Manchester City 1 – 0 Bolton Wanderers

The Premier League season finished on a bright note for the Blues, after an early Felipe Caicedo goal settled a decidedly lacklustre contest against Bolton. If ever there was a meaningless end of season encounter, then this was it as the visitors were depressingly poor, whilst City, who finish the campaign in tenth place, sixteen points off the relegation places that they briefly occupied around the Christmas period, rarely failed to get out of first gear, threatening sporadically.

There were a couple of more exciting moments, most notably the long awaited debut of Gláuber Leandro Honorato Berti, who, after making 20 unused substitute appearances, finally played in a City shirt, coming on for the final five minutes. His introduction received the loudest ovation of the afternoon, whilst his every touch, all seven of them, not forgetting a throw-in, was afforded the ever entertaining cheer of ‘Ole’! By my calculations, the Blues faithful have had to wait 267 days before seeing the man, the myth and the legend, but his introduction made the whole season worthwhile. There was also a promising cameo from another debutant, Slovakian youngster Vladimir Weiss, of whom there are high expectations for the future.

Bolton end the season in mid-table security, lying in a respectable thirteenth position, a place which I’m sure they would have accepted had it been offered to them before the campaign commenced. For the Blues, there were sporadic moments of brilliance, most notably from Robinho, and they ended this season with a sliver of history, becoming the first side since the mid 1960’s to go through an entire Premier League campaign without recording a home draw. City’s form at Eastlands has been excellent in general, recording thirteen victories, but it is their away form which has cost them dearly, having won just two matches on their travels.

Mark Hughes applauds the City fans for their support throughout the season

Team News

There was a surprise inclusion in the City line-up, with influential winger Shaun Wright-Phillips named in the side despite needing knee surgery which will keep him out for a while. Mark Hughes declared after the match that the medical instructions meant that SWP was allowed to play in this match and if he felt no reaction afterwards, then the operation could be avoided, so for England’s sake, it is hoped that SWP feels fit enough to partake in their crucial qualifying matches.

There was only one other change to the side whch was defeated by Tottenham in the previous match, with Robinho returning in place of Martin Petrov. There was no place on the pitch or on the bench for Brazilian maestro Elano, who was apparently injured, and it remains to be seen whether he has played his last game for the Blues. Thankfully, it looks like Swiss “footballer” Gelson Fernandes’s career in Manchester has finished, with no sign of the world’s most useless person at the stadium.

Bolton kept faith with the misfiring striker Johan Elmander, who, it turned out, was an even bigger waste of money than Afonso Alves at Middlesborough. The powerful Kevin Davies, who has been named as the dirtiest player in the Premier League four out of the past five season (he came second in the other year), was stationed on the right-wing, presumably to exploit the deficiencies of Wayne Bridge, whilst despite the return to fitness of Andy O’Brien, Gary Megson, once a player at City, kept faith with the wonderfully named Danny Shittu in central defence.

We have hopefully seen the last of Gelson ‘Goldfish’ Fernandes 

City Line-Up (4-2-3-1)

                                                     Given

Richards                      Dunne                         Onuoha                         Bridge

                                   de Jong                       Kompany

SWP                                              Ireland                                           Robinho

                                                   Caicedo

Subs: Hart, Zabaleta, BERTI, Weiss, Petrov, Benjani, Bojinov

Report

There was a near capacity crowd at the City of Manchester Stadium, many, including me, carrying with them the now infamous inflatable bananas. Despite the obvious attractions of a plethora of other matches, most notably the games in the relegation dogfight, this was a very healthy attendance, one which just outlines the fantastic support of the City faithful.

There was a party atmosphere at the ground, with five of the heroes from Wembley ’99, Paul Dickov, Gerard Wiekens, Gareth Taylor, Tony Vaughan and Andy Morrison, all introduced onto the pitch before the match started. Back to the action, and it didn’t take long for the Blues to begin the party in earnest. Gretar Steinsson fouled Robinho around 25 yards out, and with the free-kick in a prime shooting position, the whole stadium expected a Brazilian effort. But instead, in a move clearly rehearsed on the training ground, Robinho laid the ball off to Stephen Ireland, who in turn found Micah Richards and his overhead kick was turned into the back of the net by Felipe Caicedo for his eighth goal of the campaign. It was notable that all the coaching staff immediately ran over to celebrate with assistant manager Mark Bowen, who must have been influential in this goal.

Felipe Caicedo celebrates his goal against Bolton 

City continued to press and the ever-consistent Jussi Jaaskelainen denied Shaun Wright-Phillips with a tremendous save following the winger’s 30 yard effort. Bolton were pushing forward themselves and Johan Elmander, who was perhaps one of the worst players I’ve seen on an opposing team this season, failed to turn home Steinsson’s tantalising cross.

Just before the half-hour mark, Caicedo went on a lung-bursting run, using his terrifying pace to leave Matt Taylor seemingly treading on treacle, before crossing the ball to Stephen Ireland. The player of the year laid the ball back to the edge of the box, where Robinho was ready to shoot. Unfortunately for the Blues, the Brazilian’s shot cannoned off the upright with Jaaskelainen stranded, which meant that the score remained 1 – 0.

Robinho nearly added to his goal tally, but his shot hit the post

Micah Richards was in the thick of the action moments later as first, his shot after a sublime piece of Robinho trickery, an overhead kick whilst lying down, was parried away, before he cleared Gary Cahill’s goal-bound shot off the line after a weak Shay Given punch. Half-time came and went with no substitutions, and as the last 45 minutes of action all season were coming up, the question on everybody’s lips was ‘Will Berti come on?’

