Player of the Year 2011-12

So the voting for City's Player of the Year award is now open and we have not 5, but 6 players to choose from, such has been the level of performance this season.

Who gets your vote? I've no idea at the time of writing this who will get mine but here are the nominees in full to start with.

Joe Hart, Micah Richards, Vincent Kompany, Yaya Toure, David Silva, Sergio Aguero

6 players, 6 different positions, 6 different ways to measure their worth to the team. For someone who has a tendency to second-guess himself and who likes to analyse a player's individual performances you can see why this could be, and is, such a difficult thing for me to decide.

We will take a look at each of the nominees and believe me, if you haven't already cast your vote, this is as much a benefit to myself than it is to anyone in deciding who to vote for. Of course any statistical input can only be to the time of writing this. For example when I mention appearances, I'm no psychic so they are the number of appearances up to the point of publication.

Joe HART

Age: 24

Position: Goalkeeper

Season Apps: 46 (34 league)

Total minutes: 4230

Still a baby in goalkeeping terms and already a nailed on first choice pick for club and country, and has been for the last 2 seasons.

For the most part of this season, Joe freely admits that he hasn't had much to do. When you look at the number of saves he's had to make compared to other keepers, you'll see that he isn't anywhere near the top because City have conceded so few chances to start with. Only Arsenal have conceded fewer shots on goal.

But here's the thing, when he does have to make a save he's ready. For a player who's concentration levels were being questioned only 2 years ago, it is one of the strongest parts of his game. It's easy to concentrate when you're having shots fired at you from all angles and right in the thick of it. It's when you're only called upon a few times per match that you really have to be alert and he hasn't disappointed, pulling off world class save after world class save.

Joe has got to be the best £600k (or so) that City have ever spent, quite possibly the best bit of business full stop. Now ranked among the best in the world by pundits and even neutral fans. There are still areas of his game that need a bit of work, his distribution being the main one, but at just 24 he has a long time to learn.

Micah RICHARDS

Age: 23

Position: Right-back

Season Apps: 32(4) (23(4) league)

Total minutes: 2750

Micah upped his game last season which drew cries of disbelief whenever he wasn't included in the England squad. Those cries turned to deafening roars until Capello finally left the post and Stuart Pearce recalled him.

He has improved greatly since Mancini arrived and has once again become a regular feature of the first team and almost integral to the way City play. His pace and power to exploit the space out wide created by others has been a big part of his game this season.

His contribution early in the season saw him quickly rack up 5 assists, which he unfortunately hasn't added to. Even so, he still the 2nd highest number of assists for a full-back in the league, behind Ashley Cole (6). A little more composure in front of goal could have also seen him bag a couple more than his 1 goal.

Of course as a defender you would expect him to have to do at least a little defending, and he has done this superbly too. Micah's 53 tackles, 35 interceptions, 90 clearances, 12 shots blocked and 53/72 aerial duels won aren't figure to be sniffed at.

Vincent KOMPANY

Age: 26

Position: Centre-back

Season Apps: 37 (27 league)

Total minutes: 3247

Last year saw VK walk away with the fan's and players' player of the year awards. He instantly got my vote, such was his attitude and contribution both on and off the pitch and many others quite clearly agreed with me.

He didn't get off to a flying start this season though, a hugely mistimed tackle lead to a goal in the Charity Shield and there were a number of slightly below par performances to follow. I say below par, when in reality he was still playing better than about 90% of players in the same position.

But those are the standards he sets, a model professional who isn't happy with anything but the best from himself and his teammates. That is part of what makes Vinny, well, Vinny and quite possibly the best club captain I've witnessed in my lifetime.

He worked his way back to his imperious best after the first couple of months of the season and has stayed there, proving himself to be one of the very best centre-backs, not just in the league, but the world. Not bad considering that we wont see the best of him for nearly another 4 years.

Yaya TOURE

Age: 28

Position: Midfiled

Season Apps: 37 (1) (27(1) league)

Tota minutes: 3202

Although there are parts of his game that annoy me to high heaven, not least the amount of complaining he does, he is an integral part of the squad Mancini has assembled.

Playing ahead Gareth Barry or Nigel De Jong, Yaya can cause havoc in opposition defences with his strength and bursting runs. He has also become the fulcrum of the team, with the majority of the passing in midfield played to and through him.

Even after missing a month due to international duty he has still notched up the 3rd most attempted passes in the league behind Mikel Arteta and Ashley Williams, with a success rate of 90.2%. Yaya also has 7 goals and 10 assists in all competitions this season. Incidentally he scored 10 and assisted 7 in all competitions last season.

His contribution in defence is questioned and the number of needless goals City were conceding earlier in the season were partly down to a lack of defensive cover compared to last season when both Barry and De Jong played in the centre. But that's the price you pay if you want a more attacking side.

