OK I’m Back Doing The City Blogs

So have you all missed me then? Thought not!!!! Never mind I’m back now and will be publishing all things City related as I go through the season.

The Start of The Season

Well we set off like a train and a lot of pundits and fans where predicting that we may go the full season without losing, maybe another invincible team but in blue this time. Little did we know that a losing streak was just round the corner. If i’m honest getting that monkey off our backs early was ok by me, even though losing at home to West Ham was not where I thought it might happen….hey ho as they say.

It just shows how far we still have to go as a few of the newer players still need to bed down and get used to (a) the team, (b) the league and, (c) the relentless pace and hourly burly of playing in the premier league each week. None of the new players are bad signings its just going to take time to settle and the green shoots are there with Otamendi and even Fernando showing signs of the form that prompted City to spend so heavily on them.

The International Break

This is a toughie, as most City fans will, given the choice, pick club over country everytime. I’m not sure this is felt the same amongst the players as they regularly fly off to all parts of the globe to play for their international team and are proud to do so. The recent outburst by Marc Wilmots, the Belgian coach will do nothing to ease the City fans anxiety as he wants to pick our club captain for the next Belgium game, where they will hopefully secure the top spot in their group. We all, of course, want VK to rest as we look a very different team when he’s not fully fit and playing well at the heart of our defence. I think some soothing oil needs to be poured on those troubled waters as we have been here before with Belgium and VK in the Mancini era.

The main problem is the proliferation of injuries that the squad has picked up over this last international break, particularly Aguero and Silva, and I guess Kolarov. The odd bit of wear and tear is to be expected but our two key players are both likely to be out for a significant amount of time, and just before the Derby!!!

We are about to enter another run of games both in mind week and at weekend, in both the CL and the league, we could do without injuries to our big players. We will, of course, get no sympathy from fans of other teams who will say we have spent a shed load of money on a squad and therefore should use it all, but we all want the best 11 players in that squad toppled in the big games, and we have big games ahead, both the Derby and the two games against Sevilla, as well as crucial games in the league and league cup.

I agree we have a big squad but Aguero and Silva are a huge loss.

New Signings

The two big money signings we have made this close season have had very different fortunes on the pitch for City, not that Sterling has played badly, he just hasn’t played to the standard I would have expected of him. Maybe the hype got to him, maybe he is adapting to playing with much better players, I’m not sure, but he is a good addition to the squad and brings real pace, which I think we all would agree that we have lacked that in the recent seasons.

Whats to say about KDB, it couldn’t have gone any better really, goals, assists, key passes etc etc. He looks a quality player and I can see why we made such an effort to prise him away from Wolfsburg, the lad is CLASS.

So now i’m back keep watching out for the links on twitter and the regular posts will start to come again.

Its good to be back.

City versus West Ham

City Versus West Ham

Not quite sure what I think will happen tomorrow, my emotions are all over the place, which is very unusual for me. My head is saying that a home game against West Ham should be a straight forward affair, but theres always that nagging doubt that something could happen, be gone such thoughts. We will be fine, I’m sure.

If the City team plays as it did on wednesday against Aston Villa then City should win the game and considering we’ve only dropped 4 points at home all season the stats say that we will get what we need from the game tomorrow.

I have a feeling that we see a lot of spoiling tactics on display by the West Ham players but under instruction from that arse of a manager of theirs plus from the Scouser Nolan, who is always looking to get the opposition players into trouble and i’m sure his true colours will emerge during the game tomorrow.

I saw a statistic on the TV yesterday that showed that West Ham have played the most long balls of any team in the premier league, which i’m sure is a direct result of the managers tactics. The West Ham faithful i’m sure are not impressed with this version of the game, that they profess to be the self proclaimed academy of football, now that is a laugh at the present time.

I’m hoping that the atmosphere in the stadium will be as good if not better than on wednesday night, with the fans getting right behind the team and making a shit load of noise to show the team that we appreciate the effort they have put in and what they can achieve tomorrow. I’m always sceptical or organised fan things and i’m certainly not a subscriber to the “you must sing or else you ain’t a proper fan” brigade and i’ve been disparaging about some of the supporters groups, but in terms of getting noise in the stadium they have done well so far. I just hope they change their view on ticketing and such like.

