Why Our Argentinian Is Closer Than Ever To Becoming A Club Legend.

No, not him.

The most common associations between Manchester City and Argentina have always been related to one player, a player who only ever arrived at our club due to his enigmatic personality. Associations which were perhaps only ever going to end in tears.

But this isn't about him.

Deeper within the heart of the squad lies another bond with the South American land. In 2008 Mark Hughes brought Pablo Zabaleta to Manchester (adding to an impressive number of players who are still crucial to our current success). Relatively unknown in England until his arrival, City fans instantly warmed to Pablo and his committed style. When Roberto Mancini took the reigns it looked to many as if Zabaleta could be heading towards the end of his City career, but typical of the man and truly representative of his character, he battled away and fought for his place in the team and became a vital player in our most successful season for thirty-five years - notably producing possibly the best full back performance I have ever seen from a City player away at the Emirates. Similarly he was left out of the last competitive Argentina squad only to show the manager exactly what he can do and force himself into the Copa America side this year.

The attitudes of our two Argentinian representatives couldn't differ more. Whilst on the pitch they both give 100% and fight for everything, it is so refreshing to see Pablo come off the field and conduct himself in exactly the same way. How many other first team players would give up their holiday to go and watch the youth team play?

So what is pushing him closer towards becoming a club legend? despite the obvious passion, commitment and dedication, coupled with his slight northern accent and inevitability of stud related stitches every week - Pablo is very close to signing a contract extension which will see him stay at the club until 2014. Signing an extension at a club with so much ambition is always risky, the money is there and if you don't perform then a replacement will soon be on the way. This obviously doesn't intimidate 'Zaba' and his ambition closely matches that of the club.

With another Argentinian likely to be arriving very soon, I'd say Pablo definately gave him the thumbs up regarding everything connected to the club.

Carlos, we can handle the truth.

The Carlos Tevez transfer saga has gone on for far too long. The same re-cycled quotes and regurgitated stories have long become monotonous. As some of the most loyal fans in the world I think we deserve an answer to put an end to the ongoing mess.

To me it seems obvious that he will go, or at least he wants to go. Any player being linked away from a club they loved would quickly release a statement to silence the press and put a quick holt to the stories. Tevez has released enough statements and seems less than picky about who in the media he talks to. A lot of City fans are holding out hope that he will stay with us next season but I think the only way that would possibly happen is that he would have no takers, none at least who are willing to pay a transfer fee which would surely break records (even more so now considering Jordan Henderson is worth £20m and Phil Jones reported at £16m - would must Tevez be worth?)

Tevez could quite reasonably argue that he has done the job he came to City to do. When we signed him he was the first of the revolution and a major catalyst in the transformation of the club. Carlos promised us a trophy and champions league football and in the past year he has captained us to both, giving 100% every game and scoring an unbelievable amount of goals in the process. So why would he want to leave? he has consistently blamed the lack of contact with his wife and Children, which begs the question ‘how would moving to Madrid or Milan help?’

In terms of him leaving I think a lot of City fans feel the same, he is a quality player and without a doubt he would be a massive loss, but that’s as far as it goes. No longer are the days at MCFC where a player is bigger than the club. Nicolas Anelka.  Whilst Tevez is certainly one of our best, the club is in a position of strength. Without the financial needs to sell our players we are in a great position to hold on to anyone who has signed a contract.

If Carlos was to come out and say he has achieved what he wanted at City and that he needs a new challenge then I don’t know many City fans that would stand in his way. Having given us what he has over the last 2 years, including the ‘Welcome to Manchester’ campaign and a couple of brilliant digs at ‘them’ then we can only be grateful. It hasn’t quite worked out that way and the long dragged out saga that has made us into a media circus continues. The disruption can’t be good for the rest of the squad and it has been reported that other players are already becoming tired of Tevez liberties.

