Manchester City Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours

KittyeeTrix

8-10 wrote: »

How much oil money for the other 3points?

The figure is irrelevant......Name your price:D

mike65

Deal done

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009/aug/23/joleon-lescott-manchester-city-transfer

beya2009

I really do think Man City are going to have a solid season...top 4 finish I'd say. They gone out and bought GOOD players..not unrealistic superstars like Kaka and Eto who simply wont come to a club not in Europe yet....

Though it must be said Lescott will be a great addition as Dunne and Richards were both shocking last season lol:L

T-b0n3

Whos going to get their game now? Dunne or Richards? Fantasy football purposes

Bounty Hunter

T-b0n3 wrote: »

Whos going to get their game now? Dunne or Richards? Fantasy football purposes

well considering Lescott will be playing CB alongside Kolo most likely then I would imagine Richards would have a better chance as he also plays RB.

Who will be captain though if Dunne drops out?

Eire-Dearg

Richards - Kolo - Lescott - Bridge.

Class defense. On paper. Keep the goals out, they'll go far.

Eire-Dearg

Bounty Hunter wrote: »

Who will be captain though if Dunne drops out?

Barry or Ireland - or maybe even Toure.

Bounty Hunter

Eire-Dearg wrote: »

Barry or Ireland - or maybe even Toure.

was thinking it would be Barry, Ireland has as you say a slight chance but i think thats only cos he is the one guy who was there already before all the new better players were signed who is good enough to keep his spot.

brayblue24

Bounty Hunter wrote: »

Who will be captain though if Dunne drops out?

Barry.

flahavaj

Eire-Dearg wrote: »

Richards - Kolo - Lescott - Bridge.

Class defense. On paper. Keep the goals out, they'll go far.

Richards is still a weak link, his positional sense is pretty poor. Why isn't Zabaleta(sp?) starting ahead of him, I thought he was pretty decent.

I feel sorry for Onuoha as well, hes way down the pecking order now despite being City's best defender for the second half of last season.

kinaldo

Fúck sake. What a joke. I know English players go for more, but £24 million for Lescott is just plain ridiculous. At this rate Man City's owners will be bankrolling the whole Premiership.

Well, I expect Moyes to invest that money wisely, and will be absolutey gutted if he prizes STaylor away from Newcastle.

Xavi6

Disgusting it is. The whole thing makes me sick :pac:

kinaldo

Xavi6 wrote: »

Disgusting it is. The whole thing makes me sick :pac:

No, all is fair in love and war.

We should still laugh and berate though.

A Primal Nut

Everyone I talk to seems to have ruled City out of the title race straight away. They all say "it will take too long for them to adapt and play together" as if they are the only ones to have thought of this possibility! As an Arsenal fan, I am of course concerned about the threat they pose to our top 4 position and reckon they could surprise everyone. They are already winning games and they are only starting to play together.

One thing Mark Hughes has done is he knows as well as everyone else how hard it is for so many players to adapt to a new club and to play together, but what is clever is all the players he signed this summer have been established premiership players. Ok, Robinho was signed as soon as the Arabs took over (he probably didn't have much say in that one) and then De Jong but other than that he has signed Bridge, Santa Cruz, Tevez, Adebayor, Bellamy, Toure, Barry and Lescott. All have been successful premiership players for many years and will have no problem adapting. This is key for such a new side.

I only see one reason how these players might struggle to play together; which is that they have a very attacking midfield. Barry wasn't a holding midfielder for Villa, Ireland excelled playing off the front man last season; while Wright-Phillips and Robinho are out and out wingers. That said; it looks like Barry and Ireland are adapting to their new roles without being any less effective. They have got off to a good start which will boost their confidence when playing together. If they scrape together enough points by Christmas to be in the title race; then by the time the new year comes around they will all have settled in. I would actually like to see Man City doing well (after Arsenal of course) mostly because of the Irish contingent; great to see Ireland establish himself as a guaranteed starter and perhaps the star man for a title contender; and its about time one of the greatest keepers in the world moved to a top side capable of challenging for trophies. As for Richard Dunne; there will always be injuries; he could play a John O'Shea role.

Liverpool and Man United are both weaker than last season (loss of Alonso and Ronaldo) Chelsea and Arsenal both the same; although I think with some of Arsenal's young players vastly improved and with the return of Eduardo, they are, overall, an improved side. Should be an exciting race!

MementoMori

While Lescott is a solid signing I would still be concerned about City's ability to keep a sufficent amount of clean sheets to seriously challenge at the top of the table.

