Mark Hughes

So right now, as the story goes, it looks pretty bleak for City.  The new manager isn’t happy that he’s going to be lacking in financial support and is going to have to put up with a mess in the boardroom and the owner could be going to prison.  So how on earth does this situation get better?  Well, in a matter of hours, Manchester City was sold to Abu Dhabi United Group and then, in a gesture of good faith, the soon to be new owners start splasing cash in the transfer market and making bids on any big signings that they can.  And guess what?  Somehow, they wheeled and dealed and landed Robinho, stealing him out from under Scolari’s big, moustache laced, nose.

The new owners want to put Manchester City in the top four of the Premier League.  I don’t know if it will happen this year, but when oil barrons buy football clubs, they tend to make good things happen.  By good, I mean they shell out an obscene amount of money on players and basically buy trophies.  The days of the tradional club are coming to a close.  Manchester United keep raising funds based on their global market share that other clubs lack.  Clubs like Arsenal and Liverpool are destined to fall to the way side if they can’t find funds from somewhere, whether it be rich owners or marketing.  I hate what money is doing to this sport, but there’s really no stopping it.  The oil may eventually dry up, but holding companies like Abu Dhabi and Dubai Investment will already own the rest of the world, so it won’t matter.

At least I'll have more time to play GTA IV

Was it Torres who went and got himself injured? No, I don’t think he got hurt on purpose.

Was it Robbie “Rollin’ Thunder” Keane? Well, I suppose we can put a bit on his shoulder since he really didn’t do too much at all.

Was it Euro Cup Winner Xabi Alonso? Trying to score from the car park isn’t always the best idea but when your better than Gareth Barry, you might as well try.

Was it Dirk Kuyt? He scored against Standard Liege so he’s immune from the blame wheel for the next few games.

Was it the Monster Mach? The holding midfielder doesn’t have to score & he just happened to set up one of the best chances of the match.

Was it Yossi Benayoun? The dude only played for 15 minutes, have a heart!

Was it the stodgy Villa defence? Yes, I think it was their fault. We might have been lacking in creativity. We might have been missing that cutting edge. We might not have had Stevie G dragging everyone along. Besides all that, we just couldn’t break the Villians. They’re a team that’s fast improving and let’s face it, we probably would of lost this game under these circumstances last year. Man of the match? Probably the Villa grounds keeper. Their pitch looked class.

In other news, Stevie is getting a second groin operation. Fuck.

steven.

Aston Villa hasn’t ever really been a grudge match opponent. Enter the Martin O’Neil – Rafa Benitez row over the protracted transfer saga that was the Gareth Barry fiasco and your going to have some pissed off Brummies. Villa Park was never a fun place to go. Over the last few years, the Villians have been moving back up the pecking order to the place they once held long before all seater stadia and Budweiser being the “official beer”. Ashley Young, Agbonlahor, Petrov & John Carew all helped cement Villa a place in Europe last season and this is Sunday they’re going to be coming forward and looking to take maximum points on a somewhat wounded and misfiring Liverpool side.

Rafa attempts to coax Barry to the Spanish side of the Force

With Stevie G out for the next 10-14 days after his groin operation, the supporting characters in the creation department are going to have to pick it up in a big way. This, and the yet to be effective Torres – Keane partnership, worries me. I know it’s only been a few games and great partnerships can take entire seasons to form but I think between the two of them, they should have more than (1) measly goal to show for their efforts. Hell, Ngog has scored more than “Father Ted” and only cost £1 million. Besides that, he’s French! Here’s my Fantasy Rafa picks for a squad lacking our captain:

1. Reina
2. Dossena
3. Carragher
4. Degan
5. Skrtel
6. Alonso
7. Babel
8. Mascherano
9. Keane
10. Torres
11. Kuyt

I’m predicting a tight 1-0 win with Babel sneaking one in right near the end. I keep saying that Robbie is going to score and there is a good chance slight possibility I’m sending out a jinx. Let’s hope so ‘cause I don’t think he’s got it in him to get one past Friedel. Willy old yank. With Macherano back in the line up, I don’t see us having a problem bossing the midfield and thanks to Pepe we’ve conceded only 1 goal so far this season. So what if it’s only the 3^rd game? Keep it posi football fans.

