Back from the brink, but the dream still ends

It ebbed and it flowed. It waxed and it waned. It teetered and it tottered. But on Thursday evening, in the heavy, adrenaline-soaked atmosphere of a packed City of Manchester Stadium, Manchester City’s dreams of UEFA cup glory finally came to an end.

How different it could have been.

A true European experience
One must go back to the first leg in Hamburg to understand how close City came to success. Travelling to the northern German city took the experience of watching the Blues in Europe to the next level. As a supporter, you really felt that you were witnessing a proper game of European football, where the stakes were high and where things clearly mattered to player and fan alike.

Prior to the game, City fans were out in numbers across Hamburg, with one of the focal points being a large square close to the Reeperbahn, a central nightlife and red light hub. With the sun shining, the City flags draping from every pub wall, the beer flowing, and the fans chanting, the atmosphere could not have been better.

Well, it got better. Upon arrival at Hamburg’s 50,000 Nordbank arena, I knew that we were in the quarter finals of the UEFA cup. It’s an impressive facility, the rows of seats reaching up endlessly to the roof, giving the Stadium a cavernous feel that is ideal for intimidating away teams.

Frailty and stupidity at the Nordbank
Over the course of the two matches that comprised the quarter final tie, Hamburg were the better side. After Stephen Ireland’s excellent 1st minute finish, it was all City could do to stop the waves of Hamburg attacks that crashed against Shay Given and his defensive shield. Indeed ultra critics would say that Ireland’s goal, whilst exquisite in nature, came too soon. It seemed to galvanise Hamburg’s attack into a frenzy and it was not long – minutes in fact – before City’s defence was breached and the German side was level.

City continued to be defensively frail throughout the game and were unable to deal with the likes of Ivica Olic and the Croatian’s replacement, Jose Paolo Guerrero. Midway through the second half, Micah Richards stupidly raised his hands to block a Hamburg shot. Now, I have no problem with players putting their bodies on the line for the sake of the team, but there has to be a bit of nous shown whenever this is attempted. This was sadly lacking from Richards when, whilst inside his own penalty area, the right back clearly raised both hands to block the incoming shot. The referee had no choice but to point to the spot and Hamburg converted the penalty.

It was always going to be an uphill struggle from thereon in but with 10 minutes left, Guerrero scored to make it 3-1 and things suddenly became worryingly realistic. Letting in the third left me coming away from the Nordbank arena hoping rather than believing we could turn things around at Eastlands. In the end, that third goal was to prove fatal for our chances of progressing to the semis.

Despair…and then hope in Manchester
The hope that I had carried back with me on the long drive back from Hamburg (yes, we drove and it was a complete grueller) soon disappeared into the night air when, in the opening exchanges of the second leg at Eastlands, Jose Paolo Guerrero again penetrated the City defence to make it 4-1 to Hamburg on aggregate.

I couldn’t believe it. At the very least I expected an energetic opening from City, but it did not materialise and now it seemed as if Hamburg had put the tie beyond our reach. But in a strange reversal of scenarios from the first leg, this time it appeared as if Hamburg had scored too early. City were suddenly energised into the cohesive attacking force that we all know they can be. Five minutes after Guerrero’s strike, Elano made things believable again by converting a penalty that he himself had made when his long range effort was handled by a Hamburg defender in the penalty area. On the brink of half time, Elano came to within inches of making it 2-1 to City on the night when his free-kick cannoned off the Hamburg crossbar.

The sheer drama of the second half
City picked up where they had left off, continuing to drive forward with purpose and quality. Their efforts were soon rewarded by City’s young Ecuadorian striker, Felipe Caicedo, when he shot past the Hamburg keeper in the 50th minute. I have rarely heard the City crowd roar as loudly as they did when the back of the net rippled. Finally, Eastlands was fulfilling its potential, stepping into the massive void that has been there ever since the club left Maine Road.

A window of victory suddenly emerged. As a City fan you knew, you sensed, that out of nothing, out of the dark, dank second half performance at the Nordbank arena, somehow, a City win was now on the cards. The fans were unbelievable. In their post-match press conferences, Mark Hughes and Martin Jol both talked of the home fans’ influence on the game. Standing in the chaos of the South Stand, on the edge of the Hamburg supporters’ block, amongst the police officers, the stewards, the paramedics, the City crowd as the 12th man was there for all to see.

The nearly men of Eastlands
In the cauldron of Eastlands we began to press home our advantage. Elano, having his best game of the season, crashed another free-kick against the Hamburg woodwork. With the Hamburg keeper at sea, Caicedo ballooned a shot over from five yards out. Minutes later, Robinho had his close range volley fantastically saved as Hamburg’s UEFA cup fortunes creaked and shook under the combined pressure of City’s attacking play and the intensity of the home crowd. Suddenly, we had a City team that was a threat from dead ball situations. Aside from Elano’s spectacular free kicks, Micah Richards led the line in terms of making the team actually attack corners for once. Then after the hour mark, Caicedo had a goal ruled offside, which was not surprising given the amount of times he had misjudged his runs throughout the game.

