la Pasión

The official website has reported that Pablo Zabaleta has returned to England and will train today to be ready for this weekend’s game with Sunderland.

This is just what we needed considering the current injury situation. With Micah Richards our for around six weeks, Kolo Toure suspended and Jerome Boateng needing knee surgery, we were short of options at right back with only Dedrick Boyata and youngster Reece Wabara available.

Zabaleta was back home in Argentina with his Father who was recently involved in a car accident but has decided to fly back to Manchester to be with the injury hit squad.

There are certain acts in football which can really adhere a player to the fans; winning goals, penalty saves and flawless performances being amongst the most common. Then there are others that are a little less common but can mean so much more. One example which will be familiar to most reading this is when Nery Castillo paid a percentage of his loan fee in order to be able to come to England and play for City. Fair enough it never quite worked out for the little mexican but City fans always held him in the highest regards. I believe Pablo’s return to Manchester this week to be an act of this calibre. Most, if not all fan’s would have given Pablo as long as he needed with his father after all, dare I say it; there are more important things in life than football. It is the passion, drive and determination which has confirmed him as a fan favorite and crucial member of the City squad under his second manager at the club, the same characteristics which have brought him back this week.

If there was one player who would be branded with these characteristics at the club I think the unanimous vote would go to Pablo, signed from Espanyol in 2008 he has given 100% in every single game played and constantly mirrored the fans passion. Having played over 100 games for City I know that no-one will say in any one of those that Zabaleta has given any less then his all. I actually struggle to think of a bad game he has had at the club.

Looking at a few of the players we’ve had at the club and the attitudes they have brought with them, Robinho and Balotelli spring to mind instantly, it emphasizes the right way to go about playing football, the attitudes differ so greatly and in my opinion certainly contributes to the fact that Robinho played 41 games for City and very few were sad to see him leave. This year against Blackpool Zabaleta made his 100th appearance for the club and continues to impress forcing himself to be a crucial member of our ever growing squad and rightly at times taking the captains armband.

Zabaleta’s chances have been limited recently with the return to form of Micah Richards but with so many games in a short period of time the old faithful has always stepped up to the challenge and put in committed performances. Some personal highlights of mine are the game away at the Emirates this season where Pablo stepped in at left back and put in one of the best full back performances I have ever seen from a City player (overshadowed by a ludicrous sending off 3 minutes from the end). Zabaleta has also been asked to play as a defensive midfielder on several occasions this year, again a task he performs more than adequately.

As our club moves forward, Zabaleta’s persistence serves as a constant reminder of where we have been and just how far we have come. If there is one true representation of the commitment and attitude we need to progress to the next level then it is personified by this one man perfectly.

The Best Fans In The Land And All The World?

To the great majority of City fans this is generally seen as a statement rather than a question, but there has been a growing concern about its credibility.

The one constant throughout our clubs rapid development has been the well maintained reputation of its fans. It has been viewed that the stature of our fans has been a catalyst for bringing in quality players, whilst players departing the club have echoed these sentiments and often sang the praises of the City faithful.

There has been questions raised recently however about the number of empty seats that consistently litter the City of Manchester stadium, especially in the cup competitions. The old proverb states that success brings adoration, even in the fickle minds of most football fans it seems a given that the better your team play then the greater the desire to watch them – hence my lack of understanding at the number of seats left empty and its correspondence with our degree of cup progression. Our league attendances over the last 4 years agree with this theory; in the 07-08 season we averaged just over 42,000, the 08-09 season just short of 43,00, in the 09-10 season 45,500 and this season we can boast  a healthy average league attendance of 47,177. Our fans sit fifth in the attendance table only behind United, Arsenal, Chelsea and Newcastle. With the defeat at Old Trafford this year our ambitions for the season changed, with most fans now content with a Champions league place and to focus our attention on the two remaining cup competitions. Despite this, we can only produce a contrasting average attendance for FA cup games which is a lowly 26,867 – 9th in the attendance table with teams above us including Leeds, Leicester, West Ham and Everton. So I remain unsure of what it will take to encourage fans to watch cup games, our best chance in winning silverware for a well documented 35 years and one game away from playing at Wembley just doesn’t seem to provide the motivation.

In our home Europa League games this year we average a slightly less shameful 35,700, which bridges the gap between FA cup games and Premier league games. This leaves us with the 7th highest attendance in the Europa League. To put the things into perspective the teams above us include Borrussia Dortmund, Benfica and Ajax. Looking at the other end of the scale the teams below us include Rubin Kazan who had an average attendance of just 400.

The common perception is that the main reason for our low attendance is financial; with the current economic climate of course this is understandable. With our FA cup tickets costing between £15 and £25 and our cheapest season tickets selling for £420, City offer one of the fairest ticket pricing schemes in the division with only considerably ‘smaller clubs’ being able to offer similar; West Brom, Blackpool and Stoke pose as good examples. To put that into context, the other teams currently making up the top four; United, Arsenal and Chelsea sell season tickets for £513, £893 and £550 respectively. Even taking the financial situation into account, clubs have still managed to bring in high FA cup attendances this year, Spurs and Leeds have both averaged over 35,000 along with the aforementioned ‘big three’ from the premier league. This considered, I would certainly refuse to solely blame finances for our poor turnouts.

