Hot topic.
It’s been debated on & off during his time as manager of
Manchester City
Often accused of not even having a ‘plan B’ during games (although I disagree with that first and rather
harsh assessment) never mind a ‘plan C’; one specific debate &
criticism of our manager is whether he is SO
fond of the 4-4-2 system [with 2 strikers] that he’ll play that system
regardless of who the opposition is / what system they might deploy or whatever
the circumstance might be with regards to available personnel.
Well if he plays 4-4-2 this evening at Stamford Bridge
(5:30pm KO GMT) he’ll be walking right into another load of condemnation…and
rightly so in my mind.
This game SCREAMS
4-5-1!
Why? Well with a slightly envious eye I’ve bleated on enough
over the last couple of seasons about the attacking midfield wealth of Chelsea - it might not be the ONLY reason but I’m
sure it goes some way in explaining that beyond Diego Costa and others before him, there isn’t too much emphasis at the London
club on-having the kind of riches other top Premier League clubs have in terms of secondary / back-up strikers.
And although that comment might sound a little disrespectful to Didier Drogba
and Loic Remy; the fact is that Chelsea
With Mr Angry-Stampy-Man being suspended for this and two
more games (have I missed something – why
did he not get an extra game ban for a frivolous appeal?) there’s even MORE
of a reason for Jose Mourinho to go with 5 midfielders…and
mostly attack-minded ones I’m sure. The canny little bugger might even chose to
go 4-6-0 for this one, although even their midfield department might be a
little too stretched to go the ‘Pep Guardiola
way’ as Cesc Fabregas is also set to miss this
game (through injury).
Incidentally – and as
if to prove my point about us-ALSO needing to add numbers to
our attacking / creative, midfield / winger department – Chelsea are about to
swell their ranks even FURTHER with the imminent signing of
Fiorentina’s right-winger Juan Cuadrado for a reported £23.3M.
So surely…SURELY Manuel you need to be a little wise
yourself here and although you have 3 strikers available to you; please leave 2
of them on the bench to start with on this occasion.
Before I predict...
I rarely do a, ‘What I’d go with’, before my Pellegrini
predicted line-up etc. but seeing as this is the main topic of this piece, I
thought I’d avail myself of that opportunity.
4-5-1 (of course):
_______________Aguero_______________
________________Silva________________
________Fernando___Fernandinho______
________________Hart________________
Regular readers might go…WHAT?! at seeing Aleks Kolarov in my starting 11…and there might be a few
raised eyebrows too at the fact that I’ve only got one defender on the bench – a mostly-recognised right-back – leaving
our most expensive defender out altogether.
I’ll explain…
Firstly, although
he blows Martin Demichelis out of the water for pace - and that pace against
their attacking midfielders is most-certainly needed on Saturday - can we really
pin all our hopes on Eliaquim Mangala having his first exceptional game
since we last played Chelsea
In not even putting
Mangala on the bench; it’s simply because he’s not the kind of defender you
want to bring on to ‘sure things up’ / calm thing down if a change is needed - he never leaves me feeling
particularly calm anyway…
In Sagna we have
someone who can play in the centre if needed; and the rest can be shuffled
around too if required. No…I’ve gone for a subs bench largely based on ‘game
changers’, which I think’ll be a great option to have this evening.
Why Aleks then?
Well I’ve also dropped Navas to the bench and not just because I, amongst many, don’t think he’s been
playing particularly well of late. But with Kolarov & Milner ahead of
Clichy and Zabaleta it just gives us that little bit of extra protection
without completely compromising our attacking threat – Aleks to whip those
balls in like Navas should; James on his favoured right foot likewise. And with
‘the Ferns’ in there scrambling it up and Silva ahead of them / a bit behind
Aguero, I’d like to think that’s a pretty formidable 11 to face Chelsea away.
But that’s me, this is what I think our ‘Engineer’ will go with…
v Chelsea
_______________Aguero_______________
________________Silva________________
Milner__________________________Navas
________Fernando___Fernandinho______
Clichy___Mangala___Kompany___Zabaleta
_________________Hart________________
Subs: Caballero,
Kolarov, Demichelis, Lampard, Nasri, Jovetic, Dzeko
Hart to return after a short spell on the side – determined and ready to prove a point to those who have been recently ‘pointing their fingers’.
