Tag Archives: Manchester City

Premier League 2011/12 – Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others

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“Although I have previously posted a summary of the 2011/12 Premier League finances on Twitter, I have received numerous requests to include them in a blog post, so that people can refer back to them, so that’s what I am going to do here. No further analysis, just figures and graphs – well, they do say that a picture paints a thousand words. All these figures have been taken from the clubs’ published accounts, though I have made a couple of presentational adjustments in order to prepare like-for-like comparisons between clubs, e.g. they do not all use the same revenue classification. In this way, I have had to use estimates for QPR and Swansea City, who do not provide a full analysis of their revenue (the total figures are unchanged). Similarly, I have taken the Deloitte Money League revenue split for Manchester City, as the club accounts include some match day income in commercial.” Swiss Ramble

Premier League report card

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“We kick off our Premier League report card with the top of the table. Click here for our evaluations of the bottom half. How did the season play out for the bottom half of the Premier League table? Our club-by-club reviews below tell the story of clubs that put in a consistent shift and clubs that barely stayed up. And then, of course, there was the train wreck that was QPR. Sorry, ‘Arry.” ESPN

Drama-lacking Premier League season sets up compelling 2013-14
“It was not a vintage season. By the final day, all that remained to be settled was whether Arsenal or Tottenham would finish in the top four and although there was drama at White Hart Lane, with Spurs battering on the Sunderland door for 88 minutes before it found a breakthrough, it was rendered largely irrelevant by the fact that Arsenal was 1-0 up at Newcastle. For the 18th season in a row, Arsenal finished above its north London rivals. Elsewhere, it was a day of goodbyes.” SI – Jonathan Wilson

Wigan 1-0 Manchester City: Wigan stifle City and attack with tremendous width

“Ben Watson headed a stoppage time winner as Wigan lifted the FA Cup for the first time. Roberto Martinez was able to call upon Antolin Alcaraz in the centre of his three-man defence, and he used James McArthur as a right-wing-back and Jordi Gomez in central midfield. Roberto Mancini picked Joe Hart despite having used Costel Pantilimon as his FA Cup goalkeeper throughout the competition. James Milner was only on the bench, as Mancini went with two ‘interiors’ and two forwards. The nature of the result might suggest a ’smash and grab’ – but Martinez’s tactics outfoxed Mancini, and Wigan fully deserved their victory.” Zonal Marking

Show Me The Money

Kagawa joins celebrations as Man Utd clinch league title
“In the past few years there has been tremendous progress in football fans’ knowledge of their clubs’ finances. Some might say that this is not a good thing and we should focus on matters on the pitch. That’s perfectly fair, indeed I would also personally much prefer to watch a great game, such as Borussia Dortmund’s recent demolition of Real Madrid, rather than investigate the minutiae of their balance sheets. However, it is important that fans are aware of what is going on at their club, so that they understand the board’s strategy and any constraints that impact their activities, e.g. why a club might sell its best players every summer or why a club does not splash out on the world-class striker that might take them to the next level.” Swiss Ramble

Manchester United 1-2 Manchester City: City’s attackers combine well throughout

“Manchester City produced a fine performance to record a rare victory at Old Trafford. Sir Alex Ferguson played two attack-minded wide players, with Ryan Giggs in the centre and Tom Cleverley only on the bench. Phil Jones continued alongside Rio Ferdinand in the centre of defence. Roberto Mancini left out Sergio Aguero, favouring Carlos Tevez as a lone striker with David Silva just behind. City were significantly better here – they dominated the first half, took the lead in the second, and Mancini used his bench better too.” Zonal Marking

Man City has formula for countering powerful Manchester United
“Even if Manchester City wins its seven remaining games this season, Manchester United needs only to take 10 points from its last seven games to clinch a 20th league title. As Roberto Mancini said, “It’s finished.” And yet for all that, there is a strange feeling of City ending the season on a high after winning the Manchester derby 2-1, while United has questions to answer. In a sense, the league this season has almost been so easy for United that it’s hard for it to derive any great satisfaction from its (almost certain) success.” SI – Jonathan Wilson

