I thought it was about time the blog got a little bit of a facelift, so this is the result of a couple of hours messing around with it when I should have been doing something far more constructive instead.
You may have noticed some of the links are not there at the moment - hopefully I'll get some time this weekend to tinker some more and get them all back up there.
Sylvain Distin revealed the reasons behind his celebrations following his goal (and City's third) during last nights victory over Aston Villa:
"I was a bit tired, but it was important for me because
a lot of people have been talking about me and saying things that were not
true."
"So far I have never answered, never said anything and just done my
job out on the pitch.
I wanted to show people that didn't think I was here
for the right reasons that I am."
...to all who may have voted for me to be one of the bloggers sent to Japan to cover the FIFA World Club Championships.
Unfortunately I wasn't sucessful but thanks to those who took the time to vote anyway.
Firstly, apologies for the lack of preview for last nights game but I've been a little busy over the past couple of days. Rest assured, it will be back for the Watford game and given last nights score could the 5-2 finally be on the cards?
So, we finally end our away day run of games without a win which stretches way back into last season and at least we made sure it wasn't a whole calendar year without a win.
I've not caught any highlights of the game as yet, catching most of it on the radio - and in particular I'll be looking forward to seeing Distin's goal. I read a little bit of the build up to the game from a Villa perspective and most accounts were wary of the threat of Vassell, which I discounted because he hasn't shown a great deal so far this season for one reason or another and he is currently the 'lucky' occupant of the left midfield role.
Still, it was inevitable I suppose that it was to be Vassell who gave us the lead and shock of all shocks we go and make it 2-0 through Joey Barton. Half-time away from home and 2-0 up - surely the game is as good as done. Well, not quite as we allowed Villa a foothold back into the game before Distin restored the situation to earn us the full three points.
Under Martin O'Neill Villa have surprised many this season - and their only previous defeat was away at Chelsea, but of late they have drawn games as opposed to have been winning so I felt we were in with a chance of getting something from the game, particularly with our good record at Villa Park.
Three points was perhaps a little more than expected but welcome nonetheless.
Reaction:
"Obviously going back to your old club gives Darius
a bit of a lift, there is no doubt about that. I think he loves Villa. He had
great times at Villa but he enjoys coming back and putting on a show.
"He has
done that every time we have played them and credit to him. I am asking him to
play out of position on the left-hand side of midfield but the work he did
attacking and defensively was fantastic for the team.
"It isn't his best
position but there's not been one moment where he has turned around to me and
said 'I don't want to do this role'." Stuart Pearce on Darius Vassell.
"We were second best in the first half. We gotVilla boss Martin O'Neill.
ourselves back in the game in the second period and at 2-1 I thought we might
force an equaliser but the third goal was crucial and they won comfortably in
the end.
"We did not play well enough in the first half. We are not famous
for coming out of the traps quickly. But I still see no reason for us not to be
competing at the start of the game.
"From our view point they scored some
very poor goals which was disappointing as we have not been giving many
away".
Following on from Friday's story that West Ham were set to sign Shaun Wright-Phillips from Chelsea in the January transfer market, Stuart Pearce was today saying that if things fell into place then he would be keen to bring Wright-Phillips back to the club:
"If a price was set and Chelsea were prepared to sell
him, just think what a big lift it would give everyone here for Shaun to walk
back through the door."
"You would have to go some to have a combination of
Shaun and Micah (Richards) playing on the same side of the pitch".
Antoine Sibierski has laid into Stuart Pearce today, being critical of how he handled the now Newcastle United striker. Quoted in The Mirror, Sibierski says:
"I don't care about him, Pearce is in the past for me. He didn't give me a
chance last season because I think he didn't understand my position on the
pitch.
"But that's what Glenn Roeder understands and that's why he asked me
to play in this striker role because he knows it is going to be the best
position for me to bring something for Newcastle".
Zero points once again as a return from another away fixture, but there were some signs of encouragement from the defeat at Anfield that the side at least played with some purpose and to a specific game plan.
Pearce opted for a 4-5-1 formation for this game, in what looked a clear plan to pick up a point by virtue of a 0-0 draw. The line-up saw Samaras sacrificed for an extra midfielder - with Nedum Onouha coming in at right-back allowing Micah a more advanced role in central midfield.
It was Richards where a lot of the early spark came from and two or three times he impressed in advancing into Liverpool territory but with Corradi essentially isolated in attack, we were not able to carve out any real clear-cut chances - a snap shot from Corradi being the best of the first-half.
Liverpool had a couple of good chances to take the lead but both Luis Garcia and Peter Crouch wasted opportunities to put their side ahead.
The second half began in very much the same vein, with us defending relatively stoutly, and although not creating a great deal we looked fairly comfortable with the ball. The midfield trio of Barton-Richards-Reyna looked at ease with each other and the system and Trabelsi linked in well with them. Vassell tried hard but doesn't appear to have any real sense for the position he is currently occupying and you have to wonder what effect it will have on him in the long-term.
