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#1 ·
Under 18s are into the Youth Cup final 11/03/2008 20:54

The FA Youth Cup sponsored by E.On 2007/08 Semi Final 2nd Leg

Manchester City v Sunderland

Tuesday March 11, 2008, 7.00pm
The City of Manchester Stadium - Att: 3,228

Manchester City: Hartley, Trippier, McGivern, Boyata, Mee (c), Kay, Weiss, Tutte, Ball, Sturridge, McDermott.

unused subs: Nimely-Tchuimeni, Johansen, Ramsey, Tsiaklis, Mak.

Sunderland: Staples, Kay (R Noble 71), Liddle, L Noble, Cornforth, McArdle, Henderson, Colback (c), Hourihane, Waghorn, Luscombe (Hunter 80).

unused subs: Brown, Cook, Galer, Scott.

Goals: 0-1 (Henderson 15)

Bookings

City:

Sunderland: R Noble (82), Henderson (87), Colback (87), Hunter (87)

Referee: D Deadman

Summary

City are into the FA Youth Cup final - but only after a real scare. Sunderland took an early lead and looked the more confident side at times during the second leg, with City squandering several chances as well as looking nervous. But the Blues hung on with some resolute defending and they are now set to face either Chelsea or Aston Villa.

Pre match

City named an unchanged side from the one that started last Thursday's first leg.

The match

A rain squall just before 6.00pm had left patches of water on the pitch, but by kick off the weather had calmed down and we had a perfect night for football.

City looked comfortable from the off, having by far the most of the early play until they had the first good chance of the night on 13 minutes. McDermott’s free kick from the left of the box missed everyone before reaching Boyata, who possibly surprised to get the chance could not direct it past Staples.

But the sizeable home support was shocked when the visitors took the lead after a quarter of an hour. Jordan Henderson took aim from long range and his shot flew past Hartley’s left hand and into the top corner of the net. Most definitely game on!

With the goal rousing the fans, Weiss went on a jinking run just a minute later, and he was unlucky to see his low cross just elude the lurking Danny Sturridge in the six yard box.

Hartley kept the score at 0-1 on 25 minutes, making a fine stop with his feet from Jack Colback after the Sunderland striker had beaten the offside trap. The Blues put the pressure at the other end with a trio of corners, with the third just skimming Danny Sturridge’s head in a crowded area.

The highly-rated striker missed a great opportunity on 32 minutes after bursting into the area from the right hand flank. Shaping to get the ball onto his favoured left foot, he shot across the face of goal, but David Ball was free inside the area and he would have had a simple chance to score.

The pair combined well on 39 minutes, with Ball’s long crossfield pass finding Sturridge in space on the right of the area. With no blue shirts in the area, he could not be blamed for electing to shoot once again and his stabbed effort was just wide of the near post.

McDermott chipped over a tempting cross on 50 minutes that Sunderland keeper Staples took at the second attempt under pressure from David Ball. The City number nine was thwarted by Staples 60 seconds later, the keeper having raced out to the edge of the area to block after Ball had been put clean through.

City looked tentative, and on the hour goalscorer Henderson went close to levelling the tie, his left-footed volley just shaping away from the far post with Hartley beaten.

The home fans were getting tense, and two shots from Sturridge that were well wide of the target did not improve their mood.

We finally had a moment to remember with eight minutes left, when Danny Sturridge forced a good save from Staples after he had broken into the left of the area. The keeper’s parry fell to Kay, whose shot brought an even better save, this time a flying effort that deflected the ball over the bar.

As time began to run out for the visitors the game began to boil over, as Sunderland resorted to the physical approach from the first leg. They thought they were back on terms with just two minutes left when Colback fired home from the edge of the box, but the flag was up for offside to huge relief from City’s supporters, with three Sunderland players going in to the book for their protests.

After three minutes of stoppage time City were into the final, but Sunderland could count themselves unlucky on their display in the second leg.



Fantastic news, second time in three years, lets hope we can win it this time. Danny Sturridge is still playing, and along with David Ball have 11 goals in the Cup run so far. Vladimir Weiss on the wing is the main creative player, he's really skillful, and probably the one to watch from this current crop. Another talent is goalscoring left back Ryan McGivern who has 7 goals this season.

We will play either Chelsea or Villa, which is currently poised at 1-1 after the first leg. We've been in scinitillating form this run, last night aside, and hopefully this is the year.
 
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#30 ·
City Enter Champions League-Style U19s Tournament

Manchester City Football Club will compete against some of Europe's top clubs in a Champions League-style U19s tournament which starts in 2011-12.

Sixteen clubs including Barcelona and Inter Milan have confirmed their involvement in The Nextgen Series - a six-month format which allows the continent's top young footballers to compete against each other week in, week out for the first time.

