City News, and rumours.
Been a busy few days on the news front,
Edin Dzeko is moving to Manchester City, Well maybe ? then again could possibly be Juventus ? well its been going on months now and nobody but the man himself knows. The rag tabloids are undecided on where the “Goal Machine” Dzeko is set to move to. January will tell the tale and from what I can see is City will sell off players to buy. That’s is if any deal at all is even been done.
Roque Santa Cruz has turned down a loan move to Lazio. Its doing the rounds that while Santa Cruz knows he has played his final game at Eastlands, He would prefer a permanent move away from the club rather than a loan move to the Roman outfit. Mark Hughes could well be lining up a move for his most coveted player. Which was proved when Hughes chased down the Paraguayans signature and paid well over the odds for it, in my opinion. Good as he is who in their right mind pays out that sort of money for a player who was injured at the time ?. Oh Yeah, Mark Hughes would.
David Luiz of Benfica has also been subject of a bid from Chelsea at a hefty price tag of 17m. Which Benfica have rejected are are supposedly holding out for 25m. Which of course when it come to that sort of money City’s name springs up. This story has been doing the rounds for about a year now how true it is I really can’t say as the rumours are all coming from papers I wouldn’t waste time reading.
Blackpool tomorrow and Ian Holloway is hoping to start the new year off in style with a win at Eastlands. With the 3 points in the bag from City’s away game at Bloomfield Road in October. Blackpool pushed City in a trilling 2-3 victory for the Blues, revenge is now firmly on Holloway’s mind. Holloway has said while City have improved since last playing against them, Blackpool will not come the C.O.M.S and “shut up shop” or say “Aren’t they fantastic”. Blackpool will come and attack !!
This sounds like it can be a great game if both teams turn up on the day ready for action. I for one am looking forward to a good game of football. With City on form I can see 3 points from the game however if Blackpool are not shown the respect they deserve they will cause damage and could easily take the points for themselves.
City win and manage to keep a clean sheet.
I have found of late when City go ahead by a goal or two up they struggle to keep the clean sheet even when dominating the game. However against Villa City showed that for once that they can win a game without letting a goal in, off hand Newcastle twice, Fulham, West Ham, West Brom are all teams that City have beaten were ahead and let the other team get one back. Look I know that 3 points is 3 points but it plays havoc with the fantasy football (lol).
With that aside it was good to see Balotelli smile, even though id say City big boys offered him a bonus to do so. City played well but in fairness Villa were very poor. With the headlines again dominated by stories of a unhappy City strikers this time its Balotellis turn. Balotelli first time away from home and mammy’s cooking the 20 year old his homesick and who could blame him. First time away in a new country Christmas comes around of course he would do. It will take time for him to get to grips but it in the long run help him to grow as a footballer and a man. In he after match in
City have Blackpool the weekend and the question is who will Mr Mancini start with. I think the last two line outs against Newcastle and Aston Villa are as strong as they come Blackpool can never be underestimated and can always seem to pull a result when it matters most. Hard one to call but whatever side takes the pitch I think can take Blackpool and get 3 points.
Blues Go For Christmas Number One
City take on Everton on Monday, looking to go into the Christmas period as league leaders.
The blues sit in third place in the league just two points behind leaders United and will go top with victory over David Moyes’ struggling side. The Toffees have won just one game away from home this season while City have won four of their seven games at home so far.
There is still an element of bad blood between the two sides, most notably from the Merseysiders which stems from the Joleon Lescott affair from last summer and Moyes will be eager to beat the blues again following last season’s double over City.
But with the opportunity of leading the Premier League at Christmas, Roberto Mancini’s side will be hoping for another three points that will also keep their unbeaten run in check.
Team News
Mancini will have the opportunity to select want away striker Carlos Tevez following his one match suspension against West Ham last weekend. But if he is selected, he may have to do so without the captain’s armband, with Mancini rumoured to be stripping him of the honour in favour of former skipper Kolo Toure.
The blues will be missing midfield hardman Nigel de Jong for the clash as he serves a one match suspension.