The sending off of Richard Dunne on 75 minutes was a turning point. In truth, the City captain had been given a wide birth by the officials. A more unforgiving referee would’ve had him off earlier given the amount of fouls that he had already committed. Whilst devoid of malice, the sending off offence was nevertheless as clumsy as it was stupid. The challenge was ill timed and as City captain, Dunne should have shown better judgement in committing himself to the challenge in terms of the overall context of the game. With 11 men on the field, I felt we were capable of scoring more than one goal, but with a man down even forcing the tie into extra time would be difficult.

Inevitably, Dunne’s departure created more openings for the Hamburg attack and Shay Given was called upon to produce some fine saves. City’s last best chance came with a lovely move down the right, which ended up with a Micah Richards volley over the bar and into the latter rows of the North Stand.

The referee blew his whistle. After being 4-1 down to a side that was joint top of the Bundesliga, we had dragged ourselves back from the brink of defeat to near victory. We had tried everything, but we were ultimately denied that all-important third goal that would have changed the face of the tie and likely led to a semi final birth against Werder Bremen. We were almost there. Nearly there and yet now not. There was no glory to be had. Instead, we were out the UEFA cup.

Stumbling towards Istanbul
City’s progress in Europe this season has been magnificent as it has been shocking. With the UEFA cup final being held in Istanbul, the chant that fans have sung all season: “Istanbul, Istanbul we are coming, Istanbul, Istanbul I prey, Istanbul, Istanbul we are coming, we are coming at the end of May” has been both comedic and – at times – unusually real. Who really thought that we would be able to make it to final? I didn’t until Caicedo’s scored to make it 2-1 against Hamburg. Realising that we had one of the best sides in the competition on the ropes, suddenly, Istanbul was becoming a reality. The same was probably true of a few more City fans.

But the road to the quarter finals has also been shambolic. It’s well documented. As a City fan you simply cannot forget the Danish debacles of Midtjylland and Aalborg. In the former tie, we had to rely upon an own goal just to take things to extra time, where we proceeded to wait it out for the lottery of penalties. In the latter tie, we threw away a 2-0 lead in the last five minutes of the second leg before winning, once again, through the lottery of penalties. We could have been the absolute laughing stock of Europe, but somehow – in strange but true City fashion – we managed to pull it round to a point where, unbelievably, after almost going out of the competition to a team of Danish minnows, we were on the cusp of a semi final place.

City’s stumble towards Istanbul has been unforgettable, for all the wrong and all the right reasons. Above all it is proof for the Arab owners of the massive support that lies behind the club. Chairman Khaldoon al-Mubarak was present at the Hamburg game and must now know of the potential of the club if (and it’s a big f*cking if) things are once and for all sorted out on the pitch. A solid City team balancing resolute defence with attacking flair, driven on by the hordes of City fans that turned out on Thursday night, would be a formula hard to match.

The other positive of Thursday was the effect the game appears to have had on the future of Mark Hughes. The BBC Manchester post-match phone-in was positive in that you had a lot of fans backing Hughes and calling for him to be given more time than the nine months that he has already had. By all accounts, the owners are still behind him and that has to be good news. Stability is the key ingredient that has been missing from City’s diet for years. I for one will not be judging Hughes until the end of next season, but given the reality of football, his time may well come before then. There’s a sense that the Welshman’s fate will be sealed by what he does (or does not do) during the coming summer transfer window.

The style mill begins to grind

What next for the Blue shirt of Manchester?

As this season of upheaval enters its final few weeks, many City fans are undoubtedly looking forward with eagerness to a summer of excitement. The most obvious driver of this enthusiasm is the club's anticipated activity in the transfer market. The new found depth of our pockets means that we will continue to be linked with every footballing talent under the sun. Villa. Terry. Ribery. Henry. Cannavaro and er...Kenwyne Jones.

But that's not the whole picture. It seems the average City fan is also mightily concerned about his or her personal image. I for one am a part of this group. For years, we've not had much to shout about in terms of a decent home kit. Away kits have been slightly better, but not massively. I think we have to hark back to the glory days of the late 1960s, early 1970s before we can say that we had a truly great, stylish kit.

In my eyes, a big part of why we've not had much to shout about in the shirt department recently is down to the fact that, since Brother, we've had a string of shite sponsors. A computer game firm with a naff sounding name (Eidos), a sponsor that sounded like a counselling service (First Advice) and a cheapo travel company (Thomas Cook). More importantly, the logos of all these were crap.

