It’s hard to argue against an unchanged side for City. Patrick Vieira is available again following his 3 match ban, though most fans will be dismayed to see him start the match. If we’re looking to close the game out, then bringing the veteran on from the bench would make a better way of re-introducing him to the pace of the Premier League.

If Mancini want’s to employ a more attacking formation than that at Chelsea, he could bring in Ireland to play behind Tevez, probably at the expense of Zabaleta. It will be interesting to see if Wright-Phillips or Adam Johnson gets to start on the right wing.

Adam Johnson:

“Our family are Sunderland fans – not so much my mum and dad, but aunties and uncles and cousins. They will all be at the game but they’ll be sitting in the Sunderland end.

“Lots of my friends are Sunderland fans too. Most people at school were Sunderland supporters – a few were Newcastle and nobody was Boro! I’m sure I’ll be getting plenty of texts!”

It’s been an interesting couple of weeks for Shaun, with a couple of excellent cameo appearances for City and England, followed by Ian Wright’s unhelpful comments on his contract talks. At least that didn’t appear to be getting him down on his Miami mini-break with Wayne and Micah.

As Sunderland are likely to play the physically imposing Jones and Bent in attack, it makes sense to continue with Kompany and Lescott in the centre of defence, even if Kolo Toure is now fully fit.

The centre of the Sunderland midfield will be weakened by the suspended Cana, while Cattermole is also struggling with a hamstring strain. Zenden may be required to play in the centre of midfield. If that’s the case, City should be confident of dominating this crucial area.

The key will be in getting sufficient support to Tevez. In all the games under Mancini there have been periods when the midfield has sat deep, leaving the forwards isolated. To much of this and we’re in danger of drawing or losing a game we should be looking to win.

With Darren Bent enjoying an excellent season and Kenwyne Jones having one of his better games on Tuesday, there’s a clear danger of Sunderland claiming a goal. Away from home, City are currently at their best when we strike first, then hit the opposition on the break. The Wolves and Chelsea games are the best examples.

Seeing Liverpool lose at Wigan following our win over Chelsea should have given everyone the extra belief required to push on for a Champions League place. It’s now down to the manager and team to show it, and record back-to-back away victories.

Blue Days line-up: Given, Richards, Bridge, Lescott, Kompany, de Jong, Barry, A Johnson, Bellamy, Ireland, Tevez.

Prediction: 3-0 to City.

The official announcement can be seen on the MCFC site, while a more interesting article that mentions developing the North Stand to give the 60,000 capacity can be seen on Crain’s site. The MEN has more detailed information about the ‘fan zone’ which will be in place for next season.

The ‘fan zone’ includes market stalls along Joe Mercer Way on matchdays, hanging banners around the stadium  and putting an illuminated ‘halo’ around the club shop. In an attempt to improve the look and feel of Eastlands, this sounds similar to the ‘my first match’ theme which has been used to decorate the interior of the stadium.

Garry Cook has always been keen to emphasize the importance of expanding the club globally, while equally improving the visitor experience and enhancing the club’s ties with the community and local supporters. The fan zone is clearly being done with the latter in mind.

For the players and Academy the big news is the new training facility. Apparently the club have spent 14 months looking at training facilities around the world and are now set to develop the 60 acre site on the other side of Ashton New Road. Comparisons have been made to AC Milan’s ‘Milanello‘.

While this is an exciting development, I’m not convinced it’s necessary to have the training facilities so close to the stadium. Most of the players live in affluent parts of Cheshire, where commuting to Carrington during the week is easier than Beswick in the rush hour. Developing the tree lined ambience of Milanello and it’s lake might also be a bit of a stretch in an urban location.

The Press Association article, which is appearing on most sites, says the club will look into the financial viability of extending the stadium capacity. The Cain’s article goes further:

“The north stand at the council-owned stadium, on which the club has a 250-year lease, will be extended to bring the ground capacity up to 60,000, making it the fourth largest after Wembley, Old Trafford and Arsenal’s ground the Emirates Stadium.”

As has been documented in the past, the City of Manchester Stadium isn’t geared to expansion, with the roof being a single structure. It will be interesting to see how any changes would work. Aeshetically it may not be an improvement to extend just the one stand.

However, with Tottenham and Liverpool looking to build 60,000 stadia and Newcastle having a 55,000 capacity, it will be essential to have a minimum 60,000 stadium (and fill it) if we’re to succeed in our long term ambition of being a leading club.

New Uefa rules will limit the personal investment by Sheikh Mansour in player purchases and wages, so increasing our match day revenues is vital. The figures released last week by Deloitte for the 2008/09 season made for interesting reading in this regard:

Matchday revenue 2008/09
Man United £108.8
Arsenal £100.1m
Chelsea £74.5m
Liverpool £42.5m
Tottenham £39.5m
Newcastle £29m
City £20.8m

Even with Champions League football our current capacity would only allow for limited improvement in this table. London prices clearly make a difference as we already have a higher capacity than Tottenham, yet they had nearly twice as much revenue.

According to Crain’s, more details of the planned developments are expected to be unveiled next week at MIPIM, the international property show in Cannes, where Garry Cook will be present. Exciting times!

• What are your thoughts on the possible developments? Do you have any more information?

Up to now City have been prepared to pay above the going rate to attract players who might be expected to play for teams competing in the Champions League. Players like Tevez and Adebayor wouldn’t otherwise be with us, and it’s naive to pretend otherwise.

In the meantime, players already at the club who are considered part of the future, have been given improved contracts. Examples are Stephen Ireland when he was playing well last year, and Vincent Kompany earlier this season.

However, if City land a Champions League place then transfer targets and contract offers are bound to be affected. It’s no secret that Sheikh Mansour has sought to make marquee signings and he may finally get his wish if the carrot of Champions League football is on offer alongside a generous contract.

City have long been linked with Ribery, and while he may prefer sunnier Spain, the likes of the highly rated Angel di Maria and David Silva could end up on our flanks. Popular as Shaun is, he could easily find himself a squad player rather than a member of our first-choice eleven. He’s already got a battle on his hands convincing Mancini he’s better than Adam Johnson.

With Champions League football on offer, City would no longer need to pay such significantly higher wages to attract the top talent. The negotiating hand of Cook and Marwood would be strengthened when dealing with players representatives.

Added to this is the knowledge that between 2012 and 2015 Uefa will be bringing in new rules to reign in excessive spending on wages. Having squad players on hugely excessive wages could then be problematic and limit the ability to sign fresh talent.

If City fail to make the Champions League this season, then Shaun and co will have failed in the primary mission, and a substantial pay rise would be unwarranted.

Garry Cook has never disguised the fact he looks at the bigger picture, and in doing so it doesn’t make a great deal of sense to give Wright-Phillips a contract hugely better than he would get elsewhere.

Ian Wright may have felt £70k a week for the next three years is an insult to Shaun, but it’s difficult to think of another club willing to pay more. Especially when you bear in mind the last contract Spurs gave Aaron Lennon reportedly took him closer to their top earner Jermaine Defoe (£65k per week). Is Shaun really having a better season than those two? And then there’s Fabregas on less than £70k per week.

Just because City payed over the odds to secure the likes of Bridge and Toure in the past, doesn’t mean they’ll continue to do so. It may currently make for huge disparities in the dressing room, but if Johnson keeps Shaun on the bench and Ian Wright can’t come up with another club to match the City offer, then Shaun’s advisers are likely to have a tough task convincing City to up their offer.

It’s doubtful that Wright going public with outspoken comments will have gone down well in Abu Dhabi. Cook and Marwood are sure to have had the full backing of Khaldoon al Mubarak and Sheikh Mansour in whatever offer was made.

If Marwood is bringing a more hard-headed approach to contract talks, then that’s a sign of the greater professionalism which the owners have always said they would introduce. “Every deal will be judged on it’s own merits” has always been their message, and Shaun’s advisers may need to recognise that the time of excessive spending on less than the world’s best may be passing.

Firstly, Thaksin’s regime were hardly paying peanuts in the contracts to new signings, and it’s reasonable to assume the £60k a week was better than that on offer from Shaun’s other suiters, such as Randy Lerner backed Aston Villa.

