Rumour Mill: City Close In On Spanish Striker?

The dust has barely settled on the events of last Sunday, and already preparations are being put in place for the 2012-2013 season, and the defense of our title (read that sentence again, it sounds good doesn't it?).  


According to the press it is our forward line that could be getting a reshuffle.  Sergio Aguero will remain in all likelihood, and I imagine Mario Balotelli will most likely stay as well, so it is the futures of Carlos Tevez and Edin Dzeko that remain in the balance.  The pressing rumour today is of a deal being wrapped up for Spain and Bilbao striker Fernando Llorente, a strange decision based on the players we already have.


Llorente is a good striker, in fact he's better than that, he is an excellent striker.  He gave Manchester United no end of trouble in their Europa League meetings, he was a dangerous part of a very skilful attacking unit.  At 6'5 it is pretty easy to see where his strengths lie, he is lethal in the air and has good strength and presence to go along with it; although likening him to Andy Carroll would be doing him a disservice, he is very adept with the ball at his feet, and  with his excellent technique it is no surprise that he is such a regular for Spain, he doesn't appear out of place playing with the World Cup holders.

Spanish tabloid/rag AS are reporting today that a deal is almost done, as with all players in Spain there is a release clause in his contract, the figure in this case is around £29million and the paper claim City are ready to offer this sum to secure his services.  They go as far as to suggest that discussions have already taken place between the club and his brother Chus, who acts as his agent and representative.  


Clearly an expensive deal to finance, but on a player who would certainly be a good performer, my question though is over how necessary he really is?  The report in AS claims that City view Llorente as the perfect partner for Aguero (something which may suggest the end of Tevez in Manchester), so the suggestion being they want to partner Kun, with a powerful tall forward; now I may be wrong but I am pretty certain we have one of those already on our books.  

Even with his vital goal on Sunday, the writing appears to be on the wall for Dzeko.  Gauging by his celebration and enjoyment of victory on Sunday, I would say he has strong feelings for the club, and this would suggest to me that his poorer performances this season have not been down to lack of effort, more a lack of confidence.  A return of 19 goals in 40 games this season is one that would be deemed successful by many, but there are still many doubters over the players ability.  It wasn't just his own performances that were impressive, when he was partnered with Aguero for the opening months of the season, the team were playing their best football, all this suggests to me that we already have the perfect partner for the Argentine, or at least a very good one.


To sell a player with that scoring record, and who scored such a vital goal to win us the title would be a mistake in my eyes, but lets put the Dzeko issue to one side for the time being, what about Llorente?  Well as I say, he is a high quality striker, and would arguably be an upgrade on the Bosnian but at 27 I am not sure he represents value for money when we already have the aforementioned player who has arguably a better scoring record over his career.

Prior to the last 2 campaigns, Llorente has notching up about 11 goals a season, and whilst in more recent years this has improved (18 in 2010-2011 and 17 in 2011-2012) I am still not sure if he is worth the gamble at that price.  I can't help but feel that should we spend £30million on a new striker, it should be on someone different to what we already have.  Cavani would fit the bill nicely or even Robin Van Persie, but for me, as good as Llorente is, i'm not sure he would be that much of an improvement on Dzeko.

Who's Staying? The Striking Conundrum!

Clearly all City fans are focused on one thing this week, and that is the title showdown on Sunday afternoon.  Personally I have spent most of my time thinking about it, my mood veering between supreme confidence and sheer terror as every hour passes.   I am pretty sure everything that could be written about the game has already been done so, and for that reason I am looking at something all together different today.


As the season draws to a close the transfer rumour mill has been going into over drive, and it seems that one of the positions we will strengthen is up front, and for me, that is a bit of a strange notion.  Goals have hardly been hard to come by, and it must surely mean that one or perhaps two of our strikers are on the way out, so today I will be looking at the relative merits of each, and trying to identify which, if any are surplus to requirements and can be improved upon.


Mario Balotelli - 31 Appearances 17 Goals.


To say that the Italian has been at the centre of a few media storms this season would be an understatement.  It has definitely been a year of highs and lows for the 21 year old, and generally it has been an upward trend in terms of behaviour and performance.  Last year he managed 10 goals in 28 games and so clearly he has been more productive in front of goal and there has been indications of an improved work rate as well, that is not to say that all has been positive.  There have still been indiscretions and although he has risen to the bait less often he has still been riled and picked up a few needless red cards.  He played an important part through the Winter months and scored some vital goals, but sadly his efficiency has wained.  There have been other issues as well, City quite simply don't seem as effective when 'Mad Mario' is on the pitch, it is worth noting that the poor spell that Aguero suffered in front of goal coincided with Balo's run in the team.


Season High - 2 goals at Old Trafford, why always him?
Season Low - Dismissal at the Emirates and his resulting dropping from the team.
Chances of Staying - 7/10 - Mancini likes him, and he has been unplayable at times.  There have been signs of improvement this year over last so for that reason he might get one more chance, but should a decent offer come in, we might be tempted to sell.