But one mistake was to be our undoing, and inevitably Steven Gerrard - yet to score in the league this season, was the player to profit from this mistake. Joey Barton played an underhit ball back to the defence and Distin - not anticipating the ball being played back, was beaten to it by Dirk Kuyt who laid the ball back to Gerrard to hit home for around 25 yards. There were perhaps question marks over Nicky Weaver as the ball was far from hit out of his grasp.
Samaras was introduced into the game, and was unlucky with an attempted chip which cme close to catching Reina out of position, but that was as close as we were to come and as time began to run out an overly-officious Rob Styles was keen to blow on numerous occasions - not much going in our favour.
For the majority of the game we looked comfortable in the system adopted by Pearce, and an injury-hit Liverpool rarely threatened to score, but again we come away from an away game disappointed in defeat.
We move onto Villa Park on Wednesday night and historically it has been a ground where we have enjoyed some success, and despite their promising start under Martin O'Neill they have become draw specialists of late so there is some room for optimism as we look to break the run of form away from the City of Manchester Stadium.
Post-match comments:"You cannot give Steven Gerrard the ball like that 20
Stuart Pearce
yards out. If you do, all the hard work that has been put in goes down the
drain.
"They had thrown everything at us and they were not going to break us
down. It was one costly mistake and that is what happens when you are playing a
top-four club". "We didn't find the space we needed in the first half
Rafa Benitez
and Manchester City worked hard in defence and were aggressive in midfield, but
in the second half we had more space and more possibilities and Steven scored an
excellent goal".
Other match reports:
The Independent
The Guardian
MEN
This Is Anfield
The BBC are reporting that Shaun Wright-Phillips is likely to move from Chelsea to West Ham for a fee of around £10 million in the January transfer market.
Perhaps tellingly, Chelsea have admitted an approach has been made and far from dismissing the bid as a desultory offer, they appear willing to call and end to Wright-Phillips' time at Stamford Bridge:
"There has been interest from West Ham and they have officially approached
us," Chelsea chief executive Peter Kenyon said on Friday.
"We're not looking
to sell our players but if we get an offer we'll have to look at it on a serious
basis." BBC Sport
Where and when:
Saturday 25th November 2006, Anfield
Current form:
Stark contrasts here - Liverpool's home form has been near perfect whilst ours has been the mirror opposite. Liverpool's last two games have seen a 3-0 defeat at Arsenal and a disappointing goalless draw at Middlesbrough.
We are coming in on the back of a two game unbeaten run with half-decent displays against Newcastle and Fulham.
Team news:
Craig Bellamy should be in the squad even though he is involved in a court case in Cardiff, but will be missing Xabi Alonso and Mark Gonzalez (hamstring), while Stephen Warnock (groin) misses out and Jermaine Pennant (hamstring) is doubtful.
Dietmar Hamann has recovered from a thigh injury, though he will probably be on the bench.
Trevor Sinclair (knee) and DaMarcus Beasley (ankle) are still out though.
Keys to the game:
Whenever we come up against Liverpool the inevitable Barton-Gerrard comparisons crop up, and perhaps even more especially in the light of Terry Venables comments which were picked up as a 'Barton for England' message.
With the Liverpool midfield resembling a casualty ward at the moment, there will be even more responsibility on Gerrard in the middle which will be a big test of how Barton is progressing as a player.
Stuart Pearce was talking today about the side being more 'hard nosed' away from home which is preventing us from pushing for a European place. Chances are likely to be at a premium so it is imperative that we take any that come our way - something I recall Samaras not doing in the corresponding fixture last season.
Liverpool are not usually full of goals themselves so there is a chance of coming away with something if the defence can transform their home form onto their travels.
City link:
Robbie Fowler - anyone seen him recently?
Why City will win:
Liverpool are troubled by injuries to key players and their Premiership displays have been indifferent this season - in contrast to their European form. We will take heart from an improved performance at home against Fulham and could snatch something.
Why City will lose:
I'm tired of repeating this, but the away form is shocking and we have rarely looked like ending the winless streak. Anfield is never an easy place to visit and Liverpool's home results (like our own) have kept them where they are in the table.
Prediction:
Liverpool 2 City 0
Seems that I have been shortlisted over at the football site Ole Ole as one of the bloggers with an opportunity to go and cover the FIFA World Club Championship tournament held out in Tokyo in a few weeks time.
The chosen bloggers will be picked on the basis of the public vote so if any of you are feeling generous you can cast your vote over at the site or directly via this link.
After his recent sacking from Lillestrom, Uwe Rosler hasn't spent too long on the managerial scrapheap as just nine days later he has been confirmed as the new manager of Viking FK, rivals of Lillestrom in Norway's top division.
