No Silva Lining...
Welcome to our sixth digital matchday programme...
It's bad enough that we can't shout City on from the stands during this strange time, but not being able to say thank you to one of our greatest players ever is difficult.
Of course, we all understand the reasons the games are being played in empty stadiums and those reasons are just and correct - but David Silva not getting the farewell he deserves from a packed Etihad is a tough one for our fans.
'El Mago' has brought us so much pleasure and been pivotal in establishing City as a domestic powerhouse, as well as a consistent Champions League competitor over the past decade.
He has style, class, humility and will never be forgotten by City fans and yes, Real Madrid is likely to be his swansong at the Etihad rather than Norwich, but how perfect an end to his 10 years of magic would it be to see him lift the Champions League trophy next month?
It will be incredibly hard, of course, and first we must negate a sizeable hurdle of Real Madrid before tackling the next phase.
But that's all to come and the Canaries are the next immediate challenge.
This will be David's final Premier League game in sky blue and we all wish we could be there to pay homage to this incredible footballer.
Let's hope we can win for the skipper - and David, we are all there with you in spirit, if not flesh, though we will have that opportunity at some stage, no doubt.
It has been a privilege and thank goodness we still have one more home game after this to watch this Manchester City legend grace our turf.
Savour it.

Welcome, Norwich...
Words from the boss...
This afternoon we end a most extraordinary Premier League season here against Norwich City.
When we started this campaign back on August 10, no-one could have envisaged the shape it would take and that we would be playing our 38th match at home in July with no fans in our stadium.
Hopefully over the coming months football grounds all over the world will begin to look like they have always done and be the noisy, vibrant, passionate places that we all love so much.
Today is also Norwich City’s last day, for now, in this division. I welcome their manager Daniel Farke and his staff, and I hope it is not too long before we see them again.
We know Norwich have quality as they were the first team to beat us this season when we visited Carrow Road.
The last six weeks have been an exceptionally busy period for all of us. Games have come every three or four days for the past month and we have had to make sure we have maintained the correct levels of rest and recuperation and rotated the squad where we could.
Although we suffered a disappointing defeat in the FA Cup semi-final against Arsenal at Wembley last Saturday night, we bounced back well at Watford in midweek. A 4-0 win was our seventh in the Premier League since the restart.
We are fifteen points ahead of the team in third place and have secured second spot after our back-to-back titles. We have also lifted the Carabao Cup for the third year in succession, so there is much to look back on with satisfaction and pride.
But we have not finished yet and we can look forward, too.
Today we want three more points for our total and then we have almost two weeks to prepare for the visit of Real Madrid in the second leg of our Round of 16 tie in the UEFA Champions League.
It was way back in February that we travelled to Spain and secured a 2-1 lead for the forthcoming game and we will be ready to fight hard for a place in the last eight tournament in Lisbon next month.
Once the Champions League is finished there will only be a short break before we start the 2020/21 season and I hope to see you all here again at some point as soon as possible when it is deemed safe.
In the meantime, please enjoy afternoon’s match wherever you are watching it and I wish you all good health.

THE BUZZWORD
Our Club Ambassador's take on recent events
Our final home game of a long Premier League season, but of course with Real Madrid to come, the 2019/20 campaign is far from complete and let’s hope it continues well into August.
But first off, let’s look back on the last few games and start with our 2-0 defeat to Arsenal at Wembley. It was a bit disappointing, of course, but the intensity we’ve played at since the restart meant that we were bound to have a dip – it happens in football – and Wembley can be a cruel place if you’re not quite at your best.
We’ve played a lot of games in short space of time and it can take its toll collectively on occasion and I think the FA Cup semi-final was one of them.
Prior to that we’d beaten Bournemouth 2-1 which was another difficult match – they gave us a real examination and I’ll be sad if they are relegated, but it does look difficult for them now.
Our 4-0 win at Watford saw a quick return to top form and, as most of the football has been over the past couple of months, we were superb. I often sit among the officials of other clubs and they appreciate the way we play because how could you not be impressed by the style and intensity we play at?
It’s such a pleasure to watch us and I feel privileged to have been able to be present for most of our matches inside the stadiums.
I think we’ve had a great season and I’m really looking forward to the Champions League, but Real Madrid are such an experienced side and have just won La Liga so it will be a difficult game - as we all expect.
But for this game, we welcome Norwich City who have already lost their Premier League status and will look to end our Premier League season on a high.
So, enjoy the game and I’ll see you all (on these pages) for the Madrid game where I will pay tribute to the magnificent David Silva.
Until then, take care and keep safe.


