AJ's role

It's good to see Adam Johnson ready to spend some of next season on the bench:

Johnson said: "There's a big squad here now but there's also a lot of games, and everybody can't play in every game - there's Europe as well as the two cups.

"We need a good squad with strong people on the bench. There will obviously be changes for different games and I'm ready for that. It's going to be exciting times. I can't wait."

If he's made his peace with this then that's a good thing. Quite a few of his team-mates will have to make the same accommodation. If things go well next season we will be playing 60 or so matches. No outfield player, particularly one of Johnson's age and role, can expect to play all the time.

I'm sure we'll see some fairly heavy rotation. Fortunately for Johnson he can play on either wing in a 4-4-2 or 4-5-1 set up. I keep meaning to do a post about likely line-ups and combinations but the fact is that even among wide players, I have genuinely no idea whether Craig Bellamy, Shaun Wright-Phillips, Vladimir Weiss or of course James Milner will be at City next year. Until their futures are resolved we can't make guesses. But I'm sure Johnson will get a good number of games next year.

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.

City guaranteed a World Cup winner

Short of teams or players being expelled from the tournament, it is now certain that a Manchester City player will pick up a World Cup winner's medal on Sunday.

Last night Holland knocked out Uruguay, who ultimately fell down on their lack of Manchester City players. If they'd had just one blue they might have done better, but there's one thing connecting the three remaining teams, and it's us.

Nigel de Jong didn't play last night, owing to suspension, but I'm sure he'll play the final. His replacement Demy de Zeeuw, who looks like de Jong from a distance and plays a bit like him too only last 45 minutes. He was replaced by Rafael van der Vaart at half time. While it's possible Bert van Marwijk will start with the 4-1-4-1 for the final it's highly unlikely, particularly given the necessity of shutting down either Andrés Iniesta or Mesut Özil.

Jérôme Boateng and David Silva go head to head tonight.

Boji goes

As City continue to spin the transfer wheel further and further, it is inevitable that some will be left behind. And so it is with Valeri Bozhinov, one of the dwindling number of remaining Eriksson purchases, who has signed a permanent deal at Parma.

Perhaps it is better this way. Bozhinov was a unique prospect, a £5.5million striker loved and rated by all City fans - despite scoring just one goal in three seasons at the club. This was a relationship dependant on promise, not product. Having spent so much time on the sidelines, his reputation grew, unchallenged by any exposure to experience. Like an anticipated messiah, or a government in exile, Bozhinov's absence grew his profile, people believed him capable of feats that would never be tested in reality.

He came from Fiorentina in August 2007. Sven was doing what his protégé Roberto Mancini did three years on: bringing exotic, promising players from across Europe to City, with no concern for the 'Premier League experience' Mark Hughes came to fetishise. His MCFC career began, like everyone else's, at the Boleyn Ground. He came on for Rolando Bianchi after 61 minutes, and impressed: pushy, fiesty and pigeon-chested, he swaggered about like someone playing in their schoolyard. Another substitute appearance followed before he was asked to start the Manchester derby. Just four minutes in, though, an awkward fall tore his knee ligaments and ended his season.

This led a pattern that would become repeat itself: the constant attention to updates from the club, the enthusiastic excitement for his return, the belief that he was a panacea, that everything would be fixed when he was back. But he didn't make it back that season. It was no surprise that Eriksson's successor, Mark Hughes, was a fan: Boji was a cocky, stocky striker with a short temper and an eye for the audacious - just as Sparky had been. A fit-again Bozhinov came on for Hughes' first competitive game at Eastlands, as City were beaten 1-0 by an excellent FC Midtjylland side. But he did enough to earn a start for the opening day of the 2008/09 Premier League campaign. It was Villa Park, 2.50pm, and the players were finishing their warm up in front of us. But Boji collapsed, screamed, and was carried off by a distraught Micah Richards. We lost the game 4-2 but the news that Boji had ruptured his achilles - an injury at least as bad as his ligament snap - was much more upsetting.

