Long term strategy

One of the big topics in football right now is the impending introduction of UEFA's new 'financial fair play' regulations, compliance with which will be necessary to participating in European competition. In brief, teams can only record losses (defined in a particular way) of €45million in the three years after 2011 if they want to play with the big boys. It's to prevent precisely the sort of exorbitant benefactor-driven spending that we have enjoyed for the last two years.

Now, given our recent strategy, and our £121million losses this year, we are some way off this. It might even seem as if reaching such a point would be insurmountable. But there is a masterful blog post this week on Swiss Ramble (think David Conn but with even more detail) about how City can do it. You really ought to read it now.

It's so good that I'm not even going to quote from it, but will give a brief summary: if we sharply slow down transfer spending, qualify for the Champions League and increase turnover through commercial deals, stadium naming rights and the SportCity development we might just squeeze through. But it really is worth giving up the time to go through it.

Fortunately, Brian Marwood seems to have the same idea. In an interview with David Conn in The Guardian today he confirms that the 2010-11 squad will be the backbone of the club for a while yet, and that the spending of the summers of 2009 and 2010 will not be matched in the future:

"We are comfortable where we are. Now the intensity of signing players is levelling off, allowing this group to build and develop – they haven't gelled yet...

"We have fast-tracked a lot; we need to put the structure in place. We talk about elite development, the academy, because that is the foundation. That is the future for Manchester City."

This, along with the above blogpost, points out our strategic direction with some clarity. It also reinforces the importance of buying players from the 1986-90 generation: James Milner, Adam Johnson, David Silva, Mario Balotelli, Jérôme Boateng all fall into that bracket, Aleksandar Kolarov misses out by six weeks. This provides the basis for an improving squad over the next four seasons, and contrasts with Mark Hughes' targeting of the more experienced 1979-82 generation (Craig Bellamy, Kolo Touré, Gareth Barry, Joleon Lescott and Wayne Bridge.)

In the past I've been sceptical of claims that a particular binge of spending was a one-off, not to be repeated. Delaying the return to sensible spending by one more transfer window feels like delaying a diet by one more weekend. But the onset of the UEFA regulations mean we might have to live up to our words now. With the squad we've got that's not too much of a concern.

Bellamy speaks to 5 live

Craig Bellamy did a revealing and personal interview on BBC Radio 5 live, and had some interesting things to say about his time at City.

Chronologically:

- Spurs agreed a fee with West Ham before we did, and when we matched the offer Gianluca Nani orchestrated an auction between us and Spurs, in the knowledge that we would pay above the odds for him.

- When he arrived at City he had a special fitness coach, Raymond Verheijen, who kept him fit. This was very important to Bellamy, who said that at City he 'just felt free': free from fear of injuries, and free to play football for the first time in years. 'Everthing about me felt immense'.

- Nothing was said about Mark Hughes' sacking, which was a shame. But he said that when Roberto Mancini came in his got promises from Garry Cook, Brian Marwood and even Khaldoon that he could stick to his personal fitness plan.

- But then Mancini brought in his double-sessions, which were so much of a strain on Bellamy's knees that they would limit his ability to perform on weekends. This led to the famous argument when Mancini told him to 'go home for the rest of the season'. He did not sound too bitter about this, saying that Mancini 'was always going to do it his own way.'

- Then this summer. He sounded put out (understandably) at being cut from the squad and asked to train with the reserves. He said City proposed he go to Wolfsburg as part of an Edin Dzeko deal but he only had two preferences: Champions League or Cardiff City. Garry Cook told him that someone above him (Bellamy suggested Sheikh Mansour himself) blocked his move to Spurs, and Bellamy implied United were in for him but the prospect of a move was never realistic.

'I started earning my medals three years ago'

Vincent Kompany, Player of the Season-elect (why not), has been talking about his good so far this season. And he's characteristically modest and thoughtful:

"I am progressing - that is all it is. I think I have performed ever since I have been at City.

"I always think you can only be as good as your last game, so I have to do equally as well in my next match, or even better if possible. That is the attitude I have. Sometimes it works, sometimes not.

"The team is getting better, and I am getting older and have more experience. I am willing to learn.

"I started earning my medals three years ago - I started performing three years ago, and I am still working. The hard work is what is showing now."

