Match Report: Club America - City

One of the things that I set up this blog for was to write match reports and deliver ratings on each game that City play, most of these in preseason will be more accounts of players that impressed me as opposed to actual match reports as personally I think performances are more important than results at this stage of the season.


As expected the side was entirely changed at half time with only Weiss playing the full game.  In fact as I understand it the only members of the traveling party not involved were David Silva (slight knee problem), Mario Balotelli ('unwell') and young Spaniard Denis Suarez who has to sort some transfer formalities.

Weiss looked lively throughout, and having not seen him play for a while I was surprised at just how quick he actually is, I remember him being fast but he demonstrated some explosive pace against the Mexican giants.  There are still some problems with his game, he had a tendency to over complicate things and sometimes his final ball was lacking, but the direct running that he demonstrated for the 90mins could have its uses this season.  If he continues in a similar fashion in the remaining friendlies he could be well worth a place on the bench this season.  His loan spell at Rangers has hopefully done him a lot of good, he made 23 appearances for them and that will have greatly improved his match sharpness.  

I suppose the man currently blocking Weiss from the first team is everyones favourite winger SWP.  It says a lot for his attitude that he is on the trip at all, he is clearly willing to knuckle down and there have been no complaints from the England winger unlike those left behind to train with the reserves.  He was one of our star performers, he appeared everywhere down the right flank, putting in some great tackles in our own box as well as giving their full back a torrid afternoon.  He wasn't as quick as he once was,  but his energy made up for his slight loss of speed.  He scored City's second and it was a lovely strike from the edge of the box reminiscent of times past.  I still question how effective he is going to be for us in the Premier League, there is no commitment lacking, and we all love him, but is that enough for him to remain?

Edin Dzeko played the first half and after a slow start he began to impress, maybe it was just me, but he appeared quicker and more mobile than he did at times last season.  His hold up play was impressive although he was aided by players getting closer to him, something that we didn't do particularly well last year.  He still didn't have the best service, the only crosses came in from debutant Gael Clichy, they were pretty impressive and it looked like a route to goal that could be quite fruitful this season.  The Frenchman fitted in well, he played behind Ryan McGivern who played in quite an unnatural left midfield position, this allowed Clichy to race up field and join in the attacks, his speed and pace were impressive and I really think he will prove to be a great signing.

It would be wrong to not say a little about McGivern as well, he has been around City for ages but has never really had a chance to shine.  He was probably the least likely scorer on the pitch but when he calmly slotted a right footed strike into the far corner that theory was disproved.  It was a hard working performance and he covered for Clichy well, but it was apparent at times that he is a left footed central defender being played grossly out of position at left midfield, he wasn't poor by any means but don't expect to see him in the role when the season begins!

The stand out performer for me was Micah Richards, on twitter someone made a reference to him playing like Maicon and that isn't far from the truth...except Richards can also defend.  He looked even quicker than last year, stronger, and he beat players with ease, knocking the ball past them and scampering round the stranded defender to pick up the ball.  The technical side of his game also seemed better.  He was a real threat and I hope to see him galloping down the wing in more competitive games.  He caused no end of problems and I can't help but think it was an option that we under utilised last season, hopefully on the evidence of last night that will soon change.

Honourable mentions should also go to Stefan Savic who was calm and collected at centre back, he didn't look out of place at all.  He played the ball well and looked effective, I look forward to seeing more of him.  James Milner continued his resurgent form in a central midfield role, not that Barry was poor, bit I can't help but feel the former Leeds and Newcastle player should have that position nailed down.  Any names omitted is not through lack of quality, with the exception of Andrea Mancini everyone looked solid.  This was always going to be the least interesting friendly, I am sure as we get closer to the season a team will settle and there will be less tinkering during the games.  This was essentially a glorified training session, but for what is was worth, there were a fair few positives.

Rumour Mill: Manchester City or Former Arsenal XI?

There are 2 rumours today floating around Eastlands and I can't see how this piece can be particularly long, in that both names get a big 'yes' from me....In the interests of being informative and interesting however I suppose I should go into a little bit of detail, lets take one of these at a time.  Firstly we might have an answer to the left back conundrum in French international Gael Clichy.


The flying left back is one of those players that is deceptively young, it feels as if he should be in his late 20s because of the fact he has been playing for what feels like eternity, but in fact he is only 25 so definitely no problems there.  It is clearly a position that we need to strengthen, and to be fair an area of the field where we have struggled for years, our defensive record from crosses is poor to say the least and I would wager that many of those crosses are coming from our left hand side.  I want Aleksandar Kolarov to work out but he just hasn't adapted to Premier League football as quickly as we would like and maybe a season rotating with a more experienced player will do him the world of good.

Of course we will be battling on an extra front next year, clearly it would be foolish to suggest that we have any real chance of winning the Champions League, but that doesn't mean we can't put in a decent showing.  Our squad is pretty light on experience of Europe's top competition but it is something that Clichy can provide by the bucket load and that is another real benefit.


He is quick, skillful, and useful in attacking areas, and whilst he may not be the best full back defensively, he is by no means one of the worst, and I personally think that makes him a more attractive proposition than say Leighton Baines.  The Everton defender is many peoples first choice, but I am slightly put off by the fact that it would cost over £20million to secure him, Clichy is rumoured to be available for £7million, surely that is better business?


The second possible signing I see as a lot less likely, but it would be one to really get excited about.  Samir Nasri has flattered to deceive at times during his Arsenal career, but in the last 18 months he has really started to show what he is capable of and I think he would be perfect for City.  Those lovely people at Talksport reckon that we are sniffing around and readying a bid of £20million, now before this gets dismissed out of hand, it is important to remember that the figure is slightly lower than what might be expected due to the fact he is in the last year of his contract.


There appears to be conjecture about the validity of this story, word on twitter originating from the Mirror claims that City 'sources' have confirmed interest in Clichy but denied we had made contact with Arsenal over a transfer for Nasri.  Clearly he would be a great addition to the squad, if he were to come in his link up play with Silva and the rest of the forward line could be a joy to behold, but just how likely is it?


Firstly there is rumoured to be strong interest from Manchester United and obviously that could present one or two problems, secondly is the ongoing Cesc Fabregas saga.  If, as expected, he moves to Barcelona over the next few days surely Arsene Wenger will do whatever he can to retain the former Marseille midfielder and offer him the wages that he is demanding to stay at the Emirates.

If I were a betting man I would say the signing of Clichy is highly likely, any move for Nasri though I just can't see at this point.  Since we withdrew from the Sanchez deal I think it might just be more rumour mongering from the tabloids, not that I wouldn't want him, I am just not sure I see it as being that likely, i'd love to be proved wrong though.....