Edin Dzeko on the verge of City move

If reports are to be believed, it is almost time to eschew the Dzeko puns (Dzeko Edin our way to Edin Kolarov's corners etc. etc.), with the Bosnian striker set to seal a long anticipated move to Manchester.  The fee is reported to be somewhere between £24million and £34million, or £24million rising to £34million with all the little add-ons and complications.

The deal could be completed early enough for Dzeko to make his debut at The Emirates on the 5th January - leaving City with an embarrassment of riches upfront.  Although one would expect this to precipitate the moves of Emmanuel Adebayor and Roque Santa Cruz out of the club.

Dzeko would give City a striker who is capable of leading the line - leaving Tevez to hover, in the way he most prefers, in a deeper position.  Presuming they both play, this gives City the option to play the following ultra-attacking combination:

Hart

Boateng,     Kompany,     Kolo Toure,     Kolarov

De Jong,     Yaya Toure

Silva,     Tevez,     Balotelli

Dzeko

Although you would imagine someone with the aerial ability of Dzeko would benefit from the wing play of Adam Johnson too.  It adds to City's wealth of options and increases Mancini's challenge to keep everyone happy.

As quoted in the Guardian, Mancini had the following to say about our long term target:

 "We have the chance to win the league this year and the decisive factor could be Edin Dzeko.  This player can decide titles and that is why we want him."

Some praise indeed.  Personally I have not seen a lot of him, but he falls into the bracket of a player young enough to have the desire to prove himself on one of the biggest stages.  This desire to sign players who 'want to write the history of the club' seems to be an important part of Mancini's thinking and Dzeko should fit this mould.

Despite how imminent this deal may seem according to the reports, City's status as a rich club and the board's justified stance not be milked as a result, may put this deal back a little - as most of our deals to date would suggest.

City 4 - 0 Villa: Match report

Yesterday's thrashing of Aston Villa has ensured a very pleasing end to 2010: as the clock strikes midnight for the new year, City will be [joint] top of the Premier League.  For a side that is growing as a team, this is not a bad position to be in at just over the half way stage.

One of the factors which is starting to make people look at City seriously is the strength of the squad and that was proven yesterday.  Despite Ian Cheeseman and Nigel Gleghorn quivering away in the pre-match build-up on Radio Manchester - the side Mancini picked, minus Tevez, Barry, Kolarov etc, was still mightily impressive.  I'm sure it will not have been much of a consolation to a Villa fan to hear that 'Tevez isn't playing, but City will be fronted by Adam Johnson, David Silva and Mario Balotelli.'

The quick start was vital for City and an already pretty demoralised Villa side, looked completely so once the first goal had been conceded and Houllier's containing plan had to be thrown out of the window.  It was indicative of the spirit at the club that a contentious decision such as Lescott's second went completely unchallenged by the Villa players.

City had started at a blistering pace and the seemingly effortless ease at how David Silva and Yaya Toure picked their ways through the Villa defence was a delight to watch.  Both players got a rousing reception when replaced and it is no coincidence that City's added verve and style has coincided with the coming to form of both of these players.

Balotelli has taken all the headlines for his hattrick and he worked well in the lead striker role.  People will grumble about his style, but he seems to possess that vital attribute for a striker: being in the right place at the right time.  He can do almost anything with a football - the application will hopefully come with adapting to the Premier League - but as long as he is scoring goals then it is hard to complain (not that that put the people who sit around me off!).  The cockiness with which he tackled the two penalties was superb - and whilst it may put some people off him, that belief is very important for a striker.

Another player who took his opportunity to shine was Adam Johnson, who had a superb, well-rounded game.  The previous criticisms of his game centred on him being a bit one-dimensional, but he worked hard in all departments today - coupling some breathtaking runs with some equally impressive defensive work.

The game had an air of one that was over after about half an hour - giving City the opportunity to ease off a little, which is ideal given the build-up of games.  Villa looked a poor side and you can imagine Houllier won't get much more time to change things there and, at a time when things are going well for City, hearing the one time regular City chant of "we're shit and we know we are" coming from the Villa end is a timely reminder of how far we have come.

Carlos Tevez: will it all blow over until the summer?

If Carlos has been paying close attention to the reaction of the British press, City fans and especially the club this week, he will be in no doubt that he has taken on something that is bigger than himself.  As important as he is to City, unlike Rooney at United, we are equipped to deal with his possible departure and to continue growing as a club.