It's one thing for a side to possibly challenge for a top four place, it's a whole other far harder level to challenge for the title. A side challenging for the title every game counts - every loss is a blow, even a draw is a bad result in the majority of cases, whereas for a team challenging for a top four place a couple of bad results in a row aren't as necessarily fatal.

I don't think that City's 4-3-3 formation with SWP, Ireland and Barry as a midfield, offers sufficent protection to their back four for City to pick up the requisiste number of clean sheets for them to challenge for the title. Possibly for a top four place depending on how things go at the other end of the pitch, but you generally don't win the league without a miserly defence and I can't see City being miserly enough to get anyway near the title.

In their two games so far both Blackburn and Wolves (neither of which could be classified as offensive powerhouse) managed to create a serious number of decent chances. While Lescott arriving will probably improve things at CB as a step-up from Dunne, I still think that an amount of ball will end up in City's box because the balls won't be cut out at the midfield source. Unless Hughes changes from this 4-3-3 formation with the current personnel, I think their defence will continue to be under pressure. Lescott for one will have been used to having a tough tackling combative midfield in front of him at Everton - how will he perform when he's offered a lot less protection?
There is always the possibility that Hughes will shift his formation around but I think he is more the type of manager to pick a formation and stick to it, as opposed to adjusting things depending on the opposition.

I would also be concerned about how City might react to a couple of bad results in a row - will they pull together or will they fall apart?

On the plus side they could benefit from not having any European competitions and the increased freshness that can bring.

One way or another I think City will continue to attrack a lot of attention as the season continues.

Xavi6

We didn't play 4-3-3 in either of the opening two games, it was a flat 4-4-2.

MementoMori

Xavi6 wrote: »

We didn't play 4-3-3 in either of the opening two games, it was a flat 4-4-2.

I watched all of the Blackburn game and was hopping between streams for the Wolves game as well as watching the highlights. While I may have been wrong about the 4-3-3 in the Wolves game, because of the hopping between streams Blackburn looked a classic 4-3-3 setup throughout.

In both cases who out of the front three were supposed to be playing in midfield, because whoever it was did a piss poor job of actually playing there from what I saw. Anyway I think my major point of the midfield not offering enough protection to the back four still stands.

Blackburn game front 3 :- Robinho, Adebayor, Bellamy
Wolves game front 3 :- Robinho, Adebayor, Tevez

Xavi6

It was a flat 4-4-2 in both games. Robinho was *meant* to be an out and out winger but we all know that's never going to happen. Bridge has had two superb games given all the donkey work he has to do.

Bellamy was definitely playing central against Blackburn, while Tevez was in a bit of a free role on Saturday with SWP and Robinho right and left of him and Adebayor. I guess it's more 4-2-4 in a lot of respects.

It's slightly baffling as De Jong played preseason in a 4-3-3 and now we've just gone and changed, and I agree that the defence lacks protection. We will get found out against better teams playing the way we are now.

A Primal Nut

Well I guess the fact he now has signed Adebayor, Tevez, Santa Cruz, and Bellamy means Hughes wants to fit 2 strikers into his team.

Knowing premiership managers as I think I do, I have a feeling De Jong will eventually come back in and join Barry in midfield with Ireland moving forward playing off a lone front man (Adebayor). That would be more of a premiership-style midfield. Tevez and Bellamy are versatile so will still get opportunities on the wing, up front or in Ireland's role should anyone get injured, or in a rotation system. Can't see much of a role for Santa Cruz in that formation barring a few injuries.

JPA

Xavi6 wrote: »

It was a flat 4-4-2 in both games. Robinho was *meant* to be an out and out winger but we all know that's never going to happen. Bridge has had two superb games given all the donkey work he has to do.

Bellamy was definitely playing central against Blackburn, while Tevez was in a bit of a free role on Saturday with SWP and Robinho right and left of him and Adebayor. I guess it's more 4-2-4 in a lot of respects.

It's slightly baffling as De Jong played preseason in a 4-3-3 and now we've just gone and changed, and I agree that the defence lacks protection. We will get found out against better teams playing the way we are now.

Maybe Hughes as a plan for playing the stronger teams, we'll have to wait and see.

JPA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7BcNTMaXLBE

Xavi6

Lol and now watch him do nothing for the rest of the season :pac:

Soby

Man City sign Brazilian Sylvinho

Manchester City have completed the signing of veteran Brazilian defender Sylvinho on a one-year contract.

The former Arsenal left-back, 35, was released by Barcelona after playing in their Champions League final victory over Manchester United last season.

Boss Mark Hughes told City's website: "Bringing him to the club as a free agent is excellent business for us.

