You make your prediction about a
home draw (thankfully incorrect) and
then rip-up everything after just 89 seconds; when the opposition get the wrong
man sent off for a last-man challenge on Wilfried Bony.
I’ll take anything at the moment…
Failed barometer check
Having played against 10 men for 90 minutes and 31 seconds
yesterday it sort of, frustratingly, doesn’t give us any idea ‘where we’re at’
after a torrid time of 1 win and 4 defeats in the previous 5 games in all competitions.
Not WANTING to look for negatives in yesterday’s victory of course; that’s about the only really.
The early sending off kind of turned the game into a
training match of ‘defence v attack’ yesterday and, in doing so, dulled the
atmosphere within the ground in many respects.
Before the game I always thought it was goin’ to be a flat
crowd and slightly flat performance yesterday and with Albion
having lost a defender so very early on, it proved to be a double-edged sword;
slightly dulling for the fans in the stand but, no doubt, helped to buoy the
potentially nervous & self-doubting City players.
It was clearly ‘backs to the walls’ for the visitors and I
have to give our players credit for breaking down such an entrenched,
already-steely (under Tony Pulis) side. You
just got the feeling though (well I did
at least) that it could and, indeed, should have been much more
following the departure of Gareth McAuley.
They played with, pretty
much, just Saido Berahino “up front” on his
own in a 4-4-1 and although 3-0 is a very welcoming, goal-difference bonus result
at a time where the goals ‘for & against’ could prove, once again, so very,
very important; had our passing radar and shooting boots been tied just a
little bit more securely it could
should have been at least double that scoreline.
Sergio couldn’t buy a goal
yesterday, as the phrase goes, but
that was largely due to a brilliant, MotM performance from The Baggies’ keeper,
Boaz Myhill. The USA born, England Under-20, then-Welsh
international (with a Hebrew first name) stopper had an exceptional game
deputising for the 6-month injured Ben Foster.
Other notable
performances
I thought the two players down our right-hand-side, Zabaleta & Navas,
enjoyed some real freedom of movement and, as I’ve already alluded to, perhaps it
should have yielded more end-product-results. But they played well.
Fernando will never enjoy
that much room ever again unless the same set of circumstances occur and, looking at it slightly negatively (I’m
sorry); for THAT reason
he had probably his best game for us.
You could sort of say similarly for his ex-Porto teammate, Eliaquim Mangala. Aside from an unpunished, clumsy (once again) high-footed challenge in the WBA area that
lead to Fernando’s goal (our 1,000thPremier League goal we were informed over the tannoy system) he had a good,
solid game.
Yeah you could argue that he only really had one player to
control…but,
having had my first PROPER look at Saido Berahino; not only is he the handful
I’ve seen in ‘bits ‘n’ pieces’ and have heard a lot about; but for a fairly
slight-framed player he’s as strong as someone twice his size.
He’ll be on the move
in the summer, I’m sure, and if it wasn’t for his apparent ‘Billy big biscuits’
attitude I’d be seriously wanting us to replace the possibly-departing Jovetic and / or Dzeko
with this young striker.
On Dzeko…although only on for 14 minutes (including
2-minutes injury time) I thought his attitude was lamentable. What an appalling
and so-obvious (once again) attitude
Mr Sulk has. Pathetic excuse for a player.
Whoever might be in charge next season; we could do FAR worse than replace the Bosnian
and Montenegrin flops with the English pair of the afore
mentioned, 21-year old Berahino and out-of-contract, 22-year old Danny Ings to join Aguero & Bony in attack.
What a ‘superb 4’ that would be - mixing youth with experience and
English with foreign players.
To sum up…
A good, much-needed 3 points and clean sheet going into a
‘no home-game-period’ of a whole month; with an international break (welcome or
otherwise) and back-to-back away games at Crystal Palace and Manyoo.
Arsenal hung on for a 2-1
away win at Newcastle yesterday and, in doing
so, keep the pressure on us, which is not necessarily a bad thing in a way;
fingers crossed then that today’s Liverpool v
Manyoo ends in a draw or, next best, a Liverpool win.
As a long-time ManchesterCity
supporter hoping to, one day, see my team be consistently one of the best on
the planet it hurts to create that headline.
But we binned all domestic chances of silverware this
season and…for what? What was going to happen to us even if we’d have somehow pulled off a miracle 2-legged
win over Barcelona;
were we then going to beat Bayern Munich or Real Madrid etc. in the next round and THEN whoever
in the final?
