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I'm pleasantly surprised to hear that Roberto Mancini is taking the FA Cup seriously this year and has vowed to take the strongest squad to Leicester. I loved the FA Cup third round draw when Noel Gallagher and Serge Pizzorno drew their own favourite teams to play each other. Great television. This being said, pupil against mentor is never an easy game and I can easily see Mancini losing out tactically to Sven. Cue a thousand headlines about City's millions.
I'm also fairly stunned that the FA showed common sense and over turned the red card given to Pablo Zabaleta in Wednesday's game against Arsenal. A horrible decision by referee Mike Jones and hopefully it is some time before he is given another important Premier League match.
There is lots of comment about Wayne Bridge going out on loan to Aston Villa. Now just because there's talk doesn't mean it will happen. All the talk yesterday was of David Bentley going to Newcastle so of course he's going to Birmingham. That being said, Villa need some good experienced veterans as there is a little too much youth in their team at the moment. Villa have also played both of their games against Chelsea this year so no potential drama of that match up. A player of Bridge's quality has a place at City, but not on the wages he is getting. Kolarov is the starter, Zabaleta a useful replacement and with Lescott able to play the position it's hard to see Bridge ever playing for the club again.
There are further delays in the Edin Dzeko transfer saga, but all indications are that this will be wrapped up by Monday. Already I'm seeing commentaries that are asking if this is the signing that takes City to the title. No. This is a signing that takes City into the Champions League. I still don't see anyone beating United for the title this year.
And finally... Roberto Mancini wins the Manager of the Month award for December. Hang on! Isn't this the club that was in crisis and City one loss away from Mancini getting the chop? Hopefully we've seen the last of those silly headlines. City are if anything one year ahead of schedule given that we've now seen a complete overhaul of the squad three times in recent years. Silva, Milner, Boateng, Kolarov, Yaya Toure, Balotelli and Dzeko are all new since July. City could and should be scarily good next year. This year is a bonus.
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Posted by Vro on 01/07/2011
Agree about the red card. Way to go FA. The Dzeko addition should be an interesting one, however, if it wasn't for Carlito's unstable future with the club, I would say an unnecessary one. Despite all the disputes, he inspires everybody on the pitch with his tireless efforts during every match and more times than not produces results.I think he is crucial to City's future, so for my sake and city's; I hope he stays. Side note: can't wait till Silva starts playing regularly. He has amazing potential at City
Completely agree about City being a year ahead of schedule. Like i mentioned in a previous post...buying time, staying relevant in the table. Though I don't think a league title is out of the question, because I think will continue to get better until May.
Also like that Mancini has now put more importance and focus on FA Cup games. He was criticized earlier in the season for not doing so, but he wanted to stay with the task at hand (i.e. CL and League Title). In hindsight, good mov
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Posted by James W, on 01/07/2011
Hey Wallace, I know both Johnson and Milner have both been minor dissapointments this year(Milner definitely). But I want to know your opinion on who is the better of the two. Personally, I think it's the former because of his pace and creativity on the wing whereas Milner just doesn't create enough chances. Let me know what you think.
Wallace Reply Milner is, I believe, the long term replacement for Gareth Barry. I don't think he is suited to the role he is currently playing. I prefer Milner.
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Posted by James W. on 01/08/2011
Hey Wallace,
I noticed you were a great video game producer. I'm you play FIFA. If so, is your favorite team still Man City?
Wallace Poulter Ironically I'm not a fan of FIFA or PES, although they are both excellent games. I prefer Football Manager...
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Posted by Matthew on 01/08/2011
Hey Wallace...loving the blog proliferation of late. Question: do you think Mancini's insistence on starting Jo over AJ is at all a way of trying to build up the Brazilian's value in the eyes of others in order to more easily facilitate a transfer? I know Johnson is not a sparkling defender and Mancini chooses to err toward that side of the game--as he should, at this point in City's evolution--but it's not as if Jo has performed so well that he warrants more time, either for his offense or defense. I would much rather see AJ or Adebayor, but perhaps City need to gussy Jo up in the eyes of possible suitors? Take care and keep up the quality writing.
