ESPN Soccernet - Correspondents - Manchester City- Premier League Season Preview

Posted by Wallace Poulter on 08/14/2010

Remember last year? Everyone and their dog had Liverpool winning the title. This year it seems those same "everyone" are picking Manchester United to struggle with some even suggesting that Fergie's boys will finish outside the top five. Therefore without further ado my pick to win the Premier League this year is

Manchester United. Yes, I know. Just kills me, but all reasonable indications lead to this conclusion. Football is a squad game. It requires a first team, quality utility players, a few sage old hands and good up and coming youngsters. I've just described United's squad. No one else is close. Ferguson performed his finest managerial job last year in getting United to second after the loss of Ronaldo and Tevez.

Many in the media are quick to write off United this year. I wish I could see the same thing. However there's also a good crop of youngsters already in the first team squad or on the very edges. Ferguson is also buying for the future. Players such as Smalling, Hernandez and Pepe have the potential to contribute this year but their value is in the long term.

Normally when I look at a season I can separate teams into various groups. This year I find that next to impossible. There are seven teams where you can make a legitimate argument that they could finish first or seventh.

Take City for example. Hands down the deepest squad in the Premier League. If the players gel City are quite capable of getting off to a fast start just like the Sven era. Conversely it is also possible to see the team struggle as players learn both unfamiliar team mates and an unfamiliar system. If the measure of Roberto Mancini is whether or not he gets them to the Champions League next season then Mancini is, I'm afraid, a dead man walking. This squad with maybe 2 additions next summer is already my pick to win the League in 2011-12. Do the owners have the patience to let Mancini get to that point? The long wait for silverware ends this year though as City have a team to win a Cup. If Kolarov had been signed last January prior to the Carling Cup semi final City would have already won silverware under Mancini.That Mancini will bring City silverware this year is something I am rather confident about. I wish I could say the same about the Champions League.

Arsenal should have won it all last year. Alas Wenger failed to buy in the January transfer window and it came back to haunt him down the stretch. This year Arsenal will not sneak up on anyone but the reasons that I picked them last year remain and now there are some reinforcements in place. Both Koscielny and Chamakh add the depth that Arsenal need in the right positions.

Liverpool scare me... a lot. Two years ago they had the best starting 11 in the Premier League. The core of that team is still there. Selling Alonso was a joke and rightly cost the Clueless One his job. But Joe Cole allows Gerrard to drop back into the attacking DMC position, ala Michael Johnson of a couple of years ago and if Torres remains fit this is suddenly a very dangerous team with a weakness at LB and not a lot else. Christian Poulsen, Milan Jovanovic and Danny Wilson all seem like astute buys and most folks forget that Jonjo Shelvey was picked up from Charlton at the end of last season. I'm convinced Liverpool will finish higher than City although I'd love to be proved wrong. At the end of the year I expect Joe Cole to be the Premier League Player of the Year.

I'm conflicted about Spurs. History says that the Champions League will be a tough addition to their schedule and yet it's a quality squad and a better team than City. Again as I have noted, City have a deeper squad and a better starting eleven but the League is about the better team. When's the last time Harry Redknapp went a transfer window without a single player coming in? Oh we'll see a player or two before the end of August but it speaks volumes as to the quality of the team that 'arry has that we are not seeing the usual wheeling and dealing.

Last year Ancelotti worked his magic and conjured a Championship for Chelsea. The experienced depth has gone, Carvalho in particular, and I'm not sure this is a team that works to the strengths of their manager. Projecting Chelsea to 4th or 5th seems like an outrageous drop but I'm hard pressed to see the team winning the League again. If Ramires steps in immediately and performs well then things could change.

The dark horse in all this are Everton. David Moyes quietly is building a very good squad. Their weakness is upfront. Enter an experienced campaigner, Joao Silva, a prolific low league hitman, Jermaine Beckford, and an intriguing French youngster, Magaye Gueye. I honestly wish they could afford to bring in Landon Donovan because it would make Everton a fun side to watch. Everton were the best team in the Premier League last January. It is, however, a thin squad and injuries take a bigger toll on the Toffees than just about anyone else. If Everton avoid the injury bug then they are in the mix as well.

