Cook speaks

The first noise for some time from our CEO. He seems to be making fewer public pronouncements since the failed Kaká deal:

"There was a buzz about the place when we played Arsenal. Everybody's expectations were high but we got disjointed a little bit," Cook told The National.

"We lost Adebayor for a little bit and then international games broke our momentum up.

"Since then we have had a couple of games where we thought we could have probably come away with a better result but that is the way it works."

As ever with these things, the interest is not so much in the comments themselves (there is nothing here to disagree with) but in their existence. It is generally a surprise to hear people from the non-football side of the club talking about football issues. But when compared to the public spats between Shinawatra and Eriksson this is nothing to worry about.

Ireland sides with Hughes over Elano

The most interesting thing to come out of the Abu Dhabi tour so far - Stephen Ireland has been talking about the mood in the camp last year, and how Elano failed to get behind Mark Hughes' changes:

"He [Hughes] had it tough," Ireland recalls. "Some players didn't want to be there. Some players just didn't want to buy into it. Elano and Jô, they didn't want to put in the extra effort and it wasn't like it was that hard. It wasn't like you were being run like a dog, just that it was more professional and more based on team spirit, and these players didn't want to get into that stuff."

Elano was subsequently sold to Galatasaray. "Under Sven, Elano got away with anything," Ireland continues. "It was Elano's world, to be honest. The gaffer came in and there were massive changes, and Elano couldn't adjust. He's a great guy, a nice guy, I got on great with him, and he's a very talented player, but he could have added a lot more to his game and been a lot better than what he is."

I appreciate that over the year I've done this subject to death. Just the other week I wrote about Hughes' comments on the issue. Just to recap, I side with Hughes entirely on these issues. The Brazilian clique were disgraceful last season in their attitude, and Hughes was right to rout them as he did. His personal battle with Elano - the embodiment of all that Hughes perceived to be wrong with the Eriksson regime - was one of the key stories of 2008/09. Stephen Ireland, while relatively successful under Eriksson, embodied the key features of the Hughes mentalité (hard work, making the most of your talent, physical fitness, winning attitude) just as Elano did the same for Eriksson (occassional brilliance, lapses of laziness, unworldliness, individuality etc.)

So for Stephen Ireland to be as vocal and as public in support for Hughes over Elano is no real surprise. But this sort of public grievance-airing is unusual, at least in Garry Cook's professionally run MCFC. So it does offer an interesting insight into what things were like last season. And it gives steel reinforcement to my belief that Hughes was right to sell Elano.

More on Yaya

First we had Kolo - brother of Yaya - suggesting to the M.E.N. that Touré minor might just be interested in coming to City:

Asked if he would like to see City buy his brother, Kolo said: "I hope so. He is a good player, and if he could come to our team that would be great."

And he feels Yaya would jump at the chance to come to England: "He has had a few hard times in Barcelona. He doesn't play a lot, and he loves football and loves to play.

"If he can come, especially to a club in England, he would be really happy because the Premier League is a fantastic place to play football."

But then his agent Dmitri Seluk said that he most certainly would not:

"If Barcelona do not like Yaya there are eight clubs, the most important in the world, who are interested in signing him.

"If he leaves Barca, he will not go to Manchester City where, according to his brother Kolo, he would be welcomed with open arms. He would sign for a more important club."

I wrote about this the other day. I just can't foresee Barcelona letting us have Touré in January. Next summer we could have a decent chance. But if Hughes wants immediate reinforcements for the midfield then I think he will have to look elsewhere.

New deal with Etisalat

Another commercial benefit of our being owned by Sheikh Mansour: a deal with the UAE's main internet provider, Etisalat. Garry Cook is delighted:

“The profile of the club is already growing globally, and the ability to effectively expand this growth with tailored communications forms the core of our agreement with Etisalat,” he declared.

“This strategic opportunity allows us to connect to passionate football fans around the Middle East and African regions, providing customized Manchester City content through mobile communications channels.”