Tottenham 2-2 Everton: Spurs go ahead very early, then equalise very late
“An interesting battle between two sides both without their key attacking player. Gareth Bale was injured – as were Jermain Defoe and Aaron Lennon. Andre Villas-Boas was forced to select a ‘mezzala’ on either side – Clint Dempsey and Gylfi Sigurdsson – in the absence of natural wide players. Jan Vertonghen was at left-back. David Moyes was without Steven Pienaar and Marouane Fellaini. He handed a rare start to Ross Barkley, and used Leon Osman behind Victor Anichebe, rather than selecting two strikers. This was an interesting but disjointed game, where both sides had spells of dominance. There were lots of small tactical features, rather than a clear overall pattern.” Zonal Marking

Statistical Analysis: Has van Persie been the difference between Manchester United and Manchester City?

“Other than the long transfer saga revolving around where Eden Hazard would ply his trade in the summer, there was the drawn out battle for Robin van Persie’s signature. Many neutrals and pundits felt that van Persie would follow former team-mates Sami Nasri and Kolo Toure and join Man City, which led to some surprise when van Persie joined title rivals Manchester United, despite the fact Rooney had scored 27 league goals the season prior. This addition to an already impressive front-line has been a key factor in United’s current 15 point lead over Manchester rivals, City. But has van Persie made the difference between the clubs?” Think Football

City’s back three come unstuck against Toffees

“EVERTON 2-0 MANCHESTER CITY: At a time when the back three is out of fashion in much of the world, Italy has a style of its own. Last week, the majority of managers in Serie A ignored the footballing orthodoxy that four players start in defence. This week, the Premier League’s most famous exiled Italian did likewise.” ESPN

Manuel Pellegrini and Fatih Terim back where they belong

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Fatih Terim
“By common consent, five of the eight remaining sides in the Champions League have a good chance of lifting the European Cup at Wembley in May. Barcelona, Real Madrid, Borussia Dortmund, Bayern Munich and Juventus — current league champions, imminent league champions or, in Juve’s case, both. The dark horse? Paris St Germain have performed well in Europe under Champions League specialist Carlo Ancelotti, and following their recruitment of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Thiago Silva and Ezequiel Lavezzi, their presence is no great surprise.” ESPN – Michael Cox

Case for the defence: Is Liverpool’s passing game a necessity?

“Since the beginning of the World Cup competitions in 1930 up until WC 2010, four football nations made it consistently to the finals; Brazil, Argentina, Italy and Germany. Any world cup final had at least one team of that quartet. Brazilian football fans lazily labelled their football rivals. The Germans, as a ruthless tasteless well-oiled machine, the anti-football counter-attacking Italians, the heirs of the “catenaccio,” which translates literally to “door-bolt.” The Argentinians were not kindly branded after Maradona’s televised admission of sedating Brazilian players in WC 90 and an open court admission of a political deal between Peru and Argentina in WC 78 to knock out Brazil from the semi-finals. On both occasions Argentina knocked out Brazil out of the competition.” Think Football

Tactical Analysis: Why are Manchester City so far off United?

“Manchester City are now 12 points behind leaders United and looking increasingly unlikely to retain their Premier League title. Their home game against Chelsea on Sunday could be crucial, but if United beat QPR on Saturday they could go in to the tie 15 points off the pace. So where has it gone wrong for Mancini and his side?” Think Football

Cerci finally lives up to hype

“Every now and again Alessio Cerci still thinks about it. Why wouldn’t he? Things could have been so so different. Watching Manchester City dramatically win the Premier League title in stoppage time on the final day of last season, a part of him presumably thought that it should have been him. Roberto Mancini had apparently wanted to buy Cerci from Fiorentina ahead of that campaign. ‘He’s the best winger in Italy,’ the City manager supposedly said. Yet his interest in Cerci was quite surprising.” Pitchside Eurosport

Tactical Analysis: Are Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie reviving the strike partnership?

