Manchester City #2: Met Oliesjeiks en samba Brazilianen

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Exciting future for City eyed by new owners 23/09/2008 06:45


Khaldoon Al Mubarak, the Chairman (designate) of Manchester City, has outlined an exciting vision for the future of the Club with Manager Mark Hughes and the Youth Academy at the heart of his plans.
Mr Mubarak will become Chairman of the Club later on today (Tuesday 23rd September) when the takeover of Manchester City Football Club Ltd by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al Nahyan and his group, announced on Sunday, will be completed.

Speaking of the takeover of the Club, Mr Mubarak says:

“We’re extremely happy, we’re delighted that we are now part of Manchester City. We think that this is a wonderful club with a tremendous history and heritage. Our investment is one for the future.

“I spent a couple of days visiting Carrington and going to the Academy, I was there all of Sunday morning and I watched the under 14, under 12 and under 9 sides. One thing that I think is important and that I want to emphasise straight away, is that the Academy is a priority. We need to invest in the Academy and we will continue to develop it. It makes business sense and from a community perspective there is no question about the impact it has on the community. From the business perspective, the future of this Club is to continue to produce talents like Micah Richards, Michael Johnson and Shaun Wright-Phillips. This is very important to us, and we are really going to commit to the Academy.”

The new owners have pledged their full support for Executive Chairman Garry Cook and Mark Hughes, as Mr Mubarak continues:

“I can’t say enough about Garry Cook, he’s a wonderful chap, we are committed to him and we are going to support him fully. Mark Hughes is as good as they get and we are backing him all the way. He makes the football decisions and we are here to learn, and we want to hear from the fans and the community. We want to bring this Club back to the community and to the fans.

“A lot has happened over the last couple of weeks, we are genuine people, and we want to develop this Club in a sustainable manner. Nothing rash is going to happen, we are not going to do crazy stuff! We will work with Garry and Mark, they call the shots and we are here to support to help build a sustainable Club. We are here as long-term investors, and it makes sense for us to build a dynasty. Between Mark and Garry, I think we have a dynasty in the making. With our backing, with the commitment we are going to make to the Academy in the next 10 years there is going to be a tremendous period for Manchester City and for us. And I think we are going to have a blast doing it!”

Mr Mubarak will head a new board of directors at the Club, which he explains will be formally announced soon.

“I will be Chairman, and over the next days and weeks we will come out with an announcement about how the board will be structured. We will bring top-notch individuals to the board. To run a good company you need a strong board.



“Sheikh Mansour is absolutely delighted, he is a huge fan of football and of Manchester City and he asked me to take on this role on his behalf. I’m a big football fan myself and when he asked it took me about a second to decide! He will come to games and I will as often as I can. This Club will be run professionally and we want to sit & support from the side.”
Reiterating that Mark Hughes will call the shots on the football side of things, Mr Mubarak continues:

“One thing I have made very clear to Mark is that any player he wants comes from him. It comes from his requirements, his plan for the Club. I’m a fan, but I am not an expert. It is Mark who runs the Club and Mark who makes the football decisions. We are here to support and make financial decisions, but we are not here to teach Mark or Garry what to do! They are the professionals, we trust them, we have confidence in them and we are going to support them.

“Mark is an honest man, he’s a leader , he’s tough and he is everything you would want in a head coach. We trust him, he’s one of the gems we saw in this Club once we came here.

“We are reasonable and pragmatic, we are looking 10 years ahead starting today and I think all our decisions will be with a long term perspective. We trust Mark, we trust his judgement, we are patient and we understand this Club needs to develop. We obviously want City to be a top club and to win trophies, that’s our objective. If it takes ‘x’ amount of years, I don’t know. Mark will put a plan together to win trophies, but we will be patient. As long as it is being managed properly and the players are doing what they need to do, then it will take whatever it takes.

“We are sensible people, and when it comes to a lot of the talk that has been around recently, forget everything that has been said in the past. We are sensible people and we are investors who have invested in this Club and will continue to do so, as long as it has the right pay-off for us and as long as it delivers results. For us to be happy, this Club has to be successful, and within a period of time competing at the highest level and hopefully winning trophies. At the same time, we will bring in the talent from the Academy and that talent has a value. We’re convinced of the business case here that in the long-term will pay off. That’s the bottom line.