My instinct says United, Arsenal, Liverpool, Spurs, Chelsea, City and Everton in that order but it is the measure of the excitement that I have for the Premier League this year that you could reverse that order and I wouldn't be stunned. Unlikely, certainly, but it's a Big Seven world these days.

It should have been the Big Eight of course but Martin O'Neill's surprise departure from Aston Villa probably means that they fall back towards the pack rather than stay with the top seven. Villa have very good players and some tremendous youngsters coming through. However a new manager brings new ways and that usually shakes things up. A mid table fall is not out of the question.

If you thought figuring out the top seven was difficult the rest of the table feels next to impossible. Take Bolton for example. I'm very impressed with the moves that Owen Coyle has been making. Martn Petrov was a great pick up for them and Marcos Alonso and the permanent move for Ivan Klasnc look like smart decisions. As I understand it Coyle would like Vladimir Weiss back on loan which is a move I'd make in a heartbeat. Coyle plays open football and a year under his tutelage would be useful.

Also in the mid table mix are Sunderland, Blackburn and West Ham

At Sunderland a season literally turned on an injury to Lee Catermole. With him the Wearsiders were looking good for a top ten finish, without him they struggled. The departure of Lorik Cana is a huge blow and a surprise. I thought he was one of the more astute pick ups of the year last year. However Steve Bruce continues his moves with the arrival of among others Danny Welbeck and Nedum Onuoha on loan.

Yet another United forward goes out on loan, this time to Blackburn which sees the arrival of Mame Biram Diouf. I've been impressed each time I've seen the Senegalese play and another bit of good work by Sam Allardyce.

I must admit I've always considered Avram Grant a bit of a joke and yet the former Chelsea and Portsmouth boss has taken one club to the Champions League final and the other to an FA Cup final. So in retrospect that may have been rather unfair. New West Ham owners Sullivan and Gold targeted Grant and they showed at Birmingham that they knew what they were doing and had the patience to get a club on track. It's good to see Thomas Hitzlsperger back in the Premier League and Freddie Piquionne looks useful

Down at the bottom Blackpool bring manager Ian Holloway to the Premier League. He's a complete breath of fresh air and the Premier League is a significantly better place for having him around. That being said never was a team more certain to go straight back down than the seasiders. Alas that also seems to be the fate of West Brom. The ultimate yo yo club it seems. Too good to stay in the Championship but never prepared to do what is necessary to stay in the Premier League. The Baggies great escape season remains one of my favourite memories, the crowd reactions as they beat Portsmouth and the pompy fans celebrated because the results were sending Southamption down. Adding Nicky Shorey and Boaz Myhill doesn't really set the world on fire.

Last year I picked Wigan to go down rather than Burnley. Once Owen Coyle left Burnley there was only ever going to be one conclusion but all the reasons I thought Wigan were going to be poor last year still remain this year. While the club has brought in five new players none of them really jump out as great additions. Instead I believe the Latics battle Wolves for the final relegation spot. Stephen Hunt has gone from relegated Reading to relegated Hull City to what looks like relegated threatened Wolves and has been joined by Steven Fletcher. At least Mick McCarthy seems like he is trying.

If the top 12 are the Big Seven plus Villa, Bolton, Blackburn, Sunderland and West Ham and the bottom four are Blackpool, West Brom, Wigan and Wolves then that leaves by a process of elimination only four spots in the middle for Fulham, Stoke, Newcastle and Birmingham.

I can't see any way Mark Hughes duplicates the success of Roy Hodgson at Fulham this year. It's not the Welshman's nature to be able to take someone else's squad and be successful. If however Mohamed Al Fayed has patience Hughes will turn Fulham into a perennial top 10 team. Look for smart transfer moves into the Bundesliga. It's Hughes' trademark

Newcastle were unlucky to go down and wisely mass changes were not made allowing them to bounce back. After a solid campaign in the Championship I can see Newcastle solidifying their status in the Premier League but not much more this year. Uncomfrtably close to the relegation battle all year seems about right. They'll miss the retired Nicky Butt, however Joey Barton returns and say what you will about the former CIty player but Newcastle's longest serving player is a good footballer.

