Jerseys, knickers and anklets of 1934 inspire City's Wembley shirts.A long-forgotten telegram found in Umbro's vaults helps Manchester City to honour their FA Cup final heritage
A telegram sent by Manchester City to their kit suppliers after their triumphant 1934 FA Cup final, which was unearthed by chance in an archive, has been the inspiration behind the shirts the club will wear against Stoke City on Saturday.
The telegram of 5 May, 1934, which, in a nod to the days of such communication, includes the club's telegraphic address 'Football Manchester', was sent from Maine Road by club secretary Wilf Wild, thanking Humphreys Bros – whose names spawned the Umbro company name – for the "jerseys, knickers, hose, slips and anklets" used in the Wembley final seven days earlier. "The fit, quality and smartness of the entire outfit was undoubtedly perfection," Wild wrote.
It was while researching the project of creating Saturday's shirts that David Blanch, a senior designer at Umbro, discovered the telegram and has created a modern version of the same type font for the player numbers and names, which have been bonded on to the shirts. "Many fonts in football look retro and rigid but this one has a real authenticity about it," Mr Blanch said yesterday.
Manchester City captain Sam Cowan in his Umbro shirt before the 1934 FA Cup final at Wembley; and the Mercer jackets (right) City will wear on Saturday
The shirts and the Mercer jackets which the players will wear on to the pitch feature a number of intricate links to the historical detail of the kits City players have worn at Wembley. Discreetly featured within the numbers on the players' backs is the historic Manchester coat of arms, which City players used to wear when they had no crest of their own. Technically a privilege bestowed upon the club by Manchester's city council, it has generally been a tradition over the past 60 years that City carry the coat of arms in some way when they play at Wembley.
The shirt numbers have also been individually made with small holes enabling the numbers to "breathe" – in a nod to the tailoring tradition of football jersey numbers being handsewn from fabric. "The shirts are inspired by the past, rather than mimicking it," said Mr Blanch, who unearthed the telegram in a book archived in the Umbro vault decades ago. "We wanted to celebrate City's achievement and to respect the past but also to celebrate where the club is heading. Manchester has deep roots in City and the club is continuing to build on that history."
Umbro, which presented its ideas for the final shirt in Abu Dhabi, has also developed the shade of "vista" blue that City have used since 2009. Before the introduction of the club badge, only 10 years ago, City had to rely purely on the colour of their shirts for recognition. The Manchester coat of arms is also embroidered on to the breast of the jackets City will walk out in, inspired by the overcoat of the late Joe Mercer, and of which only 16 have been made. Mercer took a City side wearing the Manchester coat of arms to their last FA Cup final victory in 1969. The goalkeeping heroics of a young Frank Swift, replete in "jersey, slip and anklets", inspired the 2-1 win over Portsmouth 35 years earlier.
TRANSFER BOLLOX
City want Xavi to give them the X factor
Manchester City are to offer Barcelona lynchpin Xavi a massive final payday to end his career at Eastlands.
And that will be bad news for Arsenal, as it would leave a Cesc Fabregas-shaped vacancy in the Barca midfield.
City are determined to kick on after clinching a top four finish - which will see them enter the Champions League for the first time next season - and they want to be recognised as among the elite of the game.
The desire is to sign marquee players to spearhead that challenge, but there will be no dramatic transfer market sprees, as in previous transfer windows, as a new realism is coming to Eastlands.
Blues bosses are worried about the impact of new UEFA ‘fair play’ regulations, which limit a club’s wage bill in relation to its turnover.
City currently fall foul of the new rules, which will begin to be implemented from next season.
That means there is no chance of the sort of activity that saw bus-loads of new signings arrive at the Manchester club in the past two seasons.
Instead, far more players will be offloaded than brought in, as City look to reduce the wage bill by massive sums.
But that won’t stop the pursuit of at least three top-class players, with boss Roberto Mancini drawing up a list that will surprise many because of some of the names on it.
He has identified stars such as AC Milan striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who he coached at Inter Milan, as well as pin-pointing some promising young stars to underpin the club’s future.
It is understood he has already made enquiries about Everton’s £25million-rated England Under-21 international Jack Rodwell.
City have watched the talented young midfielder for some time, and would be keen to move to add him to the Eastlands roster... and thwart arch-rivals Manchester United in the process.
But it is the interest in Xavi that is the most intriguing.