The higher our profile and our turnover the better, in a sense. A bit of a shame, though, that Etisalat bars access to all Israeli and 'anti-Islamic' websites (according to Wikipedia, I admit), and that it uses spyware on its customers BlackBerrys. But then if I was serious about moral objections to this sort of thing then I would have refused to watch them when owned by Shinawatra. Which, of course, I didn't.

More on Robinho

This is the story that just won't go away - Robinho's move to Barcelona. And it's still moving. This week's training camp in Abu Dhabi has seen high profile denials from Mark Hughes and Garry Cook. The manager said:

"I am quite clear and Robinho should be quite clear that his future is very much with City. There is no reason to think that will change any time soon. These stories do not originate from anyone from City."

All is not what it seems, though. Daniel Taylor has reported that behind the scenes Robinho is desperate to move to Barcelona, and that the City hierarchy are quite resigned to his doing so:

Fourteen months after breaking the English transfer record to join the club from Real Madrid, Robinho is now so unsettled he has informed his advisers he does not "want another day in Manchester". Mark Hughes, the City manager, described the revelation last night as "people making mischief" but, behind the scenes, he has known for a long time that Robinho is disaffected and, grudgingly, the club have started the search for a possible replacement. Angel Di María of Benfica has been identified among the leading candidates and has a £27m buyout clause in his contract.

The question now seems to be when, rather than if, Robinho leaves. Hughes is keen not to lose such a talented player in the middle of the season but, if the Brazilian has his way, he will move at the earliest opportunity.

There's more, but we all know the fundamentals here: Robinho (and his wife, apparently) have not settled in the area, that he is attracted by what he sees as the more comfortable option at Barça, that Pep Guardiola wants a specialist left winger, and that the return to form and fitness of Martin Petrov and Craig Bellamy mean that Robinho is no longer the indispensable man.

None of this means that he will certainly leave in January, or even in the summer. But it is another step in that direction.

Hughes defends Bridge

After our left back was crucified by Alan Hansen on Match of the Day on Saturday evening:

"The pundits on Match of the Day just have an opportunity to nail individuals in the public domain," he said. "That process involves looking at incidents in games but not taking it as a whole. That's the role in life that they have decided to follow. There's a frustration, though, from our side when they don't go into particularly in-depth analysis. I'd question how many games they actually watch live, from the start to the conclusion of games. Everybody knows that's the case...

"Wayne is an experienced player who has won Premier League titles and been part of a Chelsea team at the top end," Hughes, right, said. "He understands what it's all about. At times individuals will make decisions that affect the team and sometimes you have to hold up your hand.But we're not going to do the same as the pundits because that's not what we're about. We look to analyse our mistakes and make sure, in future, we are better in similar situations. We won't single out individual players; that job is done by pundits."

Fair enough, I suppose. It's Hughes' job to defend our players in public. It's good for morale and part of the whole seige mentality that Hughes is keen to build. Hansen was right, though - Bridge was woeful on Saturday. And Lescott wasn't much better.

More Burnley reax

Ian Ladyman, Daily Mail

City’s problems are obvious. The two central defenders Hughes bought in the summer, Kolo Toure and Joleon Lescott, have not developed an understanding, while his full backs, especially Wayne Bridge, are struggling with their positional play.

City also lack a world-class defensive midfield player. If they had bought Javier Mascherano instead of Carlos Tevez then they would be a better team. City were undone against Burnley by familar failings in a terrific game.

Ian Herbert, The Independent

We will remember them. Manchester City did not have Richard Dunne in mind when they asked an officer from the Royal British Legion to read Laurence Binyon's verse before kick-off but that's how it transpired.

Dunne reluctantly left Manchester on 31 August – since when City have managed one clean sheet – and this contributed to a revisionist interpretation of his worth on Saturday. Dunne was the name City fans were murmuring at half-time and the one which, by 5.30pm, Stan Collymore was hollering to his listeners from a press box where those trying to compose some words of sense from this remarkable match longed for someone to flick a switch to turn him and his power supply off.

