City's strength in comparison with the 'big four', Part 2
Posted: Fri Sep 04, 2009 2:21 am
On the old board I started a thread measuring our squad depth against that of the established top four, along with Spurs, Villa and Everton. For City, anyway, things have changed beyond recognition since then (it was only June!) and I think crucially, none of the top four made any outstanding buys- The rags have since been weakened by Ronaldo's absence, likewise Arsenal with Adebayor and Liverpool with Alonso- all of whom played an important part in their teams' successes over the last few years. So I think it'd be interesting to make those comparisons again now that the transfer window is closed.
As before, the teams are in picture format to make it easier to read and compare each team and the players chosen are only a point of view.
City's first and second string
United's first and second string
Chelsea's first and second string
Arsenal's first and second string
Liverpool's first and second string
Spurs' first and second string
Villa's first and second string
Everton's first and second string
It's remarkable how much we've been strengthened since the last analysis- the quality available to us from the bench will be invaluable to us and fewer games than most of the others puts us in a very strong position. Chelsea still come out on top in the first team stakes I reckon, however I think we have a second string better than any of the others- look at the amount of experience, and most tellingly, Premier League experience among them. It's square pegs in round holes for Spurs, Everton, Villa and Liverpool when it comes to replacements, whereas our second XI is full of players in their natural positions. That too could make a difference.
To me, Liverpool are the most vulnerable because of the weight of expectation on two players' shoulders. If either Torres or Gerrard get injured or hit a poor run of form, they don't have anywhere near the quality of replacement. Even their strongest XI isn't all that impressive. Glen Johnson- question marks over his defensive ability for all his attacking prowess, uncertainty over whether Aquilani will hit the ground running- even if he did, surely he can't match the quality of Alonso? Their own fans have been criticising Carragher recently, they think he's completely lost his pace and that his head's not right. Aurelio is hot and cold.
I think we're in a relatively strong position- whatever the newspapers say, the people whose words matter are Khaldoon, Cook and Sheikh Mansour and they have expressed publicly an expectation to finish in the top six. They will be mindful of the fact that we're now on a level playing field with the big guns, and that many of have made losses in terms of squad strength this Summer. We can privately make our assault on the top four, perhaps even the league itself whilst maintaining that same public expectation. All the team then has to do is perform well every week, watch the points rack up- and consequently the heat on the others.
It's going to be a really interesting season from here on in.
As before, the teams are in picture format to make it easier to read and compare each team and the players chosen are only a point of view.
City's first and second string
United's first and second string
Chelsea's first and second string
Arsenal's first and second string
Liverpool's first and second string
Spurs' first and second string
Villa's first and second string
Everton's first and second string
It's remarkable how much we've been strengthened since the last analysis- the quality available to us from the bench will be invaluable to us and fewer games than most of the others puts us in a very strong position. Chelsea still come out on top in the first team stakes I reckon, however I think we have a second string better than any of the others- look at the amount of experience, and most tellingly, Premier League experience among them. It's square pegs in round holes for Spurs, Everton, Villa and Liverpool when it comes to replacements, whereas our second XI is full of players in their natural positions. That too could make a difference.
To me, Liverpool are the most vulnerable because of the weight of expectation on two players' shoulders. If either Torres or Gerrard get injured or hit a poor run of form, they don't have anywhere near the quality of replacement. Even their strongest XI isn't all that impressive. Glen Johnson- question marks over his defensive ability for all his attacking prowess, uncertainty over whether Aquilani will hit the ground running- even if he did, surely he can't match the quality of Alonso? Their own fans have been criticising Carragher recently, they think he's completely lost his pace and that his head's not right. Aurelio is hot and cold.
I think we're in a relatively strong position- whatever the newspapers say, the people whose words matter are Khaldoon, Cook and Sheikh Mansour and they have expressed publicly an expectation to finish in the top six. They will be mindful of the fact that we're now on a level playing field with the big guns, and that many of have made losses in terms of squad strength this Summer. We can privately make our assault on the top four, perhaps even the league itself whilst maintaining that same public expectation. All the team then has to do is perform well every week, watch the points rack up- and consequently the heat on the others.
It's going to be a really interesting season from here on in.