On the surface, they would seem to have no chance of landing a player who has been at Barca for his whole career, and is assumed to want to end his playing days there.
But Xavi is not a massive earner at the Nou Camp and, at 31, has achieved just about everything he can with club and country and is approaching the time when he might like to cash in at the end of his illustrious career.
A similar situation occurred at Real Madrid, when they allowed one of their all time greats, Raul, to leave to try a new adventure with Germany's Schalke.
Barcelona recognise they have received incredible service from a player who joined them as an 11-year-old and has won just about every honour, including the World Cup, and totted up 101 caps for Spain.
It would also allow them to move for Fabregas, who almost rejoined the Spanish giants last summer but then Barca ran into financial trouble and were forced to drop their interest.
This time, they would be almost certain to get their man, especially if a space in midfield is opened up for him.
Xavi has a rollover contract that could be renewed for four more years, but Barca are unlikely to stand in his way if he decides he’d like to taste a new football style.
If City offload the many players they currently have out on loan, they can reduce the wage bill and STILL offer one of the best midfielders in the world more than £150,000 a week.
The capture of Xavi would herald a new dawn at Eastlands, with the club now determined to cut the wage bill by getting rid of surplus personnel and paying squad men much less, while at the same time paying top dollar for real stars of his ilk. Mirror
Man City told they'll have to splash out £45million to land Eto'o
Manchester City have been told not to bother Inter Milan with bids of less than £45million for striker Samuel Eto'o.
Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp revealed this week that City had lined up two "blow your brains out" signings and the former Barcelona frontman would certainly be in that category.
The Cameroon international has scored 35 goals in 79 Champions League appearances and with City set for the Europe's top club competition next year the 30-year-old would be an astute signing.
Inter's president Massimo Moratti told La Gazzetta dello Sport: "If a club is interested in Samuel Eto'o they will have to pay £45m. A lower offer will not even be considered."
Chelsea have also been linked with a move for the former Real Madrid man, who has two years still to run on his deal with the current Champions League holders.
Eto'o has scored 20 Serie A goals from 33 appearances this season and is the only player in Leonardo's side that has reached double figures, highlighting his importance to the Italian side. talkSHIT
Everton FC braced for Jack Rodwell Manchester City summer bid
EVERTON may have to repel the advances of Manchester City if they are to hold on to Jack Rodwell this summer.
Rodwell had been expected to be the target of another approach from Manchester United, who were rebuffed with a bid last year.
However, Old Trafford interest in the player has waned, with neighbours City now emerging as potential suitors for the midfielder.
City are keen to bolster their squad with promising young English talent, and 20-year-old Rodwell has moved to the head of Roberto Mancini’s shopping list.
While David Moyes has always maintained he has no intention of parting with any of his leading players in the forthcoming transfer window, the Everton manager is aware the tight financial restraints at Goodison could leave him little choice to raise funds for squad strengthening.
And City would be expected to make an offer of around £20million for Rodwell, who only signed a long-term contract last summer.
A succession of injuries has hampered Rodwell’s progress this season, although the Everton man will nevertheless form an integral part of England’s challenge at the forthcoming European Under-21 Championships in Denmark.
And Moyes believes the tournament will be of benefit to the youngster, and said: “Jack has had a few injuries which have disrupted things but he is coming along fine. It’s a good tournament for him to be involved in and I am happy for him to be playing.
“I’ve got no problems with it. The problems may come next year, for the lads who end up playing for the full month. It will be like for the England senior boys, who went to the World Cup last summer.
“There will be an effect but hopefully it will help his development. He has had a few injuries but that can happen. We would like to see him playing it consistently.”Liverpool Daily Post
MICAH RICHARDS says Manchester City have proved to their critics that money can buy success.Micah Richards believes City’s qualification for the Champions League and their progress to the FA Cup final contradicts the perception that their expensively assembled squad is a bunch of warring mercenaries with no real care for the long-term interests of the club.
Richards, a graduate of City’s academy, is the only home-grown player left in Roberto Mancini’s regular starting line-up, but he has no qualms about the transfer spending that has helped them move from relative obscurity to Europe’s elite competition in the three years since Abu Dhabi billionaire Sheikh Mansour became owner.
Mancini has spent £162million in the 18 months since taking over from Mark Hughes, who spent nearly £240m in his season and a half at the club.
