Busy week!

A new signing, a number of players leaving either permanently or on loan; a player signing a new contract (YAAAY!) and a manager flying off to Spain for back surgery; leaving his ‘Number 2’ in charge not only for this game but for our following fixture too, as well as all the training / other day-to-day stuff in-between, of course.

In addition to all of that, we’re apparently in for ANOTHER midfielder (?!); have had a large bid for him turned down and should that eventually fail we are, once again, being linked with…another right winger (??!!)!

Bring on 2^nd September and can we please now get back to a bit of footy, for flip’s sake?!

v Sheffield United

Bramall Lane

Predicted line-up, subs and outcome:

(Number correct from the starting line-up in the last game: 9/11).

A very fluid 4-1-4-1 / 4-2-3-1 / 4-3-3:

____________________Haaland____________________

 

 

_Grealish_______________________________Alvarez_

_____________________________Foden____________

___________Kovacic_____________________________

 

_____________________Rodri_____________________

Gvardiol__________________________________Walker

____________Dias_______________Akanji___________

 

 

____________________Ederson____________________

Subs: Ortega, Gomez, Lewis, Ake, Phillips, McAtee, Palmer, Silva, Doku.

Ed in net.

Despite one departure and one injury, there are still both personnel & shape options in defence. I’m going for our manager to choose Josko, Ruben, Manuel & Kyle; the latter returning to the city where he was born and former club.

Rodders to sit the deepest of our midfielders, while I recon we’ll see Jack, Mateo, Phil & Julian provide most of the attacking / creative threat.

Erling to lead the line.

Stefan is the reserve stopper; Sergio, Rico & Nathan make up the defenders on the side. Kalvin, James, Cole, Bernardo & new-signing Jeremy are the midfielders & wingers in ‘the 9’.

Similar to the defence but even more so, there are so many options in the midfield / wing department. Although deemed match fit, having already started his season in France, I think we might see Doku first-observe his new teammates in action from the comfy seats in the dugout. I’m confident, however, that he will see some action tomorrow afternoon.

Although recovered from illness and back in training, I think this game might have come just a little too soon for Bernardo to start or put anywhere near like ‘a 90’ in. I’m no doctor but when I watched his new contract-signing interview on City’s website, I couldn’t help notice that he still looked a little rough / drained.

Notable absences:

-       John Stones – Out with a muscular issue and will miss our next two fixtures, including this one. The England international defender is ‘pencilled in’ for a return following the next international break, which takes place in early September.

-       Kevin De Bruyne – Recovering from a torn hamstring / surgery. It’s hoped that the Belgium international will be available once again around December / January time.

Do I agree with Pep’s (predicted) line-up?

Yep.

Result? Our hosts have registered 2 defeats from their opening 2 games back in the ‘top flight’ but they’ve only been beaten by 1 goal on both occasions. Possession-wise, they were dominated by a visiting Crystal Palace side in their opening match, 68 to 32% but the following match away at Nottingham Forest, they shared 50% of the play.

It’s no secret – most pundits bring this up whenever The Blades come up for discussion – that they’re a side that often struggles for goals. In fact, that was the case the last time they were in the Prem…and it’s the very reason they’re close to completing the signing of Aston Villa and England Under-21 forward, Cameron Archer.

However, although they only managed to get 1 shot on target at home to The Eagles, I watched the highlights of their away game at Forest last weekend and they looked to have sharpened up their finishing somewhat – they looked a real threat to the Nottingham side for a good while.

They still “only” managed 3 on target from 7 shots in anger but for a newly-promoted side, 15 shot-attempts in 2 games is enough to suggest to me that they’re not content to just sit back and hope to keep a clean sheet and then nick a break-away goal.

Having said all of that, I think on Sunday afternoon they might HAVE to be content with the hope of hitting us ‘on the counter’ and I just hope that we’re set up to be prepared for that possibility. Kyle & Josko’s pace could be useful, defensive weapons to have.

If we have that threat covered, then I can’t see anything other than a City victory. In fact, if we really ‘click’ on Sunday, I can see quite a few goals flying into the home side’s net…and ‘the big man’ netting a fair few himself. It's a City win for me.

Last season’s, corresponding pre-match prediction and result:

Prediction: N/A

Result: N/A

Expected weather conditions during the game: Sunshine, showers and quite breezy. 17 / 18C is the forecasted temperature but with the westerly wind as it’s set to be, I would imagine that will feel a lot cooler for the fans in the stands. Huh…August in the UK – don’t ya just love it?

Solidarity

City kits – Opinion

A week’s break in fixtures – I often do a quick opinion piece on how our lads & girls will look in the season ahead…whether you’re bothered about the subject or not. Why not…

Some fans simply can’t WAIT for the new gear to come out; some even just buy it regardless of what they look like and get a shirt within minutes of the official first day of sale.