Everton have injury worries over Steven Piennar, Tony Hibbert and John Heitinga, while former City target (allegedly) Mikel Arteta misses the match through suspension.
Teams
City (from): Hart, Richards, Bridge, Lescott, Boyata, Kolarov, Vieira, Barry, Johnson, K Toure, Y Toure, Silva, Tevez, Jo, Adebayor, Balotelli, Given, Milner, Kompany, Boateng, Logan, Cunningham.
Everton (from): Howard, Neville, Distin, Jagielka, Baines, Coleman, Cahill, Pienaar, Fellaini, Rodwell, Osman, Saha, Yakubu, Beckford, Anichebe, Bilyaletdinov, Gueye, Hibbert, Duffy, Baxter, Mucha.
League Form:
City (last five): DWDWW
Everton (last five): LDLDD
Prediction: City 3-0 Everton
Everton will prove a difficult opponent but I think the blues will over come them and record a decent home win.
What do you think? Agree with the prediction? Let us know your thoughts.
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Moyes Whinging? City Must Be Playing Everton
If I didn’t know this weekend’s fixtures, I would still know that City are due to play Everton on Monday thanks to David Moyes.
The Everton boss was deeply upset last season when the blues relentlessly pursued defender Joleon Lescott before the England man swapped Merseyside for Manchester prior to the summer transfer window closing.
Moyes then spouted off about how disgusting City were prior to both fixtures last season and on the eve of City’s home clash with the Toffee’s, he’s off again but this time about Carlos Tevez. Like the rest of the Premiership, Moyes has watched the Tevez affair unfold but claims he has little sympathy for the blues.
“I have got a bit of sympathy for any manager who is in a situation like that. But I can’t really have sympathy with Manchester City. They will know how it feels now.
We had to go through all that for a couple of months before we lost Lescott.”
Let’s just step back a little here. We will now know how that feels? This is City we are talking about. For years we have had clubs coming in and taking our top players and we allowed it to happen simply because we had to sell. We have known time and again what that feels like to see our stars lining up for someone else but we haven’t continually gone on about it.
We all know the situation last year, but to continually bring it up every time we are due to play Everton is going to get very boring and it won’t be long before the club’s own supporters will be telling him to shut it.
It’s about time he grew up a little and moved on.
MCB On Absolute Radio
The Carlos Tevez affair rages on with the latest coming from Brian Marwood, saying he is confident the Argentine will honour his contract until 2014, but the situation is still making headlines a week on.
As a result, I have been invited to chat about the situation on Absolute Radio on Saturday evening, and I will be putting my thoughts across about the entire affair.
Tune in between 5.30 and 6pm on 1215 am/mw across the country.
Enough About Tevez, Let’s Look At The Positives
The Carlos Tevez story is dominating City at the moment, so much so that I’m bored with it already so I’ve decided to focus on the positive aspects of the club of late and my main focus is manager Roberto Mancini.
I was concerned when Mancini was appointed last December. Sure he had a good managerial record but I wasn’t sure he was the right man for the job. And the way his appointment was handled was not ideal; the manager’s seat barely had time to get cold than Mancini was warming it.
But he did take us into Europe and within a goal or two of the Champions League last year and I think he has done really well. I was again concerned by some of his selections, but it seems he is getting his team right and his handling the players much better, despite what has been reported in the press.
Ah, The Great British Press
Talking of the press, it was those very fools who were talking of a crisis at Eastlands when the blues went through their little blip in October. Losing to Arsenal and Wolves was not what we wanted and the press were all over him but Mancini handled it brilliantly and seems to have turned everything around.
“Pressure? From who?” Mancini asked when losing three games on the bounce lead to renewed speculation that he would be replaced. Mancini has learned to handle the intrusive British press and is handling himself well. At the start of the season, he was amongst the favourites to be first for the sack; at the moment, he would be a contender for manager of the season.
League Position
When was the last time we went into the Christmas period in third place in the league, two points behind the leaders? And I’m talking top flight, not in the lower leagues.
Our position in the league is down to the fact that we are starting to play like a top four side. When we are on form, we can take anyone apart, but we can still grind out results when we need it.