Huh…Barcelona toyed with us for large parts -
they’re on a different plane of existence to us.
Running before we
can walk
Some might point to how much money we’ve spent over the last
few seasons and argue that we SHOULD be doing better in Europe…and that we
should be able to, at the same time, ‘hold our own’ domestically. And in a way
they’d be right and, for me, that says that some of the purchases haven’t been
as good as their fees would suggest (that’s being kind).
But stripping it back to its basics we’ve only REALLY
started to join ‘the big table’ post-Mark Hughes
and with the appointment of Roberto Mancini.
Put another way, that’s less than 4 years and two managers later. Two managers
both with their very own ideas of how to play promoting no consistency whatsoever…and
there’s a good chance that we could be ‘changing the guard’ once again this
summer!
The owners are eager, somewhat understandably considering
the money they’re ploughing into the club, for European success. I get that. But
I am relentless in my belief that we need to be domestically strong - and CONSISTENTLY so – in order to build
up a winning side / mentality to take THEN take into Europe.
Winning breeds confident winners and this apparent ‘feast or
famine’ season pattern over the last 4 years – albeit great for the fans in the
‘feast seasons’ - is no good for the team / club long term. By fading out with
a whimper in both the League & FA Cups and faltering so badly in the Premier League we’ve taken a couple of steps
backwards in 2014/2015. Considering the
owners see ‘progression’ as one of the main aims then that alone doesn’t bode
well for Manuel Pellegrini…
More damage done in
the short term?
I suggested this pre-Barcelona
- I’m concerned for our players’ reaction pre-WBA.
Fair enough I thought the lads may have travelled back late Wednesday night or
Thursday morning and the management team have, quite sensibly it sounds, decided
to remain in Spain
and train at Espanyol.
And I hope that they can take heart (no pun intended) from
some sterling defending from the defence in the second half…and especially from
a 10/10
performance from Joe Hart.
But we had to put 100% into that game just to come away from
it with a 0-1’er and we now face a side in, West Bromwich Albion, managed by
one Tony Pulis; a man renowned for making
work-rate one of his top traits, a man who will likely set up in a
counter-attacking 4-5-1 formation…a man who managed Stoke City and in doing so frustrated the hell out of us for so very long. It's says a lot that they have the best defensive record outside of the top-8...
In our scrap, now,
for 2nd place or worse, I really do fear for us on Saturday.
v ‘The Baggies’
Predicted line-up, subs and outcome in this early KO
(12:45pm GMT)…
Update (8:38am on 21.03.2015): No Milner or Toure due to 'niggles' (and Kolarov wouldn't have been available anyway for the same reason). Nasri, therefore, to step up to the starting 11 and Fernandinho & Jovetic to come in from the cold to join the bench.
Hart to, hopefully not be required to be so brilliant
again, but to be just that IF required.
Suspended / dropped midweek; Clichy & Zabaleta in. Kompany, of
course, and although he was, for me at least, a slightly surprise inclusion in
Spain in midweek and his aging legs might be feeling a little sore for this
early KO; I just get the feeling that Martin will get chosen ahead of our £35M+
French acquisition from Porto.
He’s not featured for a short while and so I think Fernando might get that defensive
midfield role against the Midlands
side. With Nasri’s exploding head (what
IS wrong with him?), I think Milner will get the nod in a ‘tucked in’,
attacking midfield 3. Silva in the middle – and
therefore possibly no starting place for jaded-looking Toure – and the pace
of Navas at home on the right, albeit slightly more ‘inside’ than he likes to
be.
Two ‘up top’; Aguero slightly deeper but interchanging with,
surely, Bony.
Bench packed with midfield talent, left’ish and right-sided defensive cover, a keeper and a striker of sorts.
Result? I hope
I’m wrong. I hope my ‘spider sense’ lets me down badly. I hope it’s not the
‘can’t break them down’ / Champions League
hangover home draw that I think it will be.
Still frustrated and seething somewhat at the players’
misfocus, lack of urgency and, in many of
the players, an apparent lack of desire against Burnley;
it’s with a still-heavy heart that I ‘put pen to paper’ ahead of tomorrow
night’s clash with the Spanish giants.
Straight to it then…
It’s getting hard to fathom our manager’s thinking of late and so I make no excuse for getting
more-recent – and indeed this –
predicted starting 11, subs and outcome nowhere near correct.
