...or really have set the bar really low for us...
http://blogs.soccernet.com/manchestercity/archives/2011/06/its_time_for_city_to.php
Keane And Cole Would Be Smart Additions
Posted by Wallace Poulter 5 hours, 27 minutes ago
It's time for City to consolidate. The club has made the Champions League and now it needs a squad that can compete for four trophies. That doesn't mean signing every young, over-priced hotshot from the continent, but rather focusing on adding experience to the squad.
Which is why I'd like to see City add Robbie Keane and Joe Cole to the team. Yes, I hear you and I know what you are going to say, but there's more to Keane and Cole than old and injured.
Take a moment to think back to Keane in his Spurs days prior to the ill-fated move to Liverpool. The partnership between Keane and Berbatov was one one of the best, if not the best, in the Premier League. The reason was that their styles meshed perfectly. Keane has not only a predatory instinct within the box, but is prepared to do a tremendous amount of the dirty work required of a modern forward in chasing and harrying. Berbatov on the other hand would more float through games, picking his moment to show the occasional flashes of brilliance which would usually lead to a goal or two. That's Berbatov's style of play, he's very good at what he does, but he's never going to be a blue-collar chaser.
Sound like anyone we know? Indeed. Mario Balotelli. I'm not saying that Robbie Keane is the great goal scorer of the past. I'm saying Robbie Keane is still a very good goal scorer who just happens to match the style perfectly of Balotelli and as such would make an excellent third or fourth striker for the team. A quality, experienced veteran who knows they are not first choice, but still will get their games and playing time and would compliment Balotelli's play.
Now, to Joe Cole. So much talent, so utterly wrongly used it should be criminal. For a brief shining moment at the start of his Liverpool career I finally thought a club had figured out how to use Cole properly. Against Rabotnicki in the Europa League, Cole was deployed behind the strikers in the David Silva role and dominated. Here's Tom Bryant from the Guardian with what was the quote of the year
"This Liverpool has about as much resemblance to the one helmed by Raphael Benitez as the back end of a bus has to Scarlett Johansson. Flicks, tricks, incisive running, freedom on and off the ball and a general air that, actually, playing football is quite fun seemed to dominate the place."
Cole was brilliant because for once he was played in the correct position. Joe Cole on the wing is an average Premier League player. But Cole in the Silva role would be a revelation. Certainly Cole has suffered with injuries the past couple of years, but with Liverpool willing to do business and City needing a back up to Silva this is the perfect situation for Cole to get meaningful minutes over the course of a season and build back to the player he always could be.
Each player, from a transfer fee standpoint, will come at minimal cost and would also provide veteram leadership that City will require this season. No, they aren't the sexy European signings that the press keep connecting City to, but these are the practical signings that can help City build a squad that can compete with United, Chelsea and Arsenal next season. You can't have 25 superstars. You need 11 starters and a combination of veterans, role players and youth that support the team. Keane and Cole would help City win more games and that really should be the only criteria.
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