Blue Moon Podcast - A Manchester City Show

For one final time in 2025, let's Blue Moon Podcast. In today's show, David Mooney is joined by City fans Richard Burns and Dan Burke to discuss the hard-fought 2-1 win at Nottingham Forest. They look at the importance of the win and how the season is progressing, the key performers at The City Ground, and also the complaints around refereeing 'controversies'. With the year coming to a close, it's also time for the first instalment of the Alternative Highlights. Ciaran Murray and KC are back to dissect the weird and wonderful moments of the season so far, taking in August to December, including Erling Haaland's outfits, some cheeky social media posts, Guardiola's nonsense in press conferences, and how one City meme made national news. As we get back to our Thursday recording schedule for the new year, it means we've got THREE games to preview, too. We hear from Ant Waterson from Roker Report on Sunderland, Dan Childs from Son of Chelsea, and from Ryan Adsett from Talk Seagulls on Brighton. Plus, it looks like Antoine Semenyo could be making the move to City in January, so what would that mean for the squad and the wingers already there? And we even squeeze in the Blue Moon Podcast end-of-year awards. ========== 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

After a not-so-thrilling but very comfortable 3-0 win against West Ham, David Mooney is joined by Dom Farrell from Sporting News and Simon Bajkowski from the Manchester Evening News to discuss Manchester City's week.  Most of the talk has been off-the-pitch, with the news that City were looking at contingencies in case Pep Guardiola decided to leave at the end of this season... but then the manager spoke about it all at length in the press conference on Friday, so we look at what's been said and what it could mean for the end of his contract in 2027. It's Christmas week, so Mooney's also spent his weekend digging through the history books to look at some of the strangest facts and figures around City on December the 25th. Then we get insight into a, frankly, bizarre season so far for Nottingham Forest from journalist and Forest fan Nick Miller. And what's all this about coming back from the Christmas break "fatty"? ========== 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

EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal ➼ https://nordvpn.com/bluemoon Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee! ========== After wins over Crystal Palace and Brentford, Manchester City have been set-up nicely to head into the Christmas period. Through to the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup and just two points off the top of the table... It's a far cry from where things were this time 12 months ago. David Mooney is joined by City fans Dan Burke and Luke Stanley to discuss the week, with a focus on the performances in the last two games. Perhaps it wasn't top notch against Palace, but you can't argue with a 3-0 away win, while a much-changed team put in a professional display in the League Cup quarter-final tie. Speaking of the demons of last season, we're taking a look at how much things have improved a year on. City have scored more, conceded fewer, and taken more points than at this stage last season, so what has changed in the squad to recover from such a bad period and just how bad did it get? Plus, with West Ham to come this week, James Jones from We Are West Ham joins the show to discuss what's been going wrong for them so far this term and whether or not they're in real trouble at the bottom of the table. Plus... What do you know about Father Christmas in Norway? ========== 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

Check out the Blue Moon Podcast Annual 2026: https://www.patreon.com/collection/1882955 ========== Another pair of victories, as Manchester City put in perhaps their most controlled and dominant performance of the season against Sunderland... and then had to dig in and get the job done at Real Madrid. David Mooney is joined by City fan Ciaran Murray and, from the Daily Mail, Jack Gaughan to discuss both of those matches. Dan Burke is on the show looking at Phil Foden's return to form and hearing what both the player and his manager said about the tough times he endured in the last 12-18 months. We also speak to comedian and Crystal Palace fan Andre Vincent about the match at Selhurst Park on Sunday, plus we look ahead to the tie with Brentford in the League Cup. On top of that, we're talking flashy assists and... urine that smells like perfume. Honestly. ========== 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

EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal ➼ https://nordvpn.com/bluemoon Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee! ========== What an insane week it's been. Trying to get to the bottom of why Manchester City lost control of two games against 17th and 18th in the table when they had a comfortable lead in both matches is, from Sporting News, Dom Farrell and, from Football365, Sarah Winterburn. They join David Mooney to discuss the chaos of the games with Leeds and Fulham. They also take a look at City's 'tactical time out', which has drawn attention this week. Did they actually benefit from the huddle at the side of the pitch when Gianluigi Donnarumma went down against Leeds? Is it more concerning that Leeds still equalised after it and the momentum in the game didn't change? Then, at Fulham, in all the madness, Erling Haaland broke the Premier League record to become the fastest player to score 100 goals in the competition. That and Phil Foden's recent form is up for discussion, too. With Sunderland up next, Ant Waterson from Roker Report speaks to the show about what to expect from their visit to the Etihad, and with Real Madrid also coming up there are fears of what might happen if City don't tighten up their grip on matches. ========== 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