David SILVA

Age: 26

Position: Attacking-midfield

Season Apps: 40 (3) (29 (3) league)

Total minutes: 3542

There's not much that I could say that hasn't already been said about David Silva. It's unfortunate it took an actual injury for him to be given the rest he needed to gather himself and rest his ankle.

Even with a large dip in form in the last 2-3 months he was hardly useless, and created almost as many chances as he was when he was playing at his best.

Silva has had more game time than any other City outfield player and that was beginning to take its toll on the diminutive Spaniard and the ankle that needs constant attention. But having had a week off, he has come back reinvigorated and looks to be back to the form he showed before January, scoring 1 assisting 1 and instrumental in several of the 10 goals in the last 2 games.

He has created 90 scoring chances for teammates, 2nd only to Juan Mata, and considering such a dip in form you begin to see just how good he was when on song. He has 13 assists in the league and 4 in other competitions and 8 goals in total. Despite a difficult few months, Silva has been simply outstanding.

Sergio AGUERO

Age: 23

Position: Centre-forward/Attacking-midfield

Season Apps: 36 (9) (27 (3) league)

Total minutes: 3099

I think it's fair to say that Aguero has proved any doubters to be talking out of their backsides. Some areas of the media questioned whether Aguero was going to be worth the £35m City shelled out on him but 28 goals in all competitions with 4 games left to play suggests he was.

For his first season with the club and a brand new league, he didn't take long to settle in. In fact it took a few minutes after he walked onto the pitch against Swansea, and he hasn't looked back.

Consider that Tevez at his peak has averaged a goal every 132 minutes after having 3 seasons in England prior to coming to City. Aguero, at 5 years Carlos' junior, is currently scoring a goal every 110 minutes. That is quite simply staggering.

As well as the goals, he is also providing for others, having 11 assists so far and has created 50 chances in the league alone. This all adds up to one hell of a player having one hell of a debut season.

You know what? I'm not much closer to deciding. Who gets your vote?


Twitter: @MikeWalshMCFC or @mcfcDSLeftFoot
Facebook: David Silva's Left Foot 

Message to Mancini: Please don't revert to last season's set up.

I'll start off by saying that this is not me having a go at any players, not in the slightest. Neither is this me thinking I know better than Mancini. However, I do not believe Mancini should put Gareth Barry, Nigel De Jong and Yaya Toure in the starting 11 together in the final push for the Premier League title.

When Mancini first elegantly wafted into the hot-seat at City and during last season, we saw the team transform from one that leaked goals with its seive-like defence to one that was very hard to break down. In doing so, Mancini took a lot of criticism for fielding a 'negative' team as Barry, De Jong and Toure lined up on the pitch together.

As it happens and I'm sure you are aware, this so called negative team scored more goals than Harry Redknapp's wonderfully entertaining Spurs who played delightfully free flowing and attacking football. Not only did City score more, they conceded less, in fact they had the best defence in the league.

Despite scoring more goals though, City did find it difficult to break teams down if they decided to sit back and defend. Although Toure offers a moderate creative ability and can cause havoc with defences on the break, he is the kind of player who creates the foundation for an attack near the centre of the park and slowly works it forward.

When you then add 2 defensive players to the mix, Gareth Barry and Nigel De Jong, what this does is slow the overall tempo down dramatically when you have extended periods of possession, and one of those players takes away a place from a more attack-minded player. Although it makes your team harder to break through, it hinders your own creative and attacking ability.

Teams approached City last season as though it was a cup final, the big spenders from the City taking on the working class man and they were not going to go down without a fight. City needed to be hard to beat, they needed a midfield and defence that felt like the other team were running into a solid brick wall every time they tried to go forward because of this attitude.

To be honest, Mancini didn't have too many viable options available to him in attack either. Santa Cruz and Adebayor simply didn't fit into his plans, or style he perceived for the future. Bellamy never saw eye to eye with Mancini and, along with RSC and Ade, had been sent out on loan with several other players who were brought to the club by managers past.

Balotelli was bought in the Summer but was (and still is in a few respects) a rough diamond. He was totally unused to the league and just a little bit too crazy on the pitch to be able to rely on for an extended period of time. Dzeko came to the club in January and took a long time to settle in also.

That left just Tevez as a viable and consistent focal point of attack while the squad was slowly moulded together by Mancini. And to be fair to him, he did the business for the most part.

But then the summer of 2011 came, qualification to Champions League football had been gained as well as a shiny new trophy in the form of the world's most respected domestic cup competition, the FA Cup. The transfer targets were identified, Savic and Clichy came in to bolster the ranks of defence, and Sergio Aguero and (eventually) Samir Nasri were also added to the squad.

By now Dzeko and Balotelli had settled into the squad and City had plenty of attacking options to choose from.

Despite this, the first game of the season arrived (albeit without Nasri at this stage) and Mancini opted for last season's set up to start off with. De Jong and Barry as holding mids and Yaya Toure pushing further up the pitch.

