Champions League Quarter Final Preview

Posted on by theinvisbleman

At the time of writing it’s the eve of Manchester City’s first ever game in the quarter finals of Europe’s premier competition against a star studded Paris St Germain side. There has been a great deal of speculation surrounding the game with much being made of the increase in ticket prices, injuries and of course the fact that Manchester City are the only English club left in the Champions League. So with a great amount at stake, I apprehensively  give you my view on the up and coming clash in the first leg of the champions league semi final 2016.

 

City’s season so far has been a surprise to many, non more so to the Manchester City fans. It’s been a hugely inconsistent season, often with more disappointing performances than outstanding ones. And after a flying start to the premier league campaign, the thought of now fighting for the the champions league place seems like a failure in itself. And with outgoing boss Manuel Pellegrini making way for Pep Guardiola at the end of the season there is every bit the possibility of the blues playing Europa league football in his first season at the helm. Pellegrini may have reluctantly given up on the premier league, but his side remain the only English side left in the champions league and he will be continuing to push for silverware as much for his reputation as anything else. The Champions league trophy has long been the primary focus of the club’s owners, and while this year there has been progression, they will be hoping for a long run in the competition, and who knows perhaps even getting their hands on their trophy.

 

Manchester City’s inconsistent form this season has been a huge disappointment and leaves the question of what could’ve been. Yes there has been notable significant injuries but given the large squad and cash rich owner sympathy is something hard to come by. But thankfully Pellegrini’s side have shone on a number of occasions this season, none more so than the outstanding away victory against Dynamo Kiev in the previous round where they ran out comfortable 3:1 winners. Pellegrini will take huge encouragement from such performances which showed his side can show defensive stability and tactical understanding to manage such important and hostile European games, something Manchester City have been heavily criticized of in the past.

Its fair to say that P.S.G. will be a much sterner test than Dynamo Kiev and with such household names as Ibrahimovic, Di Maria, Cavani and David Luiz. It’s a tie that both teams will of wanted to avoid but both know that it could’ve been worse with former champions Barcelona, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich still in the competition.

 

Ahead of the game there a number of key injuries for both sides, but especially Manchester City, with Joe Hart and Kevin De Bruyne a doubt for the game and Yaya Toure and Vincent Kompany ruled out completely. The teams are evenly balanced in favour of attacking prowess in a fixture that seems to predict lots of goals and less than outstanding defending. Fingers crossed Manchester city can pull together and beat the French champions and cement their place in the semifinals of the competition for the first time in their history. I will be offering my review tomorrow’s game including all the talking points and the return leg in Manchester.

Review of the “craziest” season so far

Posted on by theinvisbleman

Firstly I want to say yes it’s been a long time since I last updated the blog, Christmas is a busy time for us all, but no excuses it’s time to get the blog back on track. Given its now 2016 and we’re roughly halfway through the domestic season I thought it would be nice to do a season review up to this point and look at some of the more noteworthy events that have happened so far this season. If you’re a football fan and have been keeping up with the Premier league you’ll be well aware that this season is being touted as the most bizarre premier league ever. Never has the title race been so open and included so many teams, and never has there been so many shock upsets. So simply sit back and enjoy the best of the season so far.

Surprise player of the season

I think it’s fair to say that 2015 in the Barclays premier belongs to Leicester City, after looking dead and buried at this point last year, they now sit 2nd in the table after a truly miraculous run of form. Many people throughout the club deserve great credit for this, but none more so than leading goal scorer Jamie Vardy who at age of 28 announced himself at the highest level with his tenacious attitude and eye for goal. The energetic front man shocked the country by beating Ruud Van Nistle Roys record of scoring in 10 straight games and continuing it to 11 and is now a wanted man by all of the Premier league big boys; a much deserved player of the season so far.

Player of the season

You may be thinking its incredibly harsh not to award Vardy with the player of the season so far, and you are right, but the English front man isn’t the only player who has shone so far this season. Romelu Lukaku has been in devastating form for Everton this season and given his tender age, huge presence and eye for goal, has established himself as one of the most sought after players in Europe. But my player of the season so far is a player that has already established himself at the highest level and that is Arsenal playmaker Mesut Ozzil. The German is blessed with an abundance of talent and has left fans frustrated with his work rate and level of inconsistency. This season has been much better for Ozil who has shown the calibre of player that he is and is in no small way to thank for Arsenal sitting at the top of the table.

Surprise team of the season

While Leicester have been grabbing all of the headlines, another recently promoted side have been quietly getting on with their business in superb fashion. At the start of the season, Watford would of been manys predicition to be relegated, but under the leadership of Quique Sánchez Flores, Watford have established themselves as a very solid unit with fantastic team spirit. Notoriously difficult to break down, they have built up a very secure defensive understanding and with the inform striking duo of Ighalo and Troy Deeney they’ve been excelling in front of goal too. I would expect them to slip down the table as the league progreses but at this point they are my surprise team of the seaon.