But as our summer of intrigue approaches, things may be changing. The new owners are clearly not content with our current shirt deal. The new name in the frame now increasingly appears to be 'Ethiad', the national airline of the United Arab Emirates. With the Abu Dhabi connection outed in the press, Garry Cook (City's Chief Executive who was tempted away from his high flying marketing position with Nike to join the Blue Empire) summed things up well: "The market is worldwide. You have to look at our brand and our brand looks like Thomas Cook. And there's something not right about sitting in a bar in Bangkok or Beijing or Tokyo and seeing 'Fred Smith's plumbing. Call 0161...' There's something not right about that, so you have to think on a global stage."

And I must say I have to agree with him.

The fallout of Cook's words has, of course, had an impact at grass roots level. Already City fans are coming up with the shirt and kit sponsor bgvhgcombinations of their dreams. The most concrete rumour appears to be an Ethiad shirt sponsor combined with a return to City's kit sponsor of old - Umbro. This image showed up on the web a few weeks ago:

Not great but not bad either. I'd have to see it in the flesh before I'd consider buying it.

Whoever concocted this hybrid deserves a high flying branding job at Thomas Cook. I never thought I'd say the Thomas Cook logo would look cool but this person has certainly managed to make it so. Its has probably got something to do with Adidas being the kit sponsor, and as outline above, the days of Thomas Cook are likely numbered - but this is still a great effort.

This is my personal favorite. Although it is obvious that this couldn't stand up as as home kit, it is definately third kit potential. For those that don't know, this design goes back to City's roots - the 1880s in fact - when City were known more commonly as St. Mark's (West Gorton), the club's founding name. The black strip and the white cross of St. Mark's, in combination with the Ethiad name and any well known shirt sponsor, would be a winning formula for a third kit.

Whatever happens, its clear that we City fans are in need of a style facelift in keeping with our new global ambitions. The words of Cook, the owners in Abu Dhabi, and Mark Hughes are all promising and all point towards City thinking big both on and off the pitch. However, there's just one small problem: did anyone think to check the English translation of Ethiad? The word on the street is that it means 'United'.

Only City would opt for a sponsor that places the names of their arch rivals on the Blue shirt of Manchester.

The players change but the club remains the same

The weekend approaches, bringing with it an away fixture against Arsenal. I feel my stress levels begin to rise, a slight racing of the pulse, a faint lurch somewhere in the depths of my stomach.

I would like to be thinking along the lines of a Bojinov brace, perhaps a Benjani hat trick upon his return from injury. I can see it now: 3-0 up at half time, City coasting, add another couple after the break, the Arsenal lads failing around with nothing coming off whilst Robinho show boats to the max. Our poor away form is blown to smithereens as we do a season double over Wenger's babes and kick on to that 7th place finish that will secure us another pop in Europe next year.

But what am I really thinking? Well, here's a taster. I'm thinking Bojinov isn't quite match fit yet and hoping he doesn't do his cruciate. I'm thinking Benjani will likely never score a hat trick for us when he's fully fit, nevermind when he's just returning from injury. I'm thinking City will be 2-0 down at halftime, with at least one of those goals being caused by a loss of possession as a result of Robinho's 'showboating' antics in his own penalty area. And yes you guessed it, I'm thinking our poor away form will continue and will turn out to be the reason why we don't qualify for Europe this year.

Some might say that I'm being overly negative, a pessimist of massive proportions. But after the last two (very stressful) City performances, in my defence I must ask you the question: can you really blame me for being downbeat?

Elation and frustration in Aalborg
Let's face facts. The first leg, at home against Danish side Aalborg. I must admit, when we drew Aalborg I didn't expect City to progress. They won the Danish league last year and started this season in the Champions League against the likes of Salford United, Villareal and Celtic. Okay, so they dropped out of their Champions League group, but in the UEFA cup round prior to facing City, they demolished Deportivo La Coruna 6-1 on aggregate.

Nevertheless, all was not lost. By the time Aalborg faced the Blue boys of Manchester they were wallowing around mid-table in their domestic league. Another plus for us was that we had them at home first. Given our record at Eastlands you expected us to bag a few to give us a fighting chance for the return leg. And these expectations were proved correct. We absolutely battered Aalborg at the Blue Camp. We ended up 2-0 winners but it should've been much more, perhaps 4-1 being a realistic result.

Things were looking up for the second leg. In fact, things were looking up after the first 45 mintues of the second leg, with Aalborg pretty much continuing the dour form that they had shown during the previous tie. The second half beckons and as a City fan I expected Aalborg to come at us in some way, shape or form. I expected a bit of pressure, expected to be under the cosh because of the simple reality that Aalborg are going out of the tournament unless they start to play. And so I was expecting away to my heart's content, expecting all these things to happen and expecting that once they began to play, gaps would emerge within their defence. And with City's counter-attacking qualities, I expected us to exploit those gaps. I expected us to nick a goal, seal the tie right there and then, no way back for Aalborg after conceeding a third. I expected City to be going into the hat for the UEFA cup quarterfinal draw. I expected us to win.