“Since the relative decline in the use of the 4-4-2 we have also witnessed a decline in Premier League strike partnerships. The days of Dwight Yorke and Andy Cole appear to be long gone, with most side’s playing with just one central striker. But at Manchester United there are two top strikers scoring goals and playing in the same team; Robin van Persie and Wayne Rooney. The two players have scored a combined 28 league goals this season, which has been critical to United’s title surge, as the team have scored a massive 60 league goals, compared to 2nd place City’s 47 league goals. So are we witnessing a return to prominence of the strike partnership at Manchester United?” Think Football

Tactical Analysis: Why aren’t Manchester City’s strikers scoring consistently?

“Both of City’s goals at the weekend were scored by their strikers, but in truth, this merely masks the inconsistency of their front men this season. City have generally had a bit of a problem in the goal scoring department this season, compared to last season, which has arguably been a factor in the title race. Manchester United, who signed City target Robin van Persie have scored 60 league goals this season, compared to just 47 for City. A side with such attacking talent should probably be scoring more and much of this is down to a relative drop in form for City’s strikers, compared to last season.” Think Football

Manchester City held 2-2 by Liverpool to dent EPL title hopes

“Sergio Aguero rescued Manchester City with a late goal in a 2-2 draw with Liverpool on Sunday, but two more dropped points further dented the champions’ hopes of reeling in Manchester United in the Premier League title race. Steven Gerrard’s dipping volley in the 73rd minute looked like earning Liverpool all three points at the Etihad Stadium, only for Aguero to conjure up a stunning goal of his own from an acute angle six minutes later.” SI

Aguero brilliance rescues point
“Champions Manchester City lost more ground in the title race as they were held to a 2-2 draw in a thrilling encounter at home to Liverpool. Edin Dzeko’s 12th goal of the season put the hosts ahead from close range midway through the first half only for Daniel Sturridge to smash home his fourth in six matches since his move from Chelsea. An even better trademark Steven Gerrard strike put Liverpool ahead with 17 minutes to go only but Sergio Aguero salvaged a point with an exquisite shot from the narrowest of angles.” ESPN

Manchester City can still win league title, claims Roberto Mancini
“Roberto Mancini insisted Manchester City are still in the Premier League title race despite the 2-2 draw with Liverpool that left them trailing Manchester United by nine points with 13 games left. The Italian was unhappy at Liverpool’s opening goal, which equalised Edin Dzeko’s earlier strike, as he believed there had been a foul on Dzeko by Daniel Agger and that play should have been stopped as his striker lay on the ground. Instead Liverpool continued and Daniel Sturridge scored. In the second half goals from Steven Gerrard and Sergio Agüero meant City only shared the points.” Guardian

Arsène’s austerity

“‘Spend some f****** money!’ Arsenal fans chanted as their team lost again last Sunday at Chelsea. The cry echoed around the world on Twitter. Its target, Arsenal’s manager Arsène Wenger, had heard the argument before. Wenger, now 63, arrived at Arsenal in 1996 and led the club for eight glorious seasons. He has since led them for eight inglorious ones. Arsenal have won no trophies since 2005, and now stand a miserable sixth in the Premier League. The Frenchman is becoming a figure of derision. Many fans complain that Wenger refuses to buy the expensive players who could compete with Chelsea, Manchester United, or Barcelona, even though Arsenal have £153.6m in cash, an unheard-of sum for a football club. (Management firm Deloitte estimated last year that Premier League clubs had cumulative debts of £2.4bn.) Supporters are urging him to buy before the winter ‘transfer window’ closes on Thursday. He stands accused of practising football’s version of austerity – at a club that looks a model of financial good health.” FT – Simon Kuper

