Sky Blue

Doku's been injured recently. Brilliant when he first arrived and on a few occasions since. More commonly been described as "playing football like a dog driving a car."

You lot must be expecting to win on Saturday. But you shouldn't get confident till City are two goals up with 20 minutes left.

Don't fuck this up you Geordie b*astards, don't do a City!

Voltaire's best joke of the 18th century was that the Holy Roman Empire was "neither holy, nor Roman, nor an empire." And now Manchester u****d F.C. in 2023 is neither Manchester, nor united, nor much to do with football. Sod them.

Had that from them for 30+ years. They can have it back now. For the rest of my life I want them to be playing Tranmere Rovers if not Torquay United at a crumbling O.T. in front of 3,000 people and a dog. No, not the dog, can't do with cruelty to animals.

I wasn't too upset about City losing to Newcastle in the previous round till I saw the draw and the chance to humiliate u****d twice in a week. But I hope you batter them, beware of Fernandes moaning at the ref and i hope your seats aren't under the parts of the roof where the rain leaks in.

This sounds right. When City got taken over by the rich folks the necessary first step was winning the F.A. Cup in 2011, first major trophy for 35 years. I think Newcastle have to follow a similar path, small steps first. Question is, though, is Eddie Howe only your Mark Hughes, waiting for a more glamorous Roberto Mancini figure to step in? (I think Howe is actually better than Hughes, but he's got to win some silverware; you should have signed Cole Palmer.) Also, when City beat Stoke at Wembley in 2011 for many of us it was a case of "take me now, God, I can die happy." What's happened since feels ridiculous, but the message is don't set your sights too low, you never know - ten years hence you could be winning the CL final against a Real Madrid team with Bellingham and Haaland in it ...

Good player, poor manager, and a bit of a tw*t. When the final whistle went in the CL final in Istanbul other commentators punched the air in relief but Pearce had a face like his dog had died. You can claim him as a new fan but see item 3 above.

By the time you all get in you'll be able to wave goodnight to our early leavers heading out to catch the tram or beat the traffiic. (With all the new added time plus Eddie's delaying tactics they'll be thinking about that from 75 minutes on.)

Sergio Aguero still says hello.

This could be like last season's match at SJP and I can see another 3 -3 but won't be surprised if Newcastle win and put a marker down for the season. Isak's going to get more game time and Gordon is playing better than last year (though still as much of a d*ck.) Fact is I can't get too worked up about Saturday's result or the whole season. I turned 60 when City's money first came in, at which time we'd won nowt since the League Cup in '76. I told my brother I wanted to see us win just one more thing, Cup or League, and I could shuffle off content. They did that and a few weeks back beat the rags at Wembley and won the C.L., it doesn't get better. Waiting for the flight back from Istanbul I told the brother I've seen what I wanted, so it'll be ok if the League send us back to the Third Division as punishment for our "sins" (or success.) Could be Newcastle fans will be feeling similarly jaded/smug/content ten years from now, enjoy it if it happens. Better you than any of the red shirts anyway.

Hello Newcastle, 68 years ago Newcastle broke my 6 year old's heart defeating City 3-1 in the Cup Final, my first ever football match, too. Jackie bloody Milburn started it in the first minute. Today Ilkay bloody Gundogan says move over Jackie, your record's gone, 12 seconds. Up to you next year now, Saint-Maximin.

I enjoyed the 4-3 at SJP on the last day of the season in 1968 but I enjoyed tonight even more. Pity I don't much like kebabs but I'll find something else.

Fickle lot. I almost switched to supporting Newcastle when George Hannah got that third goal at Wembley in '55.

You understand the 18,000 and fewer you were regularly scattering around SJP in the 1980s though?

Tend to agree. (With the first and third parts anyway.)

While there are teams and their supporters that I dislike (rags, L'pool, Villa, dirty Leeds) I usually look forward to City v. Newcastle. Might be partly on account of City winning about 16 of the last 20 meetings, or Tueart's overhead kick in the LC Final in '76, or being at SJP to see City win the league on the last day of the season in 1968. But there've been other memorable games besides. Remember Keegan's emotional reception at SJP with his City side around 2002 in an F.A. Cup tie? Newcastle won. Also a thrilling 3-3 draw at Maine Road sometime in the '90s. And a long, long time ago there was a Cup tie at Maine Road in 1957 (I was eight) which Newcastle won 5-4. I'd been going - being taken - to see City for a couple of years already but this was my first experience of a match with many supporters of both teams all mixed together. Thousands & thousands of Geordies in every part of the ground, they got Blaydon Races going and it went on and on, I'd heard nothing like it before. None of them took their shirts off, mind. My dad told me they were alright as they were mostly pitmen, as he was. Probably not many left from then who'll be at the Etihad this weekend. Anyway here's some things expect on Saturday: Pep will pick eleven players, no one can say in what combination. Trams from town to the Etihad will be infrequent and overcrowded. Trams from the Etihad back to town will be infrequent and overcrowded. Lots of empty seats in the stadium after 80 minutes, people going for the trams. Your fans will sing that tired old WWYWYWS song (ok, it's a bit of fun, so expect a reply about the 18,000 scattered around SJP in the 1980s.) Look out for young Alvarez, if he gets on the pitch. He's fast, a natural goalscorer, tireless. You should buy him if he leaves at the end of the season after ManU & L'pool (= the P.L) get City sent down to the Third Division or beyond. I'm back over from across the ocean for this, my first game of the season. 7-0? (not really.)

Sadly I think this is right about the Trafford rags. They've got the manager many at MCFC wanted to replace Pep when he goes. They will go after Harry "I want trophies" Kane in the summer. I wish you would get Kane but Levy at Spurs won't sell him to Newcastle for the same reason he wouldn't sell him to City, he doesn't like - er, the clothes the owners wear. And the media wankathon about them is already under way. With that and the wobbly lines they draw on their VAR machines at Old Trafford they will be challengers next season. Excuse me while I go and be sick.

Please don't call the rags from Trafford a "Manchester" team.

Long story here, my thoughts on Newcastle. Mostly one for the older sods, though. Wembley 1955, a few will remember. My first football match, first trip to London. My dad & uncle got the local grocer to drive us down from Manchester in his van, me in the back. Went down overnight on the old A6. Dead excited, the huge crowds, community singing, Abide With Me. Then first minute Jackie Milburn scored, later City's Jimmy Meadows went off injured, down to ten men. Even though wee Bobby Johnstone scored a wondrous diving header two goals in the second half made it 3-1 and there's Jimmy bloody Scoular with the Cup and me in tears. Six years old, inconsolable. On the long way back we stopped for hours at a pub somewhere and dad & uncle, both miners themselves, got blathered with a load of Geordie pitmen. One of them gave me a consolation bar of Cadbury's, mind, yet from that day to this I've had bad memories of the name Newcastle. Dancing on the pitch at SJP in 1968 when City won the League there (Bell, Lee & Summerbee) made up for it a bit, as did your last League Cup final in '76, but what you lot did to six year old me hasn't gone away. However, considering who you're playing on Sunday, I hope you win. Beat the rag b*stards!

I know you enjoyed it. Newcastle on the crest of a wave, eh? Mind, there's a few players around the land, past and present, who'd have been waiting in the tunnel to smack him for doing that. Also I'd be surprised if Eddie Howe didn't have a gentle word with him after the match to say don't do that stuff. City fan here, hope you win the League Cup (came close in '76!)