Needing a win, the more attack minded Kolarov on the left
and the rested-at-the-weekend and slightly pacier Sagna of the right of
defence. The more ‘fleet of foot’ Mangala in for the wiser head of Demichelis
and ‘our skip’ next to him of course.
Fernando to, hopefully
anyway, “protect” and ahead of him a sort
of attacking, fluid and interchanging midfield 4, which includes a
deep-lying Sergio Aguero behind a, sort
of, lone striker in Wilfried Bony.
Key player absentees from this
predicted line-up include Gael Clichy(SUSP) & Fernandinho.
I’d be happy for our manager to go
an even deeper, but counter-attacking, 4-5-1; shoving Sergio further forward
and dropping Bony to the bench for an additional, mostly attack-minded
midfielder. I’d go for James Milner to be
that 100% committed and inexhaustible engine in the middle.
But needing at least a 2-0 or a
3-1 etc., I just get the feeling that Pellegrini will opt for an adaptive 4-4-2.
Result? I can see us
scoring; I can see us scoring 2 in fact. But I can also seem them doing
likewise. For me it’ll be a passion-fuelled (following the exact opposite
last Saturday), creditable but competition-exiting score draw.
My concern...
…isn’t exactly about this
game.
I CAN see the
players trying to make amends in Spain for last Saturday’s appallingly lacklustre
display; trying also, of course, to progress in this much-sought-after
cup-competition and, therefore,
pouring all of their energies into it.
Then with the players not
returning home until Thursday and, most
likely anyway, feeling battered ‘n’ bruised mentally-also following their
exit from the Champions League; for those reasons I really do-genuinely fear
for us as we face West Bromwich Albion in a 12:45pm KO (GMT) on Saturday in the fight for 2nd,
3rd or, dare I suggest, 4th
place in the Premier League.
Dzeko chosen (and endured) once again and a
manager, once again, far, FAR too
slow to change things yesterday.
If it wasn’t already lost before our trip to
relegation-threatened Burnley
then our manager lost us the league yesterday. My patience is warring thin with the Chilean boss…
Mystery
Apart from my sub-heading comments I’ll start fairly
positively about yesterday. Burnley were
clearly up for the fight and went ‘at us’ early on but I thought we coped quite
well. In fact, I repeatedly commented at the time, I thought it was the most
composed and organised I’ve seen our defence all season. But the defence wasn’t
the problem yesterday.
And, in fact, I actually thought a player who isn’t good
enough for us - I’ve absolutely decided
now – had a good game; for the first 60 minutes at least I thought Fernandinho ran & ran, covered and picking up
balls left, right ‘n’ centre yesterday and sprayed them around to good effect. Shame Yaya Toure
wasn’t in a running mood or we might have been in danger of getting something
out of the game!
But that’s enough of the positives…no seriously, that IS all the positives I can find.
Getting past the obvious, which is that PellegriniCLEARLY
and criminally had Barcelona in mind; what is
it with the man that he just cannot move from 4-4-2…and that one of those 2 has
to be Mr E. Nigma? Nasri
on the bench, Lampard being given no more than
11 minutes of ‘the 90’ and Milner nowhere to be
seen!
And so flippin’ slow to react…AGAIN!
Even by his-own, low standards Dzeko had a shocker yesterday
and yet he STILL managed to stay on the pitch all but 27 minutes of the game!
He had ‘that look’ about him again yesterday whereby he just wasn’t up for it
at all. He was weak on the ball found himself on the left wing too many times
for whatever reason and I can’t even use the word “shot” to describe that
weak-ankled, slap-effort on goal before eventually being hauled off for Bony.
Yaya wasn’t up for it either as I say; largely roaming
around to little effect and providing no more that little sideways and
backwards passes. Where were his monstrous, charging runs into the box?!
Having said that, why on earth at 0-1 and needing the win so
very badly did our manager then replace him? Sure enough his replacement (Frank
Lampard) is decent at free kicks too but even when he’s not firing Yaya is at
least a goal threat.
Replacing Silva with 16+ minutes to go too! Really? And who
does he bring on for him? A player in Stevan Jovetic
rusty through a lack of games and who cannot possibly have any motivation
whatsoever; as he’s all-but-packed his bags for Italy (or elsewhere).
Our manager’s tactics and substitutions just left me cold
& baffled as I sat dejected and shaking my head yesterday evening. The
players’ attitude and lack of urgency is frustrating as well as quite worrying…and
our manger’s actions too have lost us the league this season.