If it wasn't for the job Roy Hodgson has done these past couple of years I think we'd be hearing more about Tony Pulis who has done a phenomenal job at Stoke. And never forget Pulis was on the Gillingham bench that memorable day at Wembley. Year one in the Premier League seemed like luck rather than skill but a second season of mid table security demonstrates that it wasn't done with smoke and mirrors. And this year the club has stepped up and made strong moves into the transfer market. Kenwyne Jones is very useful and replaces the departed James Beattie who left for Rangers. I still don't see top ten, but neither do I see a struggle.

Last but no means least are Birmingham. I'm pretty sure they over achieved last year and second season syndrome certainly seems on the cards despite a number of clever pick ups including Ben Foster to replace Joe Hart. I'm intrigued by the acquisition of 6'8 striker Nikola Zigic from Valencia and the experienced Serbian is one to watch. But even with Foster, Zigic and Craig Gardner arriving from Villa I feel Alex McLeish should be doing more. If I had to pick one team to slide back into the relegation fight this would be the one.

And there you have it. Never have I been so unsure at the start of a Premier League season. Which, I think, is a good thing. The days of the Big Four are done. It's not that every club can beat any other. Rather it is that City could walk into Stamford Bridge, dominate a Chelsea side that went on to win the league and we weren't all that surprised. This season should be even better.

Champions Manchester United
Champions League Arsenal, Liverpool, Spurs
FA Cup Chelsea
Carling Cup Manchester City
Relegation Blackpool, West Brom, Wolves
Champions League Real Madrid

Comments

Posted by Jon on 08/14/2010

Agree with a lot of what you have to say, except for the prediction for Spurs going fourth. Every time Spurs have had European football over the last 5-6 years their league form has gone dramatically worse. I think it won't be to the extent that they go bottom again, but I can't see them in the champions league again next season. Even if Chelsea keep playing John Terry (which I think could well cause them to lose the title).

As for the 0-0, Joe Hart was terrific and I never actually expected anything other than a heavy defeat (which we probably deserved). I was encouraged by the second half and I think it's a good result for probably the worst possible fixture to start the season.

Posted by Martin Nazimek on 08/14/2010

I was very surprised at hart starting today, but man did he put on a show. Although it is with a heavy heart i see given sit the bench. he was a rock for us and thought he should be the starter. anyone can have an amazing match, but its consistency that wins matches and given was nothing short of that every time he took the pitch. I like how we adjusted to the second half. There was no true point man up top as tevez and silva should be att mids. Mancini does a great job with tactics so it will be interesting to see what he does with robo. Overall, a great start since i also predicted a loss at white heart lane. CTID

Wallace Reply Excellent result although Spurs can consider themselves unlucky not to have taken all three. I'll add some thoughts on the tactics and positioning in my next update.

Posted by simo on 08/15/2010

0-0 was a very good result for city, although playing with 8 defenders (incl the goalie and the 3 Defensive Mids) indicates you were never looking to win and sheer numbers saved city on about 5 occasions.

Posted by Shanth Shankar on 08/15/2010

Hey Wallace, completely agree with your season preview. I am a United fan, and I really cannot see any other top 8 contender having the squad depth that Utd have, with the exception of City. So if the City players manage to gel together and play well, this could be a good season for Manchester with Arsenal also in the picture. Chelsea, I feel will be the Liverpool of last year where they have one of the best starting 11's but no great depth in squad, and an injury or two could leave them in a really bad position. Spurs, not really sure about them, based on their match against City, they deserved to win, but the Champions League encounter next week will be the real test for whether they can sustain a challenge on the League and in Europe.

Posted by AK on 08/15/2010

0-0 is all thanks to Hart as it should've been 4-0 at halftime for Spurs.

