Seeing is believing: before the Man City game

This week I have had an operation on both eyes  (a right upper ptosis repair and bilateral dermatochalasis [blepharorrhaphy], since you ask).  I currently look like I've been punched by Mike Tyson and my vision isn't the best.  Everything looks a bit like those shots with camera lenses that have had vaseline on them.  It should be fine by Saturday, but I'm not at all sure that 20-20 vision will make the game look any better.

Man City is the new team everybody loves to hate because they've spent zillions to buy the Premiership and then the Champions League.  But that's what Chelsea did before them and it prefaces the next two World Cups that we have a Russian oligarch and an Arab plutocrat owning those two teams as well as, presumably, bankrolling international tournaments with enough Wonga to sate even the ever-so-greedy Sepp Blatter's appetite.

Since for years 'big clubs' have been buying the best players from smaller clubs anyway, it's only a question of scale when Liverpool or Man Utd don't like it.  And Man Utd are not exactly shrinking violets when it comes to shelling out money for players they have previously tapped up.  Ince?  Rooney?  That's ignoring Van Nistelrooy and Stam.  Spurs have certainly bought the playbook - 'Arry or son Jamie do the tapping up, the chairman spends big money, hey presto, Chapions League.

So the delights of Man City's no doubt very opulent bench (as well as very large pay packets) must be better than Arsenal (for Adebayor) or Everton (for Lescott) or being John Terry's neighbour (for Bridge - and that I can well understand).

As the weather's cold I expect Roberto Mancini will be modelling the style item de nos jours, the club scarf (as taken up by the rather less stylish Avram Grant, but in different colours), and there'll be snoods and gloves a-plenty for the players.  For the crowd (our bit, at least) it'll be thermals under layers of other clothes so we give passable imitations of the Michelin Man.  But we can but hope the players are induced to run around a bit to keep warm.

I'm not sure whether being able to see the game will be such a good idea after losing to Sunderland.  Man City are a different proposition and although King Carlos has done the decent thing and got himself suspended so he doesn't have to score against us, he'll miss his usual standing ovation (and we'll miss his crossed hammers sign in return).  But I can't see us getting anything from this game other than frozen extremities.