Mancini hails youngsters

[Mark (Blue Army)]

Roberto Mancini saluted his squad players after the Blues cruised into the FA Cup fourth round without nine regular starters.

Javier Garrido, Dedryck Boyata, Vladimir Weiss, and Benjani all stepped from the shadows to play vital roles in a comfortable 1-0 win at a freezing cold Riverside Stadium.

Boyata and Weiss made their first senior starts and Mancini was pleased with what he saw.

“I have never been afraid of giving young players there chance in the side. It is important for us as a big club to know that we can rely on the younger players if we need them,” declared the City chief.

“Vladimir has shown what he can do in a couple of substitute appearances and Dedryck has been doing really well in training.

"This was Dedryck’s first chance to
shine at this level and I thought he did
very well. The game will have given
him confidence and helped him
mentally to know that he is part of the
squad"

“For me both young players have bright futures and that is not just good for them but also the club. It is important to me and to the owners and to the fans as well that we continue to bring players through our Academy.”

The Italian admitted that his section for the game had been forced due to injuries and tired legs. The latest victim is Brazilian Robinho but he could be back in the running for Wednesday night’s visit of United.

“Robinho has a small problem with his groin but I think he will be ok for midweek. I hope so,” said the manager who now has three wins and three clean sheets to his credit.

A groin problem is what forced Micah Richards off at half time against Middlesbrough and he is now a doubt for the Carling Cup tie.

Mancini though was pleased with the afternoon’s work.

“I like cup football and I want to do well in the FA Cup as well as the Carling Cup,” he said.

“I was pleased with the performance from the team. I enjoyed it but most of all I want to congratulate our supporters for making the game thorough the bad weather and then giving us such great support. Seeing them so happy made the win even better.”

from mcfc.co.uk

[MHiggi]

Another good read from Mancini there, I like the interviews he gives. I especially like it when he says stuff like:

"I have never been afraid of giving young players there chance in the side. It is important for us as a big club to know that we can rely on the younger players if we need them,” declared the City chief.

Just emphasises the fact that he has been there and done it at a big club before. So far so good Roberto.

[Beeks]

A groin problem is what forced Micah Richards off at half time against Middlesbrough and he is now a doubt for the Carling Cup tie.

Fuck me we are gonna have no defenders for this CC tie at this rate...I hope to god we have a couple in the pipeline that we can sign before Wednesday!

[Rag_hater]

I think he still feels like a youngster himself judging by that hat he was wearing.

[MHiggi]

A groin problem is what forced Micah Richards off at half time against Middlesbrough and he is now a doubt for the Carling Cup tie.

Fuck me we are gonna have no defenders for this CC tie at this rate...I hope to god we have a couple in the pipeline that we can sign before Wednesday!

It'll be interesting to see if he does sign a defender before Wed, and whether or not he would through them straight into the team ahead of the likes of Boyata and Mee. He's shown plenty of faith in Boyata already so I doubt he'll have a problem fielding him again, and it's probably too soon for a new signing to play in the first leg this week. Hopefully Micah was taken off as a precaution though.

[lets all have a disco]

If weve got fuck all defenders left for Wednesday Boyata will play no doubt.

[ronk]

I think he still feels like a youngster himself judging by that hat he was wearing.

It looked like he went through his kit bag and put everything he could find on. He outer jacket was shorter than his inner one. But he didn't seem to be bothered by it at least.

[ronk]

Nice soundbites there, hopefully the media will run it and point out just how youthful a squad we have. Garrido and Zabaleta are 24, Micah is 21, Boyata is 19. Even Kompany when he came back is 23.

de Jong is old, he recently turned 25, which is Tevez's age. Weiss is 20.

Missing players make the rest of the team older (Ireland, Johnson, Nedum, Adebayor etc.)

For years we've had a young squad but other teams get all the attention. A lot of the stories we'll be hearing will be about scum playing youth teams that are probably older than ours.

[Beefymcfc]

Wouldn't it be nice if we beat the scum and their so called kids, with a few of our kids. I'd definately have no problems about throwing Boyata in the mix.

[CityFanFromRome]

A groin problem is what forced Micah Richards off at half time against Middlesbrough and he is now a doubt for the Carling Cup tie.

Fuck me we are gonna have no defenders for this CC tie at this rate...I hope to god we have a couple in the pipeline that we can sign before Wednesday!

No fear, we just play Komps and Boyata as CBs ;)

Seriously though, it's starting to get worrying back there...if we don't have a signing ready we might really have to start Boyata again, not that I'd have problems in us doing so after today...

[Scatman]

Nice soundbites there, hopefully the media will run it and point out just how youthful a squad we have. Garrido and Zabaleta are 24, Micah is 21, Boyata is 19. Even Kompany when he came back is 23.

de Jong is old, he recently turned 25, which is Tevez's age. Weiss is 20.

Missing players make the rest of the team older (Ireland, Johnson, Nedum, Adebayor etc.)

For years we've had a young squad but other teams get all the attention. A lot of the stories we'll be hearing will be about scum playing youth teams that are probably older than ours.

Don't hold your breath