BILLY BUNTER

Weblog: The football punter

Here's hoping City adopt Paolo's wise ways too

WITH such a huge game the centrepiece of Sunday's action few people will be looking back but I have to pay tribute to the brilliant Paolo Di Canio for steering Swindon to a 2-1 win over Wigan in Saturday's FA Cup third-round fare.

It's amazingly easy to forget about someone's controversial past when they've helped you win money and I found myself repeating some of PDC's quotations about blindingly obvious subjects as if they were mantras uttered by an ancient god.

"My life speaks for me. I am an ordinary man.

"I believe in nature. I believe in earth, sun, fire and water. I believe in the circle of life.

"I believe in energy. Positive energy.

"I've already asked the chairman for three players, now I want four or five otherwise I will discuss my contract."

I blew some of my winnings on a monster order from my local Chinese takeaway. PDC = Plenty of Dosh for Chinese.

The rest of those profits will be going on Manchester City to knock fierce rivals United out of the Cup.

I hate writing off the Red Devils because of all the times they have triumphed in adversity but I think that although the team is almost as talented as past United outfits, they lack the big characters that helped grind out results when things weren't going their way. 

I heard Alex Ferguson talking about some of the players looking to Michael Carrick for influence and leadership which says it all really and Rio Ferdinand aside, United lack some of the famous mental toughness which has given them the edge for so many years.

City, on the other hand, can look to assured influences like Mario Balotelli.

Positive energy.