In other news, looks like we’ve got Riera all signed up and ready to go. From what I know, he’s going to be a good addition to the squad and will fill up that left sided winger we’ve been looking for. Makes me glad we didn’t sign Barry. Everyone, including your oh so humble blogger, has been saying we need width. We need players to get to the byline & send in crosses. Players with speed and tricks and some subtle flair to stretch the opposition and give us that dimension we’ve been lacking since John Barnes was bagging goals. We need the anti-Kuyt. Riera might not be all of that, but he’s a giant step in the right direction.

P.S – HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

steven.

One of the many signs of the Apocalypse (besides Obama not picking Clinton as his running mate) is Jaime Carragher scoring at the Kop end. Liverpool fans love Carra almost as much as they love Stevie and when both of them get on the score sheet

Gangstas don't dance, we boogie.

Middlesbrough put up a good fight and I have to say I was glad they decided to come forward and attack rather than sit back and pray for a point. There were quite a few moments where I had to hold my breath. Tuncays beautiful flick / turn / shoot was a sight to be behold and he was very unlucky not to score. Not that I or the rest of the Reds of the world minded at all.

I went 10/11 on my Fantasy Rafa squad prediction and am now sitting at a comfortable 367^th out of 2137 total players. The inclusion of Skertel over Daniel Agger (who needs to come back pronto) is what made the difference. Guess you can’t win ‘em all.

It’s hard to take. I’m heartbroken for the lads because we’ve given everything and deserved more.

-Gareth Southgate

Alonso had a somewhat disjointed game but still proved he could thread the needle on more than one occasion. Torres and Keane seem to be coming to a better understanding and it’s only a matter of time before

Man of the Match

Rumours keep popping up linking us with Stewart Downing but after Saturday, can’t see it being a good idea. Admittedly, he’s had better games but I just can’t see him doing the job (much like Pennant) that we need done at the level that we need it done at. Having Babel back is going to be god-send for the left side. Yossi might bring a new dimension to the table but, like Kuyt, he’s not a winger and can’t get wide like we need. I know Babel isn’t a true winger either but he’s proved he can make it work.

In other news, I won free chicken wings. Fancy that.

steven.

1800-SAVE-BERBA…time is running out, like.

I have a feeling this won’t be the most exciting match

Hey Southgate, where'd ya get yer trainees at?

Gareth Southgate’s side are always a tough nut to crack but I’ve got a good feeling they’re not getting a result tomorrow. I’m predicting a 2-0 win with Keane getting off the mark and Alonso continuing his good run of form by scoring off a free kick. It will be nice to hear the Kop in full voice for our home opener and I think our esteemed opponents are going to crack under the pressure. There’s been alot of pessimism going around and a strong, consistent performance at home (after our somewhat spotty form last season) will help cheer up the doomsayers.

Here’s my prediction of what our crazy Spaniard’s starting line up will look like:

1. Reina
2. Dossena
3. Agger
4. Carragher
5. Arbeloa
6. Yossi
7. Stevie
8. Xabi
9. Kuyt
10. Keane
11. Torres

You can pick your own team at Fantasy Rafa , a fun little website that let’s you try to guess who the Gaffer is going to give the nod too. I’m currently in sitting at a comfortable 1,046th out of 2,069 players. Much like the Jeffersons, I play to be moving on up. Hopefully my pretty little picture based squad choices will be up and running soon so you won’t have to look at my boring old list.

In other news, our unfriendly neighbours are scrambling to sign a striker. What happened to the ugliest strike force in the world? Rooney and Tevez not hacking it? FUCKERS.

steven.