The very moment Elano Blumer's right leg swung forward, boot cutting across the iconic Nike Total 90 ball placed 25 yards from goal, everyone inside the City of Manchester Stadium knew what the outcome was going to be.
It takes something special to change the mindset of a long-suffering fanbase, one that has come to accept its fate of turgid football, inevitable let-downs and lower-table malaise. Nothing exciting happened at Manchester City, particularly in 2007.
The 2006/07 season was a case of same-old same-old for City. The optimism and positivity that slowly built throughout the previous year of Stuart Pearce's management evaporated without a trace, as did anything resembling City scoring a goal. The Blues scored just 10 goals at home all season, 29 in all. It felt like the words 'City' and 'entertainment' didn't belong in the same language, never mind the same sentence.
