No trees were harmed in the…

…making of these 3 points.

 

The footballing phrase “Winning when not playing well” would be a little over the top and doesn’t quite apply to us at the moment; I think we’re performing ‘quite well’ and even ‘very good’ in certain spells of games. 

 

But it would be fair to say that despite 3 wins from 3 we’re not yet ‘ripping up trees’ in our victories.

Hard to keep the excitement quelled though.

But I was looking at our start of P3 W3 D0 L0  F11 A2 and enthusiastically text fellow Blues shortly after the final whistle yesterday to say we’ve achieved that with Bravo (probably), Kompany, Gundogan, Sane, Jesus (Toure & Nasri?) still, yet, to come in!

“Wow”, I suggested in the same text, was the appropriate word for the moment.

Game of two halves.

If I was to give our two-half performances a rating, I’d go for a contrasting 7.5/10 in the first and 6/10 in the second – indeed our last two goals were not only slightly against the run of play but were also somewhat of a relief…and rather flattered us in many ways I thought.

But I’ll take that - I’m certainly not moaning in the slightest and we deserved the 3 points.

Some luck too – they should have had a 1^st half penalty when Kolarov inexplicably barged into a Stoke player. It was so obvious I can’t believe we got away with it!

And speaking of ‘decision making’, I thought the ref, Mike Dean, who had irked the home fans somewhat in the first half in-giving us many little decisions and seemingly very few to Stoke, then appeared to attempt to “equalise” the situation in the second half; giving some bizarre free kicks to Stoke after the interval.

I thought he was having a good game in the first half in-applying some new rules (don’t ask) ‘to the letter’ but, I felt, then let himself down in his ‘balancing act’ in the latter 45+.

As far as any notable performances from our lads, good or otherwise, is concerned…

-       Willy had a mixed bag of good shot stopping but some scary, dodgy footwork when attempting to ‘play the ball out’. How ironic!

-       Nicholas looked slightly nervous at times; a player who looks like he’s playing under the pressure of a spotlight being firmly held by his boss. Glad we had him in there though; he made some vital tackles and got the game going by winning the first penalty.

-       Next to him John looked SO assured and comfortable. Probably MotM.

-       David looks so at home too under Pep and much improved from last season, where he had ankle issues and looked fatigued for the most part.

-       Raheem typified the game as a whole – he was a real menace to the home side in the first half but in the second looked to have completely lost his composure. Still, in that second half, he managed an assist for Nolito; his second assist in two league games and following a superb showing in Romania in midweek.

-       Nolito himself, after a quiet debut at home to Sunderland, has most certainly “arrived” now in his last two games. He gets himself into those positions, doesn’t he?

-       Sergio not only ‘put to bed’ his midweek, penalty demons but also ‘nipped in’ and stooped between towering Stoke defenders to head home another. That’s 6 goals in 3 games for the Argentine.

Bravo likely to sign in the coming days; Kompany, Gundogan & Sane are all back in ball-work training, Toure & Nasri are still in ‘getting up to speed / trimming down’ drills and we have 4 days off now before our next game, which is to finish the job at home to Steaua Bucharest.

After that, ANOTHER 4 days off before a Sunday home game against West Ham United. It’s all looking good early on…

Why, why, why Delilah d’yer bother?

 

What a pathetic bunch of mindless, sheep-following morons the Stoke City fans were yesterday! (Still) booing Raheem Sterling every time he got the ball and actually still singing, “There’s only one greedy *******”!

A.    What on EARTH has it got to do with them; a player who transferred from Liverpool to Manchester City?

B.    It was over a year ago - get over it / yourselves! And…

C.    …while I’m having a go, their ground was, otherwise, like a monastery and half empty before our 4^th goal went in. I’ve seen more Stoke fans outside their ground on TV on transfer deadline day…

Mmmm...indeed.

A different test for Pep’s continued education

At home to Sunderland in last Saturday’s opening Premier League fixture I think Pep learnt a considerable amount about both Manchester City and the Premier League; in a game that we dominated possession-wise but also nearly let slip.