Others wait & see what they look like and make decisions accordingly; while some couldn’t care less – it’s more about who wears the kit rather than what it looks like, for many-a-fan.

Over the years, particularly in my younger days, I have bought loads of tops; so many, in fact, that I once donated a dozen or more old tops to one of City’s overseas charities. But even then, I only ever mostly bought one when I felt that it represented our club / traditions.

That’s where I most-definitely stand now – they have to ‘look City’ for me…although I buy far, far less than I use to regardless of what they look like, I have to say.

The home kit

Yeah, nice. It’s very City and, apparently, celebrates our first season at the Etihad. Nothing much to say about it really – I gave it 5/5 when surveyed by the club; there’s nothing to dislike about it for me.

The away kit

I love it! Clean, smart and has traditional City colours incorporated in a nice white design.

Once again, I gave it 5/5 when I did the official survey but if their scoring system had been very precise, I’d have given it 4.75/5. I told them, in their comments section, that I didn’t agree with, nor understand, the need for the badge and sponsors to be in gold/orange (should have been maroon as well) and I understand also some fans’ grumbles about the very small, fold-over collar. On a personal improvement note, I think maroon & white hooped socks would have ‘set it off’ perfectly too.

But, for me, it’s a big 👍🏼s up!

The third kit

One for the kids. It’s very striking / dynamic and most-certainly stands out.

It has nothing whatsoever to do with MCFC, in my humble, but it’s far less offensive than the last few 3^rd strips, for sure. Stick a City badge on it and they will buy…

It’s…okay’ish and, as I say, could have been worse.

In other news…

-       It’s seems that we’re close to signing, just-turned 21-year-old, Belgium international, right-winger, Jeremy Doku. He is-apparently due in Manchester for a medical today; having agreed personal terms with us and his club, likewise, a transfer fee of £55.5M. A very skilful, two-footed player; great acceleration – with pace generally – and can operate very effectively on the left-hand-side too. I think this would give us an excellent, alternative outlet (👍🏼)…but I fear that it might just push Cole Palmer out of our club at the same time. Watch this space on that one…

-       Our manager is reportedly going to miss our next two matches, having travelled to Barcelona for minor surgery on his back. 🤞🏼 for a speedy recovery.

-       Aymeric Laporte is close to leaving us.

-       Joao Cancelo likewise.

2023-24 season – Things I’m looking forward to seeing…

The season has already commenced, of course, but now that we finally have a little break before our next fixture on Sunday afternoon (2:00pm KO BST), it gives me a little time to do one or two non-match related articles, starting with this one.

Here’s what’s on my-particularly ‘looking forward to seeing’ list (in no specific order):

·         Phil Foden getting more ‘game time’ and having less injury interruptions. Dare I say, also, hoping to see him start to fulfil his huge potential. I prep-typed that before our last outing – and his superb performance ­– against Newcastle on Saturday and, hopefully, that’s a sign of things to come and not just a ‘flash in the pan’. He appears to revel in that more-central role, doesn’t he?

·         Getting Kev back from another serious-looking injury so that he can push us on for the second half of the season.

·         Seeing how Josko Gvardiol can improve a defence that was the joint-1^st-best in the Premier League last season.

·         Seeing Mateo Kovacic maintain his good start to the season and ease any midfield concerns a lot of fans appear to have at the moment. I think we’ve signed a solid 7/10-type player and with regular gametime and under Pep’s management; I think we’ll start to see more 8s before too long.

·         Should they remain at City and be in & around the first-team squad, seeing both Cole Palmer & James McAtee progress and improve by being given as many opportunities as possible.

·         Seeing Jack Grealish continue the kind of form he was in post-World Cup 2022. He’s had a somewhat quiet start to the short season so far but…🤞🏼

·         Seeing one more, additional signing? Sort of.

I’d love to believe that we could say to Cole Palmer that the right-wing position is yours, fella; he then grabs the opportunity and has a stormin’ season down that flank. And with James McAtee seemingly being brought into the first team after a season out on loan; for him to-also be given plenty of ‘cover opportunities’ as well as many cup starts as possible…and shines also. With a returning [from illness] Bernardo Silva apparently staying AND signing a new 3-year contract with a release clause-fee ‘kicking in’ next summer; Pep can then decide whether to play the exceptionally skilful & hardworking Portuguese international either inside or on the right-wing. Chuck into the mix Rodri, Phillips, Kovacic & Foden and it seems laughable to suggest that we need to make additions to our midfield / wing department.

