Man City’s defense still needs work. I’d be astonished if they break into the top 4.
United still need a midfielder and another striker. Ferguson is losing his mind.
Liverpool, if they keep Alonso, will win the title. I’ll vomit shortly thereafter.
I can see City getting that 4th place next season. Not that I think they have a chance of getting close to United, Liverpool or Chelsea yet, but I think Arsenal, Villa and Everton look shaky enough to be pipped.
Obviously, it could easily go wrong for them with such wholesale changes at once (Spurs, anyone?), but they are signing some big experienced names, and confidence and good vibes can really help in a league where the win/lose margins are so small. They definitely need a couple of defenders though.
Mark Hughes has yet to convince me he’s up to the job, but I hope he does well. I reckon a lot more people would be tipping them if someone like Mourinho was in charge.
chowder - I reckon Bellamy and Elano are out of the door.
On an entirely unrelated note, I’ll be so upset if Spurs sign Vieira. Way past it, with a nasty red stain over him.
Racer1 Elano maybe, Bellamy, I doubt it.
Bellend, as he’s affectionately known to the City faithful, is an out and out trier, never gives up and never stops running.
Elano on the other hand is a different kettle of fish. Sure he’s great at taking free kicks and penalties but he’s prone to chucking his dummy out of the pram if things don’t go according to plan.
Plus he can be one lazy bugger at times
Well, Adebayor is definitely going to City as soon as his work permit is approved. To nick a comment I saw elsewhere, I can’t really see a 1-2-7 formation breaking them into the top 4, particularly if that one man in defence is John Terry.
True, true. Having said that, a back four of Bridge, Terry, Dunne and Micah Richards may not be world beaters, but still better than most of the chasing pack. Plus Barry protecting the defence. They’ll at least need some cover though, and possibly have to replace Dunne and Richards if they are sold or can’t rediscover form.
But will Bellend (like it) be happy to warm the bench or will he start throwing his toys out the pram, punch girls in nightclubs, and generally undermine Hughes in the media?
This is Bellamy we’re talking about not Barton
Yeah, but the little angel still went on trial for hitting a young girl in a Cardiff nightclub, tried to hit a team-mate with a golf club, and ranted about Shearer (his then captain) in a public strop at Newcastle.
They should set up a Barton v Bellamy cage fight pre-season.
Is this City line-up about right, as things stand?
---------------Hart------------
Richards-CB-Dunne-Bridge
SWP-----Barry------Ireland
Tevez-----Striker—Robinho
I’m leaving the CB open because 1) it would probably be Kompany if he’s healthy and/or 2) it might be Terry. I leave the center-forward spot open for now because I would think Ade is #1, but it will be a rotation anyway. That’s very good for attacking, but the teams that are great at counters could easily punish City if they get Terry. He and Dunne chasing a guy like Torres, Drogba, Rooney, Walcott, or Young down from behind isn’t an ideal way to defend.
I think Zabaleta would figure in defence TBH, Kompany won’t be available until about Sept/Oct, he’s having surgery on his foot.
I can’t begin to guess at a starting line-up until such time as all deals are done and dusted
If City took the field tomorrow, they would:
a. Be coached by Mark Hughes
b. Field a defence of Richards, Zabaleta, Dunne and Bridge
c. Be called Man City
All barriers to success. Barring a visionary re-branding exercise, only one of those three is likely to change before the season starts. You’d be happy with a top ten finish with that defence tbh. If a reputable centre half or two is picked up you could start talking top six.
Stuart Downing is on his way to Villa apparently - great signing IMO. He’s a good player who always seemed to get a hard time from the Boro faithful, all 3 of them, because he’s a creative player who can give the ball away at times. Should have moved a couple of seasons back. Would love to have seen him move to Everton.
You forgot to name the attack of possibly:
Robinho,RoqueSanta Cruz,Adebayor,Tevez.
To name just a few
Not entirely on topic, but I thought any true lover of football would appreciate this video of Sepp Blatter doing the best thing he’s ever done.
He dies in the video???
oh, sorry
I don’t mind City building a stable of strikers, simply because injuries really hurt the club last year, and Bellamy and RSC are both injury prone. Caicedo showed some flashes last year, but he needs some tutelage, or possibly a loan spell, which is what I am thinking will happen if they sign Adebayor.
I would definitely like to see some flexibility added to the back 4, with the addition of deJong last season, and Barry over the summer, I think the midfield is toothy enough. terry would be okay, but I would prefer the back 4 to get faster. there have been rumors for the past few weeks about bring Lescott in from Everton, pending them signing a replacement.
Just a minute here. Am I to assume that Theodore Striker is a City fan and that I’m not the only one of the faithful to grace this board with my presence
City buying volume is a smart move. Having 6 or 7 players outside the first eleven who could start for most other teams will make a big difference to their season. I really like Everton’s first eleven, but come February it will be a first seven plus four makeweights and that is always the struggle for us.
I can’t see Lescott staying with us if an improved offer is made. Don’t think you can turn down 15 - 20 million for a centre half in our shoes, no matter how good he is. There’s so much you could do with that money to improve other areas of the team, and we have two class centre halves on the books anyway. Moyes is laying down the law about it, which is a bit of a head scratcher. He’ll look silly if he goes - maybe looking silly with 20 million quid in your arse pocket is the point though. I hope Lescott stays in any case, because he’s a beast and great to watch.
Would love to see Micah come the other way. City can’t be arsed to develop players now, and Richards is going backwards. Moyes would have him as good as Lescott in 2 - 3 years.
Your assumption is correct chowder, although I would probably be shunned by some city fans because I 'm a yank. I believe we share another message board as well, full of ITK’s and WUM’s.
Scissors- you will get Jo and you will like it.
Is it the one with great threads such as… “I need cheering up etc…?”
If it features gratuitous pics in the thread, then that would be the one. Mixed bag on that board to say the very least.