How long have we got 'Merlin' for ?

[Ted Hughes]

Clearly the maestro is back, but when do they start running him into the ground & knackering him again ?

Will we get a full season of him pre World Cup before they kill him again, or have Spain got plans for a 6 game Christmas tour of Iceland etc ?

[twosips]

To be honest i think his form last season was a lot to do with Mancini really. Same with Aguero.

So having said that i think he'll be great for some time.

[nottsblue]

Clearly the maestro is back, but when do they start running him into the ground & knackering him again ?

Will we get a full season of him pre World Cup before they kill him again, or have Spain got plans for a 6 game Christmas tour of Iceland etc ?

Thought the thread title sounded as if we were going to sell him! Love him to have great World Cup and set it on fire but would his head then be tempted by Barca/Real players tapping him up like Fabregas. Part of me would like him not to play in Rio so he is fresh for us next season. Very selfish i know but City comes 1st not the player

[Twobob]

Silva is the kind of player who needs to play when he's flying high - we've seen how poor we were against Newcastle without him. His stamina levels are top class and i think we only need to be careful if he picks up a knock and we dont give it time to heal

[Bridge'srightfoot]

He's back to his best which I didn't know if he would get back to tbh. He was a shadow of himself last season and he knows it all too well.

I think one of the key differences this year is that he's enjoying his football again and he's playing in a side which embraces fast attacking football.

If only he could shoot, only thing missing from his game imo. Seems to stuggle generating any real power on the ball and that's what Mata has over him.

[Original Dub]

He's back to his best which I didn't know if he would get back to tbh. He was a shadow of himself last season and he knows it all too well.

I think one of the key differences this year is that he's enjoying his football again and he's playing in a side which embraces fast attacking football.

If only he could shoot, only thing missing from his game imo. Seems to stuggle generating any real power on the ball and that's what Mata has over him.

Very different player to mata imo.

Mata is a better finisher but silva influences games and dictates the play a lot more.

I'd say if you asked the Spanish fans, they'd hold silva in higher regard.

[Bridge'srightfoot]

He's back to his best which I didn't know if he would get back to tbh. He was a shadow of himself last season and he knows it all too well.

I think one of the key differences this year is that he's enjoying his football again and he's playing in a side which embraces fast attacking football.

If only he could shoot, only thing missing from his game imo. Seems to stuggle generating any real power on the ball and that's what Mata has over him.

Very different player to mata imo.

Mata is a better finisher but silva influences games and dictates the play a lot more.

I'd say if you asked the Spanish fans, they'd hold silva in higher regard.

Definitely.
He's got better close control imo and plays 'the spanish' way. Mata is a top, top player too and the thing he does have over Silva as I say is that he can belt one in from 25-30 yards and generate real power on the ball. I can't really remember Silva doing that for us. He can place the ball well for sure but it would add a whole new element to his game if he develops his mid-long range shooting.

Last season Mata was the better player without doubt but when Silva's at his best he's on another level. If Silva could add goals to his game though I honestly don't think he'd be that far off the world's best.

[Original Dub]

Definitely.
He's got better close control imo and plays 'the spanish' way. Mata is a top, top player too and the thing he does have over Silva as I say is that he can belt one in from 25-30 yards and generate real power on the ball. I can't really remember Silva doing that for us. He can place the ball well for sure but it would add a whole new element to his game if he develops his mid-long range shooting.

Last season Mata was the better player without doubt but when Silva's at his best he's on another level. If Silva could add goals to his game though I honestly don't think he'd be that far off the world's best.

I agree with all of that.

I think I remember him scoring a belter against arsenal... maybe a cup game?

[nottsblue]

He's back to his best which I didn't know if he would get back to tbh. He was a shadow of himself last season and he knows it all too well.

I think one of the key differences this year is that he's enjoying his football again and he's playing in a side which embraces fast attacking football.

If only he could shoot, only thing missing from his game imo. Seems to stuggle generating any real power on the ball and that's what Mata has over him.

Very different player to mata imo.

Mata is a better finisher but silva influences games and dictates the play a lot more.

I'd say if you asked the Spanish fans, they'd hold silva in higher regard.

Definitely.
He's got better close control imo and plays 'the spanish' way. Mata is a top, top player too and the thing he does have over Silva as I say is that he can belt one in from 25-30 yards and generate real power on the ball. I can't really remember Silva doing that for us. He can place the ball well for sure but it would add a whole new element to his game if he develops his mid-long range shooting.

Last season Mata was the better player without doubt but when Silva's at his best he's on another level. If Silva could add goals to his game though I honestly don't think he'd be that far off the world's best.

Think he is going to replace Xavi as the fulcrum of Spains midfield. His 1st touch is unrivalled and his ability to pick and thread passes is sublime. As posted if he scored more he would rival the best. Bale however is NOT included in this. He already is superior in my eyes to Monkey man.

[Bridge'srightfoot]

Definitely.
He's got better close control imo and plays 'the spanish' way. Mata is a top, top player too and the thing he does have over Silva as I say is that he can belt one in from 25-30 yards and generate real power on the ball. I can't really remember Silva doing that for us. He can place the ball well for sure but it would add a whole new element to his game if he develops his mid-long range shooting.

Last season Mata was the better player without doubt but when Silva's at his best he's on another level. If Silva could add goals to his game though I honestly don't think he'd be that far off the world's best.

I agree with all of that.

I think I remember him scoring a belter against arsenal... maybe a cup game?

The weird thing is that for Spain he has a scoring record of better than 1 in 4, which is very decent for a midfielder but for us it's something like 1 in 8.

A lot of the time my frustration and others of him has come from his lack of confidence to shoot. He's possibly the best passer in the league but often last season a pocket of space opens up about 20-25 yards out and you're crying out for him to stick his foot through the ball but you can tell he doesn't feel confident to do so and then tries an eye of the needle pass which just doesn't come off.

But having said that he did this against Chelsea for Valencia:
[youtube]0dMH8yuByn0[/youtube]
I didn't see him at Valencia so I don't know if this was a one off or if he just 'let rip' more from outside the box for them. But he's not really done anything like that for us as of yet.

[PrezIke]

To be honest i think his form last season was a lot to do with Mancini really. Same with Aguero.

Or Nasri or dzeko or hart or...

[Breks]

1 of the top 10 players in the world imo

[Bridge'srightfoot]

Looks like you jinxed it...
Ted out.

[sheblue]

We really miss him, always have and for the foreseeable future, always will.