With everything starting to come together at City recently, David Platt's post-match comments at the weekend, blessed with foreknowledge, that any player would rattle the goals in at the head of our creative quartet are probably not far from the truth.  Yes, Carlos has worked tirelessly for us, won games on his own, and is, at least whilst on the pitch, a good professional, but things have begun to change.  David Silva has started to be more influential than Carlos of late and there are even arguments to be made that Tevez slows down the fast-flowing football that the rest of City's forward-minded players are capable of playing.  In dropping deep so often he can also deprive the team of being the focal point of the attack, as is intended.  This is not to ignore the vast impact he has had at the club or to slight his grand achievements with us, but he may have pitched his case just as our dependability on him has started to decline.

There has not been too much clarity since the announcement on Saturday night but it is clear City must not pander to our, hopefully erstwhile, captain.  Whatever happens, even if it is to move him out in January, has to happen in the best interests of the club.  City need to make sure that they don't set a dangerous precedent.  A club of City's riches will always be a target.  Make any unreasonable concessions to Tevez and who knows where it will stop - a player who lives and trains in Spain and flies back for games at the weekend?! City are strong enough now not to do this.

What City do depends on how much of a disruptive influence they think Tevez could have on the team.  It is hard to think of a Tevez who wouldn't give his all during a match of football - I'm not sure he can do it any other way - so I don't think that would be a problem.  If we are to believe all of his account, he has been playing some very effective football for the past six months whilst almost as unhappy as he is now.  It depends on how much of a fuss he is willing to kick up - which is the relative unknown.

If this will not blow over, which seems likely, then Tevez has to leave at some point.  City want to build a team who want to play for each other and the club - as most successful teams do - so anyone who doesn't want to be a part of it, should be out of the club for that reason alone.  The ideal solution would be to sign some replacements for Tevez in the January transfer window - to challenge Tevez's role within the team and to act as insurance against him losing his last modicum of commitment to the club - and then to let him go in the summer, after he has had the chance to help City to some success and/or City have begun to get on without him.

Another reason this subject is hard to tackle is the vagueness of his reasons to want to go: homesickness? Kia Joorabchian and money? Garry Cook and boot deals/broken promises (The idea that Tevez would want to leave the club because of a relationship with a man he mustn't regularly see is hardly believable and certainly points back to Mr Joorabchian)? Lack of Champions League? Lack of football for Roque Santa Cruz?!  A mix of all these things and more?

The most obvious move at this stage is to strip Tevez of the captaincy.  The captain, the leader of the team on the pitch, should not be a player who is actively seeking to leave the club.  This is the most important factor.  His captaincy style to date has been to lead by example and some could argue that his reaction to being substituted against Bolton was already enough evidence that he shouldn't be leading the football club.  There are many better options within the first-team regulars - with Vincent Kompany as the stand-out candidate.

On the day it emerged Edin Dzeko has issued a come-and-get-me plea to City, it is clear that the only way forward at a club is to have players who want to play for you.  A natural centre-forward leading the line ahead of the likes of Silva, Balotelli and Yaya Toure has a good chance of being successful in front of goal.  Whilst players like Ezquiel Lavezzi at Napoli could fit the Tevez mould at a fraction of the price.  City have the luxury of being in a position to grow in the absence of their star-player.  If City hang on to him until the summer, it will give City the option to have dealt with his position before he has even walked out of the door.

Match report: West Ham 1 - 3 City

City have notched up their third away win from four today against a struggling West Ham side.  Pre-match sceptics pointing at City's record without Tevez will have been disappointed, as an attacking quartet - led by the inspired Yaya Toure - put three goals away.

In a nod to City's recent successes, Mancini preferred Jo to Adam Johnson on the left as he sought to keep the balance of the formation that has seen City producing such free-flowing football since our last trip to London to face Fulham.  The front four of Yaya Toure, David Silva, Jo and Mario Balotelli had free reign of the pitch and their constant movement in the opening stages made it hard for the Hammers' defence to get near them.  Jo is the sort of player who can play anywhere across the front three and, in Balotelli's normal role, he caused a number of problems early on.  With the success this fluidity is bringing to the team, you have to wonder what kind of opportunities will be reserved for wingers like Adam Johnson.

Yaya gave an interview in the week outlining what a learning curve it has been for him since he has joined City and how he is now feeling he is getting used to the league and his more advanced role.  This has certainly showed in the last three games he has been involved in - Fulham, Bolton and today.  After not being one hundred per cent convincing in the earlier stages of the season, he now seems an integral part of the team and is beginning to dictate the play more.  You get the feeling that the growing influence of Yaya and David Silva in the past month or so has played a big part in our increasingly stylish football.

