Barcelona tactics, the new W-W, inverted wingers and that...

[Ted Hughes]

We need another couple of attacking players to reach the level of Silva & Tevez if we're to be that attacking. AJ has little 5 second bursts of being absolutely world class, interspersed with dross & needs to be more unselfish, Ade is trying to get there but still has that unreliability factor. SWP is currently useless & just wastes the ball constantly. Then there's Balotelli. If we can get him to start firing quickly, anything is possible but he's just a raw kid. If we we're switching to an attacking formation we need them all to perform to a good level when they play, show intelligence & keep the ball or the oppo will exploit it. We also need to be more clinical. Could be we still need another signing to make it work.

[brite blu sky]

We need another couple of attacking players to reach the level of Silva & Tevez if we're to be that attacking. AJ has little 5 second bursts of being absolutely world class, interspersed with dross & needs to be more unselfish, Ade is trying to get there but still has that unreliability factor. SWP is currently useless & just wastes the ball constantly. Then there's Balotelli. If we can get him to start firing quickly, anything is possible but he's just a raw kid. If we we're switching to an attacking formation we need them all to perform to a good level when they play, show intelligence & keep the ball or the oppo will exploit it. We also need to be more clinical. Could be we still need another signing to make it work.

Another signing of the right kind wouldn't go amiss.. if RSC is gone we have a slot anyway.

I notice you dont say anything about Milner? is that for a reason?

[Ted Hughes]

We need another couple of attacking players to reach the level of Silva & Tevez if we're to be that attacking. AJ has little 5 second bursts of being absolutely world class, interspersed with dross & needs to be more unselfish, Ade is trying to get there but still has that unreliability factor. SWP is currently useless & just wastes the ball constantly. Then there's Balotelli. If we can get him to start firing quickly, anything is possible but he's just a raw kid. If we we're switching to an attacking formation we need them all to perform to a good level when they play, show intelligence & keep the ball or the oppo will exploit it. We also need to be more clinical. Could be we still need another signing to make it work.

Another signing of the right kind wouldn't go amiss.. if RSC is gone we have a slot anyway.

I notice you dont say anything about Milner? is that for a reason?

I don't see Milner as an attacker at all but an alrounder. Bob is playing him in a different role atm but I see him as Barry's replacement long term, with a bit more experience. I know he gets criticised for the occasional bad pass etc & I never really rated him in the past, but I noticed so many people in the game really rating him & in particularl Terry Venables & Peter Taylor both said they reconed he would be absolutely one of the very top English players in the near future. That made me sit up & take notice. Having watched him for City, I think they're right. Not as an attacker though, which is what they were saying tbf. The bloke is relentless though & his head never drops. All he lacks is a bit more guile, which will come with experience.

[brite blu sky]

We need another couple of attacking players to reach the level of Silva & Tevez if we're to be that attacking. AJ has little 5 second bursts of being absolutely world class, interspersed with dross & needs to be more unselfish, Ade is trying to get there but still has that unreliability factor. SWP is currently useless & just wastes the ball constantly. Then there's Balotelli. If we can get him to start firing quickly, anything is possible but he's just a raw kid. If we we're switching to an attacking formation we need them all to perform to a good level when they play, show intelligence & keep the ball or the oppo will exploit it. We also need to be more clinical. Could be we still need another signing to make it work.

Another signing of the right kind wouldn't go amiss.. if RSC is gone we have a slot anyway.

I notice you dont say anything about Milner? is that for a reason?

I don't see Milner as an attacker at all but an alrounder. Bob is playing him in a different role atm but I see him as Barry's replacement long term, with a bit more experience. I know he gets criticised for the occasional bad pass etc & I never really rated him in the past, but I noticed so many people in the game really rating him & in particularl Terry Venables & Peter Taylor both said they reconed he would be absolutely one of the very top English players in the near future. That made me sit up & take notice. Having watched him for City, I think they're right. Not as an attacker though, which is what they were saying tbf. The bloke is relentless though & his head never drops. All he lacks is a bit more guile, which will come with experience.

Fair enough, i have Milner down as much more attacking than Barry, he gets into a fair few forward positions on the sly, but kind of remains as a support to the attack. I do think he can be a key player though mixing it up in the final 3rd. Im expecting him to break out of his start phase for City in the next few games, starting to get up to speed and if anything is trying a bit too hard in the last couple of games. I think he will be able to play well with Silva and Tevez though, so i have some hopes.

[Ted Hughes]

We need another couple of attacking players to reach the level of Silva & Tevez if we're to be that attacking. AJ has little 5 second bursts of being absolutely world class, interspersed with dross & needs to be more unselfish, Ade is trying to get there but still has that unreliability factor. SWP is currently useless & just wastes the ball constantly. Then there's Balotelli. If we can get him to start firing quickly, anything is possible but he's just a raw kid. If we we're switching to an attacking formation we need them all to perform to a good level when they play, show intelligence & keep the ball or the oppo will exploit it. We also need to be more clinical. Could be we still need another signing to make it work.

Another signing of the right kind wouldn't go amiss.. if RSC is gone we have a slot anyway.

I notice you dont say anything about Milner? is that for a reason?

I don't see Milner as an attacker at all but an alrounder. Bob is playing him in a different role atm but I see him as Barry's replacement long term, with a bit more experience. I know he gets criticised for the occasional bad pass etc & I never really rated him in the past, but I noticed so many people in the game really rating him & in particularl Terry Venables & Peter Taylor both said they reconed he would be absolutely one of the very top English players in the near future. That made me sit up & take notice. Having watched him for City, I think they're right. Not as an attacker though, which is what they were saying tbf. The bloke is relentless though & his head never drops. All he lacks is a bit more guile, which will come with experience.

Fair enough, i have Milner down as much more attacking than Barry, he gets into a fair few forward positions on the sly, but kind of remains as a support to the attack. I do think he can be a key player though mixing it up in the final 3rd. Im expecting him to break out of his start phase for City in the next few games, starting to get up to speed and if anything is trying a bit too hard in the last couple of games. I think he will be able to play well with Silva and Tevez though, so i have some hopes.

I agree but Barry does crop up in quite a few attacking positions. It probably goes unnoticed because he doesn't often produce much from there which is disappointing as he's a decent footballer/finisher as he showed v Liverpool & in the pre season game v Valencia.

[getdressedmctavish]

Without a doubt, Sibby was ahead of his time. And boy could he head the ball.To be fair there's a bit of mystification going on. Most sides have been trying to do whats described for ages with varying degrees of success depending on the personnel. Why else would the tough tackling fullback have become an endangered species.Who was the Rags centre forward last year?Think about the relationship between Henry, flatfooted Frenchie and Ashley Cole.At City the issue is more about whether we err on the side of being compact over penetration and whether some individuals are good enough to make the system work.