Ultimately, I wasn't wrong. But we came within an inch of royally fucking it all up to the extent that I was almost in tears given the sheer stupidy of our performance. In football, they say its the result that matters. Well, the benefit of the club, that might well be, but for the benefit of my health, I beg to differ that the process (i.e. the way we go about getting that result) matters a hell of a lot too.

For me, the second half and beyond in Aalborg summarises perfectly what it means to be a Manchester City supporter. Sitting pretty on 2-0 lead, we began to sit back, to get deeper and deeper, encouraging the Aalborg forwards onto us and almost inviting them to attack. Our defence was soon under big pressure because we couldn't get the ball off the Danes. When we did, we either hoofed it up (in which case it came right back at us) or we tried to play counter-attacking football (which we seemed to have completely forgot how to do).

Midway through the second half and the first warning came with City left back Javier Garrido blatantly bringing down an Aalborg forward in the penalty area. The ref would have none of it and after I saw the replay (and saw how obvious a penalty it was) I began to think that the luck was with us. Having been let off the hook, I expected a City response in the shape of getting forward, but none came. Instead, just more and more Aalborg attacks. And then, suddenly, the mould was broken when in the 84th minute the ball fell to none other than Robinho, who cracked a beautiful shot against the underside of the Aalborg bar. We were in touching distance of a quarterfinal birth, but as all football fans know, in the end touching distance is only touching distance, and is not two hands on the prize.

And so it was that on 85 minutes - seconds after we had almost won the tie - the inevitable came. An Aalborg free kick into the City penalty area and the loose ball falls to the head of an opposition player. This is hard to describe, but as a City fan, when the ball hit that Aalborg lad's head, you knew where it was headed: destination back-of-net. The nervous, edgy world of 2-1 beckoned. five minutes left and its all to play for.

And then it got worse. Pressing forward like their lives depended upon it, in 91st minute the Danes were awarded the penalty due to a Ched Evans handball. The young Welsh striker couldn't really do anything about it to be fair, but it was a hard pill to swallow. Seconds later, the ball is in the back of the net, the referee has blown for an end to full time and extra time awaits. Out of nothing, Aalborg's recovery was complete.

It is difficult to describe the sheer frustration I felt at our capitulation. The performance was pathetic, an embarrassment across Europe. How could we have blown such a comfortable lead in such a short space of time? The look of pain etched across Mark Hughes' face didn't provide any answers. Standing there, hands on hips, softly shaking his head in what was, I should imagine, utter shock. I don't think he had any answers. Who would?

The bewilderment of extra time and beyond
In my mind at this point, we were a beaten team. The only questions were how deep and scathing the inquest was going to be be and whether Hughes would be able to hold onto his job in the morning. Still, I expected some form of comeback to be mounted in extra time. Surely we would want to atone for our normal time errors and at least try to avoid the lottery of penalties. Nope, I was wrong again. Extra time might as well have not been played, with it being clear that both teams were happy taking their chances on a shootout.

As our young striker Ched Evans stood up to take the first City penalty, I searched for the reason, any reason at all, why I supported this club. Why did I choose to put myself through hell, through the wringer? I should have seen this coming, should have known that City never do things the easy way...

Ten minutes later and I had my answer. Evans, Elano, Wright-Phillips and Dunne (yes Richard Dunne) had all converted their penalty kicks with confidence and ease. Aalborg had already missed one and thus needed to score their next in order to stay in the competition. The Aalborg player stepped up and I watched as Given saved to send the Blue boys through to the quarterfinals of the UEFA cup.

A to C via Z
It is great that City have progressed in Europe to face Hamburg. To get to the last eight of a major European competition is no mean feat and anything beyond this for us has to be a bonus. The worrying trend is (yes, perhaps an unbelievable comment) the manner of our victory. Over recent years, the underlying, unofficial ethos of this club has turned into something akin to snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. Is there any other club that can breed such confidence in its fans, then take them to the brink of disillusionment before engineering a complete u-turn by finally delivering them victory. The quickest way from A to C is via B. Why then, must we continually insist upon getting to C via Z? I have been a City fan all my life - since 1981 - and I can honestly say that this is all I have ever known. It has never been easy, never simple, never straightforward.

The game against Aalborg represents a perfect microcosm of this condition. And if it seems as if I am speaking about the club as if it has contracted some kind of disease, then that is the intention. How else does the football analyst explain the situation at City over the past few decades? Eleven managers since 1989, some rightly sacked, others not. Several squads of players brought in, several drafted out. Flirting with oblivion in the late 1990s, freefalling into the old Division 2. The move from Mosside to Eastlands. Flirting with world dominance ten years later, the billions of the Abu Dhabi Royal Family lining our pockets. And yet, still no success. Still no major trophy since the League Cup in 1976. Nevermind Three Lions on a Shirt, there's thirty years of hurt right there.

The personnel keeps on changing, the elation and frustration keeps on coming and I find myself wondering whether I could love this club to the extent I do today if it were any different. Maybe an Aalborg a day keeps the doctor away?

