December brings a clutch of victories, the usual blip against Everton, and ... Alan! With due respect to Alans everywhere, the Salzburg player is the least pretentiously-named Brazilian ever, and Blues fans take the bemused substitute to their hearts instantly ...

Hey, who says there ain't no sanity clause when you sign up as a City fan? Santas, Roberto, thousands of 'em ... the Blues manager gets a warm welcome as a guest walker on the Santa Stroll for charity at the stadium ...  

Listen, I'll do you a deal, right? You give Sharon a big smile, me and the lads will win our Christmas games against Newcastle and Villa and be second in the table for New Year, how's that? No wonder David Silva's so popular ...  

It's not just the players in demand either. Roberto, Garry Cook and Mike Summerbee are there as Etihad's new luxury lounge opens at Manchester airport. Roberto's trip to Turin yields a 1-1 draw at Juventus to follow the 3-0 win over Salzburg and Alan ...

Who was that singing "Let It Snow" earlier? Chappy? Well, he should be shovelling the stuff so the lads can train, that's all ... 

Training? Nah, not today. The boss says as a treat we can make our own Christmas cards this year. Pass the glue, Nige? My mum's gonna love this one ...