Saturday, 3 December 2011
Calling it a day.
I'm not going to do these anymore because, quite simply, nobody is reading them. Sorry to those that do read my work, but I just don't feel like it's worth it anymore.
Tuesday, 29 November 2011
Arsenal - City, preview.
After our good result against Liverpool, we’re now being rushed to London to face Arsenal in the League Cup. I very much doubt we’re going to see the likes of Silva, van Persie and Aguero tonight, but it will be a chance for arguably the two best youth teams in the country to show off their budding youngsters.
I think it’s going to be a tight one. In fact, this may even go to extra time. Mancini has promised 11 changes from the side that started against Liverpool, but those comments were made during a rant at the Premier League fixture schedule, however, I don’t think Mancini is a man to go back on his word unless he is forced to.
Hart, Richards, Kompany, Lescott, Clichy, Barry, Balotelli, Aguero and Silva will either be on the bench or not feature at all because we’ve got a big Premier League game on Saturday at home to Norwich (and before you start, every game is a big game), and we’ll need to have our strongest team available to make sure our unbeaten Premier League record doesn’t come to an end.
We haven’t won at Arsenal in 36 years, so maybe it’s time to end that jinx. Clichy sounds desperate to do so as well (of course he would, returning to the place he used to call home), but whether he’ll be playing is another matter altogether.
Pantilimon, Onuoha, Zabaleta, Savic, Kolarov, de Jong, Nasri and Dzeko should start. And I predict they’ll be joined by a couple of youngsters: the returning Abdul Razak has impressed on the south coast at Portsmouth, so I imagine he’ll partner de Jong in midfield if Mancini is truly serious about this competition. And “Boy with the Nice Hair” Denis Suarez may be an additional creative option up front behind Edin Dzeko.
Prediction – Arsenal 1-3 Manchester City, AET.
I think it’s going to be a tight one. In fact, this may even go to extra time. Mancini has promised 11 changes from the side that started against Liverpool, but those comments were made during a rant at the Premier League fixture schedule, however, I don’t think Mancini is a man to go back on his word unless he is forced to.
Hart, Richards, Kompany, Lescott, Clichy, Barry, Balotelli, Aguero and Silva will either be on the bench or not feature at all because we’ve got a big Premier League game on Saturday at home to Norwich (and before you start, every game is a big game), and we’ll need to have our strongest team available to make sure our unbeaten Premier League record doesn’t come to an end.
We haven’t won at Arsenal in 36 years, so maybe it’s time to end that jinx. Clichy sounds desperate to do so as well (of course he would, returning to the place he used to call home), but whether he’ll be playing is another matter altogether.
Pantilimon, Onuoha, Zabaleta, Savic, Kolarov, de Jong, Nasri and Dzeko should start. And I predict they’ll be joined by a couple of youngsters: the returning Abdul Razak has impressed on the south coast at Portsmouth, so I imagine he’ll partner de Jong in midfield if Mancini is truly serious about this competition. And “Boy with the Nice Hair” Denis Suarez may be an additional creative option up front behind Edin Dzeko.
Prediction – Arsenal 1-3 Manchester City, AET.
Monday, 28 November 2011
Liverpool 1-1 Manchester City, thoughts.
I’m pretty shocked at how devoid of ideas we looked on Sunday. I think the extra games each week are finally beginning to have an impact on the squad, and yesterday in a game where we were up against a fully rested Liverpool side it was displayed for all to see. Liverpool had much more fight and urgency about them throughout the game and danced around as our tired legs stumbled on the Anfield surface.
Thinking about it, I suppose we could have come away with three points if Lescott hadn’t been where he was, but it’s a mistake and we can move on. Joleon’s finally getting to the top of his game, so getting on his back won’t help. I think we all know that Lescott is one of England’s best centre-backs, and this mistake doesn’t make him any less of a defender than he was last week.
I thought Joe Hart was our Man of the Match. Some of his saves in the dying seconds were outstanding. In fact, that save from Andy Carroll could be one of the saves of the season. It was incredibly similar to his save from Tottenham’s Steven Pienaar last season: as Joe fell to his right, he managed to thrust out an arm and throw his body weight back in the other direction to make the save. Who says we don’t have a world-class shot shopper between the sticks?
Outfield, our best option was probably Clichy. Normally I’d expect to be lauding Silva, Aguero or Yaya, but they were almost non-existent in the second half. Clichy did brilliantly to get forward and swing balls over. Some of his crosses reminded me of Kolarov’s “crossing”, but when Gael connects with a cross you’re almost certain that a chance will come at the end of it.
Now – the sending off. How? Just how? How, when he’s been so wonderfully well behaved, does Balotelli go from hero to zero in 18 minutes? I guess he’s the only person in the world that can do that. Some could argue that his reputation precedes him, but you can’t jump into someone with your arm up and expect to stay on the field afterwards if you’re already on a yellow? I’m not exactly getting sick of Balotelli (I love him), but I fear that Mancini may be losing patience with him. Thankfully Balotelli, along with Barry, will only miss the League Cup quarter-final against Arsenal on Tuesday but it’s a selection headache Mancini would rather not have.
Even though that was our worst performance of the season so far, you have to just look at the Premier League table and raise a smile; we’re still five points clear, we’re still far ahead of everyone else and we’re still unbeaten. Our form in all competitions has taken a tiny bit of a dent, but regular services should resume on Tuesday – and if not then, at home to Norwich next Saturday. Norwich have only won once away this season, while we sit on a 100% record at home.
Cheers.
Thinking about it, I suppose we could have come away with three points if Lescott hadn’t been where he was, but it’s a mistake and we can move on. Joleon’s finally getting to the top of his game, so getting on his back won’t help. I think we all know that Lescott is one of England’s best centre-backs, and this mistake doesn’t make him any less of a defender than he was last week.
I thought Joe Hart was our Man of the Match. Some of his saves in the dying seconds were outstanding. In fact, that save from Andy Carroll could be one of the saves of the season. It was incredibly similar to his save from Tottenham’s Steven Pienaar last season: as Joe fell to his right, he managed to thrust out an arm and throw his body weight back in the other direction to make the save. Who says we don’t have a world-class shot shopper between the sticks?
Outfield, our best option was probably Clichy. Normally I’d expect to be lauding Silva, Aguero or Yaya, but they were almost non-existent in the second half. Clichy did brilliantly to get forward and swing balls over. Some of his crosses reminded me of Kolarov’s “crossing”, but when Gael connects with a cross you’re almost certain that a chance will come at the end of it.
Now – the sending off. How? Just how? How, when he’s been so wonderfully well behaved, does Balotelli go from hero to zero in 18 minutes? I guess he’s the only person in the world that can do that. Some could argue that his reputation precedes him, but you can’t jump into someone with your arm up and expect to stay on the field afterwards if you’re already on a yellow? I’m not exactly getting sick of Balotelli (I love him), but I fear that Mancini may be losing patience with him. Thankfully Balotelli, along with Barry, will only miss the League Cup quarter-final against Arsenal on Tuesday but it’s a selection headache Mancini would rather not have.
Even though that was our worst performance of the season so far, you have to just look at the Premier League table and raise a smile; we’re still five points clear, we’re still far ahead of everyone else and we’re still unbeaten. Our form in all competitions has taken a tiny bit of a dent, but regular services should resume on Tuesday – and if not then, at home to Norwich next Saturday. Norwich have only won once away this season, while we sit on a 100% record at home.
Cheers.
Wednesday, 23 November 2011
Napoli 2-1 City, thoughts
I thought I’d wait until the morning after the night before to express my views on what was effectively our Champions’ League exit. I’ve found that over the past couple of years my knee-jerk reactions have lost me a lot of friends on football forums and in real life, so I took the advice I gave to someone a few months ago, and gave myself a night’s rest and a chance to calm down.
I thought were unlucky last night, looking at the stats and the direction of the play. I can’t remember Napoli causing that much of a threat when they weren’t scoring goals, and both of our goals were slightly down to our own errors – errors that can be corrected with slightly better organisation. We had 60% of the possession away from home in the Champions’ League and we had 18 shots away from home in the Champions’ League; we just couldn’t finish our chances. I don’t think it was Balotelli’s night, and I think we could all see how frustrated he was getting with his missed chances.
We’re not totally out of the Champions’ League, but we’ll need a near miracle to progress. We’ll need to beat one of the best sides in the world (currently) in Bayern Munich, and we’ll need one of the worst teams left in the competition (Villarreal) to beat Napoli. It’s not looking likely, is it? We’re in a difficult position, though; do we just accept that we’re out and rest our players against Bayern so that they’re fresh for the Chelsea game at the weekend, or do we go out all guns blazing with nothing to lose and play a slightly weaker team against one of our biggest title challengers and potentially surrender our unbeaten domestic record for nothing?
I have to stress, though, that if Mancini leaves both Richards and Clichy on the bench together once more, I may have to throttle him. Zabaleta and Kolarov offered very little attacking threat last night, and it’s not the first time this season that they’ve failed to impress when played together. Kolarov did give us a wide option in Naples but when he did cross the ball or look to cut it back, every pass seemed to be a guess (added to that, Kolarov was even getting the basics wrong in the same way Wright-Phillips did during the 09-10 season; balls were slipping under his feet, and his confidence was shot), and none of Zabaleta’s crosses were successful. In all honesty, as much as I love him, he was very poor last night.
Which leads me on to my final point, and the biggest problem about last night’s game... Mancini hasn’t used Zabaleta properly this season. This season he’s played in less than half of our Premier League games (4), but he seems to be first choice right-back for our Champions’ League games. Is that the right thing to do? Mancini seems to be throwing Zabaleta into our biggest games without a shield or any big match practise. I guess it’s just unfortunate.
I can point the finger at specific players and blame them for our poor showing in the Champions’ League this season, but this is just the start. I have to focus on our rivals, Manchester United, to fully get my point across: United were running away with the Premier League in 1994, but they exited the Champions’ League before reaching the group stages of the competition, losing to Galatasary on aggregate. Six seasons later they won the competition.
In other words, it takes time to establish yourself in European football, no matter how good you are domestically. We may have players like Aguero, Nasri, Silva, Dzeko and Kompany but they’ve only been playing together for three months. We’re running away with the league and the team we have is one of the best in the world, but European football is an ugly beast that shows no mercy to a new group of people.
Let’s just batter Liverpool.
Hart 7; Zabaleta 5, Kompany 6, Lescott 6, Kolarov 5; de Jong 5, Yaya 7, Milner 8, Silva 6; Dzeko 6, Balotelli 7.
I thought were unlucky last night, looking at the stats and the direction of the play. I can’t remember Napoli causing that much of a threat when they weren’t scoring goals, and both of our goals were slightly down to our own errors – errors that can be corrected with slightly better organisation. We had 60% of the possession away from home in the Champions’ League and we had 18 shots away from home in the Champions’ League; we just couldn’t finish our chances. I don’t think it was Balotelli’s night, and I think we could all see how frustrated he was getting with his missed chances.
We’re not totally out of the Champions’ League, but we’ll need a near miracle to progress. We’ll need to beat one of the best sides in the world (currently) in Bayern Munich, and we’ll need one of the worst teams left in the competition (Villarreal) to beat Napoli. It’s not looking likely, is it? We’re in a difficult position, though; do we just accept that we’re out and rest our players against Bayern so that they’re fresh for the Chelsea game at the weekend, or do we go out all guns blazing with nothing to lose and play a slightly weaker team against one of our biggest title challengers and potentially surrender our unbeaten domestic record for nothing?
I have to stress, though, that if Mancini leaves both Richards and Clichy on the bench together once more, I may have to throttle him. Zabaleta and Kolarov offered very little attacking threat last night, and it’s not the first time this season that they’ve failed to impress when played together. Kolarov did give us a wide option in Naples but when he did cross the ball or look to cut it back, every pass seemed to be a guess (added to that, Kolarov was even getting the basics wrong in the same way Wright-Phillips did during the 09-10 season; balls were slipping under his feet, and his confidence was shot), and none of Zabaleta’s crosses were successful. In all honesty, as much as I love him, he was very poor last night.
Which leads me on to my final point, and the biggest problem about last night’s game... Mancini hasn’t used Zabaleta properly this season. This season he’s played in less than half of our Premier League games (4), but he seems to be first choice right-back for our Champions’ League games. Is that the right thing to do? Mancini seems to be throwing Zabaleta into our biggest games without a shield or any big match practise. I guess it’s just unfortunate.
I can point the finger at specific players and blame them for our poor showing in the Champions’ League this season, but this is just the start. I have to focus on our rivals, Manchester United, to fully get my point across: United were running away with the Premier League in 1994, but they exited the Champions’ League before reaching the group stages of the competition, losing to Galatasary on aggregate. Six seasons later they won the competition.
In other words, it takes time to establish yourself in European football, no matter how good you are domestically. We may have players like Aguero, Nasri, Silva, Dzeko and Kompany but they’ve only been playing together for three months. We’re running away with the league and the team we have is one of the best in the world, but European football is an ugly beast that shows no mercy to a new group of people.
Let’s just batter Liverpool.
Hart 7; Zabaleta 5, Kompany 6, Lescott 6, Kolarov 5; de Jong 5, Yaya 7, Milner 8, Silva 6; Dzeko 6, Balotelli 7.
Tuesday, 22 November 2011
Napoli - City preview.
If we win this, we’re through. If we draw we have to face Bayern Munich and win in the last group games, and if we lose we’re basically out.
Tonight is a big moment in the history of Manchester City Football Club, and if we progress to the knockout phases of the Champions’ League with a game to spare (in a group as difficult as this one) will surely make the eyes of the giants focus on Manchester for another week. We’re making shockwaves around the UK, but we’ve merely started a tremor in Europe. Could tonight be the night?
After his fantastic performance on Saturday, Micah Richards gave Mancini something to think about ahead of his team selection before tonight’s game. Pablo Zabaleta has featured in the Champions’ League quite a lot this season, and he’s signed a new deal this week, but Richards’ recent form may be enough to get him a starting place tonight. I imagine Zabaleta will start at the weekend against Liverpool if he doesn’t start.
And because he didn’t start on Saturday in the 3-1 win over Newcastle, Gareth Barry will start tonight in midfield alongside (I think) Yaya Toure. I’d argue that we have the strongest midfield in Europe in terms of quality available, and I hope I’m still saying that at 10pm this evening.
Silva and Adam Johnson may be our link between the strikers and the midfield tonight because they both started from the bench against Newcastle – but our depth does not stop there!
Edin Dzeko should start tonight because he didn’t feature on Saturday, and I reckon he’ll be joined by Balotelli over Aguero. Balotelli is on top form at the moment, and being back in Napoli he now has a chance to prove a point to the Italian fans that dislike him because of his antics when he was an Inter Milan player.
I think we’re good enough to win this comfortably, but Napoli’s defensive discipline may shut us out once again. Being in such a hostile arena is not the most ideal situation to be in when trying to progress ahead of the team that calls the hostile arena “home”. But we’ve got players used to this sort of game, and this is where their true quality needs to be on display.
Final prediction: Napoli 1-2 Manchester City.
Tonight is a big moment in the history of Manchester City Football Club, and if we progress to the knockout phases of the Champions’ League with a game to spare (in a group as difficult as this one) will surely make the eyes of the giants focus on Manchester for another week. We’re making shockwaves around the UK, but we’ve merely started a tremor in Europe. Could tonight be the night?
