Six blues play in England win

Records were broken last night, as at one point six MCFC players were on the pitch in England's 3-1 win over Switzerland in Basle.

Four started, Adam Johnson came on in the first half - and when Shaun Wright-Phillips replaced Wayne Rooney with 11 minutes left there were more City players on the England team than those that weren't. It's certainly something worth reflecting on. It's one of the best examples yet of the near-unique richness and depth of our squad. It also shows, I think, how low the bar is of England squad entry: simply having a contract with a top half Premier League side seems to be enough. Although not, for some reason, for Tom Huddlestone.

The four starters were Joe Hart, James Milner and Gareth Barry - who started against Bulgaria - and then Joleon Lescott, replacing Michael Dawson. Lescott was a surprise. Not only because it was Gary Cahill who came on last Friday, but because Lescott had not started a competitive game at centre-back since March 14. He did well enough on his return to the side, winning a few important headers.

In the midfield, Barry and Milner both had good games. This was England's best midfield performance for at least one year, and the passing and movement was crisp and imaginative. Barry did particularly well cleaning up in front of the back four (so much so that I think he could perform Nigel de Jong's role successfully), and Milner played intelligently - staying wide when necessary but sometimes coming inside to help out.

The headlines, though, are Adam Johnson's, again. He came on early in the first half for the injured Theo Walcott, again playing off the right. With his first touch he darted down Reto Ziegler's outside, and crossed low with his right to Jermain Defoe. Johnson is open to accusations of predictability and so his having this Plan B to call upon is of immense value. Soon later he shot just over from distance, but his goal was to come in the second half.

England were counter-attacking and he drifted inside, ran off one of the centre backs and was found by Steven Gerrard's through ball. Facing down the 'keeper, he swerved left, took the ball past him and finished into an empty net. Two competitive international appearances - both off the bench - and two goals.

Joe Hart could not replicate his Friday night heroics, letting in a swerving shot from Xherdan Shaqiri and making two or three uncharacteristic handling errors. He was better, though, than Shaun Wright-Phillips who was twice in dream positions behind the left back but sent two woeful final balls across.

Hart stars and AJ scores in England win

A big night for Manchester City players at Wembley. Joe Hart, James Milner and Gareth Barry all started, while Adam Johnson came on and scored a late goal.

Hart was the most impressive of the four. While England were much the better save, Hart had to make key reaction saves from Stanislav Angelov, Dimitar Rangelov and Glen Johnson to preserve his clean sheet. He also dominated his area and made no terrible mistakes, which might sound unremarkable but is in fact a novel approach for an England goalkeeper.

Milner and Barry were both strong and solid in midfield (Barry's perfectly judged cynical foul on the edge of our box, unpunished, was a beautiful example of his ability with the dark arts), but it was Johnson who scored. He came on for Theo Walcott, with twenty or so minutes left, playing from the right wing. And it was from one of those favoured positions of his that he scored, receiving the ball from Wayne Rooney, swerving inside and beating Nikolay Mihaylov - a little bit too easily - at his near post.

Valeri Bozhinov and Martin Petrov both started for Bulgaria, and I would certainly have applauded any achievements of theirs and written about how much they meant to me. But there was almost nothing to note there.

Barry, SWP out, Boateng through

England crashed out of the 2010 World Cup on Sunday with a 4-1 loss to Bloemfontein, with MCFC players on either side.

Gareth Barry started for England in his defensive midfield role. This placed him in opposition to Germany's star man and one-time City target Mesut Özil. Barry might have wanted to track him across the pitch but with Özil's imagination so lively, and with Germany having an extra man in midfield Barry spent much of the game having to choose whether to leave Özil or Bastian Schweinsteiger unmarked and untroubled.

And aside from the fact Germany were better throughout, Barry was unfortunately at fault for Germany's third and fourth goals. The third came when he gave it away in the opposition penalty area, setting up a counter-attack that ended with Thomas Müller scoring. And the game was over when Özil glided past Barry and round the back before setting up Müller. Barry could have brought Özil down and escaped with a yellow but he was too gentlemanly slow even to do that.

Jérôme Boateng started at left back in the absence of Holger Badstuber. He does not look like a natural left back but still did his job well. He's big, physically imposing and cuts off danger well. It was to his credit that James Milner was withdrawn for Joe Cole after 64 minutes. If we do not sign a more able specialist, it's quite possible Boateng will play left back at times next season.