Technical announcement: rant feature added

For the avid readers of this blog (I can spot at least one from here), it might be of interest to you to know that I've added a comment function to be found at the bottom of each post. Before, this was only available to those of you with G-mail accounts, but because I'm an inclusive kinda blogger I thought I'd open up my posts for you all the slaughter.

So if any of you have something to say in regards to what is being put forward here, then feel free to type away. I don't mind criticism, don't even mind strongly worded angst. But there's one condition: make it constructive. In other words, if you are going to rant then rant with a point.

I look forward to hearing everyone's dulcet tones (or groans).

The right kind of rumour

Daniel Taylor, sports writer with The Guardian, is one of two things. He is either a woefully off-the-mark hack who should be brought to heel for his gossip generating ways. Or he is one hell of a reporter-mole who has got his ears so close to the ground at Eastlands that they are almost touching the blades of grass that surround Hughes' technical area. I for one hope he is in the mould of the latter.

In last Monday's edition of the left-leaning broadsheet, Taylor pens an intruiging article about the future of Robinho, City's top scoring, left-winging, Tenerife training camp-dodging Brazilian. The gist of the piece is that Hughes' patience with Robinho is wearing thin because of the playmaker's inability to put in a shift for his team away from home. Its a fair point and one that many City fans undoubtedly agree with. For anyone who watches the team week in, week out, its a problem that has gone on more or less season.

Taylor goes onto to suggest that City will consider the sale of Robinho if his performances do not improve, with two potential avenues being pursued: a) sell the player to Chelsea in a part-exchange deal that would see John Terry going the other way, or b) offering the player to Bayern Munich as part of a deal that would attempt to lure Franck Ribery to Eastlands.

Mr Chelsea?

In recent times, City fans have become accustomed to big transfer talk. And let's face it, this may be what Taylor's article is. Just talk. Well, call me an optimist, but I believe that in this instance there's no smoke without fire. The Terry rumours provide the most food for thought. On the face of it, the Chelsea defender has come out and said he is Chelsea through and though, and he's been backed by his manager Guus Hiddink. The conventional wisdom is that JT is Mr Chelsea, and will likely stay in West London for the rest of his career.

All the more stark then, when a newspaper such as The Guardian (who, I believe is not in the business of printing dross for the sake of competing with rival media outlets) runs with the unlikely story that Terry is in fact willing to listen to what City have to offer and has even gone as far as to send strategic messages to Hughes to this effect. Taylor's embedded reporting may well be worth keeping an eye on.

What Taylor's article does not say

Taylor does not even hint towards any doubt over the future of Hughes as manager of the club. Rather than all the talk centering around the Welshman's supposed inability to deal with his star players and thereby his own job security, instead the tone of the debate is focused on the performance of these players and their failure to take responsibility for their own roles on the pitch.

For me this represents an encouraging development, the right kind of rumour that will swirl around Eastlands. It is perhaps another hint (one can never be sure) about the nature of the club's owners. They appear to have thrown their weight fully behind Hughes, placing trust in his transfer judgements and avoiding the kind of knee-jerk reactions that have plagued City for decades.

Strengthening from the top

I hope this mindset continues. No player must be bigger than the club, and more importantly no player must be allowed to think that he is bigger than the manager. Robinho is City's top scorer this season and it is right to say that without his goals the club may well be facing a relegation battle. But if his ill discipline on (poor defensive performances) and off (Tenerife) the field continue, then he must be cut away from the squad at whatever cost. It is either this or risk Robinho's ill discipline seeping through the rest of the squad. The scenario of unfettered player power would threaten the tenure of any manager at any club.

To stave off this threat, a strong, united club hierarchy is needed and perhaps, after all these years of disppointment, we are finally getting it. Mark Hughes and the Abu Dhabi United Group (ADUG). A match made in heaven. Opposites attract and all that. But watch out. When you are a City fan, you don't hold your breath.

Something is rotten in the state of Denmark...

As my resolve withered under the driving blizzard, and as the arctic-like air seeped through my bones, I must admit I wondered. What had possessed me to come all this way, to the southern reaches of Scandinavia, to sit in minus degree temperatures for 90 minutes?

Then the answers came flooding: to see my beloved Manchester City take on FC Copenhagen in the last 32 of the UEFA Cup, in fact not just take on, but finish the tie at the Parken Stadium. In other words, to show our opponents how it was done with a mesmerising display of attacking prowess. Fat chance. Instead, what ensued was a rather nervy performance from the Blues. Of course, being a City fan all these years, should I really have expected anything different? Not really.

The game itself
After taking the lead on the half hour mark with an unlikely strike from City centre back Nedum Onuoha (a freak goal that dribbled into the Copenhagen near post after Jesper Christiansen’s dire handling), things looked to be going well and we managed to keep things relatively tight until the half time whistle. An over-excitable fan (pictured above and nicknamed 'Spiderman' by the City faithful) was providing us with light entertainment, warming our bones as he dangled from the Danish rigging apparently unaware of the sheer drop facing him should the net rip!

