I nodded off after my tea as is my right as a man with a bus pass and had this surreal dream that Robson was Manager and Gary neville was his assistant.

At the first home game against WEst ham there were only away fans behind the goal in the stadium and Danny Mills was captain of City .

Imagine that.

you do not mess with Jack Reacher

You say it was a dream. Sounds more like a nightmare.

Yes, all right.. Christ Almighty! It's like walking down a corridor and answering the door in Nazi Germany!

I have started a 'Save Sven' facebook group.

This has been the most depressing football day ever.

Sacking Sven is clearly insane. I feel so sick I can't think of anything remotely constructive to say. Who's going to be the next manager? The likes of Mourinho wouldn't touch this job with a 10 foot barge pole. He left Chelski because of a meddling chairman.

I love City but this is really trying my patience and taking up far too much of my time- I'll get the sack at this rate....maybe I could be the next City manager....

the thing is if he does go it means a whole lot of rebuilding again and you know whoever it is ,is only gonna have 6 weeks to do it again and the 40 mil sven spent might as well have been thrown down the drain cuz players will leave and the new manager will want to build a side in his own image[/quote]

Svens spending was anything but a waste of cash - I think whoever comes in will have a solid backbone of a team to build on and if players do want to leave we will sell them for at least what we paid. 

The hardest thing to do is to get the players to want to come to City if they see us as a laughing stock or a club run by a fool.

C.T.I.D. (then some)

Sven is a genius. Sometimes, his tactics and his refusal to change them infuriate me, but I am a fan, I know nothing of the game compared to Him. Sometimes, when Sven refuses to blame officials or opposition players for incidents where they are clearly to blame, it really bugs me, but that is Svens patience, and that is a real quality of His. When Sven was England manager I was as guilty as the next man for taking in the media shite, and agreeing that He was a failure, and only in hindsight do I see His real quality, and His real benefit to the England team. Sometimes, Sven makes a bad signing or two, as we've seen, but the best managers in the world make signings that dont live up to hype or potential, even taggart.

We have had the best season in the top league since Peter Reid..... and we all know what happened in the years after he was sacked.

Getting rid of Sven is the worst decision Thaksin could make, and just underlines his lack of knowledge when it comes to football. What did he possibly expect from a first season from ANY manager, considering the previous season we had ? Where did he expect us to be? I'll tell you where we ARE:

Square fucking One. Only now we know what a twat we have as our owner.

______________________________________________________

Vote Paddy

The end of Eriksson's era

By Ian Hughes Manchester City owner Thaksin Shinawatra has brought an end to Sven-Goran Eriksson's reign as manager after one season, saying the Swede "is not the right man for the job". Eriksson has paid the price for City's stuttering form in the second half of the campaign, which has not quite matched their blistering opening half of the campaign. But their guaranteed ninth-place finish in the Premier League - their highest position in three years - is a far cry from the relegation battle they were involved in last season. And Eriksson might also feel aggrieved that he has achieved the first-year goal of Shinawatra's five-year plan only to find the goalposts have been moved. It is also clear that the 60-year-old has done much to restore hope to the fans, bring flair to the team and repair his own reputation which had been tarnished during his time with England. 606: DEBATE We might not agree with the exit of Sven but we must place our trust in Shinawatra DeportReturns There have been real highs in this campaign, including a league double over bitter rivals Manchester United - a unique achievement this season. But there have also been lows, with the 6-0 thrashing by Chelsea in October a particularly nasty memory for City fans, players, manager and owner alike. Overall it seems Eriksson has been a victim of his early success at the club. Would things be different had he instead suffered a slow start to his time at City and improved results over time? The reality is that the season started so promisingly as City sat on top of the table after the first three games this term, with the only 100% record in the top flight. And Eriksson's summer signings, which cost more than £45m, were proving an instant hit. At the mid-way point of the season, City were riding high in fifth place in the table. But as the season wore on, it was clear that not all the new players - some of whom Eriksson admitted he had only seen on video before buying them - would make the impact hoped of them. And in the last 18 matches, City have accumulated 21 points after five wins, six draws and seven defeats. Compare that to 34 points, from 10 wins and four draws, and only four defeats in the same period from the opening day. Shinawatra feels the second half of the season has become a missed opportunity to achieve more. Eriksson's team ran out of gas, as demonstrated in Sunday's 3-2 defeat at home to relegation-threatened Fulham - a result that has proved too much for Shinawatra to bear. Some will question whether Eriksson spent his transfer funds wisely but few would argue that the success of Elano, Vedrun Corluka and Martin Petrov has not made up for the disappointments of Geovanni and Rolando Bianchi. Eriksson scored a hit with Petrov but a miss with Geovanni Yet there has been unrest in the camp, with Brazilian forward Elano recently complaining that he was being played out of position. Eriksson has also admitted he made mistakes during his tenure, including over-training his players around Christmas time. However, the Swede will leave City feeling he had been on the right track - and City's improvement this season is undeniable. Is Shinawatra simply being unrealistic in terms of his ambitions and the timescale for achieving them? Regardless, his decision has been made and Portugal coach Luiz Felipe Scolari - Eriksson's nemesis at international level - is already being touted as a potential candidate to manage the club. Shinawatra is also thought to be ready to fund some big-name transfers, with Barcelona's Brazilian superstar Ronaldinho on his wish-list. But whoever arrives at the club, they can be sure that expectations are high and failure is not an option.