Team of the Season
It would be completely disrespectful to give this to anyone other than Leicester city for their fantastic work this season. Under boss claudio Ranieri they have not simply fluked their way to their current position, but have worked tirelessly in order to achieve perfection. With excellent tactical understanding, combined with outstanding players such as Vardy, Mahrez and Kante, and a very strong team spirit, Ranieri has built a team fit for the European stage. Whether they have enough in reserves to mount a serious title challenge remains yet to be seen.

Starlet of the season

This season has so far been one of promoting promising young talent, which has been a heavy criticism of the premier league in recent years. Mauricio Pochettino is no stranger to introducing young players into the first team and risking his reputation in order to bring through quality young players, you may remember a certain striker called Harry Kane? Well this year he has done it again, with promising young English midfielder Deli Ali. The youngster already plays far beyond his years, and after an extremely competent start to the season, has already been linked with the likes of Real Madrid. While that may simply be speculation, it can only boost the confidence of yet another bright young star of English football.

Defender of the Season

It is very easy to overlook defenders, their work is tireless and often creditless, which makes finding an outstanding defender very pleasing. Cast our minds back to the start of the season, where we witnessed a true master class from one of the league’s true giants and most reliable defenders, Vincent Kompany who is an outstanding role model for all young defenders coming through; kept 5 clean sheets in 5 games, Manchester city sailed to the top of the table and have since failed to keep a clean sheet in his absence. Consistent Injuries pose a worrying threat to the Belgians career, but a player suffering no such worries is yet another bright young English talent John Stones. The 20 year old has established himself as the leading figure in the Everton back line, and while by no means the finished project. His outstanding technical ability and willingness to play out from the back, has earned him the defender of the season so far.

Flop team of the season

There are a few strong contenders for this award who won’t forgive me but will certainly understand my decision. After romping to the Premier league title last year, Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea got off to the worst possible start, and spiralled out of control since offield issues involving medical staff took precedence over their poor run of results. Sitting just points above the relegation zone, enough was enough for Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich who brought in Guus Hiddink in an attempt to change the club’s favor. Any Other season than this barmy one, and Chelsea win the award for flop of season. But there blushes have been saved by a truly pathetic campaign by Aston Villa, when the decision to change managers from Tim Sherwood to Remi Guarde took things from bad to worse. Villa remain rooted to the foot of the table needing nothing short of a miracle in order for them to maintain their long lasting premier league status. Perhaps relegation may benefit the club in the long run as major changes need to be made on the pitch and behind the scenes in order for the club to reach the heights of days past.

Manager of the Season

I’m running out of ways to massage the ego of Leicester city, but for me it simply has to be Claudio Ranieri. He has been a breath fresh in the premier league this season, building a fiercely competitive and talented team whilst ensuring their feet stay firmly on the ground. How he handles the rest of the Christmas period and the title run will truly define the Italians season. A special mention to the genius Arsene Wenger, and Mark Hughes who has miraculously transformed Stokes footballing image into a much more dynamic and attractive style without compromising on results.

Flop Manager of the Season

There are a few strong contenders for this one again I’m afraid. Jose Mourinho’s first ever bad run of form in professional management saw him lose the Chelsea manager’s job for the second time, although as much of that was due to offield problems to footballing ones. Perhaps the greatest managerial flop lies with the Manchester United boss Louis Van gaal whose side sit in a position to achieve Champions league football, however unlikely that may be. Van Gaal has been subject to criticism from the vast majority of the Old Trafford faithful who are beginning to lose patience with his painfully slow approach to football. On average United boast the largest amount of possession in each game but are one of the lowest for number of chances created, recently leaving Van Gaal fed up with the continuing mounting pressure surrounding his position.

Shock of the season
In what is being regarded as the craziest Premier league season so far, it comes as no surprise that there has been a whole host of shock results and shock events that have taken place so far this season. It has been a year of giant killings in which everyone have taken points perhaps where they had no right to. But the greatest shock this season has to be Jose Mourinho’s fall from grace, in which is imperial Chelsea side to a turn for the worst. An abrupt end to a troubled season for Mourinho with many pointing to the bust up between club doctor Eva Carneiro as a turning point in the club’s fortunes. For sure Mourinho must learn from his latest disaster at Chelsea in order to maintain his reputation as the worlds greatest manager.