Ticket Prices And The Costs Of Having An Opinion

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“Sixty-two, it would appear, may just be the magic number. It is starting to feel as if battle lines are being drawn in the ongoing debate over the extent to which ticket prices for matches have spiralled out of all control, and if last Sunday’s match between Arsenal and Manchester City was notable for anything in particular, then perhaps two stories to have followed in its aftermath have proved to be particularly instructive in terms of showing us who will be on whose side as the argument rumbles on. First up is the small matter of the deselection of the referee’s assistant who seemed to summarise the frustration that so many supporters are feeling at the moment over not only the issue of ticket prices, but also concerning the attitudes of the people that have been the chief beneficiaries of the money that has poured into the game over the last couple of decades or so: the players themselves.” twohundredpercent

Revisiting the Price of Football
“There comes a point in every football fan’s life when the “sod it, I’m not going moment” occurs. For some Manchester City fans, contributing £62 to Arsenal’s coffers was a step too far. For me, spending £25 to sit in a rickety away end at Brisbane Road on a cold December afternoon watching Exeter toil against an equally uninspiring Leyton Orient side proved beyond even my levels of tolerance and fanaticism. Despite the game being only a short ride away on the Central Line and no other plans, it was too much. I stayed at home. But this isn’t about Arsenal, or Manchester City, or even Leyton Orient (although if Barry Hearn really wants to attract locals away from West Ham, he might want to consider lowering his prices a little), no matter how much the debate has descended into partisanship. While it’s quite easy to pick examples of equally high prices at Arsenal or, say, Spurs, this obscures the real issue – that ticket prices in general are too high and, especially in an age of austerity, risk pricing out the next generation of fans.” twounfortunates

Ridiculous! Ticket prices are getting out of hand.. but it’s not just an Arsenal problem
“The best thing to happen this week has been the highlighting of ticket prices in football. Make no mistake – it’s not just an Arsenal issue even though this Sunday’s game with Manchester City has put it on the agenda. City returned 912 tickets – priced at £62 – from their allocation of 3,000 for the game at the Emirates. I must admit that I find that remarkable. That City fans are staying away from a crucial game against one of their biggest rivals in a game which has significance in the title race. Football is like a drug. Following your team is expensive but it’s also addictive. The other team not to sell out at the Emirates on a regular basis has been Wigan. Not a major shock as they have a small fan base. Newcastle didn’t either last month. They, like City, have some of the best and most passionate fans in the Premier League. But it was December 29, just after Christmas and three days after another costly trip to Manchester United. It is expensive being a football fan. Ridiculously so. It’s getting out of hand. And most bloggers, tweeters and supporters point to Arsenal as being one of the most expensive.” Mirror

Man United survives battle of midfield; more EPL thoughts

“1. Packing the midfield. Soccer formations are easy. You have to have a goalkeeper. That’s obvious. Forget three center-backs; a four-man defense works best. It’s in the balance between midfield attack that some coaches grown confused. The answer is to pick a five-man midfield to ensure possession and a two-man attack to make sure that possession is not wasted. A team playing that formation would win nearly every game. Some might object that this would be because it had 12 players on the field, but that’s the sort of stupid quibble with which small minds react to paradigm-challenging genius.” SI

Arsenal’s problems go beyond referee’s borderline decision

“There was something refreshing about Arsene Wenger’s take on the red card shown to Laurent Koscielny nine minutes into Arsenal’s 2-0 loss to Manchester City on Sunday. For once — and this is a criticism directed at virtually all managers, not Wenger in particular — he didn’t take the easy way out and blame the referee. It would have been simple — justified up to a point, even — to say that the game had effectively been decided by Mike Dean’s decision to send Koscielny off. That the defender committed a foul by hauling Edin Dzeko down is beyond doubt, but there is a question as to whether Koscielny denied him a clear goal-scoring opportunity; Dzeko, after all, did not have control of the ball and would have had to bring it down before Wojciech Szczesny came to clear.” SI – Jonathan Wilson

Will Man City take a negative approach (again) vs. Arsenal?