Liverpool, Tottenham, PSV, Celtic and Sporting Lisbon will also take part.

Sanctioned by UEFA and the FA, the tournament has been established to help Europe's best teenagers make the transition from youth football to senior level.

Four groups of four teams will battle it out home and away from August, with the top two progressing to the knockout stages which begin in January.

The tournament is the brainchild of ex-pro and former Watford Academy manager Mark Warburton and TV producer Justin Andrews.

Warburton said...

'The Nextgen Series will provide a cognitive learning environment for players to experience how best to cope with the pressures of top-level football.'

Organisers believe young players will benefit from travelling abroad and facing new styles of play, as well as being officiated by top referees and having to deal with media interest.

Clubs confirmed include Barcelona, Inter Milan, Liverpool, Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur, Aston Villa, Marseille, Sporting Lisbon, Wolfsburg, Molde, PSV, Celtic, FC Basel, Fenerbahce and Rosenborg.
 
#32 ·
#34 ·
#36 ·
Seriously looks amazing, so exciting. We're becoming a world class club, and stuff like this bodes extremely well for the future. This is good not just for City, but East Manchester, where the club is investing heavily in the community, sourcing local labour and material. Can't wait to be able to go to the youth matches so close. 7,000 is a good capacity to have, we'll get a fair few down. EDS was sold out against Barca, and is expecting similar attendances against L'OM and Celtic.
 
#37 ·
MANCHESTER CITY FOOTBALL CLUB HAVE SUBMITTED PLANNING APPLICATION FOR A PROPOSED YOUTH DEVELOPMENT AND FIRST TEAM TRAINING CENTRE.

The Club has today submitted a planning application following a six-week period of public consultation with local residents, fans and other interested parties, for a proposed youth development and first team Academy in the Openshaw West area of East Manchester.

The Club’s exhibition, which showcases the proposals and was a central component to the public consultation, attracted in excess of 7000 visitors online and in person and revealed a 97% approval rating from respondents. Opinions of the residents of East Manchester helped to shape the Club's planning application, the completion of which is expected towards the end of the year.

The proposed development of up to 80 acres of brown field land diagonally opposite to the Etihad Stadium and acquired by the Club over the past two years, would, should planning permission be granted, form part of the Etihad Campus as announced in early July this year.

The Club is pleased to release new visual images of the proposed facility, which form part of the application submitted to Manchester City Council and which are available for public viewing from today.

Key elements of the planning submission are as follows:

FOOTBALL DEVELOPMENT

Manchester City has entered a new phase in the long term strategy set out by the Club’s owner three years ago. At the heart of this strategy is the focus on the recruitment and development of young players and whilst the Club already has a strong pedigree of nurturing young talent, the limits of what can be achieved with the existing facilities has been reached.

A comprehensive study by the Club of more than 30 elite sports development centres around the world over the past two years, has provided the blueprint for the plans submitted today. The potential realisation of these plans, together with the Club’s Academy Development Plan - an 18-month research program into youth development best practice - would signify the single most important investment in the Club to date.

The building of such a facility and the roll out of the Academy Development Plan would not only provide the Club with a competitive edge in terms of recruitment of players of all ages, but would also more than meet the requirements for a grade 1 Academy as set out by the Premier League's new Elite Player Performance Plan.

All aspects of the Club’s youth development, first team training and operations functions would be brought into the one location in the heart of East Manchester and would include:

* A home for up to 400 young players who will train and study alongside senior players, with a clear development pathway to the first team
* One half size and 11 full size youth development pitches
* One half size and 4 full size first team pitches
* On site sleeping accommodation and classroom facility for 40 young players to allow them to train and study in a safe and secure environment
* A carefully planned first team building with changing rooms, gym, refectory and injury and rehab centre
* A 7,000 capacity stadium for youth matches
* Staff offices and a dedicated media centre
* A bridge linking the site to the Etihad Stadium and the rest of the Etihad Campus

REGENERATION - ECONOMY AND ENVIRONMENT

Subject to approval, the Club’s proposals would also build on the legacy of the Commonwealth Games in this priority area of the UK in terms of regeneration needs.

Around 160 construction jobs would be created during the project, 70% of them for local people. Permanent employment at a range of levels for up to 90 people is also likely with up to 80% of positions being made available for local residents. The Club is also committed to local sourcing of materials, equipment and services for the operation and construction of the proposed site.

The remediation of up to 80 acres of land alone would improve the local environment, which would be further enhanced by the planting several hundred new trees and almost a mile of yew and beech hedging around the perimeter of the site and all construction operations would be conducted under the highest possible environmental standards with low carbon, low water and low waste measures being employed to minimise impact on the environment and encourage local bio diversity.

