MANAGER Sven-Goran Eriksson believes Manchester City’s return to European combat could be the making of Thaksin Shinawatra’s Blues revolution.
City will enter the UEFA Cup at the first qualifying round stage after confirmation they have pipped Fulham to the coveted Fair Play prize. Although it is not the preferred method of reaching Europe, it has come 12 months ahead of schedule and could
be a major benefit in both recruiting new players and retaining existing ones.
“It is a step in the right direction because the target for this club in the future is to play in the Champions League,” Eriksson said.
City will learn their first opponents on June 30 but bizarrely may have to play the home leg in Yorkshire as Eastlands is unavailable.
The pitch is being relaid after a Bon Jovi concert and with Old Trafford ruled out for obvious reasons and most Lancashire grounds either relaying their surfaces or deemed unsuitable, Huddersfield’s Galpharm Stadium, which usually plays host to rugby league in the summer, has been mentioned as an alternative.
Having already been placed in the Northern section of a regional draw, City will tackle opposition from Estonia, Iceland, the Faroe Islands, Lithuania or Luxembourg or opposition closer to home in the form of two Northern Irish representatives Glentoran and Cliftonville, two from the Republic in Cork City and current league leaders St Patrick’s Athletic, as well as Bangor from Wales.
There is also the possibility of a rematch with Wales’ other representatives The New Saints who, as Total Network Solutions, faced City when they last got into the UEFA Cup by the same route in 2003.
The full article contains 285 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