Secondly, there’s no guarantee that Shaun would have reamained on the list of transfer targets had Sheikh Mansour arrived earlier. A smaller contract at Villa or Everton might then have been the best available to Shaun and his advisors.

One final point, for someone who works in the media, Ian Wright showed a startling lack of awareness of the general mood. With the recession still biting and numerous football clubs going into administration, the practice of over-paying footballers has never been less popular.

If he wants parity with Tevez, Shaun should try firing us to a Champions League place, then establish himself in England’s starting 11 and score the winning goal in the World Cup final. Then would be a good time to start talking about a new contract!

Money from benefactors, such as Sheikh Mansour, to underwrite transfer spending and wages was to have been banned but will now be permitted within limits. Unfortunately these have not been specified, so we’ll just have to wait and see what the figure is.

Investment will have to come in the form of equity rather than loans, which is ok for City. There will be no restriction on investment in youth academies and stadiums.

Uefa had wanted the rules to apply to only clubs with annual revenue greater than 50 million euros, but this has been scrapped.

Clubs will need to break-even over a three-year period to be allowed to particiapate in the Champions League and Europa League from 2015.  These agreements don’t apply to the Premier League, who have been arguing against limiting the investment from benefactors.

Whilst it’s good news for City to see Uefa’s initial proposals watered down, there is still a need for the club to drastically increase it’s revenues if we’re to compete at the highest level. Regardless of who owns United, our revenues are barely a third of theirs, while Arsenal’s matchday revenues for 2008/09 were £100m compared to our £20m.

Getting into the Champions League and expanding the ground will be a great start, but there’s still a lot of work to do for Garry Cook and co.

Karl-Heinz Rummenigge:

“I recognise that the Premier League is No1 in the world. That won’t change because they are doing a good job here in England and that is good for football because we need clubs like Manchester United, like Chelsea, like Liverpool and like the ‘new’ Manchester City.”

Team Bridge triumphed over John Terry’s Chelsea thanks to determined defending, a return to form for Craig Bellamy and a return to the side by our new talisman, Carlos Tevez. This was a stunning result, the best of the season so far, and one to restore belief in our Champions League quest.

Mancini sprung no great surprises in the starting eleven. Kompany returned to the back four, in the central defensive pairing with Lescott which most fans seem to agree is our best. There’s more sympathy for Nedum Onuoha than Kolo Toure, who were both on the bench.

Zabaleta was again in central midfield to further stifle Chelsea, alongside de Jong and Barry. After 120 minutes at Stoke on Wednesday, it was a slight surprise to see Bellamy start the game. Doubts about Carlos Tevez’s fitness proved groundless in the extreme.

After the great non-handshake had passed, the game could start and City continued from where they had left off against Liverpool. Concentration and not conceding were the order of the day. Unfortunately Chelsea’s attacking options aren’t so easy to subdue, and half-chances were created.

Kompany and Lescott stood up to Drogba and it was the roaming Anelka who caused the most problems. With a couple of clumsy challenges, Micah Richards looked a little jaded from the mid-week exertions.

Bellamy and Johnson weren’t pushing forward to test the Chelsea back-line, though Tevez was doing his best. When he did get the ball, Johnson was quickly crowded out and seemed to struggle for his footing on a poor pitch.

Just when it looked like we were going to get through to half-time, Frank Lampard’s movement caught out Kompany for what looked like a crucial breakthrough. Up till this point we hadn’t looked like achieving four shots, let alone four goals.

Tevez and the Chelsea defence had other ideas. Chelsea looked set to score a second before Bridge hoofed it clear to set Tevez on his merry way, courtesy of Mikel’s not so clever header. The movement of Tevez towards, then away from Mikel forced his error.

From then on Carvalho, Terry and Hilario took it in turns to be outwitted. The way the ball trickled over the line looked particularly excruciating from a Chelsea perspective. In native American parlance it could be said El Apache had triumphed over the Mohican of Terry.

With the home side still in shock, Lescott’s free header from a Bellamy free-kick nearly had us going in ahead at the break – which would have constituted larceny on the grandest scale.

If the first forty minutes were instantly forgettable, then the second half was one to be savoured for a long time to come. Chelsea must have considered our first goal an aberration as they piled forward to regain the lead. That can be the only reason for leaving just one defender and Mikel back when City broke for our second.

