City vs United Preview

I fucking hate derbies so this one will be relatively short and sweet.

Team
Mancini has said that Silva, Clichy and Milner could all play, so here's the team the Italian could select:

You'll notice that - Zabaleta and Nastasic aside - it's the exact same eleven that started in the 6-1 win at Old Trafford last October. Silva won't be restricted to the left as it's unlikely that he'll have so much defending to do other as United are without Valencia and Nani, Ashley Young is their only fit winger. Similarly, Milner won't be used strictly as a winger but will be expected to fill in for the Ivorian should he go charging forward.
I'm convinced Balotelli will start for a number of reasons, the simplest of which being that Mancini rested both he and Aguero on Tuesday night. I say rested because it was quite clear that, well, we weren't that arsed. Up to Mario how he plays, if he's up for it and is composed just as he was away to United last season, he can win the game for City, as long as he gets the service his runs require.

Despite what Ferguson has said, there's every chance that Vidic and/or Kagawa could feature, it's all part of the 'mind games'. However, they will certainly be without Valencia, Nani and Anderson. Valencia hasn't had the greatest of seasons thus far but has proved over the past couple of years how dangerous he can be, so him being out is a bonus for City, as is the injury to Nani who, despite his incredible inconsistency, always seems to perform against us.
 Ferguson may be forced into playing Fletcher and Carrick in midfield, and he may also play Scholes if he wants to keep the ball with Rooney playing behind either van Persie and Welbeck or van Persie and Hernandez. Everything will go through Rooney for them, that much I'm sure of.

Midfield
Ask a group of United fans to select the City player they'd like most in their team and about four-fifths of them would answer without a moment's hesitation; "Yaya Toure". Given how big an influence he's been in recent derbies, I can't say that I'd expect any different, nor are they wrong to desire Yaya as he is quite simply, a fantastic player. An absolute monster. However, he's been a constant in City's midfield for however many months and looks to be suffering from fatigue. Consequently, he can be something of a liability in defensive midfield where much of the dirty work goes on. He had a rest in midweek so should be fresher than most of the rest, if he's up for it, I don't envisage any United player stopping him from exposing the gaps in their midfield. I suppose Rooney could drop deeper and sit on Yaya, but he's failed to complete similar similar tasks in the past for both club and country.
If he doesn't fancy going on one of those runs, then it will be up to Silva to find the space between the lines that he often does so well, he's got to make himself impossible to mark, always moving. If Tevez doesn't play, he'll have a lot more space to himself in the final third as Carlos often occupies not only much of the same space as Aguero but also as David when he plays alongside Kun, which is why, in my opinion, City are  best served playing him up front on his own when he plays. That'll never happen though, not while we've got four £24m+ strikers.

In short, City will have much of the ball in the second half, less so in the first half, but will win the game if they can stifle Rooney.

Derby Week Bingo

You just know it's that time of year, don't you? Home Alone is on TV every other Sunday, as is that Coca-Cola advert and certain people in some quarters of this island have descended into hysteria as the slightest bit of snow falls. Despite this, Manchester United have still found the time to wheel out some of their most despicable has-beens in an attempt to try to enforce this now hilarious sense of royalty. In recent years, the likes of David May et al have awoken themselves from sleep at ungodly hours to mouth off on the 4AM slot on TalkSPORT. This year has been no different, so in light of the #DerbyWeekBingo hash tag, lets have a look at some of the best.

Same shit, different year. "Manchester City are like a little brother who will never take their "big brother's" place" is how it reads from BBC Sport. The analogy is new to me but, those Norwegians eh? They put butter and sugar on their spuds. Different breed.

Now, Gary Neville has received, rightfully I suppose, a lot of praise thanks to his very good punditry and analysis over the last eighteen months, nevertheless, G-Nev, as he prefers to be referred to when roaming the streets of Harlem, has disappointed me to no end with this one. There's a fair chance that the headline could be a template, substitute "Manchester City" for "Chelsea" and "Roberto Mancini" for Chelsea manager at time of said article and voilà, you have your article. Abramovich and Mansour run their respective clubs exactly the same way don't they? Typical derby week article. Son, I am disappoint.

