Roberto Mancini has taken less than a month to transform the club from the Premier League’s most expensive underachievers into genuine title challengers. The former Inter Milan coach has made just one signing – 33-year-old midfielder Patrick Vieira – and been forced to do without a host of players due to injury or international commitments.
Yet, after just four games, he has revitalised the club and banished any discord among the supporters over the dismissal of his predecessor, Mark Hughes. Here are the reasons why Man City are now living up to the hype:
1. Defending
Mancini’s mission statement, on day one, revolved around the key issue of ironing out the increasing flaws in City’s defending.
In the four games prior to Hughes’s dismissal, City conceded 10 goals. In Mancini’s first four, goalkeeper Shay Given has let in only one.
How has this happened? Intensive training sessions at Carrington, involving specific defensive coaching in the afternoons, have enabled Mancini to drill home his demand for rigid defending. The defence and midfield are told to operate in banks of four, no more than 10 metres apart when City are defending.
2. Perfect Timing
The conspiracy theorists have suggested that Hughes’s dismissal was delayed to allow Mancini a soft landing.
There could be an element of truth to those suspicions, with the Mancini talks commencing prior to Hughes’s games against Arsenal, Chelsea, Bolton and Spurs.
Yet City still failed to beat Hull City, Fulham and Burnley at Eastlands. Against similarly unfancied opponents, Mancini’s City have racked up four comfortable victories.
The complacency has gone and the simplicity of Mancini’s 4-4-2 system has also brought stability to the team. Four games in, confidence is high, but bigger tests are yet to come.
3. Injuries and Absentees
Most managers, faced with the loss of a £40million central defensive partnership and a £25million forward to injury and international commitments, would happily get his excuses in before a ball had even been kicked. Yet being without Kolo Toure, Joleon Lescott and Emmanuel Adebayor has worked in Mancini’s favour.
Toure and Lescott’s form in the dying days of the Hughes era was so poor that either or both could justifiably have been dropped. Adebayor was also struggling to impress under Hughes.
But with all three, and the injured £10 million left-back Wayne Bridge, unavailable, Mancini has been spared some big selection dilemmas. When they return, he will make those decisions from a position of strength.
4. Recalling the Outsiders
Mancini has wiped the slate clean and given even the most unlikely players the chance to impress.
His open-minded approach has already produced eye-catching results, with Javier Garrido and Benjani being recalled from the wilderness to great effect, while the unheralded Belgian centre-half Dedryck Boyata excelled on his debut in the FA Cup win at Middlesbrough.
Martin Petrov, who made little secret of his disenchantment under Hughes, has also been drafted back in by Mancini and the Bulgarian winger has been transformed in recent games.
Even Robinho, a player aching to leave City for Barcelona until recently, appeared lively and threatening as a substitute against Blackburn.
5. Craig Bellamy
The Welsh forward is a huge admirer of Mark Hughes and his influence in the dressing room is strong.
Mancini wasted no time in getting him onside and the two men appear to have a genuine mutual respect.
Mancini understands Bellamy’s training requirements following a history of knee problems and he has learnt quickly that Bellamy’s intentions are good rather than malign.
Joe Hart in the right place for Fabio Capello
Capello has been impressed by Hart's performances for Birmingham City in recent months
Matt Hughes, Deputy Football Correspondent Recommend? Fabio Capello is considering giving a full international debut to Joe Hart in England’s friendly against Egypt at Wembley on March 3.
The England manager has been impressed by Hart’s performances for Birmingham City in recent months and considers him to be the in-form English goalkeeper in the Barclays Premier League.
Hart’s position has been enhanced by injuries to David James and the poor form of Ben Foster and Robert Green, but he has done much to earn a call-up. The 22-year-old, who is on a season-long loan from Manchester City that is likely to be renewed for another 12 months in the summer, has been a key figure in Birmingham’s impressive return to the top flight, keeping clean sheets in four of his past five matches to help his side to extend their unbeaten run to 14 games.
Capello is believed to retain reservations about Hart’s decision- making and positional sense, but such goalkeeping skills tend to develop with experience and are offset by his athleticism and abilities as a shot-stopper.