Performance of the Season

There are a few strong contenders for this one, perhaps Leicester’s fantastic performance in which they completely dominated Chelsea in every aspect of the game. But as much as it pains me to say perhaps the most impressive performance yet this season was Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool side when they travelled to the Etihad. Manchester City are usually imperious at home, but Klopp showed again how to beat the possession game with hard work and his trademark counter press tactics. The reds scored within the first few minutes and went on to dominate the game 4:1, no mean feat against the bookies title favourites.

Team of the season so far

Agree or disagree? Feel free to comment with your team of the season so far.

GK. Butland – Stoke

RB. Bellerin – Arsenal

CB. Smalling – Manchester United

CB. Stones – Everton

LB. Kolarov – Manchester City

RM. Mahrez – Leicester

CM. Kante – Leicester

CM. Fernandinho – Manchester City

LM. Mesut Ozil – Arsenal

ST. Vardy – Leicester

ST. Ighalo – Watford

Manager: Claudio Renieri

End of Season Predictions

Posted on by theinvisbleman

Its the international break, so our attention is taken away from premier league for a few weeks. We can now take this time to scratch our heads and contemplate some of the questions that will be thrown at managers and pundits after the break.

Who is going to win the title

As a MAnchester city fan, I simply cannot look anywhere else than ourselves. given that we are top of the league at this stage of this season, having to deal with major injury blows to key players like Silva, Aguero and Kompany. The general feeling is if we can keep the full squad fit for a run games then we can establish a lead at the top and make things much more comfortable. Realistically it is looking like our greatest challengers are Arsenal and Manchester United, it remains to be seen whether Arsene can shake off his recent reputation and finally take on the next step and win the title for the first time in over a decade.

Top four

The top four is always a tough one to call and as we approach the final few weeks of the season, expect to see a number of changes as clubs jossle for position. While teams like Leicester and West Ham currently make up the top four it is highly unlikely that they wi8ll be able to maintain this pace throughout the campaign and snatch a much coveted champions league place. Expect Liverpool and Manchester united to put together an impressive run of results and enter a real scrap for the places. My prediction: Manchester City, Arsenal, Tottenham, Manchester United just.

Europe League

I expect Liverpool just to miss out on the top four this season with Jurgen Klop set for disappointment in his first season in charge. Followed by Southampton in 6th and Leicester snapping up a Europa league place in a remarkable season.

Botttom 3

Can big sam continue his astonishing record of never being relegated from the premier league? With sunderland he face arguably his grestet challenge yet and I expect them to put up a great fight but ultimately go down scrapping. To join them I predict Bournemouth and Newcastle. So an unhappy season for the North east. Do you think differently? Let me hear your predictions for the final table at the end of the 15/16 Barclays premier league.

Look back to a disappointing derby

Posted on by theinvisbleman

The Manchester derby has thrown up some fantastic spectacles in recent years, most notably the 6:1 drumming and Michael Owens famous 97th minute winner both at old Trafford. While neutrals were hoping for more of the same, in last weekend’s clash, fans of red and blue were hoping for a more comfortable and solid performance this time round. Both sets of fans got what they asked for, in what turned out to be a cagey 0-0. While the fans may have been left a little disappointed with the lack of action, the managers seemed happy enough to take a point in a crucial game and better still both sides showed steely defensive performances.
It’s difficult not to get caught up in the hype of a Manchester derby, the city comes alive and it’s a time of year when history, potential, form and statistics go right out the window. As the old saying goes, anything can happen in football, and this is never truer than with the Manchester derby. However once the whistle blows, it is difficult to actually enjoy any of the game as you’re too busy biting your nails, local pride is firmly at stake.
While this particular may not live long in the memory, it showed promising signs that both teams could be resilient and grind out a result when required. New Manchester City centre half Otamendi put in a solid defensive display alongside skipper Vincent Kompany who dealt with any potential threats quickly and efficiently. City looked lacking in attacking positions, but with Aguero and David Silva out of the team that was to be expected.
Now City turn their attention to the visit of Crystal Palace tonight and then Norwich on Saturday in what is building up to a hectic period of the football calendar. It’s time to put the derby behind us and look forward to a hugely important part of the season. COME ON CITY.

City Early Title Favourites

Posted on by theinvisbleman

We take a look back at the third weekend of the 2015/16 Premier league season with the only fixture still to play will be a top of the table clash between Arsenal and Liverpool. Despite both these teams still to play and Liverpool with the opportunity to go joint top of the table with a win at the emirates, that hasn’t stopped the world media stating Manchester City as early title favorites after another solid display, this time away to Everton at the ever hostile Goodison park. The citizens looked to kick off from last week’s standout win against Chelsea and maintain their 100% record in the early stages of the season and level a club record of 9 unbeaten straight games. The city camp were clear to point out before and after the game that the most important thing remained the three points and taking a little step closer to regaining their title back from Chelsea.