He's certainly right that he's been earning medals for three years. The fact that he was signed before the takeover but is one of the first names on the team-sheet now is a shining achievement in itself. Of the other players we signed that summer, Pablo Zabaleta and Shaun Wright-Phillips are on the fringes, Jô is somehow still in the set up and Robinho and Tal ben Haim are long gone.

(It's worth praising Mark Hughes here for spending £6million on a talented but injury-prone 22 year old. Had Stuart Pearce not signed Joe Hart for £600,000 it would be the single best piece of business by City over the last five years.)

Kolo Touré, who looks back to his best alongside Kompany, had this to say:

“We are happy with what we are doing and happy with the way we are defending as a team. There are still some mistakes we can avoid but Vincent Kompany and myself feel comfortable in the way we are gelling as a partnership.

“Vincent is a very intelligent footballer who is great to play alongside. We all know the importance of having a sound defence and the whole team is playing its part in that regard.”

VK wins again

It's tucked away underneath the Newcastle stuff but Vincent Kompany won September Player of the Month. Read here.

Newcastle reax

Ian Herbert, The Independent

The tackling of De Jong – who was known as Rassenmaher ("lawnmower") in his Ajax days – is something of a running joke at City's Carrington training ground. David Silva first arrived this summer to find someone had posted up an image of De Jong's notorious challenge on his compatriot Xabi Alonso in the World Cup final. Perhaps it is because the timing of his tackles is relatively good that they do not look as horrific as, say, Wolves' Karl Henry's on Wigan's Jordi Gomez on Saturday or Stoke's Andy Wilkinson's on Fulham's Moussa Dembélé, which have intensified the debate on players' safety this season.

Ian Whittell, The Guardian

Indeed, for all the hundreds of millions invested by City in recent seasons, only Tevez can match Johnson for the excitement he generates among home supporters, who were calling for his introduction long before Mancini finally succumbed to their wishes and replaced one of his three holding midfield players in order to add width and flair to a team that was running out of ideas.

Mark Ogden, Daily Telegraph

Newcastle were unfortunate, but City have underlined their emergence as a growing threat to the likes of Chelsea and Manchester United for the title this season.

It was anything but an impressive performance, but Mancini’s team still emerged victorious and Kidd, who assisted Sir Alex Ferguson at the outset of United’s domestic dominance, insisted that the points, rather than the performance, are the key.

Bitter and Blue

That said, we got the win; three points that takes us second in the table. Although aided to some degree by Martin Atkinson, there have been frustrating afternoons over the past couple of seasons (in particular at home) and left bemoaning the ability to finish sides off and take all three points. Credit should therefore be given to the side for being able to craft out a victory when it was not entirely deserved.

Newcastle player ratings

Hart A quiet day at the office. Probably powerless for Newcastle's goal, and that aside he had a few saves to make low down but nothing stretching. In the air he did well against a number of launched high balls. 6

Boateng Not the easiest conceivable first Premier League start, up against a rampant Jonás Gutiérrez. There were occasional issues with his positioning, but in one-on-ones he was good, making six successful tackles. Final balls into the box - one of his strengths in the World Cup - were a bit awry. 5

Kolo Touré I know Kompany sliced his clearance for Newcastle's goal but had Kolo been closer to Gutiérrez it would still have been avoidable. That aside he did fine, and made one important interception when Newcastle were breaking. 6

Kompany There was the miscued clearance for Newcastle's goal, yes. But that aside this was another display of defensive perfection. He was under every header, against the imposing Shola Ameobi and Andy Carroll, he was serene with the ball on the ground. He even joined in up in the final third when we were searching for a late goal. 7

Lescott Back in the side in the absence of Pablo Zabaleta, he again looked like a decent centre back shunted out of position. He made no successful passes in the final third, and often looked scared of putting a cross in. Lucky not to concede a penalty when he chopped Ameobi in the box at 2-1. 6

de Jong I might as well say it: Nigel de Jong's reckless tackling is wrong, and increasingly embarrassing. He's a talented and effective footballer, no doubt about it, but the way he goes for the ball endangers fellow professionals and is inimical to the finest traditions of Manchester City. Hatem ben Arfa is the second person, after Stuart Holden, to have his leg broken by de Jong in 2010. Today's was not his worst offence, and it was not done with the express intention of leg-breaking, the possibility of ben Arfa coming off worse cannot have been unknown to de Jong. This needs to stop now. 5