There was more MCFC involvement: Shaun Wright-Phillips came on for Glen Johnson with three minutes left. He hit one cross straight to Manuel Neuer. England are out, but Boateng is through to the quarter-final.

Barry plays in England win

Gareth Barry played again yesterday as England moved into the last sixteen. Starting again as the deepest of a midfield four, he still did not look fully fit but made a few important interventions in front of our defence. His passing was good when looking wide but at times he tried something a bit too penetrative and conceded possession. Still a vital part of the side, though, he is sure to play in England's last sixteen game with Germany.

City legend David James was assured in goal, and City target James Milner played well down the right, putting the cross in for England's only goal.

Barry returns but England stumble

Gareth Barry made his desperately-anticipated return to the England team last night in Cape Town, but could do nothing to prevent England drifting to a disappointing 0-0 draw.

Playing just in front of the back four, Barry was excellent in the first half. He tracked runners from midfield, retained possession - allowing the full backs, Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard to get forward - and moved the ball forward quickly at times. He looked surprisingly comfortable. As it happened, no one playing in front of Barry managed to rise above the pathetic and so England put in their worst performance in years.

Barry should play against Slovenia, though it is unclear who will partner him in midfield.

England squad confirmed

The England squad has been confirmed and it contains three Manchester City players: Joe Hart, Gareth Barry and Shaun Wright-Phillips. This is historic. In two previous World Cups there had been two MCFC men in the squad: Colin Bell and Franny Lee in 1970, and Joe Corrigan and Trevor Francis in 1982. But never three.

This is testament, in Shaun Wright-Phillips case, to the success of our Academy - he is the first of its graduates to play for England (Micah Richards and Joey Barton have also done so), and the first to be included in an English World Cup squad. Joe Hart is not an Academy player, but he was bought from Shrewsbury Town for £600,000 aged 19 and so we did have some active role in his development. Barry, of course, we can claim no real credit for.

But this is still a historic moment, another marker of the upward progress of MCFC in the last two years. More news on more squads when it comes in.

Lescott out, Barry a doubt

Mixed news for two of our England World Cup hopefuls ahead of tomorrow night's game. Joleon Lescott won't play tomorrow, nor at the Boleyn Ground on Sunday - and as such his participation this summer must be unlikely.

Gareth Barry is training today and will have a fitness test tomorrow. But presumably he will be available for West Ham - he could well play alongside Vieira in a 4-5-1 if we only need a draw - and as such will go to the World Cup.

England squad prospects

As we get closer to the World Cup, the make-up of the elect 23 grows larger and larger in the public consciousness. David Beckham's Achilles snap has only heightened this. Rather than copying and pasting various City player's declarations that 'fourth is important to us' (I'll come back to that tomorrow) I think it's time to have a look at the City players with a shot at making Fabio Capello's final squad, and to attach relatively arbitrary percentage chances of their being included.

Gareth Barry

The lone certainty. Barry has played almost every game under Capello, who brought to England the doble pivote system which served him so well in previous jobs. The partnership of Barry and Frank Lampard is the foundation of the England side, breaking down opposition play and making it possible for Steven Gerrard and Wayne Rooney to perform further up the pitch. As we all know Barry's had a pretty patchy season in blue but Owen Hargreaves' injury makes him odds-on to keep his place in the side. Michael Carrick is improving but Barry's selection and assured performance against Egypt two weeks ago ensure he'll start at Rustenberg on June 12. Chance of making squad: 100%

Joe Hart

Of course he's been at Birmingham City all season but he's still ours - and may well be a full-time Manchester City player again come June. He has had an exceptional season at St. Andrew's - the best English goalkeeper this season by a distance. Were it not for the continuing mastery of Cesc Fàbregas he would be a certainty for the PFA Young Player of the Year - the first goalkeeper since Mervyn Day to win it. But recent evidence suggests that Capello is likely to prefer the experience of David James or Rob Green. This is fairly puzzling, but Hart's inclusion in the squad for the Egypt game suggests he's next in line. That, and Paul Robinson's month-long absence with a calf strain more or less confirm Hart's place on the plan. 90%

