This is City

City draw Villa

CITY have drawn Aston Villa away in the fifth round of the FA Cup and the game will be played over the weekend of February 18 - 19.

UPDATE: The game will take place on Sunday, February 19 in front of the BBC cameras meaning a 6.30pm kick-off.

Chef turns sauce blue

A CHEF at the City of Manchester Stadium has created a batch of blue coloured ketchup in time for this Saturday’s derby.

City chef John Benson-Smith said the sauce would be available to people who want to ‘put the squeeze’ on the Reds.

Stuart Pearce - of Albania

I MISSED this interview from a week or so ago but The Telegraph sat down with Stuart Pearce and chatted to him about managing City and football in general.

His down-to-earth nature and work ethic shine through; from the respect he showed his parents to the attitude he expects from his players.

He is also angered by the talk of him being the next England manager, claiming that it is crazy to think someone with just a handful of games as manager is even being touted for the job.

One thing that is clear is that Pearce is aware that you learn something every day and bring it to the game, even if he hasn't yet learnt how to not dress like an Albanian.

City start advertising campaign

THE Blues are one of the first clubs to launch an advertising campaign that doesn't plug cut-price tickets but is trying to create a 'brand'.

Already I can see the hackles rising on some 'true Blues' but there is a good piece about why the club is taking these measures in The Guardian.

Personally I think it is a good move and shows the club is willing to try things out to keep it moving forward.

I went to college in Sunderland many moons ago now but still have a bit of a connection with the Black Cats from standing on the terraces.

Whenever the two teams match up I am firmly behind the Blues but just think of the number of students in Manchester that the club could appeal to.

And that is the key I think, broadening the appeal because you can't rely on the 'generations' walking through the gates like days gone by.

Helen ‘the bell’ dies

ONE of my memories of having a season ticket in the North Stand at Maine Road was hearing Helen and her bell from where she sat behind the goal.

My seat was to the right of the goal and I was a good twenty or so rows back, but you could easily hear Helen’s bell ringing away at the kick-off or a corner.

It is really sad to hear that she has died at 85 years old but the club is planning a minute’s silence in her honour at the game against Chelsea in December and you can also email your own memories of Helen, and her bell, to the club.

Now here's a thought, my friend Anthony on thisiswestbrom suggests that fans should bring along a bell on the day and undertake a minute's bell-ringing. What a great idea.

Where’s Gerald?

READERS of a certain age will remember a news story way back in 1991 in which millionaire jeweller Gerald Ratner described one of his firm’s products as ‘total crap’.

The problem was that Ratner’s jewellery stores were a fixture on UK High Streets and once his comments made the press £500 million was wiped off his business.

Pearce in for the long run

NOW this should be music to any City fan’s ears – chairman John Wardle believes Stuart Pearce will stay on as manager well beyond the end of his two-year contract.

The Guardian goes on to say that City may loosen the purse strings in January as it is clear the squad is still paper-thin.

What is good to see is that the success and feel-good feeling that Pearce has instilled into the whole club will see its reward, not only in seeing the gaffer with a long term contract but cash being made available for reinforcements.

No new faces, Everton game shifted

IT was all quiet at the City of Manchester stadium as the transfer window came down with no new faces joining the Stuart Pearce show.

Despite the rumour of Del Piero heading to City it would appear that we missed out on Danish midfielder Christian Poulsen who stayed put at German club Schalke.

In other news the ‘powers that be’ have rearranged the kick-off for the home game against Everton on October 2 to 11.45am.

Attendances are down and so you stage a game when most of your fans are playing for their local team, or watching their kids in junior leagues. Priceless!

New City scoreboard

SAT in the ground on Saturday and we all wondered where the new scoreboard, sponsored by Timpson, had come from.

Well, it appears that John Timpson, the chairman of Timpson, had been unable to see the existing scoreboard due to sightlines.

So he decided to do something about it and offered to sponsor the new one which displays team news and match details.

Carling Cup news

CITY have been handed an away game against Doncaster Rovers in the second round of the Carling Cup. The tie will be played in the week commencing 19th September.

It’s also been announced that the Derby at Old Trafford on September 10 will now kick off at 3pm.