Silva A quieter contribution than I had hoped for, but with some moments of quality. He grew most into the game in the final twenty minutes, as he started to appear in the spaces that Newcastle created. Came close to his first Premier League goal once or twice, particularly with a right-footed shot into the side netting. 6

Yaya Touré Frightfully off the pace today. He was second to everything today. Over the course of his 57 minutes on the pitch he made no successful tackles and no successful interceptions, and just 24 successful passes. If we had put James Milner in his place and Adam Johnson out wide it might have been a very different game. 4

Barry A good game in a defensive sense, with some important tackles and interceptions. Going forward he was fairly blunt, most notably when through on goal in the first half. 6

Milner Worked hard, to make contributions from either wing. His final ball still isn't quite up to scratch, yet, but the left wing is not the ideal place for him to be deployed. That said, there were a few good passes and also the assist for Johnson's goal. 6

Tévez Ran off the shoulder of the centre backs effectively, particularly when winning the penalty which he converted. I know he's now got seven in seven from the spot for City but I still don't rate him as a penalty-taker. This has hammered down the middle, and deflected off Tim Krul's knee into the roof of the net. He's done that a few times before (once against Bolton, once against Villa I think), sooner or later it's going to bite him. Later contribution good. 6

Subs:

Adebayor Very lively when he came on, getting into good positions. Could well have grabbed a goal before he was upstaged by another substitute. 7

A. Johnson If he wants a regular place in the side he's going the right way about it. Scored within minutes of coming on today - his first Premier League goal at Eastlands, and it was a stunner, beating two defenders before a roaring finish. Comparisons with Arjen Robben are, well, less silly than they might be. 7

Vieira Came on late, made one good tackle. n/a

City 2 - 1 Newcastle

• It can't always be like last Saturday. This was a woeful performance; hangover-sluggish, stinking of 'will this do?'. But, thanks to the crucial interventions of Martin Atkinson and Adam Johnson, we managed to escape with three points. This is what the top teams do, I suppose. The 'Big Four' are no strangers to the unconvincing, referee-abetted home win. But at no stage was this enjoyable; there was a thread of embarassment, starting with Nigel de Jong's breaking Hatem ben Arfa's leg and continuing through two errant penalty decisions, both in our favour.

• But the main reason I'm frustrated isn't just that this was a flat, pedestrian performance, but that the causes of this were obvious and avoidable. Roberto Mancini went for the same line up (full-backs aside), that beat Chelsea. A central midfield of de Jong, Gareth Barry and Yaya Touré is perfect for containing the champions but in games like this it's limited. There was too much creative burden on James Milner and David Silva; whereas with Adam Johnson starting as well we would have been more varied and better balanced.

• Brian Kidd said after the game that Mancini deserves credit for bringing Johnson on when he did. True enough. But the right decision, surely, would have been to play him from the start? Despite our lack of tempo in midfield we managed to create first half opportunities thanks to Newcastle's high line. With Johnson in the side we might have not needed a gift from Martin Atkinson to go ahead; he awarded a penalty for a tackle that probably took the ball and was certainly outside the box. I don't know which decision was worse, that one, or the failure to punish Joleon Lescott for chopping Shola Ameobi in the box. Either way, we were the beneficiaries of some generous charity from the officials.

• We did look livelier with Johnson and Adebayor on, it must be said. Johnson's goal was thrilling, going inside Joey Barton, outside José Enrique and firing into the far bottom corner. I don't think my comparisons with Arjen Robben are entirely facetious. Adebayor, of whom I am not the biggest fan, looked lively and determined, causing problems across the front line. When might just have poached something on the break when 2-1 ahead, too, as David Silva drifted into the spaces Newcastle vacated.

• So it was ugly, lucky, and not much fun. But there's an international break coming and there's no better way to go into one than with a win. Blackpool away isn't for fourteen days, and no-one's going to be talking about Martin Atkinson by the time that rolls around. Grinding out wins is so at odds with the traditional culture of Manchester City that I still don't quite know how to react to it. But if Roberto Mancini is hoping to cultivate a winning mentality at City then there's no better way to do it than results like this.