I think we should all take a moment to thank Ryan for his efforts both this season and last. Once a fantastic winger, he's now developing into a parody of himself both on and off the pitch. His exploits at Norwich last month were laughable, and yet, rather than consider his own future, Giggs has decided to tire us all with a history (they like that don't they) lesson regarding the Manchester Ship Canal. To eradicate any doubt, Giggs, you're biggest rival is a namesake. 

A couple of other beauties that have arisen in recent hours are United's left-back Alexander Buttner claiming that he was unaware that the Sick Swan had even taken place, the pikey was contracted to Dutch Club Vitesse at the time, not the historic red devils. Additionally, Ferguson claimed only today in his press conference that if United were awarded as many penalties as City, there would be a national inquiry. Nice going, pisscan.

Hot Tip

Have a look out for two things over the next 36 hours. Firstly, there's a fair chance you'll see Bryan Robson at some point on Sky Sports News talking about history. What's almost certain is that he'll be in some boozer with his dick in a pint. His pint. Finally, Michael Owen, despite being pressed for time given all the work he's doing at Stoke, is expected to tweet something along the lines of "can't see past United.." because either a) they're playing so much better than a faltering City side, or b) there's a togetherness in the United camp that City can't match for all the money in the world. 

Is that Fairytale of New York I can hear playing?

City Out of Europe

Whatever your opinion may be, there are plenty of valid reasons as to why qualifying for the Europa League may have benefited us as a club and as a fanbase. Trips to some of the continent's most beautiful cities, consumption of some of its finest ales and experience of some of its most hostile atmospheres. Regardless of the level of European competition, nine times out of ten, you're guaranteed quite a tour. So in that sense, I'm not only disappointed that we were dumped out of the Champions League, but possibly even more so that the effort from the players last night, when the chance of post-Christmas European football was at stake, was nigh non-existent.
There was always going to be contrasting atmospheres withing the two camps, Dortmund had qualified as group winners prior to the game whereas City had been knocked out of UEFA's elite competition in their previous group game against Real Madrid. Nevertheless, I was shocked at the difference between the attitudes of both the Dortmund staff, whether back-room members on the bench or players on the pitch, and our own. Throughout the game, Klopp could be seen embracing his players throughout the game, he gave them a whole lot of loving, but that's his style, a lot of managers will have different relationships with their players, including our very own Roberto Mancini, who is a much more abrasive character, he likes to keep his players on edge. It's worked in some respects, many other managers have a similar style but possibly treat and individual differently, one that is going to win them championships, Mancini has done the same, only his fatherly affection has been shown toward Mario Balotelli.
As said above, the players looked like, among other things such as for some being out of their depth, they couldn't be arsed -Tevez aside. Dzeko was complacent in his running in behind, although that's not unusual. Garcia and Barry were poor, particularly the Spaniard who is on thin ice among many fans, he played like a crab on its back for much of last night's game. As much as I love Barry in the league, he's not proved himself to be good enough for European football. Nasri played? Oh, I was unaware of that. I won't be fed that "he's the man who recycles the ball in our team" bile anymore. He's got talent, he just hasn't any bollocks. The rest didn't show much passion last night either. Cheers, lads.
That said, Mancini didn't cover himself in glory last night, nor has he in our previous Champions League groups/campaigns. Understandably, he wanted to rest Zabaleta, that was fine by me with half an eye on Sunday, but it forced Nastasic out wide to left-back, and as good as a defender he is proving to be, he was lost when Blaszczkowski came on. Furthermore, it was one of the reasons as to why we had no shape whatsoever, alongside our forwards well, just being there with what looked like little instruction.
But shape isn't something that I think City have had this season. The inconsistency in Mancini's team selections won't help, and to be fair to him, we've had injuries but other than when he's switched to 3-4-1-2 in the later stages of Premier League games, City's system has looked much like as follows: A goalkeeper, four defenders and then five 'players'. It often looks like Mancini has set his team out in a very Roberto Di Matteo like system; the attackers attack and the defenders defend, there is no collective graft as a unit that has helped Dortmund themselves to become so successful over the last couple of years. The purchase of just a single player would help us with this problem drastically. We've been linked with him quite a bit. De Rossi, I believe he's called.
City's squad is unbalanced, just as the starting XI is so often. You question the players hunger to play for the fans, they're playing at a tempo you may find at Hough End, Platt Fields, Heaton Park, wherever on a Saturday morning. Reports today suggest that Txiki intends to sort this out. Thank fuck.