Wallace Reply I don't think City have to worry about putting Jo in the shop window. They'll offload him at some point.
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Posted by Andrew on 01/08/2011
Hello from the United States. What is the formation going to be like now with Dzeko in the fold? Does this signal the end of Tevez, especially with Inter being quite interested from what I read?
Wallace Reply I think there's a short term and a long term answer. Short term I think you'll see Tevez play as a second striker alongside Dzeko in an Inter style diamond and also an occasional Christmas Tree with Dzeko in the middle and Tevez and Balotelli playing in a withdrawn role.
Long term I do indeed believe that Tevez leaves and you have an Inter diamond as the base formation with de Jong, Barry(Milner) and Yaya in the middle with Silva playing the creative role and Balotelli and Dzeko up front.
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Posted by Sam on 01/08/2011
'Silva, Milner, Boateng, Kolarov, Yaya Toure, Balotelli and Dzeko' wow what a list of signings, young excellent technicians, Mancini seems to be doing something right! Tthese are the type of signings any top club would want! Well deserved plaudits for Mancini in what could have been a tough period.
As for the transfer silly season I think it would be best for Bridge to move on, I am sure that despite being on massive wages he would love to play regularly instead of seeing his career simpy fade away. While I am on interesting transfer rumours saw one that mentioned the possibility of a Tevez for Eto'o plus cash swap at the end of the season! What do you think of that?
Wallace Reply Remember my praise of Ferguson and his squad building. If you bring in Eto'o then you have 3 forwards who expect to start every game. That's a recipe for disaster. With Balotelli and Dzeko City would then look for a veteran and a youngster to provide support.
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Posted by James W. on 01/08/2011
Hey Wallace, you responded earlier to one of my posts saying James Milner would be a replacement for Gareth Barry. Don't you think it would be sort of a waste to play him there(as a defensive mid) considering his offensive abilities? I am thinking he is more like a Gerrard/Lampard type of player that the English national team would definitely love.
Wallace Reply Once Mancini has the team that he wants then you'll see either Barry or Yaya Toure start to support attacks more, somewhat in the style of Michael Johnson a couple of years ago. So that would fit Milner's style.
Alternatively if/when City get a world class central defender to partner Kompany then City may be able to not have to be so tight in front of the back four and that will allow Milner to play in the middle more.
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Posted by Tom on 01/08/2011
Wallace, do you think that in this day and age where managers are given so little time to prove themselves that Mancini would, if he completes the task of getting us into the CL, be given time enough to work a squad that could win the league even if he does not get immediate CL glory or even past the round of 16 next year?
And how many years do you estimate would it take for city to lift a BPL trophy given mancini stays as manager?
I so hate instability at the helm.
Also, will you ever bring back the "small berries" moniker?
Wallace Reply I think the criteria is to get to the CL and the money that comes with that - and the increase in sponsorship and merchandise revenue that would follow. Even then I see City having issues with the UEFA Status Quo rules, but that's the minimum required.
Then once that has been achieved, yes I think Mancini will be given time although the team has been pretty much rebuilt already. It's the squad, players 12-25 that will be more difficult to get right.
And yes Small Berries will return. It seemed to have run its natural course, at least for a while.
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Posted by James McPherson on 01/08/2011
I'm glad to see Mancini wants to field a strong team for the FA cup; what does this make of the opportunity for more youth team members to progress to the first team? Boyata, remember, got a few minutes in earlier this year (which turned out poorly), and since then nary a youngster has been seen on the pitch. I expect some of that when challenging for the title or CL spot, certainly, but when exactly do we expect to see our homegrown talent get a chance? Mee has been loaned out .. what of Weiss, Cunningham, Ibrahim, Logan et al.?
Yes, I want my cake and to eat it too. :)
Wallace Reply Those youngsters will be very important moving forward. City need 1 more signing to get the team finalized, a world class central defender and then Mancini should be set with his default team. Hart, Kolarov, Kompany, Said world class defender, Boateng, de Jong, Small Berries and Barry, Silva, Balotelli and Dzeko. Johnson, Zabaleta and Milner become crucial squad components and City need to then add some established veterans and sprinkle in the youngsters.