John Guidetti - 23 Appearances 20 Goals (on loan at Feyenoord)

It looked like the Swedish international was on the way out last Summer, but the promise of a full season out on loan at a top club convinced him to stay, but now we have a guaranteed goal scorer returning to us and he is hungry for games.  Guidetti is an interesting player, I saw him at reserve level numerous times and was never convinced he had enough in his locker to make it at a top club, but his scoring record in Holland is pretty frightening.  One thing to consider is that he has scored a few penalties in that 20, but considering his young age it has undeniably been a highly successful season for the forward.  He is now saying that he will only return to City if he is guaranteed games, and some have suggested he is already too big for his boots.  Whilst he has been impressive, goals in Holland don't always translate to Premier League success, see Samaras, Kezman and Alfonso Alves.


Season High - Scoring 3 hat tricks in successive games
Season Low - Receiving a second yellow  for removing his shirt after scoring a 2nd goal, only for the opposition to immediately equalise.
Chances of Staying - 5/10 - Could go either way really.  The club like to encourage youth, but if he can't be guaranteed game time he could be on his way.


Sergio Aguero - 45 Appearances 29 Goals

It seems crazy now that some pundits suggested that Aguero would struggle in his first season in the Premier League.  Charlie Nicholas went as far as to say he could be the flop of the season, stating that £38million was 'not value for money', right from his first appearance, these fears have been well and truly banished.  The Argentine has been the focal point of our attack line and he will remain the lynch pin for a long time hopefully.  There have been spells where has struggled, these coinciding with Mario Balotelli having a run in the team, but other than that he has scored goals at regular intervals.  One of the most refreshing things about the 23 year old is that he has the right attitude, something that many of the worlds top players do not possess.  His partnership with Edin Dzeko towards the start of the season was extremely fruitful, and now that the Bosnian has been more or less sidelined, he is working well with his compatriot Tevez, identifying the correct partner for Kun is vital and I can only see him continuing to improve.  I just wish he would shoot from distance more often, since when he does, the ball usually ends up in the back of the net!


Season High - That goal at Norwich was an absolute stunner.
Season Low - Nope, can't think of one.
Chances of Staying - 9/10 - There were reports linking him with a move to Real, but to me those seem wide of the mark, he seems happy, his family seem happy and we have no reason to sell!


Edin Dzeko - 39 Appearances 19 Goals

It seems crazy to me that a striker who has notched up 19 goals could be criticised, but that is just how some City fans are.  To be fair the giant Bosnian can frustrate, at times he looks poor, very poor, his touch can let him down, he can look sluggish and sadly disinterested.  At other times however he looks like someone that could be a prolific goalscorer in any league, and at the start of the season that is just how he appeared.  To say that he divides opinion would be an understatement, but one thing that I don't think anyone could question is the fact that the 26 year old is clearly a confidence player.  When he has a run of games he looks twice as effective, even more so when the goals are flowing, but when he comes in and out of the team he struggles somewhat.  Personally I am a fan and think that if we had some decent wingers and provided him with better service he would prosper and become a really strong 'plan b', but I don't deny that at times he does struggle in our set up, Dzeko is a player that comes alive in the penalty area, having to come deep to pick up the ball (which is our bread and butter) isn't really playing to his strengths.


Season High - Scoring 4 at White Hart Lane, his 4th goal was a season highlight.
Season Low - Getting stroppy when substituted in Munich.
Chances of Staying - 3/10 - Personally I would like him to remain, but I just don't see it, he wants to be playing regularly and I can't see that happening at City under the leadership of Mancini.


Carlos Tevez - 10 Appearances 4 Goals

Where to begin with this one?  I suppose the first thing to say is that I think Tevez is our best striker, I dislike him with a passion, but in terms of footballing ability I genuinely believe he is the best we have.  Does that mean he deserves to stay though?  As far as I am concerned, not a chance.  Some may be quick to forgive him for that night in Munich, but that is something I can't bring myself to do.  If that was his only discretion then maybe, but the bottom line is that his actions that night were the latest in a string of incidents that showed no respect for the club or the people that pay his frankly obscene wages.  The undeniable truth though is that he has got us out of somewhat of a hole, his return to the team has coincided with an upturn in performances and I don't think the 2 are unrelated.  His work rate since his 'holiday' are just as high as ever, and he is performing well, but how long will it last?  The cynic in me thinks he only returned on the promise of a quick sale this Summer, but the words coming from player and club suggest different.  I just hope the man that has the final say on the future of Tevez is Roberto Mancini and not the power brokers in Abu Dhabi.


Season High - His hat-trick at Carrow Road was the day he was welcomed back into the hearts of (most) City fans.
Season Low - His refusal to play/warm up in Munich will forever blight him.
Chances of Staying - 6/10 - Part of me believes his return was to bring about a move this Summer, it was beneficial to both parties, but maybe he will finally realise there is nowhere better to be playing?


Emmanuel Adebayor - 35 Appearances 17 Goals (on loan at Tottenham)


The frustration with Manu is that if he consistently demonstrated the application and endeavour he shows when he first joins a club he would be a top top striker, but sadly he can't/won't do that.  Ade and Mancini have seemingly never got along, and there is simply no way back for him at Eastlands.  If we can't find a buyer, another season out on load is a near certainty.


Chances of Staying - 0/10 - There is more chance of Joey Barton signing this Summer.


Roque Santa-Cruz - 21 Appearances 5 Goals (on loan at Betis)


I always felt sorry for RSC; Mark Hughes was desperate to sign him and spent a most ridiculous sum to bring him to City, he was injured pretty much his whole time at the club and he never got going.  When he did play he showed passion and commitment (unlike Adebayor), but he simply wasn't and isn't good enough for us.


