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I have always liked Joleon Lescott, and was disappointed that he took so long to settle in here, then things were just going well and he picked up an injury. I thought that may be the end of him as far as City were concerned.

Not so, he has come back strong and seems to have his head screwed on tight now. Hughes said he was one of the best centre halves in the league and I think he is, intelligent calm and strong - all the things Captain Kolo seems not to be. Perhaps Kolo will also settle down now.

Lescott has been setting the stage for Sunday, saying in the MEN that all the pressure is on the scousers;

The ex-Evertonian says City's hard-earned point at Stoke and the expectations of history mean that the Merseysiders need to make the running when the two teams meet.

And he also believes that the point at the Britannia Stadium, in an ugly match, has still edged City into the box seat ahead of the Scousers, Aston Villa and Tottenham - who all have to visit the City of Manchester Stadium.

"It's in our hands, which is always the way you would want it going into the final stretch of the season and hopefully we can now kick on," said Lescott, who was City's best player as they sought to stand up to the all-out assault of Stoke.

"We knew that no matter what the outcome was at Stoke, the weekend was always going to be a massive game for us.

"We know it will be a tough game, as they have some great, world-class players, but I'm sure that if we perform on the day we can beat them.

Brummie Joleon Patrick Lescott was first scouted by Wolves, and was given his senior debut at 17 against Sheffield Wednesday at Molineux in August 2000. He was voted their "Young player of the year" two seasons running.

Wolves were promoted to the Premier League in 2004, but suffering a knee problem, Joleon was sidelined for most of that season, and Wolves were relegated. He underwent major knee surgery and, recovering satisfactorily, he was awarded Wolves player of the year before transferring and making his Goodison debut in August 2006.

His 10 goals in 2007/8 season, quite a feat for a centre-half, ensured his popularity with Moyes and the Everton fans. In fact, Joleon had found it difficult there at first, with stiff competition at CB from Alan Stubbs and Joseph Yobo. Eventually he won a permanent first-team place at CB and also LB - he also played in midfield when necessary. All-in-all, he was very influential in Everton's impressive form at that time, helping the side to an FA Cup final and successive fifth-place finishes.

"No-one could match the consistency of Lescott."

There is actually a lovely "urban" legend surrounding Lescott's departure from Wolves, which I couldn't possibly repeat, of course, but it seems that he had been misbehaving with the girlfriend of a prominent Wolves fan and was kneecapped to teach him a lesson. Absolute utter rubbish, but why let the truth stand in the way of a nice juicy story? It is true that there was a major hiccup in Lescott's transfer to Goodison, because Everton stalled, asked for more scans, sent him back to the specialist and eventually negotiated a reduced fee of £2.5M, with another £3M on appearances. Perhaps Moyes had heard the rumour.

Joleon's England career has included under-18, under-20, under-21 and England B caps, eventually leading to a call up to the senior squad by Steve McLaren, coming on as a sub in a 3-0 win over Estonia in 2007. He had to withdraw from the England squad because of an injury sustained at Villa Park last October. Naturally, he is keen to make an impression on the current England Manager in advance of the World Cup. Helping City stay near the top will go a long way to doing that.

I think it's good that players have their say about up and coming games, especially coming from an ex-evertonian, it's guaranteed to wind the scousers up.
It'll probably bite us on the bum, but we know now exactly where Lescott stands; it's obviously clear in his mind that City's back four withstood an onslaught at the Clogger's Arms in Stoke and came through it with a point, how lucky matters not one bit. We can slug it out and sometimes we can play football.

This Sunday we'll need to do both. I'm glad Lescott will be there, which I couldn't honestly say under Hughes. I also hope Wayne Bridge is back, which I couldn't say under Hughes, either.
CLEVBLUE

Acknowledgements are due to mcfc.co.uk, toffeeweb, evertonbanter.co.uk, Manchester Evening News.