Swansea put in a good showing and City did create a lot of chances in the first half, none of which were put away. Swansea were largely caught on the counter as they began to commit forward, which fell straight into the game plan with De Jong and Barry breaking up play and Yaya ready to break forward into space working a treat.

In fact it was a slick counter attack which broke the deadlock on 57 minutes before Mancini was forced into making a substitution when De Jong picked up a knock.

Instead of swapping like for like, or near to it, he decided to bring on Sergio Aguero forcing Toure to drop a little deeper. This really was the spark of an astonishing run of games that saw City tear teams to shreds as their confidence soared.

Teams then slowly began to drop deeper and deeper, hoping to grind out a draw and maybe snatch a goal for a win, and in some cases forget about the draw altogether and just limit the number of goals they lost by. If they did attack there was more pace and vision in the side to quickly punish it.

For the most part, Toure was lining up with Barry while De Jong was injured and working his way back into contention, and this gave an extra place for attacking players. City were controlling possession, the tempo of the game, grinding down teams to the point of capitulation and then smashing them apart.

A combination of either 2 of Aguero, Balotelli and Dzeko (while Tevez was playing golf) was enough to keep teams guessing. But the point isn't the different qualities each of those brings, it's that City usually had 2 strikers on the pitch, because the 2 defensive midfielders had been ditched in favour of a more fluid 1 holding midfielder in Gaz Baz and a roaming/box-to-box player like Yaya.

Despite still being everyone's Cup final, teams are no longer looking to attack City, and if they do they make damn sure they also defend in numbers. A formation that requires 2 defensive midfielders is almost totally redundant in the Premiership.

It worked at the start of the season against Swansea because they tried to attack so much (although we only scored the 1 goal while Barry, De Jong and Toure were on the pitch and 3 when only 2 of them were on), and against Villa who were hopelessly pathetic that day, we simply don't need that kind of cover anymore. City have effectively become victims of their own attacking ability.

The last (and only other) 2 games those 3 players have been on the pitch together were Sunderland away and Swansea away. Each time Mancini realised that it was the wrong decision and duly took one of either Barry or De Jong off for an attacking player.

Combining those two games together, those 3 players were on the pitch for a total of 83 minutes. In those 83 minutes, City created a rather meager 11 chances compared to a season's average of 19 per every 90 minutes of play.

Don't get me wrong, City may well not have won either of those games had they started with a different 11, but the way in which Mancini changed the team early in the game suggests that he knows City would have had a better chance of winning had he not reverted to 2 defensive midfielders.

And why is this? Because sacrificing creativity for defensive solidarity when teams are simply sitting behind the ball with 8,9 or even 10 outfield players  (even when they are the home side) is pointless and gives teams the opportunity to gain a foothold in the game. 

City haven't needed that extra defensive player at any point during the season and still have the best defensive record in the league because other teams have hardly had a sniff at goal while City dominated the games with that extra attacking player.

I don't particularly want to see either of these 3 players left out, but in keeping them all in, you're then leaving out one of Aguero, Balotelli, Dzeko, Silva, Nasri, Milner, Johnson, and even Pizarro now he's getting up to speed and Tevez if he is to make an appearance. All of these players are players who have the ability to create and/or put away chances.

The vast majority of teams left to play aren't suddenly going to start attacking because they know how dangerous City are going forward. They will continue to sit deep, try and counter attack and snatch a goal.

So Mancini, change the starting 11 to keep players fit and to keep teams guessing if you wish, but please, please stick to the style you have so beautifully implemented for the majority of the campaign, home and away.

If we are to really push for this Premier League title, don't go out to play the opposition, make them play us. 



Twitter: @MikeWalshMCFC or @mcfcDSLeftFoot
Facebook: David Silva's Left Foot

Manchester City v Blackburn Rovers: Post-match thoughts

Have you ever witnessed a more one sided game in all your life? I don't think I have in my reasonably short 27 years of it. For around 70 minutes of the game, City had about 86% of possession. It ended with 78% possession, 28 attempts on goal.

City barely had to get out of second gear as Blackburn came with the sole intention of limiting the number of goals City scored. Yakubu cut a lonely figure as the ball was often hoofed in his direction with either Kompany or Lescott waiting to take it back from him.

If there is one negative to take away from the game, it's that despite having 28 shots on goal, only 9 were actually on target. Mancini will no doubt be unhappy with this despite the overall performance. In tougher games, less than a 30% hit rate could cost  City.

The shots that City did have on target (apart from the goals) generally brought pretty good saves out of Paul Robinson, who is said to be reconsidering his international retirement. I'm not entirely sure why though, as he still wont be playing ahead of Joe Hart.

Robinson had to make a fine save very early in the game with barely a minute gone. Silva put through Johnson making a run on the wing who then whipped in a low cross which found. Balotelli. Mario's first time shot towards the bottom corner was parried away though.