I’m not even commenting on the penalty that wasn’t given – it’d be taking
away from the real reasons we lost the game…
No I’m not
giving Burnley any credit for yesterday; no
I’m not heaping praise on Chelsea for winning the
league this season. We have self-destructed this
season; going out as we did of both the League
& F.A. Cups with a whimper and showing such
tactical naivety in both the Premier League and
Champions League that I just cannot defend the
huge amount of journalistic and TV pundit criticism of our manager.
Still grounded
I’ve not gone all ‘Billy Big Time’ as a Manchester City
season ticket (card) holder of 29 years; I still recall very clearly the bad
and the REALLY bad times as
I've been swept along with thousands of other Blues from those largely-darker days
and into the heady heights of where we are now.
And I still recall the very wise and sensible words of Ferran Soriano who said that although they expect 5
trophies in 5 seasons; that-may-well have to include a 'barren year', as we continue
to ‘build the project’ long term.
But in its own way, and as I say, the situation we find
ourselves in this season is now slightly embarrassing and so flippin’
frustrating, in that it was within us to do much, much better than we have
done.
F(no-so)FP taken into
account - understandably having shackled
Mr Pellegrini this season – it’s been a largely poor showing from the Chilean
and his faltering purchases. For the first time, in fact, I find that I’m
starting to agree with the increasing number of voices who think our ‘charming
man’ won’t be with us next season. A la Mancini;
2 seasons…the second one being largely soulless.
Looking to next
season already – how sad…
So ‘let down’ has this season been for all the reasons
given; it’s even prompted me to do an ‘end of season’ player analysis in
flippin’ March! The colour code goes like
this…
Green-Good enough, in my opinion, and
should remain next season.
Grey-Varying factors could see the player
stay or go.
Red-Absolutely, for whatever reason,
needs to leave in the summer in my opinion.
Joe Hart: Easily good enough to remain our ‘number 1’ despite some
voices of doubt and the occasional ‘wobble’.
Willy Caballero: It’s
hard to judge a player who you’ve hardly seen and I’m sure he’s questioning his
decision to join us. If the manager, who has been his boss at two clubs now, DOES
leave in the summer then this might be another reason in the Brazilian’s mind
to request a move also. Whoever comes in
to compete with Joe, however, surely knows that they’re in for one hell
of a fight to dislodge him.
Dedryck Boyata: Like Caballero, arguable not enough game time to judge him
properly. Unfortunately for the 24-year old Belgium defender I’ve seen enough
of him in seasons-gone-by. Just nowhere near good enough.
Gael Clichy: On his day the
French left-back is good enough at the top level. Sadly he’s often blighted
with one of the most frustrating traits in football – inconsistency.
Martin Demichelis: On the one hand, thank
God for Martin! If it wasn’t for his steady form, for the most part, the
disaster that’s been the summer acquisition of Eliaquim Mangala could have proved even more
calamitous.
However, if, as I flamin-well hope, we sign another
class central defender in the summer; then Martin will become a regular ‘bench
man’ at the very most; possibly only getting the odd early-round League or F.A.
Cup start. And I’m sure he’ll be reasonably happy with that; I’m sure it was a
pleasant surprise for the Argentinean to be offered a new contract that takes
him to June 2016.
However, if a new manager is
indeed on the cards in the summer then he may well be deemed surplus to
requirements. At least with him being ‘in
contract’ we’ll be able to command a small fee for him…
Aleksandar Kolarov: Our Edin Dzeko at the back. So poor at defending 9 times out
of 10 and barely makes up for it in his slightly better wing / attack play.
Provides decent crosses at times and is probably our 3rd best
free-kick taker [behind Frank & Yaya]. Amazed
he’s lasted this long - goodbye…
Vincent Kompany: Slated
by many for a poor season so far. What a joke! Demichelis and a slightly-below-par-himself
Zabaleta
aside; for me ‘our skip’ has clearly been surrounded by – and has attempted to compensate for - largely incompetent
defending colleagues…and has been offered little protection either from a
largely ineffective defensive midfield.
And, for me, people seem to forget
the high-standard-bar he has set himself over the years of terrific service so
far. Good enough to stay? I’m not even
going to answer my own question…
Eliaquim Mangala: Knife
edge – this guy is either going to become, given time and a fresh-season-start,
a monster of a defender at Manchester City for years to come…or we
write-off one of the most expensive flops in our history and try to get back whatever
we can for him ASAP. I just can’t call
it…
Karim Rekik: Like Caballero, I just haven’t seen enough of him to
judge or comment other than saying…I just don’t know if he has a future at our
club.