As one would expect with an away game at Everton, the game was anything but a formality, as the toffees looked to continue their good start to the season. Unfortunately for Roberto Martinez he found his press conferences dominated by the potential transfer of John Stones, rather than the game itself which was of no help the focus within the Everton camp. Nevertheless Everton showed all of the characteristics that make them such a hard team to play against, especially at home, working tirelessly off the ball and using the incredible atmosphere from the fans who urged them forward whenever possible. They were very unlucky to have a goal disallowed from Romelu Lukaku who was a fraction offside in what was a near impossible call for the linesman, keeping the score at 0:0. While Everton can call themselves unlucky they can have no quarrels with the overall outcome of the game as Manchester City gave almost the perfect away performance to seal all three points.

Manchester City look a completely different outfit this term as their early success shows, the signing of Sterling in particular could prove a masterstroke from Pellegrini who has been an integral piece in the city jigsaw this season. His pace gives city an attacking threat they didn’t have last season and with Navas on the other wing Manchester city now have genuine pace in the team. This has helped city be much more effective with their counter attack plays adding to their arsenal of a much more slow and cautious build up play. Sterling has also showed extremely promising signs of building up an excellent relationship with new teammates Aleksander Kolarov and David Silva who have been instrumental to City’s flying start. With City looking to add Kevin De Bruyne to their attacking threats over the next few days, it could spell worrying times for premier league defenses.

While Aguero has started brightly and Sterling has made a significant impact to this Manchester City side, one player has been head and shoulders above the rest and has had the world’s media purring at his feet, who else could it be but David Silva. The part Spaniard part Magician has been in incredible form this season and that is against his already phenomenally high standards. The way he effortlessly glides past defenders and caresses the ball across the field has left premier league defenders at a loss with how to deal with the Man city ace. Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville offered an in depth analysis into just what is making David Silva so good this season, and the answer is the new found pace within the team. With David occupying a more central position this season he is a more central figure to the city team and with blistering pace to either side and Aguero in front it makes it that much more difficult to focus all of the attention on the Spanish play-maker. It is still very early days in the Barclays premier league campaign however, Manchester City really are hitting a great run of form as they look right all of their wrongs from last season.

Opening Premier League Weekend Review

Posted on by theinvisbleman

I hope everyone has had/is having a great summer, here at Bluemoonews we’ve thoroughly enjoyed the break but now it’s back to doing what we do best, analysing the weekend’s football and offering our opinion on the events as they unfolded. As always we’ll be paying particular attention to Manchester city and how they fared on their tricky opening fixture away at the Hawthorns where they faced a defiant Tony Pulis’ side whose intentions were clear even before kick-off; put 10 men behind the ball and hope to nick a 1:0 result. Something Pulis had achieved previously during his Stoke days however this time round things didn’t quite turn out as planned.
The game between West Brom and City was the final game of the opening premier league weekend, giving the hopeful champions a chance to get an initial view and their title contending rivals. It was a fantastic weekend of football, in which we saw the premier league back in its full glory, a weekend of shock results, fast paced football and its fair share of controversy. Saturday saw the reigning champions Chelsea drop points at home to Swansea in what was a terrific performance from Gary Monk’s men. Courtois was shown a red card in what was deemed a last man fowl leaving Mourinho’s side to play the final half an hour with 10 men, the result was a 2-2 draw at the bridge. Sunday saw the shock result of the weekend when West ham made the short journey to London rivals Arsenal. The gunners had been talking the big game before kick off with many respected journalists claiming them to be genuine title challengers. However new head coach Slevan Bilic clearly hadn’t read the script and stunned the emirates into dismay with an excellent 2:0 away win. The standout performer was 16 year old Reace Oxford who made is premier league debut against some of the most talented midfielders in the world, needless to say an onslaught of twitter abuse has been aimed at the world winning German Mesut Ozil who was played out of the game by the youngster.
While the opening day of the season means very little in the outcome of the season, its certainly a fixture that no manager wants to loose and for the title contenders it is an opportunity to send out a statement of intent for the rest of the season. This is a message Pellegrini clearly got across to his players before kick-off. You could sense the intent from the opening whistle in which Man city would look to dominate possession and tempo of the game while West Brom were too happy to concede possession and take their chances on the counter attack. Things didn’t write to turn out to plan for Tony Pulis as his side sunk deeper and deeper into their own area and were very quickly unable to get out. City thoroughly dominated possession over the first half and the deadlock was broken by a scuffed Yaya Toure strike which took two deflections on its way to goal. West Brom were still very much in the game however it meant a major rethink for Tony Pulis who was watching his game plan crumble before his eyes. Things went from bad to worse for Pulis after a stunner of a strike from Toure made it 2:0 before half time. The final goal came from rare set peace move from city in which Kompany lost his marker with a miscued header perfectly guided into the far corner.
Before kick off the game was very much focussed on £50m signing Raheem Sterling who was making his premier league debut for city. The England international looked a little lacking for match fitness and missed a clear one of one opportunity with Adrian. Needless to say the spotlight had been well and truly stolen by Spanish magician David Silva who gave yet another stunning display and showed the world just how good he is. The Spaniard was instrumental in everything city did, picking his passes and drifting past the opposition like they weren’t there. A couple of standout moments in which he seemed to beat his man and create space where non seemed there had commentators and journalists purring over him, with many claiming he could walk into any team in the world. And not to many people would disagree!
So without looking to much into the opening weekend, it’s fair to say Manchester City made the greatest statement of intent with captain Vincent Kompany making it clear the club were keen to put last season’s disappointments behind them. One thing is for sure Chelsea will be given a much greater challenge than they were given last year, and if City manage to keep their core of Kompany, Toure, Silva and Aguero fit and firing, with the additions of Sterling and potentially De Bruyne, then this season could be one to remember for the citizens.