“Recent matches between the Premier League’s big clubs have often been goalfests, but Manchester City’s trips to Arsenal in recent seasons have been dreadfully dull. Roberto Mancini has always played remarkably defensive football, and his side haven’t registered a goal in three attempts at the Emirates. The 0-0 draw in April 2010 is a contender for the most underwhelming Premier League game of recent years: Arsenal’s title challenge had collapsed dramatically and motivation had vanished, while City made no attempt to win the game. Mancini was content to play out a goalless draw, confident his side would defeat Tottenham to secure a Champions League place — although that plan eventually backfired.” ESPN – Michael Cox

Mancini goes back to the future

“This was Roberto Mancini’s 2012 game plan against his 2010 tactics. A comprehensive win for his present against his past showed that while imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery, it did not work for Alan Pardew. Before adopting his 4-2-2-2 formation, Mancini became known during his first full season in charge for fielding three defensive midfielders even though, with Yaya Toure in a more advanced role, it was actually only two.” ESPN

Manchester City 2-3 Manchester United: possession versus counter-attack

“Manchester United stormed into a 0-2 lead, City got it back to 2-2, then United pinched the win very late on. Roberto Mancini went with Mario Balotelli upfront rather than Carlos Tevez – the rest of his side was as expected. Antonio Valencia was surprisingly declared fit, so Sir Alex Ferguson chose the same XI he selected in United’s most comparable fixture this season, the 3-2 win at Stamford Bridge in October. In one sense United were fortunate to win the match because of the manner of their late winner, in another they were unfortunate not to be 3-0 up earlier in the second half. In a match of contrasting approaches, United carried out theirs more effectively.” Zonal Marking

Manchester City 2 Manchester United 3: match report
“Samir Nasri would be advised not to show his face around Manchester City fans’ haunts for a few days after failing to show his face when it mattered most in this epic derby. Embarrassingly and expensively, Nasri hid behind the wall, opening space for Robin van Persie’s winning free-kick. Such key moments can unlock trophy cabinets. Trailing 2-0 at the break, the champions had rallied impressively. Halfway through four minutes of added time, City just had to repel a free-kick to protect their 37-game unbeaten league home record, to ensure United were only three points clear. City’s wall was initially a gang of four. Gareth Barry and Edin Dzeko, the taller players, protected Joe Hart’s near post. Then came Nasri and Carlos Tévez, who suddenly broke away from the wall, seemingly to follow Wayne Rooney. And then there were three.” Telegraph – Henry Winter

Manchester United’s fast breakaways down flanks cut City wide open
“In an age where squad rotation is widespread, it is entirely normal for a title-challenging manager to chop and change between matches, but rarely have Sir Alex Ferguson’s selection decisions caused such consternation among Manchester United fans. Too often this season, United have conceded the first goal and been forced to win the match from the bench – here, Ferguson needed to get his starting lineup right. His selection made sense – he turned to the XI he used at Chelsea in October, a decision made possible by Antonio Valencia’s surprise recovery from injury. That was a sign he wanted to replicate the display at Stamford Bridge, which was sealed by a fortunate goal, but featured some fantastic counterattacking throughout the match, with an obvious pattern. Chelsea were flooding the centre of the pitch under Roberto Di Matteo, so United broke quickly down the flanks, particularly the right.” Guardian – Michael Cox

Robin van Persie scores late winner as Manchester United beat City
“It was the kind of tempestuous finale that has come to symbolise these clashes and, out of the madness, Manchester United will cherish their six-point lead over the team that caused them so many hardships last season. But where to start? The final whistle alone felt like bedlam, with Carlos Tevez and Sir Alex Ferguson contemplating whether to prolong an old argument, Gareth Barry screaming at Roberto Mancini, Rio Ferdinand nursing a line of blood above his left eye and Phil Jones, already booked for inciting the crowd, determined to milk the moment some more.” Guardian (Video)

Man City 2 Man United 3
“There is Wayne Rooney, who became the youngest player to hit 150 Premier League goals, as he put his team two up in the first half. And there is the irrepressible Robin van Persie, whose 14th of the season won a fantastic game after City had threatened a Mission: Impossible comeback.” The Sun (Video)

Mediocre Manchesters?