After his fantastic performance on Saturday, Micah Richards gave Mancini something to think about ahead of his team selection before tonight’s game. Pablo Zabaleta has featured in the Champions’ League quite a lot this season, and he’s signed a new deal this week, but Richards’ recent form may be enough to get him a starting place tonight. I imagine Zabaleta will start at the weekend against Liverpool if he doesn’t start.
And because he didn’t start on Saturday in the 3-1 win over Newcastle, Gareth Barry will start tonight in midfield alongside (I think) Yaya Toure. I’d argue that we have the strongest midfield in Europe in terms of quality available, and I hope I’m still saying that at 10pm this evening.
Silva and Adam Johnson may be our link between the strikers and the midfield tonight because they both started from the bench against Newcastle – but our depth does not stop there!
Edin Dzeko should start tonight because he didn’t feature on Saturday, and I reckon he’ll be joined by Balotelli over Aguero. Balotelli is on top form at the moment, and being back in Napoli he now has a chance to prove a point to the Italian fans that dislike him because of his antics when he was an Inter Milan player.
I think we’re good enough to win this comfortably, but Napoli’s defensive discipline may shut us out once again. Being in such a hostile arena is not the most ideal situation to be in when trying to progress ahead of the team that calls the hostile arena “home”. But we’ve got players used to this sort of game, and this is where their true quality needs to be on display.
Final prediction: Napoli 1-2 Manchester City.
Sunday, 20 November 2011
Manchester City 3-1 Newcastle - thoughts on the game.
Barcodes priced out by brilliant billionaires City
As a team, I don't think we've been at our absolute best since we hammered United in October, but we've still managed to bag nine goals in three games, close teams down and come away with maximum points. We're now the in-form team in the Premier League, with six wins from six, and everything is looking perfect for us.
We seem to be putting to bed the theory that we can't win when Silva doesn't start. Nasri and Aguero were causing Newcastle's previously rock-solid defence lots of problems, and when a combination of the two stars found Yaya Toure via a deflection, the African's volley was blocked by a hand. Man of the moment Mario Balotelli converted another penalty spectacularly to keep up his 100% spot-kick record.
Micah Richards is City's other main man at the moment. He was bombing forward, tackling back, supporting Milner and even helping out Kompany and Nasri - he was all over the pitch, but rarely out of position! Capello and England are missing out on Micah, but if he keeps his head up Richards will sooner or later work his way into the England team.
David Silva once again proved how special he is. He came on as a substitute for Balotelli, and within thirty seconds of his arrival to the field of play, a lovely reverse ball to Micah Richards drew Ben Arfa and forced another penalty. Aguero converted - game over.
Joe Hart's distribution is still slightly subject, but some of his goalkeeping was tremendous: denying Demba Ba and superbly flicking away a low cross-cum-shot at his near post. The signs are encouraging from him, but his kicking needs a bit of work!
Roll on Napoli.
As a team, I don't think we've been at our absolute best since we hammered United in October, but we've still managed to bag nine goals in three games, close teams down and come away with maximum points. We're now the in-form team in the Premier League, with six wins from six, and everything is looking perfect for us.
We seem to be putting to bed the theory that we can't win when Silva doesn't start. Nasri and Aguero were causing Newcastle's previously rock-solid defence lots of problems, and when a combination of the two stars found Yaya Toure via a deflection, the African's volley was blocked by a hand. Man of the moment Mario Balotelli converted another penalty spectacularly to keep up his 100% spot-kick record.
Micah Richards is City's other main man at the moment. He was bombing forward, tackling back, supporting Milner and even helping out Kompany and Nasri - he was all over the pitch, but rarely out of position! Capello and England are missing out on Micah, but if he keeps his head up Richards will sooner or later work his way into the England team.
David Silva once again proved how special he is. He came on as a substitute for Balotelli, and within thirty seconds of his arrival to the field of play, a lovely reverse ball to Micah Richards drew Ben Arfa and forced another penalty. Aguero converted - game over.
Joe Hart's distribution is still slightly subject, but some of his goalkeeping was tremendous: denying Demba Ba and superbly flicking away a low cross-cum-shot at his near post. The signs are encouraging from him, but his kicking needs a bit of work!
Roll on Napoli.
Saturday, 19 November 2011
Manchester City - Newcastle, preview.
Once again I'm sat here worried about the nxt game. Newcastle have the best defensive record in the league and they're looking like more than just a solid unit under Alan Pardew; Demba Ba is firing on all cylinders, and Cabaye and Tiote have been like Elano and Johnson were for us under Sven. But they face City today, a City team that are - like Newcastle - unbeaten in the Premier League.
Aguero, Silva, Dzeko, Balotelli, Nasri, Yaya Toure, Kompany, de Jong, Richards, Hart, Milner... the list goes on and on. Newcastle have started the season well but they haven't faced any of the so called "big boys" as of yet. City, United and Chelsea greet them before 2011 is through, so let's see where they stand in the table by the turn of the new year.
I think we're going to win this game, but we need to expect a performance like the one we faced against Everton. Will Newcastle park the bus, or will they go all out attack? We have the flair players that can break tough defences down, and should the Goerdies go on the offensive, we 're going to rip them apart if Silva and Aguero are at 50%. And Newcastle look like they're going to be stuck with Gosling - Guthrie in midfield (which hasn't gone down too well with the Newcastle fans: "If we don't have Tiote or Cabaye back for this we are honestly f****d") becayse Tiote is struggling to prove his fitness, which may cause Newcastle to take a more defensive approach.
Manchester City 2-0 Newcastle.
Aguero, Silva, Dzeko, Balotelli, Nasri, Yaya Toure, Kompany, de Jong, Richards, Hart, Milner... the list goes on and on. Newcastle have started the season well but they haven't faced any of the so called "big boys" as of yet. City, United and Chelsea greet them before 2011 is through, so let's see where they stand in the table by the turn of the new year.
I think we're going to win this game, but we need to expect a performance like the one we faced against Everton. Will Newcastle park the bus, or will they go all out attack? We have the flair players that can break tough defences down, and should the Goerdies go on the offensive, we 're going to rip them apart if Silva and Aguero are at 50%. And Newcastle look like they're going to be stuck with Gosling - Guthrie in midfield (which hasn't gone down too well with the Newcastle fans: "If we don't have Tiote or Cabaye back for this we are honestly f****d") becayse Tiote is struggling to prove his fitness, which may cause Newcastle to take a more defensive approach.
Manchester City 2-0 Newcastle.
Saturday, 5 November 2011
QPR 2-3 City, thoughts.
Tough test passed again.
I don't think ESPN's commentators are happy with that result. I don't think it's because they hate City, I just think it's because, like any neutral, you want the smaller teams to do one on the big teams. Some comments were annoying from Champion and Waddle but I guess none of their words matter when we win in the end.
QPR are a spirited bunch and they did play well, but eventually our quality in the final third did produce the goods when QPR fell asleep at the back. QPR have a lot of gusto, but they've not got a lot of quality - which is something we have in abundance. They were disciplined, organised for large parts of the game and never, ever let us settle and get fully into our stride but when we possess players such as Silva, Aguero and Yaya Toure you can't let your guard down for a split second because, as we did today, we will make other teams regret it.
It was a match that the media will love, because QPR were slightly the better team. In fact it's only the second time this season that a team has been willing to get at us, the only other time being Fulham away.
Luckily, Kompany is only out for one game because Savic isn't quite ready for the delights of the Premier League yet. He's getting there, but on one or two occasions he was turned too easily, and there were a couple of moments when his inexperience was on display, but he's slowly getting there.
I thought Aguero deserved a goal today but his time will come again. He was actually one of our better players today, I thought, and he'll be a little disappointed in coming off so early, but he conducted himself well in a hostile ground and got his head down and worked hard.
Silva wasn't his usual self, but he can create moments of absolute genius from nowhere, and that's why he's so important to us. That touch and finish for his goal was world class and pretty much something only he could have done in that position. Like the rest of the team, he found it difficult to discover space in between QPR's midfield and defence, but he knows his way around a pitch. So much so, that you can't keep control of him forever.
I'm glad nobody supported Kolarov on that left wing, because that cross never would have come in for Yaya's header, and what a header it was! Rising high, heading in, scoring goals; that's what we like to see from Yaya!
A dogged performance, but we can't have played that badly if we managed to score three. Dzeko took his goal brilliantly, Silva finished beautifully, and Yaya powered home and filled us with relief. It was a shock to the system this afternoon, but thankfully it was a winning one.
I don't think ESPN's commentators are happy with that result. I don't think it's because they hate City, I just think it's because, like any neutral, you want the smaller teams to do one on the big teams. Some comments were annoying from Champion and Waddle but I guess none of their words matter when we win in the end.
QPR are a spirited bunch and they did play well, but eventually our quality in the final third did produce the goods when QPR fell asleep at the back. QPR have a lot of gusto, but they've not got a lot of quality - which is something we have in abundance. They were disciplined, organised for large parts of the game and never, ever let us settle and get fully into our stride but when we possess players such as Silva, Aguero and Yaya Toure you can't let your guard down for a split second because, as we did today, we will make other teams regret it.
It was a match that the media will love, because QPR were slightly the better team. In fact it's only the second time this season that a team has been willing to get at us, the only other time being Fulham away.
Luckily, Kompany is only out for one game because Savic isn't quite ready for the delights of the Premier League yet. He's getting there, but on one or two occasions he was turned too easily, and there were a couple of moments when his inexperience was on display, but he's slowly getting there.
I thought Aguero deserved a goal today but his time will come again. He was actually one of our better players today, I thought, and he'll be a little disappointed in coming off so early, but he conducted himself well in a hostile ground and got his head down and worked hard.
Silva wasn't his usual self, but he can create moments of absolute genius from nowhere, and that's why he's so important to us. That touch and finish for his goal was world class and pretty much something only he could have done in that position. Like the rest of the team, he found it difficult to discover space in between QPR's midfield and defence, but he knows his way around a pitch. So much so, that you can't keep control of him forever.
I'm glad nobody supported Kolarov on that left wing, because that cross never would have come in for Yaya's header, and what a header it was! Rising high, heading in, scoring goals; that's what we like to see from Yaya!
A dogged performance, but we can't have played that badly if we managed to score three. Dzeko took his goal brilliantly, Silva finished beautifully, and Yaya powered home and filled us with relief. It was a shock to the system this afternoon, but thankfully it was a winning one.
QPR - Manchester City preview.
THE Rs
After the comfortable trip to Spain, I expect us to pick a slightly different team and continue with our rotation policy. I feel Nasri or Adam Johnson will start this afternoon with Aguero, Dzeko and Silva up front, with Barry and Yaya toure behind in midfield. We're missing Kompany this afternoon, but after his performance on Wednesday I feel Savic deserves a starting place.
We're good enough to win this afternoon, and if QPR struggled to deal with Spurs' midfield last weekend I don't see how they're going to cope that well with ours. On their day, Barry and Yaya can be the best midfield pairing in the league, and are probably (on paper) the type of players Chelsea and Manchester United are missing.
QPR's home form has been a tad mixed this season, but their win against Chelsea will give them a huge boost in confidence going into this game. We're likely not to get as annoyed as Chelsea did but QPR will be wanting to make a "we're here to stay" statement this afternoon.
Old City favourites Shaun Wright-Phillips and Joey Barton will be wanting to show Roberto Mancini and Manchester City how much they've progressed as players since their departures, so expect a lively showing from those two.
I think we'll win 3-0. We're due another cleansheet and away to a side that took a little bit of a knock in confidence after their loss to Spurs, this could be the ideal game to continue our fine start to the season.
Possible 11:
Hart; Richards, Savic, Lescott, Clichy; Barry, Yaya Toure; Silva, A Johnson, Aguero, Dzeko.
Bench:Pantilimon; Kolarov, Zabaleta; Milner, de Jong, Nasri; Balotelli
After the comfortable trip to Spain, I expect us to pick a slightly different team and continue with our rotation policy. I feel Nasri or Adam Johnson will start this afternoon with Aguero, Dzeko and Silva up front, with Barry and Yaya toure behind in midfield. We're missing Kompany this afternoon, but after his performance on Wednesday I feel Savic deserves a starting place.
We're good enough to win this afternoon, and if QPR struggled to deal with Spurs' midfield last weekend I don't see how they're going to cope that well with ours. On their day, Barry and Yaya can be the best midfield pairing in the league, and are probably (on paper) the type of players Chelsea and Manchester United are missing.
QPR's home form has been a tad mixed this season, but their win against Chelsea will give them a huge boost in confidence going into this game. We're likely not to get as annoyed as Chelsea did but QPR will be wanting to make a "we're here to stay" statement this afternoon.
Old City favourites Shaun Wright-Phillips and Joey Barton will be wanting to show Roberto Mancini and Manchester City how much they've progressed as players since their departures, so expect a lively showing from those two.
I think we'll win 3-0. We're due another cleansheet and away to a side that took a little bit of a knock in confidence after their loss to Spurs, this could be the ideal game to continue our fine start to the season.
Possible 11:
Hart; Richards, Savic, Lescott, Clichy; Barry, Yaya Toure; Silva, A Johnson, Aguero, Dzeko.
Bench:Pantilimon; Kolarov, Zabaleta; Milner, de Jong, Nasri; Balotelli
Wednesday, 2 November 2011
Villareal 0 - 3 City, thoughts.
YELLOWS TOO MELLOW
Well, there we have it. Two weeks after our first win in the Champions League we have another one, and this time it was away from home at a ground where no other English team has won before. Admittedly, Villareal were stripped to the bare bones without their key players (something ITV made sure we didn't forget) but it was up to us not to fall flat on our faces.
There were some excellent performances tonight from players including Nigel de Jong and Samir Nasri, but James Milner was my Man of the Match. He was excellent in the middle, going forward and tackling back. He covered for de Jong, Nasri, Silva and even Balotelli at points tonight, all to geat effect. Considering that was his first ever appearance in the Champions League, he looked at home.
Villareal's fans tried their best to make it a hostile environment, by throwing paper planes and balls at Nasri and Toure, but that was never going to shake us, considering Villareal barely looked bothered tonight. Joe Hart was a spectator for large parts of the game, only being forced into one difficult save.
I thought we were calm, controlled, effective and untroubled for most of the night. We were brilliant all over, but our impressiveness was definitely aided by a desperate, weak Villareal side.
Next we face QPR. Dzeko, Aguero, Richards, Lescott and Barry were all either dropped or on the bench tonight so expect them to start in London on Saturday. Remember folks, it's a lake kick-off, with the game starting at 5:30pm.
Ratings:Hart, 7 - Had nothing to do for the most part, but when asked to produce the goods he did to great effect.
Zabaleta, 6 - Wasn't required to do anything tonight, but did well enough at what he did.
Kompany, 7 - Like Zabaleta and Hart, he was pretty much able to watch our boys up front do the business.
Savic, 7 - Incredibly assured and looked much calmer than he did against Wolves.
Clichy, 8 - Got forward well and kept Perez in his back pocket.
de Jong, 8 - Controlled our defence and attack in his usual manner.
Milner, 9 - He continued his excellent run of performances with a very gutsy, hard-working display.