I have to say that i’m not surprised at all the shite that is coming out on TV and in the papers from all sides about City, these are, of course, designed to try to get under the players and managers skin in some way, with the hope of knocking us from achieving what we are trying to do. I’ve said this before and i’ll say it again but there is a deep seated and very worrying anti- City agenda that goes far beyond the boundaries of football. This isn’t jealousy perse, although there is a lot of that, its much more cultural and aimed at our owners background, i’m convinced of it.

I have to say that I’m so so impressed with the way the manager handles the press and TV, he is very cool and collected and doesn’t allow them to fluster him, whatever the line of questioning the try to go down. The flag in the North Stand on wednesday declaring him the “Charming Man” said it all for me, well done whoever made that, and this shows the world what we think about him.

TEAM SELECTION

Anyway, who do I think will play then, my first reaction to this was to start with the same team that started on wednesday, and really would be tempted to do just that. However, we have heard in the last 24 hours that Aguero is fit (allegedly) and if that is true it would be stupid to leave him out of the team. This then begs the question of who to leave out of the team, and I fear that this could be James Milner.

There is a bit of me that thinks we should play with just one striker and allow Silva to play in that “hole” behind the striker. That may well be an option and then its who is upfront, Dzeko or Aguero. I think that Aguero would cause more problems to the lumbering defenders than Dzeko, but you cant argue with Dzekos scoring rate in the big games, so its a tough one, but I would start with Dzeko and Aguero.

This then means that Silva would have to take a more orthodox role in midfield, which of course he can do but I cant help thinking he’s better off further forward. However, we should attacking intent and so i’ll stick by my choice of the two strikers. I’m sorry James Milner but its a role off the bench for you in this match.

My normal central midfield pair would be Yaya and Fernandinho, but I have to say Ferna is looking a bit knackered in recent weeks, which is a direct result of all the football he’s played this season in what is a much tougher and more physical league than he’s used to. He is real quality and will only get better for City over the next few seasons. So that leaves me with Javi Garcia as the holder in midfield, he is definitely not everyones cup of tea but he’s played well in the latter part of this season and, in my opinion, hasn’t let us down at all. So on this basis its Garcia who gets my nod as the holder in midfield. This also has the added advantage of bringing extra height to the team, which will be valuable against the kings of the high ball.

Nasri for me should be a permanent fixture in the team now as he is definitely getting back to the firm he showed in out title winnings season under Mancini. He is able to carry the ball at the defenders in a different way than the other players in the team, and he has the knack of popping up to bag a goal or two. Top player and is a definite starter in my team.

The full back spots are obvious to me in that Zabaletta has made right back his and must be the best right back in the premier league. The left back spot must go to Kolarov, who will be able to get down the side of the defence and put across some of those great crosses of his, to hopefully create havoc in the penalty box and yield a few goals. Thats tough on Cliche, I know, but we need more penetration from left back in this game, so it much be Kolarov. No arguments from anyone about who the CB’s should be I think, Vinnie and Demi, end of.

So there you have it folks a few musings and my selections for the the game tomorrow, Come on City.

Liverpool Away

The Scousers Away on Sunday

Well this game has been billed as the title decider by a lot of people and in some ways that could well be true but in others ways not. I firmly believe we will get something out of the game on Sunday but I also think that there are a few more twists and turns to be had before the end of the season by all of the clubs in the title race.

It will come down to a fight between City and the bin dippers as I think the Rent Boys of Chelski will be more focused on the Champions League, and I think I would do the same in their position.

There are a number of anxieties that I have for Sunday (anxieties being less worrisome than worry’s lol) and these are mainly down to 3 things (1) The referee, (2) Sturridge and Suarez, and (3) our approach.

THE CAKE

Unfortunately the game is being refereed by Mr Battenburg and we all know what an absolute idiot he is and is liable to do any number of stupid things in the context of making his wig look good for the cameras, has he brandishes the dreaded RED card at a City player for have the temerity to walk past a Liverpool striker in the box. Let’s hope not.

THERES ONLY 1 GREEDY BASTARD

Its true to say that Sturridge and Suarez are good if not great strikers (in Suarez case) and that they pose a real threat to the City goal from start to finish. I like to think though that in the case of Sturridge that he will retreat into his greedy bastard guide and not pass to anyone when he clearly should. I wonder whether this comes out in him in the bigger games and when people get on his back, and in the case of City this will be the fans who still berate him for his decision to join the rent boys.