However, we don’t know how James & Cole are going to fair – we don’t even know if Cole WANTS to stay or will end up staying beyond the summer transfer deadline day. Going off recent interviews, he doesn’t appear to have a clue himself – he’s at a very important crossroad in his young life. Kalvin has barely featured since signing for us just over a year ago and, from my perspective, doesn’t appear to have the confidence of his boss. Lastly, we don’t know whether Phil’s excellent performance last Saturday was a sign of things to come or just one of those occasional, unplayable, excellent games he’s had dotted throughout his City career.

After looking at that second side of the coin, all of a sudden – and with further FOUR cup competitions to play for including the Club World Cup that will then see us lag behind by a fixture or two in the league – making an addition to either the central midfield or the right wing appears to make some sense. Answers on a postcard on that one (or in my comments box below).

·         This new time-wasting / time added on rule actually having an effect; stopping players doing the sorts of things we’ve all witnessed over the last few seasons, which can often be very infuriating when it’s not in your / your team’s favour. Hopefully the rule is used sensibly, however; I don’t want to see TOO much extra time being played where it gives more opportunity for player injury and/or fatigue. I hope to see an eventual reduction in incidents and, therefore, reduced minutes beyond the 45 & 90 as the season progresses.

·         Covid-19 not disrupting the season…nor making too many people ill in general, of course.

It didn’t last year, so why on earth mention it?

Well, for one, cases have been on a slow rise in the UK in recent weeks and we’ve not even reached autumn, let alone winter. And with a new rule-change starting in September which states that if you’re under 65 with no underlying health conditions and/or don’t look after a vulnerable person or work for the NHS (there may well be another category or two you might want to look for), you won’t be getting a free Covid OR flu jab this year and will, instead, have to source private ways of getting the jabs you want / feel you need. Wow.

I’m sure football clubs will look after their own non-playing & playing staff but I’m a little concerned that with the vastly-reduce numbers across the UK being able to access free jabs; this is a winter to keep an eye on for sure (🤞🏼 hope all goes well, of course).

Thank you, as always, for taking the time to click on and then read my ramblings.

Solidarity

There are enough...

…factors, in my opinion, to explain a slightly-underwhelming performance last Wednesday night in Greece; all said DESPITE the penalty shootout win (it’s not often I’ve been able to type THOSE last few words).

They are…

·         The heat. If you’ve ever flown from a country where it was no warmer than 18 or 19C and then stepped off a plane into 35C temperatures; I think a lot of people would admit that it can often take a few days before their bodies started to adjust / acclimatise to the increased temperature and general feel of the air. Try, then, running around in 30+C for 90+ minutes a couple of days after you’ve arrived. I know they are fit athletes but our opponents, who swapped Spain for Greece, simply swapped 35C for 35C and I think it showed at times during the match.

·         Linked in with that is the fact that it was only our third competitive match of the season over 11 days, including the Community Shield, and prior to that; we’d started our pre-season later than most, if not everyone, due to last season’s successes / extended season. It’s the very price of success, in fact, and something simply has to give either at the back end of a season or at the beginning of the next one. They’re fit lads with all the best equipment and staff at their disposal…but they’re not robots.

·         No Kev, no Bernardo and no Ruben (or John Stones despite him travelling). Two key creative forces and a calming influence at the back all missing the same game. Despite the quality we have otherwise; take that sort of calibre out of any side and it will have more than just a ripple effect.

·         A new player, Josko Gvardiol, making his starting debut with his new teammates and, therefore, only just beginning to forge new player partnerships; as well as learning new systems and ways of playing.

v Newcastle United

Etihad Stadium

Predicted line-up, subs and outcome:

(Number correct from the starting line-up in the last game: 9/11).

A very fluid 3-2-4-1 / 4-1-4-1 / 4-5-1 / 4-3-3:

____________________Haaland____________________

 

 

Grealish_________________________________Palmer

______________________________Foden___________

__________Kovacic______________________________

 

_____________________Rodri_____________________

Gvardiol__________________________________Walker

____________Ake_______________Akanji___________

 

 

____________________Ederson____________________

Subs: Ortega, Lewis, Gomez, Dias, Laporte, Phillips, McAtee, Bobb, Alvarez

Ederson in net.

Even though there are still some personnel options and various combinations, I think the back-4 practically picks itself for this one. My predicted selection would, perhaps, limit us a little with regards to us not having one of our usual players to step into midfield and, therefore, we could see Rico Lewis being given a starting place. However, with the counter-attacking & pacy threats we are likely to face tonight, I’m going for our manager to select Josko, Nathan, Manuel & Kyle.

Rodders to take up his usual midfield position and I’m going for an attacking 3-½ / 4 of Jack, Mateo, Phil & Cole. Once again, I could be wrong in that we might see either Phil or Cole step back in place of Julian.

