It’s a game of chalk and cheese when it comes to money spent this summer. City have splashed in the region of £90 million on incoming transfers over the summer whilst United’s only outlay thus far is a £2 million loan fee for Loic Remy.
However, trying to be optimistic here, football is simple. It’s a game of eleven men against eleven and it’s not always the overwhelming favourite who comes out on top. Can United bridge the gap in financial muscle for 90 minutes this evening? Or will be a case of what we have become accustomed to whenever we meet up with Man City these days?
For more background regarding the match please feel free to have a look at my match preview which is linked at the bottom of this article. It features news of injuries for both sides, a history of the fixture, some random thoughts and some (not so) fun stats.
Team news is detailed in full below although I do apologise for the delay in getting it to you. My internet has decided to play silly buggers at the wrong time so I’ve had to use my phone as a WiFi network to get internet juice running through my laptop. Between you and me though, my internet stopped working shortly after I started hacking my bedroom carpet up with a stanley knife blade so the two may well be linked…
Enough about me though. A disappointing close season it has been but at last we have regular football to watch again. The big questions is will we be able to sit and watch it for the whole 90 minutes?
Howay the lads!
Manchester City: Joe Hart; Pablo Zabaleta, Vincent Kompany, Joleon Lescott, Gael Clichy; Jesus Navas, Fernandinho, Yaya Toure, David Silva; Edin Dzeko, Sergio Aguero
Subs: Costel Pantilimon, Aleksandar Kolarov, Javi Garcia, Jack Rodwell, James Milner, Samir Nasri, Alvaro Negredo
Newcastle: Tim Krul; Mathieu Debuchy, Steven Taylor, Fabricio Coloccini, Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa; Cheick Tiote, Jonas Gutierrez; Hatem Ben Arfa, Moussa Sissoko, Yoan Gouffran; Papiss Cisse
Subs: Rob Elliot, Paul Dummett, Vurnon Anita, Sylvain Marveaux, Gabriel Obertan, Sammy Ameobi, Shola Ameobi
Yanga that was a school boy error, get a defensive coach in quick for fuk sake
ash1001(Quote)
Nice one, Bris.
Fans Should Own The Club(Quote)
Fans ,unbelievably they tried to justify it AGAIN . Exactly how many tackles he has to make like that before he is see for the nasty thug he is I don’t know.
Fans’216 Nope mate ,theyhave just dropped down a gear 😳 and there’s the 4th 😳
KIMTOON(Quote)
Isn’t this like the ninth time in a row where we will concede 5 goals when we let one in within 15 minutes?
No spine, we concede early then get **** pumped.
funkyjesus(Quote)
Thanks JJ.
I did notice some of our passing between our box and the half way line has improved over last season (as in, its not quite dismal).
So if Pardew can just improve our defending, crossing, positioning and passing in every other part of the pitch, I for one will be prepared to eat humble pie and say all his little cheerleaders on here were right and last season was a blip.
Pootle(Quote)
The players have at least tried.
If Cabaye asked not to play then he is a fucking disgrace.
When Barton was on his way out, he still dug in and helped us to a great start in 11/12
SolanosTrumpet(Quote)
Who seriously expected anything different tonight?
This was always gonna end one way – one the end of a trouncing
Geordie Deb(Quote)
Dummet has looked decent
SolanosTrumpet(Quote)
Joe Hart has not had a save to make, in fact has he touched the ball.
Please cut the **** out about we cannot compete, we have a billionaire owner for f’s sake, just happens that he could not give two tosses about the club. A cronie as D of F who know more out everything than the rest of the world but nothing about football, and then a manager that is about inspiring as a cow plat in field, unless you are a fly.
ash1001(Quote)
Are we:
A) getting predictably hammered by the best and most expensive team in the league
B) getting predictably hammered because our budget, coaching and player purchases have been very suspect
or
C) a little from Column A, a little from Column B?