Bacary Sagna: It says a lot about his future with ManchesterCity
that, in a season where by his own very high standards Pablo Zabaleta hasn’t
had a very good one; the French right-back has hardly played! I like him…but,
once again, a lot might depend on whether we’ll have a new manager next season.
If Pellegrini stays then I think
they’ll be a knock on his door from this fella requesting a move. Similar to the Hart situation, it would take
one HELL of a good right-back to dislodge Zaba…
Pablo Zabaleta: I’ve
never liked how a World Cup year seems to effect some players whose national side run
to the final stages of the competition. I
think that’s what’s happened to ‘our man Zab’ this season.
But even so, he’s having a…‘fairly
good season’. And although he’s now slipped to 2nd-place in Gary Neville’s rating of
best-current Premier League right-backs to Branislav Ivanovic; Zaba is already in my top-10 list of
best ever Manchester City players. The guys ‘a ledge’ and will continue to be
so for a few more seasons yet I’m sure.
Fernandinho: I still, 21 months on, struggle to get past how
we thought laying out a shattering £34M to £35.2M (depending on your transfer
fee source) was value for money. Sometimes
I have to say that we ARE responsible for our own downfall in upsetting UEFA and suffering FFP
sanctions.
‘World Cup fatigue’ taken into account,
he’s an average Premier League player at best. No disrespect intended; he’d
suit a Newcastle United, Southampton or Swansea City-type team. He’s just not good enough for what we need
in the middle of the park and I really hope we off-load him for something like
£20M. If it meant using the cash wisely
to get a real ‘powerhouse leader’ in the middle then I’d take £15M…
Fernando: This guy is SO borderline red that I hesitated for
some considerable time before deciding. The only – and I MEAN only – reason he
falls into the ‘grey category’ is that this his first season and may, therefore, improve next season.
Brought in for his long-legged
tackling ability and to be our ‘protector’, particularly in Champions League
games and allowing our more-attacking players to ‘do their thing’; the tempo of
most games seems to largely pass him by. Like his ex-Porto colleague that eventually joined him, he’s been largely
disappointing to say the very least.
Frank Lampard: So vital
early on, hardly used since and on his way to NYCFC in the summer. It was looking like a very shrewd move by ManchesterCity but like our season, it’s all
fizzled out somewhat. Thanks for the
early-season memories Super Frank.
Marcos Lopes: Likely to sign a contract extension and depending on the
managerial situation, will either spend another season on loan or will save us
some money and ‘make it’ in the first team.
James Milner:
Ironically the scene as shifted somewhat in the last few hours in that SHOULD
we dispense with the boss in the coming months; James just might hang around to
have a chat with the ‘new man’ before deciding his future. Hope he stays.
Samir Nasri: For
Samir Nasri read Gael Clichy. Absolutely bright as a button on occasions and
when ‘on fire’ takes that confidence from game to game. Then…splodge (good word), he flops for a few games before picking himself up again.
Full
of talent and, at times, determination but has a complex character that seems
to effect his game at times. Pellegrini’s father-like style has definitely got
more out of him than Mancini ever did. However, even if Pellegrini gets a ‘stay
of execution’ I just wonder that if we ARE to spend squillions on a midfield-rebuild in the summer
then, other than Yaya, will Samir also be sacrificed in order to fund incoming
players.
Jesus Navas: Another
one that almost fell into the red
batch of players. BAGS of pace and reasonable talent but frustratingly doesn’t seem to
use it to best effect. Again…if we lose our Chilean manager in the
summer then a new man might get better out of him. Hope so in a way…but equally
I won’t be crying in my beer if he goes.
David Silva: Firmly entrenched in my top-10
best ever ManchesterCity players. Where would
we be without him a lot of the time? And imagine what he’d be like with even
better players around him! ‘nough said…
Yaya Toure: Was ALWAYS going to be ‘grey’.
Isn’t he almost every summer? At
times unplayable and last season, despite personal problems and ‘a dip’, was
bloody brilliant for the most part. Not-so-good to say the least this season
and yesterday, at Burnley, summed up the other
side of the man.
I
just can’t call it with any degree of certainty but my instinct is telling me
that, whether he wants to leave or not, it’ll be City who’ll be ‘moving
him on’ in order to fund an incoming midfielder of similar style to replace
him.