Yaya Toure, 8 - Took his goals brilliantly, did well enough to break down what little Villareal offered.
Nasri, 8 - Best game in a Blue shirt since his debut
Silva, 7 - Took a while to get going but played well when he was comfortable. Let's hope his back isn't too bad.
Balotelli, 7 - Amazing penalty, usual relaxed self for most part.
Well, there we have it. Two weeks after our first win in the Champions League we have another one, and this time it was away from home at a ground where no other English team has won before. Admittedly, Villareal were stripped to the bare bones without their key players (something ITV made sure we didn't forget) but it was up to us not to fall flat on our faces.
There were some excellent performances tonight from players including Nigel de Jong and Samir Nasri, but James Milner was my Man of the Match. He was excellent in the middle, going forward and tackling back. He covered for de Jong, Nasri, Silva and even Balotelli at points tonight, all to geat effect. Considering that was his first ever appearance in the Champions League, he looked at home.
Villareal's fans tried their best to make it a hostile environment, by throwing paper planes and balls at Nasri and Toure, but that was never going to shake us, considering Villareal barely looked bothered tonight. Joe Hart was a spectator for large parts of the game, only being forced into one difficult save.
I thought we were calm, controlled, effective and untroubled for most of the night. We were brilliant all over, but our impressiveness was definitely aided by a desperate, weak Villareal side.
Next we face QPR. Dzeko, Aguero, Richards, Lescott and Barry were all either dropped or on the bench tonight so expect them to start in London on Saturday. Remember folks, it's a lake kick-off, with the game starting at 5:30pm.
Ratings:Hart, 7 - Had nothing to do for the most part, but when asked to produce the goods he did to great effect.
Zabaleta, 6 - Wasn't required to do anything tonight, but did well enough at what he did.
Kompany, 7 - Like Zabaleta and Hart, he was pretty much able to watch our boys up front do the business.
Savic, 7 - Incredibly assured and looked much calmer than he did against Wolves.
Clichy, 8 - Got forward well and kept Perez in his back pocket.
de Jong, 8 - Controlled our defence and attack in his usual manner.
Milner, 9 - He continued his excellent run of performances with a very gutsy, hard-working display.
Yaya Toure, 8 - Took his goals brilliantly, did well enough to break down what little Villareal offered.
Nasri, 8 - Best game in a Blue shirt since his debut
Silva, 7 - Took a while to get going but played well when he was comfortable. Let's hope his back isn't too bad.
Balotelli, 7 - Amazing penalty, usual relaxed self for most part.
Villareal - City, preview.
VILLAREAL - MANCHESTER CITY, PREVIEW.
__________________________________________________________________
October was a fantastic month for us, so it's a shame to say goodbye. We played some of our best football against some of the league's trickier sides, progressed in the League Cup and we thumped Manchester United in one of the most eagerly anticipated Manchester derbies of recent times. We head into November, and our first opponents this month are Spanish strugglers Villareal.
Villareal sit bottom of Group A, and if they lose tonight they're out of the competition. They're missing Rossi, Cani, Zapata, Senna and Nilmar, which is like City losing Aguero, Silva, de Jong, Yaya Toure and Samir Nasri. Their squad is down to the bare bones currently, and just when everything seemed to be going against them, things got a little worse when they looked down the fixture list and saw us.
No matter what happens in the game between Bayern and Napoli tonight, we need this win more than ever if we want to progress to the next round. What gives me hope, is that whenever Villareal came forward in their 2-1 loss at City everything seemed to be created through Rossi, but tonight he won't be playing, so I don't see where their attacking threat is going to come from.
Vincent Kompany is eligible to play as his suspension only applies in English league and League Cup games, so I expect him to start at the back alongside either Joleon Lescott or Kolo Toure. And after being given a rest on Saturday, I expect Clichy and Milner to start ahead of Nasri and Kolarov to increase workrate.
Despite their injuries, I'm not expecting Villareal to roll over and say "alright, you can hav six goals" because we all know football does not work like that. El Madrigal is horrid place to visit because of its hostilityand intimidating nature, so Villareal will be using those strengths against us in a bid to take the three points.
If we lose tonight, we're probably going out. Napoli win and they head on to 8 points, while we'd be stuck on 4 and in desperate need of a Villareal win in Munich in two weeks time. A win is a must tonight if we are to progress, and here is the team I'm trusting to get us just that:
Hart; Zabaleta, Kompany, Lescott(or Kolo Toure), Clichy; Milner, de Jong, Yaya Toure; Silva, Dzeko, Balotelli.
 |
| Sergio Aguero is grabbed by Edin Dzeko after his goal secured victory against Villareal in last month's meeting. |
__________________________________________________________________
October was a fantastic month for us, so it's a shame to say goodbye. We played some of our best football against some of the league's trickier sides, progressed in the League Cup and we thumped Manchester United in one of the most eagerly anticipated Manchester derbies of recent times. We head into November, and our first opponents this month are Spanish strugglers Villareal.
Villareal sit bottom of Group A, and if they lose tonight they're out of the competition. They're missing Rossi, Cani, Zapata, Senna and Nilmar, which is like City losing Aguero, Silva, de Jong, Yaya Toure and Samir Nasri. Their squad is down to the bare bones currently, and just when everything seemed to be going against them, things got a little worse when they looked down the fixture list and saw us.
No matter what happens in the game between Bayern and Napoli tonight, we need this win more than ever if we want to progress to the next round. What gives me hope, is that whenever Villareal came forward in their 2-1 loss at City everything seemed to be created through Rossi, but tonight he won't be playing, so I don't see where their attacking threat is going to come from.
Vincent Kompany is eligible to play as his suspension only applies in English league and League Cup games, so I expect him to start at the back alongside either Joleon Lescott or Kolo Toure. And after being given a rest on Saturday, I expect Clichy and Milner to start ahead of Nasri and Kolarov to increase workrate.
Despite their injuries, I'm not expecting Villareal to roll over and say "alright, you can hav six goals" because we all know football does not work like that. El Madrigal is horrid place to visit because of its hostilityand intimidating nature, so Villareal will be using those strengths against us in a bid to take the three points.
If we lose tonight, we're probably going out. Napoli win and they head on to 8 points, while we'd be stuck on 4 and in desperate need of a Villareal win in Munich in two weeks time. A win is a must tonight if we are to progress, and here is the team I'm trusting to get us just that:
Hart; Zabaleta, Kompany, Lescott(or Kolo Toure), Clichy; Milner, de Jong, Yaya Toure; Silva, Dzeko, Balotelli.
Sunday, 30 October 2011
City 3 - Wolves 1 thoughts.
That was probably the most frustrating game we've had all season. Wolves did very well to break up our fluidity early on and that pretty much set the tone for the rest of the game - it was fragmented, fussy and we looked like we were struggling to get a grip on the game for the first time this season.
I thought it was right that an error from Wayne Hennessey created the first goal because despite his fantastic first half performance he did a lot of time wasting. Even my dad sat next to me (who's a United fan) was getting frustrated with the amount of seconds it took the Wolves 'keeper to punt the ball.
It was really good to see Dzeko celebrate so much after being gifted a goal. I guess his frustration was built up in the first half when his chip was turned wide of the post brilliantly by Wayne Hennessey. It was a calm finish frmo Dzeko, who could have so easily scuffed his chance. That's 12 for the season already for Edin!
I thought Attwell was terrible. Honestly terrible. Not corrupt, just plain terrible. He shouldn't be allowed to referee Premier League games because he is terribly out of his depth. Inconsistency is the word to describe his "performance" in that game. I was actually shocked that Mario's tackle before our third goal wasn't given as a foul because players were booked for less than that.
I thought Johnson took his goal brilliantly. When he shaped up to have a crack I thought "no!" but when the ball rustled the back of the net I went berserk. That goal put us 5 points clear at the top of the Premier League. We're going to be top of the table in November! We'd have normally faded into mid-table obscurity by now.
Roll on Villareal.
I thought it was right that an error from Wayne Hennessey created the first goal because despite his fantastic first half performance he did a lot of time wasting. Even my dad sat next to me (who's a United fan) was getting frustrated with the amount of seconds it took the Wolves 'keeper to punt the ball.
It was really good to see Dzeko celebrate so much after being gifted a goal. I guess his frustration was built up in the first half when his chip was turned wide of the post brilliantly by Wayne Hennessey. It was a calm finish frmo Dzeko, who could have so easily scuffed his chance. That's 12 for the season already for Edin!
I thought Attwell was terrible. Honestly terrible. Not corrupt, just plain terrible. He shouldn't be allowed to referee Premier League games because he is terribly out of his depth. Inconsistency is the word to describe his "performance" in that game. I was actually shocked that Mario's tackle before our third goal wasn't given as a foul because players were booked for less than that.
I thought Johnson took his goal brilliantly. When he shaped up to have a crack I thought "no!" but when the ball rustled the back of the net I went berserk. That goal put us 5 points clear at the top of the Premier League. We're going to be top of the table in November! We'd have normally faded into mid-table obscurity by now.
Roll on Villareal.
Wednesday, 26 October 2011
Wolves 2-5 Manchester City, thoughts.
IT'S ALL ABOUT THE WOLVES TONIGHT
I didn't get to watch the game unfortunately, because I was out watching the wonderful Patrick Wolf embrace the stage spectacularly at HMV Ritz Manchester. But I was getting updates via text of what was happening.
I thought Johnson took his goal really well, and his pass for Nasri's goal was another example of his more creative side that we rarely see. It was good to see Edin get on the scoresheet twice again, because that takes him into double figures for the season (and we haven't even passed halfway!)
It's also good to see that what is essentially our second team can pull off results like that one away from home on a cold night in an autumnal month.
Good night.
I didn't get to watch the game unfortunately, because I was out watching the wonderful Patrick Wolf embrace the stage spectacularly at HMV Ritz Manchester. But I was getting updates via text of what was happening.
I thought Johnson took his goal really well, and his pass for Nasri's goal was another example of his more creative side that we rarely see. It was good to see Edin get on the scoresheet twice again, because that takes him into double figures for the season (and we haven't even passed halfway!)
It's also good to see that what is essentially our second team can pull off results like that one away from home on a cold night in an autumnal month.
Good night.
Wolves - City preview
HOWLING AT THE MOON
I have to admit that I struggle to get enthused about League Cup games, but we're one step away from the quarter-finals and I'd like to see us get a trophy on board. However if what happened to Birmingham happens to us, should we win the thing, I want that meaningless pot to stay away from us.
Mancini opted not to play Nigel de Jong on Sunday in the demolition of Manchester United, so I expect him to start in midfield. Alongside who? I'm not sure. I would say Hargreaves, but I'm sure I heard something on the radio yesterday about Hargreaves having a slight pull somewhere on his body - again. Yaya and Barry both played a full 90 minutes on Sunday, so I don't expect them to start.
Edin Dzeko didn't play for very long against United so I expect him to lead the line tonight. And although Zabaleta didn't get a place on the pitch on Sunday, I don't expect him to start tonight either. His father is ill once again and undergoing surgery, which means that Zabba's head may not be in the right place. Of course, for the good of the team and Zabaleta, I hope his father makes a full recovery.
I think we'll have just enough to win, and we're going to be riding high on confidence after Sunday. Wolves are pretty much digging a hole that will eventually cave in one them unless they get something tonight, but I don't see them beating us.
Manchester City 3-1 Wolves
I have to admit that I struggle to get enthused about League Cup games, but we're one step away from the quarter-finals and I'd like to see us get a trophy on board. However if what happened to Birmingham happens to us, should we win the thing, I want that meaningless pot to stay away from us.
Mancini opted not to play Nigel de Jong on Sunday in the demolition of Manchester United, so I expect him to start in midfield. Alongside who? I'm not sure. I would say Hargreaves, but I'm sure I heard something on the radio yesterday about Hargreaves having a slight pull somewhere on his body - again. Yaya and Barry both played a full 90 minutes on Sunday, so I don't expect them to start.
Edin Dzeko didn't play for very long against United so I expect him to lead the line tonight. And although Zabaleta didn't get a place on the pitch on Sunday, I don't expect him to start tonight either. His father is ill once again and undergoing surgery, which means that Zabba's head may not be in the right place. Of course, for the good of the team and Zabaleta, I hope his father makes a full recovery.
I think we'll have just enough to win, and we're going to be riding high on confidence after Sunday. Wolves are pretty much digging a hole that will eventually cave in one them unless they get something tonight, but I don't see them beating us.
Manchester City 3-1 Wolves
Sunday, 23 October 2011
Why always us?
MANCHESTER UNITED 1-6 MANCHESTER CITY
I'm not too sure how that happened. United dominated the opening twenty minutes and looked to be the team making all the right moves... that was until Super Mario finished brilliantly to give us an (at the time) undeserved lead.
After that, I have to say that there was only a tiny bit of doubt in my mind. Balotelli volleyed in the second from close range and that was that. And by the time Aguero hadknocked in the third I was sat on the floor outside the Etihad Stadium, struggling to comprehend exactly what I'd just seen - Manchester City scoring three goals at Old Trafford.
When Dzeko was introduced for the man of the moment Balotelli I thought that we'd see the game out and maybe come away with a 3-1/4-1 win. A great result nonetheless but nothing compared to what actually happened.
Fletcher's goal actually turned out to be the best goal of the game even though it meant nothing at all. But that goal opened United up as they came looking for a second strike. A mistake at the back gave us a corner, and from the resulting cross Lescott found Dzeko in acres space to knee in from 2 yards. Silva weaved his magic, first by nutmegging De Gea, and then by sending Edin Dzeko away for his second and City's 6th with the pass of the season so far.
Special mentions go to Mad Mario, David Silva and Micah Richards for their performances at Old Trafford but James Milner was once again the outstanding contributor. He hasn't put a foot wrong this season, has our James, and today was no exception. He provided cover, provided the assist for the first goal and pretty much popped up everywhere in a very Silva-like performance.
I've never been more happy as a City fan before, and I even think we're good enough to go all the way but we came up against a shellshocked United today. Whether we like it or not United are going to be our closest rivals this season, both domestically and geographically.
Is the gap between City and United shortening? Yes. But United will bounce back soon enough in this long rollercoaster ride that is the English Premier League season. It's been a great start to but whether we can continue it awaits to be seen.
Manchester United 1-6 Manchester City player ratings.
Joe Hart - 8
Micah Richards - 9
Vincent Kompany - 7
Joleon Lescott - 7
Gael Clichy - 8
Gareth Barry - 7
Yaya Toure - 8
David Silva - 9
James Milner - 10
Sergio Aguero - 7
Mario Balotelli - 8
---
Edin Dzeko - 7
Samir Nasri - 6
Aleksandar Kolarov - N/A
I'm not too sure how that happened. United dominated the opening twenty minutes and looked to be the team making all the right moves... that was until Super Mario finished brilliantly to give us an (at the time) undeserved lead.
After that, I have to say that there was only a tiny bit of doubt in my mind. Balotelli volleyed in the second from close range and that was that. And by the time Aguero hadknocked in the third I was sat on the floor outside the Etihad Stadium, struggling to comprehend exactly what I'd just seen - Manchester City scoring three goals at Old Trafford.
When Dzeko was introduced for the man of the moment Balotelli I thought that we'd see the game out and maybe come away with a 3-1/4-1 win. A great result nonetheless but nothing compared to what actually happened.