THE BOTTLE OPENER

I must confess that Suarez is a top top quality striker and he scores shit loads of goals and causes all sorts of problems on the field for all manner of defenders (perhaps not against the Top 4 ones) and he is a real threat. I have an anxiety that he will target Demichelis as the slowest member of the City backline, but I hope that Demi uses all his experience to its fullest and has a majestic game at the back for City. Let’s hope.

In inverse proportion to my admiration for Suarez as a footballer is my distaste for him as a cheating bastard of the highest order. Diving, biting and generally cheating are only some of the things that add fuel to the fire of my distaste, his general approach and his constant haranguing of the officials for cards etc. just, frankly get on my tits. Let’s hope he has a great game, scores a good goal, but we score a few more than them.

APPROACH

It’s fair to say that Liverpool have been the best Premier League Team to come to Eastlands this season so far, they gave us a good game and where unlucky not to get something out of that game. The do play with a packed midfield and they also have a lot of pace in the team in most positions (perhaps not at CB though, more later) and with City being a 4-4-2 team we are lacking in the central midfield areas. So I guess I think the battle ground of this game will be in midfield, and I’m sure Pelligrini will be tempted to play with Yaya and Fernandinho in the Central roles with Nasri and Silva in the wider roles, as I fully expect to see Aguero to start on Sunday.

If Aguero isn’t fit to start then I think we should play with Milner in the righ side midfield role with Silva playing in the withdrawn striker role we have seen the last few weeks. I have gone for Milner over Navas as I prefer his steel and commitment, and I’ve been slightly disappointed in Navas of late. He is reluctant to take his full back on in the wide area and skin him for pace. I guess this could be a coaching instruction but Pelligrini has picked Navas in the bigger games this season, so it would nt be a surprise if he played on Sunday.

Whoever plays and whatever formation we adopt I hope that we start off at a high tempo and we get at Liverpool early doors and not let them dictate the pace of the game and try to quieten down the crowd, who no doubt will think they’ve won the world cup and the lottery on the same day if they beat us.

The only real defensive question is at left back for me, and expect Cliché to play, just as he is perceived as a better defender that Kolarov, but clearly Kolarov has a great left foot and offers a great cross ball option from the wide left areas. I expect it to be Cliché. As I said before I’ve every confidence in Demichelis, he’s an experienced international defender and will use all that experience to get through this game. Zabba and Vinnie are the other members of the back four, obviously.

On The March

I think that Sunday’s game at Anfield will mark the start of City’s march towards securing the league title again. I have the same feeling I did as we approached the run in, when we won the league. Tough games yes, but the big players stood up and got the job done. It wasn’t free from ups and downs that year and I think this one will be the same, but I have just got that feeling in my bones that we will do it again this year. I think the players feel the same as well.

Pre Derby Thoughts and Fulham at Home

Pre Derby Thoughts

In theory we have a tough run in to the end of the season but in one way our exit from the cup competitions should make the players (a) more hungry and (b) less tired week to week. Its a strange one though as footballers train all the time and surely playing an actual match must be better than training, but what do i know, i’m just an old midfield general whose legs went years ago.

I have a feeling that the match at the Theatre of shite tomorrow will be more difficult than a lot of blues seem to think. How many times when we have been shite, over the years, have we raised our game and given them a good game and even won when our league form suggested otherwise. I do feel that we will win the game but all these predictions of cricket scores are way off the mark in my view. Lets see how it pans out.

From now on in we should play our strongest team available with only a few selected changes if absolutely necessary dependent upon the opposition and whether we are home or away. Maybe this enforced messing around with the strikers can be helpful, as we have been playing with a more withdrawn second striker, and this has bolstered our midfield, but again this is very much dependent upon the opposition. I would suggest that we play with two strikers in the home games and maybe one in the way games. This can add a bit more guile to the attacking away from home, whilst probably matching the opposition set up when we are away from home.

The game at OT tomorrow we should play our usual 4-4-2, play our game and let them worry about us. Its my view that they will play with 2 strikers, and 2 central midfielders. If this is the case we should be to strong for them and get a grip in midfield which should mean we control the game and win. I’m not sure I like the fans saying it will be a cricket score as this can come back and bite you in the bum. We soulkd be too strong for them as long as we play the game as we want to and not treat it as though merely turning up will guarantee us victory.