One positive that was overlooked from the Stoke match on Wednesday was Bellamy getting on the scoresheet. His attacking play has been relatively poor of late and the goals had dried up. Maybe, the Stoke goal restored his confidence as he brought back memories of his second at Old Trafford.

Once again he sprinted down the flank before slotting the ball into the net. This time putting the ball across the keeper rather than rounding him. It was equally sweet.

Chelsea were stunned but unlikely to throw the towel in. We looked all set to grind our way to victory so it was pleasant surprise to see Barry winning the ball high up the pitch and driving into the Chelsea area.

The foul for the penalty bordered on comical. Belletti may claim he didn’t realise just how slow Barry was as he ran into the back of the England man. Like Hamann before him, our Gareth used his years of experience to position himself between opponent and ball, and duly went to ground to make the referee’s job as easy as possible.

Tevez broke with his habit of slamming the penalty down the middle and slammed it into the corner instead. Even Bridge was dragged into the celebration.

Wayne, whose leg had been heavily strapped from the start, departed shortly afterwards and Mancini surprisingly brought on Santa Cruz. Sylvinho would have been the more obvious replacement, so Mancini was making a tactical shift here.

With Zabaleta dropping to left-back we switched to a 4-4-2, albeit with Tevez sitting deeper. Rather than simply defend our way through to full-time, we were looking to stretch Chelsea and give them more to think about defensively. It was a statement of more progressive tactics by Mancini in the second half.

Michael Ballack did his best to ease our nerves with a reckless challenge on Tevez that saw him pick up a second yellow. Tevez then released Wright-Phillips, who did the simple things correctly in sprinting into the area and crossing for Bellamy to tap home.

Shaun looked sharp and benefitted from coming on when there was space to exploit, in contrast to Johnson who had been given precious little room to manouvre. Having these two players vying for the right-wing slot is a welcome bit of competition within the squad.

Chelsea continued to pile forward as best they could, with Anelka continuing to cause problems. His penalty “foul” was as soft as that for Barry, but fortunately it came to late to matter. It’s credit to Chelsea’s attack that at no point were we ever entirely comfortable. The sight of Given berating his team-mates till the last told us as much.

Craig Bellamy:

“I know what JT is like and nothing surprises me about it, so I’m not going to comment on that. I think everybody in football knows what the guy is like, but that’s off the field.

“On it he’s an outstanding player. He’s a great captain for Chelsea. It’s always going to be difficult when you play him and his team.”

With attention focussed on Wayne Bridge, the truly inspirational performance came from Tevez who had only flown in to London from Argentina the day before. He constantly took the game to Chelsea and seemed to inspire those around him – Bellamy in particular.

El Apache plays the lone striker role remarkably well for someone lacking height and having no great pace. To often such a player can be the victim of little professional fouls from the likes of Terry and Carvalho and the referee deserves credit for spotting most of them.

Fabio Capello may also have noted the best England defender on show was Joleon Lescott. With Rio’s back troubles, Joleon could be quietly playing his way into England’s starting 11 for the World Cup.

Ultimately the difference in this match lay in City’s defence being committed and focused all game, whereas Ancelotti’s back-line made a host of errors.

External reports:

• BBC
• The Guardian
• The Guardian (Paul Hayward)
• The Independent
• MCFC
• The Telegraph
• The Times

Blog reports:

• Norfstander
• We’ve Got Robinho

Video:

Richards – Possibly feeling the effects of 120 minutes against Stoke, Micah made a few clumsy tackles and struggled to get to grips with Anelka. Grew stronger as the game wore on. 6

Kompany – A single mistake in failing to track Lampard for the first goal. Otherwise excellent, keeping out Drogba and co for lengthy periods. 8

Lescott – Another who stood strong with a backs to the wall performance. All the attention was on other England defenders, but Joleon was the best on show. 8

Bridge – No surprise that once the game was under way, Wayne simply got on with the job. A much better showing than against Stoke with his improved positional sense under Mancini contributing to a solid back line. 7

De Jong – Never as dominant as against Liverpool, but still did a terrific job in keeping Joe Cole and Lampard out. 8