Bruno Zuculini: The
Argentinean, Under-20 box-to-box midfielder is either going to be a future diamond
for Manchester City…or one of those obscure signings where it has fans saying
in a few years, ’Oh yeah, whatever
happened to him?’
Probably
a season or two too soon for him to be ‘the one’ to save us a great wodge of
cash on a midfielder and I can only hope that, at 22 in April, he does make it
with us. Again, though, a new manager
might want to clear the decks…
Sergio Aguero: Another
‘top 10’er’ for me. What a player! Unless it suits us in order to bring
in another stellar name then he’s going nowhere!
Wilfried Bony: Strong, dangerous player who
I’m sure will have a good time as a ManchesterCity player. Doubt even a
new manager would move him on so soon after signing in January unless we have
one HELL of a summer re-build under a
new boss.
Edin Dzeko: The stats say, played 125 / scored 50…and I’m sure he’s
got a few assists to his name too. Looks good on paper doesn’t it? And the only
defence I will offer him is that he’s a player who, I’m sure, would thrive in a
team where they play with 2 flying wingers who can cross. End of.
When you
think that those 50 goals include the odd hat-tricks and braces then there are HUGE gaps in the man’s ability to
stick the ball in the net. Far too easily knocked off the ball for a ‘big man’,
little in the way of pace, can barely trap / control a ball and has an
APPALLING attitude a lot of the time. Needs to go - I think his time has finally come…and God I hope so!
John Guidetti: Again
I honestly haven’t seen enough of the chap to formulate a proper opinion of him
as a footballer and striker. However, and
quite sadly, I have HEARD enough of him as both a player and a character. He worries me
a little - there’s a bit of the ‘Billy Big Biscuits’ about him.
It
doesn’t even look like Celtic
WANT him any more regardless of the Swede’s desire (or otherwise) to commit his
future to the Scottish side, I think he’ll probably find himself back at Feyenoord or another team in the Eredivisie league on a permanent basis.
Stevan Jovetic: Similar to Jesus Navas; all the
apparent ability but with very little in the way of ‘end product’. I will give
him the benefit of the doubt in that he has been blighted with injuries and
that inconsistent team selections are hardly the basis for producing good
performances.
However,
he HAS been given opportunities and has rarely taken them. Had a terrific ‘pre’
and early-season and City fans were ‘rubbing their hands’. However, I don’t
think there’s anything more certain in-that we’ll be using our hands only for
Jovetic, now, to simply wave him goodbye in the summer. Will probably do a good job for Inter Milanor someone similar…
Jose Angel Pozo: Most
likely a ‘stayer’ but likely to be shipped out on loan next season to test him
at a higher level than the EDS.
Has just turned 18 today (happy
birthday fella!)
and one that many are tipping for a future at the club.
Manuel Pellegrini: Won the Premier League and
League Cup in his first season. And WHAT a season – some of the very best
football and goal-scoring I’ve ever seen at ManchesterCity.
And then, through no fault of his own, was hindered so very much by F(not-so)FP
sanctions. Oozes class and never gets drawn into press ‘trickery’ and rarely
with other manager’s mind games (Mourinho
a small exception to that). A ‘father figure’ to the players and a calming
influence all round.
However,
extremely naïve and stubborn in his use of 4-4-2 at times and very slow to
change / react in games. Shows a worrying lack of ideas at Champions League
level and, despite saying that he treats all competitions the same, often
weakens the team far too much for domestic cups and ‘so-called’ easier Premier
League fixtures. Also persists
all-too-often with sub-standard players.
I
just can’t call it but what I WILL say is that a lot will depend on what Bayern Munich& Pep Guardiola do. He is DEFINITELY our
log-term target…and it’s all about the timing.
1. If it looks like Pep is going
to stay for a few more seasons then I recon we’ll ditch the Chilean in the
summer and go for either a Rafa Benitez, Carlo Ancelotti or Diego Simeone-type manager (although I see the latter as a more
longer-term contact scenario as the previous two guys) and then wait our
turn / opportunity to nab the much-sought-after Guardiola.
2. If it looks like Pep is only
going to give Bayern another season and then reassess his situation /
future; then I think this scenario will see our manager be granted another
season with us; seeing his contract out to the very end.