Joleon Lescott

Like Joe Hart, Lescott is currently behind an out-of-form West Ham player in the pecking order. Capello clearly rates Matthew Upson - partnering him alongside John Terry against Egypt - despite the humiliation visited on him by Nilmar in Qatar in November. But with long-term injuries to Phil Jagielka and Gary Cahill, Lescott seems to have a decent hold on fourth choice, ahead of Ryan Shawcross, Roger Johnson and Matthew Dawson. So if Lescott keeps up the form which won him the prestigious TLDORC Player of February gong he should keep his place - particularly given his ability to play left-back in a crisis. Of course, all it would take is an injury or a dip in form and Shawcross, Johnson or Dawson - all of whom have been better than Lescott over the course of the season - could steal in. But I reckon he's got a decent chance. 60%

Shaun Wright-Phillips

Shaun is the player I'd most like to make it, as the MCFC Academy graduate with the best chance. But I fear he will just miss out. The right wing position is famously competitive and even with David Beckham absent I think he's behind Aaron Lennon and a resurgent Theo Walcott in Capello's preferences. SWP has seen a lot of England gametime recently, and has a good scoring record, but deep down City fans know that he is not quite of international class. And if we've spotted this then I'm sure that Fabio Capello and Franco Baldini have. The one possible opening is if Aaron Lennon fails to recover from his muscle injury, in which case SWP could go as back-up to Walcott. But with Milner, Gerrard and possibly Joe Cole offering choices down the right it's not looking great for our Shaun. 40%

Adam Johnson

This is an interesting one. The combination of Beckham's injury and Johnson's audacious goal on Sunday afternoon led to some speculative press about the chances of AJ's inclusion on Monday. Capello is known to be fan of his and he would offer something slightly different. Being one of the two quick English left footers helps, given that we have a tradition of playing right footers - Paul Scholes, Joe Cole and Steven Gerrard out there. And while Steward Downing has his own admirable qualities, Johnson has a bit more pace and a bit more magic than his former Middlesbrough team-mate. He's nowhere near the finished product, and was noticeably quiet against Liverpool and Chelsea recently - but stranger things have happened than his inclusion. 20%

Micah Richards

This is a disappointment. Four years ago it looked very likely that Richards would make this plane - and many other such planes in the future - but we all know that it hasn't quite happened for him. He's had a good season, better than last year certainly, but he still does not have total ownership of the right-back slot, and the failings Capello is so critical of have not been entirely expunged. Now that Glen Johnson is fit, and with Wes Brown as a solid understudy it would take at least one injury for Micah to muscle his way onboard. And with James Milner fancied as a right back even that is not assured. But he's still 21 - there will be more chances in future. 5%

Our shot at fourth

We're just four days away from what feels like an endless and borderless fifteen day break, and so focus is returning to the one relevant question in our season: can we come fourth?

Nigel de Jong thinks so:

"(We have a) good chance, I mean Liverpool lost yesterday so it's going to be a tight race at the end.

"Everybody goes for fourth place of course but I think we can do it.

"We've got one game in hand (over Spurs), we've got a couple of good games against our opponents as well at home so you've just got to try to keep going and focusing, try to get those three points in every game and we'll see where we end (up)."

While Gareth Barry pointed out that ruthlesness against the lesser teams is going to be as important as those definitive home ties with Spurs and Villa left to come:

"Three points are massive in the Premier League and we need to keep collecting them," said Barry.

"I'm not sure why we haven't done it against lesser teams.

"Earlier in the season, we had a slump where we failed to win four or five games in a row which we should have won.

"Hopefully, we can put that right before the end of the season, which is the vital part."

This is absolutely right. Looking through our remaining fixtures, it's very clear that Spurs and Villa at home are the biggest games. But given that this is a four-horse race, and that only the narrowest of margins separate the contenders at this point, every match and every point is crucial. Sunderland away, Fulham away, Burnley away, and West Ham away are just as winnable, and just as valuable as our big name home ties.

And are we going to do it? I honestly don't know. It's unlikely - even if we're favourites we've still probably got at best a 35% chance of doing so, as the odds will show. To be very frank, I find it hard to form rational opinions on this sort of thing. Years of supporting City have conditioned me against it. There are lots of attractive elements to the DNA of Manchester City but triumphs and ruthlesness aren't exactly in the mix - if you want dramatic victories from the jaws of defeat on a regular basis there's another Manchester club who will regularly provide it for you. My prediction? We'll go 2-0 down at on the final day, but pull it back to 2-2. We'll think 2-2 is enough for success, based on results elsewhere, and take the ball into the corner flag. Everyone in the ground will know it's not. But word won't get onto the pitch in time, and we won't get that winning goal.

If you don't want neurotic and fatalistic predictions check out Norfstander's vox pops on this issue.