Erling to head the lot.

Stefan, after some midweek speculation linking him with a move to Bayern, is still with us and is our back-up stopper; while Rico, Sergio, Ruban & Aymeric are the defenders on the side. Kalvin, James & Oscar are the midfielders / wingers in ‘the 9’ and Julian is the reserve striker.

Notable absences:

-       Joao Cancelo – Not selected.

-       John Stones – Still out with a muscular issue; possibly in the hip area, which was the information previously issued by our manager. Unknown return date.

-       Bernardo Silva – Still recovering following recent illness.

-       Kevin De Bruyne – Out injured until around November / December…possible January, going off the initial assessment / information given. He has now had surgery so we may get an update - and more accurate reading - in the next 2 to 4 weeks about the expected length of recovery time.

Do I agree with Pep’s (predicted) line-up?

Yep.

Result? I’ve made a ‘case for the defence’ but I want to flip it over before our next challenge. We have to improve a lot if we’re to match our visitors from the North East tonight.

-       I thought we played well against Arsenal at Wembley on 6^th August; I thought, overall, we were the better side by a percentage of around 60/40. But Haaland hardly saw the ball that day and if the Norwegian international saw little of it in London, then he saw next to none of it in Greece. He was practically a spectator last Wednesday night. That’s not necessarily his or any one-single, City player’s fault; sometimes the opposition will-have-done their homework well and Sevilla put in to practice superbly what they set out to achieve. But we have to be savvier than that collectively and work out ways to get the ‘big fella’ more engaged whenever he gets crowded out. If not, other players then need to-then step up and become the threat. At Burnley, Erling found the spaces and clinically dispatched two goals.

-       Less tippy-tappy and more punch-punch. I like watching our passing game – it bores some fans – and I totally get why we pass the ball so many times from side to side; backwards, forwards and then side to side again. It drags the opposing players from left to right, too & fro and we eventually find holes to poke through. It also drains some of the opposing players…and I’m pretty sure it mesmerises some of them too 😲. However, there are times when a little more directness is required and I thought it was needed against Sevilla the other night. Newcastle shared the best defensive record in the league with us last season – pretty-pretty alone won’t crack this lot on Saturday.

-       Burnley was practically a training match for us in parts a week or so ago but what was both annoying and slightly concerning for me that night, was the sloppy, slack-looking passing along our defence. Aside from many a misplaced hit, it looked lazy / late and even a little arrogant, I thought. I was sat watching it huffing on more than one occasion and eventually said to my wife…any another, much sharper team would have been ‘picking us off’. We definitely got away with a few that night but we won’t be allowed that “luxury” against The Magpies.

So, in summary, it’s understandable why our performance levels are where they are at the moment but if we want to make it 3 straight wins from 4-games played in the first 2 weeks of the season, then we need to ‘take it up a notch’ for sure.

It’s a close one to call – ahead of the season and in a close season piece that I published back in June, I had this game down as a win in a run of victories that I predicted all the way to ‘game number-7’ in the months of August & September. Those pre-season predictions are ‘set in stone’ for-me-to-then calculate the success, or otherwise, after the season has finished.

Have I change my mind, now, in my pre-match prediction?

Phil celebrating our opener v Newcastle in March

Well…since typing all of that and on Friday morning, I then watched last season’s brief highlights of our home meeting in March 2023 and it was a hard-fought contest indeed, which we won 2-0. What was very noticeable was how quick & direct our attacks were. I’ll say it again, I believe that’s how we need to be this time around too. I also noticed how many decent chances they created with their own, pacey attacks and how much, in particular, Alexander Isak caused us some issues. I’ll say that again too, none of that slack passing that I witnessed at Turf Moor, please City.

In his pre-match press conference on Friday afternoon, Pep was very much defiant about the tight fixture schedule following our midweek UEFA Super Cup fixture and also repeatedly asked for our home fans to fully get behind his side on Saturday. Clearly, he’s still irked by this league fixture being scheduled for Saturday night and I’m fully behind him on that one. It was obvious to me that he has some concerns but there was a very strong, steely resolved about our manager to rise to this early-season challenge.

I was being pulled very closely towards a draw in the lead up to this one and even more so following news that we have no John Stones, no Kevin, of course, still no Bernardo Silva and possibly a just-returning-from-injury, Ruben. However, call it pre-match optimism and a strong desire to put two fingers up to those who have the final say when fixtures are played, I’m going for a City win; however close or otherwise that might be. C’mon City!

Last season’s, corresponding pre-match prediction and result:

Prediction: Win

Result: Won

(Pre-match blog posting from that game)

Expected weather conditions during the game: Dry, nice & warm (18 / 19C) with just a little, southerly breeze.

Solidarity