As well as meeting Mark Hughes and his staff at Carrington, Mr Mubarak has also spent time at Platt Lane with Academy Manager Jim Cassell as he explains:

“That was one of my most enjoyable experiences. Sitting with Jim, seeing his passion, seeing how proud he is of every player that has come out of the Academy. I have the highest confidence in him, we’ll be working a lot with him.

“We want to learn from the model that has been so successful here. My mandate from Sheikh Mansour was to spend as much time as I could with the Academy, and I have promised him that’s what I am going to do. I have promised him that I’ll do what I can to ensure that this Academy is the best not just in England, but in Europe.”

And Mr Mubarak concluded by saying:

“The watchwords are patient, committed, and long term. If you look at Sheikh Mansour’s track record and Abu Dhabi’s track record in general, they are always sensible investors, well regarded by everyone.”

Tim Oscroft

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letter from Sheikh Mansour 23/09/2008 15:40

Dear fellow Manchester City fans,
There has been much written about the purchase of Manchester City over the last few weeks and so now I am delighted to tell you that negotiations are complete and the transfer of ownership will take place on Tuesday (September 23rd, 2008). With the agreement finalised I would like to tell you directly a little about who we are and what we have planned.

Firstly I would like to thank you for the many expressions of good will and joy we have received since our wish to purchase the Club was announced. We are deeply touched and now have some great personal experience of what so many people have told us for a while now.......you are the greatest fans in the world.

Like you, we are excited about the future of the club, and we hope the securing of Robinho as a Manchester City player during the transfer window is seen as a signal of our very real intent. It has been an exciting two weeks for all of us all.

My intention is that Manchester City has the very best people at its disposal, both on and off the field. For that reason I have asked my friend Khaldoon Al Mubarak, to take on the position of Chairman of the Club. My request to him has been to put together a board and executive team that is worthy of the heritage and potential of Manchester City.

Khaldoon and I have agreed that the we will not be making any more announcements for a while as we really now need to sit down with the manager, Executive Chairman and key staff and put together plans that will, over time, get the Club to where we want it to be. That is the stage we are entering now and as anyone who runs a business knows, this involves a lot of listening, and a lot of talking to many stakeholders and research and discussion before plans can be announced.

As part of that, we will absolutely spend time listening to you the fans about what you think about the future of the club. We are very aware that without you there would not be a club to buy, and your voice will be heard by the organisation at the highest level. We also want to make it clear that Mark Hughes is absolutely integral to our plans. We are lucky to have someone who we believe is the best young British manager; someone who has been successful on the global stage, the Premier League and of course as a player.

We are ambitious for the club, like you, but not unreasonably so and we understand it takes time to build a team capable of sustaining a presence in the top four of the Premier League and winning European honours. We know a little of the history at City also and whilst we want to bring in the best players in the world, we also want to see the academy continue to develop talent and give Mark Hughes the chance to bring home-grown players into the team. We consider Mark Hughes to be one of the prime assets of the club. We will back his judgement in what players to bring in and we look forward to working more closely with him in the future. We are building a structure for the future not just a team of all-stars.

In cold business terms, Premiership football is one of the best entertainment products in the world and we see this as a sound business investment. That being said, we understand that we need to put money in to get the club to where we believe it can be -and where we think you the fans want it to be.

We are aware also that the club has a significant role in the community going back years. As newcomers, we don't pretend to understand all of this yet, but we will make sincere efforts to back these initiatives and ensure that Manchester City loses none of its role in Manchester beyond football and we want the club to continue to contribute to the community it represents.

I should perhaps also explain that despite what you may have read, I have bought the club in a private capacity and as part of my personal business strategy to hold a wide portfolio of business investments. I am a football fan, and I hope that you will soon see that I am now also a Manchester City fan. But I am also a long-term investor and that is probably more important to the club and to you because it means we are here for the long haul and that we will act always in the best interests of the club and all of its stakeholders, but especially you the fans.

I will be at Eastlands soon and am really looking forward to sampling the famous City atmosphere.

Thank you again for the good wishes and your support.

Yours,

Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan

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Wigan 2-1 City 28/09/2008 15:29

Wigan Athletic v Manchester City

Sunday September 28, 2008, 4.00pm
JJB Stadium - Att: 18,214.

Wigan: Kirkland, Figueroa, Bramble, Melchiot, Boyce, Valencia, Kapo, Palacios, Cattermole (Brown 52), Heskey, Zaki.

unused subs: Pollitt, Scharner, de Ridder, Kilbane, Koumas, Camara.