The mood was good... and then Newcastle and Bayer Leverkusen happened. David Mooney is joined by Paul Hirst from The Times and, from the City Ramble podcast, Amos Murphy to try and work out what on earth went wrong this week. Pep Guardiola made ten changes to the team for the Champions League and the performance was pretty disjoined... He admitted afterwards it might have been a misstep, but did he also not get much help from the players he gave opportunities to?  Then there was the VAR decisions at St James's Park that ignored a potential penalty on Phil Foden and that caused anger with an offside in the build-up to the winning goal. With Leeds and Fulham to come, we also hear from Calum Archibald who contributes to the Leeds website The Square Ball and from Sammy James who is part of the Fulhamish podcast. ========== 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

EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal ➼ https://nordvpn.com/bluemoon Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee! ========== Dan Burke steps in to host, as City fan Chris Higginbottom and The Athletic's City correspondent Sam Lee discuss the fallout from the City players' involvements in the internationals and the upcoming games with Newcastle and Bayer Leverkusen.  Erling Haaland buys some hamburgers, the internet loses its mind over Phil Foden, and Abdukodir Khusanov clumps an Iranian striker... plus insight into Newcastle from Sam Dalling from the True Faith podcast and what to expect from Leverkusen from Germany-based journalist Archie Rhind-Tutt. Oh... and another international break has gone by without any news of the charges. Who could have guessed? ========== 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

After a comprehensive 3-0 win over Liverpool, David Mooney is joined by Manchester City fans Richard Burns and KC to discuss the performance and the talking points from the game. A lot has been made of the disallowed goal, so they pick through the details of that, plus they look at excellent performances from Jeremy Doku, Bernardo Silva, and Nico Gonzalez (among others). Nico's goal might be considered the first City have scored in the Premier League this season from a set piece, but even if it is City's numbers from dead balls around the box are pretty poor. We try to work out why, with the help of journalists Sam Lee and Matt Hobbs, plus former City centre-back Nedum Onuoha. Sunday's game marked Pep Guardiola's 1000th as a manager, too. To celebrate that achievement, we're going back to the first ever time he was in the dugout as a head coach - with The Athletic's Pol Ballus giving us the details of his first match in charge of Barcelona B and discussing how that has shaped his career to this point. ========== 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

EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal ➼ https://nordvpn.com/bluemoon Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee! ========== Following Manchester City's wins over Bournemouth and Borussia Dortmund, David Mooney is joined by City fan Chris Higginbottom and, from the Daily Mail, Jack Gaughan to discuss the talking points from the week. How much are City happy to not have the ball if it allows them to counter-attack? And would Guardiola prefer to return to having more of the ball if the opposition drops deep? With Liverpool up next, we hear from Neil Atkinson from The Anfield Wrap. He explains what's been going wrong for Liverpool in the last few weeks (and if those issues have been solved with wins over Aston Villa and Real Madrid). As the November international break appears on the horizon, how are City doing this season in competition with their title rivals? What does this game at the weekend mean for the winner and for the loser (and both if it's a draw)? Plus, why are City so rubbish at set pieces? And what are the best City goal celebrations? ========== 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

EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal ➼ https://nordvpn.com/bluemoon Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee! ========== Progress in the League Cup followed a set-back in the Premier League. David Mooney is joined by Manchester City fan Ciaran Murray and, from The Guardian, Will Unwin to discuss the victory at Swansea and the defeat at Aston Villa. It's time to talk about creativity... Erling Haaland is the focal point, but when he isn't in the team is there really so much of a problem, given three different players found the net in South Wales? But when he is in the team, is there a way to create more opportunities for some of the other players? With Bournemouth and Borussia Dortmund to come, we hear from Cherries fan and journalist Robert Santonna before Sunday's game. Plus, Stefan Buckzo from The Yellow Wall Podcast drops in to explain how things have started in the Bundesliga for City's Champions League opposition. And, in honour of Omar Marmoush's near-post thwack... What's the best near-post smashed City goal? ========== 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

EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal ➼ https://nordvpn.com/bluemoon Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee! ========== A pair of 2-0 wins for Manchester City this week and David Mooney is joined by City fan Richard Burns and football commentator for the Premier League, the BBC and others Conor McNamara to review the victories against Everton and Villarreal. With Aston Villa and Swansea coming up, we hear from Frankie from All Villa No Filler to see how things are going at Villa Park. Plus we catch up with Swans fans Alex and Sam ahead of the trip to South Wales. Also, what does it mean to be a City fan in 2025? The most-successful era has come just a stone's throw away from the worst ever period, so how does that affect or influence the fan experience? Then there's a whole host of other factors that are laid at fans' doors, like ownership, sportswashing, 115, "how can we compete with this?", plastic fans, oil club... How do you navigate that? We speak to Dom Farrell about his new book that examines the City fan experience. ========== If you'd like to buy Dom's book, here is the link: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Glory-Days-Waifs-Strays-Manchester/dp/1785909681  And, if you'd like to come to the launch party, you can get tickets here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/manchester-city-book-launch-with-author-dom-farrell-tickets-1731067432289  ========== 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

As the international break comes to an end, David Mooney is joined by City fan Ally Fogg and, from MCFC Lads and the City representative on The Overlap, Luke Stanley, to discuss the upcoming games with Everton and Villarreal. Evertonian David Downie joins the show from The Blue Room podcast to discuss how things are going for the blue half of Merseyside at the beginning of this season, plus we check in with Julien from the podcast and YouTube channel Villarreal Fan TV to find out the situation for them in La Liga at the moment. With a squad that's coming back to full-fitness and plenty of in-form players, how will Pep Guardiola approach these two games? Plus, there's discussion on Erling Haaland's "All Creatures Great and Small" photos, the new fourth kit (with a chip in it) and the best flavour of crisp (if you could only eat one flavour for the rest of your life). ========== 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

After the nervy end to the 1-0 win at Brentford, David Mooney is joined by City fans Andy MacNab and Adam Monk to discuss Manchester City's recent form. The first half was dominant, the second half needed some fighting spirit... but three points is three points, so where does that leave City against their competitors this season? The victory is also Pep Guardiola's 250th in the Premier League, making him the fastest manager to hit that landmark. The Athletic's Duncan Alexander joins us to talk about that achievement. We also hear from the model Lucy Clarkson... She was the second person to play Lara Croft from the Tomb Raider series and appeared at Maine Road when the game's publisher, Eidos, were the club's shirt sponsor. We get her memories of being frozen solid, giving out the man of the match award at the Manchester Derby in November 2000. ========== 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

After an agonising last-minute equaliser in Monaco (with a fair bit of controversy thrown in), David Mooney is joined by City fan Dan Burke and, from Sporting News, Dom Farrell, to discuss Manchester City's victory over Burnley and their draw in the Champions League. Did the scorelines of each game tell the whole story? Possibly not. Erling Haaland's brace against Burnley made him the Premier League's top-scoring Norwegian, so we take a look at all of the other players that have played City who are their country's leading marksman in the top flight (and we discuss some of our favourite goals by them). Then, as City travel to Brentford, before the international break, we hear from Mike Johnston from The Ealing Road podcast to find out about their start to the season - plus we look ahead to the match and what we want to see from Pep Guardiola's side. We also take some time out to mention some awful refereeing decisions from the past, plus look at Bernardo Silva's pre-match comments about his future. ========== 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

EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal ➼ https://nordvpn.com/bluemoon Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee! ========== After a combative draw at Arsenal and a comfortable win at Huddersfield, David Mooney is joined by City fan James Faulkner and The Daily Mail's Jack Gaughan to reflect on a busy week.  They look at Pep Guardiola's set-up at The Emirates and how it's surprised everybody, plus there's a look into the 'good vibes' around the place at the moment after a number of things to boost team spirit. With games against Burnley and Monaco to come, we also get insight from fans of those two clubs. Joe from TurfCast explains what he's expecting from this weekend's visit to the Etihad, while Damien from Radio Diagonale discusses how Monaco's position at the top of Ligue 1 might not be all it seems. ========== 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