In a strange twist, Rosler has replaced Tom Nordlie - who was caretaker manager at Viking before taking the helm at Lillestrom.
In view of Stuart Pearce's comments about foreign players needing time to settle in, I thought it worth taking a quick look at some of the problems Pearce has faced with the players he brought in during the off-season .
Pearce said (with particular emphasis on Corradi after his double at the weekend):
"There is an arrogance with the British way that `the rest of the world fits in
with us' and whenever the rest of the world come to our shores they've got to
fit in straight away, it doesn't always work like that on a cultural or a
football basis.
"Let's be honest, how many English players do you see playing
abroad? Historically, how many have gone abroad and not made it? That is
something you've got to look at." Sky Sports
Taking a quick look at mcfcstats.co.uk at the all-time appearance list, it got me wondering whether we will again see the 'one club' type of player that was seen in days of old - and in particular making 500 appearances for the club.
With the numerous Academy players that are now either established in, or on the fringes of the first team the possibility may be there for a couple of the players to do this, but it won't be an easy task.
To make 500 appearances - whilst not impossible for a player establishing themselves in the first team during their late teens or early twenties, you would have to average around 35 apearances consistently for 15 seasons - which is no mean feat.
The difficulty is that we all know in the modern game a player is not expected to remain with one club throughout their career which makes the task even harder, but is there anyone in the current squad who could realistically make 500 appearances?
Given their age and likely longevity of the City careers, there are perhaps just four current players with a realistic chance of achieving this:
Richard Dunne 230
Nicky Weaver 188
Sylvain Distin 175
Joey Barton 127
Perhaps Distin is a little bit of a long-shot given he would need to play well until his mid-thirties but all of the others have a good chance of doing it if the see out their careers at the club - and looking at Nicky Weaver, without his injury problems he would be well ahead of Richard Dunne in the current 'active' players list.
The current 500 club is as follows:
Alan Oakes 680
Joe Corrigan 603
Mike Doyle 570
Bert Trautmann 545
Frank Swift 511
Colin Bell 501
Eric Brook 500
Billy Meredith 500
Don't forget that you can still vote to send me to Japan to cover the FIFA World Club Championships. Follow this link to vote.
A small footnote in the 3-1 victory over Fulham on Saturday was the return to first team of action of Nedum Onuha, after being out of action for a number of months with injury.
Whilst the rise of Micah Richards has been more than impressive, it is easy to forget that going into last season it was Onouha who was the player challenging Danny Mills and Sun Jihai for the right-back position and he himself who was being mentioned as a future England player.
But for those injuries, could it have been Onouha lining up in Amsterdam last week making his England debut?
As a comparison between the two players now, I think it is clear that at right-back Richards offers far more than Onouha. A competent, strong defender Richards is also an attacking threat - both with the ball marauding forward and also as a danger from set pieces.
However, as a 'pure' defender Onouha possibly holds the edge and from what I have seen from him so far would probably be a better fit as a central defender. He is quick, strong defensively - although he still needs to work on his distribution, which is a reason for him spending time at right-back if I am correct.
I remember his debut away at Arsenal and he more than held his own and looked to have that classy look that top central defenders possess. Hopefully he has put his recent injury woes behind him and although he is now some way behind Richards, he can get back to threatening for a position in the starting line-up.
The following is the review based on the interview I did for The Verdict Section in today's edition of The Observer:
The first half was like the opening 45 minutes against Newcastle last week, except we took our chances. I'm glad Corradi and Samaras were back up front, as they're our best strike pairing. Corradi responded with a couple of good finishes.
He has a good club pedigree and aside from his goals his link-up play was good while Barton ran him close for man of the match.
But despite the win the atmosphere was pretty flat - Fulham brought about 100 fans and there was not much energy from the home crowd. I hate these early kick-offs.
Ratings: Weaver 6, Richards 7, Dunne 7, Distin 7, Thatcher 6, Trabelsi 7, Barton 8, Reyna 7, Vassell 6, Samaras 7, Corradi 9, Dickov (sub) 7.
A lot has been made in the aftermath of Micah Richards England debut about the praiseworthy comments from Chelsea players John Terry and Arjen Robben and how this could be designed to be a 'plea' to the club to sign him and turn Richards' head towards West London.
How likely it is that Chelsea will bid for Richards I don't know, but if Chelsea were to make a bid (I would guess in the region of £10-£15 million) and the City board accepted then the disillusionment seen in recent times would pale into insignificance and they would have a full scale revolt on their hands as another one of the 'crown jewels' is sold to pay off debts.
One thing that has been mentioned to 'smooth' any deal is the possibility of Shaun Wright-Phillips returning to City as part of a trade between the two clubs.
We are all well aware of how Wright-Phillips' career has gone since he left the club and now he is little more than a bit part player for Chelsea, looking shorn of the swagger and confidence we witnessed and logic suggests that he needs to leave the Stamford Bridge to get his career back on track.