Our defence is in shambles. We bought so many midfielders, still buying attacking players and yet the Achilles Heel from last year remains the same: Defense. Why didn't Boateng get a chance to play? Richards was a complete liability and couldn't handle Bale at all, while Kompany had some terrific stops but was lucky not to have been booked a 2nd yellow. I hope Kolarov's injury isn't a big one as I liked what I saw.

Overall City played who they are: a bunch of strangers who barely know each other's names much less how they play football. We will need 2-3weeks of playing together to gel and I just hope that doesn't bite us in the backside as this year looks to be ultra competitive.
Disagree on Man Utd winning the league: I don't think Rooney will have a season like last year at all, I don't see Scholes, Van der Sar and Giggs being consistent all season, and only the young mexican will be a bright addition

Wallace Reply Boateng apparently had a niggling injury and so was rested. I'll have more on the game in my next update but what I did like was the commitment from Kompany and Toure. They really looked like the game was important to them

Posted by Rowan on 08/15/2010

Interesting predictions indeed.

I wish I agreed on your optimism about Liverpool, but I worry we'll be struggling for fourth unless Hodgson can buy a true, quality winger, or Torres stays fit for 90% of their games(both are unlikely). They look good for the Europa League, though.

The solidity of our fullbacks is the core problem, and fullbacks win leagues. If they defend poorly, DCMs are pinned back to cover them and can't play as fluidly, leaving too much creative burden on the ACM who can then be (double-)marked out of the game, leaving a team without rhythm, control and cohesion.

If fullbacks defend well, they smother opponents when defending and stretch the pitch when going forwards. Maicon is currently the best at this, but A. Cole, Evra, and Sagna do it best in the EPL. Bale is now LW not LB at Spurs, though he could do it too with experience. At his best, Richards might one day be able to do this at City, but Boateng did it at the WC, which is why Mancini bought him I'm sure.

Posted by Matt Holm on 08/15/2010

Man City will need time to gel, and i feel that should be understood by all man city fans. However, why no adebayor today? Tevez needs to be up top with another great striker, so why demote him to the bench? SWP should not be playing in his place and today the 4-5-1 formation seemed stuck on the Spurs' side of the pitch due to difficulty of advancing the ball upfield, and with Tevez as the only option in the front that will continue to be the case!

Wallace Reply Tevez always comes back for the ball which is why he was essentially the AMC in the 4-2-3-1 last season that was so successful. If you don't play another striker with him you get what you had against Spurs which was essentially a 4-6-0 and no surprise that City neither scored or won.

Posted by Daniel on 08/15/2010

SWP had two beautiful chances--one in each half--and completely bottled it. It was a bit heartbreaking, but then I thought that in a few weeks that will be Balotelli in that position, and frankly he's a much better scorer.

Posted by P. Kraj on 08/16/2010

I am a Liverpool fan and I am quite happy that you are not just writing them off. I do think the title will be a race between Chelsea and Manchester, and it pains me to say that it will only be a finding of great form for Chelsea to do anything to United. I agree with your sentiments about Everton; they must find some depth. Villa hinge on the sale of Milner and a new manager. Arsenal looks to be having injury problems, and I still think it luck that they drew today. Tottenham look to have a nice squad; I liked Bale in midfield and he could be devastating. I also think Dos Santos should start ahead of Lennon, who looked relatively useless. Finally, I do see City finishing record high if the squad gels. It is, after all, the strongest on paper in the league and maybe even in the world, but the problems are akin to those of Real Madrid: team chemistry.

Also, I think that your article is very well written.

Posted by Rathna Kumar on 08/16/2010

hi wallace,
i must accept that i am a nuetral but i have been following your blog for past year and was slightly inclined towards man.city now. i like to appreciate that your commitment to write reply for all the comments and like that one very much, a applause for that.

yesterdays match was awful in the first half and we really need a good target man up front. was shocked to see SWP in front of AJ. very bad squad selection for the first match.

would like to see this formation for the next two matches.

hart
kolorov,toure,boateng,zabeletta
dejong/toure yaya
barry,silva,Aj
tevez,ade

and occasional shift if tevez drops back in AMC silva moved to left and barry drops back to DMC

if still we need a playmaker i suppose we should look at mathais fernandez of chile/villareal

wallace your takes on this...

