As has been subject to high focus in the past few days, the Premier League's new squad of 25 rule has brought extra transfer stories out of the woodwork.
The rules state that each club has to register 25 players by the end of the August transfer window, eight of whom qualify as 'home-grown' - that is, trained for three seasons prior to their twenty-first birthday at any club registered by the Football Association or the Welsh Football Association.
On top of this a club can supplement their squad with any number of players under the age of twenty one. At City, this category includes Weiss, Boyata, Cunningham, Nimely and Ibrahim of players who have made first-team debuts. So they do not have to be registered for the new campaign.
25 players allows for three goalkeepers, two players in each position and two 'spares'. Using the 4-2-3-1 formation, this could be the squad we go forward with, stars will be placed next to those who qualify as home grown:
GK: Hart*, Given*, Taylor*
RB: Richards*, Boateng
CB: Kolo Toure, Kompany
CB: Lescott*, Onuoha*
LB: Kolarov, Bridge*
CDM: Yaya Toure, De Jong
CDM: Barry*, Vieira
RAM: A. Johnson*, SWP*
CAM: Tevez, Ireland*
LAM: Silva, Bellamy*
CF: Adebayor, Santa Cruz
Plus: Zabaleta, M. Johnson*
This would give us thirteen players in the home-grown category and some scope for extra additions. So some newspapers' assertions that we will have to sell something near fourteen players to comply with this rule are some way off the mark.
The only possible transfers may arise from the extra competition they may bring, which was always going to be the case.
With our reserves of young players, the Premier League's ruling should not have that great an affect on the team. With possibly two more arrivals to come - a regularly absent Michael Johnson could be sent on loan to regain fitness and then there is only one position that will have to be succeeded - RSC perhaps? If one of the two arrivals is Mario Balotelli, then he will not impact the 25 as he is under 21 and therefore free to play.
Stories of a neccessary mass exodus are someway off the mark.
Tuesday, 27 July 2010
Sunday, 25 July 2010
Kolarov signs; Macclesfield fits need for domestic friendly
Another deal that has been labouring to a conclusion was confirmed yesterday in the form of Aleksandar Kolarov. The Serbian plugs probably our only remaining weak(ish) position, although most of the reports and comments that we hear about him are about his attacking prowess rather than his defensive solidity. The BBC, in both their recent stories on the matter, have described him as the Serbian Roberto Carlos and a cursory look around Youtube shows he is hardly scared of having a go from range. But then, for all the quality needed in defensive positions, it is not what makes Youtube compilations.
I have only seen him on a couple of occasions for Lazio and I also only remember his attacking abilities, but this is no bad thing. One of the only criticisms of City's style last season was that it was fairly one-dimensional. We had most of our success from counter attacks - the flair and skill of Robinho and Ireland that helped us in the previous campaign was either uncommited and loaned or suffering a crisis - so, to have a successful attacking option from full-back would add an extra dimension to our game. Jerome Boateng also delivered some excellent crosses from right-back in the third place play-off for Germany. As Brazil played in the World Cup, with two holding midfielders, we can afford to let the full-backs bomb forward in support of the attack.
On a different subject, I went to the Moss Rose yesterday to try and capture some of the domestic pre-season atmosphere. It is fantastic that the first-team are on tour playing against some of the world's most famous teams, but it does leave little for the fans who cannot make the trip across the Atlantic. I love pre-season friendlies. The anticipation; the chance to recommence with what matters in football; the trips to the roots of the game; watching squad players, new players, and forgotten players (Jo almost looked worth every penny against Sporting Lisbon!); standing on terraces again... I think it is a neccessary romantic prelude to the start of the serious stuff. So, whilst I have booked my Valencia ticket, the absence of a Barnsley, Doncaster or Halifax on the schedule, to me, was a little disappointing!
So the trip to Macclesfield to watch what was variously called a Manchester City XI, City under-21s, City Elite squad, ticked a few boxes. Perilously expensive food, near decapitation from the Macclesfield players's kick-in, and a 2-1 defeat. Macclesfield played some nice stuff, but their physical advantage was the difference with two set piece goals - whilst nice touches and movement typified City's play. For me, not a regular watcher of the youngsters, Abu, Razak, Elabdellaoui and Benali stood out - with Elabdellaoui scoring a superb solo goal.