Dortmund vs City: Preview

In truth, this has become a game of much insignificance, to Borussia Dortmund anyway, I would hope not to City.
Even if City win tomorrow, the German champions will qualify top of the group regardless of how many goals Madrid may put past Ajax thanks to the head-to-head record between the two - Dortmund won at home a couple of weeks before taking a point away from the Bernabeu. Given their current position in the Bundesliga, coach Jurgen Klopp may be tempted to select a significantly weaker said than has been the norm in Europe thus far.
As I've already said in my piece on the Europa League, I'd actually quite like to compete in it for a number of reasons, not least because it's another piece of potential silverware. However, Mancini faces a dilemma regarding team selection. I think he himself would like the chance of winning the formerly named UEFA Cup, but City face Manchester United on Saturday in what is certain to be a game of huge significance. United themselves are home and dry in their quest for qualification for European football after Christmas, so Ferguson has the option to test his fringe players when they host Cluj on Wednesday night.
Yaya Toure is suspended so won't feature, perhaps fortunately for him as he is in great need of a rest for me, a week off might just leave him refreshed for Sunday. Additionally, Clichy faces a fight to prove his fitness for the derby so is extremely unlikely to feature, as is Aleks Kolarov who limped out of Sunday's draw at home to Everton after just a few minutes. Furthermore, David Silva hasn't even travelled due to a hamstring injury, and is a doubt for the game against United, there are a lot of blues out there with there fingers corssed right now. But Jack Rodwell has returned to training so may play some part should Mancini wish to give Gareth Barry a rest as well, although he could feature alongside Barry and Garcia in a three man midfield. There are some news outlets reporting that Milner is fit for selection, I approach the verity of that news with some trepidation, as just just five days ago, Mancini said he expected him to be out for ten days.

Here's how City could line up:

Mancini could go for three in the middle as we've been outnumbered in that department a few times so far this season, he may even opt for a diamond-like midfield. He forfeits pace on the counter-attack however, if he does select something similar to that above, so will have to chose both Aguero and Balotelli, in my opinion, as they are firstly, our quickest strikers and secondly, I believe that it may well be his preferred strike partnership, and he'd like to play them both on Sunday. Neither are unfit but this is a chance for them to find a bit of form prior to the derby.

Dortmund haven't endured so much success in the league so far this term, but have proved that they are more than a match for Europe's elite, so it will be more than tough, regardless of the eleven Klopp selects, the hostile atmosphere will see to that. City will need their forwards to provide a spark that has largely been missing this season, and there might now be a more important time to find it than this week.

United: How They Could Improve Their Squad

Surely I wasn't the only wondering what the fuck was going on at Old Trafford over the summer? Granted, City had a worse run of things in the transfer market, but United's wasn't much better.

They actually spent relatively big, I can't be certain of the net spend but it probably amounts to around £40 million. I think City had a similar net spend, probably a bit less, circa £35 million. The difference between the two clubs is that while United bought quality, they didn't cover the deficiencies in their squad, while City filled the positions that needed filling but Nastasic aside, with average players. I'm being harsh on our summer acquisitions, but oh well. 

Anyway, back to the point. Yesterday, as I sifted through the gossip columns as I so often do for shits and giggles, I came across a story in the mail reporting that Lewandowski is set to join United in the summer, of course, it may well be bollocks, in fact it's likely to be so, but I also find such a move plausible given how Ferguson is quite obviously working in tandem with Harry Redknapp to start an "Against Tactics" movement, rather just score at least one more than the opposition every game. The funny things is, while pretty much everybody else in the league is playing crap, they can afford to do so. Unfortunately for them though, contrary to popular belief, there are actually some teams on the continent who can defend, City for one are becoming increasingly stable at the back.

So here goes, here's where you red bastards could improve.

