Hang your head in shame man.

I don't normally post things like this but I read something in the MEN this morning that really annoyed me. A supposed City fan has contacted the MEN with a complaint about the club he professes to have supported for over 30 years.

And what was the reason for contacting the press? I mean it must have been something awful for a 'proper' fan to give the press another story they can bash City with, surely? The Club refused to let him use the players tunnel to get to his seat because he had a broken leg. Shock horror, however could they do such a terrible thing?

The 'fan' in question is Mike McKeown, I don't mind saying his name seeing as he didn't mind going to the press in the first place and the article is freely available to read here in the MEN. And the first thing you'll notice is the 'woe is me' pose with his lower leg in a cast stretched out on a table in front of him. Awww diddums.

The article describes him as facing 'the prospect of missing the action' and goes on to say he rang the club to ask if he could use the player's tunnel to access his front row seat without using steps. This was because he claims he couldn't walk down the steps but even admits that it was "a bit cheeky" to ask that in the first place.

Why the player's tunnel? Ok your seat is supposedly close to the dugout but why not ask about standard access routes? Why choose one of the only places in the stadium that is restricted to media, security and club officials?

He was offered alternative seating over the phone but it appears the first seats that were looked at were sold out so he told the woman he was speaking to that he "didn't want that anyway." No Mike, we know, you wanted special treatment and go through the player's tunnel, we get that.

Mike also complains that the woman on the phone wouldn't let him "speak to the disabled officer. She just said no and told me she would say the same." Possibly because the person you were speaking to knew that it was out of the question under the circumstances you described Mike.

I've seen people on crutches navigate those stairs, they're not even that steep. If he was so bothered about falling down them then he could have asked for help from Stewards or whoever he was at the game with. And if he still didn't feel comfortable using the stairs, there are disabled access routes he could have used.

It transpires that by the time he went crying to the press for his 15 minutes of fame he had already been offered upgraded seats to the 2nd tier where he doesn't have to use any stairs. Unfortunately he didn't want those either. He has now been offered the use of a service tunnel to get to his seat and has yet to respond.

The press don't need much ammunition to take shots at City, neither do they need much information to write a whole article slating them. Mr McKeown, hang your head in total and utter shame man, and I use the term 'man' very loosely here. You've acted more like a spoilt child trying to get his own way, but when you couldn't you've gone crying to someone who would give you a little bit of attention.

Perhaps you might want to ring the club and see if the Club's doctors could take a look at how your leg is mending, and get the physio to treat you once the cast has been taken off. I know Mike, ring them up and see if you can have a run out on the pitch with a few minutes of the game to go just to see how well the leg has mended. Is that seat of yours a little uncomfortable? See if you can sit in Mancini's chair, I'm sure he wont mind swapping with you. In fact while you're at it

You say you've supported City for over 30 years? City (or any other club in fact) doesn't need fans like you thank you very much, now jog on... When your poorly-woorly leg is better of course. Idiot.



@MikeWalsh1880

Gael Clichy: "I have made the right decision."

City new boy Gael Clichy has an interview in the MEN today that will be music to the ears of the fans who have put up with nothing but spiteful nonsense in the press so far this week (barring one other interview with Adam Johnson). 

Clichy alraady feeling at home with City

The French international defender was a bargain at £7m from Arsenal and may prove to be one of the signings of the season. He's certainly looked the part when he has featured this pre-season anyway.

It is clear that Gael has fond memories from his time at Arsenal, he was part of the famous Arsenal Invincibles and was the last of them to leave the club.

"I spent an amazing 8 years at Arsenal and I have some great memories... They have made me the player I am today - without them I wouldn't have reached this level."

"But in life you need to progress and I was ready for a new challenge. I need to push myself and that was the main reason for the move. I felt like I just needed something more and I really feel that City could be the Club to make me improve as an individual."

And as with the signing of Aguero, where fellow Argentinian Pablo Zabaleta gave him the lowdown on life at the Club, Patrick Vieira was also a big factor in Clichy's decision to move to East Manchester;

"I spoke with a few players and I spoke with Patrick as well. And talking with people at the club...you can feel that this club has the desire to win things."

After only being with City for a month, Gael says that "City can give me everything I'm looking for."

Gael also describes how he initially felt apprehensive after first signing and admits that for some players "it can even take years because you need time to adapt to your new life, new team-mates, new systems."