So whatever heights, or otherwise, City hit before May is out, this season will have started for me at Moss Rose, just as last season's rollercoaster began at Barnsley!
I have only seen him on a couple of occasions for Lazio and I also only remember his attacking abilities, but this is no bad thing. One of the only criticisms of City's style last season was that it was fairly one-dimensional. We had most of our success from counter attacks - the flair and skill of Robinho and Ireland that helped us in the previous campaign was either uncommited and loaned or suffering a crisis - so, to have a successful attacking option from full-back would add an extra dimension to our game. Jerome Boateng also delivered some excellent crosses from right-back in the third place play-off for Germany. As Brazil played in the World Cup, with two holding midfielders, we can afford to let the full-backs bomb forward in support of the attack.
On a different subject, I went to the Moss Rose yesterday to try and capture some of the domestic pre-season atmosphere. It is fantastic that the first-team are on tour playing against some of the world's most famous teams, but it does leave little for the fans who cannot make the trip across the Atlantic. I love pre-season friendlies. The anticipation; the chance to recommence with what matters in football; the trips to the roots of the game; watching squad players, new players, and forgotten players (Jo almost looked worth every penny against Sporting Lisbon!); standing on terraces again... I think it is a neccessary romantic prelude to the start of the serious stuff. So, whilst I have booked my Valencia ticket, the absence of a Barnsley, Doncaster or Halifax on the schedule, to me, was a little disappointing!
So the trip to Macclesfield to watch what was variously called a Manchester City XI, City under-21s, City Elite squad, ticked a few boxes. Perilously expensive food, near decapitation from the Macclesfield players's kick-in, and a 2-1 defeat. Macclesfield played some nice stuff, but their physical advantage was the difference with two set piece goals - whilst nice touches and movement typified City's play. For me, not a regular watcher of the youngsters, Abu, Razak, Elabdellaoui and Benali stood out - with Elabdellaoui scoring a superb solo goal.
So whatever heights, or otherwise, City hit before May is out, this season will have started for me at Moss Rose, just as last season's rollercoaster began at Barnsley!
Friday, 23 July 2010
Milner and O'Neill cut ties; Press pounce on Dunne
Back in April, when the rumours about James Milner started getting serious, it was suggested that the two key factors in a possible move to CoMS would be City getting Champions' League football and Martin O'Neill leaving Villa Park. A few months along the line, and with neither of the factors fulfilled, these suppositions have proved irrelevant.
As we have already discovered, we all got too carried away in the drive for Champions' League football last season - at the very least, people were disappointed we wouldn't be able to attract players who would improve the squad. Besides the money, I feel the 'project' is still very attractive to players - and the whispers about City challenging right at the top of the league this season don't seem to be restricted to only the most hysterical City fans - so there is no reason why the "Young" (24) Player of the Year of the last campaign won't be able to see beyond the lack of Champions' League football. To quote Mancini from my seasoncard that arrived this morning, "There is a place in history waiting for every one of us," and young players must be attracted to building this future.
There are also reports today of Milner's anger at Martin O'Neill's comments. Thus breaking down their own special relationship that was said to be an important factor in Milner's thinking. O'Neill has encouraged a conclusion to a sale, which would give him enough time to re-strengthen Villa for the new season, and it is thought that Milner will not join his teammates on Monday morning for the beginning of his pre-season training.
The only remaining sticking point then is the price. According to reports City are willing to offer no more than £24m - some £6m short of Villa's valuation. It will be interesting to see how this plays out, as O'Neill has history of keeping hold of players if teams do not respect their valuation - Gareth Barry was kept at Villa after Liverpool didn't stir up the right deal the summer before his City move. I think £30m would be far too much, given that the excess would fund one of our competitors - and City have already intimated that we will not be held to ransom just because of the funds at our disposal.
Just like when we played Villa at the end of the season, the press have looked to sensationalise Richard Dunne's comments about the affair. Following on from the early May headlines of 'It's City's to lose' or 'The Pressure is on them', we get 'Dunne tells Milner not to sign for City.' Which, of course, is far from what he said. I imagine it is no doubt tempting to cast Dunne in the bitter victim role, but since he has left City, he has said nothing that I feel is unmerited.