Ten minutes into the second half though and things were getting colder. Copenhagen were back in the game with a free header from a corner. The Danish resurgence was, however, short lived and five minutes later we were back in front with a sublime finish from Steven Ireland, set up by a hopeful SWP cross.

Now, I know I shouldn’t, but at this point my joints were warming and I was thinking job done. And anyone who knows City knows that, at all costs, you should avoid that line of thinking. The next thing I know, its late in the game. Copenhagen have gradually pushed forward, City have allowed themselves to retreat further and further back. Copenhagen break down the right and we are all out of position, Bridge is nowhere to be seen. Onuoha stays with their winger to the line but fails to prevent the cross. The ball comes over and meets the head of a Copenhagen shirt. It’s a free header. The ball’s in the back of the net. I look at my watch and it’s the 91st minute. Shite, I think. Pure, unbridled shite. And then I remember, this is what it means to be a City fan.

Europe and the regimes of Eriksson and Hughes
Now let’s put things into perspective. To be honest, before Thaksin Shinawatra bought the club I never thought I’d see the day when City graced the European stage. Although we got into the UEFA Cup through the back door (through the fair play league), a place in Europe is certainly not to be scoffed at. Besides, if we’d have shown more grit last year and mirrored the quality of our play in the second half of the season with what we produced in the first, we’d have probably qualified for Europe on merit of our league position. Let’s face it, we were a European looking side anyway. It was the heady days of Sven Goran-Eriksson’s regime and the majority of us were drunk on the promise of Eriksson’s Ethanol-tinged attacking approach. Under Eriksson, we would saunter into the UEFA Cup and surprise teams with our creative play. We would be the black sheep of the competition, the spike in our opponents drinks. Who knows, we might even win the thing, but any progression past the last 32 would be a major bonus.

Today things are a little different. In some ways we are still Eriksson’s team. The attacking ethos he introduced to the club can be seen best in the play of Ireland and to a lesser extent with Elano. Although Hughes is known to be defensive minded, under his reign it seems that – in our attacking play at least - we have become Eriksson’s dream of a pure attacking force. The additions of SWP and Robinho, along with the coming of age of Daniel Sturridge have made our attack dangerously unregulated to our own detriment.

So after much ado, the overall point here is that although we should be happy that we are in Europe, my expectations have increased to the point where I believe we should be getting at least to the quarter finals of this competition. You can imagine what damage this 2-2 draw did to this line of thinking.

Blunt swords
Those watching from the comfort of their own living rooms will no doubt say that 2-2 was a good result against a team that as recent as 2006 defeated Manchester United 1-0 in the group stages of the Champions League. The reality was that it was a poor result. City spurned a wealth of attacking chances, summed up with SWP and Robinho both going through on goal only for Christiansen to save on both occasions.

Now, I acknowledge that players go through bad patches. Confidence can evaporate, touch can be lost, one’s mind can go to the dogs. But we are talking about top class attacking talent here. For Robinho, there can be are no excuses and for all that he is worth he should be putting away these kinds of chances. For whatever reason, in Copenhagen he had the look of a player that was shot of confidence. Maybe he was homesick, maybe he was just plain fucking freezing. In today’s game though, and with all the money he gets paid, these excuses are unacceptable.

There are some things to say in Robinho’s defence. I disagree with the view of Lee Dixon when he says that Robinho more or less resembled a passenger in the game. He was tracking back and he was providing the first line of defence on his side of the pitch, giving a little bit of protection to the full back and thus putting in a shift for the team. Going forward though we all know that he is capable of so much more.

Although he is a City legend in my eyes, SWP must also be singled out for criticism. His best game for us was his first one back in a sky blue shirt, away at Sunderland in August 2008 where we won 3-0 and he scored two goals (incidentally our last away win of the season). Since then, SWP’s goal output has not been up to standard and lately he has been giving the ball away far too much for my liking. His work ethic cannot be questioned and he will always put in a shift for the team. But SWP is an attacking animal and he must be applied as such. Anything less will be a massive waste of good English talent. Shaunie, I love you. Please, please up your game to the high levels that we all know you are capable of attaining!

The two real disappointments
For seasons, the centre of defence has been the most reassuring part of our team. Distin and Dunne, then Dunne and Richards have both been excellent pairings. Our defensive performance in Copenhagen was a microcosm of our defensive record this season: a complete shambles.

Micah Richards is a shadow of his former self. Hughes has moved him out from the centre to right back, where unfortunately the errors have followed. Richards is no longer the marauding force of old. The former England right back no longer attacks the ball with the power, determination and certainty that he once did. Along with the disappointing Richard Dunne, he was at fault for both of Copenhagen’s goals. Handing the opposition free headers in the penalty area is simply asking for it, and defensively we got what we deserved.