HERE’S TO BRIGHT BLUE SKIES…
Looking forward to brighter skies and a future filled with adventure? So are we. When you’re ready to start flying again, book your well-deserved trip with Etihad Airways for flexibility, more choice and total peace of mind. Visit etihad.com
As borders open and our network grows, we’re continuing to introduce new measures to keep everyone safe, comfortable and protected when they travel. Because for us, your wellness is always our main priority.
When you’re ready to start flying again, you’ll be safe in our hands.
Your wellness, our priority
With Etihad Wellness, you’ll feel more in control of your health and well being at every point of your trip – before you travel, on board and when you reach your final destination.
Using clever, self-scan technology, optimised seat maps and new queuing systems, we’ve limited touchpoints and made sure there’s more space between you and other guests at all times.
We’ve introduced additional deep cleaning at Abu Dhabi airport and on board, focusing on the surfaces that are touched most often. That includes our check-in counters, toilets, seats, and entertainment screens, so you can feel comfortable knowing that we disinfect every touchpoint of your journey more regularly.
All of our aircraft are cleaned and sanitised every time they reach their destination, and because we know that cleaner air means cleaner cabins, our filters onboard remove 99% of microbes and regularly refresh the cabin’s air.
And for even more peace of mind, we’ve also introduced a team of Etihad Wellness Ambassadors. They’ll share advice, answer your questions and make sure you’re up to date with the latest regulations and guidelines for when you arrive at your destination.
Visit etihad.com/wellness to discover more.
We’re here for you 24/7
Our dedicated team of Wellness Ambassadors are available 24/7, so you can rest assured there’ll always be someone available to help. Chat to our Wellness Ambassadors online, meet them at the airport or speak to them on board – they’ll be with you at every step to make sure your journey is as comfortable as possible.
Freedom to fly when you’re ready
Sometimes, plans change. And that’s OK.
To give you the freedom to change your plans if you need to, we’ve introduced more flexible fares and removed our change fees on flights booked before 30 June. So, if you’d prefer to travel at a different time, you can change your flight for free. Simple.
You deserve a break
We can’t wait to welcome you back on board and whisk you away on your holiday – because we know how much you deserve a break.
With flexible holiday packages and deposits as low as £50, why not book your next trip with Etihad Holidays and explore Abu Dhabi? The city we call home, Abu Dhabi is an exciting, cosmopolitan city with a charm that’s hard to resist.
Stay at the 5-star hotel Fairmont Bab al Bahr from just £489 per person, including three nights’ accommodation with breakfast and return flights from Manchester.
See our trending destinations and book dream-worthy breaks at etihad.com/holidays.