 

On Tuesday night against Steaua Bucharest he learnt that he had a group of players who have already started to take on board all he has taught them so far and so very quickly…and we-fans learnt what a joy it is to watch it in motion. 

 

Now Pep has to experience the ‘Stoke away factor’; a ground that has all too often yielded so very little for us down the years and regardless of who’s at the helm. Crack this one tomorrow and in just 3, very different games our manager will have already laid down a considerable marker.

A quick word on the Bucharest game…

Sorry for no post-match blog-posting in midweek – I was just too busy the following day.

If I had to choose just two words to describe the game, I’d use “Crazy” & “Thrilling”. Crazy as in Sergio’s two failed penalties but in a game, which, still saw him hit a hat trick and where City could very easily have been in double figures! Thrilling to watch our players performing ‘Guardiola style’, particularly as the home same faded in the second half and our lads zipped the ball around with precision and style to totally overwhelm the Romanian side.

All players deserve credit for last Tuesday’s performance but if there were any doubters after last season who inferred that David Silva was finished (I mean…it sounds totally crazy to even suggest it but that’s what was being posted on-line by some so-called “Blues”) and that Pep wouldn’t improve Raheem Sterling; then this game went a long way to prove otherwise.

I still get a bit twitchy with this ‘passing around at the back’ lark and that’s despite having more ‘round pegs in round holes’ in Romania. It’s something I’m sure I’ll get used to, especially as our defenders become more accustom to what they’re being asked to do backed up by a new, incoming keeper who is used to playing that style.

Final word on this game – just how hard was it to watch those colours on TV when the camera went to wide angle?! Red & white with bold blue vs maroon, black and bright yellow did my eyes no good at all!

Totally different ball game

No disrespect meant whatsoever to Stoke City or Mark Hughes, who deserve credit for some very good performances and ‘scalps’ last season, but I expect these to be a bit more ‘rough & tumble’ at home tomorrow. Expect them to have done their homework on us too, though, in-studying Pep’s first two competitive game in charge; expect them to attempt to exploit our ‘passing defence’ by pressing us high & fast and making me, at least, a little twitchy once more.

v Stoke City

Predicted line-up, subs and outcome.

Fluid 4-5-1 come 4-3-3 come 4-2-4:

____________________Aguero____________________

___Nolito___________________________Sterling____

___________________De Bruyne__________________

__________Silva______________Fernandinho_______

Clichy_______Otamendi______Stones______Zabaleta

____________________Caballero___________________

Subs: Hart, Kolarov, Sagna, Fernando, Delph, Navas, Iheanacho.

Notable absences: Vincent Kompany (recovering from injury), Eliaquim Mangala (not selected), Ilkay Gundogan (recovering from injury), Samir Nasri (not selected), Leroy Sane (recovering from injury) and Yaya Toure (not selected).

Willy to continue between the sticks.

Only a very slight change, I think, to the back-4 [from last Tuesday] with the possible rotation of the left-backs in order to give Aleks some time off and to go with the often-considered more defensive Gael (although that perception is starting to melt away now under our new manager). Pablo likely to keep his place and not be rotated but his starting place may have been saved by a “small [injury] problem”, as Pep puts it, with Bacary; who was not risked in midweek for that very reason. John & Nicholas to continue their partnership for now.

To save time after that…no change in the 5 ahead of those I don’t think; a team who have learnt & improved very quickly and gelled well for their new boss. We might see some other players being given a starting shot in the return leg of the Champions League this coming Wednesday.

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

Possibly lacking a little ‘bite’ away at today’s hosts - and perhaps in the form of Fabian Delph - but I’m fine with this formula that has yielded good results so far.

Result? Following on from my brief analysis (above) of what we might expect, I do honestly believe that we may come out of this one a little battered & bruised…and I’ve even got a feeling that Stoke will end the match with 10 men.

Had we stuttered & spluttered in our midweek Champions League qualifier after a late, own-goal 2-1 win at home to Sunderland just 3 days earlier, I might have been a little cautious with this one; perhaps suggesting a draw.