If Carlos was to leave then we would definitely need to replace him, which would be difficult. There is no player available who offers the work rate and class combination that Tevez does.  With the funds we have available I’m sure Mancini has his targets lined up and it should be just a matter of time now until he starts hitting them.

So Carlos, whether you decide to stay or whether your departure is inevitable, the least the fans deserve is the truth.

What do you make of the Tevez saga? will he stay or will he go?

City v Stoke - Two Clubs With Class.

Tonight is City's final home game of a quite remarkable campaign. With Champions league football guaranteed and the chance to qualify for the group stages in our hands superbly complementing the sweet taste of winning th F.A cup.
Stoke City make their way to Eastlands tonight and bring with them the sparkling reputation which they earned over this past weekend. Much has been made of the way Stoke play and the Physical approach adopted by Tony Pulis. Whilst most condemn this style, the attitude of their players and even more so the way their fans conducted themselves over the weekend showed exactly the kind of class that runs through the club. There were an unbelievable amount of fans that stayed behind after the final whistle at Wembley and continued to show their support and appreciation to the City team.
To the delight of myself and many other City fans, City will replicate the class shown by the potters in refraining from parading the trophy around the pitch. The decency suggested by this gesture is something every City fan should be proud of and something which not many other clubs would do.
As for the game itself, Mario Balotelli is ruled out with a knee injury and David Silva and Tevez are both doubts. I expect Adam Johnson to come in and support Edin Dzeko who should lead the line. James Milner could start the game which we really need to win.
Mancini is expected to make a speech at the end of the game, whether or not his words will be heard above the fans chanting his name is unsure.
A win tonight would mean that we only have to equal Arsenal's result next weekend to automatically qualify for the champions league group stages - who could have dreamed of that going into the play off final 12 years ago?
The blue moon has already risen, the question now is how far can it rise.
Stuart Yearsley

Anchor Man

Since the diverging opinions surrounding the traditional 4-4-2 were highlighted by a new breed of european manager, the holding position has become more and more integral to the evolving style of ‘fluent’ attacking football. The ‘anchor man’ provides the platform from which more forward thinking players can advance and somewhat disregard their defensive responsibilities.

In 2009, Mark hughes brought Nigel De Jong to the club, at £18m in today’s market quite a find. Relatively unknown in England but already branded with nick-names such as ‘the terrier’ picked up from his time at Hamburg and stretching further back to his time and progression through the Ajax youth academy. De Jong’s presence was instantly notable as his inclusion pushed the more established Vincent Kompany into the back four and into the role in which he has excelled. De Jong’s no nonsense style quickly adhered him to the fans and he soon became somewhat of a cult hero at Eastlands.

In his relatively short time at the club ‘Nige’ has certainly had his critics, his kung-fu antics during last year’s world cup did him no favors, however much of the criticism is unjustified. Many of his critics came to light following City’s home game against Newcastle and one tackle in particular which unfortunately broke the leg of Hatem Ben-Arfa. There was no malice what so ever in the tackle and the now all too well known phrase ‘he’s not that kind of guy’ seems perfectly suited. It is obvious that a player, who constantly patrols the space  between the defence and midfield with the sole responsibility of winning 50-50 tackles and picking up lose balls will inevitably mis-time a challenge. I recall Lee Dixon summing it up perfectly at the time as “an unfortunate accident”. The Dutch coach Bert van Marwijk seemed to disagree and excluded him from the National squad for crucial European qualifiers. With a scarred past and the brand ‘thug’ shadowing him closely, the real test for De Jong, still only 25; was showing the character needed to arise above the situation and show the footballing world exactly the type of player he is.

De Jong’s development as player since then has been somewhat representative of the changes the club has endured. The knowledge of his acute footballing brain and underestimated technical ability seem to stretch only as far as the City faithful. De Jong’s ball retention and passing ability have been crucial to the system that Roberto Mancini employs and allows other midfielders, particularly David Silva to play to his own expressive style. Deployed mainly alongside Gareth Barry, De Jong’s ever presence  has fueled the negativity fire that surrounded Mancini throughout most of the current campaign. Most of the writers and pundits who make these claims fail to comprehend the complexity of the system in which Mancini has so much trust.