Fans Should Own The Club(Quote)
I refuse to believe that every team that comes here outside the top say 5 will roll over like this ,we invited them onto us from the outset ,yes we worked hard but after the second all heads dropped . This looks very much like last season to me ,still look unfit and tired after 65 mins ,which is cause we are defending from the off ,it’s too tiring having to do it for 90 mins ,mentally that is. It’s inevitable that lapses in concentration ill occure. We may as well of just gone at em like a train from the start ,we’d probably still lose but at least we’ve had a right go.
KIMTOON(Quote)
Honestly, Deb, I thought we’d get beat, but not like this.
Fans Should Own The Club(Quote)
saved by the flag 😳
KIMTOON(Quote)
he was onside like 😆
richietoon(Quote)
My god there are some hysterical people on here. One game and it’s relegation. 🙄
brisvegas(Quote)
Bris ,Do you think we’ll beat the Hammers ❓
KIMTOON(Quote)
#Brisvegas, agree with you but all we ask for is a bit of hope, and we have seen none of that tonight, its more of the same old stuff and am sure Pardews excuses will have been used before.
ash1001(Quote)
At least we can take heart that once Cabaye goes for £10m our books will be more finely balanced than at any other time during our interminable 5 year plan.
Pootle(Quote)
So bottom of the league then 😳
KIMTOON(Quote)
this should have been ten very lucky night 😆 😆 😆
batty(Quote)
Krul is hands down our motm.
@Bris
Not just that the way some here are getting on we will be in league 2 next year.
Santii(Quote)
Pootle ,if he forces the move and goes for that ,then I will truly despair mate. 🙁
KIMTOON(Quote)
Toon fans sining “spend some fukin money” 😆
richietoon(Quote)
if we get beat at home to w/ham pardew is gone imo
icedog(Quote)
It could have been 5, 6 or even 7-0 for whatever good that does us. Very poor. Debuchy knocked off the ball too easily. Cisse shows no ability to hold up or even run with the ball. Dummett looked like a decent hard working lad. We never stood a chance, even with 11 men. Focus on West Ham now Pardew. Do you taste the ashes in your mouth yet?
GeordieTwo(Quote)
totally ****, so much for being up for it. our club is an embarrassment, ran by a bloke who doesnt give a ****, managed by a puppet.. lets hear the excuses roll out of his ****.
Well done young Dummett, m.o.t.m
mark(Quote)
aye batty
we’ve got off lightly the neet.
roy cropper(Quote)
Is there a Jose Enrique stink on this Cabaye situation?
Fans Should Own The Club(Quote)
The young lad Dummett has done OK. Biggest fear is Krul says **** this I’m off
Toby le Rhone(Quote)
well, roll on next weekend
richietoon(Quote)
Debuchy better than Simpson? 😛
mark(Quote)
This is a bigger thumping than we got off them last year , so that does not show improvement to me ,no lessons learnt .
KIMTOON(Quote)
Bottom of the league. I know it’s game one but we look worse than what QPR did last season IMO. While its game one of this season, this is a follow on of last season – for the benefit of those shouting were overreacting.
This is the same group of under performing players and same clueless manager. This isn’t opinion based on 90mins of football.
They say start as you mean to go on – how much confidence will we get from tonight?!
A good hiding on the pitch and an influential player about to leave off the pitch.
Sharpy17(Quote)
i could smash that *** licker straight in the kipper
batty(Quote)
Phew. That could, and probably should, have been much worse.
I blame whoever decided Cabaye wasn’t playing – so Cabaye or Ashley.
Pardew shouldn’t be held accountable for a game in which is lynchpin is torn away at the last moment.
Next two games are where Pardew has his chance to prove himself.
SolanosTrumpet(Quote)
@Toby le Rhone
I’d expect a few to say the same and who can blame them. players also want to see ambition.
I feel sorry for the likes of Krul, Colo
mark(Quote)
😯
Oblong(Quote)
10 years ago today we were top after a 4-0 win against West Ham on Monday Night football
SolanosTrumpet(Quote)
i see 1point from the next two games. Is Cisse still in dispute or was he playing 2nite..
mark(Quote)
Bollocks. I bet someone at work we’d get beaten 5-0!!!!
