City have already been liked to a dozen players. Likewise Liverpool, Chelsea and Spurs. Therefore a little dose of reality before the January transfer window kicks off. Rarely do great players move in the January window...
There are exceptions of course, but these are usually driven by circumstance. Maybe it's a fee clause in a contract, such as in the case of Nigel de Jong. Maybe a team is completely out of contention in European competitions and/or their own domestic league such as we find Wolfsburg and Edin Dzeko. Possibly a player is coming to the end of their contract such as Miroslav Klose at Bayern Munich and the team wants to derive some value. Occasionally a player has fallen out of favour with the current manager at the club as we've seen with Craig Bellamy at City.
These are the reasons, and normally the only reasons, why players move in January. There is still too much to play for in the league and/or European competitions for the really good players to be moved by a club.
So while the speculation can be fun, the reality is that for every 100 players that we see in speculation only 1 ends up moving.
David Luiz at Benfica is a great example. Of course the Brazilian defender could sign for City. However Benfica are second in the Portuguese league and holding down a Champions League Qualifying spot five points ahead of Sporting Lisbon. Why would Benfica jeopardize the opportunity to play in the Champions League by getting rid of one of their good young players? If the decision is made to sell the 23 year old then the logical time is the summer when it will be easier for Benfica to replace the player, especially with Champions League football on offer.
Moreover City have the defensive pieces that can get them through until the end of the season. Don't get me wrong, Kolo Toure and Joleon Lescott are not my idea of World Class defenders but combined with the ability of Yaya Toure to play in the back four and Boateng's flexibility in sliding over from full back City should have enough to get them through when combined with Kompany. I don't think that is true up front where an injury to Carlos Tevez would be a huge problem. Hence my personal interest in a veteran like Klose who could provide the cover until the end of the year that City need.
Comments
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Posted by Blewmoon48 on 12/31/2010
Let me introduce you to Vincent Kompany. He regularly plays central defender has frequently been City's stand out defender and was many peoples choice to be captain during the recent furore with Tevez.
Wallace Reply I had presumed (dangerous of course) that it was a given that the defenders listed were the potential partners of Kompany, but I can see how it could read otherwise. Hence a quick edit. Kompany should be the first name on the scorecard for the defense every game. The issue is that City do not have a great defender to partner with him. The "pieces" should be enough to get to the end of the season but at some point that needs to be addressed.
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Posted by Mick on 12/31/2010
One reason clubs may sell to us this Jan. is to obtain the huge transfer fees we alone will pay before the "new financial regulations come into effect." This may be their equivalent of winning the lottery.
City have to push for the Champions League this season. There will never be a better chance with Liverpool out of contention.
I assume the Dzeko sale will be announced on New years Day.
Ideally we could do with a centre back to replace Kolo. Personally I would like us to buy Borussia's Neven Subotic but he is currently the best defender in the top club in Germany. At 6'4" he also scores a lot of set piece goals. Unfortunately the point Wallace makes above applies "they wont sell him in Jan."!
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Posted by bluemoon on 01/01/2011
Vincent Kompany is currently the best center back in the league in my opinion. He gets very little publicity and often gets left under the lime light but hes an absolute class act and far superior to most of the 'big fours' defenders!! His positioning is exceptional and his timing on tackles flawless, an absolute diamond for city and a worthy captain in my view. Should be a candidate for player of the season already! CTID
Wallace Reply On current form it's hard to argue with that assessment. The issue remains who he partners with. In contrast to Kompany, Toure and Lescott have poor positioning and in many ways are protected by the formations that City use.
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Posted by Greenjob on 01/01/2011
In this day and age, cash is almost certainly King. I think it is imperative that City obtain a top notch centre half, Kolo Toure is a liability. Boateng still young and getting to grips with life in the EPl, Micah Richards is prone to loss of concentration. Lescott imo is not the answer for the level we aspire City to be at. We have both Vierra and Yaya that could do a job but they are not centre halfs. You can bet there are agents on the blower to Roberto Mancini daily trying to cash in on players. He's no fool he knows how the team should be shaped and is trying to find the balance. Isn't it great to be a City fan?
Wallace Reply I'd like to see Yaya play centre half when City play the 4-2-3-1 and have Silva be in the Attacking Midfielder role. Would be an interesting experiment.
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Wallace Poulter is an award winning video game producer, designer, industry consultant and writer. He has been a football fanatic since the day he moved in next door to Brian Clough. "Cloughie" being the acknowledged genius that he was promptly moved out and went to manage Derby. A serviceable senior school left-back in his youth, Poulter played one season of Sunday league football as a striker proving conclusively that he was a serviceable senior school left-back! Today Poulter remains involved with football as a licensed referee and most recently as a consultant on a Football MMO.
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