Now, could this be where the City board attempt to soften the blow of a Richards sale by including Wright-Phillips in any deal? Although less than eighteen months since his departure his value is nowhere near the £24 million received from Chelsea so could Chelsea be tempted to part with cash plus Wright-Phillips for Richards?
The board know the regard Wright-Phillips was held in, and many still cry out for his return to a side that in the main is devoid of the creative spark he brought during his latter days, and maybe they would believe a returning Wright-Phillips would be an acceptable return in any sale involving Richards.
Personally, I would be dead set against any move. For a start I don't know if Wright-Phillips would be prepared to come back to the club - in some ways tail between his legs and branded as a failure, even if Chelsea were willing to let him go - something I'm not sure they would do.
But the main reason is the potential of Richards. Although he has made his debut for England as a right-back and has been touted as a future centre-half, I believe his ideal position is in central midfield in the mould of Patrick Vieira, where he could dominate a game.
At this point in time, Richards for me has the greater potential of the two impact wise in the long run and I would see it as a gamble to bring back Wright-Phillips as he may not regain the heights to which he achieved at the club and a risk not worth taking if it means sacrificing Richards.
If there was a chance of landing Wright-Phillips without having to give up Richards then that is a different matter entirely...
As you know, I contribute weekly to the Soccer Shout podcast and in a little plug for Phil and Tony at the show the following is the press release for the new Soccer Shout Premiership Guide that they have created.
The pair of football fans who front the daily podcast Soccer Shout have put their heads together to come up with the Soccer Shout Premiership Guide. The guide pulls together a host of information for each game - including league records, current form, recent results and injuries/suspensions – and puts in on a single page.
"We made Soccer Shout the show that we wanted to listen to but couldn't find anywhere else – short, frequent and entertaining." says Phil McThomas. "The Premiership Guide was created the same way. We were tired of clicking our way through web page after web page, from this site to that, in order to do research for our match previews. The guide eliminates the need to do that. No more clicking!"
Listeners of the podcast, which is downloaded over four thousand times each week, have been enjoying an early look at the guide for the last month. Their feedback was incorporated into the design of the guide. Many fans requested a list of injuries and suspensions for each game, plus a TV guide for the proliferation of games available in the US and UK. Both of these features have been added to the guide in subsequent revisions.
"Readers of the guide use it for picking their weekend bets, planning their fantasy football transfers, their prediction league entries and just as a general guide when they're getting ready to watch a game." said co-host Tony Wildey. "And like a lot of other resources on the Internet, it gets passed around from inbox to inbox."
Now that the guide has been road-tested with the fans of the show, the pair of podcasters are ready to release it to finger-weary football fans everywhere.
You can sign up for the guide either at the site homepage or directly through this link.
Looks like the guys over mcfcsupporterstrust have hit the headlines in a big way today as they are all over the backpages of the MEN profiling their attempts to set up a supporters trust.
The main point that has been picked up elsewhere by the press is the news that the group has contacted former chairman David Bernstein for his advice (and more?) but more importantly Bernstein's general comments on the subject:
"Over the last few months I have numerous calls from
supporters and supporters' groupings expressing unhappiness over a wide range of
issues and the club's general direction, these concerns appear to be increasing
and it worries me that so many people feel this way."
"We are surprised by David Bernstein comments because
he has always been extremely supportive of the club, especially of John Wardle
(chairman) and Alistair Mackintosh (chief executive)."
Micah Richards debuted last night for the full England side in the 1-1 draw against Holland in Amsterdam and from the bits I caught he looked to have a decent debut, getting forward well a number of occasions and despite being caught a couple of times he defended solidly as well.
Following the game, the unanimous feeling was that it was a positive debut from him with Steve McLaren, Arjen Robben and Stuart Pearce all praising him, whilst Micah himself was pleased with his own contribution which one observer believes could spell the end for the incumbent England right-back.
With just seven goals scored this season after the first twelve matches, this puts us joint last in the Premiership along with Newcastle and Sheffield United and on target for an overall 'goals for' total of twenty-two come the end of the season.
Looking at the history of Premiership, this doesn't make good reading.
A projected figure of twenty-two would rank us second worst all-time in the Premiership, whilst it would be our own worst total by a total by a clear margin.
A look at the Premiership's lowest scorers season on season since the move to a 38 games (look away any Sunderland fans) doesn't look too good as only one side (Leeds in 1998/99) managed to avoid relegation, whilst only two sides (Blackburn 2004/05 and Sunderland 2001/02) managed to escape the drop as lowest scorers:
2005/06 Sunderland 26
2004/05 Blackburn 37
2003/04 Wolves 38
2002/03 Sunderland 21
2001/02 Sunderland 29
2000/01 Bradford 30
1999/00 Watford 35
1998/99 Leeds 28
1997/98 Wimbledon 34
1996/97 Forest 31
1995/96 City 33
Looking at the current Premiership table, a comforting thought at least is the number of sides who are hitting the net at below a goal a game over the first third of the season, meaning we are not alone in having to solve goalscoring problems - and shows the undoubted value of the clean sheet run we are enjoying at home.