Gutted – could have netted me a tenner!.
Still not sure we’ll get relegated but with our ***** owner, who knows eh?
Pootle(Quote)
Actually I think that was 11 years ago
SolanosTrumpet(Quote)
Kim & Mark, you’ll appreciate this from the Guardian’s MBM report:
89 min: Debuchy has given one of the worst individual performances I have ever seen. He dawdles on the ball near his own area and loses it to Nasri. He moves it to the left for Dzeko, who opens up his body and tries to curl one into the far corner. Straight at Krul. Debuchy, though.
Fans Should Own The Club(Quote)
Dog. Not sure it will be after west ham but it could be after3-4 matches.
Man debuchy was poor.
MDS(Quote)
@Mark i couldn’t tell you i didn’t see him once….. So don’t think so… 😀
Santii(Quote)
Kim @ 241 I certainly hope so. That’ll be a much better indication of where we’re at.
Chased shadows today. ManC were far far better. The red card was a bit harsh – that didn’t help. But it would have made little difference. Just outclassed, out played, out everythinged everywhere on the park. Pretty much as expected really.
brisvegas(Quote)
Frankly wed have struggled to get much more than that with Cabaye, Gomis, Aubameyang, Ince or even Messi.
The games that will tell us more about where we actually in terms of this season are coming up in the next few weeks…
CC(Quote)
Staying up just to hear the spin Pardew will put on that performance.
Toby le Rhone(Quote)
it should have been 10 it should have been 10 Manuel Pellegrini it should have been 10 😆 😆
batty(Quote)
West Ham will be looking forward to Saturday. I am not!
Really disappointed with the performance tonight. The players looked really dispirited, low on moral and as it’s only the first game of the season that’s a real worry.
Journo’s also don;t see any new signings on the horizon either…
Stuart79(Quote)
That was absolutely wretched.
How badly has the Cabaye situation affected the mentality of the team?
Suppose Cabaye goes. Who do we have lined up as targets to replace him? Or is Sissoko supposed to go there naturally without a replacement?
In Soccernomics, one or two of the rules said you should always sell when you get an offer that’s worth more than the player’s true value, but the second part of it was to always have a replacement ready to go before you sell, or words to that effect.
Fans Should Own The Club(Quote)
@Bris how was the card harsh?
Taylor wacked him around the back of the head for no reason what so ever and you can see there was intent in it as well.
Santii(Quote)
Aye cc. Next week will give us a realistic text.
MDS(Quote)
i cant believe the comments on here , a hole load of understatements!!!!!!! we were so ***** its indescribable , words effing fail me .
Axel(Quote)
@brisvegas
you are joking tho ❓ . a bit harsh. he blatantly took him out with a forearm clothes line. were you watching the game via a pc?
Saylor was back to his finest in the retarded department…
mark(Quote)
I am not sad Cabaye is going in truth. Much too overrated.
We had no attacking threat what so ever. Shola who played well in pre season should have strated. Cisse was a joke today losing the ball with every touch not even attempting to jump at balls in the air nothing new there. Ramadan the latest excuse for him. tells you a story it was not a problem for Yaya but is only unique to Cisse
Taylor a liability, Pardew a disaster.
Michael12(Quote)
I think people picking out a player here and a player there are missing the point. Pretty much all the team were bad for most of the game.
We have a manager who cannot seem to get the best out of what he has and an owner who doesn’t seem to give a ****.
The result was what it was always going to be.
Pootle(Quote)
Ben Arfa is the only creator we have on the pitch, not sure how long he’ll stay fit or even here as someone may bid for him. hes a million miles away from the other static midfielders we’ve got.. 👿
mark(Quote)
MICHAEL12
August 19, 2013 at 22:04
The fact that you just said Shola should have started is the 100% reason why we are fcking *****.