Chances of Staying - 0/10 - There is more chance of Joey Barton signing and Jo returning this Summer.

That pretty much rounds off all the strikers available to us, and to be honest we have a wealth of quality options open to us; that is the reason that I am always so surprised to see us being linked with further reinforcements up front.  I think the end is nigh for Edin Dzeko sadly, as much as I would like him to remain I just can't help but feel that the writing is on the wall.  As for Carlos Tevez, well things could go either way on that, and I wouldn't like to make a further prediction on his future.  Should Dzeko leave, and should Guidetti not be deemed good enough for us next season, I suppose we could do with one more forward.  Names in the ring seem to be Robin Van Persie and Napoli man Edinson Cavani.  Personally I prefer the man from Uruguay who has notched up 32 goals this campaign, a deal would be expensive to finance, but seeing whether they would take Adebayor in return could be a good place to start.

Why Can't We All Just Enjoy The Good Times?

Five years ago to the day, we were preparing for an FA Cup tie against Southampton, the previous weekend we had slumped to a 3-0 home defeat at the hands of Blackburn Rovers in front of just 36,950 fans at what was then The City of Manchester Stadium.  The drubbing left the club 13th in the Premier League and a run of bad form saw us slipping down towards the relegation battle at the bottom of the league.  Our team that day was Weaver, Trabelsi, Distin, Dunne, Richards, Dabo, Ireland, Sinclair, Jordan, Vassell and Corradi with Beasley, Samaras and Miller coming on from the substitutes bench.  We finished that season just 4 points from safety, and the difference between survival and what would have been oblivion at the time was some vital goals provided by Belgian free agent Emile M'Penza.  If we rewind the clock ten years from this week, we weren't even in the Premier League.

Back to the present, we are preparing for a tricky away game at Everton where a win would keep us at least three points clear on top of the Premier League, we are doing this on the back of a 2-2 draw at Anfield which saw us eliminated from the League Cup in the Semi-Final.  The other 36,949 people sat around me enduring the tonking we suffered at the hands of Blackburn 5 years ago would not believe the present day scenario that I have just detailed, it would seem unbelievable.  Drawing at Anfield? Making the semi-final of a cup competition? Being 3 points clear at the top of the league in January? If they knew the previous season we had won the FA Cup beating United at Wembley en-route their heads would have exploded.

If we take all of this into account, why are we seemingly finding it so hard to enjoy where we are?  As someone that has seen City plummet up and down the leagues I find it genuinely difficult to get angry about the 'new' City.  Clearly I get disappointed when things don't go right and we lose a game, but general my mood is one of positivity.  As a youngster and into my teenage years I genuinely felt that I would never see the club win a trophy, I mean seriously, could you ever have imagined it when we were struggling with the likes of Gerrard Wiekens and Kevin Horlock, absolute legends to me but I wouldn't have them back now!

Now we play the blame game, "the ref had a shocker", "that was never a penalty", "he's utter rubbish, why do we play him" and perhaps most incredibly "what is Mancini doing, what an idiot!".  I don't exclude myself from this mindset, well the last one I do, but the others we have all muttered over recent weeks I am sure of it.  The thing is though that these things never change, football fans will always have grievances, but why can't we enjoy ourselves?  We have all paid our dues and been through the really bad times, so why can't we enjoy where we are now?  Some sections of our support spend hours if not days after a defeat flooding the Internet with messages apportioning blame, desperately trying to find someone or something that can be held responsible for the loss.  Isn't it a fact though that sometimes in all sports, you just lose when someone plays better than you?  Sure refereeing decisions may hinder, and players may not perform to the tops of their game, but, no team has a divine right to win every game.

I am not the sort of person to criticise these supporters, I wouldn't wish to single out fans of this club, I think generally we have one of the best sets of followers in the country, but I do admit to finding it strange how some people seem to not enjoy supporting City.  No one likes to lose and it can ruin a perfectly good weekend, but all things considered at this moment in our clubs history, things are pretty incredible, we should be enjoying ourselves, not getting stressed and disenchanted over a draw at Anfield in the Semi-Final of a cup competition.

The only plea I will make is to give some of our players a break, some of the criticism hurled at Stefan Savic, a 21 year old defender who has been thrust into the deep end is totally unfair, as is criticism of Edin Dzeko, a striker who has scored 15 goals this season.  In years gone by we had players struggle to score 5 goals, and now some sections of our support are giving stick to someone scoring 15? At times in the past we have had some really shocking players, but generally we have got behind them, just because we have better players now this should not change, try to support your club, and most of all, try to enjoy it!

3 Points Can't Always Be Pretty

It is fair to say that the brand of football we are playing at the moment is not in the same league as the stuff we were playing for the first few months of the season, but the question I pose today is, why do we care as long as we keep winning?


In my memory very few teams have been able to play an exciting and expansive style throughout an entire season, really the only club to manage it was Arsenal in their heyday and look what has happened to them. Even our near neighbours have made a habit of grinding out wins when things are getting difficult, so why should we worry?