Look at the Stoke game. In fairness, we should have lost that one and previous City teams would have done. But we weathered the storm, bided our time and scored first. If only we could have held on, that would have been a typical United or Chelsea raid.
I remember a few years ago when Chelsea arrived at Eastlands and we absolutely slaughtered them but couldn’t score. Then with about fifteen minutes left, they scored and won the game. We are finally starting to play like a winning side and not before time too. All we need now is a trophy.
Away Form
At this stage last season, City had won just two away games and had struggled at teams like Wigan and the like. But, going into Christmas, we have already notched up five convincing away wins, an unprecedented amount and the credit goes just as much to Mancini as it does the players.
It’s nice to look at away fixtures and, rather than hope, see the team either dominate games, or hold the home team before knocking in a few to win the match. I’m not happy with some of the defending, like that schoolboy goal we gave away on Saturday, but as long as we are winning, I can live with it. For now.
Adam Johnson
Mancini has been criticised in the past for not starting Johnson often enough but I personally think he is handling the youngster in the correct fashion and to back it up, I’m afraid I have to look into Stretford for evidence.
When Sir Bacon Face signed Cristiano “I love myself so much” Ronaldo, he barely played him, allowing him to play bit parts as a sub every now and then when the game was going well, or if they needed someone to turn the game. A few years later, he became one of the best players in the Premiership (took me an hour to admit and type that).
But Mancini is doing exactly the same with Johnson. Giving him the opportunity to change the game, to have an effect on the outcome is working well and Mancini needs to continue this. Johnson needs this to grow, rather than just be thrown in at the deep end. How many young players have City, and England, lost by using such tactics?
Carlos Tevez
Where to start on this one. No-one wants to see Carlos leave but if he is unhappy, get rid of him. The days of holding a club to ransom are over.
The Mancini-Tevez relationship is clearly at breaking point, if not already broken beyond repair. Personally, I think Tevez hates the fact that Mancini replaced Hughes in the manner he did and that what is real irk is.
His reaction during the Bolton game was ridiculous but it did show us one thing; Mancini is clearly in charge and anyone who thinks otherwise is very much mistaken. The way he got hold of Tevez, spoke a few words then pushed him towards the bench was a clear sign that Mancini is the boss, not the players.
The United fans are having a laugh about it and Scott the Red with his rag tag bunch of muppets have been sniggering in our direction, but this situation is only like the Rooney fiasco a few weeks ago. Only we haven’t been stood outside Tevez’s house wearing hoodies, buzzing the intercom, claiming “we only want to talk to you Carlos.”
The other difference between us and them in this situation is down to the fact that United yielded when they thought they would lose their best player and offered him a huge pay rise, yet City can tell theirs to f*** off if he isn’t happy. That’s good position to be in.
The Team In General
It’s took a while to get a rhythm, but I think we’re on the way now. There is more understanding between the players and they all want to play and give everything to the blue cause.
That is exactly what we needed from the team and that’s why we are in the position we are now. I’m really impressed by Yaya with his strong, surging runs. He’s going to take us far and Silva will always be a danger to all defences. Balotelli sill looks on the wild side but Mancini will rein him in and he could well be the spark that will take us to glory.
We’ve got England’s number one keeper and some decent defenders in Kolarov and Boateng and even Micah Richards could be getting his form back. We’ve a strong bench and some good youth players. The future is looking brighter now than it ever has done and much of this is down to Mancini. If we can make this a better season than last, it won’t be long until Mancini leads us to glory.
In Mancini we trust.
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So We Make It To Second Place, Then This
After a good 3-1 win at West Ham, the blues move into second place in the league but were then stunned by Carlos Tevez handing in a transfer request.
The Argentinean certainly has a lot on his mind at the moment, with his family based back in Argentina and he plying his trade over 7,500 miles away. That must be difficult in itself.
Then there have been the much publicised spats with Roberto Mancini, the latest of which came in last Saturday’s victory over Bolton, when the pair were seen having a heated discussion following his substitution.