“On Sunday, Manchester United will make the short trip to Etihad Stadium for the Premier League’s most eagerly anticipated fixture. A local derby, 1st versus 2nd last season and 2nd versus 1st so far in 2012/13. How could this meeting be any better? Well, it would be improved if either were a good team – in the true sense of the word ‘team’. Not simply a collection of outstanding individuals but instead an XI comprised of like-minded players with mutual understanding, featuring reliable partnerships across the pitch. For a clash between the top two, the lack of identity, cohesion, framework and strategy from City and United is incredible.” ESPN – Michael Cox

United escapes as rivals fall farther back in Premier League race

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“1. Manchester United doesn’t know whether to laugh or cry. The club has become so used to coming from behind to win this season, maybe it has grown blasé. On Saturday, United came from behind not once but twice, in the first 34 minutes, as it won 4-3 at Reading. All seven goals came in a first half in which it looked as neither team knew how to defend. There could have been an eighth, but the officials did not spot that a shot from Robin van Persie had crossed the line. Now that United has been cheated, expect the chorus for goal-line technology to swell. …” SI

Chelsea, Chelsea, Chelsea, plus more Premier League thoughts

“1. It’s all about Chelsea. This was a lively weekend in the Premier League. Manchester United came from behind to win again, beating Queens Park Rangers, 3-1, to regain first place. In another entertaining game, West Brom won 4-2 at Sunderland to climb to the oxygen-deprived heights of third. Arsenal followed emphatic victories over Tottenham and Montpellier with an utterly insipid performance at Aston Villa. The Gunners managed just one shot on target in a 0-0 draw. On Sunday, Clint Dempsey finally began to look comfortable with his new teammates, helping to set up two goals as Spurs rediscovered their mojo with a 3-1 home victory over a woeful West Ham. But none of these matches can alter the fact that this week has been all about one club: Chelsea.” SI

Manchester City 1-1 Real Madrid: City out

“Roberto Mancini started with a back three, then moved to a back four, but Manchester City couldn’t find a second goal. Mancini decided to start with a similar XI to the second half shape against Tottenham, when they looked good with a back three. Nine of the 11 players were the same, with the exception of Matija Nastasic coming in for the injured Gael Clichy, and Samir Nasri (ill for the Spurs game) starting in the centre alongside Yaya Toure, an extremely attack-minded midfield.” Zonal Marking

Hat Tricks for Sale: Ranking Europe’s Top Strikers

“January is nearly upon us! Or at least it feels that way if you spend any time reading the words of the soothsayers who try to predict what will happen when European football’s transfer window reopens on January 1, 2013. Speculation is particularly rife in England, and it mainly centers on two clubs: Chelsea and Liverpool. Both teams find themselves low on firepower, and as a result, they’ve been linked with every available forward in European club football. Two players in particular have been singled out as possible signings in the new year: Athletico Madrid’s Radamel Falcao, and Schalke’s Klaas-Jan Huntelaar.” Grantland

Arsenal continue to stumble and the dissenting voices grow louder

“Things manifestly have been going wrong at Arsenal and arguably not only on the field. Apart from a number of deadly dull displays, the home defeats by Schalke and Chelsea, the slack surrender at Old Trafford, there seem to be structural failings if one can call them so. Certainly the natives, or rather the fans, are restless and you can understand why.” World Soccer

The end of the holding midfielder?

