When quizzed about the possibility of The Stone Roses reforming, bass player Mani once infamously remarked that it would happen "the day after Manchester City win the European Cup."
The message behind fanatical Manchester United supporter Mani's words was clear - one event was as unlikely to come to pass as the other.
So as Mani played his part in the announcement of that supposedly impossible Stone Roses reunion on Tuesday, City were not winning the tournament now known as the Champions League but they were finally making their first serious impact.
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Last Tuesday when Venezuela beat Argentina in the second round of South America's World Cup qualifiers it was historic, but hardly surprising.
Venezuela have been making dramatic strides, had home advantage and were taking on an especially vulnerable Argentina side - whose 4-1 win at home to Chile the previous Friday may have disguised the fact.
As highly influential former national team coach Cesar Luis Menotti commented, "against Chile we didn't play well, against an opponent that went out to commit suicide" - a reference to the absurdly attacking line up of the Chileans (largely rectified in the following match where coach Claudio Borghi reverted to his customary 3-4-1-2 as Chile beat Peru 4-2 in a magnificent game in Lima).
Against Venezuela, then, came the moment of truth for Argentina, and as all self-belief drained out of the side in the second half it was clear that Menotti had a point when he complained about the absence of any coherent central idea.
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At St Andrew's
Birmingham and Leicester both radically overhauled their squads in the summer - and on the evidence at St Andrew's on Sunday it is the club which acted out of financial necessity that is starting to look in better shape.
Blues defeated the Foxes 2-0 to win their third straight fixture in all competitions and deserved their three points after a second-half performance during which they rattled opponents who had not conceded in 412 minutes of Championship action coming into the contest.
It was a second-half display that added to a growing feeling around the club that, within the playing squad at least, an unsettling and uncertain summer belongs firmly in the past.
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© 2011