Silva was causing all sorts of problems on the edge of the box, keeping the ball close to him, waiting for a teammate to make a run, and almost always finding them.

Zabaleta and Kolarov were chosen as the full-backs for this game and they both played admirably, with Aleks getting man of the match. Both provided the width that was required to get behind the Blackburn defence out wide and each put in a number of good crosses.

It was once again Silva who played the ball into space for one of the full-backs in the 30th minute, this time Kolarov. The cross was driven into low into the box and once again found Balotelli who had drifted into space between defenders. Mario struck the ball across the keeper who could only watch it fly past him into the back of the net.

Balotelli unveiled another message on his under armour, declaring his love for his girlfriend, Raffaella Fico. He had learnt his lesson though and only lifted the shirt high enough to see the message instead of pulling it over his head, avoiding an unnecessary booking.

Kompany nearly made it 2-0 6 minutes later when a corner came towards the near post. Vinnie peeled away from his marker, and in a move not dissimilar to Mancini's famous back-heeled goal during his playing days, clipped the ball towards goal. Once again, Robinson was equal to it and Yaya put the rebound wide of the goal.

City came close again seconds before half time. Balotelli hit a 40 yard pass with the outside of his right boot which Aguero had to chase. And despite having 2 defenders around him and receiving a push in the back, Aguero's tenacity got him to the ball before either of them. It was unlucky that his shot across goal went wide of the target.

Sergio made it 2-0 just 6 minutes into the 2nd half after another City corner. Robinson parried away the initial ball into the box, but it fell right in front of Aguero who fired it into the net.

Dzeko came on for Balotelli on 79 minutes and managed to get himself on the score sheet after only 2 minutes on the pitch. Kolarov again the provider after collecting the ball from substitute Pizarro, crossed the ball into the box and into the path of an oncoming Dzeko. His header powered low to the ground and beat Robinson with ease.

Joe Hart was required just the once in time added on. Yakubu hit a tame shot from outside the 18 yard box to mark Blackburn's only shot on target in 94 minutes of football. Hart easily collected it down at his left.

It has to be mentioned that Yaya was magnificent. With Blackburn rarely attacking, Yaya was able to pass the ball almost at will, completing 101 of his 103 passes. He hit several long range passes that found the target with pin-point accuracy, one of his outstanding qualities as a player. And when he did stride forward, Blackburn simply didn't know what to do. It is hoped that the injury that saw him limp off the pitch 5 minutes from the end isn't serious.

Balotelli also has a great game, showing fantastic attitude throughout. Pizarro looks like he's been with City for years, such is his quality of passing and ability to read the game as though he's looking at it from above. I'm certainly wanting to see more of him before the season ends as he looks a quality signing.

With Tevez returning to training, many fans will no doubt be pleased that Aguero, Balotelli and Dzeko are all back in scoring form and looking likely to keep Tevez out of contention of even an appearance on the bench. It wouldn't surprise me if after all that has happened Mancini isn't happy for the same reasons, if only behind closed doors.


Twitter: @MikeWalshMCFC or @mcfcDSLeftFoot
Facebook: David Silva's Left Foot

The Engine Room

25 games into the Premier League season with only 13 games remaining, City sit at the top of the table with a 2 point lead over the closest contenders. There are a number of reasons as to why City are now in the position they're in; Kompany and Lescott's ever improving partnership in defence, the sometimes seemingly telepathic relationship between Silva and Aguero etc etc.

There is one partnership that I feel merits much more praise than it gets. The success of the team this year is in no small part influenced by the complimentary qualities of Gareth Barry and Yaya Toure.

I've made my feelings known about how infuriating I can find Yaya at times in another article. When he's bad, he's awful, but when he's good, he's world class. I have also made no secret of my admiration of Gareth and his superb consistency and defensive qualities.

This season has seen Yaya deployed in a deeper role than last season. This has seen Nigel De Jong sitting out most games as Toure lines up along side Gareth Barry. It has been a master-stroke by Mancini, as although City were solid defensively last term, we found it difficult to score many goals (although we still finished with more than the beautifully free-flowing, attacking Spurs).

Now Mancini has brought more creative players in with Nasri and Aguero to play alongside Silva and other forwards to unlock defences. But what links City's defence and attack together? You guessed it, Barry and Toure.

Now don't get me wrong, the team can cope without either one of these two players. But, and it's a big but (No Barry or Yaya jokes please), the team simply isn't the same without one or the other.

Both players have been almost constant features in the side when available so a relatively fair comparison of statistics is available. This is exactly what I want to do, and I think you'll find that the two compliment each other almost, if not as well, as the defensive pairing of Kompany and Lescott.

