Sydney Blues about to get a whole lot more MASSIVE...

I can't reveal details. But you will all find out in due course.

Portsmouth v Manchester City Live Screening Details

With the Portsmouth match kicking-off at the respectable time of 1:30pm (that being 10:30pm in Sydney), thought it might be a good idea to organise a screening at Cheers for this weekend too.

Due to the relatively short notice, and the fact that it's on a Sunday night, it's perfectly acceptable if you're not able to attend. But it would be fantastic if you did! If you can't make it to the city, the match is live on Fox Spors 3.

Hope to see you there, as we look to continue our perfect start to the season.

Sylvinho signs for City!

It's funny how the transfer market works sometimes. We have just spent the best part of two months arguing, bargaining, dealing, negotiating, and pleading with Everton for the services of Joleon Lescott. It has been a bitter feud played out in the media, thanks mainly to David Moyes' ramblings.

Then, you have transfers like that of Sylvinho from Barcelona. One day of speculation on Sky Sports, then bang — it's on the Official Site.

The 35-year-old left-back (yeah he's that old I'm afraid) has joined Manchester City from Barcelona on a free transfer. He has signed a one year deal, and will wear the number 16 shirt.

It is a strange deal, on the surface it's one that seems to go completely against City's current transfer policy. Hell at 35, and a free transfer, I'm surprised he didn't go to the Rags! But reading what Mark Hughes has to say on the matter, the deal suddenly makes more sense:

"Sylvinho has a wealth of experience at the very top level, having represented Brazil and played for some of the very top clubs in Europe," declared the boss.

"When the chance presented itself to bring him to Manchester City as a free agent I saw it as representing excellent business for us. Sylvinho won the European Cup last season at Barcelona and he will strengthen our defensive options."

If you overlook his age, he is the perfect Mark Hughes signing. He was a regular in the Brazilian squad. He has Premier League experience. He has won countless trophies. He has won the Champions League twice. He is a winner, and Hughes likes winners. You can't buy the experience that Sylvinho has... actually you can, and we just did...

He may well be another Glauber, and never play for us (those eight glorious minutes against Bolton aside). But as emergency cover for Wayne Bridge, it's hard to find reasons why this is a bad move.

Couple of changes to the Sydney Blues blog

Just giving you all a heads-up that there are a few changes I've made to the blog to hopefully make it a bit easier to navigate and keep it a little bit fresh.

• I've removed the 'Blue Roos On Tour' gallery for now, but that will be updated in time once we get some more pictures from you guys. If you are an Australian (or an ex-pat of course) and you've been to a Manchester City match, simply send a photo of yourself and we'll upload it!
• In its place, I've added a link for you to meet team here at the Sydney Blues. It has taken a lot of hard work by a select group of people to get the club to where it is today. Obviously the ADUG takeover has helped things considerably, but it's still been tough. So click here to read a little more about us.
• When starting the blog, I decided I wouldn't get drawn in to writing match reports and blow-by-blow accounts of the games. It's a waste of time doing something that is provided by hundreds of other websites and City blogs... and to be honest they do it much better anyway.
  As a result, "match reports" on this website simply consist of four key points I noticed from the match, and a rating from A to F of how we played. I will also include the goal scorers and a link to highlights.
• I will continually update the 2009 Fixtures page of the blog throughout the season, adding the scoreline and a link to the initial match report. So simply click here anytime to view all of this season's results.
  
• Commenting on posts is a bit of a ball-ache with Blogger unfortunately... I think you need a Google account, then you have to log in, then send us three forms of identification, and then maybe your post can be published... but you can reach us in plenty of other ways by looking under the 'Connect With Us' column.
• I've made a few cosmetic changes to the twitter to tie it in to the blog. We'll be using that service a lot more now, so you might like to follow us if you have it.
  

If you have any other suggestions as to how to improve the blog, let us know!

Khaldoon interview on the OS

In case you haven't seen it, it's well worth the watch. Click here to do so.

Pretty much nothing else to add to what everyone else has said: we are truly blessed to be in the safest, richest hands possible. Everything that Sheikh Mansour and Khaldoon have done for and with the club has been with us fans in mind — which is extremely rare considering the cultural and financial boundaries between the owners and the fans. Other clubs have somewhat rich owners, but they've never felt more alienated by the club (the Rags are a good case in point).

They are also men of their word. They said they would bring the big players in, they have done that. They have said that they would stick by Mark Hughes and he was the man for the job, even when flirting with relegation. They did that. They have said they are invested in Manchester City for the long haul... and there is no reason whatsoever to doubt that... we are the luckiest and most fortunate fans in the land and all the world.

Thank you, Sheikh Mansour!
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