Zabaleta – Thrown in as another midfielder destroyer, Pablo did well to survive a clash of heads with Drogba and gave Richards some valuable support. 8

Barry – Used his experience well. Good to see him getting into the opposition penalty area to win the penalty when we were already in the lead. 7

Johnson – Struggled with the pitch and a posse of Chelsea defenders whenever he had the ball in the first half. 6

Bellamy – A first half of defensive duty gave way to the dynamic counter-attacking we saw earlier in the season. Terrific to see him last the 90 minutes. 8

Tevez – Given the quality of the opposition and the fact he only landed in London on Friday, this was a stunning display. We have a talisman. 10

Subs:

Wright-Phillips – An excellently timed run and cross for the fourth was just what we wanted from Shaun. 8

Santa Cruz – Surprisingly brought on in place of Bridge. Helped occupy Chelsea defenders without doing anything spectacular. 5

Sylvinho – Fleeting appearance to see us through to full-time.

Man of the match: Carlos Tevez.

Cains has an article describing how the site is set to be developed with a vast leisure scheme, capable of attracting 6 million visitors a year, with children and young adults a key target audience. For those without a Cains membership, the article can be viewed here in Google’s cache.

A second article appeared in Building.co.uk claiming a planning application has been made by Arup, who “could see its role extended to include the expansion of the 47,726-capacity stadium itself”.

City would not confirm or deny the rumours, with the club stating, “The project is yet to be finalised and we will give out more information in due course.”

More details should emerge in the coming months, while it could take 2-3 years for such a large scale project to come to fruition.

Expanding the stadium capacity, and filling it, could be crucial if the club are to match Sheikh Mansour’s ambitions once Uefa’s new rules limiting an owner’s financial input come into play.

Uefa aren’t due to announce details of the plans till the end of the season, but the latest speculation is that loss making clubs wouldn’t be allowed to compete in Uefa competitions, and owners wouldn’t be allowed to bankroll the signing of players or paying of wages. Additional investment would be limited to expanding stadia and youth academies.

There has been talk in the past that City’s owners would look at expanding the stadium once the current one is regularly sold out. This is in part due to the difficulties with the current stadium which wasn’t built with extending the capacity in mind.

Thus far matches have not been regularly sold out. If we can qualify for the Champions League and therefore attract a higher calibre of player, then hopefully this would change.

If we’re to fulfill the dream and be major players on the European stage, then getting the ground up to a 60,000 capacity (and filling it) would be a major step. It will be fascinating to see the plans when they’re announced.

• Does anyone know anything more?

First the bad news round-up. Adebayor is out thanks to a ridiculous four match ban for an offence similar to one committed by Robert Huth in the same game that didn’t warrant a free-kick. Having played for 120 minutes on Wednesday, Bellamy’s knees are unlikely to take the strain of another 90 minutes.

Tevez may be back, but is unlikely to be 100% after a long-haul flight and a lack of proper training. Elsewhere up front, Santa Cruz still looks way short of full fitness, and Ireland is equally short of form. Having played extra-time with ten men, most of the team will be feeling the effects of three games in seven days. Oh, and everyone seems to be losing faith in the manager.

So where’s the cause for optimism? Chelsea also had a tough game in mid-week, with a trip to Italy thrown in. Important players will be missing in the form of Cech and Cole.

If Zhirkov is out, then they’ll be forced to field a makeshift left-back, who either Wright-Phillips or Johnson should be encouraged to attack. Further absentees could be Essien, Bosingwa, Alex and Belletti limiting their ability to rotate from Wednesday night.

All the attention will be on Wayne Bridge and it’s to be hoped he puts in a strong performance against John Terry and his former employers. Across the defence, we’re in good form and a trio of Lescott, Kompany and Richards shouldn’t be bullied by Drogba and co.

Zabaleta’s recent improvement could see him get a game, either at right-back or in midfield. Nigel de Jong and Adam Johnson should return to give some freshness to the side that lost on Wednesday. Presumably Gareth Barry will play and it’s to be hoped he has one of his more energetic games.

