Vieira quits France

Patrick Vieira has announced he's quitting international football to focus on City:

"My focus is on City, nothing else...

He said: "My target in the next few years is City. I want to do my best for the club, and I want to repay the trust of the manager, Brian (Marwood) and Garry Cook."

This isn't a big surprise given his age and the break Laurent Blanc needs to make with the last remnants of the France '98/Euro 2000 generation.

What is interesting is that he says he wants to be here for a 'few years.' This reinforces my belief that Vieira is going to move into the coaching staff providing Mancini is still here. Clearly his role at the club is beyond playing in midfield occasionally: based on last year's performances he didn't deserve a contact for 2010/11. The longer he stays the more likely it is he will be performing training ground functions. And he's a very useful ally for Mancini in the dressing room - as shown by his castigation of Micah Richards as reported in the Sunday Times a few days ago.

The appointment of David Platt shows Mancini's willingness to build his own coaching team: his partnership with Brian Kidd was created by the club rather than the manager. Vieira could make a step up into the Mancini/Platt circle in time.

Vieira to stay at CIty

No real surprise: Patrick Vieira is staying at City for the 2010/11 season. If he were leaving we would have announced it along with the Benjani, Sylvinho and Martin Petrov departures.

I don't necessarily think Vieira deserved another deal, given he put in one good performance (against Aston Villa) but ten or so poor ones. But footballing merit was always one of a number of reasons for his being signed. He's important in other ways, for experience, for leadership, as Mancini's enforcer in the dressing room as well as his eyes and ears.

He won't play too much next year, but he will be important for big European games, particularly if we go 4-5-1. And if Mancini stays he could well grow into the coaching staff.

Vieira misses out

One City player who won't be making the World Cup is Patrick Vieira, who suprisingly missed out on Raymond Domenech's squad.

It is a disappointment for him, having come to City largely to play his way into the France squad. I suppose it's legitimate decision from Domenech, given that Vieira has produced one good performance in a few months at City. But there is always a worry with Domenech that even when he reaches the right decision he gets there via the wrong reasons.

Vieira speaks

Patrick Vieira - bizarrely good on Saturday given his initial form - has spoken honestly of his search for form at MCFC:

"It is very difficult when you change leagues like that," he said. "I did not make it easy for myself because I arrived injured. I needed time to find my rhythm and find my place in the team. But I have been really frustrated because I don't feel l have been doing what I am capable of and I have not given what the people who brought me to the club expected. But it is never too late and Spurs is another big game.

"When you start a season you set yourself a target based on the players you have in the dressing room. And with the players we have in the dressing room, that target has to be and still is the Champions League. We are really close now, we will have to fight for it. It will not be easy but then nothing has been easy in the last few months."

It was a performacne so good it has made me reconsider whether I want him at City next season. He brings so much aside from his performances: experience, leadership, and eyes and ears for Mancini in the dressing-room, that good performances feel more like the icing than the cake itself in terms of justifying his role at City. So I wouldn't be surprised to see him stick around next season.

Understatement of the year

The prestigious award goes to Roberto Mancini for this:

"Patrick could improve."

Tévez, Petrov, Vieira out of Sunday

Three confirmed absences for the immediate future.

First our top scorer, and probable 2009/10 Player of the Season Carlos Tévez, who will stay in Argentina for the time being due to the recent premature birth of his daughter. Daniel Taylor reported this in today's Guardian, and Roberto Mancini confirmed it in today's press conference.

Next up there's Martin Petrov, who is out for a month with a knee injury.

And then there's Patrick Vieira who has 'reluctantly accepted' his charge of violent conduct and so is banned for the Liverpool, Stoke City and Chelsea games this week. As I said when he was charged, good news from a football justice standpoint, but not a disaster from a Manchester City fan position either.

Vieira facing 3 game ban

After his stamp on Glenn Whelan:

Staffordshire referee Alan Wiley, who took charge of the Stoke fixture on Tuesday, has reviewed video evidence of Vieira's reckless challenge on Whelan and informed that FA that he would have dismissed the City midfielder had he seen the incident.

Obviously from a 'football justice' standpoint this is good news. But from a partisan MCFC standpoint it's not the worst news we've had all season either. How we plan to deal with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, next week, I've no idea.

'We must play better'

Roberto Mancini knows that while our league position is good, our form is not and that if we do not improve significantly we will not make fourth place. This is what he said about yesterday's performance:

“In the first half the ball was in the air most of the time and it was difficult for us to play. We had to fight, it was the only way to play. We were better after the break, but when it was 11 v 10 we should have created more chances. We should have got it down the channels for Shaun or Adam, but too often we played it down the middle.

“I made a change by bringing Shaun on and pushing Gareth to left back, but we should have been more aggressive to try to win the game. We were too quiet at times and we had some good chances to win this game."