Midfield
This news won't be new to you, but Ferguson has dropped a massive bollock here. In central midfield, Ferguson can pick from Scholes, Carrick, Fletcher, Giggs, Cleverley, Anderson and Powell.
Powell will be a very good player in years to come and I'd like to think the same will become of Anderson if he can overcome his weight and fitness problems, he's obviously got so much talent. The there is Carrick who is a nice player, he has a somewhat dreamy side-foot pass and can read the game very well in the middle of the park, but he's not a championship-winning midfielder. Neither for that matter is Fletcher, he's a decent box-to-box midfielder but nothing more, and despite how highly many United may regard him because he always seems to be at his best, I have this for you, only the mediocre are always at their best.
Finally, Scholes and Giggs. Scholes still has a lot to offer the side, he is after all a genius but he must be used in moderation ans there have been times this season when sides have taken advantage of just how exposed he can often be by United's other midfielders (see Dembélé and Ireland). Giggs on the other hand, well as a City fan I do sometimes sit back and chuckle.

The question is what type of midfielder do United need? Do they need a box-to-box, a role for which Dembélé may have been oh so perfect? Or do they need a destroyer so to speak, the type that City let go of in the summer in the form of Nigel de Jong. Well, in recent weeks, we've seen Ferguson experiment with this diamond (yes, I know I said he's disregarded tactics but..oh, fuck off) which is fine and dandy if firstly, you have the players to execute it and secondly, you don't have to counter attack at any point in the match. Look at City at the moment, Yaya can't be arsed and hence the lack of pace when we're on the break. Honestly, I think they need both.

If obtainable, I offer to you, the answer to United's midfield problems in the form of two Brazilians.

• Sandro - There are few better players in the league than Sandro when it comes to breaking up play, he's not so aggressive in his play but he's very efficient and in my opinion, one of the most underrated players in the league. Of course, he plays for Tottenham, so may cost a fair bit.
• Fernandinho - We've seen a midfielder of similar ilk do so well at Stamford Bridge in Ramires, but I think Fernandinho is the better player. Finally getting the recognition he deserves on the continent and in England, I think the Brazilian may be very tempted by a move to England not least because it will give him the exposure and visibility needed in order to force his way into the Brazil squad.

Realistically, how much do you think the sales of Ashley Young and Nani would fetch? Some fuckwhit will pay over £12 million for Young, despite him not being worth that, and Nani is a Portuguese international. £30 million for the two? That would go close to covering the costs of the two Brazilians above.

Furthermore, I think United actually need another attacking midfielder, because neither Young or Nani have proved themselves to be consistent enough to actually warrant their place in the squad in my opinion. Ferguson probably thought the same, he wanted Hazard and then Moura over the summer. There are a lot of good ones out there, whether young Germans in the form of Draxler or Goetze, or one of the Spanish magicians that have become not flavour of the month but flavour of the year in the Premier League. Isco would be a nice fit, but if we are to believe reports, he's heading to the Etihad.

Defence
There has been so much buzz around Johnny Evans over the last twelve months, but the fact remains that he simply isn't good enough for the highest level, much like Carrick, Young etc...
Vidic has been so unfortunate with injuries over the last eighteen months that you wonder what kind of form he'll find when he returns from his current injury, likewise, Ferdinand while still very good, needs to be managed correctly given that he's 34 years-old now. I'm not writing either off, I think alongside Smalling, they're by far and away United's three best defenders. They still need a centre-back though, ideally one who can partner Smalling in years to come. Maybe they should have a look around the Balkans for bargains just as City have, sure, they look to have found a gem in Nastasic.

It's definitely a team that needs somewhat of a revolution in my opinion. They need shot of the likes of Giggs and Young, maybe even Fletcher if they truly want to become a top side again.
As I said at the beginning, the purchase of Van Persie really surprised me, but I've since wondered what Ferguson actually thinks of Rooney. There's no doubting that he's a fantastic player and very important in how United function currently, but there will be a month or so period in the season where his touch, passing, composure, basically, every part of his game becomes ridiculously sloppy, just as there is every season. If I'm being honest, I'm not sure for how much longer Ferguson can be arsed with him. Additionally, Rooney is not a natural athlete, there will come a time maybe as soon as 2014 when he won't be able to shake off that weight he gains so fabulously, his game will suffer and his value depreciate.
I expect some stick for the above suggestion but think about it. United could probably get £50 million for him in the summer if they made the right noises in the shell like of the right clubs. He's going to become a huge problem, a bright man would have him become another club's problem before it's too late.

