City of Manchester Stadium (Man City v Man Utd)

Last Saturday it was off to Manchester for the much anticipated derby between City and United. This time it was not just local bragging rights that were at stake: it was a big game for both teams as United are still in contention for the Premier League title and the Citizens are looking to finish fourth in the league which would mean Champions' League football next season.

As it was a 'lunch-time kick-off' Martijn and I had to leave from Scotland early. I took an early train in Paisley (around 7:15) to make sure I would not miss the 8:00 Virgin train leaving from Glasgow Central. After changing at Preston we arrived at Manchester Piccadilly at around 11:20, well in time for the match however it did not leave us much time for the obligatory pre-match refreshments so we just had a quick pint at a pub at Piccadilly Station before we made our way to the City of Manchester Stadium.

It was a few degrees warmer in Manchester than in Glasgow and from our seats in the North Stand we were staring into the sun for the duration of the game. Although this made for a nice change compared to the appalling conditions I had endured in the last four or five months or so it made it difficult to take good quality pictures. I even managed to get a bit of sun burn!

As far as the action on the pitch was concerned I was slightly disappointed. Both teams had their chances but they were also wasteful and the game seemed destined to end goalless until Paul Scholes's dramatic winner, in the third minute of injury time, ensured the outcome was all too familiar.

After the game again we did not have much time to go to the pub as we had reserved a seat on the 3:46pm train to Preston. We rolled into Glasgow Central just after 7pm.

City fans in the North Stand.

Craig Bellamy getting ready to take a corner.


The Colin Bell Stand.

Plenty of dangerous moments in front of Van der Sar's goal.

The East Stand.

Paul Scholes managed to score the only goal almost three minutes into stoppage time.

United fans in the South Stand celebrating wildly after Scholes's late goal.

Saturday 17th April 2010
Barclays Premier League
Manchester City 0 Manchester United 1
Goal: Scholes 90+3.
Att: 47,019

Reebok Stadium (Bolton Wanderers v Man City)

Yesterday Martijn and I went to Bolton to see Bolton Wanderers take on Manchester City in the Reebok Stadium. We took the 10:00 Virgin train at Glasgow Central and arrived in Preston at 12:15. From Preston it was only a 20-minute train journey to Horwich Parkway station which is adjacent to Reebok Stadium. The ground is nowhere near the town centre so we decided to head for the ground first and then look for a watering hole upon arrival at the stadium. We were at the ground over two hours before kick-off so we had plenty of time.

Reebok Stadium, as with many new stadiums, is built near a retail park. There are however a few pubs nearby. We opted for the Greenwood Arms on Chorley New Road. This was a friendly place with City and Bolton supporters watching Stoke v Wigan together. The match commentary was in Italian but no-one seemed to mind.

After a couple of pints we headed for the ground. As Martijn is a City fan our seats were in the South Stand, along with 5,000 other City supporters. Despite this being a local derby and the Citizens bringing as many fans as they did the ground was by no means sold out with around 6,000 empty seats. Although the ground, which opened in 1997, is small by Premiership standards it is a top-class stadium. We saw an attractive game as well with Bolton taking the lead three times and City equalising three times as well. Craig Bellamy was sent off for picking up his second yellow card for diving. This was a bad call by referee Mark Clattenburg as Bellamy was clearly fouled. City were 3-2 down at this point so Carlos Tevez's equaliser in the 77th minute was celebrated wildly.

After the game I took a few more snaps of the empty stadium before jumping on the train back to Preston. From there our train only went as far as Carlisle as there was construction work being carried out between Carlisle and Glasgow. We already knew this beforehand and the replacement bus arrived in Glasgow as scheduled. I finally arrived back home in Paisley at around 11pm.

Approaching Reebok Stadium.


First a few pre-match pints in the Greenwood Arms.


Approaching the ground again ten minutes before kick-off.


The club store outside the ground.


The East Stand.


The North Stand.


The West Stand.


City were reduced to ten men after Craig Bellamy received a second booking for diving.


An empty North Stand after the game.


The East Stand after the game.

The West Stand after the game.

Saturday 12th December 2009
English Premier League
Bolton Wanderers 3 Manchester City 3
Bolton: Klasnic 11, Cahill 43, Klasnic 53
Man City: Tevez 28, Richards 45+2, Tevez 77
Att: 22,735

City of Manchester Stadium (Man City v Arsenal)

Today Martijn and I took the train to Manchester and I paid my second visit to the City of Manchester Stadium. City were playing Arsenal, the same fixture I attended last season. And just like last season the Gunners were well beaten. Unlike last year however, today's game was a sell-out and City were looking to extend their perfect start to this Premier League season.

The first City goal was a lucky one, Emanuel Malinia headed into his own net, but the Blues managed to go into half-time with a 1-0 lead. The second half was more spectacular. Robin van Persie equalised in the second half but twelve minutes later Craig Bellamy ensured the Citizens were in the lead again.

After scoring the third City goal former Gunner Emmanuel Adebayor sprinted all the way to the other end of the pitch to celebrate in front of the Arsenal fans which of course did not go down well with the supporters from North London. All the focus afterwards was on Adebayor's misguided antics but I have not read much about the loutish behaviour of some of the supposedly grown-up Arsenal fans. Objects were thrown onto the pitch and it looked like one of the stewards was hit by an object that was thrown from the away end.

The game continued however and Shaun Wright-Phillips made it 4-1 seven minutes before time. Tomas Rosicky's pulled one back for the Gunners in the dying minutes but it was too little, too late and City bagged their fourth win of the season, giving them plenty of confidence ahead of next weekend's Manchester derby.

The South Stand housed the Arsenal fans.

The Colin Bell Stand.


The North Stand.


Arsenal fans did not respond well to Adebayor's provocative goal celebrations.

After the game we paid another visit to the massive fan store.

A panorama shot, taken from our seats on the East Stand. The game was a sell-out.

Another panorama, this time taken after the game, again from the East Stand.

Saturday 12th September 2009
Manchester City 4 Arsenal 2
Premier League
Man City: Almunia (og) 20, Bellamy 74, Adebayor 80, Wright-Phillips 84.
Arsenal: Van Persie 62, Rosicky 88.
Att: 47,339

City of Manchester Stadium (Man City v Arsenal)

Saturday 22nd November 22 2008
Man City 3 Arsenal 0
Goals: Ireland 45 +1, Robinho 56, Sturridge pen 90+1.
Att: 44,878