3. If there are any noises that
the German side’s manager wants a change this summer then we’ll ‘bin’ Pellegrini without a seconds
thought if there’s a chance Pep fancies a
reunion with Ferran Soriano & Txiki Begiristain. It’s all very finely
balanced…
Immediate concerns
As I
sometimes do when watching an away game on TV at home, I listened to the
post-match phone-in on Radio Manchester. Most notably was one Manchester City fan who, somewhat disturbingly, said that he has
a strong feeling that the players are now showing
the very same ‘lack of fight’ as when things ‘weren’t happy in the camp’ under Roberto
Mancini.
I have to say that I sort of agree
with him; something doesn’t feel quite right and others too have started to
note certain players’ demeanour.
On a
personal note, I gave up smoking 5-years ago
this July and although I haven’t exactly started again - and you can’t class the two in the same league as each other –
having already drank a good amount of beer by then; I trudged in contemplative mood
to the local shop last night and purchased a cigar. I then sat in the dark and under
the cold, starry sky in my garden with my brown-leafed friend and 2 glasses of red
wine, wondering quite where it all went wrong.
Barcelona on Wednesday night…but the fight for 2nd place
(or could that even be 3rd place now?)
starts for us at 12:45pm (GMT) on Saturday 21st March 2015 at home
to West Bromwich Albion.
With the Champions League
game at Camp Nou
looming large on the horizon, I just hope the players’ focus is 100% on
Saturday’s ‘must win’ at Turf Moor. Of course,
when inevitably asked in his pre-match ‘presser’, Manuel Pellegrini will say that he and his team are just talking about Burnley. I’m sure he is…I just hope that, not wanting to pick up a ‘niggle’ in Lancashire, the players are 100% on this this local’ish derby.
I also don’t like the story that's coming out about the
half-time, dressing room 'angry clash' between Fernandinho
and Vincent Kompany at Anfield.
I’m not naive to the fact that things like this happen in football (and many other sport’s) teams and, if
you listen to ex-pros, it’s not exactly an unhealthy thing. But for both (and
others of course) to-then be dropped from the next game notches up the volume
of that little alarm bell somewhat.
I made no qualms about blaming our manager for the largely insipid performance and defeat against Liverpool. However the
manager himself, it would appear, believed the problem lay elsewhere and wanted
to ‘refresh the team’ by 'resting' a few following our disappointment in Merseyside.
I hope that’s the case…and I think it is.
I say “hope” not only because that-then rules out any more
serious, underlying issue (or issues) with the players themselves but, just as
important, that our manager – questioned
for being too one-dimensional and non-reactive of late – saw some of his
players feeling jaded and moved to fix the problem quickly before it got worse
and damaged us further.
Samir Nasrihas also seemed a little distracted of late; gobbing off once again about his fall-out with the French national coach and firing a few shots
over in Chelsea’s
direction for being, “...not special”. He too was withdrawn for theLeicester game; not even making the
bench.
More-so than ever do we need the squad to be a solid unit
and when he first became our manager we were told that one of his finest
qualities was that Manuel was very much a father figure; making even the most
troubled players feel at ease. Let’s hope he’s been ‘doing his thing’ in the
week leading up to this one…and how ironic that the most seemingly-focused
player is the one about to expire his contract (James Milner if you needed reminding). I
hope that’s not a sign that he’s settled in his mind that he’s about to sign
for someone else…
But back to the task
in hand…
We’ll need "unity" because Burnley are scrapping for their
lives; Burnley were the ones who strikingly
pulled-round a 0-2’er at the Etihad to draw 2-2
and who have either held or beaten the likes of Manyoo,
Southampton, Tottenham
and Chelsea. Burnley
have a striker in Danny Ings that a number of decent sides both domestic and foreign
are waiting to pounce on in the summer; Burnley work as hard for 90+ minutes as
any other side in the Premier League and they also have a nasty habit of taking the lead a heck of a lot
this season…fortunately also then having
another bad habit of letting those leads slip.
This one won’t be so easy as some may think.
v Burnley (5:30pm KO GMT)
Not for the first time I’m trying
to predict Saturday’s starting 11 & subs before the press conference and,
therefore, confirmation from our manager of who will and will not be available.
Slightly forced as I am by restricted time on Friday night; this alone makes it
difficult to predict.
But when you also throw into the
mix our manager’s often rotating of the full backs, his recent juggling of (more)
striking options as well as his uncharacteristic dropping of ‘our skip’ and a
fully fit Fernandinho & Samir Nasri for whatever reason you choose to
believe; well…they're my excuses in advance of this fixture.