First of all, it should be pointed out that although Yaya lines up as a defensive midfielder on the team sheet, he is not a defensive midfielder. He may have been one in Spain, but he certainly isn't one here. In fact, Barry is as much an attacking midfielder as Toure is defensive. You will clearly see this in the statistics to follow.

Each statistic is an average per game measured throughout the course of their appearances in the Premier League this season.


Defensive

As previously stated, Yaya and Barry differ greatly in their defensive ability and it would be ludicrous to think Mancini isn't actually aware of this when lining them both up in the centre of the pitch.

Barry does the majority of the grunt work, and as such, goes relatively unnoticed by what appears to be the vast majority of football fans. He makes more tackles, around double the number of interceptions and clearances and made a number of blocks throughout the season.

Because of this, Barry has also committed around 30% more fouls but has made around 66% more tackles in that time.

One thing is quite certain, Barry does not get the credit he deserves for his defensive duties. This season has seen him grow in the estimations of more and more City fans, but he is still largely scoffed at by football fans in general (maybe apart from Villa fans who know full well what he brings to the table).


Attacking

Just like the defensive stats, the attacking ones also differ quite a bit.

Toure has scored more goals and has more assists than Barry, thanks to his more advanced role compared to that of his teammate. Although considering this, 2 extra goals and 1 assist isn't altogether outstanding.

What is noticeable however is that rather unsurprisingly, Toure dribbles with the ball double the number of times Gaz Baz does. Toure is well known for his ability to cause havoc amongst defences when he runs with the ball due to his sheer size and good close control on the move.

Another noticeable difference is the number of key passes both make. With Yaya's more advanced role, it is only natural that he makes key passes to the attacking players and he makes almost double the number compared to Barry.

One thing that can't be measured by statistics as the effect that Toure has on the opposition. Perhaps strangely, one of Toure's most useful qualities is just his presence. With him roaming about further up the pitch, it creates more space for the mercurial Silva and others to operate in.


Passing

When looking at cold stats, Toure is the pass master with an average of 77.6 completed passes per game at a rate of 90% success. What should be noted though, is that despite a generally more advanced position he does make a large amount of passes to the back two and to Barry.
Barry is more likely to attempt a cutting pass along the ground from midfield to one of the wider positions which partly accounts for a lesser success rate, although 86.5% is by no means poor.

Both have relatively good long ball stats, but Toure successfully completes 1.5 more of these passes on average. It has to be said, Yaya's ability to hit a 40-50 yard lobbed pass is superb. Once again due to being further up the pitch he also completes more through balls than Barry.

It isn't surprising that neither put in many crosses but as you would expect with Barry's history and ability to play wider, he puts in more accurate crosses.

The pattern is quite undeniable, and both complement each other beautifully. It's why we still have such a good defensive record and partly why we've scored so many more goals compared to last season.

Just to compare, this time last season we had scored 39 goals, conceding 20. This season we have scored a staggering 64 goals whilst conceding only 19, giving us a goal difference of 45 compared to 19 last term.

What this partnership provides is creativity and fluidity while still keeping a large measure of solidarity in front of Kompany and Lescott (who's partnership along with a magnificent Joe Hart has also helped keep the goal tally below what it was this time last year). It is quite possibly the best midfield partnership in English football and a major reason why City are sitting pretty at the top of the league heading into the final straight of the race for the Premier League title.

Player stats taken from whoscored.com



Twitter: @MikeWalshMCFC or @mcfcDSLeftFoot
Facebook: David Silva's Left Foot

Manchester City v Liverpool: Post Match

I said it would be one of the toughest games of the season and despite the score I think it was. Playing a game against one of the top teams in the country only 2 days after playing another game was never going to be a walk in the park.

City never really got into any sort of rhythm at any point in the 90 minutes and the possession and passing stats show just that as Liverpool had around 2/3 of it with City completing only 77% of their passes. Going down to 10 men after 73 minutes didn't help but the pattern had already been set. It was never a 2nd yellow either.

Mike Jones is just another in a line of referees who don't appear to be up to the standard required of a Premier League official. Gareth Barry received 2 yellow cards and was given his marching orders, while Adam and Skrtel was free to do pretty much whatever they like for the majority of the game. Even Skrtel giving away a penalty straight after Barry got sent off couldn't get Mike Jones to dip his hand in his pocket to give Liverpool a card after Glenn Johnson's solitary 55th minute booking for quite clearly pulling back Aguero.

I have complained about City's poor finishing in their recent few games as a number of good chances have gone begging, but imagine how Liverpool fans feel? They've had to put up with it from the very start of the season and now Liverpool and Suarez have accepted the ban (if not his guilt) the task of converting the majority of chances falls to Andy Carroll.

Unfortunately for Liverpool, Carroll is almost totally one dimensional, simply asking for the ball to be whipped into the box for him to try and stick his head onto. That was the plan against City anyway. Unfortunately again for Liverpool is that they came up against a Vincent Kompany that has regained his best form in recent weeks and 10 of Kompany's 14 clearances came from crosses aimed at Carroll. In fact, Carroll may as well have not been on the pitch for all he offered. Kompany on the other hand was awarded man of the match.