Fletcher's goal actually turned out to be the best goal of the game even though it meant nothing at all. But that goal opened United up as they came looking for a second strike. A mistake at the back gave us a corner, and from the resulting cross Lescott found Dzeko in acres space to knee in from 2 yards. Silva weaved his magic, first by nutmegging De Gea, and then by sending Edin Dzeko away for his second and City's 6th with the pass of the season so far.
Special mentions go to Mad Mario, David Silva and Micah Richards for their performances at Old Trafford but James Milner was once again the outstanding contributor. He hasn't put a foot wrong this season, has our James, and today was no exception. He provided cover, provided the assist for the first goal and pretty much popped up everywhere in a very Silva-like performance.
I've never been more happy as a City fan before, and I even think we're good enough to go all the way but we came up against a shellshocked United today. Whether we like it or not United are going to be our closest rivals this season, both domestically and geographically.
Is the gap between City and United shortening? Yes. But United will bounce back soon enough in this long rollercoaster ride that is the English Premier League season. It's been a great start to but whether we can continue it awaits to be seen.
Manchester United 1-6 Manchester City player ratings.
Joe Hart - 8
Micah Richards - 9
Vincent Kompany - 7
Joleon Lescott - 7
Gael Clichy - 8
Gareth Barry - 7
Yaya Toure - 8
David Silva - 9
James Milner - 10
Sergio Aguero - 7
Mario Balotelli - 8
---
Edin Dzeko - 7
Samir Nasri - 6
Aleksandar Kolarov - N/A
Saturday, 22 October 2011
Derby Day is upon us.
Well, it's that scary time of the season that happens a minmum of two times - it's the Manchester Derby, folks! I seem to say this every year; but this is the closest Manchester Derby ever. The teams are more or less evenly matched and there's an equal measure of optimism and fear in both camps. City boast the talents of Sergio Aguero, David Silva, Samir Nasri, Vincent Kompany, Joe Hart, Nigel de Jong, Gael Clichy, Micah Richards, Joleon Lescott, Yaya Toure, Edin Dzeko and James Milner while United will be relying on Wayne Rooney, Nani, Ashley Young, David de Gea, Nemajna Vidic, Phil Jones and Patrice Evra to pull them through this one.
Down the years United have always gone into this fixture expecting to win. We have just one win at Old Trafford in nearly 40 years, we have never really troubled United domestically, and it's always been a case of "well at least we beat United" at the end of every disappointing campaign in the blue half of Manchester. While United have won every trophy under the sun, we have been feeding off the scraps that the Football League has to offer, but recently that's changed. Yaya Toure gave us our first ever win at the new Wembley Stadium by scoring against United in a game we deserved to win.
And over the summer it appeared the tide had turned even more. We were bringing in names like Sergio Aguero and we were signing top European prospects like Stefan Savic, all in preparation for the Community Shield. United's second half efforts and 3-2 win forced us back to the drawing board for the start of the season, because we realised we weren't as ready as we thought we were for a title challenge.
But since that day we've signed Samir Nasri, smashed Tottenham to pieces at White Hart Lane and you may have noticed that we're top of the Premier League above United heading into the Derby. United haven't been at their best like we have but they don't need to be (United won the Premier League and got to the Champions' League final on 80% last season).
I think United will have too much at Old Trafford for us to extend our lead at the top of the table, but at this stage of the season anything can change before May. Their home record is annoyingly fantastic from a City fan's perspective, but you cannot deny how much of a fortress Old Trafford has remained over the decades.
Predicted starting 11.
Prediction - Manchester United 2-1 Manchester City
Down the years United have always gone into this fixture expecting to win. We have just one win at Old Trafford in nearly 40 years, we have never really troubled United domestically, and it's always been a case of "well at least we beat United" at the end of every disappointing campaign in the blue half of Manchester. While United have won every trophy under the sun, we have been feeding off the scraps that the Football League has to offer, but recently that's changed. Yaya Toure gave us our first ever win at the new Wembley Stadium by scoring against United in a game we deserved to win.
And over the summer it appeared the tide had turned even more. We were bringing in names like Sergio Aguero and we were signing top European prospects like Stefan Savic, all in preparation for the Community Shield. United's second half efforts and 3-2 win forced us back to the drawing board for the start of the season, because we realised we weren't as ready as we thought we were for a title challenge.
But since that day we've signed Samir Nasri, smashed Tottenham to pieces at White Hart Lane and you may have noticed that we're top of the Premier League above United heading into the Derby. United haven't been at their best like we have but they don't need to be (United won the Premier League and got to the Champions' League final on 80% last season).
I think United will have too much at Old Trafford for us to extend our lead at the top of the table, but at this stage of the season anything can change before May. Their home record is annoyingly fantastic from a City fan's perspective, but you cannot deny how much of a fortress Old Trafford has remained over the decades.
Predicted starting 11.
Prediction - Manchester United 2-1 Manchester City
Wednesday, 19 October 2011
City 2-1 Villareal, thoughts.
Manchester City have won a game in the Champions' League! Aguero is my hero all over again! That goal could honestly be the most important goal of our Champions' League campaign. We've got Villareal next and I see no reason why we can't beat them again, and with Napoli up against Bayern again City could find themselves in 2nd place and heading through to the next round.
I thought we were a bit more adventurous than Villareal, who rarely opted to go forwards, but boy do we make it more difficult than we need to. David Silva of all people was the man to sell de Jong short and give our Spanish opponents a chance to take the lead.
I have to give a special mention to James Milner who once again played brilliantly. His expert reverse ball played in Pablo Zabaleta who crossed for David Silva. Silva's backheel found Aguero and Aguero tapped in. I went absolutely berserk, hugged a fellow Blue, jumped around the aisles and completely lost any idea of my surroundings. The last time we scored a last minute was in November 2007! Steven Ireland's volley gave us a 2-1 win over Reading that day, and four years later we're on a much bigger stage.
This learning curve is straightening out slightly as each game passes in this competition, and we may have that little bit of quality to get through. But we sit third and with our future out of our hands. Anyway, roll on Sunday!
I thought we were a bit more adventurous than Villareal, who rarely opted to go forwards, but boy do we make it more difficult than we need to. David Silva of all people was the man to sell de Jong short and give our Spanish opponents a chance to take the lead.
I have to give a special mention to James Milner who once again played brilliantly. His expert reverse ball played in Pablo Zabaleta who crossed for David Silva. Silva's backheel found Aguero and Aguero tapped in. I went absolutely berserk, hugged a fellow Blue, jumped around the aisles and completely lost any idea of my surroundings. The last time we scored a last minute was in November 2007! Steven Ireland's volley gave us a 2-1 win over Reading that day, and four years later we're on a much bigger stage.
This learning curve is straightening out slightly as each game passes in this competition, and we may have that little bit of quality to get through. But we sit third and with our future out of our hands. Anyway, roll on Sunday!
Tuesday, 18 October 2011
City - Villareal, preview.
AND IT'LL BE ALL YELLOW
I'll start off by saying that Villareal's league form could not contrast more to ours. After 7 games in La Liga this season they sit 14th on 7 points. Their tactic appears to be, according to my La Liga watching friend, "let's-give-it-to-Rossi-or-Cani-and-see-what-they-can-do" and it's a tactic that appears to be failing both domestically and on the European stage.
However, this is City. Everything could go totally wrong out of absolutely nowhere because we just know that it can. For example, we controlled large portions of the game against Napoli and one mistake sent Edinson Cavani away to score. Had it not been for Kolarov's free-kick expertise, we could have found ourselves in exactly the same position as Villareal.
Villareal know that if they lose this game they're more or less out of the competition. They'll be at least four points behind us and having to go to Bayern Munich is not a fixture you want to see when you need as many points as possible.
Villareal's main threats come from the front two: former Manchester United man Giuseppe Rossi and Ruben Gracia, aka "Cani". They're both tiny, tricky players and are often praised highest by the Villareal fans. But we also need to look out for their centre-half Carlos Marchena. He'll be wearing the number 5 shirt for Villareal and he's not a player that takes prisoners in tackles. Marchena played over 200 games for Valencia before leaving for their "local rivals" (if you can call them that, considering they're over 30 British miles away from each other) Villareal in 2010.
I think we'll go with Aguero and Dzeko up front if Aguero's fit. If Aguero fails to prove his fitness, I feel that having Dzeko up front on his own with Nasri and Silva behind him could be the formation we go with. I'm just a little worried because Dzeko has yet to have a convincing performance when playing without Aguero. Hopefully this is his time to prove me wrong well and truly.
I think we will win this game. I think we actually do have too much for Villareal this time and when a win is much needed our players tend to come up with the goods these days. A strong line-up is required but I feel Zabaleta, Kolarov and Kolo Toure will make appearances. The usual lot of Hart, Kompany, de Jong and Silva will be there because you don't break up a spine as strong as that.
I think Mancini will be looking to get the game won after 60 minutes so that he can start making those all important substitutions. Our key players like Silva and Aguero that may be the difference between a win and a loss on Sunday will need to be at their peak in terms of fitness, and playing a full midweek game is not a way to do that.
I do think it's a little unfair that United can field a second string team tonight against Galati, while we have to play almost a full-strength team to overcome Villareal but that's the luck of the draw (*cough* FIX! *cough*).
Come on City, let's win a game in the Champions 'League.
I'll start off by saying that Villareal's league form could not contrast more to ours. After 7 games in La Liga this season they sit 14th on 7 points. Their tactic appears to be, according to my La Liga watching friend, "let's-give-it-to-Rossi-or-Cani-and-see-what-they-can-do" and it's a tactic that appears to be failing both domestically and on the European stage.
However, this is City. Everything could go totally wrong out of absolutely nowhere because we just know that it can. For example, we controlled large portions of the game against Napoli and one mistake sent Edinson Cavani away to score. Had it not been for Kolarov's free-kick expertise, we could have found ourselves in exactly the same position as Villareal.
Villareal know that if they lose this game they're more or less out of the competition. They'll be at least four points behind us and having to go to Bayern Munich is not a fixture you want to see when you need as many points as possible.
Villareal's main threats come from the front two: former Manchester United man Giuseppe Rossi and Ruben Gracia, aka "Cani". They're both tiny, tricky players and are often praised highest by the Villareal fans. But we also need to look out for their centre-half Carlos Marchena. He'll be wearing the number 5 shirt for Villareal and he's not a player that takes prisoners in tackles. Marchena played over 200 games for Valencia before leaving for their "local rivals" (if you can call them that, considering they're over 30 British miles away from each other) Villareal in 2010.
I think we'll go with Aguero and Dzeko up front if Aguero's fit. If Aguero fails to prove his fitness, I feel that having Dzeko up front on his own with Nasri and Silva behind him could be the formation we go with. I'm just a little worried because Dzeko has yet to have a convincing performance when playing without Aguero. Hopefully this is his time to prove me wrong well and truly.
I think we will win this game. I think we actually do have too much for Villareal this time and when a win is much needed our players tend to come up with the goods these days. A strong line-up is required but I feel Zabaleta, Kolarov and Kolo Toure will make appearances. The usual lot of Hart, Kompany, de Jong and Silva will be there because you don't break up a spine as strong as that.
I think Mancini will be looking to get the game won after 60 minutes so that he can start making those all important substitutions. Our key players like Silva and Aguero that may be the difference between a win and a loss on Sunday will need to be at their peak in terms of fitness, and playing a full midweek game is not a way to do that.
I do think it's a little unfair that United can field a second string team tonight against Galati, while we have to play almost a full-strength team to overcome Villareal but that's the luck of the draw (*cough* FIX! *cough*).
Come on City, let's win a game in the Champions 'League.
Sunday, 16 October 2011
City 4-1 Villa, thoughts.
I thought we were brilliant on Saturday. While everyone sat around me at the game decided to shout and scream about us not being fast enough, I sat comfortably in my seat, confident that the game would swing our way eventually.
We've shown in every game this season that we know how to score goals for fun, so I knew that eventually we would take the lead. Balotelli's audacity certainly proved me right, and I reminded my mum that patience is the key this season.
Mario may have been given Man of the Match but James Milner, Gareth Barry and Yaya Toure were excellent in midfield; tacking back, getting forward, passing perfectly, inspiring and creating; they were doing everything.
Milner's cross-field ball to Adam Johnson may well be the Pass of the Season so far, and there wasn't a player on that pitch I would have picked over him to make it. Added to that, his wonderful finish for our fourth is a contender for Goal of the Month.
A great day out; some wonderful weather coupled with some wonderful football!
We've shown in every game this season that we know how to score goals for fun, so I knew that eventually we would take the lead. Balotelli's audacity certainly proved me right, and I reminded my mum that patience is the key this season.
Mario may have been given Man of the Match but James Milner, Gareth Barry and Yaya Toure were excellent in midfield; tacking back, getting forward, passing perfectly, inspiring and creating; they were doing everything.
Milner's cross-field ball to Adam Johnson may well be the Pass of the Season so far, and there wasn't a player on that pitch I would have picked over him to make it. Added to that, his wonderful finish for our fourth is a contender for Goal of the Month.
A great day out; some wonderful weather coupled with some wonderful football!
Saturday, 15 October 2011
Manchester City - Aston Villa, thoughts before the game.
There will be no full preview of this game because my Internet never gives me enough time to post a full article. Stupid thing.
Sunday, 2 October 2011
How to End a Bad Week, by Manchester City Football Club.
How to End a Bad Week, by Manchester City Football Club.
That was excellent. As I said in the matchday thread on Bluemoon-mcfc.co.uk, we have the players that can produce the goods and break down defences that try to stifle us. Samir Nasri showed once again why we paid so much for him, David Silva showed why he won the Barclays Player of the Month Award for September 2011 and Super Mario is beginning to show why Roberto Mancini and Manchester City have persisted with him for so long.
In the bright Lancashire sunshine, City took a while to get going - Mario Balotelli's shooting was a little off and Sergio Aguero was walked off the field rather uncomfortably with a groin strain - and things just weren't going well. The build up play was patient and controlling but City were blocked off well by a superb Blackburn defence. Only once did City break through the cracks, but Balo's shot hit the wrong side of the netting.
But as it did last week, our persistence paid off! A corner was cleared to Adam Johnson who, despite having a poor game by his standards, curled a shot beautifully into the top corner from the edge of the area, akin to his late injury-time equaliser against Sunderland nearly two years ago. And then the floodgates opened
Mario Balotelli flew like a graceful bird at the front post to tap in the second goal, finally showing to Mancini that he's knuckling down. Samir Nasri scored his first ever goal for Manchester City via two deflections and Stefan Savic rose like a phoenix to plant a bullet header past Paul Robinson to make it 4-0. What a day.
Every substitute was made successfully without a refusal, Mario smiled and the City fans were in full voice throughout. Their vocal support of Mancini really came across well on the awful coverage I managed to find. The only problem is Aguero's injury, but that's nothing some good rest over the international break won't fix.
Ratings:Hart 7; Zabaleta 7, Kompany 7, Lescott 7, Kolarov 6; Yaya Toure 9, Milner 8, Silva 8, Johnson 6; Balotelli 9, Aguero 5.