Wallace Reply The issue I have with that formation is that the City central defenders are not good enough with the protection of a couple of DMC's in front of them. If there is only one, de Jong or Yaya as you suggest then I think City would have issues.

The spurs game was weird, City were playing almost a 4-6-0. I would have much preferred a 4-2-3-1 with Bellamy, Johnson and Ireland as the 3. Now I understand that Bellamy is done at the club; Mancini must hope that Bellamy is not the equivalent of Elano - a talented player that the manager couldn't work with - it cost Hughes his job.

Bellamy, Ireland and Johnson however did not play at the world cup. A 4-2-3-1 for the first month would take advantage of their fitness against world cup returnees and allow the club to get off to a good start.

Mancini is already saying it will take a while for the team to gel, a reasonable assessment, therefore why not use Bellamy and Ireland now when they can be useful, then move them on at the August transfer window and move to the Inter diamond once the team has played it together in training enough.

I think Mancini has made a mistake here.

Posted by che on 08/16/2010

city will make the top 4

Posted by John French on 08/16/2010

I am a long time Chelsea fan living in the US. I am in what you have to say because I sort of had a "soft" spot for City (i.e. if I'd been born in Manchester etc.). I believe 1. Chelsea 2. Man Utd 3. Liverpool 4. Spurs 5. Arsenal with City much further down the table (no grand strategy, way too many players with character issues and a manager who is way out of his depth -he'll be gone by Feb I would guess). Chelsea offloaded a lot of players who were either bordering on being liabilities or who offered little from the word go i.e. Deco, Ricky.C, Belletti and Ballack. The latter I feel somewhat remiss about but he was earning way too much money which caused a problem with the renewal of other contracts. Joe Cole player of the year? You have to be joking! He had one stellar season four year ago since then nothing except injuries, false dawns and predictable mazy runs into dead ends. Sunday was typical of him. Chelsea's #1 problem is a back-up gk. Utd as ever are the real threat.

Posted by Jesse on 08/16/2010

Too bad Player of the Year Joe Cole will be serving a 3 match ban next week when City take Liverpool apart. Liverpool aren't appealing his red card -- I guess so that his annual 6-8 week injury layoff will be pushed back to January instead of occurring in November.

Wallace Reply lol... let the barbs begin

Posted by Patrick on 08/16/2010

Wallace, great to have the season up and running again and your blog back in full force. As a Spurs man, I am still in shock over Saturday. I think Hart is still standing on his head saving the world after that. I was truly shocked to see Given on the bench but Hart made his point to the gaffer and single handedly (or double handedly) earned City their point. Agree with your thoughts on Kompany and Yaya, they looked up for the battle to be certain. Silva looked a bit all over the place and I think that frustrated Tevez as time wore on in the match. I was delighted at Spurs' display, expecially the wing play (though Lennon didn't seem as effective as he should be), and it was truly unfortunate they didn't achieve a result I thought they deserved. Alas, it was entertaining from start to finish and I hope just the beginning of things to come. The 2nd half subs for both sides brought a lot of energy in Johnson and Dos Santos. For Spurs sake, I hope your predictions are correct. Well done.

Wallace Reply I think the issue for Spurs is does the Champions League overwhelm the squad in terms of additional games. I've heard people say that Spurs have made a mistake by not adding to their team but you had only to look at the first half to see how well Spurs can play with what they have. Plus I'm a fan of both Pav and Keane. If they can put up with not being first choice I think because of the extra games they will have a lot of playing time this season

Posted by Patrick on 08/16/2010

Agreed. I'm a fan of both Pavs and Keano as well, thoug hit remains to be seen what 'Arry thinks. That being said, all four strikers playing in the first match bodes well for the unit, no? If they can get past Young Boys, there will be plenty of matches for everyone to be happy.