Fulham At Home

It was good to see City get back to winning ways in the league as well as putting the (so called) lesser teams to the sword with a rampant win on saturday. Even though we scored 5 goals my main concern with the team at the moment is up front, with none of our strikers being either fit or really in form. Its weird how they have all gone off the boil at the same time, but I suspect that some of that is down to injuries and some of it is down to teams playing very differently against us than earlier in the season.

Negredo has really gone off the boil, he doesn’t look half as dynamic has he has done before and his touch seems to have deserted him as well. I think this is entirely due to his shoulder injury, which in turn has upset his confidence which has affected his all round play and his finishing in particular. However I’m not writing him off just yet, hes to good a pro in my book for that, he will be back i’m sure.

It will be good to get Jovetic playing and with a good run of games and a good run of fitness to, I can imagine the poor bloke is becide himself that he gets back fit and then all of a sudden he’s injured again. From what we’ve seen so far he is a quality player and is very different than the other strikers, he can carry the ball as well as a se a pass and i’m sure he can chip in with a goal or two along the way. Come on stefan show us what you can do.

Despite his detractors I think that Dzeko is a decent player and scores some crucial goals for City, yes i know he misses his fair share of chances that he should bag, but at the end of the day he gets goals at crucial times and is a decent striker to have in the squad. He needs to work on his first touch, I admit that but i’d rather have him than some others i could mention.

I really don’t need to say much about Aguero, other than lets get him back fit and raring to go for the run in, enough said.

One player deserving of mention in the Fulham game is Yaya Toure, ok he’s coolness personified with the penalties but what about his third goal. As he pulled his leg back I said to the bloke next to me that he should pass it wide and not waste a good attacking opportunity. At first I thought the ball had hit the side netting and would appear behind the goals, it took me a second or two to realise it was an absolute stunning strike and so worthy of bringing hop his hat trick. Well done son.

So a poor Fulham team put to the sword and a nice warm up for Tuesday night.

 

THAT WAS THE WEEK THAT WAS

THAT WAS THE WEEK THAT WAS……………

Its been an eventful week for City, some ups and downs, but a real sense of a team developing is what I feel after that week. Mistakes yes, frustration yes, but at the end of it all I see a group of players who are together with the manager in trying to do their best in all the games they play.

HULL AWAY

I want to start with the Hull game today as I thought, like many that this was a potential banana skin for City, add too this the anxiety of Kompany being (wrongly in my view) sent off and you can understand why my blood was boiling a tad after 10 minutes. The team dug in, we didn’t panic, we didn’t change the whole team, Pellegrini made some positional changes and we carried on.

I have to say that David Silva’s goal was breathtaking, ads was his all round contribution today, he’s tried hard all season but he was back to his best today and on Wednesday in Barcelona. We where able to hold onto the ball and very skilfully move it around the pitch, allowing the defence to regroup and make sure they stood firm.

A number of the unsung (and much maligned) players stood up for City today and that was a very pleasing element of the game, with Martin Demichelis and Javi Garcia both having good games under trying conditions. Well done lads. 

The 3 points today is a welcome reminder to the press and to the “gobby” chelsea manager that City are still a force and can get the job done when required to do so, this takes the pressure off the manager and players and gives us a week without the City “bottle it” tag that could have been brought out had we lost 3 games in a row in 3 different competitions. I was really impressed with the Dzeko post match interview where is spoke for, what seemed like the whole team, when he praised Vincent Kompany, and called him the leader and heart of the team. 

BARCELONA AWAY

Apart from being a cracking european trip I felt that City showed that they are a coming force in the Champions League and with a bit more poise in front of goal and luck with decisions we could have got a very different result in Catalunya.

I have to say I love Barcelona as a place, it has such a lot to offer the tourist both on short and longer breaks. I’ve been to the stadium before on an organised trip but was massively disappointed with the facilities and treatment for the travelling support.

With the fencing around the supporters it felt very much like the 1980’s again, but worst of all was the shoving state of the away section, its lack of modern facilities and its sheer lack of safety for the fans who sit in that part of the ground. 

We where herded into the seats, not allowed drinks in the seats, and forced down the concourse and down one set of stairs at the bend of the game despite there being other stair wells, but these all has huge iron gates and padlocks across them. For such a big club you have such a lack of respect for the travelling fans, its shocking.

Its taking a long time to get used to european football from a spectators prospective as i’m convinced that its turned into a noon contact sport, unless of course that contact is committed by one of the “bigger” european teams, when its allowed and the opposition get booked for legitimately questioning the decisions. Enough already.

