Boyata has to move on from red card

The Manchester City kit manager and former Latics star writes every week for Chronicle Sport
FOR his sake, I am glad the Wayne Rooney saga is slowly winding down.

I am pleased he has sorted himself out and settled down, because he had already received a lot of negative press prior to the transfer talk.

Hopefully he can return to his old form and get back to being the player we all know he can be, because that will be good news for England.



DEDRYCK Boyata was naturally upset after receiving his red card in Manchester City’s 3-0 defeat to Arsenal.
I was in the dressing room when he came in and the lad was low, because he knew such an early dismissal would put the team under pressure.

But people just reassured him that it happens to everyone, because that is football. It will happen again to Dedryck.

It isn’t easy to hear at the time, but he just has to forget the incident and move on.

I felt the scoreline flattered Arsenal slightly and, for a team playing with 10 men for 85 minutes, we created a lot of chances.

It was disappointing to lose Carlos Tevez to injury in the second half, but he should be fit in a few days. On the flip side, it was good to see Mario Balotelli return to action following knee surgery.

He looked sharp when he got the ball and I think he will be desperate to show everyone what he is capable of.

Mario gives us more options up front in this long, hard season, although with Carlos scoring nearly every week it will be difficult to rest the skipper.

Our next two Barclays Premier League fixtures take us to Wolves and West Brom — and sandwiched between those is a trip to Poland to face Lech Poznan in the Europa League, so it’s all go!



I AM a big fan of the FA Cup — it always will be the most important domestic knock-out competition in this country.
It is a brilliant tournament for the non-league sides, because it puts them in the spotlight and, if they progress, they can take on some of the big boys.

I love the tradition of the cup and the anticipation fans all over the country feel when the draw is being made.

Sadly, Mossley and Stalybridge Celtic went out, but Droylsden are through and their adventure continues.