Our Opponents...
Officially this is The End. The day when Norwich City bow out of the Premier League for a record fifth time. Yet there is an upside to this story in the way the club have always been resilient in their response to adversity.
'Bouncebackability' is a word that could have been coined at Carrow Road.
Having finished third in the inaugural Premier League season in 1992-93, Norwich spent their longest spell outside the top level from 1995, a period of nine seasons, but the next relegation was more damaging with their fall to League One by 2009.
The recovery was swift in successive promotion campaigns under Paul Lambert, but the yo-yo effect has become more marked in recent seasons.
This year’s relegation – the third since 2013-14 – is set alongside two promotions, a play-off victory at Wembley in 2015 for Alex Neil’s team, and a comprehensive title success under Daniel Farke last season.
In making plans for the Premier League, the club preferred to put a sizeable sum towards improving the club’s infrastructure.
Recruitment at senior level was kept to a minimum and instead the manager went with a group of talented young players. The likes of Ben Godfrey, 22, Max Aarons, 20, and Jamal Lewis, 22 - the core of the back four this season – will be older and wiser when next in the Premier League.
At the same time, there was plenty of experience in the defensive pool. Former Newcastle keeper Tim Krul, now 32, is No 1, with cover provided by Northern Ireland’s Michael McGovern and Ralf Fahrmann, the latter having completed a season’s loan in June.
Unfortunately, several defenders were hit by injuries. Former Dortmund centre-back Christoph Zimmermann, Scotland international Grant Hanley and the 2019 summer signing, Sam Byram, were all absent when the season restarted.
There was better news for Timm Klose, the Switzerland defender returning in June after knee ligament damage last August.
Midfield options ranged between Alexander Tettey. in his eighth season, and Todd Cantwell, another of the emerging players and now capped by England at U21 level.
Scotland international Kenny McLean and Argentine-born Emi Buendia have had regular roles and the squad has usually included the experienced German players, Tom Trybull and Marco Stiepermann.
Winger Onel Hernandez has had a stop-start season with knee injuries and Switzerland forward Josip Drmic missed a couple of months. Lukas Rupp and Ondrej Duda arrived from German clubs in January but Duda has now returned to Hertha Berlin.
Teemu Pukki was last season’s top scorer in the Championship with 29 goals and the Finland striker carried that form into the Premier League. His goal in the win against City in September was his sixth in five games but from the turn of the year the team was hit by a serious shortage.
Norwich began a run to the FA Cup quarter-finals with a hat-trick by teenager Adam Idah at Preston but failed to score in nine of 11 games until relegation was confirmed.
Interestingly, every one of the starting team on that fateful day against West Ham had come up from the Championship.
No doubt the Canaries will soon by flying again soon...



City v norwich: our HistorY
The lion's share of City v Norwich matches have taken place in the second half of our Club history with the first meeting not taking place until 1938 when City beat the Canaries 4-1 at Maine Road.
Less than a month later, City thrashed Norwich 5-0 at Carrow Road - and the pattern was largely set for the future of this fixture. After drawing the return game 0-0 in the 1938/39 campaign, the teams would not meet again for 24 years when the Canaries recorded their first win in Moss Side - a 2-1 victory in the FA Cup.
A season later and City completed a second tier league double, before Norwich repeated the feat in 1964/65 - their 4-1 success at Carrow Road, however, would be their last win over City for quite some time - 22 games and 16 years, in fact!
City recorded 11 wins and 11 draws in that unbeaten run before Norwich won 2-0 at home in 1981. That, however, started another long unbeaten run for City of nine wins and three draws meaning that the Canaries had won just one of 35 meetings between 1964 and 1993.
It's fair to say the Norfolk outfit dreaded facing the sky blue side of Manchester - it had to get better for the men in yellow and green, and it did - sort of!
City's worst run against Norwich was between 1993 and 2001 with just three wins in 12 clashes – though even then there were only four losses with five games drawn. After that spell, it was very much a return to business as usual.
Between 2002 and 2016, City won nine, drew three and lost just once, but the combined aggregate score perhaps gives an indication of how dominant we were during that period - 37-12 in City's favour. That included a few memorable wins in particular: the 6-1 Carlos Tevez-inspired win at Carrow Road on the surge to the 2011/12 Premier League title and a 7-0 win at the Etihad in 2013/14.
The Canaries ended their long wait for a win away to City - 49 years all told - when they won the final game of the 2012/13 campaign 3-2, with managerless City under the caretaker charge of Brian Kidd.
And, of course, you could argue City's 3-2 loss at Carrow Road in September of last year, destabilised this season's title bid for Pep Guardiola's men - something City may well want to try and put right on Sunday against the already-relegated Canaries who remain welcome visitors to the Etihad now and, hopefully, again in the near future.
Tonight is the 70th meeting all competitions with 36 wins for City, 23 games drawn and 10 wins for the men from East Anglia. A colourful fixture, not only because of each club’s colours, but because there always seem to be goals – the last 10 producing 43 – with possibly more to come in this game as City look for the three that will mean 100 Premier League goals for the current campaign.
That would be quite a feat.

