With Adebayor missing, Tevez is likely to be asked to play as a lone striker. His strength at holding off opponents has seem him surprisingly effective in this role, but he’ll need plenty of support against Terry and Carvalho.

The main concern is who else will play in midfield, and provide attacking support. Ireland will be fortunate to retain a starting place given his lack of form, yet there is no-one else who can play the role behind the striker. A big performance from the Irishman could make all the difference.

Wright-Phillips will hope to get a chance on the right-flank and his industry combined with the chance to show his old employers what he’s capable of, could also be valuable.

Shay Given:

“We know it’s going to be a tough game. Chelsea have great qualities all over the pitch and we will have to be on top of our game.

“But we have already beaten them at home this season. I know it’s a different story going to Stamford Bridge, but I think it’s better to play in a big game after a huge disappointment.

“If we can bring the points back, it would give everyone a huge lift.”

Early kick-offs can lead to a subdued atmosphere, which would suit the tactician Mancini. In addition, the ‘big four’ can be vulnerable after a champions league fixture – look what happened to United at Everton last week.

Mancini will relish going up against his old foe Ancelotti, particularly after Stoke, and it will be interesting to see how he fares. Every neutral complained after last Sunday’s stalemate with Liverpool, but don’t be surprised to see Mancini employ similar tactics here.

If we keep it tight, restrict the opposition to a single shot and snatch a goal through Tevez, then City fans will be more than happy this time round.

The key things will be to avoid defending deep for long periods, getting forward to support Tevez and retaining possession. If we do that and maintain our defensive discipline, then maybe it’ll be a happier trip than most expect.

Blue Days line-up: Given, Richards, Bridge, Kompany, Lescott, de Jong, Barry, Ireland, Johnson, Wright-Phillips, Tevez.

Prediction: 1-0 to City.

A failure to take chances saw City crash out of the FA Cup in extra-time, with the harsh dismissal of Emmanuel Adebayor by card happy Steve Bennett in the second period giving Stoke the advantage. The pressure will be turned up on Roberto Mancini even though he can hardly be blamed for the squandering of numerous chances.

The manager was true to his word in selecting a physically strong line-up – particularly at the back – to combat Stoke’s style. Micah Richards came in at right-back, and there was a real surprise with Nedum Onuoha coming in alongside Joleon Lescott, while Vincent Kompany moved into midfield.

The diminutive de Jong dropped to the bench, while Zabaleta added a competitive edge to the right flank. With Craig Bellamy on the left and Adebayor continuing his improved form, we were able to dominate the opening period.

It was a marked contrast to early siege of last week, with a subdued Stoke unable to get past Kompany, never mind our back-four. All that was required was for City to take their chances.

Barry missed an early one. Onuoha saw the ball land at his feet from a corner, but stabbed it wide. Adebayor played in both Ireland and Bellamy. Stevie took a first touch in his stride but then saw his shot blocked.

Bellamy had no excuses. With only Sorenson to beat, a poor first touch made for an easy save. The complete lack of form between Ireland and Bellamy became increasingly apparent as a promising start, crucially, wasn’t capitalised on. We could have had four by the interval, but went in with none.

Stoke could only get better, and during the second half they started lobbing trademark high balls into our box. The defence was holding firm, but our passing became very sloppy. Simply keeping the ball in play seemed to be beyond several players of supposedly superior technique.

As a consequence, Stoke were allowed to gain some momentum and the substitute Kitson duly scored after playing a one-two, with Bridge not getting tight enough.

Trouble appeared to be in the offing, but we responded almost immediately with Adebayor setting up Bellamy to rifle home. The Welshman’s celebrations, like his performance, seemed muted.

It was Adebayor’s sending-off which really provoked Craig and from then on he looked dangerous. Had he shown this fire in the first half we might well have been ahead and able to see out the tie.

The law really is an ass if Adebayor is banned for three matches. Had he seen red for a terrible challenge, then yes. For punching an opponent, yes. But some of the three match bans we see now are for trifling offences. It happened last season here to Wright-Phillips. Vieira’s flicked foot was inconsequential, deserving of a one match ban at most for retaliation.

With the game against Tottenham due to be rearranged we might not see the Togolese striker till March 29th! Just when he was looking good.