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Posted by Mick on 01/09/2011
Wallace
Do you think we should have any more attacking midfielder cover for Silva? It seemed such a huge blow for us when Silva was injured. Given he is such a key player he will be a prime target for our rivals/opponents to "take out". Imo our top four rivals seem to have more "playmaker" cover than we do.
Wallace Reply Yes, it's City's glaring weakness in the squad currently.
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Posted by James W. on 01/09/2011
Wallace, who do you feel has the brightest future on this current Man City squad? I don't think they have too many prospects as they have been mainly focusing on buying star players around the world but not so much on their won academy.
BTW, love how your one of the few blog owners who actually answer comments, it feels great to be able to share thoughts with a real football expert.
Wallace Reply Well the one thing to consider is that City have in general been buying young.
Boyata and Balotelli are 20, Boateng is 22, Johnson is 23, , Kompany and Dzeko are 24, Milner, Zabaleta and Silva are 25 and de Jong is 26. So too is Tevez should he stay. Now there's some experience with the Toure brothers and Barry which helps balance out the squad, but this is a team that is being built for the long term. Project this team out 3 seasons and it is scarily good.
The academy now needs to supplement this, plus a couple of grizzled veterans who can provide some experience.
Brightest future is Silva. This time next year we could be talking about him being the best player in the Premier League.
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Posted by James W. on 01/09/2011
Wallace, what formation do you think City must play in order to fulfill their potential? I really believe, with their abundance of quality strikers, that they should definitely play more of an attacking style, instead of countering whenever they can even when the squad is fully healthy.
Wallace Reply Well I'll reserve judgement until I've seen Mancini's diamond in action with all the components. It's still missing another defender but then should be ready to go.
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Posted by Ian on 01/10/2011
Hi Wallace,
I have to agree with earlier posts that Small Berries has to come back as a name. When else are you going to get the chance to use it?
Anyway I was wondering if you had any thoughts on the Leicester City game - I thought City's defense looked terrible, especially on set pieces and I'm hoping they were just having an off day. Also I'm really hoping that scoring a goal will give Milner more confidence. I feel like we just need a couple more sources of goal scoring for consistent results.
Wallace Reply A new entry is up with all my thoughts about the Leicester game.
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Posted by Matthew on 01/12/2011
Thanks for your earlier insight to my question on Jo. I've read all I can find on the Fair Play rules coming into effect, including taking a stab at the actual pdf document, but I keep reading different views on whether or not City will be eligible for CL play down the road. The Fair Play rules seem like an attempt at an across-the-board salary cap. Do you think City will be eligible for CL play under these rules? Would they have to stop signing players from now till then--for example, if Kaka was suddenly available, would he be off-limits to City? Doesn't seem fair to me that teams like Real and Barca could circumvent the rules due to their incestuous tie-ins with banks and government officials, yet EPL teams would have to abide by the letter of the (arbitrary) law.
Wallace Reply Came across (and I'll try and dig out the article and reference further at some point) a quite fascinating article about how City could even with their level of spending abide by the new rules given additional revenue from CL, sponsorships, match day revenue and other areas. All is not lost it seems.
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Posted by Pat McGibbon on 01/17/2011
I keep having this weird idea that if an anonymous Arab came into the City shop and ordered a million replica tops, then that would count as revenue and we'd be back within the rules again.
Can someone tell me why I'm just being daft and this would never fly?
Wallace Reply Sounds good to me
Posted by micky2times on 01/20/2011
Hi Wallace, I have a few questions for you. Who would you prefer at city, Dzeko (untested in PL) or Torres (has he lost it), considering the price. I know who I would go for. Also, what do you think of the performances of Barry lately, he has lost much of his pace. Lescott is a serious weakness?
Also your thoughts on O'Neill. Could you see him at city in the summer?
Wallace Reply No, not O'Neill. He'll go to Liverpool if Dalglish doesn't get the job full time. I'd prefer Torres over Dzeko.
I've never been a fan of Lescott. Milner to me was bought as the replacement for Barry by next season.
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About
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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