Mark Ogden, Daily Telegraph

This performance emphasised why Hughes was so determined to sign John Terry. For all his transfer dealings, he has yet to sign a player with Terry’s leadership qualities and drive. City do not possess a player with his fire and determination. There is no Roy Keane, Graeme Souness or Alan Shearer figure.

He might have assembled a dressing room of winners, players with Premier League and Champions League medals, but when the going gets tough, those players have been looking for somebody else to turn the tide in City’s favour.

James Ducker, The Times

A season that, to quote Hughes, started “like a house on fire” has gradually fallen limp, to the point where the manager and his players must feel as though they have been doused down with a rather large hose.

After winning their first four matches, City have managed a solitary victory in the seven league games since and if Liverpool beat Birmingham City at Anfield tonight, they will fall to seventh position, outside the minimum requirement of a top-six finish set by Khaldoon al-Mubarak, the chairman.

Jeremy Alexander, The Guardian

As a result Burnley, who had no intention of settling for crumbs, swiped the caviar and foie gras while City were waiting to be served. The service was slack from Stephen Ireland, recalled for Nigel de Jong in a formation so wide and attacking that it was nearly 4-2-4. Before Fletcher rolled in Eagles' cross there was a penalty in the wake of Shay Given's save at Birmingham last week. Then Given had stood off-centre, inviting James McFadden to go to the side he would then commit himself to. Graham Alexander took his sequence of success to 28, going the other way.

Times: City move for Di María

A new transfer rumour in the Sunday Times: City are set to move for Benfica's 21 year old Argentine winger Ángel Di María, should Robinho leave:

Benfica president Luis Filipe Vieira met City officials in Liverpool on Thursday before his club’s Europa League victory over Everton. Though Benfica will resist selling Di Maria during a season in which they hold a realistic chance of regaining the Portuguese title for the first time in five years, they will encourage suitors in the summer. Di Maria, whose transfer rights are 20% owned by a third-party investment fund, is valued by the club at more than £27m. At 21, the player has established himself in Argentina’s World Cup squad, having scored an audacious winning goal in the final of the 2008 Olympic tournament.

It's certainly a new one, and quite a surprise. I've seen quite a bit of Di María over the last year or so and he doesn't look much like the sort of player Mark Hughes would go for. Just go through the main criteria he looks for in signing a player: experience - at the top end of the EPL, and of winning trophies, a winning mentality, athleticism, being at the peak of his game. Put simply, none of them are there with Di María.

He's clearly a prodigious talent: technically gifted, able to breeze past defenders, with a good shot and a taste for the unexpected. But that's not to say that he's anywhere near the finished article. If we have to replace Robinho with a big money left-winger we are surely more likely to go for a more developed player. The News of the World today claimed that we are in talks to sign Franck Ribéry. I can't see us getting Ribéry, but he certainly seems more like a more plausible target than Di María.

An interesting possibility, though, is that a potential move for Di María signals a move to a new transfer policy; focussing on the best of young talent rather than established stars. Ultimately, I think that the pressure to get as close to third or fourth as possible this year will mean that we stick with targeting established names. But it's a good story either way.

Burnley reax

Joe Lovejoy, The Observer

Hughes put a brave face on yet another disappointing result, praising his players for fighting back from a 2-0 deficit into a winning position and excusing the outcome by saying: "There are times when we look like what we are: a team trying to gel." The good Sheikh, however, may be less sanguine about a slip from fourth to sixth place in the table which, even at this early stage, must call into question City's prospects of turning European potential into solid achievement.

On this evidence, they are still very much a work in progress, fallible at the back and caught between two stools in midfield. Joleon Lescott's England credentials were damaged by indiscretions that led to Burnley's first two goals, while the return of Stephen Ireland, at the expense of Nigel de Jong, left the team unexpectedly vulnerable in the central crucible.

Ian Herbert, Independent on Sunday

Manchester City could scarcely have done more before yesterday's game to remember those who laid down everything in defence of these shores. What their manager wouldn't give for someone who will lay anything down in defence of his side's goal.