Last night against Wigan there was an attitude from some that we could just turn up and roll them over 3 or 4 nil, I admire that confidence and obviously that would have been fantastic, but in reality that was never a foregone conclusion.  In recent weeks the Lancashire side have been in a pretty dire run of form, and they haven't won at home for quite some time now.  In the middle of this poor patch though, they have drawn at home with both Liverpool and Chelsea, teams that have given us problems over recent weeks, they may be rooted to the bottom of the table, but they do know how to spoil the party.  Top against bottom matches don't always end in the mauling that many think they will.


On the pitch somethings were excellent, Edin Dzeko was superb and I thought once he scored what was a really nice goal you could see the confidence flowing through him again, he must start on Sunday.  He held the ball up superbly, won everything in the air and put in a real shift to help out his team mates, if it weren't for a greedy finish to a superb run by Aguero in the second half he would have had a 2nd.  He was also unlucky with a delicate curling effort that was superbly saved by Al-Habsi.  

It was also great to see Silva back in the team, he may not have been at his glittering best but he offers so much, we are really not the same team without him.  I also felt it was a much more improved performance from Samir Nasri, he again was neat and tidy with the ball, he hardly ever gave it away and used the ball effectively.  At times he slowed the game down a bit too much but I am sure that with time that will improve, he may be experienced in the Premier League but that doesn't mean he doesn't need time to adapt to a new team.


The downside for me was the back line, or to be precise the centrebacks.  Generally Zabs and Clichy did a good job in the full back areas but Lescott and Savic really struggled and to be quite honest we need our captain back as soon as possible.  It isn't that either of them are bad players, Savic has bags of potential and for me Lescott has been superb this season, I just feel they need a calming influence and a communicator alongside them, without Kompany in the backline there is no real organisation.  Victor Moses gave us problems all night long, neither of the centrebacks seemed to know how to deal with him and they continually dropped off, this invited a lot of pressure.  It may be time for a rethink on Sunday against Spurs, granted they won't have Adebayor, but it might be time for Richards to switch to centre back with Zabaleta retaining his place at full back.

What of the bigger picture though? I have always said that January was going to be a particularly difficult month, Yaya Toure is clearly a massive loss and his influence is lacking in the midfield, as well as Milner and Barry are playing they don't offer us what the big Ivorian did.  The loss of Kolo hitting harder than expected too with the loss of Vincent Kompany.  I always said that there was a big chance we would fall behind United in January, I felt that if we could stay no more than 3 points behind them we had a great chance of crossing the line in first place, well so far things are much better than that.  We have 1 more league game this month (and Everton on the 1st) and we lead by 3 points with a far superior goal difference, yes it was a shame being knocked out of the FA Cup and we still may exit the League Cup, but in terms of league performance things are looking good.


It is vital I think that we don't panic over what is a clearly dip in performance levels, we are without 3 of our most influential players, something that any time would struggle to overcome and for the Liverpool game it was 4!  Spurs is clearly a huge challenge on Sunday, and we will have to improve if we are going to win that game, I am sure we will raise ourselves but it could still go either way, a win and everything looks fantastic, a defeat would mean United could close the gap again, but do not underestimate their trip to the Emirates they are not guaranteed anything there, if we can win at half 1, the pressure on them will be immense when they kick off at 4.

Granted we aren't hitting the high levels of the first few months, but if we win games does it really matter? Very few teams would be capable of hitting those heights throughout the entire campaign, if this is our 'bad patch' i'll definitely take it!

City V Napoli Report

After all the build up, the night we have all been waiting for finally came, and what a night it was.  It was emotional, exciting, thrilling and slightly disappointing all rolled into one.  We have been building towards the Champions League since the day that ADUG bought the club and last night the dream was realised, and for spells of the game we looked more than capable of mixing it at the highest level of club football, unfortunately there were also periods where we looked slightly overawed by the occasion.


As 'that' music built to a crescendo I think we all had high expectations, personally I felt it was a game that we had to win to get out of what is clearly going to be a particularly brutal group for the 4 teams involved.  I was very aware of the talents of the Italian side but I must now admit to be surprised by just how good they actually were, their attacking trio of Hamsik, Lavezzi and Cavani caused problems, but the more noticeable thing for me was just how organised and defensively astute they were.  For the majority of the game they were barraged by City attacks which they managed to repel repeatedly.

The first half saw City firmly on top, driven on by a superb atmosphere they flew out of the traps and created numerous chances in the opening period.  Nasri, Aguero, Silva and Dzeko were reunited as the front 4 and Napoli had to work hard to contain the effervescent attacking play.  Richards and Clichy were surprisingly omitted in favour of Zabaleta and Kolarov, it was a decision that I am not sure ultimately helped the team.  The width provided by the former 2 was sadly absent, the attacking threat of the South American and the Serb sadly not as impressive.  I suppose the thinking is that they would offer more defensively, but in a game we really needed to win I am not sure it was the correct decision.


City carved out a flurry of good chances, Dzeko saw a shot somewhere miss the far post, Toure slammed the crossbar with perhaps the best chance of the half.  We also caused problems from corners with Dzeko again seeing a header flash wide.  The only chance the Italians had was to be fair a pretty awesome effort, as Ezequiel Lavezzi turned away from Kompany and curled a wonderful effort past Hart only to see it crash against the crossbar.  It is credit to City that Napoli didn't even play badly and yet at half time they had been under immense pressure, which they had stood up too extremely well.