Later, we saw Huth put his arm across Bellamy in a more deliberate way than Adebayor did. The referee gave nothing. At the weekend Fuller stuck his boot into Jamie O’Hara’s groin with more aggression than Vieira showed, yet there was no ban for him. Did Tony Pulis ask for “parity” after these offences? The seemingly arbitrary nature of three match bans is infuriating.

Meanwhile, City comfortably saw out normal time, and in retrospect this was when they should have gone for a win. Unfortunately Santa Cruz was still looking off the pace so a cutting edge was absent. That the next goal went to Stoke therefore shouldn’t have been a surprise. It was still a disappointment.

As in the game at Eastlands, a Delap throw did for us and this time Given was clearly culpable – coming and failing to get the ball. Following on from his clanger at the Britannia Stadium last week, the Irishman is having a poor run.

The contrast between the attacking substitutes of Kitson and Tuncay, and our own Santa Cruz couldn’t have been greater, as the Turk matched his team-mate’s skill and hunger in claiming a well-taken goal. The way he slalomed round defenders and produced a finish was an object lesson to Wright-Phillips, Bellamy and Ireland.

Roque missed a golden chance to pull a goal back with seven minutes of extra time remaining, and there went any lingering hope.

Roberto Mancini:

“I think we dominated the match for long periods.

“We had six or seven chances to score a goal up until Emmanuel was sent off.

“When a striker is being closely marked he wants to make space for himself and this kind of thing can happen – I thought it was a yellow card at the very worst.

“But football is a strange game because we didn’t score when we were on top and then something happens later that completely changes the game.”

To see this season’s hopes of silverware ended at the Britannia is bitterly disapointing and it’s difficult to remain objective. If we do then Mancini can’t be blamed for his selection and tactics going into this game. The defence was solid, moving Kompany into midfield was nearly a masterstroke, and we created enough chances to have the game wrapped up by half-time.

The defeat can be put down to a failure to take chances, a poor passage of play when our passing was woeful, and a refereeing decicion which showed we didn’t have “that bit of luck you need in the cup”. Having said that, we still failed to beat Stoke in three attempts and that doesn’t look good for Roberto.

External reports:

• BBC
• The Guardian
• The Indpendent
• Manchester Evening News
• The Telegraph
• The Times

Blog reports:

• The Lonesome Death of Roy Carroll
• Norfstander

Video:

Richards – A whole-hearted display where it was good to see him getting forward after the sending off. Unfortunately Micah’s ability in the final third didn’t match the enthusiasm to get there. 6

Bridge – Wasn’t tight enough on Kitson for the first goal and had a nightmare with his passing. 5

Onuoha – A surprise to see him back, and a welcome one. His calmness in the face of Stoke’s attacks wass a welcome contrast to Toure. 7

Zabaleta – A typically committed performance on the right of midfield before switching to left-back in place of Bridge. We know he’s not creative, but he did his job in keeping Stoke in check. 7

Lescott – Once again solid in defence. His return to the side and return to form shouldn’t be overlooked. 7

Kompany – Commanding in midfield during the early stages, when we should have killed the game. Gave his all throughout. 7

Ireland – Another disappointing showing. Failed to take a chance in the first half and wasn’t able to make any telling passes despite having the space to do so. 5

Barry – Another who missed a first-half chance and failed again to deliver telling passes when we needed them. 6

Adebayor – Beautifully played in both Bellamy and Irland during the first half, and came close to scoring himself with a long-range drive. Looked the man most likely for City until the referee intervened. 7

Bellamy – Biggest culprit of the first-half misses. Nothing was going right for him prior to scoring. Finally looked fired-up after Adebayor’s sending off. 6

Subs:

Wright-Phillips – Provided an attacking outlet down the right flank, but was another who ran the ball out of play with a frustrating frequency. Can hardly expect a pay rise with that habit. 6

Santa Cruz – Stoke subs, Kitson and Tuncay, came on looking hungry and scored. Roque on the other hand still looks off the pace – seven months into the season. Another who missed a good chance. 5

Sylvinho – Could give lessons in how to pass to a team-mate to some of our supposedly creative players.

Man of the match: Vincent Kompany.