Manchester City to visit Melbourne?

ENGLISH Premier League giant Manchester City could play a game in Melbourne next May, with early discussions being held for the Etihad-sponsored club to play at the stadium that bears the airline's name.
Football Federation Australia chief executive Ben Buckley, Etihad Airways and Manchester City and Etihad Stadium management are negotiating the feasibility of the match with a decision expected in the next six weeks.
The choice of opponent is yet to be determined. The Socceroos have been floated as potential candidates, but the FFA will not pit the national team against a club side - even the richest one in the world. ''Playing exhibition games against club teams is not part of the mission for the Socceroos, no matter who that club may be,'' said FFA spokesman Kyle Patterson.
Advertisement: Story continues below
That could, however, leave the door open for Melbourne Victory, Melbourne Heart or another A-League club to pitch for the game.
Manchester City, which won last year's FA Cup, is five points clear of Manchester United at the top of the English Premier League and is second in its Champions League group.
Etihad Airways is believed to be extremely keen for the match to take place, while the FFA is eager for Manchester City to come out. The difficulty of finding a suitable date in the crowded soccer calendar may be the biggest obstacle.
A possible window after the FA Cup and the end of the Premier League in mid to late May and before the European championships is the period on which negotiations have centred.
Etihad Stadium chief executive Ian Collins said discussions were preliminary but the venue would be able to find a suitable date within its own schedule.
''At this point in time it's very early. We would like to think we could progress it but it is very early in the piece,'' Collins said. ''We would be available to host it. We can always fit that in. There is always a window of opportunity in the AFL draw and it does not have to be played at the weekend so we could play a soccer match midweek and soccer does not damage the turf.''
Given the mid-May finish to the English season and the early June kick-off of the European Championships, it would be unlikely that Manchester City could field a full-strength side.
The European Champions League final is due to be played on May 20 at Bayern Munich's Allianz Arena. The Premier League concludes on May 13 and the final of the FA Cup is May 5. The weeks after that and before the Euros and World Cup qualifiers in early June are the most likely options.

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/sport/soccer/officials-scramble-for-man-city-visit-20111115-1nh7v.html#ixzz1dqiU3nOU

booo we want money city in sydney!

Instead we got Blackburn who made Sydney look good...

It'll be Victory who plays if they come. I've read rumours like this before though, don't get hopes up just yet.

I would prefer Barca to come to Australia as part of their Asian tours they have lined up for the next few years... test themselves against Roar and Sydney!

and we got celtic who ended up getting done by the ultra defnesive CCM, the game wouldve been a 100% borefest if ti werent for the celtic fans and that it was the first ever football match id been to (the attendace for that game was>the roosters average attendance too )

imagine if chelsea came.......theyve been to thiland because theyre doing the whole asia/paciffic promotional thing too, its a great market for all clubs to get into, still having barca here would be pretty epic too

Yeah, there was a rumour that Milan was considering coming down last summer based off an article in the Sydney Telegraph or something like that, which never showed any signs of eventuating, this only seems more believable given the Etihad link.

It's great if they play Victory, why would I want go and watch my own team to be smashed?

"Test themselves" against Sydney. "Casually murder" perhaps.

fatman123 wrote:and we got celtic who ended up getting done by the ultra defnesive CCM, the game wouldve been a 100% borefest if ti werent for the celtic fans and that it was the first ever football match id been to (the attendace for that game was>the roosters average attendance too )

imagine if chelsea came.......theyve been to thiland because theyre doing the whole asia/paciffic promotional thing too, its a great market for all clubs to get into, still having barca here would be pretty epic too

Yeah the Celtic fans in Melbourne were far more interesting than the game. Even if it was good to see Victory lose, they honestly weren't outplayed at all, it was a disgraceful performance by Celtic.

did you have many people try jump the baricade and get onto the feild at half time?

dostoevsky wrote:Yeah, there was a rumour that Milan was considering coming down last summer based off an article in the Sydney Telegraph or something like that, which never showed any signs of eventuating, this only seems more believable given the Etihad link.

It's great if they play Victory, why would I want go and watch my own team to be smashed?

"Test themselves" against Sydney. "Casually murder" perhaps.

SYDNEY TELEGRAPH?

Even I know that The Age does Melbourne .__.

YEAHHHHH BUDDY. IL BE GETTING MY TICKETS THIS ONE. make it happen

pasquale22 wrote:YEAHHHHH BUDDY. IL BE GETTING MY TICKETS THIS ONE. make it happen

This. Now. Confirm it!!!!!!!!!!!!

Playing against Victory or Heart would literally be training for the Man City guys

But I doubt they'll bring their triple A stars to Etihad. Although it would be cool to see Silva and Balotelli in the flesh

With the Euros, we'll likely not see a great squad, however the likes of Dzeko and Kompany won't be heading to the Euros, along with the South American and African contingent like Aguero and Yaya; it would be great to see them. I'd settle for one or two stars and their reserves to be honest.

Why not come to Adelaide? Oh right, because we suck.

Y U NO COME TO SYDNEY!

Kick wrote:Why not come to Adelaide? Oh right, because we suck.

You're in Adelaide?!

Decieved by the NZ flag! :vagi:

Adelaide pride! (jks, when it comes to attracting bands, sports, attractions we fail in the most hugely underwhelming (oxymoron?) way possible)

Yes, I am from New Zealand but I have lived in Adelaide since 04, you live here too?

Kick wrote:Yes, I am from New Zealand but I have lived in Adelaide since 04, you live here too?

yeah, I go to Adelaide Uni and I'm studying Law/Health Sci. in a double degree. are you a student too?

LOL, I am a second year Gelogy student at adelaide!

You might have seen me, I wear a lot of Chelsea kits. Most people know me as the Ramires or Sturridge guy.

Kick wrote:LOL, I am a second year Gelogy student at adelaide!

You might have seen me, I wear a lot of Chelsea kits. Most people know me as the Ramires or Sturridge guy.

How small's Adelaide?
.

Lol I am talking about Adelaide uni Campass.

I stick out because nobody wears football shirts here.

cool, i think I've only worn a Milan shirt to uni a couple of times. I'm usually around the ligertwood building or the hub, but I have pretty low contact hours and I prefer to study at home instead of uni.

Ah, do you by chance happen to have a KPB home kit?

I do remember seeing one of them once. I spend most of my time at Mawson or Med school.

Nope. Among other kits, I have a Pato home shirt which is most likely the one that I would've worn to uni. I'd like to get a KPB, T. Silva or Cassano away kit for next season though.

Just today I saw a guy in the law library wearing this seasons home kit. I think it was a Seedorf top. There seem to be quite a few Milan supporters around uni, or maybe I'm just good at noticing them.

Amazingly, I actually have a weekly tute in Mawson and a weekly lecture in Florey this semester.

How come you moved to Adelaide? Are you finding geology interesting?

lol @ the huge derailing of this thread we've caused...

ahem ... I mean... yes, I care about Melbourne and Man City heaps.

United are bottlers :vagi:.

I don't like geology .

PL champions comming to Australia