But despite those initial concerns he says "I already feel like I have been here for a long time.

"The lads have been brilliant to me, on and off the pitch.

"The fact that we are playing and getting to know each other every day will help our bond."

The left full back has impressed fans in his run-outs in pre-season and has linked up very well with a number of other players in the team. It isn't certain whether he will get the nod ahead of Aleks Kolarov for the Community Shield on Sunday but for now Gael is confident about his future at City.

"I am sure we will do great things and that's why I signed for City. I believe we will have a lot of success."

Lets hope so eh?

Click this link for the full interview: http://menmedia.co.uk/manchestereveningnews/sport/football/manchester_city/s/1454858_gael-clichy-patrick-vieira-put-me-on-to-a-winner-with-manchester-city?rss=yes

Adam Johnson on his time at City.

It's relatively quiet in the media on the City front today, Certainly nothing new anyway. So I'll visit yesterday's news again. I would have a look at Rooney's little piece about the Community Shield actually being an important game, totally contradicting United's 'official' stance on it. And is it any wonder why they've played down the game so far? Lets face it, it'll be an important game if they win it. So I guess it will just have to remain a 'meaningless friendly' then eh ;) 

To be honest after having a look through United squads and youth policy over the last 20 years yesterday I got a massive headache through over exposure to the colour red so I wont be delving into what Looney has been saying. So back to blue I go with Adam Johnson in the MEN.

After that pathetic article in the Telegraph telling us that AJ "has not progressed at Manchester City" we get quite an honest and open interview with the young winger from Rob Dawson at the MEN.

In recent weeks we've seen stories about how Johnson is ready to quite City, or that he is going to be loaned out or even sold, none of which you should have believed for a second after listening to Mancini when Johnson was injured last season.

City went through a difficult patch and the City boss stated that the injury to Adam was one of the reasons for City's inability to make an impact on other teams at the time. Talking about Johnson's ability to come on and change a game Mancini stated; "After Adam was injured we had a big problem because he is different to the other players. We don't have anyone else like that"

More recently Bobby has rubbished talks of Johnson leaving City and has categorically stated that he sees the tricky winger in City's long term plans.

It's been no secret that AJ and Mancini haven't seen eye to eye over everything and Johnson reiterates that again saying; "I've had conversations with the manager and there are some things we agree on and some things we disagree on. He just wants to win every game."

But he admits that his manager knows best and that Mancini "focuses on everything, down to the last little thing, and that's probably one of the reasons we did so well last season." And with reference to his apparent lack of progression at the club Adam clearly disagrees completely, stating; "Since I signed, everything has changed for me. It's given me the chance to play for England and express myself in a massive team."

Since swapping the Riverside to Eastlands in January 2010 he notes his appreciation of the increased ability to show off his attacking prowess in games; "Now I'm at City I get the chance to attack more and that's what I like doing. Since I've come to City I think I've definitely improved.

"When you play with top players it brings you on. You probably learn more from watching the players in training than you do from the coaches sometimes."

I'm surprised no one's jumped on that last part and ran with an article saying Johnson learns nothing from Mancini and hates the coaches. But anyway...

Adam is keen to stress that he wants to play more games as he wants to try and ensure his selection for the European Championship at the end of the season after missing out on being selected for the World Cup.

The prospect of Champions League football is also at the forefront of his mind; "The Champions League is a massive thing. I haven't played in it and it's another thing I'd like to do in my career." That should scupper any more rumours of him wanting moving away from the club in the next twelve months anyway, but I wont hold my breath on that one.

If you've not already seen it, you can catch the full article here: http://menmedia.co.uk/manchestereveningnews/sport/football/manchester_city/s/1454561_manchester-city-winger-adam-johnson-tells-rob-dawson-he-just-wants-to-be-on-roberto-mancinis-teamsheet

Adam has all the ability to be a big star for the club, as long as he can keep his head down, continue to learn from those around him. What ultimately kept him out of the starting 11 for most of last season was his lack of consistency, often coming off the bench to make a massive impact only to star next game and go missing for most of it.

If he can address this issue either by pacing himself over 90 minutes or improving his stamina so he can play at the higher tempo for longer he will be one of the best winger in the premier league, and given another year or two, maybe even one of the best in the world.

His future is in his own hands now, he has been given the biggest stage to work on with some of the best players in the world, it's up to him to make the most of it. Lets hope he does.