ROBERTO MANCINI dropped Craig Bellamy, made a winning Premier League start and then revealed the Welshman as his brand new friend.
Manchester City fans were clearly unhappy that Robinho had been preferred and gave Bellamy an ear-splitting ovation when he replaced the Brazilian twenty minutes from time.
But by then, City were already on their way to victory, courtesy of goals from Martin Petrov and Carlos Tevez.
Bellamy was reported to be one of those players deeply unhappy with the way Mark Hughes was sacked.
There was even talk about a possible departure in the transfer window.
And the signs were not promising when Bellamy was only amongst the substitutes for Mancini's bow at Eastlands yesterday.
But the pair exchanged a warm handshake at the end of the game and Mancini revealed that he had already held talks with Bellamy 48 hours ago.
The Italian boss smiled: "Bellamy is my friend. I spoke with him before the match - a couple of days ago - and it was no problem at all.
"He was happy. All the players are happy.
"We have two games in three days and I need players to be 100 percent fit.
"I have (Martin) Petrov, Carlos, Robinho and Bellamy fit but none of the big strikers.
"So I have to pick from those.
"I picked Robinho but he was tired after 65 minutes.
"I was not disappointed with his performance."
Indeed, a smiling Mancini was understandably delighted with all his players after getting his first win under his belt.
And he was given a warm reception by City fans when - wearing a blue and white scarf, which he kept on for his media interviews - he was introduced to the crowd before the game.
"I am was happy for the fans," he said. "But the team can improve and I can improve.
"For the first game, all the players were good. Especially in the first half. The second half was a bit so-so but I thought they got tired. But it was their first time with me so I am delighted.
"What is especially important is that we did not concede a goal."
Mancini clearly relished a first taste of the Premier League atmosphere as a coach, adding: "Obviously, I love Italy but I love the crowds in England. I am very happy for the fans."
There were no signs at all of any unrest amongst the capacity crowd of over 47,000. There were no signs of any protest against chief executive Garry Cook or chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak who watched the game side-by-side in the Eastlands stands.
"It's normal that Mark Hughes was popular," said Mancini. "But we will improve and the fans were great today."
He also picked out the performance of the generally unsung Nigel de Jong, calling the Dutch midfielder's display 'fantastic'.
But Mancini clearly wants to get one of his target-men available again soon, although Emmanuel Adebayor seems unlikely to feature until after the Africa Cup of Nations.
It seems certain that controversial Bellamy will start at Wolves tomorrow night, when, as long as his first team is picked, Mick McCarthy's side are likely to provide a bigger test than a Stoke outfit who were strangely subdued.
Stoke boss Tony Pulis said: "I always thought the first goal would be vital and Tuncay missed a good chance. Had Tuncay's chance gone in, the reaction would have been interesting, not just from the City players but the supporters as well.
"And then our defending for both goals was poor. That's not like us.
"If we had scored first it would have been interesting."
Animated Pulis prowled the technical area and cut a contrasting figure to the cool Mancini, who was asked by an Italian journalist to sum up his first matchday as a Premier League boss.
Simple. "Bella," he said.
From newsoftheworld.co.uk
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