I love the way you still think people are jealous, especially those at the top. Those who have been 'up there' as you put for many years with a history of trophies and being in major finals. I'm sure they are running scared.

And to say you would like to be 'up there' for ten years and then have it all go tiits up is just bizarre, i'll keep us where we are for many years and continue to develop and break into the big time when we are ready to sustain for a long time, not just dip in and then fall away, leeds esq.

Leeds did a City, thank you.

I know exactly where Dave is coming from. Supporting City is far more entertaining than supporting Everton. You lot have virtually worn in a groove in mid-table.

I'd rather feel "I would like us to avoid relegation this year" or "Hopefully we will get promoted this season" than "I really hope we cement our midtable slot this season"

No, I just didn't realise you were (or have have been) trying to be funny, and personally think you often talk diversionary rubbish bordering on propaganda rather than discuss issues involving Manchester City properly. LGJM was quite capable of responding seriously.



Would that be because many simply don't know his name? I've not heard of Al Fayed being anonymised.

And how about people referring to Mike Ashley's 'Geordie Mafia', or does that not fit with your 'poor ickle rich Man City owner' theory?

Everton in the past five seasons have recorded four top six finishes. Have been fifth the past two seasons and sixth the year before that not to mention breaking the top four monopoly in 05. Hardly a mid-table groove Dipsh!t.

I'd rather have that than have a shît like Peter Swales, who left us pretty much high and dry, having ripped off the club for years (we had no control over merchandise – no copyright on the badge, for instance; the club shop wasn't even a franchise ...)

And to echo what EE has said: on the basis of statements from the current owners, they're in it for at least 10 years (they've stated that this is a 10-year project), they're investing more in the academy and they're not taking the pîss on ticket prices (as I said previously, season tickets have fallen in price for 2009/10). For the moment at least, I feel as though the current management is making more of an effort to make me feel part of my club than any of their predecessors. That might seem strange, but it's little things like the banners on the stadium last season with every season ticket holder's name on them; the project to record fans' memories of their first City match etc.

Yes, it could go pear-shaped. We're City, after all. But at present, I feel optimistic in a way I have not for years – and pleased that we seem to be increasingly behaving professionally on and off the pitch.

Cockney mafia. And it was the geordies who were complaining about that so it was different.



I think that is partly the case, but it's still fairly puzzling that his name isn't well known when he's spent nearly 500m(?).

What a crock of poop, as Maca rightly points out below:



Add to that the round of 32 in UEFA Cup, a semi final of the league cup and an FA Cup final appearance too. And what have City actually done to make your season more entertaining than ours? finishing where last season? [/i]

Blues v blues nice to have abit of a change

That's one of the huge weaknesses when people try and argue for English ownership. It's alright having English ownership when they are the unknown billionaires like at Arsenal, or the famous pools billionaires at Liverpool, but they were few and far between.

I liked Ken Bates. Still do TBH. But there was far more question marks surrounding Ken Bates than there are over Abramovich.

Just a short list of some magnificent English owners - Swales, Bates, Ashley, Frannie Lee, that fool at Crystal Palace, Ridsdale. Of course anyone is going to be delighted when a Russian or Arab billionaire comes in when that's the level of English owners they've been used to.

Everton have had 5 years of solid achievement. They are the top team when discounting the top 4.

But TBH there is something boring about that. The prospect of you actually cracking the top 4 looks very slim. Even when you went a goal up in the first minute of the FA Cup final, it never looked likely that you'd actually win it.

Citeh are actually interesting. There's a huge question over whether they will be successful, at what cost, or whether they will crash and burn in a hilarious fashion. United, Liverpool and Chelsea will be looking at Citeh and thinking, "Come on then, show us what you can do" in a way that they simply won't with Everton.