Picked this little stat up from the 'Martin Tyler's stats and facts' column on the Sky Sports website:
I have been following Man City for years now home and
away and I cannot remember the last time they kept 6 successive clean sheets at
home in the League.
Do you have any ideas?
Yours, Freddie Watt
MARTIN SAYS: Well Freddie, you have to go quite a long
way back to find the answer to this one. Having done the commentary for City
against Newcastle on Sunday and been armed with stats all week, I was hoping we
would get a question on the game! I can tell you that your side last kept six
successive league clean sheets at home when they kept in fact, seven in a row in
the old Division One at Maine Road between November 1973 and March 1974 under
Ron Saunders. However they finished 14th in the table that season, just four
points above the relegation zone.
After stating yesterday that Uwe Rosler could have an influence in helping Robert Koren join the club in January, it was announced yesterday that Rosler had been sacked as coach of the club, just one day after the completion of the Norwegian season in which Lillestrom finished fourth in the table.
Micah Richards is set to continue his meteoric rise in the game by becoming England's youngest ever defender after it was confirmed he would start at right-back against Holland in Amsterdam tomorrow evening.
It caps an impressive past year for Richards and the fact that it is by no means a shadow squad put out by Steve McLaren is further testament to him, and should at least make an England worth watching for once.
One interesting aside in the press today was Stuart Pearce praising Richards' agents for the role they played in helping convince Richards to sign the long-term extension to his contract last season.
Mon, 13 November 2006
SS2006-11-14 - Dowie and Out
Phil and Tony reack in shock and horror at the news that Dowie has been asked the leave The Valley. HE'S NOT THAT RUBBISH. There's also the latest instalment of the Heart Opera du Soap, plus a preview of the internationals this midweek.
No show on Tuesday night - nowt happening really - so we'll be back on Wednesday
A game in which we should have had wrapped up comfortably but ultimately were left hanging on just to gain a point.
Unfortunately it was a match which illustrated our frailties and limitations all too well, with an ever-increasing reliance on set pieces as a main attacking option due to the inability to carve out 'genuine' chances from open play. The main chances from open play that were created on Saturday were more as a result of Newcastle's less than average defence allowing opportunities, and if we had come across a much stronger defence then it is doubtful we would have got a sniff of a chance.
There were chances, but unfortunately we couldn't capitalise on them with Barton and Reyna the chief culprits in wasting the chance to put us ahead in the game - chances which would have surely killed the game off. Dickov once again failed to offer much by way of an attacking threat, whilst Vassell looked neat in deep positions but hardly potent in front of goal. The problem for future games is that many of the chances we had were allowed by a defensive unit as poor as I've seen for some time.
The switch in bringing on Corradi and Samaras at least made us more threatening - albeit more directly, and Corradi could be considered a little unlucky not to open his account, whilst Samaras had what appeared a legitmate goal ruled out for a push in the box.
Likewise for Newcastle, the introduction of Dyer (who showed glimpses of his undoubted talent) and N'Zogbia brought what looks a poor side to life and during the final five minutes laid siege on our goal and wasted a couple of gilt edged chances to steal the points.
Positives from the game? I thought Barton won the midfield battle with England international Scot Parker, and once again we managed a clean sheet at home with the defence having in the main a comfortable afternoon but our lack of attacking threat is costing us the opportunity to take three points, and in reality draws at home coupled with our away form will not be enough to keep us away from trouble as we begin heading towards the half-way point of the season.
The Times did a neat piece on Graham Poll's Saturday afternoon, something I thought I'd post up considering there are a few of you over the last week who found the blog after googling for 'Graham Poll' (along with various descriptions of his character).
There have been a couple of stories floating around over the weekend suggesting a couple of arrivals into the club in January.
Robert Koren of Lillstrom could be one player coming in, with it reported he and his advisors will head to Manchester this week, with former City player Uwe Rosler (now Lillestrom coach) apparantly a key player in the deal.
The Sunday Mirror meanwhile, suggests we are ahead of Blackburn in signing Zamalek striker Amr Azki, whilst another striker - Anthony Stokes of Arsenal has been linked with ourselves, Middlesbrough and Everton. Stokes, just eighteen is currently on loan at Falkirk in the SPL.
Tribalfootball suggests we will make a(nother) move for SWP in January, whilst Micah Richards' call-up to the full England squad led the way for the inevitable stories of a move south to Arsenal.
Ben from the excellent Black&White&ReadAllOver blog has very kindly taken a bit of time to put something together ahead of Saturday's game giving a background to Newcastle's season thus far and what he expects from our lunchtime encounter.
Much appreciated and do take a bit of time to check the blog out as it is well worth it.
