Noel Gallagher knows a thing or two about Manchester City.
The former Oasis guitarist and one-half of the most belligerent sibling rivalries of all time is arguably the most famous City fan walking the earth and he, like brother Liam, is not one bit shy about voicing his opinion on how the side is performing.
You know a big game is taking place at the Etihad when the camera pans to Gallagher in the stands, baby blue scarf wrapped loyally around his neck.
The writer of such hits as Don’t Look In Anger and Wonderwall essentially reflects what City’s fanbase as a whole is feeling and players can feel pretty confident in their popularity on the blue side of the city when they learn that they’re in Gallagher’s good books.
And two players who have just learned of Gallagher’s fondness for them are John Stones and Leroy Sane, the pair of summer signings who have been showered with praise by the 49-year-old this week.
“The style we play is amazing, it’s brilliant,” Gallagher told ManCity.com. “Stones is a class defender and I love him. Most of the jigsaw pieces are in place now and Pep’s just got to tinker with it.
“It might take a couple of windows but he’ll get it right.
“I think we’re really close to being a great team. If you look at the Liverpool game and Monaco before that, we take the chances we create, we’re sailing through and we’re still up there. But it’s small margins, innit? I think next season’s gonna be vastly different. We played brilliantly against Liverpool and could and should have won it – and there’s flashes of brilliance.
“Once he gets another couple of transfer windows I think we’ll be alright. I’m excited about next season, for sure.”
Gallagher also pointed to the impact of Sane, the winger who signed from Schalke last August, as proof that City had improved this season.
“Sane’s brilliant,” he said. “It’s all going in the right direction. He’s coming in first six or seven games and we were all wondering whether he was cut out for this and Guardiola was saying give him time and he’s one of the best now.
“He looks like a bargain.
“It’s been a good start for Guardiola because we can still win the FA Cup and things are going in the right direction.
“We’re not doing great but we’re not doing bad.”