The Italian spotted Hart’s potential as soon as he took the job two years ago, immediately promoting him from the under-21s into the senior squad and giving him his first cap as a second-half substitute in the friendly win over Trinidad & Tobago in June 2008. Hart looked nervous in Port of Spain, but has done enough to be named in several squads since, most recently making the trip to Doha, Qatar, for the 1-0 defeat by Brazil last November. Capello is planning to name a full-strength team against Egypt, the only match before he selects his provisional squad for the World Cup finals, so picking Hart from the start would be a statement. Much will depend on the fitness of James, who remains Capello’s first-choice goalkeeper but has been hit with a series of calf and knee injuries this season after undergoing shoulder surgery last summer. James has started only half of Portsmouth’s Premier League matches this season and if Capello decides that the fitness of a 39-year-old cannot be relied upon, he will seek to examine the alternatives.
Foster started England’s most recent match, against Brazil, but has not played for Manchester United since November and is only the third-choice goalkeeper at Old Trafford, while Green has been struggling for form at West Ham United.
KAKA REGRETS BOLLOX?
A YEAR to the day since Manchester City launched their abortive bid to buy Kaka they have reached the Premier League’s promised land – and Nigel de Jong believes that they are there to stay.
Dutchman De Jong was the midfield destroyer brought in by Mark Hughes at just about the time Brazilian superstar Kaka and his club AC Milan “bottled it,” in the infamous words of City chief executive Garry Cook.
City had just been knocked out of the FA Cup by Nottingham Forest, their league form was inconsistent to put it mildly and the squad was very much a work in progress.
Hughes was busy weeding out some of the ‘dead wood’ left by his predecessor Sven-Goran Eriksson while bedding in his own signings.But 12 months on and City have every right to say who needs Kaka now? A fourth successive Premier League win, one under Hughes and three under new manager Roberto Mancini, propelled them into the top four.
While De Jong says a Champions League place is this season’s target, he adds that the title is not beyond either their reach or capability.“Of course we can stay up in the top four,” said former Ajax and Hamburg player De Jong. “And the title is a possibility. Nothing is impossible, but you have to remember this is only season number one for us after the big spending and we have to take it step by step.“The important thing for us is the Champions League place. Then we will see in March and April where we are standing.”
De Jong says City will only get stronger as the methods of Mancini sink in and the squad returns to full-strength when Emmanuel Adebayor comes back from compassionate leave, Kolo Toure from international duty and Stephen Ireland, Joleon Lescott, Wayne Bridge and Nedum Onouha from injuries.
City’s bench against Blackburn included Robinho and fit-again pair Shaun Wright-Phillips and Roque Santa Cruz to underline the attacking options available.
Mancini has also revived the careers of the three survivors of the Eriksson era, Martin Petrov, Benjani and Javier Garrido, while awarding first starts to youngsters Vladimir Weiss and Dedryck Boyata in the FA Cup win at Middlesbrough.
And there is the vast experience of Patrick Vieira to throw into the equation once he has recovered from a calf strain.
No wonder De Jong is excited at the prospects for the rest of the season as Sheikh Mansour’s £250 million spending spree over the last 18 months begins to pay off, with City still very much in the running for all three domestic trophies.
The most frustrated man will be Hughes. Who is to say City would not be where they are now if he had kept his job?
De Jong admitted the players are not only being driven by the lure of glittering prizes, but also a fear factor – there is nothing like competition for keeping people on their toes.
He said: “Everyone knows the qualities that every player has and before you know it you can end up on the bench. That is why we are so successful right now. You see how big the squad is and it will get stronger as players return from injury. Guys who were written off are playing well too. Everyone is feeling part of the team.
“The coach is trying to keep everyone happy. It’s not always possible, but everyone is on their toes and that makes it harder because you know if you don’t perform, you will get benched.
“Look at Benjani. He has come back from nowhere, scored a goal against Boro and produced another very good performance against Blackburn, as did Garrido. That gives confidence to every guy in the squad. Everyone is concentrated, positive and up for it.
“The manager has changed a lot of tactical stuff. We’ve always been capable of scoring, but now we are concentrating more on defending.” He added: “Right now you can see what’s happening, everyone is excited. We knew December and January were going to be important months and we’re doing well. But we must maintain the momentum.”
Everton on Saturday will provide City with their stiffest test since Mancini took over.
Then after their two Carling Cup semi-finals with Manchester United and an FA Cup excursion to Scunthorpe, their next three league fixtures are Portsmouth at home, Hull away and Bolton at home.