Although not the kind of game people have come to expect from City, it was a great defensive display with everyone mucking in. Even the forwards stuck a few tackles in albeit with rather mixed results, they are forwards after all. A lot of players had to put a shift in, and although it was rarely spectacular it was full of grit and determination. Not exactly the performance you would expect from a group of over payed, uninterested mercenaries on a cold and wet Manchester evening.

City did concede more chances than they would have liked but Joe Hart rarely looked out of his comfort zone as he put in another commanding performance. The players in front of him handled themselves well, and Joe mopped up any mistakes they did make.

Yaya had possibly his best performance of the season as he gave City a driving force on the counter attack on a number of occasions, one surge won the penalty after going down to 10 men which James Milner converted His goal to make it 2-0 was my goal of the match. It was a fantastic header that went in off the bar, not only for how it went in, but because he was moving backwards at the times and managed to get decent power on it as well as direction.

Aguero's opportunistic shot from the edge of the box was also quite stunning as he hit the ball with enough top spin which made the ball dip very quickly in front of Pepe Reina. The Spanish keeper, who has had a very good season so far, couldn't get down quick enough and the ball shot underneath him into the ball of the net.

All in all it was a solid performance from the squad and full of the determination that was required to silence the growing number of critics all too ready to write off City's season. City proved they can grind out results despite not playing particularly well. I say 'grind out results' but 3-0 isn't really what I'd call a close result. So much for City's season falling apart eh?




Twitter: @MikeWalsh1880 or @mcfcDSLeftFoot
Facebook: David Silva's Left Foot

Sunderland v Manchester City: Post Match

How on earth did City manage to lose that game? It was the kind of end to the game that City fans of a certain standing will have been fearing, virtually the last kick of the game from a goal that was offside.

That's the way City have generally gone about their business for more years than I care to remember. In previous years fans would have just laughed it off as 'typical City', but with the squad City now have and the money that has been spent it's more difficult to accept results like that when there is so much to play for. Still, it's something we have to do. Perhaps not laugh it off, but accept the result and move on.

City had round 60% possession of the ball, 10 corners, and 25 attempts on goal. Sunderland had their backs to the wall on a number of occasions and played almost entirely on the break which is something City are going to have to quickly learn to overcome if they are to continue on their title challenge.

Mancini was clearly unimpressed that the opportunity to go 3 points clear wasn't taken as several players simply did not perform up to the required standard that Roberto has come to expect from his players despite the match stats. In fact Mancini was so unhappy he left the touchline and headed down the tunnel after the goal was conceded and before the game ended. He looked like a man who had been let down in a big way.

Most of the players in question are those that have had to watch from the sidelines in recent weeks and you would have thought they would have grabbed the chance with both hands, but that didn't happen. The passing in the final third of the pitch was pretty poor almost throughout the 90 minutes and it got worse the closer to goal it got.

Yaya, Nasri, Johnson, Kolarov and Kompany were all guilty of playing the ball into the box with little to no conviction or purpose. Dzeko's passing was pretty bad throughout too, and unfortunately his shooting was even worse. 1/3 of his passes were wayward and only 1 of his 10 shots were on target.

One player who can hold his head high despite the defeat is Gareth Barry who was as dependable as ever. Despite losing, Kompany and Lescott also played well defensively overall.

I'm not sure I can recall feeling this disappointed about a result in the last 12 months or so, and we're still top of the league! Perhaps the result against Everton last December was as close to the same frustration many have exhibited after this result. I suppose that's an indication of just how far City have come in the last 3 years.

City may well be going through the sticky patch that all teams go through at some point in the season, although the results themselves other than this one against Sunderland haven't actually been that bad. A loss at Stamford Bridge, a draw at the Hawthorns and two wins at home isn't too much to be worried about at this point.

A big kick up the backside is needed after this performance before Liverpool in 2 days, and some players will be kicking themselves as they have missed an opportunity to really show their worth to the squad today. Plenty of games are coming up though in the next couple of months so they will get another chance. Lets hope they take it.

In brief summary of the game it was a story of poor passing in the final third, extremely poor finishing from all involved, some good defending from Sunderland and an offside goal that stole the 3 points at the death. I probably should have put that first so you didn't have to read all of the above. It'd have saved a minute or two of your time anyway.

Thankfully, most other teams in the title and top 4 challenges also slipped up this week. Manchester United lost at home to Blackburn, Chelsea lost at home to Aston Villa, and Spurs drew away to Swansea. Only Liverpool and Arsenal picked up 3 points so it's not all bad.