Momentum

In comments below Gareth Barry said that the controversy surrounding Wayne Bridge's private life has 'helped galvanise the club', and that after winning so well at Stamford Bridge we are 'set up nicely now to finish the season strongly.'

He could well be right. With the four contenders for fourth bunched as tightly as they are, it is the team that generates the most momentum that will take the prize, as differences in starting position are essentially moot. And momentum is what we have so obviously missed, ever since that confidence-draining Carling Cup exit.

But our win on Saturday - our goal at Stamford Bridge since 2000, our first league win there since 1983, Chelsea's first home league defeat since November 2008, their third since February 2004 etc etc etc - is the sort of moment on which seasons can change. It really feels as if the points were switched on Saturday and the MCFC wagon is now heading in a different direction.

This raises the question, though, whether a two week break is good for us now. Could the momentum dissipate between now and Mother's Day? Carlos Tévez could get injured on international duty, as could Joleon Lescott, Shay Given, Nigel de Jong or Vincent Kompany. There could be more damaging speculation over the security of Mancini's hold on the job. Alternatively, two weeks of training could see the current optimism incubate and develop, ready to explode on Sunderland in two weeks.

It could go either way. I guess we'll find out thirteen days from now. But for now things are looking up - as good as they were since, well, the last time we pulled out a heroic team performance to beat Chelsea.

Barry's press conference

A few interesting points to come out of Gareth Barry's speaking to the Monday papers after the game.

First this on Bridge:

‘Being the person Wayne is, he didn’t want to rub anything in,’ said team-mate Gareth Barry. ‘He kept his emotions to himself and his performance was brilliant.

'He kept his cool and played a great game. A lot of people felt sorry for Wayne and we’ve all got behind him. It’s helped galvanise the club.’

This on Tévez:

“I think he’s in the Wayne Rooney and Didier Drogba bracket,” Barry said of his team-mate. “He’s got all the potential. His goals this season and the way he has lead the line on his own have been brilliant.”

This on Bellamy:

“Everyone knows there was a little argument between Craig and the manager,” he said.

“They are both winners and both want it their way and that is maybe good for the team. The talk of unrest has got blown out of proportion. If Craig is arguing with someone around the club it’s normal. Just because it was with the manager it probably got blown out of proportion.”

This on momentum:

“I think we got under Chelsea’s skin,” Barry said. “Once they went 2-1 down and to ten men, they were always going to be chasing the game and that’s when you can lose your head, so it was important we stayed strong. Ballack made a tackle he probably normally wouldn’t make.

“We looked at that [Chelsea’s possible susceptibility out wide] before the game, the space that is created in front of the full backs and behind sometimes, because their midfield play very narrow.

“We’ll only have ourselves to blame if we can’t come off the back of a result like this and go into the next games with confidence, but it’s set up nicely now to finish the season strongly.”

If Barry can play like he did in the second half for the rest of the season we've got a decent shot at fourth.

'We must play better'

Roberto Mancini knows that while our league position is good, our form is not and that if we do not improve significantly we will not make fourth place. This is what he said about yesterday's performance:

“In the first half the ball was in the air most of the time and it was difficult for us to play. We had to fight, it was the only way to play. We were better after the break, but when it was 11 v 10 we should have created more chances. We should have got it down the channels for Shaun or Adam, but too often we played it down the middle.

“I made a change by bringing Shaun on and pushing Gareth to left back, but we should have been more aggressive to try to win the game. We were too quiet at times and we had some good chances to win this game."

Given the quality we have in wide areas it is becoming a frustration how slowly we move the ball out wide. This is meant to be Gareth Barry's greatest asset, and when he's on top of his game (first half against Bolton, first half against Stoke at home) we've looked lively in this area. But when he is under pressure, when he is weighed down by a certain World Cup winning passenger in our midfield he struggles and the team fail to create opportunities.

Of course, moving the ball quickly into space is one of Stephen Ireland's fortés but we all know how he struggles to play in 4-4-2, and how out of form he is. One of the key battles on Sunday will be the attempts of Javier Mascherano and Lucas Leiva to prevent Gareth Barry from setting Adam Johnson up against Emiliano Insua. It's clear now that Mancini has no interest in resting Gareth Barry, and so getting the best out of him becomes a priority. And I don't see what role Patrick Vieira has in any solution to this problem.

Mancini on Vieira

The manager clearly expects big things from his first signing:

'I know Patrick wants to go to the World Cup and for this reason alone I feel he can be very important for us over the next three or four months. He is a big player, both on the pitch and in the mind.