It will be tough; I expect them to sneak a goal and it will be a heavy pitch in windy conditions. But after such a confidence-boosting, fabulous display on Tuesday night I’m going for us to eventually impose our game on the home side and come away with 3 points.

Expected weather conditions during the game: Players & fans should prepare for blustery showers in-between brief, sunny spells. South Westerly winds will be persistent and in the ‘mid teens’ MPH with gusts expected much higher, all adding to Pep’s education with a ‘wet afternoon in Stoke’.

Other City news:

·         City have completed another ‘favour signing’, similar to how both the Luke Bratton & Anthony Caceres deals felt, in capturing the signature of Spanish central defender Pablo Mari. At first I thought we were just adding to our growing collection of “Pablo defenders” but then it turns out having loaned him immediately to Girona (who?) for the season it’s apparently something to do with Pep’s brother? Whatever…  Girona’s manager, by the way, is called Pablo…

·         It’s looking more like the sad debacle surrounding Joe Hart will end with him moving to Everton on a season-long loan next week; with interest also from Sevilla. The England number 1, quite sensibly in some ways, has apparently said (to someone) that he wants a loan move in order to assess his long-term future / next move. I won’t go on too much about what I feel on this because I’ll still be typing well into tomorrow’s game…although I must now add that Pep has made it perfectly clear in his pre-match press conference that he would be happy for Joe to stay, learn and see how the future goes. Joe cannot, as no-one can, expect to start every game - especially in a team that is evolving - and as disappointed & pride-hit as he might be; I hope he does stay and work with Claudio Bravo to add to his armoury of skills.

·         The bright, exciting future continues to get brighter, more exciting and secure, following the news that Kelechi Iheanacho has signed a contract extension; now registered with the club for 5 years and to the end of the 2020 / 21 season.

·         Rumours are that the signing of Claudio Bravo next week won’t be our last. Despite him insisting, recently, that he does NOT want to leave Juventus, City are supposedly going to persist in their persistence and make another attempt to get 29-year old, centre back Leonardo Bonucci. If we do get the Italian, that’s Denayer & Mangala definitely out of the door, Adarabioyo & Humphreys frustrated and Otamendi ‘watching his back’…as well as watching more games from the subs bench I think this season.

·         Samir Nasri might be on his way out – not sure if it’s on loan for a season or a permanent move but Besiktas are apparently interested. Perhaps that’s what Pep’s plans were; to train him hard, ‘trim him down’ in order to make him more appealing / sellable. Isn’t Yaya currently going through the same training regime?

·         I think we can rule out any new ‘flanking defenders’ coming in for now, seeing as Guardiola appears to like Mr Kolarov. Like many, Aleks will almost certainly improve under his new manager and has shown good signs already under Pep…and I have been saying that very thing about many of our players in many on-line posts over the summer. What I will add, though, is that improvement is one thing but from what ‘starting point’ does that improvement begin / how far can it go?

Thanks for your patience while hyperlinks were being completed and thanks, as always, for taking the time to visit / read.

v Steaua Bucharest

The long(er) Champions League journey starts earlier than we’re used to tonight and seems to have come so very soon after our opening Premier League game last Saturday evening. 

 

No cries yet from City of this game coming too soon after a late KO at the weekend (just 72 hours and 25 minutes or there abouts separate the two games) but also no hint from Pep of any injuries or fatigue.

Straight to it then…

Predicted line-up, subs and outcome.

Fluid 4-5-1 come 4-3-3 come 4-2-4:

____________________Aguero____________________

___Nolito___________________________Sterling____

___________________De Bruyne__________________

__________Delph_______________Fernando________

Kolarov______Otamendi______Stones______Zabaleta

____________________Caballero___________________

Subs: Hart, Clichy, Sagna, Fernandinho, Silva, Navas, Iheanacho.

I said in my pre-match piece before the Sunderland game that it was going to take me some time - and would find it difficult - to predict Guardiola’s first few line-ups and formation. As it turned out I got 7 from the starting 11 correct (not too bad) and was there or there abouts with the line-up, I think…although occasionally slipping into a 2-7-1 formation with Clichy & Sagan added to the midfield did throw me for a while.