 Suffice to say I thought City did well enough for me to be optimistic about the future in the CL, with a few descent signings, particularly in the defence and we will be a force to be reckoned with.

WIGAN AT HOME

In one way this game is the one of the last 3 that is the most disappointing, but interesting the most revealing, in my view. I say this purely from the perspective of who I think is good enough to play for City long term and who is not. Hindsight is a wonderful talent but I for one was happy that the starting 11 was good enough, on paper, to beat Wigan, but of course games aren’t played on paper and shit happens that is not supposed to, in my mind that is.

For me it told me that Micah Richards has gone backwards this last season, and he doesn’t fit into the pass and move approach that Pellegrini wants the team to adopt. He didn’t even show his usual barnstorming runs up the wing, instead choosing to get in the way of Navas instead. 

I love Jolean Lescott and he will always be a legend for his part of the title winning team, but he again doesn’t fit into the style of play that we are going with under Pellegrini, I’ve not doubts about his defensive capabilities but he also has to play football and this he sometimes struggles with. If he leaves at the end of the season as its suggested that he will then I for one will be sad, but we need footballing defenders. 

I like Demichelis, I just wish he was 5 years younger, and he would be that bit quicker and he would be ideal as a main partner for Vincent Kompany. I don’t buy into the notion that he has cost us any of the games, as this is a team sport and all the players make some mistakes, his just seem to be being highlighted more than other players. He is a good squad player and in games like Hull he showed he can still do a job, he’s just not the long term future in our back four.   

THE NEXT FEW WEEKS

We have some tough games over the coming few weeks and I think our season will rest on the games at Arsenal and Liverpool, where they will both be looking to take points off City in their quest for a Top 4 finish. I think that the players will realise now that they have to battle for the points, they have to be courageous, work hard and not allow any form of complacency to get into the game. We have some hard fixtures against teams who are fighting for their own survival and these can be hard games unless we focus and have the right attitude going into each game.

We also need the strikers to (a) get fit and (b) to start scoring again, and this is clearly a worry for Pellegrini who hinted as such in his pre match interview with BT Sport (Michael Owen you are the wankyiest summariser ever) where he answered the question about the back four by saying he was more concerned with why we had stopped scoring lots of goals.

I’m clinging onto the notion that we are now concentrating on the League but we will have to start to deal with playing catchup in the league as well as playing a lot of games, if we are to challenge on all fronts in seasons to come.

 

City at Newcastle – COC

City at Newcastle in the League Cup (IN Old Money)

Having thought about it a win tonight and we are through to the Quarter Final of the League Cup (IN Old Money), and that’s one step away from another semi final, we have come a long way in a very short space of time.

We travel to Newcastle with this being the 4th of a series of 4 away games in a row, and by my reckoning we should have had a result of some sort out of all of the 3 games played so far, so much for an away form crisis, not in my book. As a friend of mine said in the aftermath of the game at Chelsea on Sunday “shit happens”, this friend is spot on and we are deluding ourselves if we expect to bull doze every team in every game, it won’t happen. I said my piece about the Chelsea game in my last posting and my view remains the same.

Tonight, for me, is a chance to see what the other “fringe” members of the squad can do, and a chance for a rest from the hurly burly for the regular starters. I saw yesterday a photograph of Yaya Toure in Nairobi promoting a worthy cause to save elephants, so it’s unlikely that he will play a huge part in the game tonight. This is a chance to stake a claim for the first team for players like Milner, Rodwell, Jovetic and Lescott.

I think we will see a different starting 11 tonight and rightly so. In goal (irrespective of recent form or not) I would have always expected Costel Pantilimon to start (this will cause a media frenzy I’m sure), but I’m sure he’s been given the nod that he will start in the cup games this season. At right back I think that Micah Richards will play again as he continues his rehabilitation (if he is fit of course), he is better at RB than CB in my view, but I wouldn’t worry either way in this game. The CB pairing will be the same as against Wigan, with Dedryck Boyata partnering Joleon Lescott. I did think about maybe giving Demichaelis another run out but decided that two games in 3 days after a long injury layoff is asking a bit much. The left back will be Kolorov, who is probably thinking he can win back his regular starting birth with the slight dip in form shown by Gael Cliché.