By the time City go to Chelsea in mid-February they – and not Carlo Ancelotti’s side – could be top of the pile.
TRANSFER BOLLOX
Liverpool have beaten off their rivals by securing the signature of striker Marouane Chamakh for £25m. Arsenal, Inter Milan and Juventus were all after the Bordeaux man, who is out of contract at the end of the season. Daily Mirror
Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp is keeping a close eye on Stamford Bridge following reports that Joe Cole's contract negotiations at Chelsea are stumbling. The England midfielder is out of contract at the end of the season. Daily Star
Chelsea may be about to lose out to AC Milan in the battle to sign Wolfsburg forward Edin Dzeko but the London club are about to turn their attentions to Everton midfielder Marouane Fellaini. Fellaini's father said: "Marouane belongs at a really top club and will only get better."Daily Mail
Tottenham forward Roman Pavlyuchenko looks set to end his White Hart Lane nightmare by joining Zenit St Petersburg, who have tabled a £10.2m bid for the Russia striker. Daily Mirror
Tottenham have agreed personal terms with Internacional's 20-year-old midfielder Sandro and are set to complete a £6m deal for the Brazilian. The Guardian
Aston Villa striker Marlon Harewood is being lined up for a move to Leeds United, with boss Simon Grayson looking for a short-term replacement for Jermaine Beckford, who looks set to depart Elland Road. The Sun
Tottenham are set to make a shock move to bring former Arsenal midfielder Mathieu Flamini, who is currently at AC Milan, back to north London. Daily Mirror
Arsenal look to have beaten Everton to the signing of Real America's Bolivian attacking midfielder Samuel Galindo.Daily Mirror
Portsmouth have rejected Sunderland's bid of £5m, plus Anton Ferdinand, for French defender Younes Kaboul. Daily Mail
Galatasaray have tabled an £800,000 offer for defender Lucas Neill who joined Everton on a free transfer less than four months ago.The Times
Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez has received assurances that he will be able to reinvest some or all of the money raised by the potential sale of forward Ryan Babel. The Times
Newcastle United want to sign Bolton defender Danny Shittu - after missing out on Sheffield United's Matthew Kilgallon. Daily Mirror
Middlesbrough manager Gordon Strachan is keen on QPR winger Wayne Routledge.
Daily Mail
Routledge's arrival could signal the departure of Middlesbrough winger Adam Johnson to Sunderland.
Daily Mail
WAG OF THE DAY - Oksana Andersson
.jpg)
http://www.thespoiler.co.uk/index.php/2 ... -andersson
OTHER BOLLOX
England's 2018 World Cup bid team will tread cautiously when they set off on a mission to Angola to lobby African football officials after tensions were raised by the instant reaction of figures in the English game to the gun attack on the Togo team that resulted in the death of three people.
The Times Liverpool are set to ditch Anfield's heritage and sell naming rights for the new stadium in Stanley Park.
Daily Mail
Former Birmingham City owners David Sullivan and David Gold are closing in on a £50m takeover of West Ham.
Under-fire Blackburn manager Sam Allardyce has two games to save his job, with growing unrest from the fans and the club's board. Daily Mirror
Former Arsenal defender Martin Keown has backed his Gunners team-mate Sol Campbell to win an England recall. Campbell is set to return to Arsenal on a free transfer after leaving Notts County in September after only one game.Daily Mail
FINAL BOLLOX
Emmanuel Adebayor wears Arsenal shirt in TV interview recalling Togo attack
Emmanuel Adebayor may have left Arsenal for Manchester City under a cloud, but it seems the striker cannot quite let go of his former club.
The striker appeared on African TV yesterday, to discuss last Friday's gun attack on the Togo team in Angola, wearing an Arsenal shirt. The Togo striker is still coming to terms with the attack in the Angolan enclave of Cabinda that left three dead.
However, he could be available to play for Manchester City this weekend, if released by Togo. Roberto Mancini has said he will give Adebayor as much time as he needs to recover from the trauma of the terrorist attack.
Fifa have said it is up to Togo to decide when their players can play for their clubs again.
Togo withdrew from the Africa Cup of Nations following the attack, but confusion has spread over whether they have now appealed to be allowed back in to the competition, although organisers say this cannot happen.
As such it is expected that Togo will release Adebayor to play for City shortly.
Thread Topic: viewtopic.php?f=119&t=29431&start=0
