League Cup 3rd Round: City V Birmingham Report

It is fair to say that the League Cup is hardly the most inspiring of competitions, maligned by many and ridiculed by some there is a definite argument that the competition is in desperate need of a shake up, and in truth last nights game was little more than a training exercise with City never needing to get out of 2nd gear let alone find 4th or 5th.


5 years ago City would have fielded one of their strongest teams and entered the competition a round earlier, it was something that we took seriously but we have come so far that last night the team fielded was a real mish mash of the good (Tevez, Balotelli & Zabba), the bad (Bridge) and the ugly (OK, who am I to judge?!).  On paper it could have been a mouth watering tie as it pitted the 2 domestic cup winners against each other, Birmingham were victorious in the League Cup last year beating Arsenal in the final but since then their fortunes have slipped and surprise relegation has dumped them back in the Championship, and the defense of their title never really got going if the truth be told.


City of course won the FA Cup and it has left us all with a taste for more success and no matter what we think of it, this is a competition that is definitely there for us to win and therefore I hope we treat it seriously as we progress.  Understandably it was a weakened team last night, and they got the job done with relative ease but if we are drawn against more challenging opposition next time out I would like to see us field a stronger side and really go for it.

The home team controlled the game throughout and youngster Abdul Razak and debutant Owen Hargreaves marshaled the defense well sitting in front of a back line that contained a returning Kolo Toure, Stefan Savic, as well as misfits Wayne Bridge and Nedum Onuoha.  Carlos Tevez and Mario Balotelli functioned to a reasonable level upfront, supported by Zabaleta and Kolarov providing width.  


Hargreaves was fiery and hard working on his debut and he seemed to be well up for the challenge, he managed to play 60 minutes he kept things simple and tackled cleanly and well.  The most important challenge on the night for the player was coming through unscathed, anything on top of that would have been a bonus, the cherry on top however was the stunning goal he scored that gave City the lead.  He picked up the ball outside the box and swept a stunning strike into the back of the net just out of reach of Colin Doyle in the Birmingham net.  It was a sign of what the former England international is capable of, and when he was substituted on the hour mark to a standing ovation things were looking good, a few more run outs as a substitute and Hargreaves could really begin to offer something.

There was not much of note other than that really, City extended their lead through a well taken goal by Mario Balotelli who swept home a pull back from Kolarov, of course there was no celebration, it was efficient and the job was done.  The game descended into a period of keep ball, and other than a goal line clearance from captain for the night Toure after debutant keeper Pantilimon made a hash of a cross there was no real threat from the visitors.  Tevez went close in the second half but the Birmingham keeper pulled off a good save in a one on one position, the Argentine also went close with a free kick late on that narrowly skipped past the post.

It was a competent and comfortable performance from City played out in front of a slightly disappointing 25,000, but the important thing is that we are into the next round and whatever that might be bring, now onto the numbers:


Costel Pantilimon: 6 - Mixed debut for the giant keeper, really struggled with crosses which is odd considering his height, he did make a couple of smart saves though and his distribution wasn't too bad, whether he is adequate backup for Hart however is unclear.


Nedum Onuoha: 6 - After being frozen out for a long time it was a solid return for the defender.  He was deployed at right back and he assisted the attacking unit well, often overlapping Zabaleta.  His pace was always a threat and he was rarely threatened defensively to be honest.


Kolo Toure: 7 - A strong return from the Ivorian, he lead well and worked incredibly hard.  He was dominant in the air and made some good lung bursting runs through the middle as well.  Offered a solid steadying hand to debutant Savic too.


Stefan Savic: 7 - Showed why the club think he has immense potential, he showed confidence above his years, passed the ball well out of defense, his positioning was good and he also showed good pace to get across the ground, an impressive first start.


Wayne Bridge: 5 - To be honest he did nothing to push himself back into first team reckoning, he tried and toiled but he didn't really have anything to show for it.  Some passes went astray and the attacking side of his game is as poor as ever.


Abdul Razak: 8 - Great debut and one of the best youngsters i've seen at City for a while.  Not ready for the big games yet, but gets a high rating for his potential.  He did exactly what was expect with no fuss or errors, broke up play and moved the ball well, very impressive.