In midfield we will see (I hope) Jack Rodwell and James Milner as a central pairing, I think we need to see how they play together in these positions but it is a good chance to test fitness (Rodwell) and get game time in a central role which he likes (Milner). I suspect that we will see David Silva start on the bench tonight alongside Yaya and Fernandinho, which means that both Nasri and Navas will be in the team to provide the invention. I was tempted to throw the youngster Lopes in to one of the wider midfield positions but I believe he is injured, shame if he is but as I said before “shit happens”. If Rodwell doesn’t make the starting line up I would expect Javi Garcia to keep his place in Central Midfield, but only if Rodwell isn’t fully match fit.

Tonight is a perfect chance for the manager to pick Stefan Jovetic, I had expected to see him well before now after his display against Wigan and his International appearances told us that he was over his injury, but I can be persuaded that he’s not fully match fit yet. He is an exciting player and one that I think the City fans wish to see more of, as clearly he can play either right up top or behind the main striker to cause a bit of havoc. I hope he gets picked tonight I really do.

I know that Aguero has been prolific in recent weeks and has been on sparkling form but I suspect that he will get a rest tonight, and that the final striking role will be between Negredo and Dzeko. I think Negredo is going to become a City fan favourite very soon has he plays the game the right way, with loads of determination and no little skill. He’s bagged a good few goals as well this season so far. I expect the manager to pick Dzeko, he will need game time and I think he has had enough starts from the bench for the manager to punt for him to start tonight. I would want him to play right at the top of the team and let Jovetic do the dropping off and cause havoc in the centre of what looks to be a depleted back four for Newcastle.

I think that Newcastle will look upon this as an opportunity to progress in a Cup competition and play a strong team, but who knows what goes on behind the scenes at Newcastle and in the mind of their manager. One things for sure it should be a decent game with two teams looking to try to win the game, maybe that’s the kiss of death from me and it will be a rubbish game, lets hope not.

I do think City are moving forward under Pellegrini and that one or two individual errors have been costly, but that’s life and that’s football and I’m sure there will be lots of ups and downs before we get to the end of the season. I for one fancy (yet) another trip to Wembley, so come on City lets give it a good go.

The Night After The Afternoon Before – Thoughts on Chelsea Away

It’s strange how your feelings change very quickly when you sit down and assess things properly. My immediate reaction after the game was one of anger that we had thrown away another good position and that defensive frailties had cost City again. Funny how today I’m much more positive about the game and yes we lost, but we actually went to Chelsea and played them off the park, particularly second half.

We had lots of possession and worked the ball around well and on another day we could have lost by more and on another day we could have won. Lots of positives for me from the game, Pellegrini and his tactics and formations, Garcia played in his preferred position, Fernandinho looks much more comfortable and gets better and better. Aguero and Silva are just class acts and continue to play better and better.

The two main talking points for me in the game are the form of Gael Cliche and “that” goal.

The form of Gael Cliche is a surprise to me as he has been mr consistent and put in some great displays in all the games but I guess he is allowed a slight drop in form like all other players but we notice it more as he has very high standards to love up to. The way he was left behind by Torres is a real surprise as he normally is rock solid close to the dead ball line, but as I’ve said he’s allowed a blip, everyone’s human after all. The formation we play means he has to get forward, this is not a real change from the previous tactics but he is a bit more one and one exposed than he was previously but he will get back on form, he’s to good a player not to.

As a central defender, when I was a lad, they taught me to not let the ball bounce when played long and always take control if there is any doubt. Both Joe Hart and Mateja Nastasic are to blame for the goal, Nastasic should have taken charge and dealt with the ball earlier by heading it away from the goal and lumping it into the stand, but he gave Torres a sniff, which was his mistake. Compound this with Joe Hart coming flying out of the goals when he should have stayed at home, didn’t really give Nastisic any time to react and the rest is history. We seem to be leaking soft goals at the minute but again I think this is just the way it is, and can be sorted by some training ground work. We should be calm and trust the players and manager.

For me a trip to Chelsea always ended with us being completely outplayed but this one didn’t, we lost to a mistake and could easily, on a mother day won what was an absorbing game.

Number 3 City at Chelsea

Arguably this should be the sternest test for City, but I suspect that both teams will have the post CL game hangover. This is about who recovers best and who wants to win more than the other.

The top of the table looks quite odd at the moment, with the expected top 4 not being quite where they where expected to be, but it’s early days yet. It is good to see other teams in the mix, particularly pleased for Southampton, but let’s see whose where at Christmas, that’s more of a barometer.