City: Hart, Zabaleta, Dunne (c), Richards, Garrido, Kompany (Fernandes 90), Ireland, Wright-Phillips, Elano (Sturridge 85), Robinho, Jo (Evans 73).

unused subs: Schmeichel, Ball, Ben-Haim, Hamann.

Goals: 1-0 (Valencia 16), 1-1 (Kompany 22), 2-1 (Zaki pen 33)

Bookings

Wigan: Valencia (26), Brown (57), Melchiot (72)

City: Robinho, Kompany (all 33), Richards (71)

Referee: S Bennett

Pre match news

Good afternoon from a bright and breezy Wigan. City are looking to bounce back after the midweek disappointment at the Withdean Stadium, but it’s set to be a tough one for Mark Hughes’ men as City have yet to win here at the JJB Stadium after three defeats and a draw last December.

Team news: City are unchanged from the side that started the 6-0 rout of Portsmouth last Sunday, so Hart, Garrido, Richards, Wright-Phillips, Elano and Robinho are all back.

The Match

Unusually for this fixture, the first three minutes passed without a goal for either side but the 4,000 or so City fans were in fine voice from the off, easily making more noise than the home support.

Amr Zaki went close with a long range effort on 14 minutes, and this should have served as a warning as the hosts next effort saw them take the lead. A free kick on the left found its way out to Antonio Valencia, who took aim from 25 yards out with Joe Hart nowhere near the ball as it tore across him and into his top right hand corner.

This stung City into action, and a chance for Robinho within a minute saw the Brazilian shoot just wide from inside the area.

And City’s fans did not have too long to with for an equaliser, when on 22 minutes Elano’s free kick from near the right corner flag took a deflection before arriving with Vincent Kompany, totally unmarked in the six yard box and allowed to tap in for his first goal since arriving from Hamburg.

But Wigan went back in front in controversial circumstances on 33 minutes. Garrido challenged Palacios inside the area, the Wigan player went to ground theatrically after going a few feet into the air and referee Steve Bennett pointed to the spot immediately. After a long delay, during which City protested and the yellow card was shown to Kompany & Robinho, Amr Zaki stepped up and sent Joe Hart the wrong way to restore ‘Latics lead.

City tried to get back straight away once again, with Stephen Ireland not far off getting a touch to Zabaleta’s cross just after the restart. With three minutes to the break, Richards fed Wright-Phillips, whose chip looked to be dipping in at the last minute, until it was turned over well by Kirkland. At the resulting corner Richard Dunne was clipped by Heskey – but this time the referee waved the pleas for a penalty away. The last action of the half was at the other end, with Hart making a fine stop with his feet to deny the England striker.

First chance of the second half fell to the hosts, with Bramble heading wide three minutes in. A former Blue showed his face on 53 minutes when Michael Brown replaced Cattermole. Within a minute Wright-Phillips was breaking into the right of the box and finding Jo, but the Brazilian striker was unable to threaten Kirkland.

Brown gave away a free kick (and earning a booking within five minutes of coming on) in a dangerous spot, which Elano chose to roll to Jo – but his shot flew a long way over the bar. There was a better effort on the hour, when Elano curled a right-footed effort from the edge of the box just the wrong side of Kirkland’s left post.

A defence-splitting pass from Elano on 65 found Stephen Ireland bearing down on Kirkland, but the Irishman’s toe-poke rolled agonisingly wide. At the other end, Dunne cleared over his bar after Hart could not take a high ball from the led, and at the corner Bramble nodded wide again.

It had been a lively game anyway, and it heated up again with around 20 minutes left when first Richards and then Melchiot went into the book. The latter had body-checked Wright-Phillips, who showed no ill-effects 60 seconds later when his shot brought a fine save out of Chris Kirkland.

The Wigan keeper looked lucky not to have given away a penalty on 77, appearing to collide with Ched Evans after the substitute had poked the ball around him. Referee Bennett earned himself more of the wrath of the City fans with eight minutes left when he gave Wigan a free kick when Bramble and Richards had clashed as the City player tried to break into the box. The home fans were on his case just afterwards when he waved play on after Kompany had brought down Melchiot.

The final few minutes were predictably frantic, but the closest City could come to getting the equaliser was Kompany fired straight at Kirkland. Wigan broke away and went close to adding a third through Zaki, but the new cult hero’s shot was superbly tipped over by Hart.