With so much congestion in midfield for City, who makes the 25 and who doesn't? I'm curious as to what Mancini plans to do with Adam Johnson. While he came on beautifully and made an immediate impact as a sub, I think he should be selected every week until his form proves otherwise. What are your thoughts on the remainder of the transfer period, specifically what will Mancini do and where do the "excess" players go? If Spurs qualify for CL, does 'Arry bring in another striker? Mid? CB? Will other sides, Spurs included, collude and low ball City in order to get quality (Ireland, Bellamy, Richards) on the cheap in return? Just thinking out loud here

Wallace Reply First of all the 25 is for league games only. So you could see a player, say RSC, stay with the club but only play in Cup games.

I suspect that Celtic will become a destination for a number of loan players from City.

At this point I don't have a sense of the 25.

If it was me I'd be playing a 4-2-3-1 to start the season and trying to play as many none World Cup players as possible - in fact I would have had those players training specifically prior to the season.

As much as I like the new players I would have preferred a Bridge, Lescott, Kompany, Zabaleta back four and players such as Bellamy, Ireland and Johnson as the 3 and Adebayor up front. Possibly Boyata in defense and Kompany in DMC with M. Johnson if fit (or Vieira).

I know that sounds very strange, but most teams are suffering from the impact of the World Cup and starting with a none World Cup team and then adding the players into the mix - getting their fitness back - and ultimately changing formation to the Inter diamond would have allowed City to possibly get out of the blocks a little quicker and also put those players in the shop window for sale at the end of the month.

I think we saw in the Spurs game that the Spurs and City players who were at the World Cup tired noticeably in the second half and I suspect they will be more prone to injury as well. Pav and Keane had a good burst off the bench and part of that was I suspect their rest.

Also the best player on the field was Gareth Bale, who didn't go to the World Cup.

Would that team win? I don't know, but we saw a very tired team on Saturday and only Joe Hart saved City the point.

Posted by Jesse on 08/17/2010

Any particular reason why you think Celtic is the destination for our loan players? Do we have a relationship with them?

Also, at some point there was talk that we had some sort of agreement with Santos to have bidding preference for their young players -- was that ever confirmed.

I enjoy your blog -- I have been somewhat critical of you in my previous comments, but I enjoy your writing. More please!

Wallace Reply I like Celtic as a loan destination because they seem open to such moves, Robbie Keane last year for example, and it removes the player from the 25 man squad issue while keeping them engaged within British football.

Re Santos, yes I'm glad you picked up on that. It was reported at the time of the Robinho loan that City got first right of refusal on a couple of the Santos stars, Neymar in particular. it is interesting that we have heard nothing about that as Chelsea are alleged to be buzzing around the young Brazilian.

Posted by Mike on 08/17/2010

Im from Malaysia and ive been a City fan since 78. Cannot recall a better time to be a City fan. I truly believe Mancini can take City places given time. He has brought in quality all around all it takes is for time for them to gel and once they do...For this reason i believe City might struggle for the 1st half of the season but be much stronger for the 2nd half once the team gels. My prediction this season
1- Man United
2- Chelsea
3- Man City
4- Spurs
5- Arsenal
6- Liverpool
7- Aston Villa

Then the following season maybe buy 2 or 3 more world class players. They will win the title and be real contenders for the CL.

Posted by Cody on 08/18/2010

I know this may sound blasphemous, but I think city should sell tevez. I love the man and I love everything he brings to the game and I appreciate everything he's done for city, but...he is not the one who can take this team places. What we saw last year was in my opinion the best we'll ever get out of tevez. he is not a target man, yet mancini has no problem playing him as a lone striker. This is not a role Carlos excels in, but seems to be his role in the team too often. He scored 29 last year, but a huge sum of those were penalties and poacher goals that most anyone could've scored. I love his attitude on the pitch, I just don't think he fits in our system. Even in the 4-2-3-1 where he is the AMC, he is not a good enough passer to play that position. He needs to be a support striker, but we still need a playmaker. Silva should take that role, but where does that leave tevez? If we played an aggressive 4-4-2 i could see tevez as the support striker (to be continued)