Enough pre-amble, so take it away Ben...
What can I tell you about your opponents this coming Saturday? Nothing much that you won’t already know from glancing at the back pages of the tabloids.
Ours is a club in turmoil.
On the pitch we’ve largely eradicated our defensive sloppiness (so long our Achilles’ heel) only to suffer from a chronic inability to score goals. Damien Duff in particular can’t hit a cow’s arse with a banjo at the moment. More worryingly still, during last weekend’s abysmal home defeat by Sheffield Utd we couldn’t even fashion any chances and looked creatively bankrupt. Bereft of belief and commitment we were easy pickings even for a side which hadn’t previously scored an away goal, let alone picked up three points on their travels.
Glenn Roeder can justifiably point to another horrendous injury list, which has decimated our squad and limited our options up front in particular, but I’m getting more than a little concerned that whatever knack he had of rejuvenating and firing up a team which had been playing poorly and without passion under Souness appears to have deserted him.
And then there’s that fat waste of space Freddy Shepherd chuntering on about “the Geordie nation” and reiterating his resolve to stay at the helm when we’d all much rather he buggered off and saved us all from yet another embarrassing public statement.
Things aren’t going too much better at the City of Manchester Stadium. Hard to beat (if a bit dull) at home, which should give us more cause for concern, but a very soft touch away. The only player to mirror Stuart Pearce’s enthusiasm and commitment on a regular basis is Joey Barton, and you’re far too reliant on him for drive and goals.
A large part of the problem, as I see it, is up front. Whereas early last term Andrew Cole and Darius Vassell were scoring goals for fun, no-one seems to be finding the back of the net often enough this time around. Georgios Samaras has definite talent but needs to make his mark more frequently, whereas Bernardo Corradi has been largely anonymous and ineffective and Vassell has had injuries. As for Paul Dickov – well, let’s just say that there’s no place for sentimentality in transfer dealings.
With Dietmar Hamann and Hatem Trabelsi returning to full fitness, though, it’s a major positive that you’ll at last get to see your two best summer signings in competitive action. To my mind Trabelsi was a particularly good addition to the squad – it wasn’t long ago that the big boys across Europe were after him, and his versatility will come in very handy. Hamann too will be useful, though, if only because he’ll allow Barton more of a licence to get forwards. He can contribute the odd goal himself, mind, being the possessor of a potent right boot – one 25 yard goal at Forest during his one year spell with us sticks in the memory because it nearly bust the net and took my head off…
Talking of old boys, I ought really to mention Antoine Sibierski. The Frenchman’s arrival on Tyneside was hardly greeted with whoops of joy and street parties (not least on Black & White & Read All Over), and he’s been solid rather than spectacular so far. That said, he’s contributed three important goals (albeit all in the cups) and has shown an admirable willingness to roll his sleeves up for the cause (even when getting buffeted about by uncompromising central defenders who, like Roeder, have mistaken him for a target man) – which is more than can be said about many others in black and white.
A prediction then? With our defeat on Saturday, what was a very troubling situation became a full-blown crisis, and City’s players may justifiably be licking their lips at the very real prospect of sealing the fate of a second Newcastle manager in the space of nine months. We seem incapable of carrying our good cup form into the league, so we’d have to regard a draw as a decent result – I won’t hold my breath, though.
Well sort of.
Not sure how I got linked into this article though - about half way down when they talk about Bury v Weymouth.
Ahead of Saturday's clash with Newcastle, a story that has being doing the rounds today is Glenn Roeder's comments regarding Antoine Sibierski.
Roeder spoke highly of both his presence on and off the field at a difficult time for the Geordies:
Sibierski moved as the transfer window closed back in August, and it was a move that caught City fans by surprise and one that dismayed Newcastle fans who were hoping for a more high profile (and costly?) name to arrive at St. James's Park.
"Antoine is a key member, if not the key member, of our
squad at this moment.
"He gives us height and power in the air at both ends
of the field, and he has already paid for himself.
The people who rubbished
his signing will probably feel a little bit stupid now.
And with the
situation with Shola Ameobi, it is vital for us that Sibierski stays fit for the
next couple of months.
part from his prowess in the air and his ability to
play some good football, he has a terrific deft touch and also an eye for
goal.
Off the field, he is a very intelligent and unassuming young man, and
there is nothing you can dislike about him."
After posting up something up recently on a story about the club planning to (or having already done so) sell the naming rights to The City of Manchester Stadium, the club subsequently denied this and there was even a post up from mcfcsupporterstrust to acknowledge this.
Fast forward to the back page of the MEN yesterday and there is an article from Chris Bailiey extolling the club to sell the naming rights to The Stadium to benefit the club financially.
The link to the article is here, but I thought it was worth posting up in full - even if it is a little lengthy:
Maybe I'm being a little mischeivous here but reading through the article it reads exactly as though it is a club release designed to test the water ahead and float the idea of selling the stadium name in preperation for a deal come the end of the season. The article is very much a pro-sale one, but has come a little out of the blue considering the clubs denial less than a couple of weeks ago.