Twitter: @MikeWalsh1880
Facebook: David Silva's Left Foot

Manchester City v Stoke City: Post Match

That could be the easiest 3 points earned by any team at any point this season. Stoke seemingly arrived at the Etihad with only one plan; not to get smashed. They certainly didn't want to have a go at City's back 4 and in the first half they rarely managed to get the ball out of their own half. I'm not sure whether or not 3-0 is getting smashed either by City's recent standards.

As predicted, Mancini was set to give Dzeko a starting role but an ankle injury before the game put an end to that. Lescott did return at the centre of defence though, and Adam Johnson also got a rare start.

The first 45 minutes may as well have been a training match of attack vs defence. Stoke's lineup started as 4-4-2 but ended up more like 6-3-1 for the vast majority of the half as City passed the ball pretty much at will, looking for an opening in the tightly packed Stoke defence.

It was Adam Johnson who got the first meaningful shot. Cutting in from the right at the edge of the area there was only ever one thing on his mind but his curling shot ricocheted off the woodwork.

Tony Pulis was constantly barking orders at his players from the first whistle, but whatever he was trying to convey helped very little, if at all as the entire half was all about City. Even when Stoke managed to get the ball out of their own half it was picked up by either Kompany or Lescott without much trouble.

After 15 minutes the possession stats flashed up 65-35 in the Blues' favour, and it didn't get any better for Stoke. Nasri and Toure went wide with shots of their own around the 20 minute mark as City continued to completely dominate the play.

The first goal came just before 30 minutes after a nice bit of play between Silva and Nasri out on the left wing. Silva found Yaya with a cutting ball into the box with the Ivorian hitting a shot/pass across the box met initially by Kompany, parried by Sorensen, tapped home by Aguero. A brilliantly worked goal.

City didn't have to wait too long for the next goal either, and what a goal it was! The home crowd were still thinking they should have had a penalty when Silva was blatantly pushed in the area and Stoke were looking to get the ball back out. They did get it out, only to the top of the 18 yard box before City had the ball again. Adam Johnson found himself in plenty of space and struck a beautifully driven shot from around 30 yards that rocketed into the bottom left of the goal. 36 Minutes, 2-0, absolutely nothing for Joe Hart to break a sweat over.

That's how it continued in the second half although Stoke put up a bit more of a fight. I say a bit, and I mean a bit. In fact Stoke were lucky that City appeared to be taking it easy knowing the number of games they will be playing in a short space of time.

Stoke conceded a third less than 10 minutes into the second half in a way that merged the first 2 goals together. Stoke were pinned back and managed to clear the ball from their own area but only by a couple of yards before Toure and Barry stole the ball back for City. Nasri received the ball off Barry and hit a low cross across the goal which was met once again by Aguero who tapped the ball home.

Much of the second half was City asking Stoke "go on then have a go" and then taking the ball off them and knocking it about for a while in no real rush to extend their lead. Not to sound cruel on Stoke, but they had absolutely no idea either in defence or attack and very rarely managed to keep the ball for a reasonable length of time. It's not often that stats give you the full story in a game, but these few really do;

Posession

Man City: 76% - 24% :Stoke City

Passes

Man City: 937 - 292 :Stoke City

Pass %

Manc Cit: 91% - 72% :Stoke City

Shots on Target

Man City: 11 - 0 :Stoke City

Shots off Target

Man City: 3 - 3 :Stoke City

Shots Blocked

Man City: 8-0 :Stoke City

After the electric pace of their game against Arsenal, City were quite content in taking it a little easier, keeping the ball and making Stoke do all the running. Stoke managed 3 shots in the whole of the 90 minutes, and not one of them was on target. Joe Hart may as well have sat in the stands for all the work he needed to do.

Another 3 points, Manchester City sat at the top of the tree at Christmas for the first time in Premier League history, and the first time since 1929. Just another tick in the Club's record breaking season so far.

Merry Christmas and here's to a happy Blue year




Twitter: @MikeWalsh1880
Facebook: David Silva's Left Foot

Manchester City v Arsenal

Another big game ahead as Arsenal travel up from London to the Etihad Stadium. The media have taken delight in declaring City's season is crumbling after falling out of the Champions League and suffering their first domestic defeat against Chelsea. All I will say to that is "pffft, get a grip and find something interesting to write about".

Arsene Wenger's side haven't exactly got off to a flying start to the season after selling 3 very important players over the summer. Their defensive record is quite shocking overall, conceding more goals than anyone in the top 7 teams.

This poor record is partly down to their complete and utter capitulation to Manchester United earlier on in the season, but they have only conceded 2 in their last 5 Premier League games. However, their numbers at the back have taken a serious hit and are without a recognised full-back on either side of the pitch.

Unsurprisingly I would say their main threat is Robin van Persie. RVP has almost single handedly kept the Gunners in the top half of the table, scoring 15 or the team's 31 league goals. And they said City relied too much on Tevez last season! I've not heard much (anything) about how van Persie has been carrying the squad from the media, and you wont do either.

