Joleon Lescott on his way!

UPDATE 26/08: Lescott officially puts pen to paper and has signs a five-year deal.

After what seems like months of negotiations, it finally seems that we have got our man — Joleon Lescott will be a Manchester City player within days, according to the Official Site. It was rumoured that Lescott was actually at the Manchester City v Wolves match, and thankfully we were sent pictures to prove it...

This move has been inevitable for some time — once Lescott submitted a formal transfer request, there was only really going to be one outcome. Modern players may sign four and five year contracts regularly, but if they receive an offer from another club far superior to their current deal, there is little the club can do to prevent the move.

While David Moyes' continued resistance to the sale was admirable, the feud between himself and Lescott has only served to disrupt their opening to the season. It is no surprise that Everton now find themselves at the foot of the table, courtesy of defeats to Arsenal and Burnley.

It may not have been the shrewdest, or most secretly conducted bit of business Hughes has done, but we finally have our man. But at what cost? The fee of £24million is ridiculous quite frankly, even if we do have money to burn. Where does this leave our captain Richard Dunne? Or academy graduate Nedum Onuoha, who only recently signed a five-year contract?

Hughes most definitely has a problem on his hands. It's a good problem I suppose, to have too many players rather than too few... but it is a problem nonetheless.

Massive Sydney Blues Weekend Part II: 6-a-side

Six brave souls took part in the supporters club six-a-side tournament in Manly. City turned up looking very dodgy from the night before and we were outnumbered, heavily. United had at least 20 and Everton had 50.

Our first match was against Liverpool. Early into the match our Christmas tree/blob formation was penetrated and the score was 1-0 to the bad guys. City kept things light and in good humour and before we know it, equalised.

The best was yet to come as we netted a further two goals and eventually won 3-2. After this we sat down and assessed the day, there were serious thoughts of silverware.

These were quickly dashed when the Scotland side gave us a 2-0 wake up call. With results and a determined effort we were a chance at the semi finals and had turned a few heads with our eclectic play and mismatched shirts. We created a bit of a stir when we wandered around to the United camp with a ukelele and sang a couple of tunes, including one about a trip to Rome to see the Pope. Everyone seemed to enjoy us being there and we were certainly having a laugh.

The next match saw a couple of injuries and a 7-0 defeat at the hands of AstonVilla. It could have been more. Lots more.

Finally the day rested on our result against Celtic. They were an awful opponent with no respect for the spirit of the day, other people and the English language. We lost 3-1 and they qualified for the semis ahead of us.

Everton won the tournament overall and were deserved. They were a class above everyone, and good sports to boot!

Anyone who said they would play (Matt) and didn't should hang their head in shame. It was an awesome day and hopefully next time we have a few more supporters.

Thanks lads for a top night/morning/day!

What fine specimens...

Brendo bombs the Rag's photoshoot.

Massive Sydney Blues Weekend Part I: Blackburn v Manchester City

Manchester City started the season with a 2-0 victory over Blackburn Rovers, courtesy of goals to Emmanuel Adebayor and Stephen Ireland. Well that's the match report out of the way, now let's talk about our night!

Firstly, the attendance was fantastic. It seems every time we see at least one new face, and that's the way we have to grow. So to those to made their debut — I've already forgotten your names because I was kinda drunk — but thank you for coming nonetheless and hope to see you again soon.

Early on in the night we presented Gerard from Cheers with his shirt. He was so impressed by our gesture that he presented us $50 worth of beer vouchers in return, so many thanks to him for that. Assisted by the extra beverages, the night didn't wind up until well into the morning, as a few stayed back to take great pleasure in Arsenal tearing Everton a new one.

For those that missed it, the certificate said the following:

The Sydney Blues branch of the MCFC Supporters Club would like to present this 2009-10 City home shirt to Cheers Bar, as a small token of our appreciation.

The live screening of matches is an integral part of the Sydney Blues setup, and is only made possible thanks to the assistance of Cheers. So we would like to personally thank the management, bar staff, and security personnel for making us feel welcome each week and for tolerating our (occasional) rowdy behaviour.

We look forward to many more nights out at Cheers Bar this season and in the following years.

Here's a couple of the photos from the night — the rest can be found on Facebook.

The Burnley fan club (the Sydney Clarets?) make an appearance.

Gerard receives his shirt and nicely presented certificate of appreciation.

Pre-game schooners upstairs.

...and post game. A few people on struggle-street.

However, this was only half-time as far as the weekend was concerned. The boys had to back up the next morning for the Supporters Club Six-a-side Tournament... unfortunately, I missed out, but Brendo was there to comment on the day.

Thanks to everyone who made the trek to Cheers, and hopefully we can welcome even more new faces next match.

Manchester City v Blackburn Live Screening Update

Just a few things to go over before Saturday night's massive season opener.

The early kick-off is Chelsea v Hull at 9:45pm. Yeah I know, probably could have picked a better game to start, but if you want to see plenty of goals it should be quite entertaining. I'll most likely be there from 9:00 to play a couple of games of pool and to get a good spot, so feel free to drop by anytime from then.

There are six midnight kick-offs, however Blackburn v City is the main event! There's nothing worse than watching at a pub and the staff refuse to change the channel using the red button arrangement in case it will piss off the Rag fans watching. It's the default game on Fox Sports 3, and as a result the game will be shown in the downstairs amphitheatre, shown in the photo below.


I will also be accepting orders for both home and away kits his week, as I will be sending a few items back on Monday. So payment must be in by then. Alternatively, you can order and pay cash on the night if you prefer to do it that way.

So if you would like to order a kit, please do so on the Saturday for approximately $80 and leave your contact details if I don't have them already. I should warn however, no responsibility is taken by myself if this payment ends up in "Where's The Gold" instead...

Judging by the response the Facebook event has generated, it looks like there will be a few first-timers to Cheers on Saturday. If you like Manchester City, meeting new people, or singing and yelling at a television screen, you'll have a blast.

New website match-day experience.

For those part-timers who can't make it to screenings (I can think of one in particular...) or are unable to see the game on Foxtel, the official website will be ideal place to go, thanks to the Match Day Centre.

It features live text commentary, match stats, players stats, a preview from the manager, and a photo gallery. It was tested on the weekend during the Celtic friendly, and should be live for the Blackburn fixture.

Here's a sneak peek at what's in store:




So if you can't find any other way of keeping up with the action, try the Match Day Centre, either on its own, or to supplement the TV coverage.