The second half was a bit of a different story, whether City were running out of idea's or Napoli decided to push out more, they were much more involved.  Our defense began to be put under more pressure and worryingly they didn't handle it particularly well, Kompany in particular seemed to not be on top of his game and made a few errors that lead to opportunities for the Serie A side.  The opening goal came from another City move that perhaps saw us over commit somewhat, Gareth Barry pushed a long way up the field and tried an out of character back heel in an attempt to find Nasri it never got to its destination however, Christian Maggio raced onto the loose ball and flew through the worryingly empty centre of the field before he fed the ball to Cavani who slotted the ball cooly past Hart to give the visiting side the lead.  It was a goal that had been coming in the second half, and proved that just one mistake will be pounced on in this competition.  

City to their credit rallied well and became more urgent, but they still seemed to lack the cutting edge that they couldn't find in the first half either, they were patient and worked some nice passing triangles but were unable to pick their way through the defense.  5 mins after Napoli had taken the lead, we were awarded a free kick on the edge of the box, at perfect range for Kolarov, he curled the ball beautifully into the net and brought the teams level, it was nothing more than they deserved.  The game then went into overdrive with both sides trading blows and to be fair it could have been snatched by either team, both threw the kitchen sink at it and City had a great chance to take a win with Sergio Aguero meeting a cross to only turn it against the bar, it was extremely unlucky.


It is only fair to point out that City weren't particularly bad, but they also weren't allowed to be at their best, a draw was probably a fair result on the balance of 90mins but really we should have taken one or two of our other chances that would have secured a victory.  Napoli to their credit were excellent, they defended well and countered with pace and precision, they will provide a really stern test for Bayern.  As for us, next is a trip to the Allianz Arena which clearly will be incredibly difficult, a victory blows the group wide open, but i'd probably take a point.

What of the individual performers, lets see how it broke down:


Joe Hart: 6 - Nothing he could really do with the goal, looked nervous at times but remained in control when some of those in front of him seemed to be struggling.


Pablo Zabaleta: 6 - Full of energy and his work rate was excellent, he was willing but didn't really manage to offer anything offensively meaning we were woefully short of width at times.  Battled hard and defended reasonably well however.


Vincent Kompany: 6 - Not one of his better performances at all, looks lost at times.  He did make one excellent clearance off the line but was at fault on several attacks and could perhaps have done better at times.


Joleon Lescott: 7 - Maybe I am in the minority but I thought he had a decent game, should have done better with a header in the second half, but defensively he was sound and every high ball that came forward he won, his positioning wasn't perfect but he battled very hard.


Aleksandar Kolarov: 6 - A mixed night, as with Zabaleta he was rarely a threat coming forward but immense for playing a long time with a broken nose.  He was willing and showed more effort than normal.  The free kick he dispatched for our equaliser was superb and he deserves much credit for that.


Gareth Barry: 5 - He didn't really perform that badly for the most part but his catastrophic error in the second half lead directly to the goal we conceded.  He began solidly, holding his position well, but as the game went on he got sucked too far up field and it cost us.


Yaya Toure: 7 - Struggled to get involved as an attacking threat, but mopped up extremely well.  He worked hard and snuffed out many attacks using his power and experience to great effect, he was also incredibly unlucky to not give City the lead early on after a superb sweeping attack.


David Silva: 6 - Sadly there was no sparkle from the Spaniard who was snuffed out by an extremely organised Napoli defensive unit.  He was counter acted by the denial of space there was no room for him to operate and sadly that made it difficult for the whole team.


Sergio Aguero: 6 - As with Silva there was just no space for the Argentine to play in, unlucky not to score late on when he hit the bar.  Credit goes to him for the endeavour that he showed but there was just not enough room for him to operate to the best of his ability, too often came deep and wide for the ball.


Samir Nasri: 5 - Probably suffered the most from the lack of space outside the Napoli area, his delivery at times was lacking and he was involved in the mistake made for their goal, on another day more would have come off for the Frenchman but it wasn't a great day at the office for the new boy.


Edin Dzeko: 7 - Continued his good form sadly though without adding to his goal tally, he looked like a real threat early on and his touch and poise made him very hard to handle for the opposition defense, saw a couple of shots whistle narrowly wide and perhaps shouldn't have been subbed for Tevez.


Substitutes


Adam Johsnon: 7 - Added real impetus when he came on and offered something really different, the Italians didn't know how to deal with him and his introduction should have come much earlier.


Gael Clichy: 6 - Attacked with passion and verve, should have started the game to add the width we sadly missed for the majority.


Carlos Tevez: 5 - I will give him the benefit of the doubt and say that he still doesn't look fit and ready, but time is running out on that excuse.

Tough to call a man of the match really, because no one really shone that much more than anyone else, for the most part everyone did a good job, but were inhibited by some fantastic defending, but for all round game i'd probably plump for Yaya Toure. He did well in the new role that is he doing for the club, worked well defensively and his experience of the competition was clear to see, he also attacked well and picked the right times to do so.  Went incredibly close to netting in the first half after a barnstorming run, Toure could be vital in our ongoing quest in the Champions League.  

Match Report - Spurs (Away)

Well that's one of our bogey teams laid to rest, maybe now we can even manage a win at Goodison Park some time.  It wasn't just the win yesterday, but the manner of the victory that was remarkable.  I think many blues would have taken a point away from North London, but not even the most positive City fan would have predicted the mauling that Tottenham suffered yesterday, but when it happened we all loved every single minute of it.