I would hope that Pellegrini wants to win at Chelsea and decides to play a strong team today, which may involve a good deal of changes from Wednesday night. I suspect both Kolorov and Richards will slot back into the full back roles, and I would also expect a start for Nastasic. This leaves the problem of who to partner at CB and with Pellegrini not liking two left footers together, I’m expecting either Garcia to keep his place or Martin Demichaelis to get a sniff of the first team. We could of course see Lescott at left CB but the partner CB still applies.

I expect Samir Nasri to get a start today in place of Navas, who still seems to be adjusting to life at City, let’s hope he’s not home sick and starts to take on full backs and murdering them soon. I think Yaya Toure is a certain starter, and as long as his head is in the right place after the awful racist abuse in Moscow he should continue in Central Midfield. With David Silva being back to his best form he just must play for me, so that leaves who partners YT in the centre. I’m not sure that Rodwell is sufficiently fit (or trusted) to play in this type of high profile game, but I’d be tempted to consider James Milner alongside YT, but Fernandinho is starting to look better and he may well retain his place.

I think at some stage we will see Stefan Jovetic get a start for City, but we do have strikers who are playing pretty well at this moment in time, with Aguero banging the goals in in recent matches, and he is a certain starter for me today. Based upon form it should be Negredo who starts alongside Aguero as he is playing well, scoring goals and looking like he is forging a good partnership with Aguero up front. The manager may decide that he needs to shuffle the pack and give Džeko a start, or we may see another bout of cbaness if he doesn’t. He had a couple of half chances on Moscow but didn’t seem to want to bust a gut to score. Maybe that’s harsh. I’d start with Aguero and Negredo today.

I do think today is about not losing as much as winning but we do seem to have a good record against Chelsea of late and their home form hasn’t been the best recently. They will be looking to do the minimum to win, like us, after the CL. It could prove to be a classic and with so many good players on show you’d sorta think it should be.

There have been signs that the team is developing it’s approach under Pellegrini and that his philosophy is starting to get through. The newer players are gelling into the team and we are starting to become more of the force that we should be. I’m not sure what plan B looks like yet, but plan A will work most of the time then that’s fine with me. I think the Pellegrini way is as much about players as formations and systems, as good players, in my view, play well whatever and our top top top top players are now getting back to fitness and form and that should hopefully mean a good run of decent results.

We have won the first two of the four away games and I’d like to think we can do the same again today and notch a win away at Chelsea. I think this is eminently doable.

C’mon City.

City Away in Moscow

I did say on my last CL posting that these are the games that we aspire to be part of, but today I think I’m changing my mantra to read “these are the games that we aspire to get result in”. As the draw was being made for this years CL I always felt that the games against CSKA would be the pivotal games and I’m still convinced that this will be the case.

The back to back games always are crucial in most CL groups and I can’t see any reason why today should be any different, 3 points today will leave us well placed in the group but even 1 point would not be a disaster with home games against CSKA and Plzen to come, 3 points in each of those games plus the 1 from an away draw would give us 10 points, tantalisingly close to qualification. Ana way win plus 3 points from both home games means we are qualified in my school boy mathematics brain. But let’s not get to ahead of ourselves.

Tonight’s match will be a trick one, and by all accounts the pitch is a bit of a cow patch and that could play right into the home sides hands, who should have more experience on the pitch than City will have. Not that I’m getting my excuses in early, far from it, I just think that in this day and age CL teams at this level should have a decent pitch and if not should be made to play at a stadium that does.

It’s hard to know precisely how tonight’s match will pan out, will we see the clinical City that swept aside West Ham on Saturday or will we see the tentative City that is trying not to lose but at the same time not going all out to win. If I’m honest we have the great firepower and quality in our team but we all know that counts for nothing if the big players don’t play well in the big games.

It’s great to see David Silva is getting back to something like his best, and we do tick over much better when he plays. He’s even adding tackling to his game, as witnessed in the booking for the sliding tackle he made on Saturday, perhaps leave that to the tacklers in the team and just get back behind the ball. His presence in the team is a welcome distraction for the opposition which gives time and space to others in the City team to exploit, whilst talking the burden of creating something from Toure (where it usually ends up when we are not breaking teams down).