But that was the last action of the game, as City once again left the JJB Stadium empty-handed.

Tim Oscroft

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City through to the UEFA Cup group stages 02/10/2008 21:34

Manchester City v AC Omonia

Thursday October 2, 2008, 7.45pm
City of Manchester Stadium - Att: 25,304

Teams

City:
Hart, Zabaleta, Richards, Ben-Haim, Garrido, Wright-Phillips, Ireland, Kompany (Hamann 67), Elano, Robinho (Petrov 70), Jo (Evans 67).

unused subs: Schmeichel (GK), Ball, Fernandes, Sturridge.

AC Omonia:
Georgallides, Ndikumana, Wenzel, Pletsch, Zlogar, Kaiafas (Alabi 46), Bangura (Clayton 59), Okkas, Charalambous, Aloneftis, Christofi (Cafu 81).

unused subs: Asprogenis (GK), Maris, Aguirre, Pantic.

Goals: 1-0 Elano 48, 2-0 Wright-Phillips 55, 2-1 Alabi 78

Bookings:

City: Ben-Haim 89

Omonia:

Pre-match

Mark Hughes makes just the one forced changed from the defeat at Wigan as Richard Dunne's slight knock means Tal Ben-Haim comes in to replace him with Micah Richards taking the captain's armband. Otherwise the Blues boss has indeed stayed true to his word of going with a strong line-up tonight despite the 2-1 first leg lead.

The match

The first meaningful action was the awful (from the first leg) Charalambous’ bad foul on Wright-Phillips just three minutes in. Somehow the French referee, although he reached for the top pocket, kept his cards away.

On six minutes an Omonia corner from their right was allowed to drift into the Blues’ box and bounce away to relative safety.

Robinho sprang into life on 14 minutes after some quick feet he smashed a cross-cum-shot across the face of the Cypriot goal, with Georgallides nowhere.

Omonia huffed and puffed as they meekly attempted to pull back the 2-1 aggregate score, but City held them at a safe distance, as they themselves struggled up the gears barely making it to second as the clocked ticked past the half hour point.

Nine minutes before the break, Robinho, Wright-Phillips and Ireland put together a decent move that ended with the latters slide rule pass being gobbled up by the keeper before the Brazilian could latch on to it.

A fairly drab first half drew to a conclusion with no addition to the first leg scores and little to trouble either keeper during the first 45 minutes.

HALF TIME: City 0(2)-0(1) AC Omonia

Just the one change for the visitors at the break with Mark Hughes sending his side out early after a slow first half.

Almost immediately Robinho opened the scores on the night with powerfully hit rising right footer that just flew wide. But City didn't have long to wait for the tie winning opener.

It was Robinho who raced clear down the left before cleverly weighing up his options from just outside the corner edge of the box to find the late arriving Elano who connected with a fine shot with the outside of his trusty right boot.

The 25-yarder stayed low and beat Georgallides with ease and with three minutes on the second half clock City had one foot in the draw for the group stages.

A second could have followed soon after, but Wright-Phillips' toe poke found the keeper's grateful grasp, as the creaking Omonia defence feared the worst.

Indeed on 55 minutes it was 2-0, as following Zabaleta's neat touch, Shaun Wright-Phillips smashed in his fourth goal since returning home with a well hit half-volley from 10-yards.

With City in cruise control, Hughes made his first changes after 67 minutes, with Hamann and Evans replacing Kompany and Jo.

Robinho received his customary standing ovation as Martin Petrov made his return from shin then hamstring injuries as the Blues' final sub as the Manager maybe started to think about Sunday's Premier League clash with Liverpool.

City toyed with the Cypriots as they displayed some neat keep-ball before Zabaleta and Ireland combined well on 72 minutes only for the Irishman's wayward chip to drop wide.

But with 12 minutes left a well flighted Omonia corner from the right was headed home by Alabi to give the vocal travelling support something to cheer from the night.

Martin Petrov almost announced his return to first team action with a goal after a trademark rocket shot from distance stung the keeper's palms as the clock ticked down.

Petrov again was left cursing three minutes from time as he picked up a clever back heel from Wright-Phillips before only hitting the keeper from close range and earning a corner.

The final act saw a swift City break involving SWP, Elano, Evans and then Petrov who hammered goalwards only to be denied by Georgallides again.

But it didn't matter as a 2-1 victory on the night meant a 4-2 aggregate win overall and a place in the UEFA Cup group stages.