"James will know that because he's joining a big club, a club that wants to win the league, that he'll be part of a squad.
"At Aston Villa he will play every week and at Manchester City he may not, but it's an opportunity he probably thinks to go and win the league."
These were his quotes as reported on SkySports earlier. Hardly unfair or biased comments, and it introduces the great debate at the moment, which is: where will anyone play?! A Villa supporting friend of mine is adamant Milner should be played in the middle but, the way we play, the Yaya/Barry/deJong/Vieira role is too deep for him and the Tevez role is not for budging (in my opinion). Therefore he will compete for the right sided slot with Johnson and possibly Mario Balotelli. There is certainly room for him, but Dunne is right to suggest the position may not always be his, and I feel this could be the case for a lot of our top players this coming season - de Jong for example. With all the games and with the aspirations that we have, it is important to have this strength in depth, but it will need good management to prevent some losing faith - Nedum and Ireland could be last season's casualties, for example.
According to Capello, Milner is the future of English football and, if he does sign, City could possess both of England's international wingers for the next World Cup (should England qualify of course!), and it is important to have a core of English players. The only concern is whether they will both get enough game time.
As we have already discovered, we all got too carried away in the drive for Champions' League football last season - at the very least, people were disappointed we wouldn't be able to attract players who would improve the squad. Besides the money, I feel the 'project' is still very attractive to players - and the whispers about City challenging right at the top of the league this season don't seem to be restricted to only the most hysterical City fans - so there is no reason why the "Young" (24) Player of the Year of the last campaign won't be able to see beyond the lack of Champions' League football. To quote Mancini from my seasoncard that arrived this morning, "There is a place in history waiting for every one of us," and young players must be attracted to building this future.
There are also reports today of Milner's anger at Martin O'Neill's comments. Thus breaking down their own special relationship that was said to be an important factor in Milner's thinking. O'Neill has encouraged a conclusion to a sale, which would give him enough time to re-strengthen Villa for the new season, and it is thought that Milner will not join his teammates on Monday morning for the beginning of his pre-season training.
The only remaining sticking point then is the price. According to reports City are willing to offer no more than £24m - some £6m short of Villa's valuation. It will be interesting to see how this plays out, as O'Neill has history of keeping hold of players if teams do not respect their valuation - Gareth Barry was kept at Villa after Liverpool didn't stir up the right deal the summer before his City move. I think £30m would be far too much, given that the excess would fund one of our competitors - and City have already intimated that we will not be held to ransom just because of the funds at our disposal.
Just like when we played Villa at the end of the season, the press have looked to sensationalise Richard Dunne's comments about the affair. Following on from the early May headlines of 'It's City's to lose' or 'The Pressure is on them', we get 'Dunne tells Milner not to sign for City.' Which, of course, is far from what he said. I imagine it is no doubt tempting to cast Dunne in the bitter victim role, but since he has left City, he has said nothing that I feel is unmerited.
"James will know that because he's joining a big club, a club that wants to win the league, that he'll be part of a squad.
"At Aston Villa he will play every week and at Manchester City he may not, but it's an opportunity he probably thinks to go and win the league."
These were his quotes as reported on SkySports earlier. Hardly unfair or biased comments, and it introduces the great debate at the moment, which is: where will anyone play?! A Villa supporting friend of mine is adamant Milner should be played in the middle but, the way we play, the Yaya/Barry/deJong/Vieira role is too deep for him and the Tevez role is not for budging (in my opinion). Therefore he will compete for the right sided slot with Johnson and possibly Mario Balotelli. There is certainly room for him, but Dunne is right to suggest the position may not always be his, and I feel this could be the case for a lot of our top players this coming season - de Jong for example. With all the games and with the aspirations that we have, it is important to have this strength in depth, but it will need good management to prevent some losing faith - Nedum and Ireland could be last season's casualties, for example.
According to Capello, Milner is the future of English football and, if he does sign, City could possess both of England's international wingers for the next World Cup (should England qualify of course!), and it is important to have a core of English players. The only concern is whether they will both get enough game time.
Tuesday, 20 July 2010
Mario Balotelli and the new Manchester City - Corriere dello Sport
I have been fortunate enough to have been on holiday in Italy for the past week or so and, whilst that means this blog has suffered, it no longer means I am out of contact with what City are up to.