Owen Hargreaves: 7


Pablo Zabaleta: 6 - Played a much more advanced role than normal and didn't really do anything wrong, but didn't really do anything too special either.  Very neat and tidy and was always available to take the ball, never lacks enthusiasm and commitment but creativity isn't his game.


Aleksandar Kolarov: 6 - Set up Balotelli for his goal and as with Zabs he was always willing, but again he isn't exactly a wing wizard but he did show endeavour and his work rate has definitely improved since the start of his City career.


Carlos Tevez: 6 - Full of energy and buzzed about the pitch as we all expect him to do, but there was very little final product, nothing really came off and he tended to lose the ball on occasion.  He looked short of confidence with the one chance he did have hitting a tame one on one right at the keeper.


Mario Balotelli: 7 - Some nice touches and flicks and he did just about enough to get the 7.  If it wasn't for his goal he probably would have rated the same as Tevez, he showed more effort than I thought he might, be he really needs to work on a goal celebration.


Substitutes


James Milner: 6 - Replaced Hargreaves and did a perfectly adequate job in the City engine room.


Karim Rekik: 6 - The 16 year old Dutchman made his debut and looks assured.


Luca Scapuzzi: 5 - No real time to mark, barely had a touch of the ball.

As I have said it was a very straight forward victory but for me the most impressive display came from the young Ivorian Abdul Razak.  Until he got cramp late on he gave it everything he had and was wanting to impress, he did exactly what the holding role required of him, he won the ball, closed players down and moved the ball tidily and efficiently when he had it.  There is great potential there and I think more first team substitute appearances will follow.

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.  

City V Wigan Report

So the City juggernaut continues to roll on, and Manchester (and Salford) as a footballing City('s) goes from strength to strength.  It is hard to pin point exactly which was an easier win this season, the opening day demolition of Swansea or yesterdays hammering of Wigan.  I would suspect ultimately that the Welsh side put up far more of a fight than the Lancashire club, perhaps surprising after the strong start that Roberto Martinez and his side have made to the season.

In truth the 3-0 scoreline doesn't really do City justice, it should have been 4-0 by half time and it could easily have been 7 or 8 by the final whistle, if we had been a bit more ruthless and clinical in front of goal we could have inflicted a similar thrashing to that which Wigan suffered at Spurs a couple of years ago.


Macini demonstrated the importance of his whole squad and rang some changes, Edin Dzeko was left out and rested after his heroics at White Hart Lane, as was Gareth Barry, Samir Nasri and Pablo Zabaleta.  James Milner, Adam Johnson, Micah Richards and Carlos Tevez came in to replace them and fortunately the changes didn't change the sides fluidity too much.

City took the game by the scruff of the neck early on with Sergio Aguero scoring his first with a really neat finish after good work by a rampant Clichy and Silva.  They were perhaps unfortunate to not build on the lead after Richards crashed the underside of the bar after a superb raid down the right, and again when Kompany hit the woodwork with a header off a corner, there was also a good chance for Adam Johnson to extend the lead when he cut in from the right hand flank.  The best opportunity however was a penalty, after Silva was crudely hacked down by Lopez, Tevez took the ball and hit (scuffed) one of the worst penalties that you are likely to see, it was so weak Al-Habsi could probably have just stepped to his left and picked it up!

1-0 at half time, and Wigan found a 20 minute spell either side of half time in which they managed to impose themselves on the game slightly.  Di Santo should probably have done better with a one on one situation where Hart had run out into no mans land, and just after the break Hugo Rodallega hit a low shot that wasn't so much saved by Joe Hart but deflected off the England keeper wide of the post, that however was all Wigan would really have.  


The introduction of Samir Nasri gave City an extra spark and it wasn't long before some exquisite one touch football between Silva and Frenchman released Aguero for his second that he slipped past the keeper into the corner for a supremely confident finish.  City became dominant again after the second was scored and the third wasn't far away, superb play again by the exceptional Silva where he showed skill, strength and technique resulted in Kun being released to calmly slip home his 3rd of the afternoon into the exact spot that he had dispatched the previous one.