So the 2008/09 season resembled the one before. Waiting, hoping, and putting unrealistic expectations upon his return. This time he did manage to come back before the end of the season, on familiar territory in March 2009. He came on at the Boleyn Ground: the third launch of his MCFC career coming on the site of his first. We roared him on, even louder than we did two years before. Once fit, he managed a run in the side of sorts. He was nnot quite the player we hoped for, but he was never going to be. But when he volleyed home Benjani's flick-on at White Hart Lane, in our biannual frustrating loss to Spurs, it felt like the fulfilment of at least two years of hope and expectation.

It felt important that he score then, because the summer 2009 spending was inevitably profligate. The arrivals of Carlos Tévez, Emmanuel Adebayor and Roque Santa Cruz meant that his chances were limited. His loan move to Parma that summer was predictable, as I suppose is its being made permanent. Whether he could have become a first-teamer without the ADUG money is unknowable but improbable. As much as we might want to mourn him as a victim of Sheikh Mansour that pity is better saved for others. What we can describe him as is a victim of misfortune, a talented player that we took to heart and for whom things might have turned out differently. Just 24, he still has years of football ahead of him.

We loved him and he never let us down.

Valeri Bozhinov MCFC 2007-09 3 starts, 1 goal.

Boateng storms into semis

Another quarter final with MCFC interest on both sides on Saturday; Jérôme Boateng's Germany went up against Carlos Tévez's Argentina. It was an unexpected rout.

Diego Maradona was tactically out-classed by Jogi Löw, whose German side limited Argentina to half-chances while breaking at will into the gaping savannahs in Argentine territory. But one of the fundamentals of this plan was solid defence, something Boateng provided well from left back.

In fact, this was probably the best game I've ever seen him play. He won every tackle (including one or two on Lionel Messi), distributed the ball intelligently and swung in one excellent cross. He's not a natural left-back, but with his skill set he's quite possibly now the best right-back at the club.

Carlitos was starved of service and could only carve himself a half-chance here and there. A very frustrating evening. But Boateng marches on!

Test

Just a test.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Robi scores but de Jong through

What a night of football. Two Manchester City players going head to head for a place in the semi-final. Robinho v Nigel de Jong. And City legend Elano, still injured, could only watch.

Robinho started well, playing with the imagination and audacity we saw at City and the energy and bite that we didn't. His tracking, tackling and efforts to win the ball back made him look like a different player altogether from our £32m man.

Only five minutes in he thought he put Brazil ahead, ghosting behind Andre Ooijer, receiving Dani Alves' pass and scoring. Just as he wheeled away to celebrate the flag shot up - Alves had been offside. Tight call. But five minutes later Robinho put Brazil ahead. Holland lost the ball, and their transition from an attacking to a defensive set-up was haphazard at the least. Robinho drifted into the chasm between Ooijer and Johnny Heitinga, and was half-heartedly tracked by Arjen Robben. But he received a straight ball from Felipe Melo and replicated that open body right foot finish we saw against Chile (and against Portsmouth in the 6-0.)

Once ahead Brazil dominated. Robinho's movement was too much for Gregory van der Wiel to comprehend, and Robi was even involved in spats for - get this - over-zealous tackling. Nigel de Jong had to restrain him once. But Brazil couldn't double their advantage and went into half-time one ahead.

The game looked sewn up. The one thing I was sure of was that Brazil would never implode, never capitulate. So the second half was shocking. The Dutch were brighter but could have expected to be gifted a goal. Wesley Sneijder swung a cross in, Felipe Melo and Júlio César jumped into one another and the ball was deflected into the net. Soon after a Dirk Kuyt near post run was ignored, he flicked a corner on and Sneijder buried the second ball.

But there was disappointment in between the goals for de Jong. His harrying and tackling was so relentless, so heroic that he picked up a yellow card. This was his second booking of the tournament and means he misses the semi-final. A personal blow but how else was he meant to keep Kaká quiet? It was a noble act of self-sacrifice to rival Jesus of Nazareth Luis Suárez.

When Felipe Melo was sent off for stamping on Arjen Robben the game was up. Ten man Brazil were stunned and could not create anything. Holland's extra man told and they had their own chances on the break. Robinho and Elano are flying home, and while Nigel de Jong won't play in the semi final he might just be strutting around Soccer City next Sunday night.