Barclays Premier League Weekend Review

Posted on by theinvisbleman

In the penultimate weekend of the 14/15 Barclays Premier league season, it was one of the last real chances to shipwreck or salvage your season, in a hectic weekend of 6 point games you couldn’t ask for a better time for your team to step up up to the plate. In a weekend that saw Leicester and Aston Villa safe, the fight for premier league survival and avoidance of the final relegation spot begins to really hot up. Sunday also saw a pivotal day of football in the top half of the table with a 3rd vs 4th place clash between premier league heavyweights Arsenal and Manchester United. Meanwhile City faced an in form Swansea side at the liberty, fresh from their spectacular win against Arsenal and looking to record their highest league finish in the clubs history. Here are a few main talking points over the weekend.

Southampton 6 :1 Aston Villa

This was a truly outrageous game and one that doesn’t come around too often in the premier league. It was a game of real attacking class from Koeman’s men and truly embarrassing defending from Villa. However the game was to be overshadowed by the breaking of a record that was thought never to be broken. Robbie Fowlers iconic premier league hat trick against Arsenal netted in just 4 mins and 33 secs stood for 21 years before Sadio Mane took a sledgehammer to it scoring 3 goals in 2 min and 56 secs. Granted he was gifted 2 of his 3 goals by hapless Villa defending however it is only the goals that are marked down in the history books. The game also saw a stunning strike from Southampton striker Shane Long who curled in a stunning 25 yard strike over a backtracking Shay Given. Results elsewhere mean almost guaranteed salvation for Villa, however the result will give manager Tim Sherwood fresh problems going into the FA Cup final against Arsenal.

Q.P.R 2:1 Newcastle

On a paper, an away trip to Loftus road against an already relegated rangers side was the perfect fixture for John Carvers men looking to escape the threat of relegation and shake off their terrible run of recent form. The game got off to the perfect start for the Magpies with Emmanuel Riviere netting a clumsy finish ending 18 hours of football without a goal. However during the second half saw a renewed Q.P.R. side with their managers message of pride and honor ringing in the ears. A headed tap in and a wonder strike from Leroy Fer saw rangers come from behind and add to the woes of a Newcastle side who are badly lacking confidence and leadership both on the pitch and off it. Fortunately for the die heard toon faithful, there chances for survival still lie in their own hands, following Hulls defeat against Tottenham. One thing is for sure, if Newcastle do go down there fans will for sure be devastated, but they can have no complaints.

Manchester United 1:1 Arsenal

In a different season this blockbuster fixture, may have decided the outcome of the premier league title and in recent seasons it has lost some of its significance but none of its allure. Its a game that always promises goals with two very attack minded clubs, both reluctant to settle for a draw and risking the threat of defeat in return for the victory. This unfortunately was not the case with this run in game with very little at stake other than a mathematical guarantee of champions league football next season. The draw would have been more favorable to Arsene Wenger who remain above United going into the final game strong favourites to take third place and automatic qualification into the champions league group stages.