The simple part as usual is identifying the issue, coming up with a solution would always be more problematic. One approach, taken by more and more clubs is to tie in a cup ticket scheme with the purchase of season tickets. This makes cup games compulsory for season ticket holders, some offering discounted rates. The negative aspects to this tie-in are again financial but the positive aspects are clear to see in the success that United have had operating the scheme. With an average FA cup attendance this year of 74,753 it is clear that the cup scheme is contributing to filling the ground more regularly. This could become more and more important as new financial fair play regulations are introduced and all the revenue from ticket sales will be considered.

If  City do progress to the Semi-finals or even further in the FA cup, I have no doubt that the club will easily distribute their full allocation, however there certainly needs to be some planning for the early stages of all cup competitions next year.

So do we really have ‘the best fans in the land and all the world?’ – I’d say about 25,000 of them.

Irony?

City 3 - 0 Villa (02/03/2011)

An impressive result and a very impressive performance.

Aston Villa came to Eastlands knowing they would be one game away from Wembley if they were to win tonight - of course the same situation that City were in themselves. Knowing that, it was a strange team selection from Gerard Houllier who rested both Ashley Young and Stuart Downing. With Darren Bent cup-tied it was left to Emile Heskey and Gabby Agbonlahor to lead the forward line - barely the most prolific strike force.

On paper the City line up was a lot stronger, even with the luxury of resting Carlos Tevez and Edin Dzeko the team still featured Mario Balotelli, David Silva and seven other first team players. Micah Richards made his return from injury which pushed Jerome Boateng inside to CB to partner the in form Lescott. Zabaleta was named at right back which again gave Alex Kolarov license to get forward and neglect some of his defensive responsibilities. Patrick Vieira, Gareth Barry and Yaya Toure made up the midfield.

It was a great start for the blues when Kolarov's corner was flicked on by Vieira (who has suddenly became a massive aerial threat) and Yaya Toure lashed it in from three yards with only five minutes on the clock. City looked extremely comfortable from that moment on. Gareth Barry put in his best performance against Aston Villa since he left and was first to every ball in midfield, along with Patrick Vieira he provided a foundation for David Silva to work his magic. Silva continuously picked up the ball in space and pulled the strings for City, building up any sort of relationship with Mario Balotelli is beyond most people's capabilities but Silva certainly headed in the right direction. Patrick Vieira went some way towards convincing City fans that he can still do a job for the team. He looked sharper and quicker than he has done previously and dominated the midfield.

With Kolarov and Richards providing the width City had a lot of the ball in the first half. The possession was made to pay when Mario Balotelli let a long ball run across his body before expertly finishing in the top corner. This was a great example of what to expect from the enigmatic Italian and shows why Mancini sets such a high standard for him.

Richard Dunne made his return to Eastlands for the first time since he left the club and at times reminded the City faithful exactly why he was regarded so highly.

There were a few glimpses of what Aston Villa are capable of with Agbonlahor flashing just wide and Petrov slightly miss-timing his otherwise well executed volley but the night definitely belonged to City and the win was secured late in the second half when David Silva controlled a weak clearance and clinically finished into the corner.

Carlos Tevez was introduced in the second half as Mario Balotelli made way to a standing ovation. He is certainly getting on the right side of the City fans and with his impressive performances of late and his continued growing maturity (he actually stepped in as peacemaker tonight at one point) he is on his way to becoming a firm fan favourite.

Roberto Mancini's team choice showed exactly what he thinks of the competition and next up is a home tie against Championship side Reading. Whilst no easy task, it will certainly be a situation that Mancini would look to take advantage of.

There were the strongest signs yet tonight that City are in with a strong chance of winning their first silverware for 35 years.
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FA cup: Villa prevew

I've thought about giving up trying to predict Mancini's team selections as its becoming more and more unpredictable. Last week saw Pablo Zabaleta start in midfield for what I recall being the first time under Mancini. A ploy Hughes used a few times to good effect.

Micah Richards is expected to be fit to start at RB and Silva recovered from the 'ankle injury' that kept him out of the Fulham game at weekend.

Mario Balotelli is expected to continue up front after his harsh criticism on Sunday. To be fair to Mancini he did just answer a question put to him, so to say he singled Balotelli out could be a little unfair. Mancini has obviously seen enough of Balotelli to acknowledge the talent he has although this also works against Mario should he ever not play to the high standard that Mancini expects of him.

Darren Bent is cup-tied so expect Agbonlahor to step in as his (terrible) replacement. Without bent I can't identify a real goalscoring threat for Villa. Other than Ashley young there doesn't seem to be any real threat, although I did say that about Damien Duff and look what happened there.

The incentive of playing Reading in the quarter final should be enough to spur both teams on tonight and presents us with our best chance in winning something this year.

Prediction - City 2- 0 Villa. Although my score predictions have been pretty poor this season I think this one should be fairly routine.
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