"He won the European Cup last season at Barcelona and he will strengthen our defensive options."

Sylvinho is Hughes's seventh new signing of the summer and will provide cover for Wayne Bridge.

The full-back, who spent two seasons at Arsenal before leaving for Spanish club Celta Vigo in 2001, has won the Champions League twice and picked up three La Liga medals.

Hughes added: "Sylvinho has a wealth of experience at the very top level, having represented Brazil and played for some of the very top clubs in Europe."

City hope to include him in the squad to face Crystal Palace in the Carling Cup on Thursday, providing they receive international clearance.

bigstar

Xavi6 wrote: »

Disgusting it is. The whole thing makes me sick :pac:

haha its great being on this side of the disgust. really though if we werent spending all this money think of how much worse off the economy would be, were doing our bit. look at the big clubs as soon as there's financial trouble there nowhere to be seen :pac:

Eire-Dearg

http://backpagefootball.com/info/transfers/lescott-completes-city-transfer/

Manchester City tonight finalised Joleon Lescott’s move to the club from Everton, and will train with his new team-mates for the first time tomorrow morning.

The central defender, 27, has signed a five-year contract at Eastlands and manager Mark Hughes is overjoyed with his signing,

“I am absolutely delighted to welcome Joleon to Manchester City. He is an England international who has proved his Premier League ability during his time at Everton,” said the manager.

“In bringing Joleon to the Club I feel we have recruited a defender of the very highest quality. He can play in a number of defensive positions, and I’m positive he will make a significant impact for us.”

The ex-Wolves and current England international is delighted to complete the move, reported to be for a fee of £22million.

Lescott said: “I’m over the moon to get the move completed, and I’m looking forward to training with the lads as I’ve not trained for a few days.

“I know some of the lads already – I’m close friends with Shaun, we’ve played against each other since we were 16 or 17. The way this club is moving on, I’m really looking forward to being a part of that.”

SlickRic

never £24m, but then again, we all know that.

imagine how much it would have cost to prize the best defender from the Everton team...(even though he's still injured :pac:).

Eire-Dearg

RasTa

How comes Hughes isn't in for Robben and Snidjer?

JPA

Villa can confirm a fee has been agreed with Manchester City for defender Richard Dunne.

The 29-year-old City skipper will now travel down to the Midlands to discuss terms on a move to Villa Park.

http://www.avfc.co.uk/page/News/0,,10265~1778148,00.html

Xavi6

Sad to see. He's been a wonderful servant to us and is an absolute legend.

Having said that, I don't think his departure will weaken us.

JPA

Xavi6 wrote: »

Sad to see. He's been a wonderful servant to us and is an absolute legend.

Having said that, I don't think his departure will weaken us.

He'll probably be missed around the dressing room anyway.

Bounty Hunter

JPA wrote: »

He'll probably be missed around the dressing room anyway.

reports he might be made Villa's captain and Barry Man Citys

and just like with the Barry deal I think Man City have dealt with this deal very well, not talking about it in public etc.

Eire-Dearg

Tevez scored his first goal tonight against Palace.

http://tinyurl.com/lc4jjw

therecklessone

Eire-Dearg wrote: »

Tevez scored his first goal tonight against Palace.

http://tinyurl.com/lc4jjw

Headshot has a sig to update methinks...;)

Headshot

therecklessone wrote: »

Headshot has a sig to update methinks...;)

only PL mate

ShoulderChip

you may live to regret that rule Headshot

Headshot

ShoulderChip wrote: »

you may live to regret that rule Headshot

owen will get plenty of chances in the EPL

very confident of that

thanks the long journeys in the CL owen will probably get even more EPL games

Xavi6

Headshot wrote: »

only PL mate

Lol how convenient :rolleyes:

Eire-Dearg

What happens if when Tevez surpasses Owen's tally, will it be a rapid dash to the User CP to get rid of it? :pac:

Eire-Dearg

http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11095_5518114,00.html

Uh-oh, another decision goes against Warnock!

Sizzler

I have to say The Honey Monster has been incredibly hard done by. By the club and Hughes. He's club captain and the dogs on the street have known that as soon as Lescott was signed he was heading for the exit.

The sense of irony though is that City are left with Micah Richards in their back 4 who is playing awful and really isnt that good! A mate was at the City Wolves game and he said he was all over the shop, having seen him play last night against Palace and I can see what he meant!

brayblue24

Aw, jeez, this season is gonna cost me a fortune (wipes away nostalgic tear)....

http://www.mcfc.co.uk/News/Club-news/2009/August/Back-to-the-future-for-third-kit

Hope the current incumbents live up to their promise more than the last wearers!!