The front four's success is made all the more comfortable by the consistently high quality of performances from players like Vincent Kompany and Nigel de Jong - who were both outstanding again today.  It must be a relief to the front four that there is such a reliable base behind them.  Whereas pre-Fulham, Tevez quite often cut a lonely, isolated figure upfront, City now have players dashing forward to support in attack - and this can only be done with confidence in the defence (although it was decidedly woeful for West Ham's consolation goal!).

West Ham improved in the second half, getting closer to City's players, but when an otherwise impressive Tomkins showed Yaya the way to goal, the game was as good as over.  Silva's exquisite pass to Johnson just served to show that there are goals in a team that is growing as a group, regardless of whether our Argentine captain is on the field or not.

Perhaps the only disappointment was Mario Balotelli, who was getting more and more frustrated to the point where he threw his gloves off and headed down the tunnel on being substituted.  Mancini was right to withdraw him as the petulant side of his game threatened to take over, and Roberto is one of the most experienced in the world at dealing with our young Italian striker.  To any fearing that Balotelli will be getting an easy ride with Mancini, this was a sign that Super Mario won't be getting it all his own way.  

City looked comfortable and within themselves today, and the brand of football that we are starting to show on a regular basis is very promising.  With City joint top and everything starting to click together, things are looking up in the run in to Christmas!

My man of the match:  Yaya Toure

Everything but the goals! City 1 - 0 Bolton: Match report

City's general play was so good yesterday that the nerve wracking ending seemed like it should belong to a different game.  The first twenty minutes were breathtaking - showing what is really an attacking quartet at their best.  Yaya was everywhere and, forgetting a couple of lapses in concentration where he nudged the ball back towards the defence, he was in fine form.  The flowing footballing intelligence of Silva, Yaya and Balotelli behind Tevez, with Zabaleta and Kolarov supporting at every opportunity, shows why, amidst the recent allegations of negativity, this really is an attacking formation when everything clicks.

After a bit of a goal drought at home recently, detractors may say that the inability to turn such dominance into goals shows one of City's weaknesses.  Although yesterday, as Mancini points out, City were just a bit wasteful with several glorious opportunities:

"Sometimes we were too selfish. We shot when it was better to pass - we must improve this situation.  When we have a chance, we must score. If I had played I would have scored two or three goals."

Whilst it would have been nice to avoid the jitters supplied by Kolarov's sending off, the way City carved out chances shows a team that is really beginning to click on the pitch.

Mancini's mention of his own goalscoring prowess, could perhaps be a warning to some players who feel themselves above the manager's decisions - notably Carlos Tevez.  Whilst he was once again central to most of the good work from City yesterday, he was also having a bit of an off-day in front of goal.  His reaction to being substituted with only a couple of minutes remaining is not what you would expect from your captain.  Yes, it is great he wants to be on the pitch at all moments (I remember him reacting similarly in the World Cup when he was taken off whilst chasing a hat-trick), but the captain should put the team first - and it is understandable, against a team with considerable aerial threat, to leave Balotelli on.  Silva, who was having another outstanding game, didn't grumble when he was replaced by Micah Richards with more minutes left on the clock.

The two most contentious decisions on the day were Silva's offside and Kolarov's sending off.  Silva wasn't offside and if it wasn't for Barry's instinctive move forward then I am sure the goal would have stood.  Even still, the linesman would've only needed to hold his flag for a second or two to establish the correct run of play.

Kolarov's is more difficult because of the way he went into the challenge.  It is one of those things where people will bemoan the changing face of the game when tackles like that aren't part of it anymore, but the game being like it is - winning the ball isn't always enough: full-blooded challenges are often penalised.  Whereas I would've liked him to have remained on the pitch, I can see how Mr Mariner thought otherwise - in a game he really failed to get a grip of.

The sending off made for a nervy ten minutes but as de Jong said after the game, City stopped them from creating any clear cut chances.  City are a hardier team than they have been in recent years and a lot of the praise can go to Vincent Kompany, who was immense once again.  After Joe Hart's slip, the resultant nerves that could have attended it were nullified by some clever play by Kompany - for the next five minutes, he caught the game by the scruff of the neck - exuding a calmness in possession that helped stabilise City for the remainder of the game.

There may be frustration in the City camp at not making more of some sparkling football, but from the stands what we are seeing is very encouraging indeed.