I support Manchester City - the other Manchester club- it's record has been rather less glorious over the years than its more famous companion, but it has almost always had a good and loyal following. Despite the fact that being a fan of MCFC is usually unsatisfactory in many ways.

As a child and a young adult City managed to piss me off on a more or less weekly basis throughout the autumn, winter and spring - only summer and cricket made sport a much more pleasing experience. City dissapointed and frustrated, battled and were relagated and won - well nothing ....for decades.

To my everlasting regret my children are now infected with the same disease. I wish there had been some way to prevent it - but encouraging them to like MUFC wasn't in the frame and the other local contenders for support were likely to be even more rubbsish - to whit Bury, Burnley, Blackburn and Bolton (who aren't rubbish as such, but somehow, even when they are winning, they seem to do it in such a graceless and dogged fashion that it is hard to like them.. sorry Sam). The only exception to the list of dull or dismal local teams being Accrington Stanley (about to swap with Bury?), and quite frankly my best attempts to sell AS to the children was hampered by the relative glamour of the Premier and my own historic loyalty to MCFC.

So here we are - here I am, 43 and MCFC have found another way to torment me - through my children. Every battle that they win is doubled or tripled by the children's delight but similarly every defeat is an ever deeper wound. The current form had had them skipping from famous victory to hopeless shambles - pure City of course, and my poor little boys are getting familiar with the cynicism that characterises the MCFC supporter. You just know that they are going to let you down some time soon.

Stuart Pearce has been a bit of a godsend - Kevin Keegan was so crap that being a supporter had descended into farce. At least this season has just been a testimony to inconsistancy. So let's not let the FA grab Stuart for the big job shall we? Can you imagine how much pain I will be in on my children's behalf if MCFC are again left in the hands of somebody truly incompetent.
Some things are more important than English Football!