Improved transport links - with the advent of two Metrolink tram stations due in 2012- together with the construction of a landmark pedestrian footbridge will bring further regenerative benefits to the area.

COMMUNITY

Manchester City Football Club’s strong commitment to its community began at its inception in 1880 and that commitment is still at the heart of the organisation. The award winning City in the Community scheme touches 200,000 lives a year, a figure which would rise significantly should the above proposals be endorsed.

The plans would enable the Club to widen its community reach, together with partners Etihad Airways, as it expands its programs around Football, Health and Activity, Community Cohesion and Skills and Enterprise.

The Club has already provided additional football facilities to be used by more than 10,000 local young people a year at the Football and Tennis Centre adjacent to the Etihad Campus and use of the proposed 7,000 capacity stadium and certain pitches on the site would increase that figure substantially.

Significantly, Manchester City Football Club has also dedicated up to 5.5 acres of the 80 acre site to further community use, which, led by Manchester City Council and reflecting local feedback, could include the building of an education facility and a Sports Institute.

Manchester City Football Club will also make a financial contribution towards proposed leisure facilities in the area which could include the creation of a swimming pool and potential future educational facilities.

Brian Marwood, Chief Football Operations Officer of Manchester City Football Club, said: “We are delighted that so many people have taken part in our public consultation, visiting the exhibition and responding so positively to our proposals.

"The feedback we have received points to a wide recognition by both local residents and fans of the significant regenerative and economic benefits of these proposals for the East Manchester area , which should not be underestimated.

"It is important to also make clear that the development and recruitment of youth talent is at the heart of our long term strategy of building a successful and sustainable football club for the future. The opportunity to build a world class facility supported by a well researched youth development plan would be a significant step in the realisation of that strategy.”

Sir Richard Leese, leader of Manchester City Council, said: "The Etihad Stadium and Campus are at the heart of the regeneration of the wider East Manchester area and these plans will help accelerate that positive transformation.

"We welcome the principle of this proposed development which reflects not only the needs and priorities of the football club, but recognises and reflects the community's priorities too. It's another welcome demonstration of the club's commitment to the area and a boost for East Manchester and the city as a whole.

"This would not just be about creating another world-class sporting facility in the area, it will also create jobs and other opportunities for local residents. It's one of the earliest manifestations of how the partnership between Manchester City Football Club, the Council and New East Manchester will deliver significant community and economic benefits in the years ahead.

"It is also very significant that the club are setting aside land for community use. This will enable us to bring forward complementary proposals for additional community facilities which could include a new swimming pool and leisure hub."

The planning application can now be viewed online at Manchester City Council’s website or at the Council offices. The Club’s consultation exhibition with updated information and imagery reflecting the planning application is open to visitors Monday to Saturday 9am - 5.30pm, Sunday and Bank Holidays, 11am - 5pm (closed match days).
 
#39 ·
Just got back from EDS match against Celtic. We lost 4-2 on a wet and windy night. Looks like some of our foreign lads didn't really fancy it to be honest. We attacked quite well but were woeful at defending. Only Rekik looked decent, and he was at fault for their first goal alongside Gunn in goal. Roman was useless, and would not track back on the right hand side of the pitch, exposing the full-back. Sellars got it wrong in replacing the right back rather than Roman. We're now out after losing three in three, we cannot finish in the top 2. Very disappointing, hardly bodes well for the future.
 
#40 ·
How is Elabdellaoui rated?

seems to be on his way to Feyenoord on a one year loan deal
 
#41 ·
Seems to be doing pretty well in EDS and his matches on loan at Stromsgodset. The fact that he's gone on loan to what is a decent side suggests we have hope for him. Can't wait to see Guidetti next season.
 
#45 ·
Can't wait to see Guidetti next season.
You really expecting to see him play at any capacity? When I talked about him with some friends two weeks ago I said that he will stay with you and his career will start its gradual downfall. Because it will be a season were he don't play anything. then he will be loaned to some team that don't fit him and we got ourself another Bojan Djordic.

IMO, best for him would have been to stay another year in Feyenoord.
 
#42 ·
Guidetti to be given playing time in the Carling Cup or do you expect him to be loaned out to Reading, West Ham or something like that?
 
#46 ·
There were times last year Johan that we only had Aguero fit, and he was suffering from playing twice a week. I'd say he will get game time. The fact that these days we play 2 up front a lot means we need 4 fit strikers. Currently thats Aguero, Dzeko, Balotelli and Tevez, but once one is injured it puts a burden on others. I think Guidetti will get games. Usually in the cups, but I reckon some league games too when the fixtures are coming thick and fast. Obviously he'll have to impress Mancini in training too though. MAncini isn't afraid to start a youth player if he feels it is right, look at Boyata in Mancini's first season.
 
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