Given the quality we have in wide areas it is becoming a frustration how slowly we move the ball out wide. This is meant to be Gareth Barry's greatest asset, and when he's on top of his game (first half against Bolton, first half against Stoke at home) we've looked lively in this area. But when he is under pressure, when he is weighed down by a certain World Cup winning passenger in our midfield he struggles and the team fail to create opportunities.

Of course, moving the ball quickly into space is one of Stephen Ireland's fortés but we all know how he struggles to play in 4-4-2, and how out of form he is. One of the key battles on Sunday will be the attempts of Javier Mascherano and Lucas Leiva to prevent Gareth Barry from setting Adam Johnson up against Emiliano Insua. It's clear now that Mancini has no interest in resting Gareth Barry, and so getting the best out of him becomes a priority. And I don't see what role Patrick Vieira has in any solution to this problem.

Mancini on Vieira

The manager clearly expects big things from his first signing:

'I know Patrick wants to go to the World Cup and for this reason alone I feel he can be very important for us over the next three or four months. He is a big player, both on the pitch and in the mind.

'We lost two games recently, against Everton and Manchester United. They were both very different games and at Everton I felt we were tired.

'But Patrick is so experienced maybe we would not have lost those games if he had been in the team.'

I think this Saturday he will come in for Gareth Barry, who clearly needs some time out of the side. But his long-term role? I don't know.

Vieira ready to start

He could well play at the KC on Saturday:

"It has been a frustrating spell with the injury. Thank God it is over and I am ready to start, " he said.

"I suffered it in the last game for Inter and did not realise it was that bad. City have been right behind me and I have to thank them for that.

"I am looking forward to playing in the Premier League again and getting a run of games. When I was in Italy I followed the matches. They have been exciting and I really believe it is one of the best in the world."

Coming straight in for the jaded Gareth Barry makes sense this weekend. But in terms of a long term solution? I just don't know.

Midfielders overworked

Gareth Barry could do with a rest. That much is clear from Saturday - although it has been suggested for a while. Barry has already started 24 games so far this season. Compare that to Manchester United's central midfielders: Michael Carrick 20, Darren Fletcher 19, Anderson 17, Paul Scholes 16, Ryan Giggs 13 and Darron Gibson 8. (Nigel de Jong has started 18, Stephen Ireland 16.)

This is why we need Patrick Vieira fit as quickly as possible - although the manager says that this is still a few games away:

“It is better for us, and for him, that he [Vieira] can go and be ready in a week or 10 days,” he said.

“It is better that we do not take risks in this situation. I would like it that when Patrick does come back he can play until the end of the season.”

Of course, the squad is full of midfielders. But Stephen Ireland has struggled for form and fitness all season, Vincent Kompany is currently needed at centre-back, and Michael Johnson will seemingly miss most of 2010 with a knee ligament injury.

So Barry's going to have to struggle on for a while yet. Him and de Jong will have to play at Eastlands tomorrow night. At Glanford Park on Sunday I would like to see something makeshift - how does an Ireland/Zabaleta combination sound, providing we can play Richards at right-back with an all Belgian centre-back pairing? Or another arrangement of the same players: Kompany and Ireland in midfield, with a Garrido/Boyata/Richards/Zabaleta back four.

If Vieira is fit in ten days he should be able to play in the home game against Portsmouth on Sunday 31st. But we will need Vieira and Ireland available to lighten Barry and de Jongs' workload in February - we already have five games within 21 days and if we win at Scunthorpe it will be six.

Vieira as a coach?

Oliver Brown floats the idea in the Sunday Telegraph:

Should he fulfil his stated aim of inspiring City to a top-four finish this season, thus protecting his manager's job as well as his own, he could have a chance to know them even better, on the training pitch and in the dugout.

Think of it as the Dennis Bergkamp role. Only last month Vieira's former Dutch team-mate, and fellow alumnus of Arsenal's 'Invincibles' season, was linked to a return to North London in a coaching capacity.

Arsène Wenger denied the rumour but tellingly praised Bergkamp's leadership abilities, indicating that such a role could yet be found for him. The same applies to Vieira. A consummate captain since the day he led Cannes aged just 19, Mancini's latest signing wants to take his talismanic influence a stage further.

Where will Vieira play?

There were lots of good reasons for signing Patrick Vieira - experience, leadership skills, etc - but addressing a felt need in central midfield was not one of them. We've got quite a few already, and some of them are really quite good. One difficulty with this is that we don't know exactly which system Roberto Mancini is going to stick with for the rest of the season: he's been flexible so far between 4-4-2 and 4-3-3. If he goes with 4-4-2 the most obvious answer is that he will come into the team instead of Nigel de Jong:


It's not a bad side. But I think it would be a strange move to drop de Jong. He's been our second best outfield player this season. A Barry/Vieira combination would be very effective, but I think Barry and de Jong are working increasingly well together. Were de Jong to be injured or suspended then I guess this is what I'd go for.