Given RVP's goal scoring form, it is a little concerning that City haven't kept a clean sheet for 8 consecutive league games. The absence of Nigel De Jong has certainly showed this season as Mancini has opted for the combination of Barry and Toure in the middle rather than Barry and De Jong with Toure further up the pitch.

On the plus side of this though it has obviously enabled City to be more adventurous despite using the exact same formation as last season as we now have more quality attacking players to choose from. There can be no denying that City's ability going forward has more than made up for less cover at the back.

Talking of cover at the back, Micah Richards is set to return at right-back which is a big boost to the squad. Pablo Zabaleta is likely to move over to the left of defence as Kolarov is still recovering from injury and Clichy is suspended. Other than that, there are no injury concerns at this time.

City are once again favourites with the bookies to come out on top, and despite Arsenal slowly getting themselves back into top form and City's little blip in the league I'd have to agree with them. Arsenal will come and play football, there will be no buses parked in front of their goal. This, coupled with their makeshift defence, could play right into City's strength on the break.

And FIFA 12 predicts...

Twitter: @MikeWalsh1880
Facebook: David Silva's Left Foot

Chelsea v Manchester City: Post Match

I'm not sure I can remember the last time so many people rejoiced over a Manchester City loss. Times are changing for sure. It was certainly an exciting game to watch although the end result wasn't what any City fan wanted to see.  

It all started so well on a very wet and windy night at Stamford Bridge when Aguero received the ball just inside the Chelsea half, found his way out of a dead end and threaded a perfect ball to Balotelli who's perfectly timed run gave him the space to run at the goal with Ivanovic struggling to catch up. He still had a lot of work to do though as Cech came out to meet him and Ivanovic tried to put in a challenge from behind. Mario oozed pure class by effortlessly easing the ball around Cech and neatly slotted the ball into the back of the net. Less than 2 minutes on the clock and City were already 0-1 up at Stamford Bridge.

City totally dominated the next 30 minutes with some exquisite one-touch passing which left Chelsea chasing shadows for the most part. Even when they didn't have the ball they gave Chelsea little room to breathe, closing down players quickly and forcing errors. However, City failed to capitalise on some very good chances as well as having a very good penalty shout turned down by Clattenburg.

Silva jinked his way into the penalty area, ending up on the deck as he passed Bosingwa who stuck out a leg and made contact with Silva's knee. Clattenburg waved play on. How he could just wave play on is a mystery as the call had to be either a penalty to City or a yellow card to Silva for diving if Clattenburg felt it wasn't a penalty.

Chelsea managed to find their way back into the game against the run of play after 34 minutes when Daniel Sturridge managed to get around Gael Clichy and whip in a cross which was met by Raul Meireles. It was good movement by Meireles although the defending could, and should have been better. Zabaleta could have come closer to him (although he would have left the far post unguarded) and Yaya Toure stopped tracking him the closer he got to goal.

Meireles was lucky to still be on the pitch after that as he committed a studs high challenge either side of that goal. First he caught Silva and the calf after he was 2nd to the ball and then caught Zabaleta's knee in very similar circumstances. Only one of these was punished with a card, yet both were yellow card offences. Both sides returned to the dressing rooms with 11 men and all to play for at half time.

Things took a turn for the worse for City after the restart as Gael Clichy was booked for pulling back Sturridge just inside City's own half. A needless foul given Clichy's pace and the position of other players. He then received a second yellow 11 minutes later after a rash challenge on Ramires, leaving City with 10 men for the next half an hour.

To their credit, City defended well and limited Chelsea's chances despite the lion's share of possession they now had. It wasn't until the 81st minute that Chelsea managed to gain the lead through a Frank Lampard penalty. Daniel Sturridge's shot from just inside the 18 yard box hit Joleon Lescott's arm as he dived to block the ball. It wasn't intentional by any stretch of the imagination, but his arms were high and a penalty was given.

City put up a good fight and still managed to cause Chelsea some problems to the point that it looked as though Chelsea had the man sent off for a short spell, but it wasn't to be. Chelsea's players and staff rejoiced like they'd just secured the quadruple, as did several of SKY's commentary staff.

City have now played Spurs, United, Liverpool and Chelsea away from home, winning 2 drawing 1 and losing 1. 7 points away from home to 4 of the 5 closest title challengers is nothing to be sniffed at. Although there were a couple of disappointing performances from some players last night, the team as a whole can hold its head up high despite the defeat.

Cue the 'resurgent Chelsea' and 'the wheels falling off at City after crashing out of the Champions League' comments from people who either didn't watch the game or should really know better.

Arsenal visit the Etihad on Sunday. Although they're looking good in attack, their depleted defence may just take a beasting after the disappointment of the result last night.




Twitter: @MikeWalsh1880
Facebook: David Silva's Left Foot