Close / pre-season thoughts

Hi all, hope you’re having a good summer / have enjoyed your break between the English football seasons.

 

I thoroughly enjoyed the Women’s World Cup Finals – I watched around half of the games and all of the final few matches leading to the final itself and was blown away by the high-quality skill, fitness and organisation of so many of the teams. 

 

T’was unfortunate that the shameful Cameroon team chose to try ‘n’ drag those high standards down a notch or seven…

What else?

Well, frustatingly, I’ve been ill, then very ill; have-had family illness problems to deal with also but I’ve somehow managed to do lots and lots of work in the garden whenever I’ve not been dealing with those issues. I even managed a 5-day break away, which seems a long, long time ago now.

I’ve been very busy at work in the last few weeks but I’m now off and looking forward to a nice, relaxing few weeks.

I’m also, of course, very much looking forward to the new, domestic football season and I have managed to watch two-an’-a-bit of our four, pre-season games in the far East regions. I can't wait to get my thinking back on track with all things Manchester City & football in general...and my Fantasy Football team is all set for the start of the season.

So, thoughts on what I’ve seen and heard so far?

West Ham United:

I thought we played excellent in our first game! I was shocked / impressed at our high-intensity performance, especially given the heat / humidity and our late arrival by around 2 days due to some kind of paperwork / administrative issue, which kept our lads grounded in Manchester for around 48 hours.

I thought our kids, in particular, looked exceptionally good and I particularly liked the look off Adrian Bernabe against The Hammers. Although I’d logged his name in my records to keep an eye on, as I do with a lot of our youth players to see how they are progressing from time to time; and although I had him down also as one of our young players who may well progress into first team action at some stage, I hadn’t actually seen the ex-Barcelona Youth player in action.

He seems to be at home in an attacking role left, right or centre; looks very comfortable and confident with the ball and seems full of creativity. Indeed, he got at least one assist pre-season, possible more than one, I think.

We ran our London opponents ragged and were clinical in front of goal after excellent build-up play. What a good performance in our 4-1 win!

Any negatives? Well, I’m sorry to have to say that our returning Angelino’s defending needs to be described as both “naïve” and “suspect”.

Wolverhampton Wanderers:

A somewhat frustrating game where, yet again, we dominated for the most part but due to some poor finishing and a far more organised / stubborn Midlands opponent, we just couldn’t find the net. Pep looked frustrated at that at times.

It ended in a penalty shoot-out, which we lost.

Still, it was another good performance and over the 2 games in the Asia Trophy, a very satisfying one indeed.

I will add again, though, that when he came on in the 63^rd minute, Angelino looked a little flaky in the left-back role; looking more comfortable driving forward than defending.

I didn’t watch the game against Kitchee FC but finding the net 6 times was a good way to respond following our blank [in normal time] against Wolves.

Yokohama F. Marinos

After struggling to find a link to watch this, along with a few issues with the equipment I was using, I only managed to see about the last ¼ of this game. However, once again we looked lively and, by all accounts, we had to be against a strong, attack-minded Yokohama side.

3-1 was a good result for us to round off our far East tour.

Special praise?

I might not mention all who deserve praise during our pre-season games but I’m gonna start at the back.

I thought Claudio Bravo looked excellent in net and following a full season out with injury, where he had to have surgery to rectify the issue. I honestly never would have believed I’d be writing those words a year on from his bad injury…and after a so many occasions in the past where I’ve been holding my head in my hands, as the Chilean failed time and time again to look like a goalkeeper. Well done to him!

I liked the look – and composure – of Taylor Harwood-Bellis. This is a player, I have to admit, who escaped my radar but after such assured minutes on the pitch for our first team, I’ll be adding the central defender to my ‘watch list’.

Rodrigo Hernandez Cascante, or Rodri…OR, Rodders, as I am likely to call him more often than not, ‘looks the real deal’. That was a key signing that, between him & Fernandinho, should see us far-safer-looking in that department.

Rodri

David, Leroy, Raheem & Kevin all looked their devastatingly-brilliant best at times, particularly Kevin I’d say.

And I’m going to mention young Bernabe once again, as well as Lukas Nmecha who took his chances.

Signings / rumours?

Angelino

Well, we’ve added to our goalkeeping ranks with the signing of USA stopper Zack Steffen, although the 6’ 3” keeper has been sent to Germany on loan for the whole of the up & coming season.

Zack Steffen

Previously-mentioned left-back / left-wing back, Angelino, re-joins us after a year away from the club; when we activated a buy-back clause having clearly been impressed by his development throughout the season he spent away from the club.

Rodri I’ve also just talked about – a lot of money has been spent on the defensive midfielder who has been tipped by many as-having the potential to be the best defensive midfielder in the world. With impressive performances under his belt for his previous club and with Guardiola now his coach, who could argue with that assessment!

Liam Delap

One that may have flown under a lot of fan’s radars in 16-year old striker, Liam Delap. The son of Rory Delap signed for City from Derby County Youth on 1^st July 2019.

