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Manchester has been a city dominated by the colour red for a long time. However the blue half of the city is starting to fight back. Manchester City is a club on the up, with wealthy owners and a squad that continues to grow thanks to the addition of world class talent such as Robinho and Adebajor. You can watch Manchester City live online right here on Live Sports Network.

Blues boss Mark Hughes will have a very nice problem this season - what starting eleven to put out each week from his ever-increasing squad. The summer signings have raised more than a few eyebrows outside the City and he must be eagerly awaiting the start of hat could be a very good season. Former Arsenal keeper Stuart Taylor has joined from Aston Villa to maintain the competition for the number one jersey after Shay Given’s main rival, Joe Hart, was allowed to join Birmingham City on a season-long loan.

The midfield has been strengthened with the arrival of Gareth Barry, also from Villa, who was Hughes‘ first summer signing for £12M. He joins fellow England international Shaun Wright-Phillips and will form part of a formidable goal-scoring midfield with Stephen Ireland having weighed in with more than his fair share last year. However, the biggest competition for places will be up front.

With Craig Bellamy, Benjani, and Robinho already at the club, City had the potential to be a lethal attacking force. Since landing Roque Santa Cruz from Blackburn Rovers and Carlos Tevez who chose to cross the City from red to blue, City’s stock has risen further. The recent acquisition of Emmanuel Adebayor from Arsenal confirmed that City mean business this season.

The only area not yet strengthened is defence but with Wayne Bridge, Richard Dunne, Tal Ben-Haim and a Swine-flu-free Micah Richards, City have experience where it counts. Whether the reported interest in Chelsea and England’s John Terry will ultimately bear fruit is yet to be determined but the buying power of City’s owners has surely not dimmed quite yet.

With the signings of Tevez, Santa Curz and Adebayor to name but three, expectations at Eastlands will be huge this year. City did not quite live up to early season promise during 2008/9 and the presuure will be on Hughes to produce the goods this time around given the substantial investment in players laid at his disposal. The ability to score goals is now unquestioned. If the defence proves anything other than watertight, whether they will be able to ‘outscore the opposition’ is another thing. Many have tried and failed to succeed at this in the past. Hughes tenure in the Eastlands hotseat will depend on how successful he blends the new and old faces.

Manchester City started off as St.Marks (West Gorton), formed by Anna Connell, daughter of Rev Arthur Connell of St. Mark's Church in West Gorton. The club was subsequently known as West Gorton ( St.Mark's), Gorton AFC and Ardwick FC following their move to Hyde Road in Ardwick, their home until 1923. They were one of the founding members of the Football League Division Two in 1892 , along with eleven other clubs. In the 1893-94 season, Manchester City came into existence.

They won their first promotion to division one in 1899 and their first FA Cup in 1904. Man City moved to Maine Road in August 1923 after a fire destroyed the main stand at Hyde Road. A second FA Cup arrived in 1934 but their third triumph is possibly the most famous. The 1956 FA Cup final is remembered as the game when German goalkeeper Bert Trautmann played the last fifteen minutes of the game with a broken neck.

City's glory years were undoubtedly between 1965 and 1972, with Joe Mercer as manager and Malcolm Allison as his assistant. It was during this period that the famous trio of Colin Bell, Mike Summerbee and Francis Lee made City a formidable power. City won the First Division in 1968 with a final day victory over Newcastle. This was followed by the FA Cup in 1969, and the League Cup and the European Cup Winners' Cup the following year. However, following Mercer’s departure in 1972 the main highlights were being responsible for the relegation of rivals United in 1974 and a League Cup win in 1976.

The following two decades saw City fall from grace and even play in the third tier or English football. Times have got better for City fans and a succession of big-name managers - Kevin Keegan, Stuart Pearce and Sven Goren Eriksson - have overseen a resurgence in fortunes with varying degrees of success. The purchase of the club by a consortium led by the controversial Thaksin Sinawatra did not produce the expected results and Eriksson left.

The introduction of former Manchester United legend and ex-Wales boss Mark Hughes, who in his playing days also enjoyed success with Chelsea after leaving United, coincided with the takeover by Abu Dhabi United, who to many uninformed could have been the UAE league champions for all they knew. The beginning of September 2008 brought a whole new ball game to Manchester and 24 hours later, whilst Hughes himself was mischievously reported to have been on the golf course, City shocked the footballing world, and no doubt Roman Abramovich himself, by outbidding Chelsea to land Brazilian forward Robinho from Real Madrid for a British record £34.2M. A new superpower had arrived in the Premiership.

Now playing at the City Of Manchester Stadium, early signs were mixed as was progression in the various competitions, both domestically and in Europe. Yet life will never be the same again for the passionate fans who frequent Eastlands - the sixth largest stadium in England.

With an ever-increasing start-studded squad, getting a ticket to watch Manchester City live is becoming difficult. Through our dedicated members area, you can obtain direct access to live Manchester City matches through Live Sports Network.

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