Swansea 2:4 Manchester City

Although Manchester United vs Arsenal was the headline event of the weekend, you needed to head down to South Wales to see real premier league quality and its best. Swansea vs Man city promised everything we’d hoped it would, plenty of goals, brilliant saves and great football from two of the leagues best passing teams. Both had an incentive, Manchester City to salvage some pride and finish runners up behind Chelsea and Swansea to cap off an unbelievable season under Garry Monk which has saw them finish in the highest ever league position. It also saw the return of striker Wilfred Bony who before kick off was still the Swans top league scorer with 8. The Ivorian striker would have to wait to make his mark starting the game on the city bench. It was yet another text book example of Manchester Citys season, at times truly mesmerizing football and devastating counter attack plays with the speed and precision of Aguero and Silva. However despite opening up a 2 goal lead failed to hold onto it and allowed Swansea to get level in the game through a thunderbolt from Sigurdson and a tidy finish from the inform Gomis. At that point Manchester City were pulled out of the trouble for perhaps the last but certainly not the first time by Yaya Toure, who showed just why he has earned the reputation of being such a big game player. Manchester city ran out comfortable winners in the end, with their class proving just a little to much for a truly valiant Swansea side. There was even just enough time for a goal from returning striker Wilfried Bony who opted not to celebrate in respect for his former employers.

The top of the Barclays table is all but decided with 1 game to go so all of the attention will be focused on that final relegation place. Q.P.R. and Burnley are already down and Hull currently sit on the brink of Championship football. With one final change to salvage their season, nothing other than a last day win away to Manchester United will do for Steve Bruce’s men. Meanwhile Sunderland and Newcastle will face a nervous 90 minutes of football with fate at least in their own hands and their fans keeping them very much updated with the happenings at Old Trafford.

Summer Clear out for City

Posted on by theinvisbleman

Last weekend saw Chelsea mathematically win the premier league with 3 games still to play of the 14/15 Premier league season. On behalf of Bluemoonews and all of the Manchester city faithful I congratulate Chelsea on their success this season. They were by far the better team over the course of the season, in personnel, organisation, tactics and desire making it all the harder to lose out on the title to a better team. At the end of the season will see all of the top clubs in England strengthening their squads as each club will look to make a genuine mount for the premier league title next season.

So as this is Bluemoonews who are the players that are going to have make way for the next crop of players heading to Manchester in their quest for domination both at a national and European level. A lot has been made of the current Manchester city squad being one that is very aged with the average age for the city in last Sundays game against Tottenham being 30. Also with the growing pressure to sign English players all signs point to a busy summer at the Etihad, with a huge number of comings and goings to be expected. Here are a few of my predictions of who will be expected to be shown the door and a few possible arrivals at the club.

Out:

yaya-toure

The first player to be shown the door has to be Yaya Toure, at 31 and the player on the biggest wage bill on the face of it, it would seem like only a formality that Yaya’s time in Manchester has come to close. Before I state my current opinion on Toure, I would like say that I am huge fan of Yaya Toure and all Manchester city fans owe a huge amount of our success to the Ivorian who at times almost singlehandedly won us the 13/14 premier league trophy. It is important never to forget what he did in the past but equally important to look at the present and look toward the future. It has been made clear over the course of the season that Toure is not the phenomenal player he once was and the iconic barnstorming runs and commanding performances are becoming less and less of a feature of his game. Worse than this he is now becoming a liability defensively and no longer lacks the awareness and ambition to protect his defense at all costs. It would appear one of the easiest decision Manuel Pellegrini will have to make over the summer.

In:

paul-pogba
Despite his recent slump in form, replacing Yaya Toure will be no easy task. Few players in the world can compete with his physical presence and match controlling capabilities. One of the strongest candidates to replace the Ivorian is the former Manchester United superstar Paul Pogba. Where he certainly stacks up in terms of physical attributes and running with the ball the rest of his game remains yet to be seen. Another potential stumbling block is the price tag with City expected to break their club transfer record in order to sign the French international. This would prove an extremely risky decision for a 22 year old who is by no means the finished article.

Out:

boyata
Dedryk Boyata is one of the few players in the current squad to of graduated from the academy into the first team squad. I fear on this basis alone he is still with the squad and he is clearly not in the plans of Manuel Pellegrini managing only 3 premier league appearances in 3 seasons. I have a lot of sympathy for Boyata and respect his decision to stay at the club and fight for a place in the team although it is clear whenever he makes an appearance that he simply isn’t good enough to play at the very highest level. For me its time for the boy to go and develop at another club and get some first team football under his belt, which he won’t manage at city.

In:

Stoke City v Everton - Premier League
A fantastic replacement for Boyata in my opinion would be the young Everton defender John Stones who at the tender age of 20 is showing signs of being one of the best and most highly sought after central defenders in world football. Everton will be hard pushed to keep hold of one of the prize assets and has already attracted the gaze of the England manager aswell as many clubs from around the world. With a large frame, great defensive instinct and composed ability on the ball, Stones ticks all of the boxes and would be a fantastic signing for Manuel Pellegrini as a replacement for Boyata, the aging Demicheles and forever injured Vincent Kompany.