De Jong’s game has progressed impressively under Mancini’s guidance. His technical ability is becoming more prominent through his passing but also his positional awareness. The aspect of De Jong’s game that has undergone the most impressive transformation is certainly the positivity of his mindset. Throughout the second half of this season, De Jong’s passing has been much more direct. With a new found confidence which has seen De Jong display much more of his passing repertoire than just the 10 yard pass we have been accustomed to, De Jong scored his first goal for the club in 2 years with an expertly executed finish from 25 yards, something that will perhaps convince a few people that he is certainly the contrary to a bulldog with a raging temper. De Jong’s fluent English is a testimony to the intelligence of the man and he certainly knows the right thing to say and when to say them. The fans have come to expect the rallying call before big games and it is De Jong that more than often delivers. The recent call before our Champions league play-off with Spurs was “This is a very important week for the club, the players and the fans. This is do or die for Manchester City.” Spoken almost like a fan, with the same passion and determination which every City fan would approach every game with.

One of the great successes of this season was the solid spine of the team. Starting from Joe Hart, through Kompany and De Jong, Silva and spearheaded by Carlos Tevez, with the latter as the exception this could be the spine of the team for many years to come and without a doubt boasts champions league quality. Perhaps just as excitingly for fans, the age of the base players we build around are 24,25, 25 and 25 respectively.

As far as a player being complete in the role they play, De Jong is surely one of the best holding midfielders in the world. A world cup finalist, champions league qualifier and possible FA cup winner. The thing that will surely raise the pulses of De Jong and fans alike is the inevitability that this will not be the end of his footballing achievements whilst playing for Manchester City.

City's Semi-Final - The bits the headlines missed.

Although Yaya's domination, Mancini's Tactics and Balotelli's wink (somehow) made the headlines this week, there were a few other things that were slightly overlooked.

Firstly, as nobody else seems to have mentioned it for more than a paragraph at the end of a 'Balotelli is a loon' article, I will. Tackling has never been the strongest part of Paul Scholes' game. This however does not provide an excuse or any justification for the thigh high lunge at Pablo Zabaleta on Saturday. everything I have read over the weekend seems to come from the same perspective; 'yeah but Paul Scholes can't tackle', neither could Elano or Robinho, you could say the same about Silva in the modern day but not one of those players have ever produced anything of the malice shown by Scholes this weekend. The irony is that Nigel De Jong was stood metres away from the tackle, a guy who has been constantly branded as a thug yet shows more class in a tackle than so many give him credit for. There were certainly similarities between Scholes' 'tackle' and the vicious assault on Alfie Haaland at the hands (and studs) of Roy Keane If Scholes would have caught Zabaleta anywhere near the knee it could have been a career threatening injury. Not for one second have I ever doubted his ability and credentials as a player, but with ten red cards to his name and sickening mindless acts like that I'm starting to doubt his credentials as a man.

Secondly on a much more positive note there were so many stand out performances in the semi final, I normally praise David Silva, Nigel De Jong and Vincent Kompany to the high heavens and whilst there would be every reason to reiterate their class, I have identified two players who usually receive their fair share of criticism. After Joey Barton's harsh words last week, the spotlight has shone a little brighter than usual on Gareth Barry. Typical of his mind-set and work ethic however, he chose the perfect stage to show exactly how important he is to this team. There is a running joke with City fans and others alike that boats have turned quicker than Barry, but his strength, determination of ball retention were exactly what we needed on Saturday he he provided it in abundance. Winning tackle after tackle and apparently covering more ground than any other player on the pitch, Barry was pivotal to the result and together with Nigel De Jong provides the perfect platform for Adam Johnson, David Silva and usually Carlos Tevez to operate, not too mention the freedom Yaya Toure is given knowing that Barry and De Jong are so reliable behind him, the freedom which obviously proved so beneficial once again this weekend.

