City 1 Fulham 1; and Hughes on the defensive (irony overload).

In a result that undoubtedly delighted lazy journalists, United fans (happy anniversary Blues, 35 years and we're still here) and residents of Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch, Mark Hughes FC held Manchester City to a 1-1 draw at Eastlands — in doing so picking up Fulham's eighth point in the last four meetings between the clubs at the CoMS.

Of course, we could talk about the match — such as how ineffective we looked without David Silva, how we actually looked more likely to score when a striker (Dzeko) was replaced with a midfielder (Uncle Pat), or how on earth I managed to miss a penalty from three yards yesterday — but people will not shut the fuck up about how good it was for Poor Old Hard Done-By Mark Hughes to get revenge against the three-DM-playing, job-stealing, poster child of negative football Roberto Mancini, as if he was the only manager in the history of football to be replaced before his contract had expired.

Having said that, a 'handshake' between Hughes and Mancini spoke volume of the disdain that they have for each other. Hughes is obviously aggrieved because Roberto took his job, Roberto unhappy that he was stuck with Roque Santa Cruz.

Hughes said of the 'snub': "I always think you should offer your hand in whatever circumstances, no matter how difficult it is.

"I did it and did it with sincerity after my team had been beaten 4-1 at Craven Cottage earlier in this season. I acknowledged his team were better.

"Maybe I misread it but I don't feel Roberto really acknowledged the efforts of my team and what we had done by the manner he offered his hand, by not looking at me."

Mancini rightly countered with the accusation Hughes had done exactly the same thing in November following one of City's best performances of the season.

"In London he did the same," said Mancini. "I know he said something but I couldn't understand what."For you it is may be the best thing in the match, for me, no. It is not important. He should be happy. His team got a draw against us."

Spot the difference?

In fact, Hughes was lucky to receive anything other than a bloody lip after the cheeky way he had a dig at Mancini and the club during the week, then having the hide to defend the job he did at Eastlands. Maybe if he spent more time worrying about defense on the pitch rather than off it, he'd still have a job at City...

"If you look at the City side now, I would suggest some of their main performers, and strongest, are the likes of Vincent Kompany, Nigel de Jong and Carlos Tevez. They've had a huge impact for City." he claimed. Obviously neglecting to mention the fact that Vincent Kompany wasn't a regular starter for Hughes, and has come to the fore this season playing exclusively at centre half. Or the fact that under Hughes, de Jong was a destroyer who passed sideways or backwards, but is now vital link between defence and attack.

He's got some nerve if he's claiming Tevez was his signing. He might have signed while Hughes was manager but that's about it.

If you spend several billion pounds on footballing talent, such as: Jo, Tal Ben Haim, Pablo Zabaleta, Shaun Wright-Phillips, Vincent Kompany, Glauber Berti, Robinho, Wayne Bridge, Nigel de Jong, Shay Given, Craig Bellamy, Gareth Barry, Roque Santa Cruz, Kolo Toure, Carlos Tevez, Emmanuel Adebayor, Joleon Lescott, and Sylvinho (enough players to make an entire match day squad and still leave out Jo) you'd expect one or two of them to be not all that bad, wouldn't you?

And he's doubly cheeky for suggesting that the reason those players he did sign, only underperformed because of the new manager.

"Along the way, some purchases haven't worked for whatever reasons, not really in terms of the ability those players have, but because of circumstances and the thinking of the management team and the coaches. And that happens when there's a change in management."

I'd take City under-performing our way to third place this season any day of the week, than what Hughes dished up under his tenure. Alas it seems that it's not only the managers who can't help but reopen old wounds.

Sydney Blues 5-a-side: Official team photo

We'll be posting match reports and videos shortly, but here's a look at the worst side to represent Manchester City since Stuart Pearce was manager...

[VID] Manchester Derby in Sydney

Here's a little taste of how we celebrated/commiserated Derby Day from the other side of the planet. Enjoy!

And of course, if you haven't done so already, please drop us a vote in the Etihad Coming Home competition so we can reprise these scenes at Eastlands!

[VID] Vansan Kompany v Manchester United: Player Performance

Thanks to the wonderful TheAntMcfc for taking the time to compile this bit of YouTube goodness, showing just about every touch Vincent Kompany made in the recent Manchester derby.

Apart from the unfortunate slip before that goal, Rooney was almost as deep in Kompany's pocket as he was that time with the grandmother...

Well done that man.

Six-Yard Shay to Retire?

Shay Given's City career — if not his football career — is in extreme jeopardy after re-injuring his troublesome shoulder.

Given damaged the joint carrying a bag of balls from the team coach to the training ground during the warm-up for the Ropey League clash against Aris last week. The most pressing concern is that the joint was apparently under no real stress at the time of dislocation.

Given is expected to have a third operation to cure the persistent dislocations, however there is a chance that it would severely limit mobility in the joint, and could mean that Given may have no option but to retire.

As someone who has had frequent shoulder concerns over the years myself, from experience, Shay will have trouble regaining the confidence to have absolute trust in the joint.

But it seems that either City, or Given, or both, knew that there has been trouble for a while.

At the start of the season, Shay was seemingly desperate for a move. Arsenal, Fulham, Newcastle, Celtic, and even Roma were all mooted as potential destinations for the ROI shot-stopper. However, none of these came to fruition, and Given would "fight for his place" until January, and pick up the odd game here or there.

Was this Shay Given's last contribution to the Premier League?

However, once the January window opened, things started to get cold (as they usually do when you leave a window open in winter I suppose). There was a suggestion that Given could drop down to the Championship to get games, but the most likely deal seemed to be an emergency loan to Blackpool (who only have the underwhelming Richard Kingson to choose from), but that didn't transpire either.

In the space of five months, Given has gone from being the hottest property on the transfer market, to a gamble only willing to be taken upon by a relegation-threatened team with one fit keeper. Something just doesn't add up.

Whilst there's no doubt that our current number one (or rather, twenty-five) is the best option we have at this moment in time (and for the next ten years to come), it would be grossly unfair for the career of a talented keeper to end on the back of three Ropey League and a Care-less Cup appearance this season.