And Richards says the spending will continue this summer in a bid to take City to the next stage – Premier League title challengers and regular Champions League participants.
“We are not stupid,” he said. “We hear what people say. They are always having a go at us for spending money. But look at us – it has worked. To achieve Champions League football in such a short space of time after bringing in so many players is amazing.
“A lot of people were putting us down and saying we were not good enough to reach the Champions League, but we have proved them wrong. We have proved how good we are by staying in the top four through the entire season.
“People are always saying that the team spirit is not good, but I see the boys in the changing room and the spirit is unbelievable.
“Every year we have had a progression. We have gone from 10th, to fifth, to fourth. And next season we will try to build on that. But I am sure we will invest in the summer and make ourselves even stronger again. Every club need new players and we always look to strengthen in every position.
“The form of Jerome Boateng and Pablo Zabaleta, for instance, has made me raise my game this season.”
England Under-21 captain Richards is naturally excited by the prospect of playing in the Champions League, but first wants City to complete a historic week in the club’s history by beating Stoke in the FA Cup final at Wembley on Saturday.
He said: “This could turn out to be the best week of my life if we can bring the FA Cup home as well.
“Every player dreams of playing in the Champions League – and I might well have to pinch myself when I come up against some of the best players in the world next season. I have watched a lot of Champions League football. I watched Spurs this season and they did well in getting to the quarter-finals. There is no reason why we should not do that.
“We are relieved that gaining a top-four place is done and dusted. We rode our luck at times against Tottenham on Tuesday night, but we dug deep in the second half and that shows how far we have come.
“A couple of years ago we probably would have lost that game. But we are not the City of old, the team who always made silly mistakes.
“Now it is important to keep our feet on the ground and win the FA Cup. Stoke are no mugs. I watched them play against Arsenal last Sunday and they were unbelievable [Stoke won 3-1]. They worked for each other.
“They have quality on the wings in Jermaine Pennant and Matthew Etherington – who may come back from his hamstring injury to play in the final.
“So if we are not on our game then Stoke will find us out. They will be up for it, like we will. And if we play as well as we can and David Silva continues to play like a magician, we’ve every chance of being able to celebrate again on Saturday.”
Richards does not turn 23 until next month but has already clocked up 187 appearances in all competitions for City, joining their academy at the age of 14 after moving from Oldham.
Despite some uncertainty over his future, both under the stewardship of former boss Hughes and now Mancini, he says he would happily sign a new deal – his current contract has a year to run and negotiations on a new deal have already started.
“There have been talks about a new contract but at the moment I am just trying to do well in each game,” he said.
“I am always happy to be at Manchester City. It is my first and only club. It is ‘the’ club for me. Yes, there have been some difficult moments and I have been linked with a move to different teams. But when times are hard it makes you work harder.
“There were some big clubs sniffing around the last time [his contract was due to expire] but I did not want to leave City – and it is the same this time.
“I am still young. I have played more than 150 games and therefore I have a bit of experience now. My focus is here.
“As long as the club want me, I want to be here and doing well for the team.” Express
Tevez in line for Cup final after impressing in training
Striker links up well with Balotelli in desperate attempt to prove he is fit for Wembley
There is an increasing sense around Eastlands that there is nothing to fear about life without Carlos Tevez
Carlos Tevez launched himself back into training yesterday with a performance which suggested he is a very strong contender for Manchester City's FA Cup final team, despite the latest evidence of his frayed relationship with the club's manager, Roberto Mancini, on Tuesday night.
For the second time in a week, Tevez was a dominant figure in a 10-a-side game at City's Carrington training ground yesterday, scoring twice and linking well with Mario Balotelli in a training session which involved Tuesday's substitutes and those not in the squad which beat Tottenham. Mancini implied after the Premier League win over Spurs, which took City into the Champions League next season, that Tevez's place in the starting line-up against Stoke City was in doubt after his first 15 minutes of game time following a hamstring injury. But Tevez is desperate to feature in the final and, though the club accept that he will probably leave this summer, the prospect of having him available to face Tony Pulis's in-form side may be irresistible.
There was a frustration in some quarters at City yesterday that Tevez's touchline conduct had overshadowed a key moment in the club's progression, but there is an increasing sense around Eastlands that there is now nothing to fear about life without him. The sale of Tevez to a Premier League rival, for instance, is a move which would now be tolerated in a way which has not been amid City's two-and-a-half-season scramble to gain a place among the European elite. A Tevez move to Chelsea would be considered where mooted moves for Craig Bellamy and Shay Given to other top-flight sides challenging for the top four have not been during the completion of the "first phase" of City's development.