Having had my bones chilled through, and coming away from the Parken Stadium feeling gutted with the way we’d capitulated, I was troubled by one further irritant. Only two players from the City squad – Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha – made a real bee line and came over to the 1,900 City fans with their hands held high to salute us for our support. The rest trudged down the tunnel, caught in the grip of a massive sulk. Players may forget that fans cannot simply wash away the rotten taste of unappreciation with a few pints of Carlsberg. It seems that if we are going to make any further progress in this competition, then we surely need to grow up first.

Sparky: the great debate

It’s true to say that football fans are a fickle bunch. City fans are no different. Inevitably, last week’s 2-0 away defeat at the hands of manager-less Portsmouth has given rise to a new round of debate focussing on Mark Hughes and the question of whether he should stay or go.

Of course, this is nothing new. There have been peaks of disgruntlement at various points and I think I would be correct in assuming that this peak simply represents a new batch of wood being thrown onto the fire of dissatisfaction that has been burning from only a few games into the new season. The big worry for Hughes is that this frustration still exists and may even be growing.

So what of the Hughes record at the midway point of the season? Let us attempt to dissect.

The table doesn’t lie
At present City are lying in ninth position in the Premier League, eight points off the relegation zone. Lets face it, the situation could be a lot worse. We could be doing a Newcastle or a Tottenham and following the dangerous ‘we’re too big to be down here’ mentality. The fact that, for the moment at least, we are living life an echelon above the relegation dogfight proves that something has gone right this season. On the other side of the coin, a pessimist would likely say that we are still connected to relegation battle, albeit at the very top of it. After all, there always seems to be a team that gets sucked into the bottom five during May and if things don’t go our way we could be contenders.

There’s been some real highs along the way; the 6-0 and 5-1 demolitions of Portsmouth and Hull respectively, the efficient 3-0 despatching of an Arsenal side that, whilst under strength, was still capable of beating anybody on their day.

Then there’s been the lows. Our away form is woeful, with one win from twelve. At home the team appears to have much more of a chance, but Eastlands is by no means a fortress. When the more formidable teams have come to town, City have tended to have no answers: we took the lead against Chelsea but were eventually muscled out 1-3, we threw away a 2-0 half time lead over Liverpool and ended up losing the game 2-3. The month of November brought with it a home derby against Manchester United where we didn’t begin to play until the second half and ended up losing 0-1. All of this is not to mention our home performances against teams we are directly competing against. Two infuriating home defeats to Spurs and Everton tell that story.

The reality is that the quality of City is reflected in our league position. And that means that we are an average team attempting to become genuine contenders for a European finish.

The comedy of the Cups
At the beginning of the campaign I certainly wouldn’t have bet against City putting together a half decent cup run. We do have players that can turn it on in the flick of an eyelid, which suggested to me that the glory of winning a cup or getting to a final might be our thing this season rather than the hard slog of the league. Oh, how wrong I was to be.

On cold Wednesday night in September, we crashed out of the Carling Cup in the Second Round on penalties against League 1 team Brighton. The manner of our defeat was a concern, taking the lead in normal time only to have it pegged back. Then actually going behind in extra time before salvaging an equaliser to take it to penalties. Brighton showed their mettle, we didn’t, and it was game over. It was pure humiliation.

Okay, so we’d got through our major embarrassment of the season. We could clearly put it right by delivering a strong bid for the FA Cup. Oh dear. A whopping 0-3 home defeat at the hands of Nottingham Forest put paid to that idea. Once again, it was the nature of City’s capitulation that placed worry in the bones. And to think I almost went to the game. Individual mistakes, inability to work as a team and a complete lack ideas going forward. The prevailing mood in the City dressing room before the game must have been that they just had to turn up. The reality was that our heads were somewhere else, and our bodies were never in the game.

Disaster in the domestic cups has yet to be mirrored in Europe. City are still in the UEFA Cup and have managed to progress to the last 32 teams. Of course, this is not to say that City have not already flirted with catastrophe here too. In the Second Round, we almost came a cropper against Danish minnows FC Midtjylland. After losing the home leg 0-1, we travelled to Denmark where we played for 89 horrific minutes without scoring a goal. It was only in the 90th minute, when a Midtjylland player mistakenly put the ball into the back of his own net, when things started to look up and one began to believe that this was going to be our night. We eventually one on penalties.

On balance, our cup performances have erred on the side of dross, but it could be worse. We are still in with a shout when it comes to Europe, and at this stage in the season that has to count for something.

The Nine
Let’s talk transfer policy. Wayne Bridge, Vincent Kompany, Nigel De Jong, Craig Bellamy, Shay Given, Shaun Wright-Phillips, Pablo Zabaleta, Robinho and as yet unused, Glauber Berti. These are all Hughes’ signings and the vast majority of them have now been bedded into the side. Clearly there is a wealth of talent here, both in defence and attack, and I do not think that we can question Hughes’ transfer targeting policy. Given is one of the best goalkeepers in the Premier League, Kompany hardly ever wastes possession – either in his defensive midfield or centre back capacities, Wright-Phillips is one of the trickiest wingers around and his work ethic for the team is often unmatched, and the attacking qualities of Robhino are something to behold.