Jan Brueghel, the younger – Venus in the forge of Vulcan
“When Manchester City beat Manchester United in what was effectively a title decider at the end of April last season, the area in which they were dominant was clear. United fielded a midfield three of Paul Scholes, Michael Carrick and Park Ji-sung. Against City’s 4-2-3-1 that should have given them an additional man in the centre. Even though City had the trident of David Silva, Carlos Tevez and Samir Nasri dropping back, United had Ryan Giggs and Nani doing much the same – but as it turned out United were physically overwhelmed.” World Soccer – Jonathan Wilson

Somehow, Ferguson and Man United usually find a way to win

“1. Same old, same old for the Reds. Manchester United’s breathless 3-2 victory at Chelsea on Sunday proved that as long as Alex Ferguson is the manager at Old Trafford, some things don’t change. It’s not that Ferguson has a particular flair for winning the big games, though he does win his share. Before Sunday, United had not won away in the league against its No. 1 rival in a decade. It’s not that United always plays good soccer. It has played awfully at times over the last couple of seasons. A Ferguson team is always competitive. When it has an edge, United usually punishes opponents. When things aren’t going well, Ferguson teams cling and let their opponents make a mistake. That’s what happened on Sunday.” SI

Toure de force, Arsenal back five

“Roberto Mancini is a man of many formations, sometimes within the space of the same game and many of them revolving around Yaya Toure. But as Manchester City kept a belated first clean sheet of the season, their manager went back to basics. As is often the case in his tactics, Toure was crucial. In both personnel and shape, City provided reminders of the 2010-11 season when Mancini was often accused of being overly defensive. This was the 4-2-3-1 approach they adopted then, but less frequently last year because of Mancini’s preference for two out-and-out forwards in attack.” ESPN

Manchester City 3:0 Sunderland
“Sunderland’s trip to the Etihad Stadium on Saturday afternoon was not very rewarding. Aleksandar Kolarov contributed a goal and an assist as Manchester City dominated the match, earning a 3-0 victory over the visiting Black Cats. The hosts made a host of changes to their lineup from their midweek draw to Borussia Dortmund. The team assumed a 4-2-3-1 shape, but with two forwards in the team. Carlos Tevez played at the front, but Mario Balotelli came in to play as an attacker cutting in from the left. Gareth Barry came back into the side playing in his familiar role as a ball winner in front of the defense.” EPL Talk

Lambert’s way to make diamond sparkle

“Diamonds are not forever, but they occur frequently in Paul Lambert’s management. The Scot is one of the most tactically flexible coaches around and played 4-2-3-1 in the Capital One Cup win at Manchester City, but he often reverts to the system he used for most of Norwich’s promotion season and at times last year: 4-4-2 with a midfield diamond.” ESPN

Everton reverses trend with superb start to Premier League season

“Everton goes into this weekend in third place in the Premier League (ahead of West Bromwich Albion on goal difference!) and playing some of the nicest soccer around. Does David Moyes not know it is still only September? It’s been five years since his side had 10 points from the opening five games, with Everton renowned for split seasons that start badly and end well since at least 2005-06, when the Toffees lost the first three European fixtures and the domestic ties that followed them. It took an injury-time winner from Tim Cahill against Sunderland (and against the run of play) on New Year’s Eve to turn a tide that threatened to carry the club to the second tier.” SI

Liverpool 1-2 Manchester United: United come from behind to win

“Liverpool started stronger, but Manchester United gained control of the game after Jonjo Shelvey’s dismissal. Brendan Rodgers used Shelvey as the highest player in his midfield triangle, and Glen Johnson continued at left-back. Sir Alex Ferguson rested Nemanja Vidic, and played Ryan Giggs, rather than Paul Scholes or Tom Cleverley, in the centre of midfield. Liverpool dominated the first half, United the second – Shelvey’s dismissal was a huge turning point in terms of the tactical battle.” Zonal Marking