Back-to-back wins for Manchester City appears to have brought the confidence back ahead of a tricky tie with Arsenal. David Mooney is joined by City fan Chris Higginbottom and, from The City Ramble podcast, Amos Murphy, as we reflect on wins over Manchester United and Napoli. After Phil Foden's performance across the two games, we focus on his return to form - plus we take a look at some other times that players have kissed the City badge in celebration. Erling Haaland is in the spotlight, too, with a selection of fine finishes this week... it seems like he's feeling inevitable in front of goal again? Then, with Arsenal next up, we speak to Gunners fan Michael Keshani about their start to the season. And Matt Shaw from the podcast And He Takes That Chance joins us to explain how Huddersfield have been getting on recently, ahead of City's trip there in the League Cup. ========== 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

EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal ➼ https://nordvpn.com/bluemoon Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee! ========== David Mooney is joined by City fan Richard Burns and, from Sporting News, Dom Farrell to look ahead to the matches with Manchester United and Napoli this week. After two defeats in a row, City go into the Derby looking to bounce back against a United team that has also had a bit of a slow start to the season. Jay Mottershead from The Stretford Paddock gives insight into how Ruben Amorim's side are playing at the moment, while we also hear all about Napoli from Henry Bell and Michele Borelli from the podcast In The Shadow of Vesuvio. There's also the return of a certain Kevin De Bruyne this week, too. Also this week, we'll hear from the football finance expert Kieran Maguire from the Price of Football podcast. That's after the news that City and the Premier League have come to a settlement on the second Associated Party Transactions case. ========== 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

After a second defeat in two games, David Mooney is joined by Simon Bajkowski from the Manchester Evening News and City fan KC to try and work out what went wrong (and what needs fixing) from the trip to Brighton. The discuss how the game changed on a series of substitutions and how it was almost like there were two different Manchester City teams at the Amex... One that played the first hour and one that lost in the final half-hour.  With the transfer window now closed and with it being one of the more chaotic ones that City have had in recent years, we look at the size of the squad overhaul and the change in faces that has happened over the last couple of months. And, as Ederson leaves and Gianluigi Donnarumma joins, The Athletic's Jon Mackenzie speaks to the show about how City's build-up and possession (and out-of-possession) play might change over the course of this season. ========== 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

EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal ➼ https://nordvpn.com/bluemoon Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee! ========== After Manchester City's first defeat of the season, David Mooney is joined by Adam Carter from StatCity.co.uk and by Joe Butterfield from The City Ramble podcast to discuss what went wrong against Tottenham. They look at City playing through pressure, controlling the middle of the pitch, finishing chances and the goalkeepers. Since there's been a lot of panic about the first loss, too, we take a look at the times when City have had a successful season despite a set-back in one of their opening two games... and there are some very memorable seasons where that's happened. Ryan Adsett from Talk Seagulls joins the show to discuss Brighton, ahead of City's trip to the Amex on Saturday. What can they expect from their opposition and what would we like to see for City to bounce back? Plus, we've got reaction to the Champions League draw, as BBC analysis suggests City have been given the fourth-hardest set of fixtures out of anyone in the competition. ========== 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

EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal ➼ https://nordvpn.com/bluemoon Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee! ========== After an opening day 4-0 victory at Wolves, David Mooney is joined by City fan Chris Higginbottom and, from One Football, Dan Burke to discuss the performance. They look at Tijjani Reijnders on his excellent debut, plus also how the other new signings were bedding in. And there's a look at the wing options, with Oscar Bobb also proving to have an exciting impact on his return. With Spurs coming up this weekend, we catch up with Jack from Rule the Roost (before the news broke that Eze could be heading to Arsenal instead of Tottenham) to find out how their season is looking so far. Plus, with the hoodoo Spurs have had over City in recent years, we take a look at some of City's bogey teams. Then, after some brilliant debuts last weekend, we also pick out Best City Debuts XI. ========== 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