Mancini's concerns are far broader than any single act of dissent from Tevez. Though his defensively astute side will be set up to acquit themselves well in Europe against Continental sides who offer less power and pace, his concern is that he will lack the squad simultaneously to maintain a strong challenge on the home front. In short, City could become like Rafael Benitez's Liverpool – at their best on the Continent but labouring to maintain Champions League status.
City, whose first major challenge could come in August's Champions League qualifying round, with Bayern Munich and Anderlecht among those on course to feature in it, also happen to be entering the elite just as Uefa begins moves to implement the Financial Fair Play regime, limiting clubs' losses to no more than £13m a year from 2013. City's last results showed losses of £133m.
The Independent revealed last month that Uefa will begin the build-up to FFP this autumn by asking around 20 clubs who are at risk of being in breach of the rules to allow their officials to start shadowing them. City are not aware of any impending request but are keen to comply as fully as they can as they seek to drive their losses down in line with the new regime. Uefa is also developing the IT software programme which clubs will be asked to use to provide financial information, some of it otherwise confidential, to enable Uefa to know exactly what the financial goings on at a club are.
Appendix 11 of the FFP regulations allows for financial trends, rather than pure losses, to be taken into account so a club moving towards £13m and projecting a break-even a few years into the future will be looked upon more favourably. But City have been working since the January transfer window to remove from their squad some of those who were hired on high wages to help City get to this position but are not longer deemed to be of use.
Loan players Emmanuel Adebayor – who will almost certainly be returned on his £165,000-a-week wages by Real Madrid, Roque Santa Cruz, Craig Bellamy, Wayne Bridge, Nedum Onuoha and Felipe Caicedo all need to be moved on, while Shaun Wright-Phillips and Shay Given are likely to be sold and Patrick Vieira may be preparing to retire. Udinese's right-sided forward Alexis Sanchez is the first player City may bring in, with Gary Cahill another possible target.
One of the few players to have survived the long journey, Micah Richards, has flourished in the past season and he reflected yesterday on the bad times and how the sceptics had affected players. "A lot of people were putting us down and saying we weren't good enough to reach the Champions League but we have proved people wrong," Richards said.
"We are not stupid. We hear what people say. They are always having a go at us for spending money but look, it's worked."
Richards, whom Mancini values, has only one year left on his contract, though City have yet to give him a new one. "There have been talks about a new contract but I am just trying to do well in each game. I am always happy to be at City," Richards said. "It's my first club and it's the club for me. As long as the club want me I want to be here."
WAG OF THE DAY
OTHER BOLLOX
Liverpool's principal owner John Henry and chairman Tom Werner will fly into Merseyside before Sunday's Premier League game against Spurs to finalise Kenny Dalglish's appointment as the permanent boss of the club. Daily Mirror
Porto coach Andre Villas Boas has denied reports he is to move to Chelsea or Juventus.Daily Telegraph
Manchester United look to have beaten off competition from Arsenal and Bayern Munich for Lens teenage defender Raphael Varane. Metro
Robert Green will lead the West Ham exodus with a summer move to Aston Villa - even if the Hammers avoid relegation. The Sun
Juventus have joined the chase for Wigan winger Charles N'Zogbia and are believed to be ready to bid up to £10m for the former Newcastle player. Daily Mail
Liverpool could offer Brad Friedel the chance to return to Anfield as the 39-year-old is out of contract with Aston Villa in the summer. Daily Mail
Liverpool are lining up a shock summer move for Reading's Republic of Ireland striker Shane Long. talkSport
Everton are eyeing up a summer loan swoop for Manchester United striker Danny Welbeck. The Sun
Former Chelsea boss Claudio Ranieri is being lined up to replace Neil Warnock as manager of Championship winners QPR. Daily Mirror
Cookery queen Delia Smith got carried away again when she swore in front of 40,000 football fans at a ceremony to celebrate Norwich's promotion to the Premier League. Daily Mirror
West Ham defender Danny Potts has been called into the United States Under-20 squad - even though he's only been to America twice in his life. The 17-year-old is the son of Hammers legend Steve Potts, who was born in Hartford, Connecticut. Daily Mirror
