Your correspondent does not mention that the Wigan goal was largely due to indecision on the part of Weaver, the City goalkeeper. The match would otherwise have been drawn.I cannot understand why week after week Pearce declines to play Isaakson, an international goalkeeper who, on the admittedly limited evidence so far, must be worth a one goal start to the team.

Nigel Duckworth, Sheffield,

Ever since I heard some City fans say that, for them, beating United is more important than relegation, I have hoped that the situation would arise where they could beat United and still be relegated. Maybe on the 5th March, three things could happen:

1. They beat United
2. United are crowned champions anyway
3. City are relegated

That would be so, so sweet.

Lucas Lewis, Northampton, UK

In the paper it says relegated in 2001 but on here its 1996. Shome mishtake shurely?

Nick Harvey, Peterborough, UK

Strangely, my calendar reckons that 5 May is 2 MONTHS away.

Peter Moody, Fareham, England

Very dissapointed by the work rate on Saturday and felt we deserved to lose to Wigan. On the face of it you would not have guessed City were the massive club, with the huge stadium, the widest pitch and the tallest floodlights in the league, and Wigan were a new side from a town where football plays second fiddle to rugby league week in, week out.

Tony Brewer, Manchester, UK

Max Weber, please try and keep your childish sarcasm from these pages. If you don't want to read comments from angry City fans, don't read a City strory; and if you want to feel clever with your "big floodlights" sarcasm, then there are plenty of United messageboards out there for you.

I agree with Shaun that the basis of our current plight has been forcing Pearce to shop in the bargain basement for 3 years. He can't perform miracles and there were plenty of people quite pleased with his summer buys, before they actually arrived and most flattered to deceive. Samaras is Pearce's only big money buy and looks like poor business at the moment, but the problem is that we are judging him in terms of the success of his major transfers, which mount to one.

My biggest worry at the moment is that Pearce doesn't feel this team is good enough to play a passing and moving style of football and believes against most sides, we're better hoofing the ball up towards the strikers.. not good.

Dave, Eccles,

Decent article, but there is a glaring innacuracy in the first paragraph.
City were relegated from the top flight in 2001 under the management of Joe Royle. They bounced back as champions under Kevin Keegan in 2002.

Paul Cahill, Yorkshire,

after watching that dismal display by city on sat, i just feel totally gutted, If we do manage to stay up which im praying for after years of abuse (my brothers a red)wehave to get rid of the whole strike force that have done NOTHING this season.
The only players that are worth a city shirt are BARTON, DUNN, RICHARDS, AND WEAVER. the rest have been total wasters

tracey, bideford, devon

I dearly hope some of the City team watched the West Ham game today. They would have witnessed a gutsy hardworking team with a determination to try and turn their hopeless situation around. I'm a City fan of over 40 years and I was actually envious of the Hammers fans. OK they never got the result ,but they played thier hearts out to the final whistle and were desperately unlucky in the end. Their fans can be proud of them to a man. Compare that to our bunch of overpaid waster's that tamely laid down and folded yet again. Our game on saturday was a carbon copy of at least 25 games between now and the end of last season. Unfortunately finances dictated that not only did we have to give Pearce the managers gig, but we also had to keep him even after it was proved beyond a doubt that he was in way over his head. Any of these rumoured takeover bids must surely be in jeopardy . With our current debt, if we were to miss out on next years TV windfall through relegation, a Leeds like scenario beckons. It truly wouldnt be so heartbreaking if we at least had a team that tried, that we could be proud of.

Blackley lad., ny, usa

I fear it may take more than Mystic Meg to work out what journalistic magic Kaveh Solhekol is trying to weave with the pseudo-classical references in the header and first paragraph. In May, as in March, the Ides fall on the 15th day, by which time any crystal balls will be well and truly redundant, as far as City's immediate fate is concerned.
Stick to the football, Kaveh. Leave the frothy bits to the likes of AA Gill (and hope he doesn't start writing about soccer)!

Graham, Kaohsiung, Taiwan

"city fans deserve so, so much more".

What do they deserve?

Are city fans "more deserving" than United fans, or West Ham fans, or Cardiff fans? Why? Are city fans special because they are more loyal? More ironic? Because they're massive and have the biggest floodlights in England?

Max Weber, Berlin,

Sorry Kaveh: Pearce is absolutely right. It's ridiculous to expect a manager as inexperienced as he is, operating at a big, big club, to somehow come up with bargain buy after bargain buy. They DO need investment, desperately - and his words plainly relate to the possible takeover of the club reported recently.

It's not his fault they're in this situation: it's John Wardle's, who oversaw a horrific period of overstretch under Keegan (which was meant to take them into the CL, but actually resulted in them flirting with the drop in 03/4). They only progressed under David Bernstein's steady hand in the boardroom: since then, Wardle has sown the seeds for their downfall. I HOPE they stay up - City fans deserve so, so much more - but I'm beginning to fear for them, and the meeting with Charlton in early April is absolutely massive.

Shaun, Oxford,

we got relegated from the prem in 2001 as well...

chris, manchester,

How the hell did this rubbish get past the editor

the actual facts:

May 5th is 2 months away not 2 days away!

City were last relegated in 2001

the 73/74 united relegation was in city's final match of the season but united's penultimate match.

neville won't be lifting anything at city as the trophy would be presented in unite'd final HOME game of the season at West Ham even if they secured it the week before.

Jon Capehart, Holmfirth, UK