FULL TIME: City 2(4)-1(2) AC Omonia

Leon Collins

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Stephen looking to keep his consistency 03/10/2008 15:30



Current Thomas Cook Player of the Month, Stephen Ireland has spoken to mcfc.co.uk ahead of Liverpool's visit to the City of Manchester Stadium this Sunday.
The midfielder, recently described by Mark Hughes as arguably City's best player of the season, is relishing the challenge from Rafa Benitez's side and said: "I think the Liverpool game is a big test for us, if we can get ahead of them and beat them, that will show where we are.

"They have a big squad, great players and some world-class ones too, but on the day we are hopeful that we can beat them."

And just like Liverpool's crowd have often helped them through games in the past, Ireland is confident that the Blues' faithful inside CoMS will provide the type of backing seen against Chelsea and Portsmouth in recent weeks.

He added: "The expectancy from the crowd will be huge after the way we played against Portsmouth and the fans are giving us a really big lift at the moment.

"You feel like you can’t be beaten at home when the fans are with you like they were on that day and in the previous home game."

Turning to himself, the 22-year-old has impressed many with his stamina and tireless running this season, and he puts that down to the work he did over the summer.

"I have done a lot of martial arts training, working on speed, agility and power," he told us. "I wanted a few days off before I got back into the training ahead of pre-season, but because the Middlesbrough defeat was such a heavy one I started straight away. I knew from the hard work I’d put in I’d feel the benefits.

"I spent six weeks in the summer working on this and thankfully it has paid off. I feel very fit, much stronger and I feel like I can run all day.

"I did a bit of powerlifting as well, but it was really enjoyable and I’m still doing it twice a week now. I can see the benefits and the changes during the game, whatever you put in, you get out.

"I’m really happy I got the award and I worked really hard to get into the team and now I’m working hard to try and stay in the team. I’ve got to keep that going now for the next month and the month after so it’s really important that I stay consistent."

Leon Collins

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Op dinsdag 7 oktober 2008 16:53 schreef Blight het volgende:
Hi Lamzak_. Is Wielaert klaar voor Robinho?

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Op dinsdag 7 oktober 2008 17:13 schreef -Vaduz- het volgende:
Robinho zal wel een blessure faken in het weekend voor de wedstrijd, Robbie tegenkomen is niet niks.

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Op dinsdag 7 oktober 2008 17:12 schreef KingOfPop het volgende:

[..]

Nee, en dat gaat hij ook niet zijn. Robinho vond ik al een van de betere spelers bij Madrid, Robinho is een klasse apart op dit niveau.

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Op dinsdag 7 oktober 2008 20:01 schreef Blight het volgende:
Klopt wel een beetje. SWP gaat bijvoorbeeld wellicht nog meer last bezorgen (denk aan hoe Walcott de defensie open reeg).

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Op dinsdag 7 oktober 2008 17:17 schreef KingOfPop het volgende:

[..]

Heubach zal hem wel aanpakken.

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City leave it late to take a point against 10-man Toon 20/10/2008 21:50

Newcastle United v Manchester City

Monday October 20, 2008, 8.00pm
St James' Park - Att: 45,908

Newcastle United:
Given, Coloccini, Taylor, Beye, Bassong, Guthrie, Duff, Geremi, Butt (c), Ameobi (Carroll 79), Martins (N'Zogbia 72).

unused subs: Enrique, Cacapa, Harper (GK), Xisco, Edgar.

City:
Hart, Richards (Onuoha 58), Dunne (c), Ben-Haim, Garrido (Sturridge 83), Kompany, Hamann (Evans 64), Ireland, Wright-Phillips, Robinho, Jo.

unused subs: Elano, Schmeichel (GK), Fernandes, Berti.

Goals: 0-1 Robinho (pen) 14, 1-1 Ameobi 44, 2-1 Dunne (og) 64, 2-2 Ireland 86

Bookings

Newcastle:

City: Garrido 36, Kompany 45

Red cards

Newcastle: Beye 12

Referee: Mr. R. Styles

Pre match

The good news is that Robinho is fit to take his place in the starting line-up. Micah Richards is also fit enough to start, and he will do at right back, in place of the suspended Pablo Zabaleta. Tal Ben-Haim comes into the team to partner Richard Dunne at centre back.

Elano is rested and on the bench, so Didi Hamann (an unpopular man around St James' Park for leaving them after just one season) comes into a holding midfield role.