Out:

France v Ukraine - FIFA 2014 World Cup Qualifier: Play-off Second Leg
Samir Nasri has been somewhat of a hit and miss since arrival in Manchester. Following his bitter departure from Arsenal, the french men seemed destined to continue his unbelievable from with the gunners at his new club although has never really managed to do so. Nasri has sowed glimpses of the excellent player he once was, with moment of individual magic and occasionally cropping up with really important goals such as his opening goal in the penultimate game of last season at home to West Ham that won the the club the title. However these moments have been too few and far between and has rarely managed to recapture the sort of form that saw him recruited by Roberto Mancini. I still don’t think Nasri is completely happy in Manchester and now may be the time for him to seek pastures new.

In:

marco-reus
A player that I would be extremly excited about seeing as a potential replacement for Samir Nasri is the German super star Marco Reus. The flying Dortmund winger is one of the hottest prospects in world football and should his availability become apparent will find himself on the transfer list of every major club in the world. Unfortunately missed the world club due to injury, Reus is one of a number of excellent crop of young German players including the likes of Muller, Kroos, Hummels and Gundogan. Reus is arguably the pick of the bunch and in this company is very high praise in deed. With an excellent all round game, with pace, technique, vision and an eye for a goal he could prove a decisive factor on next years Premier league title depending on which suitors he chooses.

Out:

dzeko
Edin Dzeko’s career at Manchester city has been somewhat of a disappointment to his own admittance. He is player with an excellent strinking pedigree and the Bosnian diamond has an excellent record at every club he has been at before his move to Manchester city. Despite largely being out of the first team has managed 50 goals at his years at the club including such important goals as the equalizing goal against QPR on that faithful day. However Edin dezko has never really been given a long spell in the team and has clearly fallen out of favor with current manage Manuel Pellegrini.

In:

lacazette
Should we feel the need to replace Edin Dezko, the bookies favorite to do so is the French superstar Alexandre Lacazette. Currently at Ligue 1 club Lyon he is one of the hottest prospects from across the channel. With an excellent eye for goal and great aerial ability he would seem a natural replacement for Edin Dzeko. Another possible transfer target would be the on-fire Tottenham striker Harry Kane, who would also provide the club with a highly valuable English player that has the required skill level to succeed with the club.

Jurgen Klopp to be next Manchester City boss?

Posted on by theinvisbleman

Yesterday current Borussia Dortmund manager Jurgen Klopp announced that he would be leaving the club at the end of the season. The news comes after senior club executives called a press conference to make an importance announcement, the subject of which was largely expected by the German press. Klopp who has managed the club for seven years, is enduring his toughest season in charge with Dortmund currently lying in 10 position in the league. He had always given himself a tough act to follow after winning two Bundesliga title and managing his team to a champions league final in 2013 where they were beaten in Wembley by their bitter rivals Bayern Munich. His departure has sparked many rumors of his future with the most prominent story grabbing the headlines that he could be on his way to Manchester to take over from the increasingly under fire City boss Manuel Pellegrini.

In his official statement yesterday, Klopp made a number of interesting points saying that he had not yet reached a decision about life after Dortmund claiming; ” I have not had any contact with any other clubs, either in England or anywhere else, nor have I any plans to take a sabbatical. But with a manager, it could be that I might have to”. One thing that is for certain is that Klopp will not be short of offers, from England and across Europe after establishing himself as one of the very best managers around. Klopp would seem a natural successor for the Manchester city managers position and unsurprisingly the odds for the charismatic German coach to take over from Manuel Pellegrini tumbled as soon as the news broke. Manchester City were quick to respond with sources coming out of the club saying that there are currently no plans to replace Pellegrini but are expecting to make wholesale changes to the squad, with an emphasis on finding young talent and meeting the new FA requirements for homegrown players.

Dortmund fans have got used to seeing the prize assets leaving the club and have earned the reputation as a prominent selling club. In addition to Klopp leaving, over the past few years Dortmund had lost key players like Robert Lewandowksi and Mario Gotze to the financial might of Bayern Munich. One of the biggest worries for Dortmund fans is that more key players could follow Klopp out of the door, like the world cup winning trio of Mats Hummells, Marco Reus and Ilkay Gundogan. Any manager in the world would rub their hands together at the prospect of managing the current Dortmund stars and the prospect of reigniting their relationship with the current manager would be a very realistic possibility.