I’m not really sure about CSKA Moscow and where the strengths and weaknesses lie (I haven’t got FIFA 2014) but I think they will pose a decent threat to City and we should not take them to lightly particularly at home. I’m sure the City coaching staff are well aware of what CSKA can do and have drilled the team in what to expect, as they should do for every game.

It’s my contention that for these sorts of games you should play the strongest team possible but, being mindful of what happened against Munich, we also have to have an eye on how the opposition will line up and play. So on that basis this is my team selection for tonight’s game.

In goal there is only one choice for me, yes he’s dipped in form but class is permanent and he’s massively experienced in big games both for City and England, so Joe Hart is my choice in goals.

Defensively I think we should pick our strongest 4, and at full back this should be Zabaleta and Cliché, even though Kolorov has had some good games of late he is likely to come under defensive pressure and in that regard Cliché is the better defender. I think that Micah Richards is getting back to form but I think Zabaleta is the better of the two defensively but can get forward if required. At Centre Half I thinkw e should go for the best two defenders and for me that should be Lescott and Nastasic. I know this means two left footers but instincts tell me that they are both better defenders than Garcia, who is the obvious other choice given the injuries we have at the moment. To be fair to Garcia he does have a better distribution than Lescott but Lescott can stand up for the fight a bit better in my view.

The midfield is another interesting proposition but for me Toure and Fernandinho must play in the central roles, both have bags of CL experience and are big match players when it matters, in my view. With the magician that is David Silva occupying another of the midfield slots its then down to who plays in the last spot, presuming 4-4-2 of course. So who out of Navas, Nasri and Milner should play in the last of the midfield slots. There are others who could play in midfield but are perhaps not quite fit enough yet (Rodwell) but for me it’s a choice between Milner for legs and tackling, Nasri for guile and Navas for width and pace. I’d pick Nasri.

Upfront I think it’s a very simple choice and that would be Džeko and Aguero, this is hard on Negredo who is playing out of his skin in the league but Dzeko has the experience of this type of fixture.

So I hope this game doesn’t turn into a stick to beat the manager and that the players step up and show why City are a force in this years CL, at least through these early group stages. I do believe that the managers philosophy is getting through to the players now and that we are starting to build the new City approach and style under Pellegrini.

C’mon City.

The First of Four

Well the international break has thankfully disappeared over the horizon, even if the journos still hound Hodgson. I do think this next week will be a huge one for City as we have 4 away games in a row. Our away form hasn’t been the best so far this season.

The trip to Moscow is hugely significant as this is one of the must win (well definitely not lose) games in the CL as well as to trips to London where we can I’ll afford to lose ground on the rest of the contenders at the top of the PL.

Pellegrini is famed for his tactical astuteness and I think this will be tested in these next 3 games starting at West Ham. On reality we should win at Upton Park but theory and practise are not always the same.

The games before the CL are always hard as the team doesn’t want to over exert itself but yet it must do enough to win the game. This is a delicate balance and it must be achieved without our captain and other key defenders. We don’t look the same team when Kompany doesn’t play, let’s hope today is different.

I have a feeling that we will see a strong team today and I’m hopeful that we can start to put together a run of good results founded upon good performances where we put teams to bed and don’t allow them a sniff to get back into the game.

The midfield should have David Silva in it along with Yaya Toure and Fernandinho with Milner for added legs. So far we haven’t seen any formation flexibility and maybe we should in the away games play with 1 striker and maybe one off that main striker, either to make 5 in midfield or in the hole behind. At some point soon we should see Jack Rodwell back in the team and those sorts of away games maybe the time to try him again but his fitness is yet to be proven, but I do like the look of him as a central midfield alternative.

For me Negredo must start today as the central striker, he’s quickly becoming a crowd favourite with his all action style and eye for goal.

I though Sergio Aguero looked really tired against Everton and maybe his flying around the world hasn’t helped that but he needs to get back to full match fitness and quick.

I was really impressed with Stefan Jovetic on the England game against Montenegro and perhaps he should get a start on the supporting striker role. He is tricky and clever and can score goals, I have big expectations of young Stefan.

The back four needs to be solid today and that means Zabaletta and Clichy at full back. Much that I’ve been impressed with Kolorovs attacking wide play he is a bit vulnerable defensively now and again and we need solidity today. The CBs will be Lescott and Nastasic.

So here’s my pick team wise this week

JH
PZ, JL, MN, GC
JM, YT, F, DS
SJ, AN

Three points a must today for me.

Come on City.