Wallace Reply I actually expect that to happen

Posted by Cody on 08/18/2010

I highly doubt Mancini would play the aggressive 4-4-2 though. System wise though, I believe balotelli and adebayor fit into our system much better than tevez. They may lack the energy Tevez brings, but they provide height, an especially important aspect when you consider how much width we play with. At tottenham we had zero height in attack and it really hurt us. And to be quite honest, part of me feels our reliance on tevez last year cost us the champions league spots. Tevez is not a player to center an offense around, he's more the player that will do his best to backup and when he gets the ball in a good area he'll shoot. He is not a target man and that's how we played. We played as if we thought it was impossible to score unless we got tevez the ball and that severely limited our options in some matches (like against tottenham at the end of the season). All in all I love tevez and i'd be fine with him staying, I just wonder if it might be better for us to sell him.

Posted by Daniel on 08/18/2010

I think the thing to keep in mind is that I do not believe that SWP would have been in the game if either Adam Johnson hadn't played a full 90-minute international friendly a few days prior or Balotelli had been in earlier and been ready to go. Johnson might not have matched up well against Tottenham's speed, so I'm guessing that Balotelli would have been the choice, but the game's complexion changes completely if Balotelli replaces SWP in the lineup.

Posted by The Archivist on 08/19/2010

Chelsea
Arsenal
Man City
Man United
Liverpool
Everton.

Wallace Reply That would be nice

Posted by micky-2-times on 08/20/2010

Is it not possible to start Given in FA Cup and European games, surely there is room for both keepers at the club?

Is Mancini buying players just for the hell of it, or does her have a plan? Dunne, Bellamy,maybe Given, these were our best players.

We were blessed against spurs, so lucky to get a point, and didn't deserve it.

Mancini says he needs a month for the team to settle, it didn't take blackpool too long to settle in. These are professional players being paid alot of money, time to get the thumb out!

City must finish top four, or the season is a disaster. City have better depth than Arsenal, Liverpool and Spurs.

4-4-2 is our best formation, with Tevez. If Tevez leaves it would be another big mistake.

Seems Mancini is putting alot of faith in Balotelli, if he is good our season will be good?

And finally, the worst of all, the title will be won by United.

Wallace Reply Apparently what Blackpool did was go down to Devon and spend a few weeks of solid practice regarding formations and responsibilities so that even with a couple of new players the team as a whole was on the same page. I feel City missed a trick there because it so happened that given the size of the squad and quality the club could have done exactly the same with players who were not at the World Cup and then built on that as the season progressed introducing the returning World Cup players.

Here's a non World Cup starting 11
Given
Zabaleta, Kompany, Lescott, Bridge
Vieira, Ibraheim (or Boyata in CD and Kompany DCM)
Ireland, A. Johnson, Bellamy
Adebayor

That's a good team, not a great team but with all the tiredness of the returning World Cup players it might allow City to sneak a few early games. Then start to bring in City's World Cup players and let Ireland and Bellamy leave.

That's the way I would have done it, and probably that's why I'm not a Premier League manager (ha!) but it seems to me we missed a chance.

Posted by Utsab on 10/20/2010

I was shocked by the game Adebayor played against Blackpool. He should play better than that. I think If Silva was inplace of Adebayor, City would have scored atleast 1 or 2 before the half. Boateng was doing well, i don't know why Mancini substituted him with Richards. Toure brothers should be playing in place of Lescott and De Jong. THis would made the game better.

Posted by j on 01/20/2011

Joe Cole still on track for Player of the Year?

Wallace Reply After a promising start, one game, where Liverpool played the 4-2-3-1 that their squad dictates that they should play, Hodgson reverted to type and went to a 4-4-2 and Cole ended up briefly out on the left before suffering various injuries. City should count their blessings in this regard. This Liverpool squad is better than Hodgson had them playing. I still think that Cole has that potential if he is played in the correct position. It's like Stephen Ireland. Played correct, the right side of a 4-2-3-1 with the focus down the left and he's great. Play him as an "attacking midfielder" and he's going out on loan to Newcastle!

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