Slade was the bitter-tasting medicine City needed to halt a potential slide into league 1, Trollope was the homeopathic remedy which proved useless.

It's nice to have a manager who is not exactly the opposition fans' favourite. I'd tired of seeing City players accept wrong refereeing decisions with a shrug of the shoulders, and has anyone else noticed that whenever a Villa player [or any other team this season] receives a pass, a City player nearly always [as the pundits say] 'leaves a little bit on the player. Not enough for a free kick, but just enough to know he's there.

We all admire skill and finesse in football, but there's nothing quite like the cut and thrust of a fast paced game. Strangely, one player who you could argue lacks pace, seems to be revelling in it. Gunnarson was M.O.M. again for me, too, probably playing the best ever for the club.