The Blues faithful were doing their best to drum up an atmosphere, with one song of ‘Barcelona, Barcelona, Ole, Ole, Ole’ clearly directed towards rivals Manchester United as they prepare for their meaningless match against Barcelona. ‘We want Gláuber Berti’ was regularly heard throughout the game, but it was another debutant who arrived first, young winger Vladimir Weiss. He replaced Stephen Ireland and in the process became the 27th graduate to play for the first team from the much heralded Academy.

Weiss looked very promising in his short cameo

Robinho saw another shot, after a majestic Caicedo back-heel, tipped over by the Bolton goalkeeper, before the moment that everyone had been waiting for arrived. With seven minutes to go, Mark Hughes displayed his sentimental side by sacrificing Wayne Bridge for Berti. apart from the Hamburg game, never has such a reception been heard at Eastlands, with the Brazilian defender, for some reason wearing a long-sleeved shirt, coming onto the pitch with a rapturous ovation ringing in his ears. Within moments, Berti touched the ball and an almighty cheer reverberated around the stadium. Even a throw-in was greeted with hysterics.

Three minutes of added time signalled the end of the game and the season, with City recording a comfortable victory, made all the more sweeter with the presence of Berti. He will remain a cult hero forever with the fans, having played just seven minutes in his city career!

Unfortunately, it’s very difficult to find a picture of Berti playing …

Key Battles

Richard Dunne ‘v’ Kevin Davies

Many feared that this would be the last time the Blues faithful saw Dunne playing in a City shirt, but that possibility now seems highly unlikely with Mark Hughes’s support for his captain unwavering. The Irish international has looked much more settled at the back alongside Nedum Onuoha and there is a strong change that this will be the defensive pairing at the start of next season. In this game, Dunne was superb, coping with the considerable threat of Davies with relative ease. Powerful in the air and strong in the tackle, this was the type of display that we have come to expect from Dunne, but it was refreshing to see the captain back to his best. Davies was actually deployed on the left-wing, which was a waste of his abilities, so the winner of this contest, by a margin bigger than Simon Cowell’s ego, is Richard Dunne.

Stephen Ireland ‘v’ Fabrice Muamba

The winner of City’s player of the year award was looking to finish the season on a high, and although he failed to reach the heights of previous matches, he was still influential. His creativity helped set up the goal for Caicedo, whilst his work-rate and willingness to the cause were fantastic. Muamba drifted through the game without really doing anything and failed to cause any problems for the Blues, so for this contest, the winner is Stephen Ireland.

Robinho ‘v’ Gretar Steinsson

The Brazilian recovered from his injury in time for this match and he replaced Martin Petrov on the left of an attacking triumvirate. This was one of Robinho’s better performances, albeit against a very poor side. He looked bright from the off and had a hand in the goal. His trickery was mesmeric at times, although his end product is occasionally lacking. Steinsson had a decent game, putting over a couple of tantalising crosses, but he struggled at times defensively, so the winner here is Robinho.

Richard Dunne had a very good game alongside Nedum Onuoha

Player Ratings

Given – Wasn’t forced into action a great deal, but when he was, he coped with ease – 7

Richards – One of his better matches. Marauded forward well and looked solid dealing with Matty Taylor at the back. Is that the last we have seen of him? – 7.5

Dunne – Back to his best towards the end of the season and this game was no different. Handled Elmander and Davies comfortably and looked threatening from corners – 8.5

Onuoha – Finally getting a run of games in the side, 25 to be precise, and looking every inch a future England defender. Very solid and dependable – 9

Bridge – Has been recognised as the weak point in City’s defence, which is why Kevin Davies was deployed against him, but he managed admirably – 7

de Jong – Sits in front of the back four and does a reliable, if not showy, job. Makes a plethora of interceptions and gives vital security to the side – 7

Kompany – Has tired towards the end of the season and looked very leggy at stages in this game. Will hugely benefit from a short break – 6.5

SWP – A huge risk to play him and the ball boy look-a-like never reached the heights he touched earlier this season. A couple of threatening dribbles and shots aside, his passing was poor – 6.5 

Ireland – Received the player of the year award on the pitch before the game, but like SWP, this was not his best performance in a City shirt. Helped to set up the goal, but was largely anonymous – 6.5

Robinho – A pleasure to watch when he plays like this. Had numerous shots at goal as he looked to add to his already impressive tally, but his vision and trickery were a delight to behold – 8.5

Caicedo – It would be great if we could see this type of performance every week from Felipe. He was full of vigour, endeavour and power, as his physical presence unsettled both Gary Cahill and Danny Shittu. He took his goal well and was a real handful throughout the game – 9

Subs:

Weiss – Made his debut after much hype, and he rose to the occasion, Very self-confident and full of pace, he pulled out his bag of tricks, getting over a number of crosses. Very lightweight and will struggle in more physical encounters, but is definitely one for the future – 8

Zabaleta – Came on with eight minutes to go in place of Vincent Kompany and barely touched the ball. Has had a fantastic season and he is another one who will enjoy the rest – 7

BERTI – What a performance! The fans were cheering his every touch and his introduction was greeted with a louder cheer than for the goal. His passing was exemplary, with each of his seven touches finding a teammate, whilst his tackling was a sight to behold. Youngsters should watch how he takes his throw-ins; a delicate flick of the wrist sends the ball travelling on, and if this is the end to his City career, then it will be with a tinge of sadness that he moves on – 10

Man of the Match: Glauber Berti 

My hero

Summary

A pleasant way to end the season, especially with the sight of Berti, but this squad will be drastically different by the time that the next campaign begins. Hughes will look to spend in the transfer market, whilst at the same time, offload a number of players. Nothing much was gleaned from this encounter, but Weiss will have been pleased to make his debut as he looks to kick on next season.

The summer will be an exciting time for any City supporter, with new signings aplenty, so it is with high expectations that I bid you farewell for this season. Thanks for reading (especially Ian Cheeseman).