Savic 7; Nasri 8; Dzeko (N/A)
That was excellent. As I said in the matchday thread on Bluemoon-mcfc.co.uk, we have the players that can produce the goods and break down defences that try to stifle us. Samir Nasri showed once again why we paid so much for him, David Silva showed why he won the Barclays Player of the Month Award for September 2011 and Super Mario is beginning to show why Roberto Mancini and Manchester City have persisted with him for so long.
In the bright Lancashire sunshine, City took a while to get going - Mario Balotelli's shooting was a little off and Sergio Aguero was walked off the field rather uncomfortably with a groin strain - and things just weren't going well. The build up play was patient and controlling but City were blocked off well by a superb Blackburn defence. Only once did City break through the cracks, but Balo's shot hit the wrong side of the netting.
But as it did last week, our persistence paid off! A corner was cleared to Adam Johnson who, despite having a poor game by his standards, curled a shot beautifully into the top corner from the edge of the area, akin to his late injury-time equaliser against Sunderland nearly two years ago. And then the floodgates opened
Mario Balotelli flew like a graceful bird at the front post to tap in the second goal, finally showing to Mancini that he's knuckling down. Samir Nasri scored his first ever goal for Manchester City via two deflections and Stefan Savic rose like a phoenix to plant a bullet header past Paul Robinson to make it 4-0. What a day.
Every substitute was made successfully without a refusal, Mario smiled and the City fans were in full voice throughout. Their vocal support of Mancini really came across well on the awful coverage I managed to find. The only problem is Aguero's injury, but that's nothing some good rest over the international break won't fix.
Ratings:Hart 7; Zabaleta 7, Kompany 7, Lescott 7, Kolarov 6; Yaya Toure 9, Milner 8, Silva 8, Johnson 6; Balotelli 9, Aguero 5.
Savic 7; Nasri 8; Dzeko (N/A)
Friday, 30 September 2011
Blackburn - City, thoughts ahead of the game.
Firstly, congratulations to David Silva on picking up the Barclays Premier League Player of the Month Award for September 2011.
After a disappointing turn of events in Germany, City find themselves in the media spotlight. Carlos is up to his old disruptive tricks again and even Edin Dzeko has decided to cause a stir. What's going on?
Nothing that hasn't happened before. Every relationship has its problems every now and then, and every problem is solved... until next time.
If we beat Blackburn, we'll have made our best ever start to a league season. I have to thannk Sheikh Mansour for this because I don't think any of the past 6 months would have happened had it not been for his huge investment and strong willpower.
I think Blackburn will provide a sterner test than many City fans think. They my be without a large part of their back line (Dann, Salgado) but any fringe players wanting to cement their place in the team for the time-being will want to show Steve Kean why they should get the nod, and Yakubu has been busy since his summer move, scoring against Arsenal in a 4-3 win.
City will be emotionally tested for the first time this season. We've had our first fall out of the 2010-11 campaign, so now it's time to act like the grown men we are and puff our chests out to the press with a fine display. But that 'Typical City' tag has scared me once again. Knowing it could be our best start to a season - ever - just brings back memories of awful false dawns and missed Robbie Fowler penalties.
I'd like to see six changes from the mid-week game against Bayern made. Out go Kolo & Yaya Toure, Samir Nasri, Edin Dzeko, Gael Clichy and Gareth Barry; in come Joleon Lescott, James Milner, Adam Johnson, Mario Balotelli, Aleksandar Kolarov and Nigel de Jong.
PREDICTION: Blackburn 1-1 Manchester City.
After a disappointing turn of events in Germany, City find themselves in the media spotlight. Carlos is up to his old disruptive tricks again and even Edin Dzeko has decided to cause a stir. What's going on?
Nothing that hasn't happened before. Every relationship has its problems every now and then, and every problem is solved... until next time.
If we beat Blackburn, we'll have made our best ever start to a league season. I have to thannk Sheikh Mansour for this because I don't think any of the past 6 months would have happened had it not been for his huge investment and strong willpower.
I think Blackburn will provide a sterner test than many City fans think. They my be without a large part of their back line (Dann, Salgado) but any fringe players wanting to cement their place in the team for the time-being will want to show Steve Kean why they should get the nod, and Yakubu has been busy since his summer move, scoring against Arsenal in a 4-3 win.
City will be emotionally tested for the first time this season. We've had our first fall out of the 2010-11 campaign, so now it's time to act like the grown men we are and puff our chests out to the press with a fine display. But that 'Typical City' tag has scared me once again. Knowing it could be our best start to a season - ever - just brings back memories of awful false dawns and missed Robbie Fowler penalties.
I'd like to see six changes from the mid-week game against Bayern made. Out go Kolo & Yaya Toure, Samir Nasri, Edin Dzeko, Gael Clichy and Gareth Barry; in come Joleon Lescott, James Milner, Adam Johnson, Mario Balotelli, Aleksandar Kolarov and Nigel de Jong.
PREDICTION: Blackburn 1-1 Manchester City.
Tuesday, 27 September 2011
Bayern - City, my thoughts.
To start, I have to refer you all to the tagline of the Hitch-hiker's Guide to the Galaxy - DON'T PANIC.
Bayern Munich showed why they are feared across the world of football. Ribery and Kroos pulling the strings, with Gomez showing once again that he knows where the net is. A set-back, yes; a mistake, yes. But it's nothing we can't learn from.
We can move on with a win against Blackburn on Saturday, regroup and start again. This is not the end of the Earth.
Bayern Munich showed why they are feared across the world of football. Ribery and Kroos pulling the strings, with Gomez showing once again that he knows where the net is. A set-back, yes; a mistake, yes. But it's nothing we can't learn from.
Let's just get a bit of a reality check here.
It took United 6 years to fully establish themselves in Europe. Bayern have had 149 more Champions League games than us, while we have players in very important positions that have never step foot on this stage before (Barry).
A win against Villareal and we're back in it regardless of what happens between Napoli and Bayern. We're not going to fly through our very difficult group in our very first season as a Champions League team. We might be banging in the goals in England but European football is totally different.
In five years time, we'll be in this position again on this night and we'll be the team with the two goal lead. As much as we want it to happen soon, we're not going to be a danger to these huge European sides for at least half a decade.
We're new to this.
It took United 6 years to fully establish themselves in Europe. Bayern have had 149 more Champions League games than us, while we have players in very important positions that have never step foot on this stage before (Barry).
A win against Villareal and we're back in it regardless of what happens between Napoli and Bayern. We're not going to fly through our very difficult group in our very first season as a Champions League team. We might be banging in the goals in England but European football is totally different.
In five years time, we'll be in this position again on this night and we'll be the team with the two goal lead. As much as we want it to happen soon, we're not going to be a danger to these huge European sides for at least half a decade.
We're new to this.
We can move on with a win against Blackburn on Saturday, regroup and start again. This is not the end of the Earth.
Bayern - City, thoughts ahead of the game.
Well boys and girls, this is it. Bayern Munich, arguably the most established opponents City have faced in a competitive match in their history, at the Allianz Arena in the Champions League. Does it really get much better than this?
I'll go ahead and say I think we're going to get absolutely smashed to pieces tonight. Many of the players that finished the game on Saturday in the 2-0 win over Everton will start tonight (Silva, Kompany, Clichy, Barry etc.), so it's likely that they will run completely out of steam after 60 minutes or so, and with Bayern boasting world-class talents like Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery I can't see past a Bayern win - I'm sorry.
I think we'll give it a good go for half an hour, but Bayern will eventually get the home crowd behind them and go on to take the game 3-0. If City are to pull off a miracle and win the game, then we need to be at least a goal in front by half time. We know how good we can be at the back on our best defensive days, but Bayern have won their last ten games without conceding a goal. Oops.
I think Mancini may make a bold decision tonight and go with Nigel de Jong in the centre of midfield. However, if he isn't fit I don't see a problem with replacing Yaya with Milner. Milner has been excellent since returning from a hamstring injury late last season, so rewarding him with a Champions League start is a good move in my books.
Of course we have the players capable of securing the unlikely outcome of a City win, but after 60 minutes, I fear our time will run out. I will say right here, around 8 hours before kick-off, that I will happily take a draw.
Bayern Munich 3-0 Manchester City
I'll go ahead and say I think we're going to get absolutely smashed to pieces tonight. Many of the players that finished the game on Saturday in the 2-0 win over Everton will start tonight (Silva, Kompany, Clichy, Barry etc.), so it's likely that they will run completely out of steam after 60 minutes or so, and with Bayern boasting world-class talents like Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery I can't see past a Bayern win - I'm sorry.
I think we'll give it a good go for half an hour, but Bayern will eventually get the home crowd behind them and go on to take the game 3-0. If City are to pull off a miracle and win the game, then we need to be at least a goal in front by half time. We know how good we can be at the back on our best defensive days, but Bayern have won their last ten games without conceding a goal. Oops.
I think Mancini may make a bold decision tonight and go with Nigel de Jong in the centre of midfield. However, if he isn't fit I don't see a problem with replacing Yaya with Milner. Milner has been excellent since returning from a hamstring injury late last season, so rewarding him with a Champions League start is a good move in my books.
Of course we have the players capable of securing the unlikely outcome of a City win, but after 60 minutes, I fear our time will run out. I will say right here, around 8 hours before kick-off, that I will happily take a draw.
Bayern Munich 3-0 Manchester City
Sunday, 25 September 2011
Manchester City 2-0 Everton, my thoughts
A win is a win, whether it is hard-fought or beautiful. Our more adventurous efforts paid off as Mario Balotelli and James Milner both scored after being introduced to the game to finally break down Everton's excellent resilience.
If anything, this win shows that we've come a long way since April's 2-1 loss at Goodison Park; we never allowed Everton fully in to the game and we never allowed Tim Cahill to do anything dangerous, other than glance a header wide in the second half and nearly remove Vincent Kompany's legs.
Last season, we lacked cutting edge against sides that set up defensively like Everton did yesterday. Our home draws against Blackburn and Birmingham last season came about because we simply lacked that final ball. But against Everton on Saturday, that final ball coupled with a bit of audacity helped us pull off a very important win.
Mario Balotelli's shot took a wicked deflection off Phil Jagielka to put us 1-0 up. As wicked as that deflecton was, Mario must have some balls to attempt to open his body up and attempt a difficult shot. And David Silva must have had some balls to attempt a pass that seemed impossible to everyone apart from him; a beautiful, incisive, defence splitting pass that set away James Milner who poked under Everton 'keeper Tim Howard to score his first ever league goal for us.David Silva is fast becoming a City legend and deservedly so. He picked up Sky's Man of the Match for his performance, and he's gaining more and more fans each week.
One win, two goals, three valuable points.
Ratings.
Hart - 7
Richards - 8
Kompany - 7
Lescott - 9
Clichy - 7
Yaya Toure - 6
Barry - 8
Silva - 9
Nasri - 7
Aguero - 7
Dzeko - 6
Sub ratings:
Balotelli - 9
Milner - 7
Savic - 7
If anything, this win shows that we've come a long way since April's 2-1 loss at Goodison Park; we never allowed Everton fully in to the game and we never allowed Tim Cahill to do anything dangerous, other than glance a header wide in the second half and nearly remove Vincent Kompany's legs.
Last season, we lacked cutting edge against sides that set up defensively like Everton did yesterday. Our home draws against Blackburn and Birmingham last season came about because we simply lacked that final ball. But against Everton on Saturday, that final ball coupled with a bit of audacity helped us pull off a very important win.
Mario Balotelli's shot took a wicked deflection off Phil Jagielka to put us 1-0 up. As wicked as that deflecton was, Mario must have some balls to attempt to open his body up and attempt a difficult shot. And David Silva must have had some balls to attempt a pass that seemed impossible to everyone apart from him; a beautiful, incisive, defence splitting pass that set away James Milner who poked under Everton 'keeper Tim Howard to score his first ever league goal for us.David Silva is fast becoming a City legend and deservedly so. He picked up Sky's Man of the Match for his performance, and he's gaining more and more fans each week.
One win, two goals, three valuable points.
Ratings.
Hart - 7
Richards - 8
Kompany - 7
Lescott - 9
Clichy - 7
Yaya Toure - 6
Barry - 8
Silva - 9
Nasri - 7
Aguero - 7
Dzeko - 6
Sub ratings:
Balotelli - 9
Milner - 7
Savic - 7
Thursday, 22 September 2011
My brief thoughts on last week.
Well, we were excellent for 60 minutes against Fulham before we fell apart. Aguero was on fire as usual, Silva was on fire as usual and it looked as if everything was going to be fine, but City surrendered a lead when it look impossible to drop points. It's 13 points from a possible 15, and that's title-winning form!
Not all is lost, though: City are into the fourth round of the Carling Cup! An excellent goal from Owen Hargreaves and a stellar debut from Abdul Razak helped us beat the current holders Birmingham 2-0 in a routine night at the Etihad Stadium.
Thanks for a pretty average week.
Not all is lost, though: City are into the fourth round of the Carling Cup! An excellent goal from Owen Hargreaves and a stellar debut from Abdul Razak helped us beat the current holders Birmingham 2-0 in a routine night at the Etihad Stadium.
Thanks for a pretty average week.
Sunday, 18 September 2011
Fulham - Manchester City, thoughts ahead of the game.
City are in the form of their lives at the moment; unbeaten in 5 in all competitions with only two losses since April (Everton and Manchester United), Edin Dzeko is firing on all cylinders and David Silva has set the Premier League alight early on. It's difficult for me to see anything but a City win on Sunday.
City did play against Napoli midweek so they may be a little tired, but Fulham also had European commitments of their own a day later than City, and City's strength in depth will surely be enough to grab a win this afternoon.
Fulham look mixed up at the moment. Jol has a good Premier League record, but while Fulham are adjusting to his style of play they're dropping points when they need an early season boost. Fulham sit bottom of the Premier League with no wins under their belt at all, and they've only managed to score two goals - the Premier League's lowest goals total so far.
Meanwhile, we look like no English team can stop us. Jol will have watched Napoli's defensive discipline on Wednesday night as he is sure to try and replicate it on Sunday. Napoli controlled City's attacking style on Wednesday and knew when to pounce on the counter. But that's easier said than done, and Fulham's defenders - no disrespect - are not of the same level as Campagnaro and Cannavaro, so they will have their work cut out to tame the man the City fans call 'The Wizard' - David Silva.
I think City will win 2-0. Fulham are often a tricky opponent for us, but our squad is much, much, much better than theirs now. Added to that, Fulham's form doesn't look like taking a turn for the better at the moment.
City team?Hart; Richards, Kompany, Lescott, Clichy; Milner, Barry; Silva, Balotelli, Tevez, Dzeko.
Subs: Pantilimon; Zabaleta, Kolo Toure; Yaya Toure, Nasri; Johnson, Aguero.
City did play against Napoli midweek so they may be a little tired, but Fulham also had European commitments of their own a day later than City, and City's strength in depth will surely be enough to grab a win this afternoon.
Fulham look mixed up at the moment. Jol has a good Premier League record, but while Fulham are adjusting to his style of play they're dropping points when they need an early season boost. Fulham sit bottom of the Premier League with no wins under their belt at all, and they've only managed to score two goals - the Premier League's lowest goals total so far.
Meanwhile, we look like no English team can stop us. Jol will have watched Napoli's defensive discipline on Wednesday night as he is sure to try and replicate it on Sunday. Napoli controlled City's attacking style on Wednesday and knew when to pounce on the counter. But that's easier said than done, and Fulham's defenders - no disrespect - are not of the same level as Campagnaro and Cannavaro, so they will have their work cut out to tame the man the City fans call 'The Wizard' - David Silva.