'We lost two games recently, against Everton and Manchester United. They were both very different games and at Everton I felt we were tired.

'But Patrick is so experienced maybe we would not have lost those games if he had been in the team.'

I think this Saturday he will come in for Gareth Barry, who clearly needs some time out of the side. But his long-term role? I don't know.

The captaincy

With the return to England of Kolo Touré, and the return to fitness of Patrick Vieira, we're set for a period of speculation over our captaincy. Shay Given has been standing in recently, and has done well. Well enough to keep the armband even when Touré's back, probably. But I wouldn't give it to either. We're still early enough into the Mancini era for him to make grand gestures of imposing himself on the club, and the re-allocation of the captaincy is the perfect means to do this. And there is one outstanding candidate: Nigel de Jong.

I don't think there can be much doubting that Kolo Touré has been a poor captain. He's quiet, diffident and doesn't lead by example. I don't think Mark Hughes ever really wanted him as captain. The plan was for Gareth Barry to take over from Richard Dunne in the role. He had done it for years at Aston Villa. But I think Hughes was underwhelmed by Barry's leadership qualities when he arrived. Like che is quiet on the pitch. He has also has a frustrating habit of hiding in big games. Hughes saw this - and was right to - but erred in giving the armband to Touré ahead of Given, de Jong or Craig Bellamy.

Five months on, Mancini has a chance to correct Hughes' mistake. He might well stick with Given if he does not reinstate Touré. And Given hasn't done a bad job. But I do think we have one exceptional candidate in the ranks. Nigel de Jong is consistent. He plays every game - starting every match under Mancini so far. He is a leader on the pitch: brave, vocal and determined. He tackles like a tank but still hasn't got sent off yet for City. He sets an example. He's tactically disciplined. He tends to play with all but Given and the centre-backs ahead of him on the pitch - if something is going wrong he tends to know about it. In short, like the best of captains, he plays with his heart and with his head.

I don't think that this is a blazing priority, and I don't even think that the success of our season depends upon it. But I do think that Nigel de Jong would be an excellent captain of Manchester City. Certainly better than the current incumbent.

Midfielders overworked

Gareth Barry could do with a rest. That much is clear from Saturday - although it has been suggested for a while. Barry has already started 24 games so far this season. Compare that to Manchester United's central midfielders: Michael Carrick 20, Darren Fletcher 19, Anderson 17, Paul Scholes 16, Ryan Giggs 13 and Darron Gibson 8. (Nigel de Jong has started 18, Stephen Ireland 16.)

This is why we need Patrick Vieira fit as quickly as possible - although the manager says that this is still a few games away:

“It is better for us, and for him, that he [Vieira] can go and be ready in a week or 10 days,” he said.

“It is better that we do not take risks in this situation. I would like it that when Patrick does come back he can play until the end of the season.”

Of course, the squad is full of midfielders. But Stephen Ireland has struggled for form and fitness all season, Vincent Kompany is currently needed at centre-back, and Michael Johnson will seemingly miss most of 2010 with a knee ligament injury.

So Barry's going to have to struggle on for a while yet. Him and de Jong will have to play at Eastlands tomorrow night. At Glanford Park on Sunday I would like to see something makeshift - how does an Ireland/Zabaleta combination sound, providing we can play Richards at right-back with an all Belgian centre-back pairing? Or another arrangement of the same players: Kompany and Ireland in midfield, with a Garrido/Boyata/Richards/Zabaleta back four.

If Vieira is fit in ten days he should be able to play in the home game against Portsmouth on Sunday 31st. But we will need Vieira and Ireland available to lighten Barry and de Jongs' workload in February - we already have five games within 21 days and if we win at Scunthorpe it will be six.

Barry's role

One of the main features of the Mancini era to date has been the return of a degree of tactical discipline. We were famously cavalier under Hughes, and our poor defensive record could be just as attributable to our throwing bodies forward as to individual defensive errors. The change of emphasis from Roberto Mancini is seen here in the changing role of Gareth Barry. At White Hart Lane - the last game before the board decided to sack Hughes - Gareth Barry made most of his passes in Spurs' half, but in drifting forward he made us too easy to break down. At Molineux, though, with the exception of one or two forays down the left, Barry has stuck closer to Nigel de Jong and made us harder to break down.


by Guardian Chalkboards

Barry: players 'at each other's throats'

An interesting insight from Gareth Barry:

"Nobody likes to lose 3-0," he added. "There was a lot of hurt in there. The lads were really at each other's throats because we want to put things right.

