Rob Pollard from Man City blog Typical City popped over the other day to ask me some questions ahead of tonight’s game, so I took the opportunity to ask him the six questions that you’re dying to ask the next City fans that you can lay your hands on.  Not that there’d be any excuse for that sort of malarky, mind.  So read on to find out how I’ve managed to secure an apology from Shaun Goater and how the eating habits of the north-western male really are at risk.

Wigan Athletic – what do you really think of of us?

I like Wigan. I like your manager and I like your chairman.

Martinez genuinely looks set for big things. He has really stamped his DNA on the Wigan side and I think you play some quality football. The worst period I had watching City was under Stuart Pearce. The football was dreadful; we didn’t have a style that was our own, and we couldn’t string two passes together. It was so ugly. I thought maybe that was down to the shoestring budget Pearce was operating with but Wigan are proof that it’s not about money. It’s about having a manager who knows how the game should be played and conveying that to his players. I have huge respect for Martinez for exactly that reason.

And your chairman always seems like an all-round good guy to me, too. He’s put his foot in it once or twice but, on the whole, he’s a top bloke who sticks by his managers, something you can’t say for many chairmen in the league right now.

Where were you when you (and us) were shit? 

I had a season ticket and went to many away matches during our lowest years. As a young lad I used to get very emotional when things didn’t go well for us (which they invariably didn’t) but looking back they were fantastic days. Watching your team lose to Stockport is embarrassing and humbling but in a weird way it was great to be part of it. It’s funny because in those days we were everybody’s second team. We were shit and comical in equal measures and it made for a really loveable mix. Contrast that to today and it shows the strides we’ve made.

What are your memories of our season in the third division together.  Is it time for Shaun Goater to finally issue a formal apology to Wigan Athletic?

Ha! if it helps you I’ll try and get hold of him and get him to give you what would be, in all honesty, a deserved apology. I was at that game and the feeling at the end was fantastic. You also had a stonewall penalty not given too, so I can absolutely understand your frustrations but we were destined to be promoted that season, as the final proved.

As for that season in general, I loved it. Getting promotion was a brilliant feeling and we did it in true Typical City fashion. It was a season in which I went to many games, including some really dodgy grounds, but I have nothing but fond memories of that year. It also helped us rediscover how to win a football match, and we took that into the following season (my favourite one) when we got promoted back into the Premier League unexpectedly.

Joe Royle is a hero at City and the second half of that season in the third tier was what kicked things off for him.

Despite winning the league, Mancini still seems to get mixed reactions from City fans.  Why and is there anything he can do to win you all over?

There’s no mixed reaction he’s absolutely loved by the City fans, it’s elsewhere he gets stick. The media are gunning for him at the moment, as are the fans of our rivals are too but I love that he gets under the skin of our rivals, it shows he’s doing well.

He gets criticised for being too emotional but as a fan I love that. His face when we lose is like my face when we lose. The irony is that United fans are the first to criticise him for that, yet I’ve always admired that very same quality in Fergie. When United lose, he couldn’t look more annoyed and that’s how it should be. I’m so glad we have a manager who displays his emotions, it warms my heart greatly. It means so much to him and that makes me feel like we have a man who understands the importance of the job he’s got.

I think that there is clearly an issue with his Champions League record; shying away from that would be silly. Our campaign this year was dreadful, we didn’t win a match and, in all honesty, rarely even looked like winning one. At least last year we took 10 points from a tough group and were just unlucky. Mancini has always struggled in that competition despite managing big sides and he must get that right next season or else serious questions will again be asked.

How do you see Wednesday’s game panning out, I presume you’re planning on an easy victory to ease worries about your recent form?

Our league form’s fine, we’re still unbeaten and our performance levels are steadily improving. I see it being a tough match – really tricky in fact – but we have to get a result.

After a couple of doges on this next question, I’m expecting a proper answer from a fellow north-westerner? What’s your approved method for eating a pie, what flavour do you go for and do you have any sauce with it?

I’m really sorry to disappoint you but I don’t really eat pies. Ever. I’m a vegetarian so if I was to have one it would probably be cheese based and I’d opt for brown sauce. What an utterly awful answer that is but it’s the best I can do. Modern day fans eh…

Rob – I steadfastly refuse to recognise cheese based pies find and try a butter pie on your way to the game tomorrow and you’ll never look back.

Rob Pollard is the editor of City blog Typical City. You can follow him on Twitter @TypicalCity.

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