – Ruddy, Kelly, Barnett, Bassong, Garrido; Howson, Johnson, Tettey, Surman; Holt, Morison SUBS – Benn, E Bennett, Pilkington, Macheda, R Bennett, Butterfield, Fox

A superb substitute appearance from Carlos Tevez helped City to three points they should have got a lot easier. Tevez came on and inspired the team with the goal to make it 2-1 and a great run late on that led to the third goal, maybe now he will stay at the Club?

Final Score – Norwich 1 (Pilkington 87) Manchester City 3 (Lescott 62, Tevez 85, Sinclair 90+1)

MOTM – Joleon Lescott

Attendance – 26,852

2013-01-12 22:46#76866 manchesterblue97 : Interesting, can I see a screenshot of de Jong? Hopefully he'll score more than Nigel did

I'll sort it out for you tomorrow mate

2013-01-12 22:54#76869 Sonalexwild : I just hope Porto will not pay the 16M fee for Mario.

And De Jong is a nice signing

I'm hoping for the £16m for Mario want to get rid of him really!

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Saturday 19th January – Manchester City v Wigan (Premier League)

MCFC Starting XI – Friedel, Richards, Kompany, Nastasic, Maicon, Kolarov; Barry, Rodwell; Silva Sinclair; Tevez SUBS – Hart, Lugano, Zabaleta, Garcia, Milner, de Jong, Dzeko

Wigan Starting XI – Al-Habsi, Boyce, Caldwell, Ramis, Perch; Falk, McCarthy, McArthur, Jones, Beausejour; Boselli SUBS – Pollitt, Sekagya, Alcaraz, Miyaichi, di Santa, Stam, Piscu

A deserved victory for City, although by only a small margin, makes it 13 games without defeat now and this impressive run has put City back level on points with United, although United have 2 games in hand on the Champions. Luuk de Jong also made his debut and set up the goal but the win has come at a big cost to City, with the loss of Rodwell, Nastasic and Tevez for 4 weeks all with various injuries.

Final Score – Manchester City 1 (Tevez 72) Wigan 0

MOTM – Carlos Tevez

Attendance – 45,721

2013-01-12 23:31#76879 MCFCDAP :

2013-01-12 22:46#76866 manchesterblue97 : Interesting, can I see a screenshot of de Jong? Hopefully he'll score more than Nigel did

I'll sort it out for you tomorrow mate

Heres the de Jong screenshot mate...

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Saturday 26th January – Manchester City v Notts County (FA Cup 4th Round)

MCFC Starting XI – Hart, Richards, Lugano, Rekik, Maicon, Kolarov; De Rossi, Milner; Nasri, Sinclair; de Jong SUBS – Pantilimon, McGivern, Zabaleta, Garcia, Nem, Dzeko, Ntcham

Notts C Starting XI – Bailkowski, Towell, Smith, Leacock, Diallo; Mahon, Bishop, Liddle; Zoko, Hughes, Showunmi SUBS – Speiss, Bencherif, Pearce, Adjei, Arquin, McGowen, Campbell

A comfortable, yet uninspiring, win for Man City. Two goals from the new £20.5m man on his first start send City into the 5th Round of the FA Cup, where City will play the lowest rank team left in the Cup, Oxford United of League 2, at the Etihad Stadium

Final Score – Manchester City 2 (de Jong 40, 54) Notts County 0

MOTM – Luuk de Jong

Attendance – 42,348

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Wednesday 30th January – Manchester City v Everton (Premier League)

MCFC Starting XI – Friedel, Lugano, Kompany, Lescott, Zabaleta, Clichy; Barry, Milner; Silva, Nem; de Jong SUBS – Hart, Richards, Maicon, De Rossi, Sinclair, Dzeko, Kolarov

Everton Starting XI – Howard, Hibbert, Jagielka, Heitinga, Andre Santos; Osman, Neville, Colback, Moses; Pienaar, Jelavic SUBS – Mucha, Duffy, Gibson, Mirallas, Anichebe, Oviedo, Distin

A typically spirited performance by Everton made it a very difficult game for Manchester City, who had to depend more of crosses than through balls, and it was a Sinclair cross that was met by de Jong that decided the game in the 2nd half. Manchester City have been dealt a huge blow in their title bid with the loss of Spanish creative midfielder David Silva for 3 months with a torn hamstring.

Final Score – Manchester City 2 (Clichy 1, de Jong 68) Everton 1 (Moses 7)

MOTM – Victor Moses

Attendance – 45,435

Victor Moses playing for Everton? Guess that'll be where he's going in real life too. Chelsea will dump him soon enough.

Yeah mate, think hes on loan for the season! His goal against me was a stunner as well, came second in the goal of the month anyway!

Ooo that last post was my 100th post

Luuk De Jong is a fabulous player, he was amazing for Gladbach in my Chelsea save. Just read and finished this day and I'm really impressed at how much work you put into this.