Laurence Binyon's For the Fallen was the verse they read before kick-off, a fair description of City's back four last night as they crouched on their haunches in the drizzle and winced. They can have no complaint that their ranks, with one win in seven in the Premier League after a fifth successive draw, met with muffled boos at the end; nor that Kevin McDonald's 87th-minute equaliser had denied them a win.

Jonathan Northcroft, Sunday Times

Mark Hughes and his players were jeered when Stuart Attwell, who had a difficult game as referee, trilled the final whistle. When Hughes used a few oil drums of Sheikh Mansour’s vast stash to lavish £110m on new players over the summer, more was anticipated than home struggles versus Burnley. The fact the visiting team were vibrant, skilled and indomitable — virtues that are coming to characterise Owen Coyle’s brand of football — was irrelevant to City’s followers. All they know is their club have drawn five league games in a row and are not going to get into Europe, never mind the Champions League, like this.

Mark Ogden, Sunday Telegraph

“We’re 11 games into the season and we’ve done OK, no better than that,” Hughes said. “I warned everybody at the start of the season, there will be times when we look like what we are, which is a team trying to gel, and at other times an outstanding side.”

Both of City’s faces were on display, the former more than the latter. Having come back from 2-0 down to lead the game, City should have run out convincing winners as they poured forward in the second half, Craig Bellamy to the fore. But instead of settling things, they conceded a late equaliser that means they have taken just eight points in seven games.

Joe Bernstein, Mail on Sunday

A lot of fingers will be pointed at Lescott, who has looked unsettled following his acrimonious £24m departure from Everton. Yesterday, he gave away a penalty with a needless handball and then went to sleep when thinking that the game was almost won.

'I don't think Joleon was at fault for every goal. It's a collective thing,' said Hughes.

But you know next week in the Gulf he will be asking about the possibility of signing another couple of defenders. Whether he will be entrusted with the money - the back five City put out yesterday cost £70m - is another matter.

Burnley player ratings

Given How he must despair of scenes like those. Why exactly did he leave Newcastle? Blameless for all three of the goals. Clearly frustrated at bad marking both from open and set plays. 7

Zabaleta A peculiarly inconsistent performance. Looked as poor as most in the first half but improved after half time. For all I say about his crossing he had ten or so good opportunities to deliver and made nothing of them. 6

Touré No individual errors but as captain and centre-half he has to wear some of the blame for the collective mistakes. Carried the ball from the back as calmly ever and took his goal well. 7

Lescott Strange decision to raise hands conceded an early penalty, and he never fully recovered his poise. Let David Nugent through in stoppage time - I would not have enjoyed a 4-3 defeat. 4

Bridge Very poor. A series of mistakes, leaving the rest of the defence under pressure. And a terrible mistake which led to MacDonald's late equaliser. Sylvinho can't be far from a start. 4

SWP His best game in some time: got past Stephen Jordan repeatedly and his delivery was much better than at St Andrew's last Sunday. Set up Craig Bellamy and with better performance from the strikers would have set up more. Helped out with a big deflection for his goal. 7

Ireland Terrible in the first half but grew into the game later on. But did not provide the control we would have had with Nigel de Jong starting and did not exactly make up for it with his invention. It would be a surprise if he were to start at Anfield. 7

Barry Out of sorts for a few matches and he was poor today. Failed to impose himself on Graham Alexander and André Bikey. We could have done with both his control and invention at different points. 5

Bellamy Tireless running down the left, repeatedly getting past the full-back and cutting inside. Took his goal well, and continued to bother the defence when moved central for the last twenty minutes. 7

Tévez The same as recent games: endless running, dogged strength and hold-up play - but poor finishing when it mattered. Had two chances at 3-2 - one from a cut back from the right, one half volley from two yards out - which a £47m striker really ought to score. At this rate he's not going to get ten in the Premier League. 6

Adebayor Came back from injury to replace Santa Cruz but did not look fully fit himself: drifted out of the game and did not trouble the defence as much as he ought. We could do with his sitting out of Togo's crunch international against Gabon on Saturday. 5

Subs

Petrov Tried out both flanks, almost set up Adebayor and had a good shot on goal himself. 6