Tuesday 21 May 2013

Player ratings and Player of the year

Joe Hart 7
If ever a players season summed up the clubs Joe's does.  Golden Glove again for 18 clean sheets in the league but some uncharacteristic mistakes have marred this season.  That said anyone who saw his display against Dortmund in the champions league will have been amazed at the brilliance Hart showed that night he earned City the draw as much as Mario Balotelli's late penalty.

Costel Pantilimon 7
Did very well in the few games he played certainly harshly dropped for the FA Cup Final.

Pablo Zabaleta 9
Has been a revelation this season lion hearted brave never say die attitude means Pablo will always be a fans favourite.

Micah Richards 6
Hard to judge Micah injuries have really restricted him so never really been match fit.

Vincent Kompany 7
A few early season wobbles but slowly but surely the confidence came back.  Always respectful in the media he is the ideal character for his role as club captain.

Matija Nastasic 8
Simply the buy of the season been a key part in helping Kompany find his confidence maturity and calmness beyond his young years.

Kolo Toure 5
Always seemed to take two or 3 games to find his feet before showing his form.

Joleon Lescott 5.5
Exactly the same as Kolo struggled for first few games before showing his best.

Gael Clichy 6
Solid left back who does seem to have a phobia of crossing the ball when further up Field.

Aleksander Kolarov 5
Not a natural left back and does struggle with defending but always a goal threat from free kicks.

Gareth Barry 6
Consistent and always noticeably missed when not in action.

James Milner 6.5
Always gives it his all but probably not had enough of a run to really show his best.

Javi Garcia 3
Started well then went backwards seemed to struggle with the pace of the league and not helped by being in and out of the team.

David Silva 5.5
By his own high standards not the best season.  There were definite glimpses of his best but not enough.

Scott Sinclair unable to score
Almost zero point in his signing I do feel sorry for the man too few starts to be fair to him.

Jack Rodwell 6
Again hard to judge due to injuries but as he gained match fitness there were good signs Jack will prove to be a great signing.

Samir Nasri 4
Slowed play down way to often and at times just didn't seem bothered.

Yaya Toure 5.5
At times brilliant at times lazy much like Silva not his best season.

Edin Dzeko 5
Always seems to score important goals but so frustrating to watch in and out of the team didn't help but even with a run of games he looked yards off the pace sometimes.

Carlos Tevez 7.5
Started off the season all guns blazing perhaps didn't hit the heights of his previous two full seasons but always put a shift in for the team.

Sergio Aguero 6.5
Injury hit season still capable of match winning performances and scoring spectacular goals.

Mario Balotelli 5
Never really got a long enough run to find his form before his transfer to AC Milan.

M11 3FF PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Has to be Pablo Zabaleta genuinely outstanding for most of the season never say die attitude fully committed to the cause.




Saturday 18 May 2013

Ciao Roberto

The news that Roberto Mancini had been sacked earlier in the week was sadly unsurprising given rumours it was coming had been doing the rounds pre the FA Cup Final.  What was perhaps most shocking was the rumours appeared to be leaking out of the club.  The lack of a denial or indeed Mancini's comments attacking club officials after the Cup Final only added more fuel to the rumours.

To an outsider looking in it does appear strange given Mancini took City from UEFA Cup qualifiers to Champions League regulars as well as adding the first major silverware in 35 years winning the FA Cup.  Just a year later that was followed up by the League Championship, City fans hadn't had it this good since the late 60's.  Modern football has brought us magnificent new stadiums and seen the Premier League generate billions in TV money and the Champions League has become a monster, so perhaps the need for instant results have played a part as 2nd this year wasn't good enough?

As the week has progressed more and more stories leaked out mentioning player unrest.  Mancini it is rumoured used his PA to talk to players whom he'd fell out with if you take what the Daily Mail say seriously.  The Mail article is a stunning read and really makes you question the standards in the Premier League in the sense with that much chaos apparently going on City we still able to finish 2nd place.  Speak to most City fans and they will probably admit performances this year haven't quite been the same as the previous year.  Certain players seemed pre occupied and unable to find the levels they had in previous years.  Mancini certainly didn't hold back in press conferences savaging players who he felt had cost the side his headmaster style of management coming through.  Added to the previous summers savaging of Brian Marwood for his apparent mishandling of transfers it appears Mancini had made a bad impression in the board room.  Champions League groups wouldn't have helped either as City failed to progress two years running yet on both occassions the draw was hardly kind.

Fans have been left stunned as the Club shot themselves in foot with the shoddy way the sacking leaked out and Mancini's reported replacement Manuel Pellegrini already in the public domain.  It was very much like 3 years ago as I got texts at a match at the Etihad telling me Mark Hughes was sacked and Roberto Mancini was in the crowd or on the way to Manchester.  Both sackings sadly show the club in a poor light and do nothing to aid it's growth.  The club need to learn from these PR disasters it genuinely feels like they have chased column inches to get the clubs name out there without caring about the content.

Personally I will miss Mancini he has brought Manchester City kicking and screaming from sleeping giants to contenders again and I thank him from the bottom of my heart it is a pity it ended so messily but in a great gesture Roberto took out a full page ad in the Manchester Evening News thanking the fans for their support and we in turn thank him.