I think City will win 2-0. Fulham are often a tricky opponent for us, but our squad is much, much, much better than theirs now. Added to that, Fulham's form doesn't look like taking a turn for the better at the moment.
City team?Hart; Richards, Kompany, Lescott, Clichy; Milner, Barry; Silva, Balotelli, Tevez, Dzeko.
Subs: Pantilimon; Zabaleta, Kolo Toure; Yaya Toure, Nasri; Johnson, Aguero.
Tuesday, 13 September 2011
Manchester City - Napoli preview.
Manchester City are finally going to play their first ever game in the Champions League. They're in a difficult group, but they're perfectly capable of getting through it. Their first test is Italian side Napoli, whose front three have gained an incredible reputation for their skill and finishing ability.
City are stressing over the fitness of James Milner and Gareth Barry, who both have late fitness tests on Wednesday ahead of the game itself. Nigel de Jong is missing as well, so we could be forced right down to the bare bones of their midfield. It could also force Mancini to play five at the back.
Mancini does have some positive selection issues up front, though (if positive issues exist). Mario Balotelli is suspended after picking up a straight-red card against Dynamo Kiev in the Europa League in March, so it's between Edin Dzeko, Carlos Tevez and Sergio Aguero to fill the forward positions. Personally, I think we'll see a front four of Edin Dzeko, Sergio Aguero, Samir Nasri and David Silva. The football those four produce when playing together is out of this world, and with Napoli expected to play just three in defence, it could work to our advantage.
Napoli's main threats are Ezequel Lavezzi, Edinson Cavani and Marek Hamsik, who set Serie A on fire last season and attracted some of Europe's top football clubs, including Barcelona & City!
I think we're going to be in for a shock on Wednesday. City have scored 15 goals in 4 games in the Premier League, but I don't think we're going to have the same freedom against Napoli. Having a manager with Champions League experience and Italian tactical know-how is needed when a situation like this arises, and Roberto Mancini should have all the right moves to dodge Napoli's darts.
I think City will win 2-1. Napoli are a week or two behind in preparation for the new Champions League season, and some of the players we have at our disposal should hopefully carry us through! City's strength in depth is about to be tested for the first time this season, and think we'll be okay.
Hart; Richards, Kompany, Savic, Lescott, Clichy; Yaya Toure, Silva, Nasri; Aguero, Dzeko.
Subs: Pantilimon; Kolarov, Onuoha, Zabaleta; Balotelli, A. Johnson, Tevez.
City are stressing over the fitness of James Milner and Gareth Barry, who both have late fitness tests on Wednesday ahead of the game itself. Nigel de Jong is missing as well, so we could be forced right down to the bare bones of their midfield. It could also force Mancini to play five at the back.
Mancini does have some positive selection issues up front, though (if positive issues exist). Mario Balotelli is suspended after picking up a straight-red card against Dynamo Kiev in the Europa League in March, so it's between Edin Dzeko, Carlos Tevez and Sergio Aguero to fill the forward positions. Personally, I think we'll see a front four of Edin Dzeko, Sergio Aguero, Samir Nasri and David Silva. The football those four produce when playing together is out of this world, and with Napoli expected to play just three in defence, it could work to our advantage.
Napoli's main threats are Ezequel Lavezzi, Edinson Cavani and Marek Hamsik, who set Serie A on fire last season and attracted some of Europe's top football clubs, including Barcelona & City!
I think we're going to be in for a shock on Wednesday. City have scored 15 goals in 4 games in the Premier League, but I don't think we're going to have the same freedom against Napoli. Having a manager with Champions League experience and Italian tactical know-how is needed when a situation like this arises, and Roberto Mancini should have all the right moves to dodge Napoli's darts.
I think City will win 2-1. Napoli are a week or two behind in preparation for the new Champions League season, and some of the players we have at our disposal should hopefully carry us through! City's strength in depth is about to be tested for the first time this season, and think we'll be okay.
Hart; Richards, Kompany, Savic, Lescott, Clichy; Yaya Toure, Silva, Nasri; Aguero, Dzeko.
Subs: Pantilimon; Kolarov, Onuoha, Zabaleta; Balotelli, A. Johnson, Tevez.
Monday, 12 September 2011
Manchester 3-0 Wigan: my thoughts.
It was the Sergio and David show as Manchester City mercilessly dominated a very poor Wigan showing. A match-ball for City's new number 16 Aguero, David Silva continued his incredible early season form by supplying two of the goals, and Samir Nasri's super-sub impact that killed the game off made everything look promising ahead of City's first ever game in the Champions League.
City struck first when the impressive Aguero finished neatly across goal to bamboozle the impressive Ali Al Habsi after being set up expertly by David Silva. Aguero then added a second when a backheel from Silva was flicked delicately through to him by Samir Nasri. And Aguero completed his hat-trick after some perfect skill from David Silva.
All smiles all round.
Silva is the most impressive player in the Premier League at the moment. His movement, overall ability to read the game and decision making have contributed largely to Manchester City's early season form. He's now kicked off his assists tally which will surely be doubled by this time next month and he's also an early contender for Player of the Season.
His ability to spot passes that nobody has even thought of yet is outstanding. Everything Silva does leaves you begging for more in the same way Lionel Messi leaves jaws wide open in sheer amazement. His dribbling and shooting skills have come on leaps and bounds over the summer, his overall play has increased tenfold, and having Aguero and Nasri buzzing around him creating the space for Silva's intricate passes, there's no describing what City could potentially become.
Silva, Aguero and Nasri seem to read each other like a professor reading a nursery rhyme - and they even make it look easier than that. Aguero's second goal was made by a neat backheel from Silva which found Nasri in just enough space to split the Wigan back four and find Aguero. Some of the stuff they produced in their eleven minutes on the pitch together was world class, and it even showed progress from the way they linked up at White Hart Lane last time out in the 5-1 win over Spurs.
City are electrifying.
There are some problems, though. Adam Johnson once again failed to justify his place in the starting line up: his end-product spolit his neat footwork, he showed for runs and then never went on them, and he frustrated the crowd and himself when he spooned a simple finish over the bar after five minutes.
Is it time to try AJ down the left wing and bring Silva over to the right? Johnson often finds himself stranded on his right foot and unable to cross the ball. And by the time he's switched back on to his left foot, the chance has gone. If he does choose to cross with his right, a defender is normally there to block the ball.
The main talking point aside from the quality on show was Carlos Tevez, who made his first Premier League start of the season. His link up play with some of the players around him was world class, linking up with Milner, Richards and Aguero to fashion them chances. But his finishing was way off the mark; driving wide and missing a horrible penalty before being taken off for Nasri.
Is this the end of Tevez? Probably not. Finshing and sharpness comes with fitness, so he will improve and be used more over the course of the season, but it's nice for us City fans to see that we can do better without Tevez for once after depending entirely on him for so long.
City were nothing short of wonderful. Chance after chance after chance after chance. I could get used to football like this. I could turn up at the impressive Etihad Stadium, sit there with a nice pie and watch the City front four of Edin Dzeko, Samir Nasri, Sergio Aguero and David Silva wave their wands and walk the ball in to the net time and time again.
It's great to be a Blue.
City struck first when the impressive Aguero finished neatly across goal to bamboozle the impressive Ali Al Habsi after being set up expertly by David Silva. Aguero then added a second when a backheel from Silva was flicked delicately through to him by Samir Nasri. And Aguero completed his hat-trick after some perfect skill from David Silva.
All smiles all round.
Silva is the most impressive player in the Premier League at the moment. His movement, overall ability to read the game and decision making have contributed largely to Manchester City's early season form. He's now kicked off his assists tally which will surely be doubled by this time next month and he's also an early contender for Player of the Season.
His ability to spot passes that nobody has even thought of yet is outstanding. Everything Silva does leaves you begging for more in the same way Lionel Messi leaves jaws wide open in sheer amazement. His dribbling and shooting skills have come on leaps and bounds over the summer, his overall play has increased tenfold, and having Aguero and Nasri buzzing around him creating the space for Silva's intricate passes, there's no describing what City could potentially become.
Silva, Aguero and Nasri seem to read each other like a professor reading a nursery rhyme - and they even make it look easier than that. Aguero's second goal was made by a neat backheel from Silva which found Nasri in just enough space to split the Wigan back four and find Aguero. Some of the stuff they produced in their eleven minutes on the pitch together was world class, and it even showed progress from the way they linked up at White Hart Lane last time out in the 5-1 win over Spurs.
City are electrifying.
There are some problems, though. Adam Johnson once again failed to justify his place in the starting line up: his end-product spolit his neat footwork, he showed for runs and then never went on them, and he frustrated the crowd and himself when he spooned a simple finish over the bar after five minutes.
Is it time to try AJ down the left wing and bring Silva over to the right? Johnson often finds himself stranded on his right foot and unable to cross the ball. And by the time he's switched back on to his left foot, the chance has gone. If he does choose to cross with his right, a defender is normally there to block the ball.
The main talking point aside from the quality on show was Carlos Tevez, who made his first Premier League start of the season. His link up play with some of the players around him was world class, linking up with Milner, Richards and Aguero to fashion them chances. But his finishing was way off the mark; driving wide and missing a horrible penalty before being taken off for Nasri.
Is this the end of Tevez? Probably not. Finshing and sharpness comes with fitness, so he will improve and be used more over the course of the season, but it's nice for us City fans to see that we can do better without Tevez for once after depending entirely on him for so long.
City were nothing short of wonderful. Chance after chance after chance after chance. I could get used to football like this. I could turn up at the impressive Etihad Stadium, sit there with a nice pie and watch the City front four of Edin Dzeko, Samir Nasri, Sergio Aguero and David Silva wave their wands and walk the ball in to the net time and time again.
It's great to be a Blue.
Wednesday, 7 September 2011
Manchester City - Wigan: my thoughts.
Manchester City are back home at the Etihad Stadium after two impressive away wins at Bolton and Tottenham, to greet Wigan Athletic. City have won their opening three games and have scored 12 goals in the process, while Wigan have also had an unbeaten start.
Looking at this game on paper, you would expect a thumping from Manchester City. We boast attacking talent such as Edin Dzeko, Samir Nasri, David Silva and Sergio Aguero. And if things don't go too well, we can always bring on Carlos Tevez, Mario Balotelli and Adam Johnson. But Wigan always make things difficult for Manchester City at the newly named Etihad Stadium. In fact, in this fixture last season, we only beat Wigan because of a terrible howler from Wigan 'keeper al Habsi, who failed to hold on to a shot from David Silva.
Wigan's main threats come from Franco Di Santo and Victor Moses, who have started the season in electric form. Di Santo has 2 goals in three games, while Victor Moses has kept defences busy with his darting runs and tricky skills.
City's main threats almost aren't worth going through, because I'd honestly be listing most of the squad. Edin Dzeko has 6 goals in three games, David Silva has two goals in three games, Gareth Barry has a goal to his name, and Samir Nasri & Sergio Aguero have three assists and three goals respectively. City are packed full of stars, who will hopefully turn on the magic in City's first Saturday 3pm kick off in what seems like a decade.
You never know which Wigan team you're going to get. Are you going to get the Wigan team that lay down and died when playing Manchester United, or are you going to get the spirited Wigan team that managed to secure a win away to Stoke on the last day of the season to stay in the Premier League?
I do think City will come away victorious, but I'm not sure how comfortably the win will be. Wigan seemed difficult to break down at the Etihad Stadium last season, but City have a little more cutting edge about them now. Edin Dzeko is in the form where, if he plays, you expect him to score. Samir Nasri and David Silva are buzzing around delightfully, and Sergio Aguero is in good form. But with the Napoli game in mind, will Mancini go with a slightly weaker team? Adam Johnson in for Samir Nasri? Mario Balotelli in for Edin Dzeko?
City's one weakness is their inability to defend set pieces at the moment. The three goals they've concede this season have come from balls into the box, and this even worried Mancini after they'd thrashed Tottenham 5-1 at White Hart Lane.
Final prediction - Manchester City 2-0 Wigan Athletic.
My thoughts on the team.
Hart; Zabaleta, Kompany, Savic, Kolarov; de Jong, Barry; Nasri, Silva, Aguero, Dzeko.
Last five meetings.City 1-0 Wigan
Wigan 0-2 City
City 3-0 Wigan
Wigan 1-1 City
City 1-0 Wigan
Looking at this game on paper, you would expect a thumping from Manchester City. We boast attacking talent such as Edin Dzeko, Samir Nasri, David Silva and Sergio Aguero. And if things don't go too well, we can always bring on Carlos Tevez, Mario Balotelli and Adam Johnson. But Wigan always make things difficult for Manchester City at the newly named Etihad Stadium. In fact, in this fixture last season, we only beat Wigan because of a terrible howler from Wigan 'keeper al Habsi, who failed to hold on to a shot from David Silva.
Wigan's main threats come from Franco Di Santo and Victor Moses, who have started the season in electric form. Di Santo has 2 goals in three games, while Victor Moses has kept defences busy with his darting runs and tricky skills.
City's main threats almost aren't worth going through, because I'd honestly be listing most of the squad. Edin Dzeko has 6 goals in three games, David Silva has two goals in three games, Gareth Barry has a goal to his name, and Samir Nasri & Sergio Aguero have three assists and three goals respectively. City are packed full of stars, who will hopefully turn on the magic in City's first Saturday 3pm kick off in what seems like a decade.
You never know which Wigan team you're going to get. Are you going to get the Wigan team that lay down and died when playing Manchester United, or are you going to get the spirited Wigan team that managed to secure a win away to Stoke on the last day of the season to stay in the Premier League?
I do think City will come away victorious, but I'm not sure how comfortably the win will be. Wigan seemed difficult to break down at the Etihad Stadium last season, but City have a little more cutting edge about them now. Edin Dzeko is in the form where, if he plays, you expect him to score. Samir Nasri and David Silva are buzzing around delightfully, and Sergio Aguero is in good form. But with the Napoli game in mind, will Mancini go with a slightly weaker team? Adam Johnson in for Samir Nasri? Mario Balotelli in for Edin Dzeko?
City's one weakness is their inability to defend set pieces at the moment. The three goals they've concede this season have come from balls into the box, and this even worried Mancini after they'd thrashed Tottenham 5-1 at White Hart Lane.
Final prediction - Manchester City 2-0 Wigan Athletic.
My thoughts on the team.
Hart; Zabaleta, Kompany, Savic, Kolarov; de Jong, Barry; Nasri, Silva, Aguero, Dzeko.
Last five meetings.City 1-0 Wigan
Wigan 0-2 City
City 3-0 Wigan
Wigan 1-1 City
City 1-0 Wigan
Monday, 29 August 2011
Tottenham Hotspur 1 - 5 Manchester City review.
Manchester City turned on the dominant style that has been expected of them for so long to secure an emphatic, scinitillating win over Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane. Edin Dzeko scored four and Sergio Aguero added one more, with new signing Samir Nasri creating three of the five goals Manchester City scored in a wonderful display.