Kevin Cummins:
david silva gallery
Today is David Silva’s final Premier League game, and what a shame we’re not here to see it. A shame for the player mostly, as I’m sure we fans and his team mates would give him the send off he deserves.
We’ve had some great players at City over the years, but I’ll bet if you asked most Blues of a certain age to name their two favourite players of the past 50 years it’d be Colin Bell and David Silva. My daughter Ella went to University in Valencia and as I went over to see her regularly, I had the privilege of seeing El Mago play for ‘Los Che’ several times.
He played wider on the left for Valencia, but he stood out, even in that great side. I was genuinely excited when City made a move for him, and what a move for both him and for us. I’ve only photographed David once, but he was really great to work with.
They say you should never meet your heroes, but I’ve worked with both David Silva and Colin Bell and it was an absolute thrill and privilege to meet them both and photograph the two of them.
I wish you all the best for the future David, and I’m looking forward to seeing you picking up the Champions League trophy in August, sadly on TV rather than in Istanbul.
Buena suerte el mago.














Dream Team:
TOMMY DOYLE
It is fascinating to see the selection of one of our stars of the future for our latest Dream XI...
Tommy Doyle is following in the footsteps of grandfathers Mike Doyle and Glyn Pardoe – but will they make the cut in this team? Of course they will…
Take it away Tommy…
“I’m going with Ederson as my keeper – I’ve been lucky enough to play and train with him and I think he has taken goalkeeping to another level.
“In defence I’m having Pablo Zabaleta at right-back – a warrior who had the heart of a lion, and Glyn Pardoe at left-back – yes he was my granddad, but I believe him to be the best left-back the club has ever had.
“In central defence, I’m going for Vinnie Kompany and Mike Doyle. Vincent was a leader and was an inspirational captain and – just as with Glyn Pardoe – Mike Doyle was Manchester City through and through.
“While Vinnie would deal with the aerial threat, my granddad Mike could start moves from the back – what you’d call a cultured defender.
“My midfield trio – Yaya, KDB and David Silva – I don’t need to explain why. They are all City legends.
“Up front, I’d have loved to have seen Mike Summerbee flank Sergio Aguero with Raheem on the other side. Plenty of goals there!
“My bench includes three Brazilians – all fantastic players, plus Joe Hart, Aleks Kolarov, Wrighty and Nigel De Jong.
“The gaffer is easy – Pep Guardiola. Our most successful manager ever and the man who gave me my City debut, so any easy choice.”


MARC RILEY
So here we are. The end of what must be the most bewildering football season for 75 years. I remember my dad telling me of City and United both playing at Maine Road during the Second World War. That must have been weird, but in those perhaps less ‘tribal’ days and very doable?
In some ways, we can draw comparisons to this season just gone. We had to adapt to accommodate a horrific world event… and the unthinkable becomes almost normal.
I have never watched so much football in my life. All from the same chair in my living room and always with just one decision to make. Do I watch it with the fake crowd noise on or off?
Another aspect of where we find ourselves now if the fact that we have lost nine games this season. But long-term City supporters will remember the times when it was more than possible that we’d only WIN nine games in a season. So, let’s put 2019/2020 season into perspective. Come the end of this crazy period we will have at least one more trophy in the cabinet ….and we’ve broken yet more records.
If you can’t live with that then may I respectfully suggest you have a very short memory span!
If a quick reminder is needed just take a look at our opponents today. A great club, with a great history and a great manager - at this point looking at adapting to life in the Championship. I for one will never forget driving through the Sale area of South Manchester with the news of our relegation spewing out of the car radio - and tears welling up in my eyes. So, with that in mind I wish Norwich a speedy return to the Premier League.
There are some Manchester City dates that will always stick in my mind, but Monday July 13 is right up there with the best of them. Talking of which… Real Madrid in the thus-far elusive Champions League after Norwich!
I watched the first leg of this tie in the most bizarre of conditions. Trace (my wife) and I were in Gran Canaria at the time and were stuck in the middle of a three-day devilish sandstorm that had blown over from Africa. It descended like a demon from the skies.

I have never known anything like it. We were stuck in the hotel and if we were brave enough to venture outside, we had to wear a face-mask.
All these factors had an eerie prescience when we returned to the UK and the coronavirus outbreak.
Nevertheless, those were probably the most thrilling 90 minutes of my City fandom this year - and with any luck when we get Real Madrid back to ‘our place’ we’ll dish out more of the same and then….ooh…..dare I even dream it?