TLDORC September Awards

Another successful month, building on the foundation of August. It started just as the last month ended, with a dreadful, point-costing defensive mistake. Joe Hart came out for a long ball, missed it and Nikola Kalinić scored. But from that point on we were - excluding the West Brom game that Roberto Mancini wrote off - defensively excellent, conceding only once more to Vincenzo Iaquinta from distance. We took seven points from a possible nine in the league, including a win over Chelsea that felt like a definitive moment, and four from a possible six in the Europa League. The one disappointment - the surrender at the Hawthorns - was in retrospect smart strategy from Mancini, saving our key players for the Chelsea game four days later.

Blackburn Rovers (h) 1-1 (thoughts, ratings, reax)
Red Bull Salzburg (a) 2-0 (thoughts, ratings, reax)
Wigan Athletic (a) 2-0 (thoughts, ratings, reax)
West Bromwich Albion (a) 1-2 (thoughts, reax)
Chelsea (h) 1-0 (thoughts, ratings, reax)
Juventus (h) 1-1 (thoughts, ratings)

Player of the Month

This might have gone to Carlos Tévez, who scored two and sent up the other two of our four Premier League goals in September. It is increasingly notable and worrying just how dependent our attacking play is on him. But I'm not going to go with Tévez this time. As good as he's been he hasn't been perfect. Whereas Vincent Kompany has been.

He nearly won it in August, too. Were it not for Joe Hart's performance at White Hart Lane he would have done. Because this season Kompany has just been imperious. I've always been a big fan but with the arrivals of Kolo Touré, Joleon Lescott and now Jérôme Boateng I had worried if he would find a place in the side. But it has been made quite obvious this year what some of us had suspected ever since his arrival two summers ago - that Kompany is the most talented defender at the club, and has all the gifts required to be one of the best in the Premier League.

If you were to construct a dream Premier League centre-back in a laboratory, how different would it be from Kompany? Would he be much quicker, or stronger? More dominant in the air? Would he read the game more astutely? Would he be calmer with the ball at his feet? Would he attack the ball from set-pieces with more venom? Would he be any more articulate off the pitch, or fluent in more languages? (I suppose if Kompany spoke Spanish he would be able to speak to all eleven that started against Chelsea.) I do think he's near-perfect.

In September he had his best ever month in a City shirt. He was only on the pitch for two of the four goals we conceded, and was powerless to prevent either of them. He didn't make a single mis-step, was always correctly positioned and successful in every tackle, leap, block and pass he attempted. The zenith, not just of the month but of his 85 game City career was in the defeat of Chelsea, when he silenced Didier Drogba - as he did at Stamford Bridge in February - as we stifled the rampant champions, who created no chances from open play. Every single step and jump was judged right that day. And so he becomes the first player to win a TLDORC Player of the Month in three different seasons.

Individual Performance of the Month

It should by rights be Kompany against Chelsea but I've said enough about that now so I'll give it to David Silva in Salzburg instead. Not just for his first goal for City, but a range of touches, movements and passes that are going to delight throughout the season.

Goal of the Month

Jô's strike on the turn against West Brom was a quality finish but it has to be Tévez against Chelsea (four in three for us against them now). He got the ball on the half-way line, drove at the defence - as Silva lured John Terry away - and drove the ball into the far bottom corner.

Goal of the Month

Juventus player ratings

Hart Might have done better for Iaquinta's goal. It was a good hit, and it took a deflection, but it wasn't prohibitively far away from him. That aside he made a good save or two, and hate some famous del Piero free-kicks to deal with. 5

Boateng One half at right back and one at left back in his first start for City. He stood off Iaquinta when he scored his opener, which was a shame. That aside he was good, making some important interceptions but also looking good with the ball at his feet going forward. 6

Kolo Touré Solid for the most part. Not too stretched, but wasn't caught out and tended to keep things simple. 6

Kompany Another excellent performance from our early front-runner for Player of the Season. His positioning was perfect, and he was immaculate with the ball at his feet. There was one moment where he was opened up by Krasić and might have conceded a penalty, but he didn't. 7

Zabaleta Faced up against Krasić who, it's fair to say, saw him coming. He dived in too often, and had he not gone off with a hamstring strain in the second half he might well have picked up a card or two. 5

Yaya Touré Had responsibility for linking midfield to attack, and for the most part he was sluggish in his passing. That said, his assist for Adam Johnson was as precise and imaginative pass as we will see all season from a City player. 6