Stuart79(Quote)
I think we should say to Arsenal 11 million is not enough for Cabaye but we will accept 9 million if they take Debuchy as well
Toby le Rhone(Quote)
Dummett looked very good. Impressed with him. Also Sammy looked ok. Krul amazing… Benny good but needs to remember there are other players in the team, not just him. The rest total complete *****…
Dubai-Toon(Quote)
A game plan definitely lacking there. We did try to keep the ball at times but we’re not nearly good enough to play them. As for West Ham I’m not sure. We had better settle the Cabaye deal quickly. This has been coming all summer. Now Wenger sticks his nasty nose in with a lowball bid. What a weasel. He’s starting to remind me of Llambias! So that’s Saylor gone for 3 games. He was going to get sent off one way or another anyway. Krul made some excellent stops or they would have had 7 or 8. It must be painful for him to see us fall apart against a decent side.
GeordieTwo(Quote)
Arsenal made a ‘derisory’ offer for Cabaye (who cares) so Pardew left him out of the squad? Was it a come back with a higher bid (or PSG come in) plea? All summer he has been saying how ‘it will take a massive bid to get Cabaye’. Why even say that? Shop window job?
DJG(Quote)
Toby le Rhone 😆
mark(Quote)
we need a new right back now. when’s Raylor back?
mark(Quote)
Dubai Toon you cannot have it always saying the rest ‘were *****’ then saying HBA needs to know there are others in the team,
Remember NUFC were all full internationals at the start, and were still awful, but how much of that is down to tactics and a very uninspiring manager, as well as an owner that does not give HOOT.
We all knew that last year and it looks as if we are going to get more of the same. The appointment of JFK says it all.
Well done to the fans who went, cost them a packet for what ,- sweet FA
ash1001(Quote)
Raylor’s out for the whole season I think Mark mate. We looked sad all over the pitch though. Very difficult now. I would play Dummett at left back and Mibiwa at right back against West Ham and Willo (unfortunately) in the middle with Colo. Pardew will probably go with Debuchy though to try to get his confidence back. We are in it deep without another striker. Having an injured Remy does us no good at all. Pardew already looks sick on the sidelines. It might get worse Alan.
GeordieTwo(Quote)
Plusses to take from the game:
1) Dummett looks the part
2) final score no worse than last year
3) Taylor will miss next 3 games
sidekick(Quote)
BUY SOME ENGLISH!!!!!!!!!!!
But not like Taylor. Dummett best player by a mile 🙂
Ah well kinnear might be manager sooner than we thought
Liam southern toon(Quote)
Jamie Carrager is a jibbering mess ,If I could understand a word he’s saying it might help 🙄 There are spells of clarity interspaced with jiberish
KIMTOON(Quote)
Ive just heard remi is pleading guilty after watching that 😆 😆
batty(Quote)
Was Joe at the match? What do you think Joe? Are we ready to challenge for top 10? How about top 17? Time will tell but you might try doing something to help the club Joe.
GeordieTwo(Quote)
@G2 cheers m8.
lol @Kinmtoon. his voice gets higher and higher when he gets excited.. was cringe-worthy at times..
mark(Quote)
ST – sorry mate but Cabaye wouldn’t have made much difference tonight like. Pardew absolutely should take a large portion of the blame for tonight. **** formation and no shake up at all from last season. Tiote and Jonas still first choice selection while Anita and Marv rot on the bench again – how long before they are pushing for transfers?!.
Pardew may not be getting the support from MA and JFK but he’s in charge of team performance. In the link Prem posted earlier today he said he was happy with his squad.
Cabaye may or may not be on his way out – but he could have just been injured tonight – then what?
Sharpy17(Quote)
Ash … Yeah you’re right… But still frustrating seeing Benny doing such good work then running into a wall with others free. If he did pass, no guarantee that the other player would do anything. Youngsters the only slight positive for me here.
Dubai-Toon(Quote)
Buy some English?
How many of City’s players are English? Hart? Was there another?
Fans Should Own The Club(Quote)