Feliz Año Neuvo

Sven's signings - hits or misses?

By Jon Barbuti During his one season at Eastlands, Sven Goran Eriksson spent more than £30m of owner Thaksin Shinawatra 's personal fortune, buying 10 players, including eight in pre-season. The tactic appeared to pay instant dividends as the City players, despite barely knowing each others' first names, won at Upton Park on the opening day of the season and then beat local rivals United. However, as the season drew on, some of the signings appeared to struggle as the intensity of a Premiership season took its toll and the likes of Sun Jihai, Michael Ball and Darius Vassell came in from the cold to take their places. So, dipping into Sven's mixed bag of signings, we run the rule over the 10 players who came to (or in one case merely passed through) Eastlands. ROLANDO BIANCHI Having decided that Georgios Samaras and Darius Vassell were unlikely to fire City into Europe, Eriksson made a centre forward his priority and quickly brought in Bianchi from Reggina for £8.8m. A former Italy under-21 international, Bianchi came with a proven pedigree having scored 18 times in Serie A the previous season. And he got his own and City's season off to the perfect start, scoring 18 minutes into his debut as the Blues won 2-0 at West Ham. However, that was to prove a false dawn and the Italian didn't score again in the league until almost four months later having fallen out of favour and seen his starting appearances severely restricted. Two more league goals followed, but then he went seven matches without scoring and found himself shipped out on loan to Lazio. VERDICT: MISS GEOVANNI A free signing, Brazilian midfielder Geovanni had a great pedigree, having once been an £11m signing for Barcelona. Like Bianchi, the 28-year-old got off to the perfect start by scoring in City's opening day win. When he followed that up with the only goal as City won August's Manchester derby, cult hero status seemed assured. And although it is unfair to judge him purely on his goal output, the fact that he followed up two in three with just one strike in his next 20 matches is perhaps indicitive of how his season faded after so promising a start. VERDICT: MISS ELANO In the heady days of August, with City playing attacking football and city rivals United slain, Elano was a blue god. Fanciful as it seems now, there was a real sense that the Brazilian playmaker might just manage to achieve the impossible and lead City into the Premiership's promised land of the top four. 606: DEBATE Sven's bedded a team of new, unknown players and got the best out of our youth and existing squad Sven4Primeminister But like so many City players, his form seemingly went on a downwards curve, though Eriksson's increasingly negative tactics - often brought on by lack of squad depth - hardly helped. Elano also admitted to struggling on the heavy winter pitches, but the advent of spring brought an upturn in form. He also showed his versatility by filling in and excelling at right back, a position he has played for Brazil, to help the Blues out of their defensive crisis. VERDICT: MORE HIT THAN MISS GELSON FERNANDES The young Swiss midfielder has played in both defence and midfield and is becoming an increasingly integral member of the squad. Already a full international, the 22-year-old has the potential to become a top quality Premiership player, but if a raft of new players were to arrive he could find himself squeezed out at City. Could perhaps do with slightly more composure on the ball, but in a midfield boasting the mercurial talents of Elano and Petrov his workrate is a key ingredient. VERDICT: HIT MARTIN PETROV A talented left winger, Petrov arrived from Athletico Madrid in a £4.7m deal. Having already established himself as a first team regular thanks to his passing and vision, Petrov showed his finishing quality with three goals in a week in late September. As the season has progressed, his defensive frailties have been exposed at times, but he remains one of the first names on the City teamsheet. VERDICT: HIT JAVIER GARRIDO Garrido, like City, has enjoyed a season of two distinct halves. Up until mid December he was a virtual regular at left back. But, in 2008, he has found himself playing second fiddle to former England international Michael Ball. However, Garrido was a relative snip at £1.5m and aged just 23 can be allowed time to settle into the Premiership, though he needs to learn to match attacking flair with defensive endeavour. VERDICT: HIT (JUST ABOUT) VEDRAN CORLUKA Like Garrido, Corluka has a bright future in front of him, but unlike the Spaniard there is no need to use the word 'qualified' in describing his success. Decent at centre back, excellent at right back, Corluka has been a key component in a City defence which has improved markedly from previous seasons' vintages. Already an experienced Croatian international, Corluka is what can best be described as solid. He doesn't score goals, he doesn't set up too many, but he can certainly tackle. VERDICT: HIT VALERI BOJINOV Bojinov might just have been the man who would have fired City into Europe - sadly we'll never know as his season was curtailed by injury after just three games. Aged 23 he has plenty of time in the future to show City fans his quality. VERDICT: IMPOSSIBLE TO JUDGE FELIPE CAICEDO The 19-year-old Ecuadorian striker is clearly one for the future having signed from Basle for £5.2m in January. To date he has only made brief substitute appearances, but has shown flashes of quality. However, he finds vying with academy product Daniel Sturridge for valuable first team experience. VERDICT: HIT. NO, MISS, ERR, HIT BENJANI Benjani very nearly didn't sign after reportedly falling asleep at the airport, missing his flight and subsequent medical. Fortunately for City, he has looked more awake on the pitch, with his derby winner at Old Trafford making him an instant fans' favourite. Had a slow start to life at Eastlands, but goals in his last two matches suggest he is finding his feet. A proven goalscorer in the Premiership, he should spearhead City's attack next season. VERDICT: A HIT (JUST ABOUT)

Feliz Año Neuvo