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Maybe there will be a bigger shake up of the City squad than I thought.

New CB
Another midfield player
Another winger
A couple of strikers if Balotelli/Tevez are moved on

Anywhere else obvious that could be improved?
Original post by Gridiron-Gangster
Balotelli already is a class player it's just that he needs to mature a bit personality wise but it doesn't help if the person mentoring him can't be bothered to have a bit of patience and has to act so unprofessionally as to publicly slag him off and suggest selling him just because he's a little much to handle.

Ultimately we were all jumping down Tevez's throat yet we never stopped to consider what the underlying issue was and as much as I hate to say I don't think the players are or have ever been the issue; it's the manager.

If anything it hasn't been a great season off the pitch with the player rifts, inept management, Gary Cook scandal etc.

On the pitch I can't say it's been much better. Ok I accept we're going to finish 2nd which is an improvement from last season and this year we've genuinely challenged for the title. However we fell completely by the wayside in the remaining third of the season and not to mention completely flunked in all the cups. It was embarassing to get knocked out of the Champions League at the group stage and regardless of the strength of the group, City had enough quality to at least finish second. Then there's the Europa League. Sporting Lisbon are now two games away from the final and had City taken them a little bit more seriously that may well have been City in the semis now. The Europa League would have been a more than worthy consolation still being a European trophy despite it's somewhat abject prestige here and there.

The FA Cup....too much hype about how they were going to "end" United's season and it bit them in the bum. Carling Cup was even more disappointing when you look at how rubbish Liverpool have been this season in the league. City had opportunities to close at the game at Anfield but again cockiness and arrogance set in and they allowed quite possibly the worst Liverpool team in 20 years to win a trophy. Congrats to them but if they do go onto win the FA Cup and consolidate a miserable position in the league, well it just says it all doesn't it?

But anyways City have spectacularly failed this season in the respect that they haven't been able to cope with playing in so many cups and closing out games when they're in control etc. But I think it's a more a case of Mancini not being able to handle the pressure than anything.

I mean last season, top 4 wasn't a given and finishing 3rd (level on points with Chelsea) was flattering. In the FA Cup we needed to replay at least 2 games I recall (Notts County and Leicester) en-route to the final.

As I said I would feel for Mancini if he got sacked. Having won the club their first trophy in 35 years he deserves a job for life within the City setup. I don't see any point in asking him to leave unless Jose Mourinhio or Pep Guardiola are keen on the job. The latter unlikely and I'm unsure of how he'd cope in the Prem. Jose possibly.

But I stand by what I said, I'd rather Mancini left than lose Balotelli and Tevez who when on form are amongst the best strikers out there. Perhaps we need someone better equipped to deal with them? Mourinhio clearly was keen to handle Tevez hence Real Madrid were linked with him but he's had beef with Balotelli so that may be a problem?


Yeah I completely agree. I would feel sorry for mancini if he got sacked. But there is no excuse for finishing this season trophyless when you have the best squad by far in the prem, don't have age problems like chelsea, injury problems like united and arsenal or problems in squad depth like tottenham, you guys really didn't have an excuse finishing the season trophyless. What's done is done though, hopefully your players can pick up from this, because if off the field problems keep on happening, you guys could end up having a crap season or two next season.

It's a different situation to liverpool, but morale wise it's similar. Had a big lead, blew it to united, mind games started coming, you guys can easily buy your way out of it though while they couldn't, but I could see you guys coming anywhere in the top 4 next season, you might want to look at chelsea if you think it's not possible, despite the ageing squad, we could still challenge for the title with the players we have which is why we're winning games recently.
Original post by Zerforax
Maybe there will be a bigger shake up of the City squad than I thought.

New CB
Another midfield player
Another winger
A couple of strikers if Balotelli/Tevez are moved on

Anywhere else obvious that could be improved?

I definitely think City need two wingers who can work the flanks, it seems City relied on Silva too much in the first half of the season to provide that Iniesta/Xavi role. Needless to say it got too much for him and he has now hit fatigue, Nasri has tried taking his place however, he is nowhere near as good as the Spaniard. Some wingers would allow them to widen their game play and allow some pressure to be released from their central midfielders. I think Aguero/Dzeko are suitable strikers to play next season if the two sumbags leave. I do not think Aguero and Dzeko have been utilised probably by Mancini this season, I rekon they would make a great attacking force. Obviously Aguero and Tevez would have been the better duo however, him and Balotelli need to go.
Original post by Kevmeister
Mancini's man management, or lack of it, is coming to the fore now - mishandled Silva, who has been lacking for a few months. His talk in the press about Balo, was that supposed to calm the lad down? He hasn't got the best out of Nasri, constantly playing him on the wing when he could've come in for Silva and thus giving him some rest.


Yes and no. Balotelli was mismanaged yes.

