EDS Gets Into Gear

For those of you who are missing what is emerging behind the first team at the Etihad, a treat would have been yours if you'd have made it to Ewen Fields, home of Hyde FC last night.

A Manchester Senior Cup match between City and neighbours Oldham Athletic served only to highlight the chasm that is growing in football as an expensively created City Elite Development Squad took on the 16 and 17 year old youngsters from just a few miles away.

Fair play to Paul Dickov. He took the view that his senior players should not be available for this match and sent out his youngsters. Despite a scoreline of 3-0 in Cty's favour, Dickov's boys did not let him down and competed in the manager's image.

However as we saw on Monday night when the first team leathered Swansea, effort is one thing but class is another. And that was what separated these two teams last night.

Three well created and well taken goals in a fifty minute spell settled the match, but around that City played some excellent football at this level, fielding a team devoid of English players, putting another nail in the heart of Stuart Pearce's Under 21s.

Joan Roman rounded off a slick move in blistering style after only 10 minutes, but brave Latics battled on and made a match of it for the rest of the first half until trialist Jose D'Angelo stretched City's lead.

The scoring was completed early in the second half with a goal from another trialist, Ivan Dzoni.

Around 250 hardy souls enjoyed a Mediterranean evening in almost every sense. Bright sunshine and no horizontal rain had us wondering if this really was Hyde. Even the onlooking Roberto Mancini, Brian Kidd and Patrick Vieira could hardly believe their eyes and spent the first half shielding them!

But at least it did prepare us for what is to come at Ewen Fields this season in the form of the Next Generation Cup. This commences with a mouthwatering match against Barcelona on Thursday 15 September 2011, with a kick-off at 1900hrs.

It looks like this will be a ticket only event, with tickets at £3 adults and £1 concessions. City is hoping for a capacity attendance of just under 4000,so the word is book early and get yourself along to what is another milestone match for City's Elite Development Squad.

This team plays amazing football and you get the chance to see the new breed of player that this exceptional football club is now nurturing. And what better test is there than playing against their colleagues from Europe's finest Club side?

Roman is getting amongst the goals, Razak and Boyata look an accomplished pairing in the centres and Denis Suarez is a young carbon copy of David Silva, offering the same mouthwatering brand of exceptional midfield play.

The NextGen Cup is a Champions League type tournament for u/19s and will see City pitch up against the Catalans plus Celtic and Marseilles all this side of Christmas. The Pedmachine will keep you posted...!

On the subject of the first team I'm expecting to see Samir Nasri heading to the Bridgwater today ahead of getting his pen out, as the Ashburton Exodus gains momentum and the City project attains another class injection. We really do have a squad capable of achieving at the Etihad Stadium and the comfort is that behind that we have an up-and-coming Develoment Squad capable of ensuring that it continues.

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