ESPN Soccernet - Correspondents - Manchester City- City's front three

Posted by Wallace Poulter on 02/28/2011

After deploying a three man attacking formation of Tevez, Dzeko and Balotelli against Aris Salonika in the Europa League the question was asked if City would be successful in using such a formation in the Premier League. On the basis of the match against Fulham the answer is a resounding no.

Now in fairness City were missing the increasingly crucial David Silva, but even with the talented Spaniard such a formation would not have worked.

Except... the biggest issue I have with Tevez is that he is not a natural striker. A natural goal scorer, obviously, but the Argentinian's instinct is to drop back into midfield. Against Chelsea last year City took advantage of this playing a 4-2-3-1 with Johnson and Bellamy on the wings and Adebayor as the lone striker up front. Tevez actually played the Elano role in that game to great effect.

Mancini was also hampered by the continued absence of Nigel de Jong. And yet...

City have rarely played a true Inter diamond this year because it requires two central attackers working the channels, something Tevez demonstrably does not. Against Fulham, City were playing a 4-3-3 with Small Berries, Barry and Zabaleta playing a defensive midfield three. What was lacking was the link up play between the midfield and front three. This lack of link up play is why the general reaction from the fans and the media is that this was City's worst performance of the season.

I suspect Mancini missed an opportunity here. With City's most important two players unavailable an experiment was in order. Yaya Toure is a defensive midfielder at heart even if his overall ability allows City to use him in various capacities. With Silva out and Dzeko and Balotelli fit City could have actually played an Inter diamond. Place Yaya in the de Jong role with Barry and Milner flanked either side as the width of the diamond. Then play Tevez as the Attacking Midfielder (AMC) - the Silva role - with Dzeko and Balotelli playing in the channels.

I understand that Milner was not able to play a full game because of a lingering hamstring issue and therefore I would have planned to bring on Zabaleta at the half. Instead City played into Fulham's hands by allowing the Cottagers to run the midfield.

This morning I see that Mancini has criticized his strikers which is a bit rich. If tactically you place Balotelli out on the wing with no service then as a manager you really don't have much recourse to complain.

This in essence is the frustration I believe many fans have with Mancini. Third and challenging for a Champions League spot is a year ahead of schedule and Mancini should receive serious consideration for Manager of the Year. And yet there appear to be so many points that have been dropped because of tactical decisions. Parking the bus against United and Arsenal I accept because the tactics worked and a point is a good result in the circumstances.

May 14th is the date that fans should look to. It's the last home game of the year against Stoke and it is reasonable to presume that City will be in a fight with Spurs for the last Champions League qualifying position. If Mancini learns from these kinds of results then City will win. If not City will draw once again with a team they should beat.

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Comments

Posted by Francisco Silva on 02/28/2011

IMO, there is always an excuse not to go on the attack for Mancini. This time it was Silva, but given the demands of today's football, there will be many times where a player is unavailable. Mancini needs to gamble or step aside. Check how Spurs beat AC Milan without Bale.

Wallace Reply Remember that Mancini is being judged on a single criteria; qualifying for the Champions League. I feel he's been overly cautious and tactically wrong on a number of occasions but that's the bottom line.

Posted by Daniel on 02/28/2011

I think you are overvaluing Chelsea's chances of overtaking Tottenham and City.

Wallace Reply Luiz looks likely to change them significantly.

Posted by spark on 02/28/2011

Bottomline is Mancini put 3 world class strikers on the pitch yesterday. That is supposed to be enough against mid-table teams. Can't always blame Mancini for his formations. World class players need to play like world class players sometimes.

Wallace Reply Any striker needs decent service. Balotelli scored out of nothing but received very little all day.

Posted by Aaron on 02/28/2011

It has been known since the start of the season that City was lacking a second true creator in the middle. Look at the matches when Silva is able to roam free and look at the matches without him. The CL has been the ultimate goal and it will come down to the 6 pointers at Chelsea and home against Spurs. Win both and City are sitting pretty. A loss in both of those and City is on the outside looking in with a new manager.

Wallace Reply Agree 100%

Posted by Francisco Silva on 02/28/2011

Yes, however, in the end, everyone is expecting a tight run in with Spurs and Chelsea. He can miss the CL because he failed to attack Fulham or other teams that offered good odds to beat them if he had released the foot brake. Missing the champions league for failing to attack Fulham seems foolish to me. Even defending the nil nil against Arsenal and United seems foolish when he had good chances or beating them and claim the moral high ground with the owners even if he is left out of the CL.