WHAT'S in a name? Well, actually, heaps of cash if you
play your cards right.
That's why if I were sitting in the accounts office
at Manchester City Council this morning, I would be picking up the phone to
Blues' chief executive Alistair Mackintosh and chairman John Wardle and talking
about a title for a Premiership stadium that is a great credit to both
parties.
Finding a corporate bigwig to adorn the ground with their brand name
could make the Blues and the council millions in extra cash - and that surely
wouldn't come amiss on either balance sheet.
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City have spent the past couple of weeks strenuously denying
rumours that they are about the sell the name of the ground and there is no
reason whatsoever to believe otherwise. To do so they would have to negotiate
changes to the terms of the 250-year lease they signed with the council after
inheriting the stadium following the hugely successful Manchester Commonwealth
Games in 2002.
That detail, though, surely shouldn't stop both parties
at least investigating the possibility of some corporate schmoosing in the
pursuit of a deal that will suit everyone.
It is hard to envisage any City
fan being up in arms at the thought of their new home receiving a fresh name.
Even those Blues who perpetually view life through a half-empty glass must see
that it could benefit them and the team by providing a cash injection to a club
always seeking ways of producing worthwhile investment.
Supporters have not
been in the ground long enough to develop an umbilical cord attachment to the
place.
There are not any of the large doses of sentiment, tradition or
history surrounding the stadium as there were at dear old Maine Road - a name
that no one would have wanted to disappear for the sake of
money.
To have suggested hawking off Maine Road's name would
have been close to Blue blasphemy, but not so the current home that seems to me
has no identity at all at present.
Some call it `Eastlands', an area that
doesn't officially exist on maps, some who like expending their breath call it
by its Sunday best name `City of Manchester Stadium', others prefer to shorten
that to `COMS' while still more refer to City's stronghold as `Sportcity' in
keeping with those nice brown signs that help everyone find their way to the
complex.
See what I mean. How unifying it would be to find a once and for all
handle to attach to the name.
There simply have to be companies, Blue Chip ones
naturally, who would be willing to fork out more than just a few quid to have
their name become synonymous with a magnificent state of the art
stadium.
Highbury no longer exists but people are already happy
to say Emirates Stadium, Bolton jettisoned the burden of Burnden to ply their
trade at the Reebok, and even cricket is played at the Fosters Oval.
Further
down the footballing ladder, Doncaster occupy the Earth Stadium and Swansea The
Liberty. Over the pond in America where the dollar is much mightier than any
sentiment over concrete and steel, it is possible to watch NFL at the Heinz or
the Fed-Ex Stadium. All the teams concerned have benefited financially from
changing the name of the ground.
With a UEFA Cup final in the pipeline and rugby and
soccer internationals as well as concerts from world-renowned artists regular
features at a packed Eastlands/Coms/Sportcity now would seem the perfect time to
standardise the name and make it known throughout the globe.
And if some
money can be made then all well and good.
Picking out something that Nicky Weaver stated yesterday when talking of his desire to remain the club:
"City is a great club to be at for a player. The ones
that leave here and go to a bigger and better club are few and far
between.Normally when they leave they go downhill."
With his contract up at the end of this campaign, armed with a solid start to this season Nicky Weaver has spoken today of his desire to remain with the club for the long haul.
As reported in the MEN, Weaver said:
As I've mentioned previously, as well as Weaver has played this season he clearly isn't the long term number 1 with Andreas Isaksson waiting in the wings with Joe Hart and Kaspar Schmeichel being groomed for the future so it remains to be seen what deal the club will offer.
"I'd love to stay here beyond this season. I have been
in Manchester all my adult life and will have been here ten years come April, I
don't know much different. I have seen the club in good times and bad times. It
has been incredibly good to me and of course I want to extend that
relationship.
City is a great club to be at for a player. The ones
that leave here and go to a bigger and better club are few and far between.
Normally when they leave they go downhill and I don't want to leave here. I want
to stay and fight for my place.
But I have to convince everyone that I can stay fit and
focused and the best way to do that is to play in the Premiership and keep clean
sheets. If I do that then hopefully the manager will offer me a new
deal."
Mon, 6 November 2006
SS2006-11-07 - Having a Bobby Robson Moment
Results, fixtures, and news. Just what you've come to expect from Soccer Shout. But poor Tony is stuck at work so it's just Phil...with a bit of help from Danny.
I picked this up from The Verdict section of The Observer yesterday:
It was dreadful - two teams just battling to stay in
The Premiership. Why? Just for the money not for any entertainment value.
Charlton were woeful and we were worse. A lot of us are wondering what the point
of watching football at this level is if staying fourth from bottom is
success.