Vieira This was the perfect game for him, in Europe, at home, and he sat just in front of our back four, always spare. He ought to have dictated the pace of play. But he didn't. His passing just wasn't sharp or astute enough. He took too much time on the ball and slowed down, rather than built up the momentum of our play. It's frustrating as we will need to call on him as the season goes on. 5

Barry Probably our most active midfielder, going forward or out to the left to support when necessary. More effective than Vieira or Yaya in generating some momentum in moves. Hit the post with a headed flick in the first half. 6

A. Johnson Scored his second goal for City, running in from the right, receiving the through past and finishing after jinking past the 'keeper. In that sense it was like his goal for England in Switzerland last month, although with less space to work in. He was probably our most threatening forward, and did look like fooling their left-back at times. 7

Adebayor His first start in a month, as the lone striker. He got a fair bit of service but his rustiness showed; the ball just wouldn't stick. This blunted ours, and we invariably had to build through Tévez, which isn't ideal. Unfortunately when Adebayor is out of nick he looks fairly useless, which isn't always the fairest reflection on his work rate. But he's going to have to show more if he wants a permanent place in the team. 5

Tévez Pushed out to the left, and it led to one of his least effective performances for a while. He tried hard, and isn't actually too bad a left winger, but we did miss him close to the goal. He stuck close to the touchline for the most part - and won a tackle in our half in the build up to Johnson's goal, but it just wasn't his game. Cut inside to fire in a few non-threatening shots. Moved inside later on. 6

Subs:

Boyata Played the second half at right back, and did well. No risky shoulder barges in the box, and he advanced will down the right. He doesn't know what to do with the ball in the final third, but that should come in time. 6

Silva Brought a real change to the performance of the team once he was on. Ghosted into space, demanded the ball and moved it on. Everyone plays better when he's around. 7

Milner Introduced some more energy into midfield, even if there was no real uptick in imagination. n/a

City 1 - 1 Juventus

• This insight is not unique to me, but what better to mark the progress made under two years of ADUG ownership than to be disgruntled at a home draw with Juventus? In the pre-Mansour era the only way we'd get a team of Juve's calibre to Eastlands would be to do battle over the Thomas Cook Trophy. And now we're hosting them in Europe, seeing them defend deep, content with a draw, and find ourselves grumbling about how we couldn't beat a team there for the taking.

• That said, those complaints are not ridiculous. If Saturday showed us the best aspects of Roberto Mancini's Manchester City (it's not an open question, it did), then last night showed us the less attractive side. At times we looked flat and passive, as if we were waiting for the game to happen to us. Weighed down by three defensive midfielders, with Patrick Vieira a third wheel, the one player closest to a touchline in the final third was Carlos Tévez - pushed out to the left of a front three. Our imagination was dulled, and it was not until David Silva arrived that we started to move the ball with any verve or ingenuity.

• It could have been worse. We didn't start playing for the first fifteen minutes, during which time we went 1-0 down. Jérôme Boateng stood off Vincenzo Iaquinta who shot from distance (literally as he struck the ball I lent over to my friend and said 'don't worry, this is fine'), and Joe Hart didn't get across quick enough. Momo Sissoko and Claudio Marchisio were too sharp for our midfield and Miloš Krasić might have had a penalty were it not for his Tom Daley impression. It took us a while to grow into the game, and when Adam Johnson equalised before half time it felt deserved. Yaya Touré dissected Juve's centre-backs with a pass more incisive than anything we've seen from him so far, and Adam Johnson skipped around Alex Manninger and scored.

• That should have been a platform to set up a second half victory. But Juventus defended very well, with two compact banks of four and marginal space between them. With Tévez stuck out on the left we struggled to break through, only Adam Johnson running at the left-back threatened to cause problems. When David Silva came on he brought the intelligence and nuance we had been lacking, and I suppose if he'd played for longer we might have scored. Only scoring once against a Juventus side that sets up defensively is no shame, even if there is a stubborn feeling that a sharper performance would have won the game.

• It might well be two points dropped. But four points from the first two games is good, and I don't think that our qualifying from the group is much more or less likely than it was yesterday. We have home ties with the two lesser sides to come, and if we win those - regardless of what we get in Poland - that should be enough. But before we can get carried away with that we have to do better at breaking down a black and white striped team on Sunday.