With everyone fit, though, this next one is my favourite. One of Mancini's main innovations as manager has been his willingness to deploy defensive players in wide midfield positions: both Pablo Zabaleta and Sylvinho have been asked to do it. And so I'm sure he would be willing to put Gareth Barry on the left. I'm sure he did it at Aston Villa occasionally, and while he's not Martin Petrov his delivery from wide would be at least as good as Petrov's. As long as there was pace on the right, we'd look well-balanced:


Again, it's quite good. My one worry is that Gareth Barry is best used running games in the middle. And Nigel de Jong would be a great partner for the Patrick Vieira of 2000. But the Patrick Vieira of 2010, who plays slower and deeper than he used to, is possibly too similar to Nigel de Jong.

It could be useful, though, for difficult away games. As would this option - which is presuming that Mancini plays 4-3-3 instead:


I quite like this one too, particularly in away games. That front three, those that started at Molineux, provides good pace on the break allied to a very solid central midfield three. I wouldn't be too surprised to see this at Goodison Park next Saturday.

One problem, though - no Stephen Ireland. If you know how to play Vieira, Barry, de Jong and Ireland in the same team, please let me know.

Vieira's confidence

Our new signing speaks bravely about our prospects:

Vieira added: "When you look at the players the club's got you can achieve a lot - I strongly believe that we are not out of the race of winning the title.

"We need to believe that we can do it and I'm sure that the club can do it."

I think he's wrong, but that's not the point. Vieira's experience and winning mentality is clearly one of things that made him so attractive to Mancini. His role is to imbue our squad with the belief that we can win things. And coming out with these statements fulfills that. It doesn't matter how they stand up as predictions.

Vieira signs

On a six month loan deal.

It's an interesting one, certainly. The one thing clear to me in recent weeks is how much of a learning process this is for all of us: for the manager, for the players and for the fans. This isn't like Mark Hughes coming from Blackburn Rovers eighteen months ago - where we knew what he expect and he was aware of the City players. Therefore, everything Mancini does is going to be subject to real scrutiny as we try to figure what sort of a manager he is - what players he likes, which system he prefers, his strengths and weaknesses.

His first signing is naturally going to be a big part of that. But the more you look at Patrick Vieira - his trophy haul, his experience at the top end of the Premier League, his athleticism, his winning mentality - the more it looks like a Mark Hughes signing. A few years older than most outfield players Hughes signed, yes, but by no means a radical departure from the Hughes approach. Look at what Mancini said:

"Patrick is a world class midfielder with a winner's mentality and will fit into this group very well," he told the club's official website.

"He knows me and my staff well, and importantly he also knows what the Premier League is all about.

"He will not need much time to settle in.

"Patrick is one of the great players of this era with almost every honour in the game against his name."

It might as well have been Hughes talking.

So what does this tell us about Mancini? Not much, really. It's only one data point. If our next signing is - I don't know - Guti, then we will see that Mancini places a high value on recruiting experienced, classy midfielders. But if it is - as seems likely - Cristian Ansaldi - then we will be back to square one. Clearly the experience factor is important here, as is the winning attitude. I'm not going to write too much about possible systems including Vieira - I'll do that over the weekend - but I'd be surprised if he sits on the bench too much.

The one gap he might fill, though, is leadership. I'm ambivalent about Kolo Touré as a captain, but I certainly do not rate him as a captain. My hunch is that Hughes wanted Gareth Barry to wear the armband but was underwhelmed by his leadership when he arrived, did not think that Craig Bellamy or Nigel de Jong were guaranteed starters (which they weren't, at the start of the season), and so chose Kolo over Shay Given. (It says a lot that in a fractious Arsenal dressing room Arsene Wenger did not often trust Touré with the role). And I think it was a bad decision: Touré looks quiet on the pitch and rarely leads by example. He has none of the authority of a John Terry or Steven Gerrard, not even close. I hope that Mancini recognises this, and while I would be quite happy for the job to go to anyone mentioned above, I would not be surprised if it is Vieira.

Our first World Cup winner

I know I'm jumping the gun a bit here, but we're about to make our first signing of the Roberto Mancini era, our first signing of the decade, so forgive my being a bit excited about it.

And one of the main reasons for my excitement is that it marks another first: the first World Cup winner ever to play for Manchester City. Never before has anyone with a World Cup winner's medal played for City, never mind winning one while being a blue. We haven't even had anyone play for us who then went on to win a medal after having left. So this is a big deal. (Vieira will be the second player currently in the EPL with such a medal - guess the other in the comments.)

Patrick Vieira, of course, was part of the France side who triumphed in France '98. He was not a regular, but he played all of France's third group game against Denmark, and came on for the last fifteen minutes of the final against Brazil. Not a huge contribution, true, but not no contribution either, and certainly enough for the medal.

He's not, though, the first man with a World Cup winner's medal to be involved with City. In the 1995/96 season we were managed by Alan Ball - who won the World Cup with England - but we famously thought that a point was enough against Liverpool on final day and were relegated.

The holy grail is to have a player win the World Cup while playing for the club, something we've never really come close to. There was a time for indignation at the exclusion of Bert Trautmann from the victorious West Germany squad of 1954, but I think that's passed now. This time, though, we've got a decent shot: Robinho, Gareth Barry, Carlos Tévez and Nigel de Jong will all go and all have good chances of winning. We have no Spain internationals, but if Vieira does well enough to make the plane then we're in a good position.

Back to Vieira, and a similar topic: he is only the third player to have won the European Championship and then come to City. He was part of France's triumph in 2000, as was Nicolas Anelka - who joined us only two years later. The third is Peter Schmeichel, who won it with Denmark in 1992, a whole ten years before he joined Kevin Keegan's City (there are some parallels between our signing Schmeichel and Vieira - to be covered some other time.)

Then there's the Copa America. Again, nobody won it while playing for City, but two won it soon before joining us. Elano and Robinho both played for Brazil in their 2007 triumph - a few weeks before Elano signed, just over a year before Robinho did.

Finally, the African Cup of Nations - which starts this weekend - is an area where we have a very good record. For a start, it is the only international tournament I can find which has been won by a contemporary City player. Lucien Mettomo won the 2002 African Cup of Nations while at the club, and his Cameroon team-mate Marc-Vivien Foé joined City four months after their joint triumph. Both Mettomo and Foé had won it previously in 2000, before either of them joined City; and Hatem Trabelsi won it in 2004, two years before Stuart Pearce signed him.

There will be more, and more useful, Vieira stuff once we've actually signed him.

Games in hand

We've already got one game in hand - against Everton at CoMS - due to be re-scheduled. And thanks to the moved Carling Cup semi-final our game at Stoke City also needs to be played at some point in the spring. So that's another one to squeeze in.

Our squad is already starting to look a bit thin, having looked comfortably deep all season. So the idea of buying three or four extra bodies to provide cover and experience - even if they come with World Cup, European Championship, Premier League and Serie A winner's medals like Vieira - looks like a pretty good idea.

BBC: Vieira due for medical

Should be tied up by tomorrow afternoon, all being well.

Mourinho: Vieira set to leave Inter

Patrick Vieira played for Inter in their 1-0 win at Chievo this lunchtime, but José Mourinho said after the game that it would be his last game for the club:

"I should give a special mention to Vieira, who certainly played his last game with us.

"I don't know where he will go, maybe to England which he likes a lot, but we should thank him for what he has done in these years at Inter.

"The club decided not to renew his contract, which is coming to an end, and to accept the offer of another club."

I'm sure we will see this finalised by the weekend. Whether he'll be in the squad for the Blackburn game, I'm not sure.

Verón turns down City move

An interesting transfer story in Wednesday's Guardian: Juan Sebastián Verón, formerly of Manchester United, has turned down a move to City. Verón, who played with Roberto Mancini at Smpdoria and Lazio, and for him at Inter, has decided to stay with his boyhood club Estudiantes:

The 34-year-old told Italy's Corriere Dello Sport that he had turned down the chance to join City after a bid of £7m was lodged with his club, Estudiantes. "I did it for my family," said Verón. "But also because I chose to continue my career here at Estudiantes and I want to respect this contract."

The player's agent, Miguel Pires, had earlier confirmed in a Daily Star report that City had made an inquiry and followed up the approach with an offer. "I was very surprised with this position," he said. "Mancini has called the player and me as well. But I said sincerely that Verón is very happy and grateful at being back at Estudiantes and it is very complicated to leave at this moment."

This is a strange one. Obviously Mancini knows Verón better than almost anyone else in football - and if he thinks he could do a good job for us then to some extent we have to defer to him. But Verón has flopped twice in England already - when he was at his peak as a footballer. The idea that he could come back for one last shot - a few weeks before his 35th birthday - sounds like a bit of a long shot to me.

But, combined with the Patrick Vieira transfer rumours, it suggests that Mancini might perceive a lack of experience, a lack of nous perhaps, in our central midfield options. Gareth Barry could fulfill those two criteria but he is, from a standpoint of a former Serie A manager, the wrong side of thirty. And, much as I rate him, he is open to accusations of failing to provide much leadership in the midfield, particularly when things are going against us. Classy, certainly. But brave? Not always.

At least, that's what I hope Mancini's looking for. Rather that than trying to buy the best midfielders from FIFA 2000. Because I reckon we could tempt Gaizka Mendieta out of retirement too if we wanted.