Yaya deal done

Our third summer signing is done: Yaya Touré has signed a five year deal. This has been on the way for a while, but it's nice to see it confirmed.

On the surface this might look unnecessary. We currently have the first choice defensive midfielders for the English and Dutch national sides, plus the once-great Patrick Vieira and Vincent Kompany and Pablo Zabaleta as able auxiliaries. But we were left fairly exposed at times last season, with de Jong and Barry probably asked to play too much football notwithstanding the fact that their partnership was fairly static and one-paced.

Yaya Touré isn't David Silva but he's not Nigel de Jong either - the attacking side of his game is better than he is given credit for. He's able at carrying the ball forward, he gets into the box at the right moments and he shoots well. So this gives us good options. We can pair Yaya with Gareth Barry (for easier games) or with Nigel de Jong (for difficult games). When we want to put three in central midfield we can either go with Yaya at the peak of the triangle and Barry-de Jong behind him or with Yaya in the base and David Silva ahead. We're generously stocked. But we should be playing a lot of football next season. If we get to the final of the FA Cup, League Cup and Europa League then we will play 69 matches. Obviously that won't happen but we will probably have a 50-60 match season. Given the World Cup involvement of Silva, Barry, de Jong and Yaya there are inevitably going to be fitness issues and so we will need the extra bodies.

He comes with some top level experience, having been part of Pep Guardiola's all-conquering Barcelona team. As it happened, he was not an automatic first choice, which is why he left - but he still managed to start 37 games last season and 43 the season before. Guardiola's personal preference for Sergio Busquets and Seydou Keita meant that Touré did not feel sufficiently wanted but he was always the next man in line when either of them missed out. He also filled in at centre back when required, including during the 2009 Champions League final. Two of the starting eleven from that evening have now come to City, which somehow feels right.

And let's not forget the fraternal factor here. This is the third pair of brothers to play for City since I've been a fan, after the Brightwells and the Whitleys. While this is fairly interesting it does represent my main concern with the deal. I'm not a Kolo Touré fan and would be quite open to our dropping him, making someone else captain or even selling him. Now his brother is on the team this would become more problematic for Mancini. One interesting prospect this season is whether a Francophone/West African/Arsenal clique develops (around the Tourés, Adebayor and Patrick Vieira) and whether this is similar to the Brazilian clique that developed under Hughes. Vieira's relationship with Mancini will be crucial. I'd make Vincent Kompany captain (there's a post on this coming some time soon), who is in fact on very good terms with the aforementioned players.

Anyway, Yaya Touré is a quality player who played in arguably the greatest club side of the last decade. A well-judged addition to an ever-strengthening squad.

Corriere dello Sport: Kolarov to join MCFC

A report in today's Corriere dello Sport says that Lazio's Serbian left back Aleksandr Kolarov is 'praticamente' a MCFC player, and apparently an official announcement is imminent. The fee is rumoured to be €18m (£14.8m).

This rumour has been simmering for a while. It's hard to know if this is a real development or not. We'll have to wait and see.

Where will David Silva play?

What about the actual football, then; where will David Silva play, and how? Fortunately he adopts different roles for club and country, which should present us with some options.

He is best known to English fans for his role in Euro 2008, where he played on the left of a four-man midfield. He is left-footed, but don't expect him to be Martin Petrov. He's less quick, he's less direct but a lot more imaginative. Quite a few Premier League players deploy a creative player from the left, such as Steven Pienaar or Niko Kranjčar. We don't necessarily need to do this, because we do have the option of Adam Johnson, who could be an heir to Martin Petrov but might be something else entirely. I imagine this will be our most common arrangement, largely because of Mancini's enthusiasm for two strikers.

Should he decide against two up front, we have the option of playing a variant of 4-5-1, with David Silva in a central role. This is how he plays for Valencia, as since Juan Mata has arrived to play on the left, Silva has moved into a freer role behind David Villa. This brings the most out of his movement between the lines, his imagination and creativity. This is particularly likely to be deployed in European games if Mancini feels as if we need an extra man in midfield. One final option is to play with a lone striker but to push Silva wide, allowing three more cautious central midfielders. Silva did this for Spain against Switzerland but it didn't really work. He's better drifting inside.