4-2-3-1 is likely to be the favoured formation regardless of personnel, and currently, the likes of Carrick, Scholes and Cleverley are being overrun, leaving the defence exposed on countless occasions.

NB: The above are just a few names, I'm sure you can offer me a few more given your expansive knowledge of global football. 

Toffees Leave With a Point

Whether home or away, Everton always make it difficult for us, and yesterday was no exception.

Mancini's game plan was clear, he wanted our full-backs to put crosses into the box, a lot of crosses, that's why he started with Maicon and Kolarov at right-back and left-back respectively, rather than starting with Zabaleta in one of the two positions, despite the Argentine being a better defender than the the Brazilian and the Serb. 

Edin Dzeko started alongside Tévez up front and it was clear from the early stages of the game that it wasn't to be our day, Edin's touch was, well to be frank, as good as it usually is, quite awful. He began by knocking a ball into touch and in truth, it should have been an easy ball to control.

Fellaini caused problems for City for much of the game and completely dominated Yaya in the incorrectly dubbed 'Battle of the Beasts'. Given that they were without the likes of Mirallas and Coleman, although the latter doesn't play as much as he used to, Everton had a different game-plan to the one that they have used for much of the season. A game-plan very similar to that they used with great effect against United in August. Long-ball tactics. Now this isn't a dig, football is football and it's up to managers to find the best way to beat a team whether that be playing fast counter-attacking football like Real Madrid or Alan Pardew's hoof-style ball game. Anyway, Everton lumped the ball up to Fellaini on more than a few occasions, and on more than a few occasions he succeeded in holding of Yaya and bringing it down. Additionally, Jelavic ran the channels very well and as always, his movement was excellent, alhtough yesterday much of it occurred outside of the box. If you happen to watch the game after having read this, keep an eye out for how often the Croat pulls off either Kompany or Lescott to the side where they can't see him, their blind spot so to speak. If the ball was coming from Hibbert on the right, he'd pull off to Kompany's right, and if Baines sent a diagonal from left back, Jelavic would loiter on Lescott's left side.

Maicon gave Baines a bit too much space for my liking when the left-back, donning a shit moustache despite it being December 1st, was in a position to deliver a cross. In fact, Everton's goal came from such a cross. Whipped in from a relatively deep position, the big, frizzy-haired Belgian saw his initial saved by Hart before knocking away the rebound. Fellaini had peeled off to Zabaleta at the back post and while Pablo is an excellent full-back, in an aerial battle, that is a mismatch. 

City levelled things from the spot. About time we saw a player punished for being an arse in the box. Lee Probert penalised Fellaini for man-handling Dzeko in the box both prior to and during the delivery of a corner.  "You see that stuff every week" I hear the masses cry. Well, one shouldn't, it's a foul. Tévez slotted it away.

Kompany was back to something close to his imperious best, alongside Lescott actually. Nastasic missed out due to injury, one received during the warm-up I'm led to believe. 

Barry was also very good, the same cannot be said of his partner in midfield Yaya Toure, who once again looked lethargic and off the pace. Once again, he looked tired and as stated above, he was no match for Fellaini when it came to going shoulder-to-shoulder or when they challenged for a header. Toure's passing wasn't close to what it should have been, even those little passes that keep things ticking over, he gave the ball away sloppily prior to Everton's goal and on more than one occasion, gave Barry a hospital ball. It's been a while now since we last saw one of Toure's breathtaking bursts up field, something that he should be looking to change next Sunday against a team whose central-midfield is far from athletic. 

Silva and Nasri put in safe six-out-of-ten performances, Silva possibly having the better game of the two, but neither created much, if anything, which surprised me somewhat as an Osman-Gibson central-midfield duo is far from the strongest. 

Finally, some fans took exception to Mancini bringing off Tévez rather than Dzeko when he brought on Aguero. I'll admit that I thought, and still do think, that bringing of Carlos was the wrong decision but Mancini had his reasons, one of them probably being that both Argentinians are short-arses so offer very little when it comes to defending set-pieces. Then again, maybe that's not the approach the champions should be taking.

A tough game and one from which Everton thoroughly deserved to take away a point.