Blue Moon Podcast - A Manchester City Show

What a week. Manchester City have lifted the FA Cup to make it a domestic cup double, but a draw at Bournemouth on Tuesday also ended their hopes of lifting the Premier League title... while the news also broke this week that Pep Guardiola will call time on his career at the Etihad at the end of the season.

David Mooney is joined by City fan Ciaran Murray and, from the Manchester Evening News, Simon Bajkowski to try and make sense of all the emotions that we're feeling. Both the victory over Chelsea and the stalemate on the south coast can only be viewed through the prism of the last days of the Guardiola era, with similar thoughts looking ahead to this Sunday's match with Aston Villa.

What will life look like after Pep? We hear from Barcelona fan Manu and Bayern Munich fan Felipe as they explain what happened to their clubs after Guardiola stepped down. And why is Enzo Maresca the club's choice of successor? We discuss it all.

==========

To get more podcasts or to listen without the ads, join our Patreon. It's just £2 per month for all the extra content and you can get a 7-day free trial first: ⁠https://www.patreon.com/BlueMoonPodcast⁠

And why not gift a Patreon subscription to a friend or family member? More details: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/BlueMoonPodcast/gift

==========

Would you like to come to the live podcast on Tuesday 26th May, at Idle Hands in Manchester's Northern Quarter, with special guest Brian Horton? Tickets are available here: ⁠https://tickets.bluemoonpodcast.com/
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After back-to-back 3-0 victories, Manchester City have (at the very least) made sure the title race goes down to the final week of the season. David Mooney is joined by City fan Dan Burke and, from Sporting News, Dom Farrell to reflect on the performances and the results against both Brentford and Crystal Palace.

There was impressive displays from Phil Foden this week, so we look at whether he could grab a place in the starting XI for the FA Cup final against Chelsea on Saturday... and with such a big game in mind, how does Pep Guardiola balance that and going away to Bournemouth the following Tuesday?

Sam Rosbottom is on the show to talk through some weird, quirky and strange facts and figures about City in FA Cup finals, while the journalist and Bournemouth fan Robert Santonna returns to give his thoughts on the Cherries' push for a European spot.

==========

To get more podcasts or to listen without the ads, join our Patreon. It's just £2 per month for all the extra content and you can get a 7-day free trial first: ⁠https://www.patreon.com/BlueMoonPodcast⁠

And why not gift a Patreon subscription to a friend or family member? More details: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/BlueMoonPodcast/gift

==========

Would you like to come to the live podcast on Tuesday 26th May, at Idle Hands in Manchester's Northern Quarter, with special guest Brian Horton? Tickets are available here: ⁠https://tickets.bluemoonpodcast.com/
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After City stumbled at Everton, the big question of how problematic it was to their title ambitions could get an answer this week. David Mooney is joined by The Daily Mail's Jack Gaughan and, from StatCity.co.uk, Adam Carter to discuss the performance and what went wrong in a mad 13-minute spell at the Hill Dickinson.

With Brentford up next, we hear from Mike Johnston from The Ealing Road podcast to find out how their chase for European football is going. And, after that, it's that re-arranged game with Crystal Palace... following on from Arsenal's trip to West Ham. When all those games have been played, we should have a clearer idea of how realistic it is for City to reclaim the crown.

The rumours about Pep Guardiola's future have been gaining momentum for a while, now, too. On today's show, we take a look at everything that he has said about it this season and where the stories have come from.

Plus, Phil Foden's signed a brand new deal, Jeremy Doku's whacked a couple of excellent edge-of-the-box strikes in, and there's been more heavy tackles on City players that have gone unpunished.

==========

To get more podcasts or to listen without the ads, join our Patreon. It's just £2 per month for all the extra content and you can get a 7-day free trial first: https://www.patreon.com/BlueMoonPodcast

And why not gift a Patreon subscription to a friend or family member? More details: ⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/BlueMoonPodcast/gift

==========

Would you like to come to the live podcast on Tuesday 26th May, at Idle Hands in Manchester's Northern Quarter? Tickets are available here: https://tickets.bluemoonpodcast.com/
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Yet another FA Cup semi-final successfully navigated means Pep Guardiola will become the first person to lead a team to four successive Cup Finals. David Mooney is joined by City fan Chris Higginbottom and, from Football365, Sarah Winterburn to discuss the week's news.

That FA Cup Final has had a knock-on effect all over the place, too. It means Guardiola will become the City manager with the most matches taken charge of at the end of this season, taking him to 593 (one more than Les McDowall). We speak to the football historian Gary James about that milestone and about the man Pep will overtake.

That extra game next month has also caused a bit of fixture congestion. City wanted to play away at Bournemouth before the trip to Wembley, but the logistics of the calendar and the Premier League have nudged it to the final midweek of the season instead. We look at what's happened there.

And, with Everton on the horizon on Monday, we hear from Matt Jones from The Blue Room to find out how their end-of-season is looking. What can City expect on their first visit to the Hill Dickinson?

==========

To get more podcasts or to listen without the ads, join our Patreon. It's just £2 per month for all the extra content and you can get a 7-day free trial first: ⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/BlueMoonPodcast

And why not gift a Patreon subscription to a friend or family member? More details: ⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/BlueMoonPodcast/gift
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Manchester City are back to the top of the Premier League table. It's the narrowest of narrow margins - they're above Arsenal purely by virtue of scoring more goals - but it's still a much more advantageous position than they've been in for quite some time. David Mooney is joined by City fans Dan Burke and Gaz to discuss the fallout from the games against Arsenal and Burnley.

The Athletic's tactics writer, Michael Cox (also known as Zonal Marking on socials), speaks to the show about how Pep Guardiola is using Nico O'Reilly and how it's an extension of how the manager has used his full-backs at City... in an interview recorded before O'Reilly played in midfield on Wednesday.

Plus, Glen de la Cour from the Southampton podcast Total Saints joins the episode to discuss what to expect on Saturday for the FA Cup semi-final. If City have selection questions over fatigue in the squad, after two high-pressure games, Southampton have an interesting dilemma in the shape of a crucial tie with fellow promotion-hopefuls Ipswich on Tuesday.

And... when have City players 'got away with one'?

==========

To get more podcasts or to listen without the ads, join our Patreon. It's just £2 per month for all the extra content and you can get a 7-day free trial first: ⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/BlueMoonPodcast⁠

And why not gift a Patreon subscription to a friend or family member? More details: ⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/BlueMoonPodcast/gift
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices