Grin of the week

"Bystanders beware! The Manchester City juggernaut is roaring back to the big time

"Bystanders beware! The Manchester City juggernaut is roaring back to the big time. Joe Royle's mean machine is devouring everything in its path as the Blues bulldoze their way to glory." Blimey. So screamed the Manchester Evening News on Saturday after City had beaten Stoke in the league on Friday night.

"Dutch destroyer Gerard Wiekens today blasted out a warning to Manchester City's rivals - `Nobody can stop us'," continued the piece. Meanwhile City's Gareth Taylor was quoted as saying that the team "has to treat every game like a cup game" (which mightn't be a good thing since they were dumped out of the FA Cup, League Cup and Auto Windscreens Shield before they'd even warmed up). We don't mean to put a dampener on the newspaper's enthusiasm, but Friday's win simply moved City up to eighth in Division Two, a point behind Chesterfield and Gillingham. Calm down lads, calm down.

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Mary Hannigan

Mary Hannigan

Mary Hannigan is a sports writer with The Irish Times