City finished the game at a canter, Balotelli was introduced and he looked sprightly without any real service, youngster Abdul Razak was given a 10 minute cameo which I suspect will be built upon in the League Cup next week.  


If we are being ultra negative I suppose Adam Johnson could have done more, and really we should have been more clinical in front of goal and taken all of our chances, but that is really clutching at straws, it was another superb performance overall and it will further add to the confidence and good feeling that appears to be around the team and players.

Not let's get on with the all important figures:


Joe Hart: 7 - Would have been 6, not through poor performance, just had nothing to do, but I just watched 'tunnel-cam' on the OS and seeing his motivational speech before the second half was fantastic, so bumped to a 7! 


Micah Richards: 8 - Attacked superbly well again, showed determination to get forward but also back, was incredibly unlucky to not score in the first half when he hit the bar.  Dealt with Rodallega well at the other end of the pitch as well.


Vincent Kompany: 8 - Rock at the heart of the defence, unlucky to not score with a good header in the first half, organised well and mopped up everything that he had too.  He is really excelling in his role as captain with his right hand man Joe Hart.


Joleon Lescott: 7 - Was given a couple of scares by Di Santo but grew in confidence as the game went on, made one particularly good rampaging run early on.  Also should probably have had a goal from a Yaya Toure shot that the defender tried to deflect into the net.


Gael Clichy: 7 - The engine on this guy is insane, he is so much quicker than I realised.  He struggled with Moses at times but much like Lescott grew in confidence as the game went on, he also provided a couple of excellent crosses that unfortunately went unused.

James Milner: 8 - Another exemplary performance in the centre of the field, Mancini finally seems to have realised his best position.  He bombed on when required and got back to make vital tackles, does all the less noticeable dirty work well.


Yaya Toure: 7 - Plying his trade in his more natural holding role this season we are seeing less of Tourepartnership with Milner, they work well together.


Adam Johnson: 6 - A frustrating day for Johnson, nowhere near as bad as some would have you believe but always not perfect.  Work rate seemed improved, he tracked back well, but not everything came off for him, perhaps he overcomplicated things on occasion.


David Silva: 10 - Really not going to write much, it's all been said before.  Fantastic, magical, strong, full of endeavour, skillful.  There is no better midfielder playing in England currently, and not many better in Europe.


Carlos Tevez: 6 - Work rate is definitely still there, no loss of passion but not quite up to match sharpness yet.  He was a constant threat but had a tendency to take the wrong option at times, woeful penalty didn't help him either.


Sergio Aguero: 9 - Now scored 6 for the season and this was a great hat trick.  He passes and places the ball into the net and has the ability to place them right inside the post making them impossible to save.  His work rate is also immense and he just seems to love playing the game.

Substitutes:


Samir Nasri: 8 - Steadied the ship when he came on and linked up wonderfully with Silva and Aguero, managed to notch up an assist on the short time he was on the pitch, he looks a real star.


Mario Balotelli: 6 - Didn't really make much of an impact, worked hard and scampered about.


Abdul Razak - N/A - No real time to judge, but good to see him getting time on the pitch.

I suppose it seems strange for a player to score 3 times and not get Man of The Match, and in the stadium that award went to Aguero and understandably he will get most of the plaudits but for me it has to be David Silva.  As always he was behind everything that City did, he ran the show and provided the tempo, he caused so many problems going between the lines and was impossible to keep quiet.  It is not just his skill and passing that is impressive his work rate and strength is also superb for a player that at first appears so lightweight.

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 Report - Swansea City

The Summer seemed to pass interminably slowly, but as I arrived at Eastlands, sorry, the Etihad Stadium last night and had my first beer of the season it suddenly didn't feel that long since we crushed Stoke.  In that time a lot has changed, there has been more furore over the future of a diminutive Argentine striker, the ground has a new name, and we have been linked with every name under the sun.

The confidence around the place remains, on twitter yesterday I saw predictions of 3, 4, and 5 nil, and now foolishly I suggested it would be a lot more cagey than that, and said I would take a 1-0, as long as it brought 3 points....well at half time last night I would have snapped your hand off for any sort of positive score line.  The second half flurry of goals was always going to come really, if it weren't for some fantastic goal keeping from Swansea keeper Michel Vorm on his debut, City would have been in front.  He saved brilliantly from Dzeko and Silva, and right on half time Gareth Barry crashed a left foot strike off the cross bar, it was coming, and when it arrived it changed the game entirely.