Clichy & Zaba the more solid left & right-backs and
Vinny ‘in there’ of course. But if he’s gotten over his reported minor shoulder
injury - and although it’s not a trait that
I think exists in our manager - I think Pellegrini will be just a little
bit nervous to be without the pace of our French
central defender for this one. Martin on
the Bench to come on and definitely calm things down if / when needed…
4 from the 5
midfielders we agree on but with James on the left and Jesus on the right. I just can’t see him leaving his favourite
little Spanish winger out of the starting 11, particularly if he does-indeed
sacrifice a striker.
Aguero ‘up top’ on
his own – hopefully not feeling too
isolated and receiving plenty of support / supply as & when possible.
Willy as back-up to
Joe and it’s Bacary who loses out in my predicted squad to face the current
league leaders. I’m sure Manuel will want the crossing / free-kick option of
Aleks and, of course, Martin there for insurance purposes. Frank to hopefully
‘do it again’ if needed; Samir the very surprising return package possibly
making the bench (WAY ahead of the
initial injury assessment and having trained with the squad for the last 2 to 3
days) and two very different striker options sitting there too.
Result? Points shared. Whether that’ll be 0-0 or whether there’s goals in this
one I’m not quite sure.
With 15 games to go
after this one; just 5 points behind, no League Cup or F.A. Cup to think about
and with the returning Nasri, Yaya & Bony and with Aguero getting his match
fitness back game by game; I’ll take a draw today to the point where it
might-well feel like a victory in some ways.
Movements in brief
- Scott Sinclair has finally moved on, with Aston Villa securing his services on loan for
the rest of the season. The deal looked dead the other week and a
confusing newspaper report in the last couple of days stated that it was a
loan-deal for now with it likely being turned into a permanent deal in the
summer; where City were hoping to receive a small fraction, at least, of
the £7M spent on his purchase from Swansea City
in August 2012. Confusing because he’s out of contact on 31.05.2015. Perhaps it’s part of the agreement that
Villa can loan him for now instead of an out-right purchase; a compulsory clause
as is often ‘tagged on’ to loan deals these days…
- The goals have dried up for John Guidetti in recent weeks and he appears
also to be playing his cards close to his chest and holding out somewhat
with regards to any permanent move away from
- The Pepe
rumours are back! Apparently Real Madrid
are putting their future defensive plans together already and they don’t
included the hot-headed one. Worth a punt? Well I did post my opinions on
forum the other day, which read…
No
doubting his pedigree but at 32 on 26th February it would be another reason for
many to snipe at our average-aging squad and to wonder why, as [another City
fan] suggests, we don't have a good enough centre back emerging from
the EDS right now (although that time will come and I take no notice of
those who are too impatient to wait a little longer for youth product results).
For me
it's all about his mentality and better informed than me will know whether or
not Pepe has lost his 'nutter' tendencies in recent years. If he HAS - and
despite his high wage demands, I'm sure - I'd go for someone of his
experience; the more know-how we have around Mangala [to learn from]
the better and, equally, we need experience to cover for the often injured
- and lacking true form - Vinny.
Could be a
good move IF his 'red mist' days are behind him...
- Mancini wants Yaya at Inter Milan. I’m sure he does and, I’m sure, if he
doesn’t go there in the summer then he’ll be at PSG or somewhere similar. But that’ll be
in the summer and not on 3rd February 2015.
- Devante Cole has joined MK Dons on loan for the rest of the season.
The EDS striker - and son of Andrew Cole - moves after a loan spell at
- Having recently signed a 2-½ year
contact with the club, attacking midfielder Sinan Bytyqi then joined SC Cambuur on
loan for the rest of the season.
I’ve got a small feeling that we’ll pick up someone before the transfer deadline at 11:00pm (GMT) on Monday 2nd February 2015 but I’m less convinced now that it’ll be an Isco or a Marco Reus-type acquisition.
Pepe is
a possibility I suppose; I’m sure Pellegrini would welcome him - and would be something of a calming
influence ON him - but I doubt the board would sanction a move for a player
of his age and with his wage demands after splashing out £32M+ on a central
defender just 5 months ago.
Perhaps
there’s an 'last contract', £5M to £10M, 2 to 3-year deal player out there that’s slipped under
many radars to give our squad a boost heading into the last 3rd of
the season (or perhaps Sami Khedira for the same price?). Having said that, I can’t now
see Jovetic moving-on in the next few days and with the returning African Nations players landing soon enough; my
instinct is going with the Club being happy with what they have for now / the
rest of the season.
Mad Monday is nearly upon us though!
