2005-06 record
League 15th
FA Cup
Quarter-finals Carling Cup 2nd round
MANCHESTER CITY’S LEAGUE FORM FROM Boxing Day onwards last season was nothing short of diabolical (four wins, one draw, 16 defeats) and it was only by virtue of their decent start to the campaign that they avoided relegation.
Having bought well over the summer and tied Micah Richards and Joey Barton to new long-term deals, Stuart Pearce will hope his second full season in charge at the City of Manchester Stadium begins in similar fashion to his first and ends without the alarming tail-off that caused widespread panic among the club’s supporters.
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Dietmar Hamann, signed from Liverpool via Bolton Wanderers at a (compensation) cost of £400,000, looks a shrewd buy and could provide the perfect compliment to Barton in midfield.
A fit Andrew Cole would not go amiss, but Pearce would appear to have a plethora of options up front, which, if married with a solid defence, should prove a winning combination for the club.
It is anyone’s guess how Bernardo Corradi will fare, but City fans will know exactly what to get from Paul Dickov, while Georgios Samaras showed enough last season to suggest he could be a real threat. As always, City’s biggest problem will be inconsistency.
Manager Pearce’s reign started brightly but City fell away and their young manager needs to get his side back on track before he can feel secure. Pearce has a loyal chairman and goodwill from fans
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In an ideal world FC United battle through to the FA Cup third round and defeat Manchester United in a tie moved to the City of Manchester stadium to accommodate the bumper crowd. The new signings work out, Sturridge is a sensation and Richards’ development continues, catapulting City into the top six
The season ahead Pearce is still finding his way in management, there are lots of new faces to accommodate and Richards and the other youngsters carry the excitement but also inconsistency of all players their age. It all adds up to one thing: a topsy turvy season for the powder blues. No change there then
INJURIES AND SUSPENSIONS
Dietmar Hamann (foot, one week), Sun Jihai (hamstring, one week)
PRE-SEASON
The tour of China was a success from a commercial point of view while Pearce has been very proactive in the transfer market
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TICKET SALES
Around 30,000 season tickets have been sold for the 47,500 capacity City of Manchester Stadium. A little more than 8,000 will be accounted for by City card members, with the rest on general sale and for away fans
If they were a historical figure they would be ...Queen Victoria
Seemingly there forever. Without doing very much at all