Posted by cody on 02/28/2011

wallace i agree with you about how there was no link, but i have a few thoughts on the matter.
1) there is no way any manager is that daft to put 3 holding midfielders and 3 strikers out there with no way to get the ball from one to the other besides lobbing it up to them. I am convinced that he did want tevez to drop back and play the amc role but tevez seemed a little uninterested till dzeko came off. i am 95% sure that this is what happened.
2) dzeko should not have been taken off. he was starved of service and was doing everything he could to help out balotelli and tevez by holding up balls for them. i understand Mancini's decision to do it and it still worked, but i thought other tactics would've been more beneficial
3) i was and remain hugely unimpressed by hughes. his prematch goading of city (despite him saying the matter is over) and his reaction to mancini were absurd. he did the exact same thing to mancini in the away tie as well (mancini is still wrong though too)

Posted by James W. on 02/28/2011

Hey Wallace, do you think Dzeko is ever going to become a lethal stoker because it doesn't seem like it to me. He just doesn't have that physical ability other elite strikers have.

Wallace Reply Remember that it normally takes a foreign player 18 months to come to terms with the English game. Some, such as Torres, adapt immediately but everyone forgets that it took Tevez ages to score his first goal for West Ham when he first came to the Premier League. Dzeko looks good and once he and Silva get on the same page I think he'll do just fine.

Posted by brett on 02/28/2011

Wallace, could you see any value in SWP coming off the bench against Fulham and running at the defense?

Fulham have had 6 cleansheets since Christmas and have clearly improved defensively since we beat them at the Cottage in Novemeber. As disappointing as City were, its only 1 game, the big tests are surely at Chelsea and against Spurs at CoMS.

Wallace Reply SWP does better in a 4-4-2 or 4-2-3-1 formation and with Johnson injured neither is likely to be played.

Posted by Stan on 02/28/2011

Agreed, Wallace....the absence of link-up play was frustrating to witness. You can have the most beautiful princess in the tower pleading for you to rescue her, but if you have no way to reach her it matters not her beauty.

Posted by Don-X on 02/28/2011

Hey Wallace ...
It is good to have you back ! and again ! you are spot on !
Aaron had a good point and you agreed with him,
What about the young "Gai Yigaal Assulin" ... he should be that little creative spark that we need in midfield in addition to David Silva or when Silva in not available ... from what I have understood this new guy got the right stuff ! .. Am I wrong ?? I have not seen him play often to be sure of what I am saying ... but from what I have heard from my spanish friends .. this young guy is the missing link in midfield ... he can be the Man City Fabregas from what I have been told.

Wallace Reply I've not seen enough of him to be able to form an opinion yet but it is obvious that a back up to Silva is a priority.

Posted by Sean on 03/01/2011

We have got another player who can link midfield and strikers, Gai Assulin. Hes been excellent for the EDS side. Like I keep saying if he can get in Barcas team he should be in ours

Wallace Reply I'm looking forward to seeing him play

Posted by jasonwilcox on 03/01/2011

Wallace can i ask you this

1. if Mourinho had managed City for the last 12 months....do you think we would secure a CL spot this season..?

Wallace Reply I think with these players and these exact transfers/injuries that City would be in second and challenging United for the title...

Posted by CJ on 03/01/2011

Nice article Wallace, as usual!
I agree that Mancini is 1 year ahead of schedule but given that this year nobody is convincingly challenging for the title (ManU are barely there just because everyone else is horrible!), City have had a nice go at it; had it not been over-cautious and many times flawed tactics of Mancini...

Wallace Poulter Certainly there was an opportunity for a title challenge at one point but it fell away some weeks ago rather than the Fulham or any other recent game.

Posted by Evan Georgiou on 03/01/2011

I believe that too many City fans are not aware of what a gem we have in Roberto Mancini.....City could have been two nil up at half time-Kolarov had to be a hero and not put in a half decent cross....in the second half I watched Tevez and Ballotelli turn up two good chances each to score....a 6-1 win at home would have been fine...then waht answers about formation?The players let us down...but not all....Hart,Zab,Barry and Viera were pretty decent

Wallace Reply The formation seemed wrong to me, even if you worked to the premise of a 4-2-1-3 with Yaya Toure the "1".

Posted by Hari on 03/01/2011

Wallace
about premier league managers....you never became one-what went wrong?

Wallace Reply Moved in next door to Brian Clough and realized I'd never be as good as him... lol, actually my brush with Clough was when I was a nipper, but I would have made a poor manager. You need a leadership aura about you and I'm honest enough to know that's not me. Tactically... well that's a different story.

Posted by Michael Ringer on 03/01/2011

I think a few things became clear after this game:
1. Silva makes the offense click. Without him, ball movement is typically stagnant and too many passes are forced up to the strikers, rather than working the ball up through the midfield.
2. Kolarov hinders the team repeatedly more than he helps... His ineffective offensive treks result in few goal scoring opportunities due to his poor decision making and sub-par deliveries, not to mention his suspect defending... Normally this is compensated by having de Jong in the midfield helping the back line but obviously without him, it doesn't work.
3. Even with City's depth, injuries have severely hindered their season. The same happened to Arsenal last season. You can't have 35% of your team out constantly and expect to perform well repeatedly.