Samuel Edozie

Likewise, we also signed 16-year old winger Samuel Edozie from Millwall on or around the same date as Delap.

As for the rumours, we have been linked for a long time now with another goalkeeper, this time one who almost matches Claudio Bravo’s age. With Aro Muric going out on loan and Daniel Grimshaw seeing no pre-season action in net (I don’t recall anyway), our manager clearly sees age / experience being required as back-up to Ederson this season.

Despite being linked with Asier Riesgo for most of the close season with nothing apparently happening; rumours still haven’t gone away about us getting the 36-year old (in October).

Then we have a “has he” / “hasn’t he” signed player called Felix Correia. The Sporting right winger has apparently stated that he HAS signed a contract with MCFC and has sighted speaking to Pep as his main reason for wanting to move to Manchester. However, other sources still have him down as a Sporting player. “?”

The rumours continue and, this time, we’re taken to Argentina, where we’re being linked with an 18-year old midfielder called Thiago Almada.

With Kyle Walker having had a ‘bit of a mare’ against Yokohama the other day, it appears to have prompted the press to stir up the never-ending links we've had with right-back Joao Cancelo. All I keep reading, with regards to the attempted signing, is that talks have “stalled”; often with references also to-us-being-unable to find a solution to our apparent attempts to sell Danilo.

Other names are now popping up as potential right-back signings but I’m starting to feel a little dizzy now with the amount of names being linked with us, in general, as the end of the transfer window looms large…

3rd kit - opinion

Well, in my last piece I ended with the hope that our 3rd kit wasn't going to look like a tropical fish or an explosions in a luminous paint factory.

 

Oh well, you don't always get what you wish for...

 

 

Club statement

 

It reads:

 

Following the successful launch of City’s new Home and Away kits earlier this month, the Third kit features a bright gradient kit design of yellow and peach, inspired by the on-field brilliance of Manchester City’s style of football.

The vibrant and disruptive kit colours embody the modernity of the club and its mission to play attractive, technically-skilled and attacking football, from the men’s and women’s first team, right through the academies.

Well at least it represents something, if not the traditions of Manchester City Football Club, which I would have thought paramount in a football team's kit.

 

It comes with peach-coloured shorts and yellow socks, if you're interested...

New kits – opinion.

New season starts soon’ish and these days, of course, that means new kits.

 

With one more (3^rd / so-called “cup kit”) still to come, here’s our home / 1^st-choice & 2^nd / away kits for our delight or otherwise. 

 

They were officially released last Monday and I’m sure most of you have seen ‘em, but…

 

Home / 1^st-choice

Blue, white & purple.

Now, it could have been far worse and at least purple is in the same spectrum of colours as our more-traditionally, associated maroon…but it would have looked dead smart if those purple bits could have been maroon. And if I could sound even more picky about one aspect of the top, our sponsors name would have looked better in white on that blue background.

Shorts? Fine, plain, nothing to comment on and I do very much like the sock design.

All in all, I think it will look really good on the pitch but the club – and our new kit supplier - have missed an opportunity, once again, to stick with our traditional colours with the purple and not maroon bit.

I’ll give it a good 8.5 / 10.

Away / 2^nd kit

Hufff…here we go.

Black, with a pink trim, a sky-blue trim, yellow sponsors name and a black & yellow hazard tape design over one shoulder. Even without seeing it; if someone had described that to me, I think my facial expression would have looked confused and perhaps even slightly pained.

I dared to comment on one site about what I thought of the away kit and said it was another with colours that had nothing to do with Manchester City. A response pointed out that black was in our original kit when we were called St. Marks and I think the responder was missing the point.

Of course, I was talking about the yellows and pink bits and further noted that we do, indeed, have a history of black when we play in black & red stripes too. However, I pointed out that if you were to remove the badge and sponsors' name from this one and asked people which English club it belongs to, then I’m sure any correct responses would be a pure-fluke guesswork. Ask the same question if it were to be a red & black or maroon kit and you’d get many more correct answers, I would suggest.

You’ve probably guessed by now that I’m a bit of a traditionalist when it comes to kits and although I’m more than open to new designs; I believe there’s enough scope with either of our more-traditional away colours to keep it rotated and interesting (and the shirt sales high).

Tribute

Apparently, the design of our away kit is a ‘nod’ to Manchester’s cultural & industrial past; with the hazard tape being a link to the world famous, Hacienda club. That’s fair enough and very nice of whoever thought of it.

I’ve got no problem with that at all but if I was to give a message to our wonderful football club it would be to say, leave that sort of thing for your other, many pieces of merchandise and keep the colours of the actual football kits related to Manchester City Football Club.

For me, it’s as important as your national flag – you wouldn’t find someone suddenly messing with the colours of the flag of England, for example; not without huge outcry and, from my point of view, your football club’s team colours are just as important. Little moan over.

On the plus side, I do like the Puma design and the shirt itself looks good / well made. Shame about the mad colour additions and, so…

3 / 10

Let’s just hope our 3^rd / cup kit doesn’t come out looking like a tropical fish or an explosion in a luminous paint factory, as we’ve seen in the last few seasons…