Silva and Nasri though are just not in that top tier of attackers who can produce for an entire season. I mean what has Nani done in the same period we are talking about Silva not performing? Rooney went for a long long time playing way below what you'd expect last season (Or maybe the one before). Berbatov has never hit the form at Spurs. On the other hand Lescott and Kompany have been fantastic all season, Barry has save the odd game, Toure has been great all season.

I think it's more about the nature of attacking players than anything.
It's not about replacing for quality per se. It's about adding more strings to our proverbial bow.

We're too easy to just squeeze out of a game; have a tiny pitch, play a high line and sit your forwards deep and we have nothing. To counter act that we need players capable of getting in behind defences, or genuine pace as people like to call it. We add two players like that and we start to nick goals away at Swansea, Sunderland, Arsenal etc and we turn draws into wins because we have a back 6 capable of not conceding easily.

Then we need one midfielder who can impose himself on a game physically, I like Toure but he doesn't have the engine or heart in reality. Just a big lad who can get about the pitch and bully people.

We get those two and we win a lot more away games and win the league.
Original post by Welsh Leprecaun
Possibly the first post of yours that I have ever agreed with. Maybe I'm just tired...


Maybe you've let your guard down and you're seeing sense rather than general footballing opinion.


That is one of the worst articles I have ever read. So much idiocy in one page :facepalm2:
Could being left out of the Euro squad for Italy be the best thing for Balotelli in the long term?

He obviously really wants to play for Italy and in the Euros but maybe he needs a little more stick after all the carrot he's been given?

Would not going to the Euros really force him to re-evaluate his behaviour for the better?
Reply 3028
Original post by Zerforax
Could being left out of the Euro squad for Italy be the best thing for Balotelli in the long term?

He obviously really wants to play for Italy and in the Euros but maybe he needs a little more stick after all the carrot he's been given?

Would not going to the Euros really force him to re-evaluate his behaviour for the better?


I doubt it, Italy will probably do quite badly at the tournament so he will just believe that they did badly because he wasn't there.
Reply 3029
Original post by warwickorbristol
Nice that their goal directly resulted from a boot beating Tevez to the header, because that couldn't be dangerous play could it?

Similar with Song not even getting a booking for Toure's injury and then saw him slide in against Nasri two footed ("If Nani had his foot planted..."). Balotelli's challenges were clumsy but had no force behind them, could never do any damage. But of course he's victimised yet again for having the audacity to be young and black.

Tbh the refereeing decisions were reassuring more than anything, the season has been the same since day one we're just not able to out play the corruption these days.


You're actually beyond parody these days, please never leave :toofunny:
Original post by warwickorbristol
It's not about replacing for quality per se. It's about adding more strings to our proverbial bow.

We're too easy to just squeeze out of a game; have a tiny pitch, play a high line and sit your forwards deep and we have nothing. To counter act that we need players capable of getting in behind defences, or genuine pace as people like to call it. We add two players like that and we start to nick goals away at Swansea, Sunderland, Arsenal etc and we turn draws into wins because we have a back 6 capable of not conceding easily.

Then we need one midfielder who can impose himself on a game physically, I like Toure but he doesn't have the engine or heart in reality. Just a big lad who can get about the pitch and bully people.

We get those two and we win a lot more away games and win the league.

Toure is the best midfielder in the league. You're telling me he doesn't influence the game physically, are you serious?
Original post by Isometrix
His transfer fee would probably get knocked down as City would want to offload him asap, but his wages would still be high. And another issue is there's not a manager out there that can control him. Even Mourinho who commands so much respect and instills a lot of discipline into his players had problems.

I think he should move to another league, somewhere quieter than England, and start afresh. Maybe the new generation billionaire clubs like PSG or Anzhi will look into him.


He's not leaving city.
Reply 3032
Original post by jam277
Toure is the best midfielder in the league. You're telling me he doesn't influence the game physically, are you serious?


He's a playmaker. He doesn't have the work rate/stamina (don't know which, probably both) to be a destructive force that Jepp is after. Roy Keane imposed himself on a game physically, Jepp's asking for more than height and strength.

He's an absolutely fantastic playmaker and that's what makes him a great player. Offers a goal threat too when playing in a role that allows it. He is strong in the tackle and can be a physical force but he doesn't get around the pitch enough to offer that throughout a match. I imagine Gareth Barry does far more 'bullying' than Toure. Toure seems to be one of the most misunderstood players in the league, pretty much exclusively because of his height.
A midfielder who can impose himself physically.....I swear City had one or two of those..

Spoiler

Original post by Louis.
He's a playmaker. He doesn't have the work rate/stamina (don't know which, probably both) to be a destructive force that Jepp is after. Roy Keane imposed himself on a game physically, Jepp's asking for more than height and strength.

He's an absolutely fantastic playmaker and that's what makes him a great player. Offers a goal threat too when playing in a role that allows it. He is strong in the tackle and can be a physical force but he doesn't get around the pitch enough to offer that throughout a match. I imagine Gareth Barry does far more 'bullying' than Toure. Toure seems to be one of the most misunderstood players in the league, pretty much exclusively because of his height.