With the likelihood of the more
attack-minded Kolarov and slightly pacier [than Zabaleta] Sagna possibly being chosen for a ‘win or bust’ game in Spain
on Wednesday night; their replacement colleagues to get the...less glamorous
fixture. The wiser Demichelis to get the nod ahead of Mangala for this one;
the Frenchman’s pace also more likely to be required in midweek. Kompany to get
his place back.
Nasri to return also; ‘tucked in’
and ‘floating’ slightly as does Silva on the other flank. And with Toure being
the third mostly attack-minded midfielder behind, also, two strikers; they’ll be a need to employ an all-out
defensive midfielder. Fernando gets that job.
Aguero, of course, and once again with Barcelona at the back of our manager's thoughts; I get
the feeling he'll want to unleash our new striker on the Spanish
side IF he chooses to go 4-4-2 against Barca.
Notable absentees are Bacary Sagna
(saved for Wednesday and stepping aside for Kolarov in case we need a different
attacking option to come on against The Clarets), Fernandinho who I recon will
start in Spain
and the likely-departing Stevan Jovetic.
Result? Fully
refreshed and focused we should prevail. Tough test in many ways but I’m going
for a City win.
Bits ‘n’ bobs – comment
Anyone else find Roberto Mancini’s comments
about his desire to acquire Yaya in the summer slightly disrespectful? A player
that has 3-years left to run on his contract? Of course the Italian is not
stupid; he knows that this might be our last summer to REALLY command a proper transfer
fee for the Ivorian but still; most managers would quite rightly not comment so
specifically on another club’s employee.
We were always going to have to
endure another summer of ‘Yaya speculation’…unfortunately it started a few
weeks ago in flippin’ February! And, strangely,
it sort of started with, apparently,
not just his agent but the player himself appearing to hint that not only does
he want to see out his contract but to-then stay at Manchester City in some
capacity afterwards. I take it all with a
pinch of salt…
Staying or going?
Is anyone else getting really
quite twitchy about James Milner not signing a new contract? If so there will
be, apparently, no quick medicine to calm your butterfly-filled stomach. Rumour
has it that the Yorkshireman is now refusing to discuss his contract until the
summer…when he’ll be out of contract. Rumours
the OTHER week were that we were only offering him a 3-year-deal and that James
wanted 4.
I doubt it’s that simple (I flamin’-well hope not!)and, I’m sorry to say, I think he’s simply hoping for a move to a side
whereby he can be played more…and more in the middle of the park. I also see
that being at either Liverpool or Arsenal…or perhaps even Roberto
Mancini’s Inter Milan(hence the curve-ball comments about Yaya from the ex-City
boss?)
Future replacement?
On that subject, the Manchester Evening Newsran a piece about some of
the EDS
players who might break into the first team next season. This was then followed
up by another piece regarding the most ‘voted for’ EDS player by City fans
following the first article.
The player to get the most votes
[for making it in the first team next season] was Marcos Lopes.
In addition to suggesting that
Lopes could be the perfect replacement for Milner (what…to sit on the subs bench?) the second piece touches on the
versatility of the Portuguese youngster and, crucially, that he yearns to make
a so-called “number 10” spot his own; operating behind a lone striker. Well, in
that case, if Manuel Pellegrini is still our manager next season then I doubt
very much that he’ll get that specific wish.
All ‘Messed’ up!
Speculation seems to be
intensifying about Lionel Messi moving away from Barcelona...possibly this summer! So expensive is the player ‘all in’ that,
apparently, only 3 clubs have launched feasibility studies about whether they
can afford him. Of course one of them is us.
I dunno…WHAT a player…but even if
there WAS any possibility of this happening; “eggs” and “one basket” spring to
mind in an era of F(not-so)FPand in a team that is desperate for improvement in more
than one area of the pitch.
Crazy season starts early…
Are we still in March or have we
been somehow propelled to the beginning of June? In the same week where it was
confirmed that Matija Nastasic was to make his loan move to Schalke 04 permanent in the
summer, Edin Dzeko has been apparently fending off (more) speculation that he
be moving out of the Etihad after the season finishes…and our manager’s very-own agent
has now stirred up things a little by suggest 'The Engineer's' next job (Napoli) should he leave us after just two
seasons.
Huhhhh…bring on a good old-fashioned game of footy on
Saturday before I go crazy!
PS. Chelsea getting knocked out of the Champions League - good or bad for us? Mmmmm...
PPS. Thanks to NewsNow and, in particular, Jack for including my Blog on their WEB site and for the technical support to get me there!