So why have our league and cup performances not matched the quality that we have in our dressing room? One answer could be tactics and that means the ball is firmly in Sparky’s court. Or is it? Away from home we seem unable to win, unable to pick teams apart, unable to take a lead, unable to shut teams out. So where does the buck stop?

The most obvious is to heap the blame onto Hughes. We may not be pursuing the right kind of away tactics. Alternatively, Hughes might have it bang on but is failing in communicating those tactics to the players. Another scenario might be that the players understand the tactics but yet do not to implement them due to low motivation levels, which derive from an unwillingness to play for Hughes himself.

The aura of Hughes
This last point causes the most worry. We have brought players into the club who can clearly play so for me, their tactical nouse is not an issue. With every defeat, bad performance or edging win I do not think that we can discount the notion that Hughes may be losing the dressing room and is now in charge of an increasingly unhappy ship.

The personality of Sparky and how that impacts upon the team he manages has to be taken into account. Historically, his teams have been associated with hard graft, discipline, directness and a never-say-die spirit. After near on eight months in charge, I for one do not see any of those qualities at Eastlands. The makeup of the squad means that its natural inclination is to rely on flashes of individual brilliance rather than the driving industriousness that was a hallmark of Hughes’ Wales and Blackburn teams.

In taking control of City then, Sparky has chosen to tame a different animal. His ultimate fate will depend – as it always has - upon how successful he is at fusing his own defensive ideas with a squad that appears to want to do something else.

This means that Hughes relationships with the players and the staff is of massive importance. The rumours are that things are not boding well. The word is that Hughes’ own inner circle (which includes Assistant Manager Mark Bowen, First Team Coach Eddie Niedzwiecki and reserve team manager Glynn Hodges) do not get on with the existing City staff at the club.

Club factions appear to have developed on a number of levels. Before the recent transfer window a group of players (reportedly Tal Ben-Haim, Elano and Jo) complained to Garry Cook, City’s executive chairman, about the way Hughes was going about his role. These players were all signed before Hughes came to the club, which suggests that a ‘Hughes camp’ and an ‘Other camp’ may well exist.

Rome wasn’t built in a day
There is one huge factor that hasn’t been mentioned in this debate over Sparky’s future, and that is the ownership of the club. Having been bought out by Abu Dhabi United Group (ADUG), City is now the richest club in the world, with unlimited resources and untold of spending power.

This has impacted massively upon the conditions surrounding Hughes’ role as manager. Expectations of fans and neutrals alike have sky-rocketed. The consensus seems to be that, because of our new found wealth, we will win something over the next five years. This is not totally unrealistic. In many ways we are looked upon as the new Chelsea, only much wealthier and with the potential to be much bigger. We are expected to become the new Rome of football. This means unrivalled dominance, on all fronts.

In many ways then, I feel rather sorry for the likes of Mark Hughes. After all, it is he that is tasked with delivering the fruits of Rome to the legions of City fans that have been baying for some modicum of success for decades. Something, anything at all to stuff in the mouths of our Red counterparts across the Mancunian divide.

But the construction of Rome will take time and the troops (players and staff alike) will have to be drilled in the correct way. This means putting in hard graft on the training ground, winning the unpleasant way where necessary and accepting nothing less than victory in every single game.

Many fans want the trappings of Rome immediately, and given current form it is no surprise that the tones of discontent are sweeping the ranks. The extreme view is that City has been taken over by a Welsh cabal. Hughes doesn’t have the personality to deal with the big egos and doesn’t have the tactical awareness to get us where we want to be. But these are the obvious excuses people go for when things go wrong, and they miss the more complex picture.

The price of ambition
The reality is that the club needs sorting and if that ruffles a few feathers, then so be it. A new, gritter, winning mentality has to be injected into the squad, in fact it needs to be injected into all levels of the club. Those who do not like it must be cut away in a ruthless fashion. We only have to look at our neighbour across the city to see how ruthlessness brings results. Imposing a new mentality on a club – both in a footballing and business sense - is no easy task and will undoubtedly be met with resistance. I think that this explains our poor performance on the pitch to date. Undergoing the painful throes of transition never bodes well for club morale and team togetherness. The vast financial resources at our disposal have likely unsettled existing personnel at the club. Nothing now is certain, players that have established themselves in certain positions will no longer feel secure. The same is true of staff. Unfortunately, this is the price of ambition. To meet our lofty aims we need to get better and this will not be achieved without introducing more competition for places.

I leave you with one final thought. Since the sacking of Peter Reid in August 1993, the club has appointed nine managers. I do not see how another sacking can make any difference. It is time for the club to be reprogrammed into one that matches the desire and ambitions of the hordes of fans that turn up every week to support it. Mark Hughes is the man for this job.