I thought he was more of a box to box midfielder? Who drives the ball forward and does well defensively as well, more like schweinsteigger/essien a couple years back or something? He is a good playmaker though tbf. He did that against swansea in the 4-0 win and just drove the ball forward. Tbf I don't see yaya winning back balls as much as barry or de jong does so I get what you mean. He can do it however if you put him in that role, might not be mascharano's level but he still does it pretty well.
Reply 3035
It reallt does baffle me how weirdly people percieve Yaya. He always looks knackered after about 60 minutes, rarely moves from a 30-40 yard area and still manages (despite his height and muscle) to get bullied by players as small as Lucas.
Reply 3036
Original post by Mess.
It reallt does baffle me how weirdly people percieve Yaya. He always looks knackered after about 60 minutes, rarely moves from a 30-40 yard area and still manages (despite his height and muscle) to get bullied by players as small as Lucas.


One game a few weeks ago (Sporting maybe?) he made mad dash sprint for about 50-60 yards. He then didn't move from the upfront position for about 5 minutes. Poor guy was utterly ****ed :lol:

Great playmaker, where this box-to-box, physically imposing midfielder stuff comes from is beyond me.
Reply 3037
Original post by jam277
I thought he was more of a box to box midfielder? Who drives the ball forward and does well defensively as well, more like schweinsteigger/essien a couple years back or something? He is a good playmaker though tbf. He did that against swansea in the 4-0 win and just drove the ball forward. Tbf I don't see yaya winning back balls as much as barry or de jong does so I get what you mean. He can do it however if you put him in that role, might not be mascharano's level but he still does it pretty well.


Dunno, i've never seen him consistently cover enough ground to classify as box to box. He had a good spell playing in an attacking midfield role just off Tevez last season, scored a bunch of big goals from there, but he was starting from a fairly advanced position. Been even better this season in a similar role to what Modric plays for Spurs, probably not quite as good on the ball but more complete in other areas, but if anyone is classified as box to box it'd have to be Barry.

Original post by Mess.
It reallt does baffle me how weirdly people percieve Yaya. He always looks knackered after about 60 minutes, rarely moves from a 30-40 yard area and still manages (despite his height and muscle) to get bullied by players as small as Lucas.


Yeah his fitness is strange, probably why he sometimes loses these physical battles to players half his size. Probably half the reason he didn't excel too much at Barca, couldn't cope with the physical aspect their pressing required. The other half being the other ridiculously good midfielders, of course.

To be fair if he had the engine of a Vieira and was as good on the ball as he is now it'd be unfair on the other players.
Louis has it in one tbh (especially questioning his work rate as well as his stamina, very astute).

Yaya is just the most bizarre footballer I've ever seen. His greatest strength is obviously that he played for Barca and some of their philosophy remains, you can just see it in the way he passes to ask questions rather than force something immediately. Then the strength on the ball plus the pace means he can drive like other play makers can't, plus he's a decent finisher.

But what makes him strange is he claims to care so much about football, but putting aside the odd interception the closest thing he does to defending is foul someone and then grab the ball and make an angry face at the referee. He's just soft when they have the ball. But then an animal when we have it (Watch the way he scores the header vs QPR, out of this world and I can't remember him ever winning a challenged defensive header).

But that's not really my point. I like Yaya and he's definitely worth a place in the team.

My point is whenever we play Arsenal we chase shadows all game because De Jong and Barry are so slow and Toure so lazy. If other sides cottoned on to it we'd be in trouble, I dreaded facing Anderson and Cleverly again after the Community shield. The thought of Barry chasing Iniesta round a football pitch is... I don't know something bad. [That's not to say I don't like Barry either]

What I think the issue is is there is reactive and proactive defending. Reactive is generally the Italian way and I believe the way our midfield would be suited to, proactive is a bit more English and how Kompany defends (Ie relishing the "battle"). And I can see the benefits of both. But we relentlessly push this pressing game and it just means the slow/unaggressive likes of Toure, Barry and De Jong get drawn into personal battles they inevitably lose. Last season we sat off and De Jong and co looked impenetrable, the opposite is true this season.

I guess what I'm saying is either switch back to sitting off and absorbing pressure or bring in proper imposing midfielders.



Also as a side point I believe Kolarov is the best left back in the league and probably the world (I dunno who else there is though). Defensively he's like a centre back playing full back (Imo the best defensive fullbacks) in that he offers good aerial skillz and he's strong in the tackle, but because his delivery is so good he doesn't need to stray too far from left back while still offering a fantastic delivery. And when we push on he can offer as much as any wing back in the world. The only problem comes when he tries to play like a by line to by line full back because he doesn't have the pace for that.
Original post by Karma Charger
That is one of the worst articles I have ever read. So much idiocy in one page :facepalm2:


what exactly is wrong with it? everything said is true.

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