The Independent: The rich men of Abu Dhabi who have funded Manchester City's assault on the elite of English football preferred to attend the Formula One grand prix in their home country yesterday to an afternoon watching their new investment toil in the Midlands. For that alone, Mark Hughes could be grateful: this was not the work of a £200m team.
Given is on hand to save poor City .....
The Guardian:
Shay Given's spot-kick save spares Manchester City's blushes .....
Manchester City's season has turned into a grind. Four successive league draws have applied the brakes to their early momentum and, in the process, provided a reminder of just how far Mark Hughes's side have to travel before they can be considered title contenders. For the first time in nine matches, the visitors kept a clean sheet, although Birmingham City's failure to score owed little to the Manchester City back four and everything to Shay Given. View Full Report
The Telegraph:
Birmingham City 0 Manchester City 0 .....
Mark Hughes has Shay Given to thank for ensuring that his 46th birthday was not ruined by defeat to Birmingham City, and this will definitely not be a day for the Manchester City manager to remember. His side were held to their fourth league draw in a row, and were only saved the embarrassment of loss by Given, and Given alone, when the goalkeeper saved James McFadden's penalty after Nigel de Jong handledin the area. View Full Report
The Times:
Shay Given penalty save secures draw for Manchester City .....
All it needed, at the end of a day when Abu Dhabi held its inaugural grand prix in the stunning setting of Yas Island, was for Sheikh Mansour's football team to take the bold step forward that would underline the position that the emirate has acquired at the centre of the sporting universe. View Full Report