I think it would be harsh on Tottenham to say that they were never in the game. After thirty seconds, Aaron Lennon had fired a shot wide, and before City had forced Spurs' keeper Brad Friedel into a save, Gareth Bale and van der Vaart had both tested City's defensive resolve.
City then started to turn on the style; David Silva extended Friedel twice, before Gareth Barry struck the ball inches wide from the edge of the area. But it wasn't long after, that a neat move between Nasri and Aguero set up the Frenchman with a perfect chance to pick out Edin Dzeko. The Bosnian tapped in his third goal of the season from five yards and put City in front.
Peter Crouch headed wide for Tottenham when it seemed easier to score, but it wasn't long before City added a second; Yaya Toure, David Silva and Samir Nasri combined on a swift break to give Edin Dzeko a gift of a chance. Dzeko headed back across goal and into the far corner, flat footed Friedel and put City 2-0 up at White Hart Lane before half-time.
--
Ten minutes into the second half, Dzeko completed his hat-trick by tapping in from close-range. Yaya Toure got in behind the Spurs' defence and played it across the goal mouth, where Dzeko waited. A first City hat-trick for Dzeko, and a 5th goal of the season.
City then went four in front, when Samir Nasri played a wonderful one-two with Aguero, who muscled past Dawson and fired across goal. 4-0 away from home.
Spurs should have had a goal when Defoe's long shot was pushed over the bar by Hart, and they did when the resulting corner was headed in by an unmarked Kaboul. Manchester City conceding from another set-piece will be food for thought for City managed Roberto Mancini.
But even in the 90th minute, City weren't done; Edin Dzeko got away from Assou-Ekotto, played a one-two with Barry and fired a left foot curler from 25 yards right into the far corner of Friedel's net. An early contender for Finish of the Season in my eyes, to accompany an early contender for Performance of the Season.
Ratings-
Hart 7 - Made some good saves, nothing he could do about the goal really.
Zabaleta 7 - Controlled Bale well when asked to.
Kompany 7 - Not at his best, but wasn't required to be.
Lescott 8 - Very good in the air throughout.
Clichy 6 - Got caught by Lennon running in behind, but did well going forward.
Yaya Toure 7 - Good performance let down by poor defending for Spurs' goal.
Barry 9 - Tackled, passed, orchestrated attacks, excellent.
Nasri 9 - 3 assists on his debut, looks like part of the furniture.
Silva 8 - Not at his best, but still very dangerous.
Aguero 7 - A quiet game by his standards, but took his goal brilliantly
Dzeko 10 - 4 goals in one game. That's a faultless performance for me.
I think it would be harsh on Tottenham to say that they were never in the game. After thirty seconds, Aaron Lennon had fired a shot wide, and before City had forced Spurs' keeper Brad Friedel into a save, Gareth Bale and van der Vaart had both tested City's defensive resolve.
City then started to turn on the style; David Silva extended Friedel twice, before Gareth Barry struck the ball inches wide from the edge of the area. But it wasn't long after, that a neat move between Nasri and Aguero set up the Frenchman with a perfect chance to pick out Edin Dzeko. The Bosnian tapped in his third goal of the season from five yards and put City in front.
Peter Crouch headed wide for Tottenham when it seemed easier to score, but it wasn't long before City added a second; Yaya Toure, David Silva and Samir Nasri combined on a swift break to give Edin Dzeko a gift of a chance. Dzeko headed back across goal and into the far corner, flat footed Friedel and put City 2-0 up at White Hart Lane before half-time.
--
Ten minutes into the second half, Dzeko completed his hat-trick by tapping in from close-range. Yaya Toure got in behind the Spurs' defence and played it across the goal mouth, where Dzeko waited. A first City hat-trick for Dzeko, and a 5th goal of the season.
City then went four in front, when Samir Nasri played a wonderful one-two with Aguero, who muscled past Dawson and fired across goal. 4-0 away from home.
Spurs should have had a goal when Defoe's long shot was pushed over the bar by Hart, and they did when the resulting corner was headed in by an unmarked Kaboul. Manchester City conceding from another set-piece will be food for thought for City managed Roberto Mancini.
But even in the 90th minute, City weren't done; Edin Dzeko got away from Assou-Ekotto, played a one-two with Barry and fired a left foot curler from 25 yards right into the far corner of Friedel's net. An early contender for Finish of the Season in my eyes, to accompany an early contender for Performance of the Season.
Ratings-
Hart 7 - Made some good saves, nothing he could do about the goal really.
Zabaleta 7 - Controlled Bale well when asked to.
Kompany 7 - Not at his best, but wasn't required to be.
Lescott 8 - Very good in the air throughout.
Clichy 6 - Got caught by Lennon running in behind, but did well going forward.
Yaya Toure 7 - Good performance let down by poor defending for Spurs' goal.
Barry 9 - Tackled, passed, orchestrated attacks, excellent.
Nasri 9 - 3 assists on his debut, looks like part of the furniture.
Silva 8 - Not at his best, but still very dangerous.
Aguero 7 - A quiet game by his standards, but took his goal brilliantly
Dzeko 10 - 4 goals in one game. That's a faultless performance for me.
Saturday, 27 August 2011
Tottenham Hotspur - Manchester City preview.
Tottenham and Manchester City lock horns again at White Hart Lane on Sunday, and if any manager wants revenge against the Blues, it's Harry Redknapp. Manchester City qualified for the Champions League at Spurs' expense last season, so the London boys will be hoping to burst City's early season bubble with a win.
It was just over a year ago that Joe Hart produced one of the performances of last season to deny Tottenham a goal - and the points - on the opening day of the 2010/11 Premier League. Hart produced a handful of spectacular saves to block Defoe, Crouch, Huddlestone and all of Tottenham's cannon fodder in a display that saw him pick up Man of the Match and keep his first of eighteen clean-sheets that he kept that season.
As mentioned before, Manchester City qualified for the Champions League ahead of Tottenham when the two teams last met back in May. Peter Crouch diverted a James Milner cross into the back of his own net to give City the victory on that day - and set City up for a historic week in their history.
I'm expecting a victory for Manchester City on Sunday. Tottenham had an awful start to the season away to Manchester United, and I feel they will suffer the same fate at the hands of the other club from Manchester. However, if Tottenham can stop themselves from imploding like they did on Monday, they may be in with a better chance of getting something out of it.
Manchester City's new signing, Samir Nasri, will make an appearance at some point against his old rivals, I think. Roberto Mancini will definitely want to show off Nasri in front of Spurs' boss, Harry Redknapp, who has criticised the French midfielder's motives for his move to Manchester City.
Prediction: Tottenham Hotspur 0-1 Manchester City.
Possible line-up. (The bench is in the bottom half of the image).
Last 3 meetings:
Manchester City 1-0 Tottenham
Tottenham 0-0 Manchester City
Manchester City 0-1 Tottenham
It was just over a year ago that Joe Hart produced one of the performances of last season to deny Tottenham a goal - and the points - on the opening day of the 2010/11 Premier League. Hart produced a handful of spectacular saves to block Defoe, Crouch, Huddlestone and all of Tottenham's cannon fodder in a display that saw him pick up Man of the Match and keep his first of eighteen clean-sheets that he kept that season.
 |
| Peter Crouch scoring an own goal to put Manchester City into the Champions League. |
As mentioned before, Manchester City qualified for the Champions League ahead of Tottenham when the two teams last met back in May. Peter Crouch diverted a James Milner cross into the back of his own net to give City the victory on that day - and set City up for a historic week in their history.
I'm expecting a victory for Manchester City on Sunday. Tottenham had an awful start to the season away to Manchester United, and I feel they will suffer the same fate at the hands of the other club from Manchester. However, if Tottenham can stop themselves from imploding like they did on Monday, they may be in with a better chance of getting something out of it.
Manchester City's new signing, Samir Nasri, will make an appearance at some point against his old rivals, I think. Roberto Mancini will definitely want to show off Nasri in front of Spurs' boss, Harry Redknapp, who has criticised the French midfielder's motives for his move to Manchester City.
Prediction: Tottenham Hotspur 0-1 Manchester City.
Possible line-up. (The bench is in the bottom half of the image).
Last 3 meetings:
Manchester City 1-0 Tottenham
Tottenham 0-0 Manchester City
Manchester City 0-1 Tottenham
Sunday, 21 August 2011
Bolton - Manchester City review.
Manchester City kept up their 100% start to the Premier League season with a 3-2 victory over Bolton Wanderers. Goals from David Silva, Gareth Barry and Edin Dzeko secured the win for the Blues who came away with the points.
Bolton had the first chance of the game, when Chris Eagles' free-kick was palmed out by Joe Hart into a packed penalty area. The resulting clearance lead City away on the counter, but nothing came of the speed of City's attacking play.
City knocked on the Bolton door for the first time, and they soon found themselves within sight of goal. Aleksandar Kolarov sent a low ball across the face of goal and gave James Milner the perfect chance to score. But he was denied excellently by Jussi Jaaskelainen from close range.
City came forward once more on the counter, and Edin Dzeko found a ball across the box for Sergio Aguero to tap into an empty net from ten yards, but the Argentinian leant back too far and fired the ball inches over the crossbar. A horrible miss with no excuses.
From a throw in however, Richards found David Silva on the edge of the area. Silva sent an arcing low shot towards the goal. Jaaskelainen fumbled, the ball ended up in the net and City were 1-0 up. Silva's second goal of the season gave City a deserved lead and everything looked to be going well.
Sergio Aguero then had a goal disallowed for a foul and sent a header inches wide. But things got better just under ten minutes later; James Milner found Gareth Barry in space after a well worked corner, and Barry sent a shot high into the Bolton net from all of 30 yards out to put City further ahead. Again Jaaskelainen could have done slightly better to keep it out.
Two minutes later, Bolton found themselves back in the game. A low ball across the box from former City winger Martin Petrov found Ivan Klasnic in space, and he sent a low drive between the legs of Joe Hart to pull a goal back for Wanderers just before half time. Undeserved perhaps, but Bolton didn't mind.
Immediately after the restart City regained their two goal advantage; Dzeko won a battle with Zat Knight and got into the Bolton penalty area. He hit it first time across the goal under the out-stretched arm of the Bolton 'keeper Jaaskelainen to make it 3-1 and send the City fans wild. That was Dzeko's third goal in as many games in 2011, and it's impressive form that the City fans will be hoping he continues.
Bolton pulled a goal back through Kevin Davies with twenty-five minutes to go, when his header deflected off the floor and post before reaching the goal, but it wasn't enough to start a comeback. City closed out the game well with some timely substitutions and tactical know-how from manager Roberto Mancini and took all three points from the Reebok Stadium to remain top of the Premier League after two games.
The game will be remembered for City's impressive attacking football, but it will also be remembered for some defensive mistakes that may have cost the Blues all three points on another day.
Man of the Match - David Silva (rating: 9)
Bolton had the first chance of the game, when Chris Eagles' free-kick was palmed out by Joe Hart into a packed penalty area. The resulting clearance lead City away on the counter, but nothing came of the speed of City's attacking play.
City knocked on the Bolton door for the first time, and they soon found themselves within sight of goal. Aleksandar Kolarov sent a low ball across the face of goal and gave James Milner the perfect chance to score. But he was denied excellently by Jussi Jaaskelainen from close range.
City came forward once more on the counter, and Edin Dzeko found a ball across the box for Sergio Aguero to tap into an empty net from ten yards, but the Argentinian leant back too far and fired the ball inches over the crossbar. A horrible miss with no excuses.
From a throw in however, Richards found David Silva on the edge of the area. Silva sent an arcing low shot towards the goal. Jaaskelainen fumbled, the ball ended up in the net and City were 1-0 up. Silva's second goal of the season gave City a deserved lead and everything looked to be going well.
Sergio Aguero then had a goal disallowed for a foul and sent a header inches wide. But things got better just under ten minutes later; James Milner found Gareth Barry in space after a well worked corner, and Barry sent a shot high into the Bolton net from all of 30 yards out to put City further ahead. Again Jaaskelainen could have done slightly better to keep it out.
Two minutes later, Bolton found themselves back in the game. A low ball across the box from former City winger Martin Petrov found Ivan Klasnic in space, and he sent a low drive between the legs of Joe Hart to pull a goal back for Wanderers just before half time. Undeserved perhaps, but Bolton didn't mind.
Immediately after the restart City regained their two goal advantage; Dzeko won a battle with Zat Knight and got into the Bolton penalty area. He hit it first time across the goal under the out-stretched arm of the Bolton 'keeper Jaaskelainen to make it 3-1 and send the City fans wild. That was Dzeko's third goal in as many games in 2011, and it's impressive form that the City fans will be hoping he continues.
Bolton pulled a goal back through Kevin Davies with twenty-five minutes to go, when his header deflected off the floor and post before reaching the goal, but it wasn't enough to start a comeback. City closed out the game well with some timely substitutions and tactical know-how from manager Roberto Mancini and took all three points from the Reebok Stadium to remain top of the Premier League after two games.
The game will be remembered for City's impressive attacking football, but it will also be remembered for some defensive mistakes that may have cost the Blues all three points on another day.
Man of the Match - David Silva (rating: 9)
Friday, 19 August 2011
Bolton - Manchester City preview.
Manchester City and Bolton both won 4-0 in their opening Premier League fixtures against newly promoted sides. It's worth noting that Bolton and Manchester City are placeed 1st and 2nd in the Premier League respectively, as it may not stay that way for too much longer.
Manchester City will be hoping that their opening day performance against Swansea will inspire them to a victory at the Reebok Stadium. City will also be hoping to mirror their achievement against Bolton at the Reebok on the final day of last season, when Joleon Lescott and Edin Dzeko secured the three points for the Blues. In securing the three points, City cemented a third place finish and a pass in to the Champions League group stages.
Such things can't be achieved this time, but another win to build on a good start is what Roberto Mancini is hoping for - and his players won't want to disappoint. I think Manchester City will win this game. I'm not expecting a City performance similar to the one against Swansea, but Bolton are a team that Manchester City are perfectly capable of beating.
The biggest problem that faces Roberto Mancini ahead of this fixture is who to select up front. Carlos Tevez, Sergio Aguero, Edin Dzeko and Mario Balotelli are all fit for this fixture, and they will all hope their performances on the pitch and in training have influenced Mancini's thoughts ahead of the team selection.
Nigel de Jong may be missing due to an injury sustained in the victory over Swansea last week.
Hart; Richards, Kompany, Lescott, Clichy; Milner, Barry, Yaya Toure; Silva, Dzeko, Johnson.
Taylor; Zabaleta, Savic, Kolarov, Razak; Aguero, Balotelli.
Manchester City will be hoping that their opening day performance against Swansea will inspire them to a victory at the Reebok Stadium. City will also be hoping to mirror their achievement against Bolton at the Reebok on the final day of last season, when Joleon Lescott and Edin Dzeko secured the three points for the Blues. In securing the three points, City cemented a third place finish and a pass in to the Champions League group stages.
Such things can't be achieved this time, but another win to build on a good start is what Roberto Mancini is hoping for - and his players won't want to disappoint. I think Manchester City will win this game. I'm not expecting a City performance similar to the one against Swansea, but Bolton are a team that Manchester City are perfectly capable of beating.
The biggest problem that faces Roberto Mancini ahead of this fixture is who to select up front. Carlos Tevez, Sergio Aguero, Edin Dzeko and Mario Balotelli are all fit for this fixture, and they will all hope their performances on the pitch and in training have influenced Mancini's thoughts ahead of the team selection.