In general we played well across the back, but one
mistake finished it. Pearce must think of Dickov as either a fan on the pitch or
a reflection of how he'd play himself, but in The Premiership there's no room to
play someone for sentimental reasons. He's been awful.
There's no reason for turning up, except maybe as a
badge of honour. But who needs it?
I've not caught anything from Saturday's game apart from the reports I've picked up today, but although it appears it was a much improved away performance ultimately it was the same end result and we slip back towards the relegation zone.
Rather than a report then, I've linked to a selection of the some of the match reports:
Pearce still gloomy as awful away form add misery - The Independent
Bent gets straight to the points - The Guardian
Bent and Carson prove worth to Charlton - The Telegraph
NetAddicks match report
MEN match report
Sky Sports match report
Where and when:
The Valley, Saturday 4th November 3pm.
Current form:
Something has to give with this one! The side with the worst away form possibly in living memory against a side who have been woeful both home and away this season, but are unbeaten in three (although the sole win was in the Carling Cup), and the guys over at Soccer Shout believe this recent form will be a springboard to take all three points. One thing in Charlton's favour is a good defensive record and have not conceded in the last 293 minutes.
Although our home form and defensive record is amongst the best in the league, this contrasts terribly with our away form where we are shipping goals from all angles.
Despite the talk of taking the Middlesbrough result into this game, history this season tells us that a home result is by no means any indicator of forthcoming away win.
However, our recent form is fairly good against Charlton and we of course did the 'double' over them last season.
Keys to the game:
Goals. Plain and simple. Both sides are struggling to score goals this season, but worryingly for us our away results show us conceding far too many, and the manner of some of these is not good enough if we are to have any ambition in this league.
I really think the first goal will be important, and especially so if it is ourselves who score it as this will increase the pressure on Charlton and certainly affect their confidence.
The game could be more about work-rate and energy than skill and technical ability so both sides will be looking towin the graft battle.
Why City will win:
As pleasing as the result was on Monday night, the manner of the performance in the added energy and fight that was shown was telling. Charlton have been poor this season, with Iain Dowie under pressure struggling to replace Curbishley and our previous results against them have been good.
Why City will lose:
Because we are away from home and haven't strung successive wins together for 39 matches. Charlton - whilst not winning, have picked up a couple of points and have perhaps been unlucky at times to not convert these to victories.
They will certainly be looking to this game as one to take three points from.
Prediction:
Charlton 2 City 2.
Maybe it was a quiet day on the news front but Stuart Pearce was today talking about the future at the club of Sylvain Distin.
Distin of course is out of contract in the summer, and despite having a four year deal on the table from the club is entitled to speak to prospective clubs regarding a 'Bosman' move in January.
Pearce spoke of Distin, saying:
"He plays all the games and is professional, and is
fantastic to have around the place.
It is just us agreeing those financial
terms with him. At the moment we have got a bit of a sticking point, but we have
had that for a number of months.
Hopefully, the main thing that will tilt it
in our favour is that he enjoys his football here.
Sylvain is a pleasant man
who has sets of principles that he works to. That is fine, and I hope that his
performances can inspire the team's performances and make him say to himself:
`Hang on a minute, as it goes I enjoy living in Manchester, I enjoy this
football club and I enjoy working for Stuart Pearce'."
Out of all the City players who have received national media attention this season, Nicky Weaver is perhaps the one who has had the most columns inches dedicated to him so far. Quite understandable given his 'back from the dead' story from the football scrapheap to turning in some notable performances between the sticks.
It must be strange for Weaver to look at the position he is in currently to see himself as the current number 1 at the club, given the fact that a week or so before the season started he potentially faced a battle with the emerging Schmeichel and Hart for the number 2 spot behind David James - whose impeccable form and injury-free record would guarantee him the starting position.
James' sudden exit though thrust Weaver back into the spotlight, only for the club to move to sign Andreas Isaksson from Rennes and despite Stuart Pearce declaring the position was up for grabs it was hard to imagine Isaksson not taking over from James immediately.
However, an injury to the Swede in training saw Weaver start on opening day at Stamford Bridge in front of a worldwide TV audience and apart from one game (through injury) he has been an ever present, and earned several plaudits for his performances.
In fact, in some circles he has been mentioned as a possibility for the England set-up where behind Paul Robinson there is no outstanding number 2 candidate, and in truth very little experience despite the position looking as (potentially) strong as it has done for some time.
As solidly as Weaver has done though, I believe talk ofEngland is some way premature considering he has yet to put a dozen games under his belt back in the first team. I also still have doubts over certain aspects of his game - namely crosses and his command of the area, and once Isaksson is fully match fit you wonder if Pearce will be minded to take a look at him in action as he certainly talked him up following his signing.
Still, Isakkson doesn't appear to be ready any time soon so Weaver is very much the man in possession at the moment and the more decent performances he puts in over the short-term the better his long-term prospects will look.