The first arrived after good work from Adam Johnson ended with a shot that was parried to the feet of Edin Dzeko who was left with a simple tap in, a goal that was wholly deserved on the basis of his work rate.  Then the game changed, the introduction of Sergio Aguero lifted not only the 44 odd thousand people in the stadium, but also the rest of the players on the pitch.  City would have no doubt scored a second or even third without him, but the fantasy and devil that the debutant brought with him was terrifying in the best possible way.

He had his first goal not long after coming on, a lovely low cross from Richards was met at the far post by a sliding Aguero who neatly finished into the corner, everyone was in raptures, the stadium erupted, a star was born.... that wasn't the end of it though.  His deft flick over Vorm, and acrobatic pullback for Silva to fire home the 3rd was a delight, but when in injury time he looked up, found himself some space and crashed home what is clearly one of the goals of the season it became clear just how good Aguero is.  Many people sat around me had a look of disbelief as the impact of his debut wore off, it was truly a stunning cameo.

It wouldn't be fair to just focus on City, Swansea gave it a good go defensively, they looked neat and efficient and at times in the first half they kept the ball extremely well and you have to give them credit for that.  Scott Sinclair looked extremely quick and will cause lesser defenders than Richards many problems, midfielder Joe Allen looked good when he came on, and Scot Stephen Dobbie looked impressive in spells.  It was very much a team effort from the Welsh side, clearly hoping that they would be able to resist City for the 90mins, it wasn't to be however, and although it was a fair score line in my eyes they still deserve a lot of credit for their work ethic.

Now for the all important numbers:

Joe Hart: 7 - Didn't really have a huge amount to do, but what little he did was done with confidence and style, City's number 1 for years to come.

Micah Richards: 8 - Superb raids forward from right back, his buccaneering attitude is fantastic and his cross for Aguero's first was excellent.  Showed desire to get back and defend and do the dirty work, very impressive.

Vincent Kompany: 7 - Like Hart had little to do, but kept things safe at the back.  I sincerely hope he will be club captain for years to come.

Joleon Lescott: 8 - The resurgence continues, 12 months ago he was a forgotten man and maligned by many now he is imperious and will hopefully retain his place with the return of Kolo Toure.

Gael Clichy: 7 - Solid debut, attacked well and clearly had more pace than Kolarov to get back and defend, good signs for the future.

Nigel De Jong: 7 - Reliable, solid, bulldog like, you could easily write those three statements for every NDJ performance, came off early with a slight knock, hopefully precautionary.

Gareth Barry: 7 - I really think what he offers the team is underestimated by some, started slowly, but shielded the defence excellently as the game went on, very neat and assured passing, solid.

Yaya Toure: 8 - Really hard to rate, poor first half, backed off too much and wayward passing, but excellent in the second, some great rampaging runs and passing, not fully fit, so I give him benefit of the doubt.

David Silva: 10 - I ran out of superlatives for Spanish Dave many months ago, another superb performance running the show, and behind everything that was good on the night.  Fully deserved goal topped off his game.

Adam Johnson: 7 - Struggled early on, but grew into the game as it went along, caused the Swansea defence no end of trouble, will hopefully get a run in the team.

Edin Dzeko: 8 - What a difference a preseason can make.  Looked a different player to last year, understood his role, took his goal well and worked very hard for the team, will hopefully keep it up.

Substitutes


Sergio Aguero: 9 - Whether there has been a better debut in Premier League history is debatable, but the Argentine was superb.  He was inventive, hard working, devilish and supremely skilled, lets hope there is a lot more to come.


James Milner: 7 - No real time to rate, composed, and energetic, got forward down the wing well, did fine.


Stefan Savic: N/A - Really not fair to judge, had barely any time, couple of poor passes but still finding his feet.

Man of the match has to be Silva for me, Aguero clearly will take all the headlines and deservedly so, but Silva kept the team ticking over for 90mins, he truly is a special player and one that hopefully will be at the club for years to come.

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.