The blues are going through a very good run at the moment and have been unbeaten since October. This is a situation that is unwanted and, quite frankly, unwarranted. The club have made every effort to accommodate the striker in his difficult situation and Mancini has put the arguments the two have had aside for the sake if the club.
But it seems that being made club captain, highest paid player and being idolised by the supporters is just not enough for Tevez. Many players would probably give anything to be in Tevez’s position and, while we can understand his unhappiness at being away from his family, he shouldn’t be putting the club in this position.
On Sunday, I read an article in the Telegraph, stating Sheikh Mansour had a choice between keeping either Tevez or Mancini, but it is clear which one would be the loser in such a battle.
Mancini is leading the club through another fine season. He guided us to fifth and within a whisker of the Champions League last year and into the knock out stages of the Europa League this year. The team look like they are finally finding their rhythm and now sit in second place in the league.
With Tevez suspended for the West Ham game, there were some that thought we would struggle to score, let alone win but we ended up scoring three times and could have scored a few more in the process, proving that we can live without the Argentine.
So if Carlos wants to leave the club, I’d let him. This could be one of the best seasons most supporters have seen for a very long time, some have never not it this good and, to quote the club statement, this is an “unfortunate and unwelcome distraction.”
No player is bigger than the club so if Carlos wants to leave, then he should before he creates such a wave at Eastlands that it will engulf the entire club.
Arsenal exchange.
Last week I traveled to see Arsenal v Fulham as part of a home ticket exchange.
The rules are simple go enjoy the seats of another Premiership side.
Show respect for the home fans of who you are a guest of.
Try your hardest to keep your Blue views to yourself.
Sit back and observe the soak up the atmosphere of a rival Club.
I found the Emirates a fantastic stadium and handy to get to via the under ground on arrival I found the fans in high spirits and singing on the way to the ground. I was lucky enough to have tickets at the Club level and the bars and restaurants were a lot like what is on over at our own Stadium. After a quick pint I took my seat which was a nice wide seat pleanty of room. I found the game a good one to watch although while watching some fine football for me it of coursed lacked the edge of a City match as he feelings are not there. However looking around and watching the Arsenal Fans on highs and lows the ooohs and aaaaggghs the atmosphere was good non aggressive like what you see at the swamp. Like any Club at home who wins the fans were in greta form after the match singing “we are top of the league ” the mood was good as the fans disburse into the surrounding areas. Getting back was more of a problem the queues for the Under Ground were mad as two London teams were playing so quick walk up the road and into the station before Arsenal, Finsbury and I was off again. I found the Arsenal fans to be a good bunch of lads who were in fairness talking City up. Was that just being polite to me as I was in their company ? Id have to say no. They did say it took time to take in the whole money situation and transfer policy. The madness of the Kaka saga and the way City seem to buy ex Arsenal players. The jokes and laughs were flying. The Arsenal fans also told me they got a great kick out of the sence of humour that the City fans have. They believe that sence od humour was reflected in the “Welcome to Manchester” poster as like so many teams got a great laugh out of it when the Salford Rangers players and the manager came out all guns blazing.
As one of the Arsenal fans said - ”How do you think Fergie liked them mind games on the way to the Office and seeing that”
Their view now is that City are now a team to be taken seriously and are major rivals for all competitions going forward.
That been said they also told me City will never be as good as Arsenal I was well out numbered so I left them with the “Only Time will Tell ” speech and got going.
The Arsenal fan who swapped with me was due to give me his opinions on the City faithful and atmosphere at the City of Manchester Stadium as its always nice to see things from all points of view. He fell sick the night before he was due to travel and was gutted by this, so he will pick a match and travel up in the New Year to sample the delights of Eastlands and ill be able to post his thoughts on the set up then.
West Ham.
City will travel to Upton park to challenge the current relegation favourites West Ham in the the good ol East End. While the Hammers have been enduring a some what up and down time while beating Untied in the Carling cup and losing more premiership match then is even funny. The West Ham fans surely have been true the mill but with all that been said they can play football when they want to. Anybody who believes that City will stroll in to Upton park for 3 easy points can think again.