To be fair it looks like another one that can be worn when out socialising too (as Alan Partridge might say "Smart Casual")-not too many of them you can say that about

Xavi6

Cannot wait for that shirt. I'll be definitely preordering one long sleeve with Ireland on the back.

Eire-Dearg

Nice piece on Stephen Ireland in the Mirror today.

He says he dropped off his kid to school 8:45 and goes on to kickboxing and fitness training til 1pm.

Then again from 7pm to midnight.

He admits he has to be more disciplined in City's new set-up for the first 75 mins but after that he takes more risks and starts to come into his own.

Xavi6

http://www.sportinglife.com/football/live_feed/story_get.cgi?STORY_NAME=soccer/09/08/31/SOCCER_Man_City_Nightlead.html&ID=

ADE REPAYING 'LOVE' FROM CITY FANS

By Mike McGrath, Press Association Sport

Emmanuel Adebayor has taken another swipe at Arsenal fans by explaining how their Manchester City counterparts have inspired his free-scoring start to the season.

The 25-year-old felt Gunners supporters took their frustrations out on him last season and the Togo striker insists he is enjoying his football again following his summer move.

"As soon as you play for a team where the fans love you and are always behind you, you try to give them something back," he said.

"That is what I have been showing since I joined this club. It is the same with new players like Carlos Tevez and Gareth Barry - with the support from the fans, that motivates and makes you a special player."

After scoring three minutes into his City career with the opener against Blackburn, Adebayor has scored winners in away trips to Wolves and Portsmouth.

"We have three wins, three clean sheets, nine points - for us the most important thing is believing we can do something good," the £25million signing added.

"We'll see where the season takes us. We have to keep enjoying ourselves."

Gareth Barry's corner set up Adebayor for the winner at Fratton Park on Sunday, meaning City have already matched the two away wins in the league of last season.

"Ade is a great front man to hit, and when he attacks at corners with the leap he has there are not many defenders that can live with him," said Barry.

"We hope he's got a couple more of them left in him this season."

Adebayor is relishing his role in City's fluid front three, with Tevez and Craig Bellamy supporting him at Pompey and Robinho on the bench.

"In football there is one language," he added.

"If you know how to play football you have to adapt to whoever is on your side.

"We all know what a quality player Carlos Tevez is, and his ability. Playing alongside him is easy.

"It is the same with Craig Bellamy - he understands the game so well. We are enjoying ourselves, and that is why we are doing well at the moment. The fans are happy, and we are happy."

City boss Hughes is also impressed with Bellamy.

"Craig was exceptional," he said.

"His energy and willingness to work for the team and his ability to carry the ball from deep areas into the opposition half was invaluable for us.

"I wanted to play Craig because I felt if we did come under pressure he would be a good outlet for us.

"It wasn't a reflection on how 'Robbie' [Robinho] has done in the last few games - because he has been excellent - but it was horses for courses.

"I felt the ability Craig has would be a factor for us, and that is how it panned out."

Next for City are Arsenal and rivals Manchester United after the international break, meaning Adebayor will face the club he left this summer.

"They made me a better player and believed in my quality when I first came to England," he said of the Gunners.

"To play against them will be special.

"The boss gave me the chance to be where I am today. But the most important thing is Manchester City - I would give anything for the three points."

I love you too Ade!

Mr Alan

Adebayour will love anyone who gives him a few quid.

bigstar

Mr Alan wrote: »

Adebayour will love anyone who gives him a few quid.

unlike most footballers. actually...

Gillington

Ben Haim on his way to Portsmouth apparently.Benjani not going anywhere.

Think Ben Haim will be the last out before the window shuts.

bigstar

Gillington wrote: »

Ben Haim on his way to Portsmouth apparently.Benjani not going anywhere.

Think Ben Haim will be the last out before the window shuts.

cant see why he wont be getting many games this season. benjani either.

edit: read that wrong. cant see either still there after the window.

Gillington

Just thinking about it there,We get Lescott for 24 million or whatever,Everton sign John Heitinga for 6mil.Who's getting the better deal here!?

Is Hughesy insistence on signing players with "Premiership experience" good or bad for us? Obviously figures like the Lescott one are a ripple in the massive Dubai golden lake of money but does that mean he has to spend it willynilly.And fair enough Adebayor has started well to sorta counter my point,but on my original point,I think we could get players of the same quality for half(or in Heitinga/Lescott's case) a quarter of the price.

Thoughts?