The second player I want to mention is Alex Kolarov. The player who has received without a doubt the most stick this season from the City fans. Since Kolarov's arrival it has been mentioned time and time again that he could be our weak link defensively. At 25 years old and in only his first season in English football there is no doubt that the best is yet to come from Kolarov although I believe that a glimpse of this was shown over the weekend and many of his doubters were silenced by his competent defending coupled with his effective attacking style. Under Mancini I think his defensive attributes will improve and with a strong pre-season under his belt with the likes of Kompany, Toure and Zabaleta to mentor him he can come on leaps and bounds next season. For the time being, I personally would like to City fans give him a bit of a break, get behind him and encourage him to keep bringing the encouraging aspects of his game into the team.

Another positive we can take out of the game is the mature performance of Mario Balotelli. Not taking into consideration his antics at the end of the game for a second and focusing solely on the 95 minutes that mattered, I was very impressed. As with his performance recently against Sunderland, Mario constantly made dangerous runs, held the ball up, but most importantly he has started to work hard for the team and defend from the front. Showing none of the petulant behaviour he has made infamous, he got on with the game and showed that he can be an important member of the squad. For the first time it seemed to sink in with Mario what it means to wear the shirt. He celebrated at the end of the game exactly how the fans wanted him to and it was genuinely good to see him enjoying himself at last.

More has been made about the 'incident' after the game than I thought was possible. The bottom line is that Mario Balotelli celebrated the win whilst facing United fans, he didn't run towards them or do anything over-provocative, he simply celebrated his team winning with a bit of passion (remember Gary Neville v Liverpool?). Rio Ferdinand and Anderson let their disappointment spill over and in my opinion over-reacted and tried to re-create the scene from Old Trafford with Martin Keown, Ray Parlour and Ruud Van Nistelrooy. How Balotelli came out of that situation as the bad guy is way beyond my understanding and seems to represent a perfect example of some one's reputation going before them.

Finally, whilst not quite worth writing about yet, Carlos Tevez absence in my opinion is not a good sign for his City future, had De Jong, Kompany or any other player on the squad for that matter been in Carlos' situation, I can more or less guarantee that they would have wanted to be at Wembley with the rest of the squad. I don't think his absence can be scrutinised too much, but certainly plants a seed of doubt regarding his summer options.

Liverpool v City preview

It's been easy for many City fans to overlook the importance of tonight's game with Saturday in mind. With the results going the way they did over the weekend however, the importance of picking up three points has been underlined, especially with Spurs only having one competition  on which to focus their attention.

We will go to Anfield tonight bubbling with confidence after our 5-0 thrashing of Sunderland, I can't see a similar result tonight though and see Mancini changing the shape of the team slightly. Gareth Barry will be pushing for a start against the team he almost joined before becoming a blue, possibly at the expense of Adam Johnson who could drop to the bench after a long spell out and his revealed importance to the balance of the team.

Pablo Zabaleta's return to the squad is a big positive, whilst Boyata looked extremely comfortable last week I think Caroll, Suarez and Merieles pose a much bigger threat.


Mario Balotelli should spearhead the attack with Tevez and Silva working impishly around him. The threat of Adam Johnson and Dzeko on the bench should be more than enough to worry Liverpool's depleted defence which is without both Daniel Agger and Glen Johnson.

Any excuse implying we have 'one eye on the cup final' should be banished immediately, this is an important game and will see us once again extend our lead on spurs going into the final games of the season. Until tomorrow morning, our league position and champions league football should be our main focus and we should attack Liverpool tonight knowing they are without some key players. The absence of Gerrard is slightly soured by the presence of Andy Caroll and particularly Louis Suarez who has looked very impressive since joining Liverpool.

I think if our spine of Kompany, De Jong and Tevez will provide a solid defensive platform from front to back which will limit Liverpool's attacking threat due to their lack or any real wingers. Dirk Kuyt doesn't have the pace to exploit Kolarov so keeping him as wide possible could prove beneficial.