In not too distant times a lot of the European press would refer to our near neighbours (I am not talking about Stockport) as 'Manchester', so to find pages upon pages of coverage talking about us on first name terms, 'City', is yet another indicator of how the status of the club is changing across the world. To use Friday as an example, both the Corriere dello Sport and the Gazzetta dello Sport led with City on the front page and double page coverage on the inside pages. Obviously the subject matter had a part to play here.
Mario Balotelli is a phenomenon in Italy, for reasons both good and bad. Tipped by many on his break-through to be the great future star of Italian football, a turbulent relationship with Mourinho and subsequently the Inter fans (not improved by his wearing of an AC Milan shirt on television, his boyhood club) has ended in the previously inconceivable situation where Inter would be willing to listen to offers for him. Massimo Moratti was quoted in La Repubblica as saying 'I don't like it, but I will think about it.'
In the Corriere's poll, 51% answered 'no' to 'is it right that Balotelli has been put on the market?' About as even as it gets. The argument is one of talent versus attitude. He is only twenty next month and the potential, if not current ability, is greatly impressive, but he will have to be well managed not to self-destruct. As the lady who sold the paper said: 'his attitude is bad on and off the pitch, it will be good for him to leave Italy' and reunite with Mancini (who she adores!). This is the hope, and I believe there is definitely something in it: that a loved Balotelli and a happy Balotelli could well become one of the stars of the European game - and under his 'father figure', Mancini, the talent could be nurtured into just that.
Saturday's paper was so convinced of this deal happening that it ran with 'Balotelli to play against Inter on 31st July', in allusion to our upcoming friendly with his current club. According to their reports only the particulars of the deal need to be agreed, and on their speculation this could yet take some time: €25m? €30m? €34m? a fee plus Micah Richards? a deal with Robinho? an agreement to leave Maicon alone? an agreement to let them purchase Dzeko as a replacement? I think it is fair to say that there is still a good deal of speculation to be had before a deal is, or isn't, done. They had Monday as the day that a decisive offer would be laid down, so we shall have to wait and see whether that was the case or not.
They also report the Kolarov deal, as has been widely reported here as well, as done - although the Lazio manager said he has gone, the Lazio president is apparently holding out for another million.
Included in Friday's double page focus on Balotelli and Manchester City was a possible starting eleven graphic for 'Il nuovo Manchester City':
Hart
Boateng, Luiz, K. Toure, Kolarov
Y. Toure, Barry
Balotelli, Tevez, Silva
Dzeko
A quite formidable line-up. With Mancini, Lombardo, Salsano, Carminati and Battara on the coaching staff, it is perhaps not that great a surprise we are getting the same treatment as an Italian club in their papers, especially considering the Balotelli interest, but it does prove that the waves we are making in the Premier League are hitting other shores.
In not too distant times a lot of the European press would refer to our near neighbours (I am not talking about Stockport) as 'Manchester', so to find pages upon pages of coverage talking about us on first name terms, 'City', is yet another indicator of how the status of the club is changing across the world. To use Friday as an example, both the Corriere dello Sport and the Gazzetta dello Sport led with City on the front page and double page coverage on the inside pages. Obviously the subject matter had a part to play here.
Mario Balotelli is a phenomenon in Italy, for reasons both good and bad. Tipped by many on his break-through to be the great future star of Italian football, a turbulent relationship with Mourinho and subsequently the Inter fans (not improved by his wearing of an AC Milan shirt on television, his boyhood club) has ended in the previously inconceivable situation where Inter would be willing to listen to offers for him. Massimo Moratti was quoted in La Repubblica as saying 'I don't like it, but I will think about it.'
In the Corriere's poll, 51% answered 'no' to 'is it right that Balotelli has been put on the market?' About as even as it gets. The argument is one of talent versus attitude. He is only twenty next month and the potential, if not current ability, is greatly impressive, but he will have to be well managed not to self-destruct. As the lady who sold the paper said: 'his attitude is bad on and off the pitch, it will be good for him to leave Italy' and reunite with Mancini (who she adores!). This is the hope, and I believe there is definitely something in it: that a loved Balotelli and a happy Balotelli could well become one of the stars of the European game - and under his 'father figure', Mancini, the talent could be nurtured into just that.