Nigel de Jong may be missing due to an injury sustained in the victory over Swansea last week.
Hart; Richards, Kompany, Lescott, Clichy; Milner, Barry, Yaya Toure; Silva, Dzeko, Johnson.
Taylor; Zabaleta, Savic, Kolarov, Razak; Aguero, Balotelli.
Monday, 15 August 2011
Manchester City 4-0 Swansea review.
Manchester City began their Premier League campaign with a comprehensive 4-0 victory over Premier League newcomers Swansea City. A harsh lesson for Swansea, or a statement of intent from Manchester City?
Edin Dzeko opened the scoring on 57 minutes, before £38m man Sergio Aguero stole the show with two goals either side of David Silva's composed volley to complete a 4-0 victory over the sorry Swans.
City had the better of the first half. David Silva and Gareth Barry were both denied by the crossbar, and Swansea 'keeper Michael Vorm was in top form, saving from Edin Dzeko and almost all of Manchester City's attacking line-up.
But on 57 minutes Swansea's resistance was finally broken. Adam Johnson drove a shot high to Vorm's right. Vorm got a strong hand to it, but could only palm the ball directly into the path of Edin Dzeko, who tapped in from six yards.
Immediately after the goal, Nigel de Jong was replaced by Sergio Aguero. And ten minutes later, the new boy made an impact. Micah Richards was played through by Adam Johnson, and he sent a searching ball across the six-yard area. Sergio Aguero was on hand to tap in his first ever City goal from almost the same place that Dzeko has scored from just ten minutes before.
Two minutes after the goal, Aguero then turned provider for David Silva. A flick over Vorm left the Swansea 'keeper in no-man's land. Aguero pulled it back for Silva, who volleyed in just under the bar from ten yards.
And then, three minutes before the end Aguero sent a show-stopping strike from 25 yards sailing into the bottom right hand corner of Swansea's goal. Game over. 4-0.
David Silva was named Man of the Match, but the night will be remembered for one man - Sergio Aguero. A terrific cameo, and a wonderful preview into the footballing skills of City's new Argentine. Carlos who?
Edin Dzeko opened the scoring on 57 minutes, before £38m man Sergio Aguero stole the show with two goals either side of David Silva's composed volley to complete a 4-0 victory over the sorry Swans.
City had the better of the first half. David Silva and Gareth Barry were both denied by the crossbar, and Swansea 'keeper Michael Vorm was in top form, saving from Edin Dzeko and almost all of Manchester City's attacking line-up.
But on 57 minutes Swansea's resistance was finally broken. Adam Johnson drove a shot high to Vorm's right. Vorm got a strong hand to it, but could only palm the ball directly into the path of Edin Dzeko, who tapped in from six yards.
Immediately after the goal, Nigel de Jong was replaced by Sergio Aguero. And ten minutes later, the new boy made an impact. Micah Richards was played through by Adam Johnson, and he sent a searching ball across the six-yard area. Sergio Aguero was on hand to tap in his first ever City goal from almost the same place that Dzeko has scored from just ten minutes before.
Two minutes after the goal, Aguero then turned provider for David Silva. A flick over Vorm left the Swansea 'keeper in no-man's land. Aguero pulled it back for Silva, who volleyed in just under the bar from ten yards.
And then, three minutes before the end Aguero sent a show-stopping strike from 25 yards sailing into the bottom right hand corner of Swansea's goal. Game over. 4-0.
David Silva was named Man of the Match, but the night will be remembered for one man - Sergio Aguero. A terrific cameo, and a wonderful preview into the footballing skills of City's new Argentine. Carlos who?
Saturday, 13 August 2011
Manchester City - Swansea preview.
And so, the Premier League returns to Manchester City. The 2010/11 season saw Manchester City finish in 3rd place, above Arsenal - who play the best football on the planet - and in doing so, secured their place in the Champions' League for the 2011/12 season.Manchester City haven't been at home on the first day of the Premier League season since 2005. Robbie Fowler secured a 1-1 draw for City against Fulham on that day. Edwin van der Sar was still a year away from his move to Manchester United and Stuart Pearce was being tipped to take over the England job.
After last week's disappointing defeat in the Community Shield, City will be hoping to bounce back quickly, and a home tie against a newly promoted team would seem like the ideal fixture. But Swansea have been tipped by some football fans to not only stay up, but challenge for European places too.
City's injury table has been deserted since Shay Given and Jerome Boateng found new clubs, but Carlos Tevez and Sergio Aguero are doubts ahead of Monday's fixture. Aguero finds himself unable to shake blisters from his feet, and Tevez simply isn't match-fit due to having extended leave up until August 8th.
I feel City will win. I'm not expecting a 5-0 or 6-0, but something comprehensive (like a 2-0 or 3-0) would not be too far from the ideal result for me. It would be nice to see Edin Dzeko get his name on the score sheet, and I hope Balotelli has the performance of his life to silence the doubters in the press - who I'm sure will be looming around his head for another season, awaiting his first red card like a child on Christmas Day.
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Hart; Richards, Kompany, Lescott, Clichy; Barry, de Jong, Yaya Toure; Silva, Dzeko, Balotelli.Taylor; Zabaleta, Savic, Kolarov; Milner, A.Johnson; Aguero.
Manchester City 2-0 Swansea.
Saturday, 6 August 2011
Manchester City vs. Manchester United - Community Shield preview.
Manchester City vs. Manchester United.
For the third time in four months, both Manchester City and Manchester United will descend on Wembley Stadium in London in a fierce battle for the Community Shield.
Back in April, Yaya Toure slotted past former United goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar to win the FA Cup semi-final for Manchester City and send them on to FA Cup glory with another goal in the final against Stoke in a 1-0 win.
Over the summer, Manchester City have acquired the services of Argentine striker Sergio Aguero, Montenegrin defender Stefan Savic, and French left-back Gael Clichy. All three are international players for their countries, and have cost Manchester City a total of £51m.
Sergio Aguero is expected to start from the bench, having recenty returned from a disastrous Copa America campaign with Agrentina. Gael Clichy was missing from the line-up in the 3-0 Irish Cup final victory against Inter Milan, but he may slot into the line-up for Sunday's game. Stefan Savic may also start on the bench, with City captain Vincent Kompany and his centre-back partner Joleon Lescott out to prove that their incredible partnership from last season isn't about to let up.
I expect Manchester City to start with a similar line-up to the one Mancini fielded against Inter Milan.
Hart; Richards, Kompany, Lescott, Clichy; de Jong, Yaya Toure, Barry; Silva, Dzeko, Balotelli.
Taylor; Zabaleta, Kolarov; Milner, Johnson, Wright-Phillips; Aguero.
Final prediction: Manchester City 2-0 Manchester United.
Thursday, 28 July 2011
Welcome back to Blue Tinted Specs.
Now that the transfer window is close to shutting and now that the Premier League is returning within the next 18 days, I'm starting up Blue Tinted Specs again.
For any of you wanting to continue following my album reviews, you can now check them out on http://music-critic.org/
Manchester City have made three signings as of 19:21pm on 28th July, 2011: Gael Clichy, Stefan Savic and Sergio Aguero.
Left-back Gael Clichy has arrived from Arsenal for £7m.
The French international was introduced to the Premier League as part of Arsenal's highly regarded youth setup after being signed from Cannes in 2003. In his 8 years at Arsenal, Clichy made 264 appearances and became a favourite with the Arsenal fans.
Clichy was part of the 'Arsenal Invincibles' in the 2003-2004 Premier League season, and four years later in 2008 he was named in the PFA Team of the Season alongside Cristiano Ronaldo and former Arsenal teammate and now Manchester City teammate Emmanuel Adebayor.
In terms of honours, Clichy has helped Arsenal to the Premier League title and the Community Shield in 2004, the FA Cup in 2005 and the Champions League final in 2006.
Clichy has bags of Premier League and Champions League experience from his years at Arsenal, despite being only 25 years of age, and will provide width on the left hand side with his pace and crossing ability - something ideal for City striker Edin Dzeko.
Centre-back Stefan Savic has joined Manchester City for £6m from Partizan Belgrade.Stefan Savic is a 20 year old Montenegrin international, and is rated as one of the highest rated prospects in European football.
After making 28 apperances for BSK Borča, Savic transferred to Partizan in 2010. After impressing there, he was called up to the Montenegro international team.
Stefan Savic has played against England, in fact!
He is 6 ft 1, and has features similar to that of The Verve's frontman Richard Ashcroft.
He will wear the #15 shirt.
Sergio Aguero, a Manchester City player for real.Well, it just wouldn't be a Manchester City summer without a marquee signing. One of Europe's most sought after talents has moved club and country for a sum of £35m.
In total, 'Kun' Aguero has scored 125 goals in 290 games in total throughout his career.
Where trophies are concerned, Aguero has lifted the Europa League, the Intertoto Cup and the Euro Super Cup with Atletico Madrid, the FIFA U-20 World Cup with Argentina, and he even won an Olympic gold medal at the Beijing Olympics in 2008.
His individual honours include FIFA Young Player of the Year in 2007, FIFA U-20 World Cup Top Scorer in 2007, the FIFA U-20 World Cup Player of the Tournament 2007, La Liga Ibero-American Player of the Year in 2008, the Don Balón Award: 2007–08 and the Tuttosport Golden Boy 2007.
He will bring Champions League experience and several news fans to the Etihad Stadium.
£35m is the joint second most expensive transfer deal in Premier League history, and the most expensive deal Manchester City have ever taken part in.
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Manchester City's first Premier League game will be at home to newly promoted Swansea City. Who will be the winner of that one? I will make an educated guess before the game on August 13th. But before that, a tour of Ireland and the Community Shield against Manchester United await Aguero and City.
For any of you wanting to continue following my album reviews, you can now check them out on http://music-critic.org/
Manchester City have made three signings as of 19:21pm on 28th July, 2011: Gael Clichy, Stefan Savic and Sergio Aguero.
Left-back Gael Clichy has arrived from Arsenal for £7m.
The French international was introduced to the Premier League as part of Arsenal's highly regarded youth setup after being signed from Cannes in 2003. In his 8 years at Arsenal, Clichy made 264 appearances and became a favourite with the Arsenal fans.
Clichy was part of the 'Arsenal Invincibles' in the 2003-2004 Premier League season, and four years later in 2008 he was named in the PFA Team of the Season alongside Cristiano Ronaldo and former Arsenal teammate and now Manchester City teammate Emmanuel Adebayor.
In terms of honours, Clichy has helped Arsenal to the Premier League title and the Community Shield in 2004, the FA Cup in 2005 and the Champions League final in 2006.
Clichy has bags of Premier League and Champions League experience from his years at Arsenal, despite being only 25 years of age, and will provide width on the left hand side with his pace and crossing ability - something ideal for City striker Edin Dzeko.
Centre-back Stefan Savic has joined Manchester City for £6m from Partizan Belgrade.Stefan Savic is a 20 year old Montenegrin international, and is rated as one of the highest rated prospects in European football.
After making 28 apperances for BSK Borča, Savic transferred to Partizan in 2010. After impressing there, he was called up to the Montenegro international team.
Stefan Savic has played against England, in fact!
He is 6 ft 1, and has features similar to that of The Verve's frontman Richard Ashcroft.
He will wear the #15 shirt.
Sergio Aguero, a Manchester City player for real.Well, it just wouldn't be a Manchester City summer without a marquee signing. One of Europe's most sought after talents has moved club and country for a sum of £35m.
In total, 'Kun' Aguero has scored 125 goals in 290 games in total throughout his career.
Where trophies are concerned, Aguero has lifted the Europa League, the Intertoto Cup and the Euro Super Cup with Atletico Madrid, the FIFA U-20 World Cup with Argentina, and he even won an Olympic gold medal at the Beijing Olympics in 2008.
His individual honours include FIFA Young Player of the Year in 2007, FIFA U-20 World Cup Top Scorer in 2007, the FIFA U-20 World Cup Player of the Tournament 2007, La Liga Ibero-American Player of the Year in 2008, the Don Balón Award: 2007–08 and the Tuttosport Golden Boy 2007.
He will bring Champions League experience and several news fans to the Etihad Stadium.
£35m is the joint second most expensive transfer deal in Premier League history, and the most expensive deal Manchester City have ever taken part in.
--
Manchester City's first Premier League game will be at home to newly promoted Swansea City. Who will be the winner of that one? I will make an educated guess before the game on August 13th. But before that, a tour of Ireland and the Community Shield against Manchester United await Aguero and City.
Sunday, 22 May 2011
Manchester City, 2010-2011 Season Review.
After losing out on a Champions League place and a League Cup Final last year,
City began their season away at
And the opening day defence stood tall once again, as Mario Balotelli converted his first
A week later, City returned to their home ground, the City of
But the celebrations couldn’t last for too long as attention turned back to the Europa League. FC Timisoara visited the City of
City form in the league then took a turn for the worst when an away loss to Sunderland and a home draw against
The unbeaten
The end of September was signalled by a home draw to European giants Juventus. Adam Johnson’s goal secured a point for the Blues as they headed to the top of their Europa League group.
In October, wins over
Three losses on the bounce to Arsenal, Wolves and Lech Poznan saw the Blues hit their worst form of the season. City had slipped to 4th in the Premier League, but two Mario Balotelli goals saw
The first Manchester Derby of the season was a forgettable one. A disappointing, cautious 0-0 draw had the City fans unable to raise a smile. And the same thing happened again when
Away to Fulham, City pulled off what was arguably their best performance of the
But it was time for another City legend in City folklore to appear. In the 3-0 home win over Red Bull Salzburg in the Europa League, Mario Balotelli scored two and Adam Johnson found a mazy run through the defence
Wins over Bolton, West Ham,
A draw away to Leicester in the 3rd round of the FA Cup saw
Another tribute to Neil Young was paid ahead of the
City lost away to Aston Villa in the league, and drew away to Notts. County in the FA Cup to slip to 3rd from 1st in the league, and have to play another replay respectively. Kolarov scored again as City drew 2-2 away to
City drew with Fulham at home, with Mario Balotelli scoring City’s goal. And a 3-0 win over Aston Villa in the FA Cup saw City progress to the Quarter-Finals of the competition. And a home in at home to Wigan Athletic put City 3rd in the league. But a 2-0 loss away in
City won the second leg of the Europa League 1-0, but it wasn’t enough to stay in the competition. City were out of the Europa League, and things only got worse when
Just a few days later, the most important day in City’s recent history had arrived:
Edin Dzeko scored his first ever Premier League goal in the away win over Blackburn Rovers, and gave Manchester City a 1-0 win. And goals from Nigel de Jong and Pablo Zabaleta secured a 2-1 win over West Ham. If City took two points from the remaining four Premier League games, then Champions League football would be secured for the 2011-2012. An away loss at Everton halted the celebrations, but a win over Tottenham – City’s closest rivals for fourth place – saw City’s top 4 status guaranteed. Champions League football at City – hold that thought.
And then, the FA Cup Final;
City and Stoke met again in the league, and a fantastic double from Carlos Tevez and a solitary goal from Joleon Lescott gave City 3 goals and three points in their final home league fixture of the season.
And a 2-0 win on the last day at
That blue moon is definitely rising over
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