Don't forget full commentary is available now on MCFCTV.com.

The match

Despite the unrest surrounding Newcastle, their fans still packed St James’ and were giving the side great backing, as United’s players huddled up prior to City getting the game underway.

A burst from Micah Richards at right back helped City win the game’s first corner on three minutes as Wright-Phillips threatened an early cross after latching on to his throughball.

The resulting corner had an element of pinball about it with the ball bouncing everywhere in and around the Toon box, but ultimately it was cleared away to safety for the home side.

And the native crowd were upset after 10 minutes as Ben-Haim felled Martins just outside the penalty following a promising run and it almost proved costly as set-piece expert Geremi’s free-kick only just cleared Joe Hart's crossbar.

But two minutes later the howls were back around St James’ Park in a big way as referee Rob Styles put himself in the spotlight once again with a pair of controversial decisions...in Newcastle eyes.

Firstly, as Robinho broke away into the penalty area, Beye tackled the Brazilian from behind, appeared to get some of the ball, but not according to Mr Styles...penalty.

The referee then added to the home side’s misery by sending off Beye for the professional foul. The top hat was eventually put on it as Robinho calmly sent Given the wrong way to give City a 14th minute lead.

For the record the first ‘Sack the Board’ chant came after about 20 minutes, which divided the home support from those keen to leave that outside, and the rest just frustrated at the bad start to another cold night in Newcastle.

Ironic cheers broke out just after the half hour point as Styles awarded Newcastle a free-kick (even that was debatable).

And from that set-piece a clash between Hart and Dunne saw the skipper receive a few minutes worth of treatment for a facial injury.

With Dunne off the pitch his Irish international colleague Damien Duff should have made it 1-1 but a poor left footed finish from close range was gratefully fielded by Hart.

Duff was involved again just a minute later as Javi Garrido's pull on him earnt the Spanish full-back a yellow card.

The extra man was giving City more possibilities on the break and they had showed that without any real end product during the first half as Wright-Phillips, Robinho and Jo all caused problems to Kinnear’s backline.

But as the half drew to a close Newcastle got back into the game with an awful goal on 44 minutes. The cross from the left was cleared by Dunne only to bring about three deflections before falling kindly for Shola Ameobi six-yards out and despite his poor connection the slice was enough to beat Hart bring a bit of relief to the home fans and the 10-men of United.

HALF TIME: Newcastle 1-1 City

There were no half time substitutions for either side as Newcastle got the action underway in the second half.

The hosts were clearly buoyed by their goal late in the first half and with the fans back concentrating on the team instead of the referee the 10-men were generating a bit of momentum and 10 minutes into the second half had looked the side most likely to get the next goal.

After taking a couple of heavy knocks during the game, enough was enough for Micah Richards on 58 minutes, as with what looked to be an ankle problem he was replaced by Nedum Onuoha.

Vincent Kompany had City's first shot in anger of the second half from way out on 61 minutes as the Blues had been reduced to hanging in there rather than taking the game to the Toon.

But the Newcastle pressure was to pay just minutes later as Geremi's right wing corner brought about their second bizarre goal of the night...courtesy of Richard Dunne.

As the ball dropped it just seemed to hit the Blues skipper and even if he'd have tried it for real he couldn't have put it in Hart's top left hand corner any better. Newcastle's luck had certainly taken a turn for the best.

Ched Evans was instantly introduced by Mark Hughes in place of Hamann to add more striking threat as City had simply not made the most of Beye’s early red card.

And Ameobi almost made it three for Newcastle on 74 minutes after good work by Duff but he just couldn’t turn his cross home.

City themselves fashioned a nice move shortly after, but again it was a shot from distance, by Robinho this time that failed to trouble Given.

Hughes played his last card on 83 minutes, bringing on Danny Sturridge for Garrido, switching to three at the back in the meantime. And it almost paid instant dividends as Ireland's volley from the edge of the box brought an amazing save from Given.

But Stephen Ireland and City wouldn't be denied for much longer as with four minutes left the Blues pulled level. Kompany found Robinho and his measured ball was taken on by Ireland before he toe-poked it beyond the keeper.

City nearly nicked it to as Ireland slid a fine ball across the face of goal but in the circumstances both teams would have to be happy with a point. Although Mark Hughes will not be a happy man.

FULL TIME: Newcastle 2-2 City

Leon Collins