6 points from our opening 3 games would have been acceptable, and 7 would have been a really good return, but to start the first international break with the full 9 is great and when you add in the performances that we have turned in it really becomes too good to be true.  I should probably remember who it was, but someone on the TV said after the Bolton game that City were playing the best football in the Premier League and I don't think anything this round of games has changed that, that includes our chavvy neighbours in Salford.

After the Bolton game I sort of felt that we probably wouldn't perform that well again for a while, but as it happens the win at the Reebok wasn't a patch on what we did yesterday.  The starting 11 demonstrated more than ever a shift in the managers thinking with just 2 defensively minded midfielders shielding the back 4, allowing a forward 4 of Dzeko, Silva, Aguero and Nasri to torment Tottenham.  Any doubts about how quickly the newly signed Frenchman would take to settle were soon banished when within the opening 10 minutes the former Arsenal man looked more than comfortable alongside his new team mates.  He was superb, not only did he lay on 3 goals for his team mates he also did the dirty work and tracked runners to help out the defence as well.  One particular highlight for me when I was watching the game back was his expression (which can be seen above) just after Dzeko had crashed home his 4th, a look of disbelief about the quality of his new colleagues, fantastic to see.

Talking of Dzeko, he was once again superb, he led the line fantastically well and was a constant threat and worry for the Tottenham back line.  The opener came when a perfect Nasri cross was met by the Bosnian's outstretched foot, on paper it may sound simplistic but the interplay and wonderful one-two between Aguero and Nasri that lead to the goal was superb.  The second was a game changer, shortly after Crouch headed a wonderful volleyed Bale cross inches wide, a goal that would have turned the game on its head, City countered and another inch perfect Nasri cross was met by Dzeko who managed to arch his back and strain his head to head the ball back across goal and into the net, it was a remarkable finish and from a technical point of view could have been the pick of the bunch.  

The half time break came and went and any fears of City once again throwing away a 2 goal lead again were ended when Dzeko completed his hat trick tapping home a low Toure cross, again some of the build up was superb and it essentially won the game for the blues.  Aguero added a 4th after he was released by Nasri, he showed fantastic strength to beat Dawson before hammering the ball past Friedel from an acute angle, it was a great goal.  Predictably however we did manage to find a way to blot our copy book, the introduction of Jermain Defoe lifted Spurs and he saw a rising shot smartly turned over by Hart, from the resulting corner however, some incredibly sloppy marking by Yaya Toure resulted in Younes Kaboul slamming a header into the City net.  Spurs didn't really rally however, they withdrew an off form Modric and after making 3 changes van der Vaart limped off with a strained ham string resulting in the London club having to play with 10 men.  

Perhaps we then left them off the hook slightly, later in the day United proved they don't provide any mercy, they continue to pummel their opposition, the last 25mins was played out with City firmly in control, content to play keep ball without really testing the Tottenham defence.  It wasn't until deep into injury time that the score board was troubled again, Dzeko and the again superb Barry played a neat one-two outside the Spurs area resulting in the Bosnian driving home his 4th of the day with a sublime left footed finessed finish.  The whistle blew immediately after the restart to put Spurs out of their misery, but if the truth be told Tottenham weren't even that bad, City were just an absolute sensation.

Enough waffle, what of the slightly unimportant numbers:

Joe Hart: 7 - Was excellent when called upon, made some sharp saves in the second half from Defoe and kept some Spurs efforts out early on.  Nothing he could do about the goal, a pretty decent perform let down by his defence on one occasion.

Pablo Zabaleta: 6 - A surprise inclusion at the expensive of Richards, got booked early on and was at times given a fright by the pace of Bale but got to grips with him as the game went on.  Took a couple of typical bangs to the head towards the end as seems normal.

Joleon Lescott: 7 - Could possibly be at fault for letting Crouch fire a header just wide in the first half but generally played well and looked strong.  The partnership between him and Kompany continues to impress Kompany is the brains, Lescott

Vincent Kompany: 7 - Another great captains display, he made some superb tackles again taking the ball cleanly and snuffing out various attacks.  He also used the ball well I thought, he rarely gives it away and even surged forward from time to time to support the midfield.

Gael Clichy: 7 - He attacking well and provided width, he was a constant threat to Corluka and some of his link up play with Nasri was superb. Didn't really allow Lennon into the game after a shaky start, he matched his pace and snuffed out his threat.

Gareth Barry: 8 - Barry has been massively improved this season and this was another great display, anchored the midfield supremely, used the ball well and mopped up nicely.  He attacked at the right times and filled in gaps as well, all action, superb, undroppable at this point for me.

Yaya Toure: 6 - Toure looked assured and confident again, but blotted his copy book by going to sleep on a Tottenham corner and allowing Kaboul a totally free header resulting in a goal.  At 4-0, it didn't matter, but it's a lapse that could have cost us under other circumstances.

David Silva: 8 - Superb AGAIN, was a constant threat and his movement along with Aguero and Nasri was fantastic.  The Frenchman might take more plaudits but the Spaniard's impact cannot be underestimated.