Best lineup when everyone is healthy:
Balotelli Dzeko Tevez
Silva
De Jong Toure
Boateng Kompany Toure Richards
Hart

Wallace Reply A central "2" can work, but it was interesting to see that Arsenal tore it to shreds the first 15 minutes of the game against them.

Posted by grayson on 03/01/2011

thank you wallace, this is the article I've been looking for.

It does seem like Mancini is trying to play a formation that isn't there for him right now, and Tevez does seem like a hinderence to whatever he is trying to accomplish, as bizzare as it may sound. I just don't understand his facination with using 3 defensive mids, with 2 wingers and a lone striker. Tevez doesn't fit into that, unless he's the striker. He creates something out of nothing quite often, but it's so frustrating watching him 10 times a match running down blind alleys, except for the fact that one of 10 times, he breaks through and scores.

Why can't we use two strikers? Why not more of a 4-4-2 look for once?

It seems like Mancini is forcing the issue too much in playing his formation, trying to make center forwards into wingers, fullbacks into midfielders, playing 2 or even 3 mids as holding midfielders, leaving no creativty up top, and too many close games, with too few chances.

Posted by zam on 03/01/2011

Hi Wallace..

I'm from Malaysia. I also wan't to asking you a question..

City is the only club in EPL that had so many big name at all positions. Realy good defenders and world class midfielders. Forward? Only Barca striker in Tevez and Dzeko class. With them all, City look easily can trash Man Utd and Chelsea. But why City still drop point or lose againts lower team? Do you agree if I say that Mancini is not good enaugh? TQ..

Wallace Reply Remember that this team has been together only since the summer and it takes a couple of years for a team to come together. This squad, with a couple of strategic additions, has the potential to be consistent trophy winners. Getting that first one will be the trick.

Posted by Wilbur on 03/01/2011

While Mancini has improved the team's performances since Hughes, do you think he has what it takes to take the team to the next level. Or will we be trying to prise Mourinho away from Madrid whether during this summer or the next? I know it would be harsh on Mancini being replaced by Mourinho again but that's modern football. Instant success is required in this type of project.

Maybe if City played 'Arsenal' style football and still lost the criticism wouldn't be so bad. Maybe not, who knows.

For me Mourinho is only second in coaching to Ferguson.

Your thoughts? A move for Mourinho: yes or no? this summer or next?

Wallace Reply Mancini will be given the opportunity as long as he reaches the Champions League. If not I do indeed expect a big money offer to be made for Mourinho.

Posted by Corona on 03/02/2011

Typical United couldnt do us a favour and beat Chelsea. Now ud have 2 think that every Premier League game takes priority over the cups ?

Wallace Reply The City fan in me wanted United to win to keep Chelsea back in 5th; the Football fan in me wanted Chelsea to win because of the hypocrisy of the FA in allowing Rooney to play.

Posted by John on 03/02/2011

Hiya Wallace,

Do you think Balotelli will ever start and finish a match with the hunger and tenacity that is required of every city player in this crucial stretch of the season? Or will the enigma, and I use that word loosely, continue his petulant behaviour showing flashes of his brilliance but all too well disappointing us in the long run? Keep up the good work on the blog! PS- Very jealous you were once in the presence of a Mr. Clough!

Wallace Reply Balotelli will be given every chance to succeed at City. The goal against Villa was sheer class and he's a true natural goal scorer.

re Clough... different world back then when Football managers had houses in regular housing estates.

Posted by goke on 03/02/2011

Wallace
My opinion is that City players lack believe, team work, discipline (esp Balotelli) & leadership. I'm a city fan from Nigeria and they have broken my heart severally this season with a lack of one or more of these qualities in their games. Maybe its the tactics deployed by Mancini. Your opinion?

Wallace Reply You need to have patience. Throwing a group of professionals together is the easy part. Now they have to mature as a team.

Posted by Danny on 03/03/2011

Wallace,
I am a United supporter, but I respect your insight towards soccer. Whats the biggest gap between United and City right now, and where should the teams be putting their energy (money) for the future?

Wallace Reply The biggest single different between United and City right now is the stability of the squad. City have been brining in players who are starters (because the quality had to be improved) while United (who already have the quality) have been adding players such as Smalling and Hernandez who project as starters long term. Obviously this is an advantage to United.

United biggest specific need is at goalkeeper. If there is one place in squad building that I would cast criticism on SAF it would be in developing a replacement keeper.

City need a central defender so that the club can play well when de Jong is not available to protect the back four.

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