As we have shown throughout the season, we have enough attacking threat to take on any team and I don't see tonight being an exception, with the right attitude and pure focus we could very well pick up all 3 points tonight.

Prediction - Liverpool 1 - 2 City - our attacking threat should be able to bail us out of situations such as tonight, the giant Caroll and nifty Suarez partnership could well cause us some problems but I think we'll offer a bit more going forward that they can handle.

City 5-0 Sunderland (03/04/2011)

I've thought for a while now that some-one was due a thumping. Whether it was pure coincidence that we really pulled it out of the bag on Adam Johnson's return to the team will remain uncertain, although his impact and direct approach is certainly something we've been missing in recent weeks.


We started off with a very attacking team, perhaps at Gareth Barry's expense as a roller coaster week for him was rounded up by being 'rested'. Dedryck Boyata made his return to the team at right back - the position which casted a slight concern over a few City fans with the absence of Richards, Zabaleta and Boateng (for me, in that order). Boyata looked comfortable from the start, against quick and tricky opponents like Wellbeck and Gyan he took the game in his stride and looked competent defending but just as importantly looked extremely comfortable on the ball, I remember one turn in particular where he turned on the Paulo Wanchope legs and strode delightfully from 2 surrounding Sunderland players.

It seems easy to say this now but we always looked like winning the game even from as soon as 5 minutes in when Adam Johnson had already been given 2 attempts to isolate the full-backs to varied success. The deadlock was broken by some neat interplay between Yaya and Johnson with the latter providing the finish into the bottom corner. The lead was doubled 10 minutes later when Carlos Tevez was brought down inside the area only to dust himself down and convert the penalty.

The scoreline was obviously emphatic and certainly send out the right message to Chelsea and Spurs (and Arsenal for that matter). The most encouraging thing though was the mentality of every single one of the players, with massive games approaching quickly we seem to be clicking at just the right time. Nigel De Jong's return to the team is vital, along with Kompany and Tevez we then have the quality throughout the spine of the team to build around.

 Another positive sign is that the players are starting to make themselves regulars and letting their form choose the team; Lescott again was immense today and showed Asamoah Gyan the kind of defender he really is. Lescott looked quick, incisive and strong in the air as well as learning to play to his strengths and play an easier less direct ball from the back. Lescott's partnership with Kompany is improving with every game and they look to have a great understanding of each other; 5 clean sheets in 8 games goes a long way to prove this. David Silva is another player, along with Yaya and Tevez who have cemented their first team positions and gelled really well together.

Considering he normally makes all the headlines for the wrong reasons I think it's important to talk about the way Balotelli played today. Mario certainly has his critics and doesn't help himself, but as I heard someone behind me today say; 'when that lad finds his brain and wants to play, it's going to be a special day'. I don't quite think I can take that much from today performance but I can say that his work rate and attitude were the best I have seen since his arrival, he tracked back with his man every time and chased down defenders giving them no time on the ball. With the ball he looked calm and confident and was unlucky not to get on the score sheet. Another performance like that next weekend (away at Anfield does pose a whole different situation) and then I could just begin to trust him and think about his inclusion at Wembley.

With late goals from Vieira and Yaya coming after Silva nipped in and finished nicely from 8 yards the scoring was complete. I did also particularly enjoy the comedy of errors from the delightful Character that is Lee Cattermole as he inexplicably tee'd up Yaya Toure for the final goal.

Fine performance all round today, with no more worries at right-back and the rest of the cogs turning very smoothly we have every reason to be confident heading into another big game next Saturday and and even bigger one the next.

I imagine Roberto Mancini to be sat at home with a smile on his face thinking about that performance, the positive reaction from Mario Balotelli and the re-playing of his display of impeccable technique bringing a ball down from 60 foot with one touch on sky plus.

Forza Mancini.