Saturday's paper was so convinced of this deal happening that it ran with 'Balotelli to play against Inter on 31st July', in allusion to our upcoming friendly with his current club. According to their reports only the particulars of the deal need to be agreed, and on their speculation this could yet take some time: €25m? €30m? €34m? a fee plus Micah Richards? a deal with Robinho? an agreement to leave Maicon alone? an agreement to let them purchase Dzeko as a replacement? I think it is fair to say that there is still a good deal of speculation to be had before a deal is, or isn't, done. They had Monday as the day that a decisive offer would be laid down, so we shall have to wait and see whether that was the case or not.
They also report the Kolarov deal, as has been widely reported here as well, as done - although the Lazio manager said he has gone, the Lazio president is apparently holding out for another million.
Included in Friday's double page focus on Balotelli and Manchester City was a possible starting eleven graphic for 'Il nuovo Manchester City':
Hart
Boateng, Luiz, K. Toure, Kolarov
Y. Toure, Barry
Balotelli, Tevez, Silva
Dzeko
A quite formidable line-up. With Mancini, Lombardo, Salsano, Carminati and Battara on the coaching staff, it is perhaps not that great a surprise we are getting the same treatment as an Italian club in their papers, especially considering the Balotelli interest, but it does prove that the waves we are making in the Premier League are hitting other shores.
Saturday, 10 July 2010
Transfer rumour round-up: Balotelli, Dzeko, Bellamy
After some pretty impressive midfield reinforcements, the press have turned their attention to City's striking options - with Roberto Mancini only too happy to answer the questions of the Italian journalists of Il Giornale.
Both Mario Balotelli and Edin Dzeko have been linked to City with various intensities over the last couple of months and it does not come as a surprise that our interest in them has been confirmed. Mancini's comment last month about Krasic and Dzeko when he said 'we are interested in one of them', was almost certainly Dzeko - and at the beginning of June, The Daily Mail believed a deal was almost done before and after Dzeko's minimum fee release clause expired. So Mancini's comment that "certainly Dzeko is more than just an interest," at least shows that City retain a sustained interest in the Bosnian striker, despite Wolfsburg slapping an off-putting £50m price tag on him.
Balotelli has managed to shake off his agent for a moment or two to tell the press that he 'admires' his 'friend' Mancini, before reaffirming that his agent makes his decisions. As I have written when we were first linked with him, Balotelli certainly seems a troubled character at Inter, so a reunion with his 'father figure' in the game, who gave him his Serie A debut at seventeen, may well be a solution that could suit both the player and City. If we can get a content Balotelli, then we would be getting one of the brightest young talents in European football and, at nineteen, he will still feel he has a lot to prove to the world. Mancini's comments that "if Inter decide to sell, we will be there," are almost inviting contact with Massimo Moratti.
On top of these two, Torres, Ibrahimovic and even Didier Drogba have all been mentioned in the last few days but, as has been suggested earlier in the summer, this could represent a list of possible targets and City can afford to be quite fluid in who they go for. Although, one thing it does point towards is that we shouldn't expect Crocky to be our second choice centre-forward next season.
Alongside Santa Cruz, another widely tipped casualty of the reinforcements would be Craig Bellamy. Despite comments from Craig saying that he wouldn't move to another Premier League club, many of the papers are suggesting he is close to a £6m move to Tottenham - completing a deal we were accused to have bullied them out of when he moved to City. Bellamy's role on the wide-left has come into direct competition with David Silva in the last couple of weeks and this may have led him to reappraise his situation. Bellamy has always said he is chasing his final shot at glory - with worries that his knees won't carry him through - and this new doubt about whether his is a key role in the team may have left him wondering if any glory would truly be his. Although, as he has previously knocked Robinho out of the team, you never know...
Both Mario Balotelli and Edin Dzeko have been linked to City with various intensities over the last couple of months and it does not come as a surprise that our interest in them has been confirmed. Mancini's comment last month about Krasic and Dzeko when he said 'we are interested in one of them', was almost certainly Dzeko - and at the beginning of June, The Daily Mail believed a deal was almost done before and after Dzeko's minimum fee release clause expired. So Mancini's comment that "certainly Dzeko is more than just an interest," at least shows that City retain a sustained interest in the Bosnian striker, despite Wolfsburg slapping an off-putting £50m price tag on him.
