Blue Heart And Soul

City Chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak has continued to lead from the front this week in a what we now know to be a trademark rational and calm style...

Earlier this week he underpinned His Highness Sheikh Mansour's commitment to stability at Manchester City by confirming that Mark Hughes will remain in place as The Blues manager for the forseeable future.

He has since gone one further by setting Hughes and his management team the objective of a top six league finish next season.

The eloquent Blues Chairman has now turned his attention to City's supporters.

Early this season, Sheikh Mansour announced that the club's hierarchy were determined that the club would build bridges and forge strong bonds with City supporters and the Manchester community.

Heavy investment in the club's training facilities and the MCFC Academy have been backed up by fans roadshows, season ticket price reductions and the admirable gesture of offering Eastlands UEFA Cup Quarter Final tickets for £5 and £1 respectively.

It's stunning to note the amount of journalists and leading football figures who slated City's owners so heavily in January during Kakagate continuing to ignore such glaring positives.

Today, City's Chairman revealed his admiration for City's fans via the club's official website. Clearly, Sheikh Mansour and Al Mubarak mean business:

'The fans are the heart and soul of this club - we have some great fans, that's one of the gems at this club and one of the things that I have found most satisfying.

'They have stuck with the club through hard times and good times. There have been hard times this year and I appreciated their support. It will be rewarded in the years to come.

'I'll never forget the Hamburg game, that was an incredible showing by our fans. We gave our hearts out to the players that night. It leaves a hunger to go back. We want that again, and I think we'll get it.

'I always knew this was going to be a difficult season, there were no illusions in my mind. It was even more difficult than I had anticipated, but I never thought it was going to be a walk in the park.

'There were high expectations but the reality is that this was a club that was eighth in the table. I'm proud because it was very clear in my mind what needed to be done, and we've done it.

'We said we would have a first season of learning and building on and off the field, and that is what we have done. We said we would build a club for the future, and we have done that.

'We said we would build and invest in the management side of the company, and we have done that, and we said we would stick with the manager, and we have done that too.

'We also said we were going to bring in as much quality as we could on the playing side in January, and we did that with Shay Given, Wayne Bridge, Nigel de Jong and Craig Bellamy.'

The club looks to be in good hands. Can City realise that top six goal in one year's time? Give us your views both here and in the Vital Man City forums...

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