IMO As I have talked about previously here on Bluemoonews, regardless of the position city finish in, we need huge changes at the club, whether Pellegrini is one of them remains to be seen. But either way, Manchester City will be spending in excess of £100,000,000 in the Summer which makes the the decision on the manager an even more important one. it would be a major mistake from the board to allow Pellegrini to rebuild a squad and make wholesale changes only then to be sacked a few months into the season, leaving the next manager little freedom to stamp his own identity on the team. I have a huge amount of respect for Pellegrini although I feel he marks the end of the current era of Manchester city. I would give Pellegrini my full appreciation and thanks for his services but bring in Klopp at the end of the season. This would give him time to asses the current crop of players, make his changes and bring in the players that he feels would improve the team. It would also make it much easier to stamp his philosophy on the players and a full preseason to work on their tactics and develop a team spirit and understanding. Agree or disagree? Share your opinions with the world.

Reflection on a Dissapointing Derby Day

Posted on by theinvisbleman

This Sunday marked the end of a period of dominance and local bragging rights when Manchester United ended Manchester City’s 4th straight derby victory with a resounding 4:2 victory at Old Trafford. This puts Manchester United 4 points ahead of their local rivals and in pole position to finish above the blues for the first time in 2 years. More than just a victory over local rivals, the game symbolized an inspired Manchester United hitting a real run in form and confidence against a simply shambolic city side that looked tactically clueless with a complete lack of self belief. The result goes much deeper than just 3 points with seemingly massive repercussions for both sides that could shape not only the season but the future of the managers and their players.

I want to start by congratulating Manchester United on their performance in the game, they were by far the better team, better organized and looked much fresher and thoroughly deserved the victory. But here on Bluemoonews, we are here to look at Manchester city, so if you’re looking for an in depth analysis on the Manchester United and their revival then please look elsewhere. So back to City and what I can only describe as as a game that summarized our entire season, glimpses of our former selves but largely disappointing. After 6 minutes 1:0 up and completely dominating the game it looked like we had finally rediscovered our mesmerizing form of last season. However like many times during the course of the season, our opponents grew into the game and we were unable to sustain the level of class and resiliance that last season saw us crowned champions. Then a series of poor defending, lack of tactical awareness and concentration eventually lost us the game. Lets not take anything away from our rivals as they were superb on the day and clearly wanted it more, but what I want to know is what has happened to this Manchester city side? Both tactically and mentally.

It is now evident, if it wasn’t already, that major changes need to be made at the football club. One person who symbolized this was the once unstoppable Yaya Toure who is now more of a passanger than a commander in chief. ironically wearing the captain’s arm band he ambled around the pitch, chasing shadows, loosing the physical battle with Fellaini and not contributing enough in the attack. I am a huge admirer of Toure and he has been a loyal servant to City and played a pivotal role in the development of this football club. Although at the age 31 it is becoming more and more important that he can no longer hack life in the premier league. With his giant frame and relentless pace of the Premier league there is a growing sense that it is all becoming to much for the gigantic Ivorian. the worrying thing is not just that he is in the team, but that he is still our best central midfielder, meaning that a major renovation, especially in the midfield area, is desperately needed.

It would be unfair to lay all of the blame on Yaya as he was one man in a team of under performing players, at the helm of an under performing manager. After Vincent Kompany left the pitch injured, the team showed a real lack of leadership and solidity and ultimately was his replacement Mangala who played Smalling onside for Uniteds second goal. The fact is that we were not beaten by Barcelona or Real Madrid, we were beaten by a team with a better team spirit and better tactical organization which I for one find very hard to accept. The first point lies at the blame of the players who have absolutely no excuse to be beaten to every second ball and showing a complete lack of winning mentality, this is the champions we are talking about and we should be controlling games oozing confidence and arrogance, not buckling under pressure. And the second point clearly lays blame with the manager whose preparation, or distinct lack of, was evident for all to see yet again this season. From the first minute it was evident that United were going to use the physical presence of Fellaini as a key strategy of their attack and Pellegrini had be unable to preempt or find a solution to the problem. It was a huge feature of the game and one that you feel a premier league manager should be able to cope with. However the left side of Manchester United continued to cause problems and was the root of everything good United managed to conjure up. It was again another example of Pellegrini loosing the tacticians battle and not being able to hold his own amongst the great minds of football.

If Pellegrini wasn’t worried about his job before the derby then he certainly should be now, it was a shambolic display by himself and his whole team and now leaves little else to say other than major changes at the club are needed. Many senior players like Toure, Dzeko, Kolarov, Fernando and Nasri all need to be shown the door to make way for young and hungry players that will revitalize the team. As for the manager, he can count himself extremely lucky should he keep his position over the Summer. I for one will say now, that if we want to become the best club in the world, which is the ambition of owner Sheikh Mansour and Chairman Kaldoon Al Mubarack, then Pellegrini is not the man to do so. I do like Pellergini and his relaxed mannerisms, but I just do not think he has the mental strength and tactical knowledge to manage a champions league winning side, although only time will tell.