Sergio Aguero: 8 - Lovely link up play with Nasri to create the first, and scored a beauty as well.  The 3 attacking talents behind Dzeko were impossible to deal with, their movement was so fluid and considering Kun still isn't 100% fit it was extremely impressive.

Samir Nasri: 9 - It may not have been as sensational as Aguero's debut, but it was close, any question about how he fits in were soon banished.  He got 3 assists and was at the heart of every good move, when you add in his defensive work too he looks a great signing.

Edin Dzeko: 10 - I said to myself it would take something extraordinary for me to ever award a 10, well this was it.  The Bosnian hit 4 goals and has now scored 7 in 4 games, his goals were great, but his all round play for the team was superb.

Substitutes:

Micah Ricahrds: 6 - Attacked well and worked very hard, took a couple of knocks but really not enough time to impress.

Stefan Savic: 6 - Brought on to add an extra body in the defence, looked tidy and neat, but no time really.

Only really one choice for Man of the Match, that is Edin Dzeko, he endlessly tortured the Spurs defence and proved what a handful he can be.  He is slimmer, quicker and understands his role much more than he did last season.  His 4 goals aside, he proved an excellent outlet and brought his team mates into play with consummate ease, if you don't believe in him yet, there is nothing that will ever convince you.

Match Preview - Bolton (Away)

It feels like no time has past at all since the last trip to the Reebok, many things have changed but the good feelings experienced by all City fans at the end of that game remain, things were looking good then, and they are looking even better now.

Circumstances are different in some ways however, what was a last day of the season battle, is now a start of the season race, after a good performance on Monday night where we really laid a marker down against Swansea, the game on Sunday will be a great opportunity to show that we can perform against better teams as well and prove that the performance on Monday night was not just a flash in the pan.

The game is in fact between the top 2 teams in the league after both opened their campaigns with 4-0 demolitions of newly promoted teams, it is therefore likely that confidence will be high in both camps.  This is really the sort of game that we should be winning if we have realistic expectations of winning the league or pushing Manchester United close.  In previous years we may have thought about taking a point, but this time around it is a game we should be winning, but it definitely wont be easy.

Kevin Davies will as always be a threat, but that is the sort of challenge that Joleon Lescott enjoys, he has no problem with a physical battle and hopefully he can match the hard working Bolton striker.  Our creativity and skills in midfield will be matched with the hard working efficiency of Nigel Reo-Coker and Fabrice Muamba, and I can't help but feel that is where the game will be won and lost.

Recent Form


Clearly it is difficult to judge both clubs form, we are only one game into the season.  Both sides won convincingly in their first games, but as previously noted for both teams this was against slightly less impressive opposition.  Looking to the end of last year, City were winning in style notching up 4 straight wins, including that victory at Wembley, things were gelling and hopefully we will start this season as we ended last.

Bolton on the other hand will be hoping for a change of fortunes, after a strong season they faltered towards the end.  They lost 5 games consecutively at the end of the campaign including 2 at home to both Sunderland and that defeat to City.  Clearly a lot of this can probably be attributed to the fact they had nothing to play for, but it could still be argued that if City score early it could weigh heavy on the Bolton players.

City - Bolton: Head To Head


Currently we are undefeated in 5 games with the Trotters, taking in 4 wins and 1 draw.  At the Reebok however things are less spectacular, victory in May was the first in 6 attempts, drawing 2, and losing 3 of the previous meetings.  City and Bolton provided the majority of goals on the opening weekend, weighing in with 8 of the 18.

Team News


Bolton have had a torrid time in preseaon with injuries losing key midfielder Chung Yong Lee and former City fullback Tyrone Mears both to broken legs as well as Stuart Holden who also suffered a leg break towards the end of last season.  They will put Ricardo Gardner through a fitness test to see whether he has recovered from a groin problem prior to the game as well.

City will possibly give a debut to Aguero after his heroics on Monday night and there is a possibility that Carlos Tevez could make the bench.  There are doubts over Nigel De Jong who was substituted against Swansea with a minor foot injury and whether he is fit enough to play will be decided nearer the time.

Who Could Hurt Us?

Kevin Davies: At 34, the former Southampton striker is still causing problems for defences.  His work rate is second to none, and his aerial ability is pretty impressive.  He has become the heartbeat of the Bolton side and even though he is never a prolific goalscorer for them, he is still at the heart of many of the good things they do.  He didn't net last time out for example, but he was still central to their good pieces of play.  He will no doubt give the defense a real battle and if we are to win on Sunday they need to deal with the threat presented by the Trotters captain.  It is players like Davies that make me thankful that we are without Toure and can use Lescott to combat the power of certain forwards.

Who Could Hurt Them?

Edin Dzeko: The Bosnian striker was a bit of a revelation against Swansea on Monday night and if he can produce more of the same it will be a massive boost for the side.  Not only did he score, but his hold up play was much improved, and his first touch also looked a lot better.  I expect City will play him upfront alone as is the formation preferred by Roberto Mancini and his ability to hold up the ball and bring Silva, Toure, Johnson and or Aguero into play is vital.  He scored at the Reebok in the victory last season and that coupled with his goal on Monday will no doubt have boosted his confidence.  I fancy Dzeko to score again, and if he is on form I think he'll cause huge problems for the Wanderers defence.