West Ham have got to survive if not only to stay in the premiership for the fact Spurs are trying to claim the Olympic stadium which happen to be in East London and seen as somewhat of a birth right by Hammers fans. It would make the whole affair to award West Ham a Stadium like this if they were not in the top tier of football. This has got to be a major factor on the shoulders of the Owners, Manager, Players, and fans alike. That and been rock bottom for weeks now is surly now a massive cattle prod to get up and make it happen over the Christmas period.
City are without Tevez and Kolarov banned for 5 yellows for Tevez and a red for Kolarov last week against Bolton. Balotelli is likely to start up front possibly alone or with Jo with Silva coming in from behind as We have seen before this has produced goals.
Hard to call away from home but if I had to call it,
West Ham 0 – 1 City
Blue Review – Salzburg, Bolton and Carlos
It’s Sunday, it’s freezing outside and it’s time to look back at the last seven days as a blue.
Euro Qualification
City cruised past Salzburg on Wednesday and in doing so booked their place in the knock-out stages of the Europa League.
But we could do with winning the group if we want to make things a little easier for us in the knock-out stage as a top slot finish will mean the blues avoiding the teams dropping out of the Champions League.
But our qualification is down in part to Polish side Lech Poznan, who held Juventus to a 1-1 draw and sealed our progress. I’m stunned by Juventus to be honest. I never expected the Italians to draw all five games in the group and thought it would have been a fight between them and us.
But Lech have really surprised me and it just goes to show that you can’t write off a team because of the country they come from. They are a decent footballing side and play the game well and it will be interesting to see what they are made of if they face a CL team.
Bolton Reaction: A Win But Need To Pass Better
City put in a good display against Bolton and showed that, with a little better finishing, we can potentially blast these teams out of sight.
The blues ran the show from the start and it was no surprise when we took the lead after three minutes. It should have signalled a goal fest and the way City were playing, passing the ball around calmly and penetrating the Bolton defence, it shouldn’t have been long before the blues were well out of sight.
But for some reason, it wasn’t to be. Poor finishing was the main problem but another aspect struck me during the game. The amount of misplaced passes that we seem to play is a worry. When we win, these can be forgiven but it is the sort of thing you don’t want to see when we need to score.
There is still a lack of understanding in the team. Some players are passing to where they would expect to find a blue shirt, while the intended target is off in another direction where he would expect to receive the ball.
Of course it takes time for a team to understand each other, considering the major changes in playing personnel, but it’s a problem that has got to be sorted sooner rather than later.
Despite the lack of goals, I’m happy with the three points. It was a result that had to be ground out because Bolton are a dogged team and have the potential to score. In fairness though, the only real chance they had was when Joe Hart fumbled the ball following a free kick but that was all it would have taken for them to then stick eleven men behind the ball.
Cool It Carlos
Carlos Tevez needs to learn to keep his temper and emotions in check.
Okay, so he was a little hacked off at being substituted but I personally think Tevez’ anger should have been directed more at himself than Roberto Mancini. Tevez might have scored the winner but he also missed a decent amount of chances that a striker of his quality should be tucking away.
He can be forgiven for those misses, particularly as City won on Saturday but it is the manner in which he dealt with the 90th minute replacement which will really irk City fans.
Tevez’ was replaced by James Milner for the final few minutes of the game and the Argentine showed his dismay by confronting Mancini on the touchline, before the manager said a few choice words of his own and sent him to the bench.
His very public anger at Mancini and the fact that he continued his rant after taking his place on the bench will do nothing but cause further ructions in the City squad and fuel more rumours that Mancini has no control over his dressing room.
At the end of the day, Tevez is the club captain and should be setting a better example to all players, not just the younger guys. He needs to realise that, every now and then, even club captains can and will be substituted as necessary.
They are not bigger than the club and Tevez is certainly not biggerthan City.
Coming Up
Next Saturday the blues are West Ham with a 3pm kick off. The Hammers are struggling at the base of the league and face Sunderland at The Stadium of Light today.
Keep smiling fellow blues and have a good week.
What do you think of the last seven days? Was Tevez’ reaction justified or over the top? Let us know your thoughts
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