"There was nothing malicious in there, but we're desperate to put things right, and we hope that will come.

"It's important we move on from a frustrating period. We hope we can have a better spell now with the three games close together over Christmas.

Rather this sort of tension and discord than the infamous laughing that followed the 8-1 at the Riverside eighteen months ago. Apparently a similar atmosphere followed the 1-1 draw with Hull City, and led to the seasons-best performances against Arsenal and Chelsea. The frustrating thing is that any momentum gained from those wins has been frittered away after one of the worst team displays in recent years. We're suddenly suffering from momentum deficit disorder all over again. Is this a cycle we have to go through all season? Pathetic surrender, angry reaction from players, two good performances, and then pathetic surrender all over again? Even by the standards of Manchester City FC this would be a frustrating and self-defeating way to conduct ourselves. At least it would be predictable though.

There is an interesting question over which players were at whose throats - presumably there were accused and accusers in the dressing room rather than an equal, mutual arrangement. If I had to guess I would say that Shay Given, Nigel de Jong and maybe Gareth Barry were accusers, with Emmanuel Adebayor and Robinho on the receiving end. But this is essentially based on which players I do and don't like. But in an ideal situation wouldn't you want the club captain to be unapologetic in his condemning of the main underachiever - Adebayor. But we know that they are as close as brothers. Whether this stands in the way of Touré successfully doing his job as captain I just don't know. But it might. Just think what Bryan Robson/John Terry/Roy Keane/Tony Adams would have said to Adebayor after Wednesday night. And then try to imagine Touré dishing out the same treatment. I can't.

Four City players play for England

Unprecedented scenes yesterday afternoon - as four of our very own blues wore the white of England in the 1-0 defeat to Brazil.

Gareth Barry was probably the least poor, followed by Wayne Bridge, and then Joleon Lescott and then Shaun Wright-Phillips. Barry remains the only blue sure to make the final squad.

The game was won by a Nilmar header from a laser-guided long pass by some guy called Elano. Apparently he plays in the Turkish league. Do you reckon we should try to sign him in January?

Barry speaks

An interview with Paul Hayward in today's Observer. He suggests that he is better suited to playing alongside Nigel de Jong than Stephen Ireland in central midfield (something which I am sure is true.):

"I'm never going to be seen as an attacking midfielder who's going to dribble past anyone, create untold chances and score lots of goals but going forward is something I've always enjoyed doing. It's something I've tried to push into my game, going up and down the pitch.

"In the first four games I played for City I was in there [central midfield] with Stephen Ireland, so I was seen as the more defensive player, but since Nigel [de Jong] has come in he's done a great job. Alongside him, I'm probably able to get forward more. With the attacking players we have here, the movement they have, it's great to be playing alongside them."

As good as Stephen Ireland is, the team looks much more balanced with de Jong alongside Barry in central midfield. This needn't see the long term exclusion of Ireland from the side; he could play wide right ahead of Shaun Wright-Phillips, or even behind a centre forward in a 4-2-3-1 set up. Barry also praised the team made:

"I certainly wasn't expecting people to be saying after two or three months: 'It looks like you've made the right decision'," Barry says. "The start's been a very positive one and that's helped me settle a lot quicker. I want to look back two or three years down the line and say I really made the right choice. As we stand here today it's been a fantastic start."

SWP scores for England

Fabio Capello played an experimental eleven against Belarus this evening, which meant that City stars Wayne Bridge and Shaun Wright-Phillips paired up down the left hand side. (Gareth Barry also played, but he's a regular now.) None were particularly impressive, Barry was the best of the three, breaking down play and firing passes all over the pitch. He got a pre-assist after three minutes, sliding through Gabriel Agbonlahor who crossed for Peter Crouch to put us 1-0 up.

It was Wright-Phillips, though, who got on the teamsheet scoresheet (thanks Dominic). Roughly half way through the second half a David Beckham corner broke to him on the edge of the box and he fired a long, low shot into the bottom corner. He had worked hard all evening but I am not sure that he did enough to convince Capello that he is a serious option for the left wing, given that Joe Cole and James Milner can both play there too.

We could see four City players in the World Cup squad: Barry, SWP, Bridge and Lescott. Not to mention Micah Richards. But the only one whose place is assured now is Barry. The others are all 50/50 shots or worse.