Tonight’s game is even harder for me to predict – some players may be given a ‘precautionary rest’ or may just not be selected to start, at least, so that Pep can maintain his ‘high intensity’ game just 3-days after a domestic fixture; 72 hours that has included a 1,800-mile flight / journey.

I think it’s safe to assume for now, at least, that Willy is going to ‘get the nod’ ahead of Joe.

Starting with the MIDDLE of the defence, I’m going for new signing John to be asked to ‘go again’ but, this time, I think he’ll be partnered by Nicholas; who was on the subs bench as a safeguard 3 days ago having-had a slight ‘niggly issue’. It was suggested by Pep last Friday that the Argentine should be okay for tonight. That being the case, I’ve gone for Pep using Aleks & Pablo as the flanking defenders and my reasoning is this. Gael played an energetic role on Saturday evening (being subbed on 80 minutes) and although Aleks had a decent, 7/10’er against the Black Cats in central defence; he wasn’t exactly ‘tested to the full’ and, therefore, I think he’ll be the fresher of the two left-backs. In addition, with Otamendi & Stones in the middle that’ll give licence for Aleks to overlap the left-winger and support some of our attacks against the Romanian side, which I’m sure Pep will be asking him to do. Zaba for Sagna is far simpler – it’s a change from a player who played 94-minutes+ at the weekend to one who didn’t play at all (and who looked trim and raring to go in the last pre-season game).

Pep has stated in his pre-match press conference for this game the importance of scoring away from home in the Champions League and so I’m risking, in some ways, a ‘double fail’ here in my first midfield selection. Despite what he said I’m still going for him to inject some fresh midfield legs in the form of mostly-defence-minded-pair Fabian & Fernando. To me, if he goes with this, it’ll then provide the opportunity for the 4 players ahead of that duo to really focus on the attack…and for those I’m going for all ‘go again’ players in Nolito, Kevin, Raheem and Sergio.

So…a mixture of personnel who will have to find the energy for another game in 72-hours mixed with 4 pairs of fresh legs.

Good mixed bench but one with, notably, no recognised central defender (although these days ANYONE under Pep can player there!)  Joe the sad-looking ‘keeper insurance’ and two flanking defenders in Gael & Bacary. Fernandinho & David to provide an injection of attacking & creative midfield drive if / when needed; Jesus & Kelechi the pace & goal threat weapons from the ‘7 on the side’.

Notable absences:

-       Eliaquim Mangala (not chosen to be in the Champions League squad of 21 for the two play-off games / likely to be sold or loaned-out soon)

-       Jason Denayer (not chosen to be in the Champions League squad of 21 for the two play-off games / also likely to be sold or loaned-out soon)

-      Ilkay Gundogan (recovering from injury)

-       Yaya Toure (not chosen to be in the Champions League squad of 21 for the two play-off games / regaining fitness)

-       Samir Nasri (not chosen to be in the Champions League squad of 21 for the two play-off games / possibly to be sold soon)

-       Leroy Sane (injured)

-       Oleksandr Zinchenko (not chosen to be in the Champions League squad of 21 for the two play-off games / highly likely to be loaned-out soon for the remainder of the season)

-       Wilfried Bony (not chosen to be in the Champions League squad of 21 for the two play-off games / likely to be sold soon).

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

Can’t argue with that at all.

Result? I know nothing…NOTHING about the opposition at all and, so, how could I possibly predict an outcome? But I’ll try.

Looking at their league, which I also know nothing about, they finished a lowly 5^th from a table of just 14 teams (how can that possibly push you into the Champions League play-off places?!)

I’m sure it’ll be a fierce atmosphere and I’ve little doubt that the home side will be up for a crack at one of Pep Guardiola’s sides. I’m going for them to score…but I’m also going for us to score more, before bringing them back to the Etihad next week.

Expected weather conditions during the game: Despite clear, evening skies it’ll be a stifling, energy-sapping 84F with no breeze to speak of. We could see a couple of player ‘water breaks’…