Balotelli has managed to shake off his agent for a moment or two to tell the press that he 'admires' his 'friend' Mancini, before reaffirming that his agent makes his decisions. As I have written when we were first linked with him, Balotelli certainly seems a troubled character at Inter, so a reunion with his 'father figure' in the game, who gave him his Serie A debut at seventeen, may well be a solution that could suit both the player and City. If we can get a content Balotelli, then we would be getting one of the brightest young talents in European football and, at nineteen, he will still feel he has a lot to prove to the world. Mancini's comments that "if Inter decide to sell, we will be there," are almost inviting contact with Massimo Moratti.
On top of these two, Torres, Ibrahimovic and even Didier Drogba have all been mentioned in the last few days but, as has been suggested earlier in the summer, this could represent a list of possible targets and City can afford to be quite fluid in who they go for. Although, one thing it does point towards is that we shouldn't expect Crocky to be our second choice centre-forward next season.
Alongside Santa Cruz, another widely tipped casualty of the reinforcements would be Craig Bellamy. Despite comments from Craig saying that he wouldn't move to another Premier League club, many of the papers are suggesting he is close to a £6m move to Tottenham - completing a deal we were accused to have bullied them out of when he moved to City. Bellamy's role on the wide-left has come into direct competition with David Silva in the last couple of weeks and this may have led him to reappraise his situation. Bellamy has always said he is chasing his final shot at glory - with worries that his knees won't carry him through - and this new doubt about whether his is a key role in the team may have left him wondering if any glory would truly be his. Although, as he has previously knocked Robinho out of the team, you never know...
Friday, 2 July 2010
Yaya Toure signs; Video: More than a defensive midfielder
The highly anticipated signing of Yaya Toure is now complete and it signals another huge step forward. Recent rumours had suggested Guardiola was keen to retain him but City have now been able to confirm a transfer that has been on the cards for a few weeks now.
Yaya Toure could be an integral part of our 'midfield overhaul' - a tough tackling, ball playing, box-to-box midfielder seen by many as the true heir to the young Patrick Vieira. For vast parts of last season our play seemed to stagnate in the centre of the field, Yaya will be able to turn defence into attack in a way that we don't have at the moment.
Reading comments from Barcelona fans over the past month, they are aggrieved that Yaya had too few opportunities and felt that the club's desire to field a strong contingent of Spanish players was the only reason Busquets was regularly preferred to him.
The signing is not only another huge statement by the club, but it addresses one of our problem areas - we have some great players in the defensive midfield position but not much variety. Coming soon after the Silva signing, the strength of City's first eleven on paper rivals most teams now and the excitement for the new season continues to grow.
Brother of the club captain Kolo, Yaya will be hoping his brother will retain his place in the centre of defence - and perhaps they can offer a strong understanding playing infront of one another.
On top of his pass for Drogba's goal against Brazil and his well taken goal against North Korea in this summer's World Cup, here are two examples of the rounded game he offers:
Yaya Toure could be an integral part of our 'midfield overhaul' - a tough tackling, ball playing, box-to-box midfielder seen by many as the true heir to the young Patrick Vieira. For vast parts of last season our play seemed to stagnate in the centre of the field, Yaya will be able to turn defence into attack in a way that we don't have at the moment.
Reading comments from Barcelona fans over the past month, they are aggrieved that Yaya had too few opportunities and felt that the club's desire to field a strong contingent of Spanish players was the only reason Busquets was regularly preferred to him.
The signing is not only another huge statement by the club, but it addresses one of our problem areas - we have some great players in the defensive midfield position but not much variety. Coming soon after the Silva signing, the strength of City's first eleven on paper rivals most teams now and the excitement for the new season continues to grow.
Brother of the club captain Kolo, Yaya will be hoping his brother will retain his place in the centre of defence - and perhaps they can offer a strong understanding playing infront of one another.
On top of his pass for Drogba's goal against Brazil and his well taken goal against North Korea in this summer's World Cup, here are two examples of the rounded game he offers:
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