Prediction


I have a feeling City will triumph on Sunday, and I think the most likely scoreline will be a 1-0 victory with Dzeko scoring the all important goal.  I think Lescott and Kompany will be able to deal with Davies, but we certainly won't have it all our own way, as with any game against Bolton, it will be a tough battle but I think we will come through and take the 3 points.

Match Report - Dublin Supercup

As I said when writing the report of the game against Club America, I am not going to cover the games in any great detail in preseason, this is more going to be looking at who impressed during our time in Dublin.


Our form in the run up to this season has seen us go unbeaten and whilst it doesn't really count for anything, some performances are giving extremely positive indicators for the coming season.  We played 2 entirely different teams in both the games, and everyone in the squad got a decent run out with the exception of Sergio Aguero who has been thwarted with a bad case of blisters.


The game against the Irish XI was mostly a chance for some of the younger members of our squad to demonstrate their ability.  With the exception of Gareth Barry, Adam Johnson, Shaun Wright-Phillips and Stuart Taylor it was an extremely young side.  The game was won 3-0 and was pretty straight forward really, the Irish team put up a good show of their defensive ability in the first half but City slowly picked up the pace as the game went on and there were some extremely encouraging performances.

SWP continued his impressive preseason, for me he was the man of the match, at this point we know exactly what we are getting, it was a performance full of endeavour and work rate and he along with Adam Johnson ran the show and gave the Irish defense a torrid time.  They both managed to get on the score sheet with will well taken goals, Wright-Phillip's strike in particular was a lovely finish on the volley.  There also has to be a lot of credit for Gareth Barry who played some defense splitting passes and got himself an assist.  

Some of the youngsters impressed as well, one of the stand out performers for me was midfielder Abdul Razak who patrolled the midfield alongside the England international.  He made a brief cameo against West Brom last season and he is highly thought of by many at Eastlands, he looked industrious and kept things simple, it was a very impressive performance.


Stefan Savic looked solid again at centreback, he had very little to do, but when he was tested he dealt with things well.  Young Swiss player Frederic Veselli got another run out after his first against Club America, he looked competent and solid at full back and got forward well to support the midfield.  Perhaps the best youngster was newly signed Denis Suarez, to say that he looks like a David Silva in waiting would be heaping too much pressure onto his shoulders, but he looked great.  His movement in the midfield was superb, and he always wanted the ball, he floated about well and seemed to understand what was expected of him.  He got 30mins and to be honest I was hoping he would play the full 90, but there are definitely signs there that he could go on to be a really special player.


The third goal was scored by a young Italian trialist Luca Scapuzzi, a player who has previously been at Milan, his goal will no doubt have done him a lot of good and who knows it may secure him a 12 month contract to see what ability he has.


The only real disappointments for me were Weiss and Guidetti some of the 'older' statesman in comparison.  Weiss got a lot of praise on twitter, but a lot of it surprised me, he is full of endeavour but he has a real tendency to overcomplicate things, with a resurgent SWP I do wonder if he will see many games this season.  Guidetti as well worked hard but never really tested the opposition defense, good effort and work rate, but there was very little final product.

The game against Inter Milan was a totally different kettle of fish.  It was an entirely changed team and they definitely impressed.  It is hard to single out who played the best, because everyone had a good game, even Aleksandar Kolarov looked greatly improved.  As I have made clear previously I feel that Edin Dzeko could have a really good season this time around, he looks more mobile, slightly quicker, his touch seems to have improved and he seems to be understanding his team mates a lot more.  He scored the second on the day and finished in style, most of the credit must go to Silva for an absolutely exquisite reverse pass, but the finish itself was confident and controlled, as soon as he picked up the ball in a one on one situation there was no doubt where it was ending up.  He was unlucky to not have scored earlier, he converted a wonderful Kolarov cross, but the goal was wrongly ruled out for offside.


Mario Balotelli was also much more involved this time, he scored a cracking header off a corner to give City the lead and he looked a constant threat.  Such a frustrating player, if he was 'interested' every game like he was yesterday he would be a top striker, but his attitude makes it difficult.  You don't know what you are going to get, his performance against Milan was much more FA Cup final rather than LA Galaxy.


The star of the show, as has been on numerous occasions however was David Silva, on a day where Wesley Sneijder was expected to shine, he was totally eclipsed by the magical Spaniard.  He was the heartbeat of City again and there was a clear suggestion that he might be even better this year than he was last.  Some of his passing was sublime and the Inter midfield never managed to get close to him.  I still have concerns that we may be too reliant on him, but with the arrival of Sergio Aguero some of the creative responsibility might be taken away from him, and that may not necessarily be a bad thing.

There was another good cameo from AJ and SWP who played the final 10mins, and they combined late on for another Adam Johnson goal, if Wright-Phillips isn't at the club next year it would be a real shame, his preseason has been excellent.  Milner looked solid and impressive in the midfield, his work rate is truly exceptional and I think people may have judged him too early last year and now that he is settled into his better position I am sure he will go along way to win over some of his critics.


3-0 against Inter Milan on paper is a great result, and it was, the team played with fluidity and understanding and that can only be a good thing with the Premier League season just 2 weeks away.  It is important to remember that Inter are much earlier in their preseason than we are and so we always had a great chance of winning the game, but some of the performances on show were extremely impressive, definitely reasons to be cheerful as we start with the competitive games next weekend.