Manchester City 1-1 Arsenal: two goals from corners
“There was plenty of attacking talent on show, but centre-backs Joleon Lescott and Laurent Koscielny got the goals. Roberto Mancini chose Scott Sinclair on the left in the absence of Samir Nasri, with Sergio Aguero returning upfront to partner Edin Dzeko. Arsene Wenger was without Thomas Vermaelen so Laurent Koscielny came in at the back. Aaron Ramsey started on the right, with Gervinho as the primary forward. Arsenal can be more pleased with their performance – they dominated possession and got into dangerous positions in the final third – but they trailed for 42 minutes, and had to scrap to win a point.” Zonal Marking

Schalke 0-2 Bayern: Kroos controls the game
“Bayern dominated possession throughout the match, and eventually found a route to goal. Huub Stevens made just one change from the side that defeated Olympiakos in midweek, bringing in Julian Draxler in place of Tranquilo Barnetta. Jupp Heynckes’ Bayern side had played a day later than Schalke (beating Valencia 2-1) so he freshened up the side with three changes – Mario Mandzukic was back in for Claudio Pizarro, while Thomas Muller and Luis Gustavo replaced Franck Ribery and Javi Martinez. Bayern always seemed on top, but the game was lacking in excitement and tempo, so there were few goalscoring chances until the away side took command early in the second half.” Zonal Marking

Messi saves Barça; reigning champ Chelsea off to stuttering start

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“Another astonishing night of Champions League action rounded off Matchday One in dramatic style. Lionel Messi lit up the night as only the world’s best player can, while elsewhere there were jitters for holders Chelsea, penalty drama at Old Trafford, shocks in France and Portugal and more new stars bursting onto the scene.” SI

Football Weekly Extra: Close but no cigars for Chelsea and City in the Champions League
“In today’s Football Weekly Extraaaaaah, AC Jimbo has Rob Smyth, Paul MacInnes and Jonathan Wilson in the pod to marvel at some truly liquid football. Ronaldo’s last-gasp winner against City – woof! Oscar’s screamer against Juventus – double woof! PSG’s Zlatan Ibrahimovic becoming the first player to score for six teams in the competition – legend woof!” Guardian – Jonathan Wilson – James Richardson

Real Madrid 3-2 Manchester City: second half switches leave City exposed down their right

“An excellent match, defined by a chaotic final 15 minutes. Jose Mourinho surprisingly named Michael Essien, rather than Mesut Ozil or Luka Modric, in the centre of his midfield. Sergio Ramos was dropped, with Raphael Varane starting at centre-back instead. Roberto Mancini also made a surprise selection decision, with Matija Nastasic starting over Joleon Lescott at the back. Yaya Toure played at the head of City’s midfield triangle. Real dominated the majority of the game but twice fell behind, while City scored two goals against the run of play, before losing the game after some shambolic defending late on.” Zonal Marking

Premier League Saturday, Gameweek 4 Match Highlights [VIDEO]

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“Sometimes you just want to see the highlights all over again. For others, you may have had a busy day and didn’t get a chance to watch the Premier League matches. Whichever boat you’re in, here are the match highlights from all eight Premier League matches on Saturday, September 15.” EPL Talk (Video)

UEFA’s FFP Regulations – Play To Win

“So the transfer window is finally over after the customary twists and turns and, as always, has raised some intriguing questions. Perhaps most perplexing is the decision of previously big spending Manchester City to slam on the brakes (by their own recent standards) much to the disappointment of manager Roberto Mancini. On the fairly safe assumption that this is not due to Sheikh Mansour struggling for cash, the culprit is likely to be UEFA’s Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations, a particularly delicate issue for the blue side of Manchester.” Swiss Ramble

Brian Glanville reflects on a weekend of Premier League action

“Arsenal suddenly firing goals not blanks. Chelsea utterly humiliated in Monaco, ridiculed by a splendid Colombian striker named Falcao – after the once-famed Brazilian midfielder – who now seems eager to join them. Spurs failing yet again to win a Premiership match despite the expensive late arrival from Fulham of the talented Moussa Dembele and the usually prolific Clint Dempsey. Villas-Boas was booed by Tottenham fans after the uneasy draw with a Norwich team, which on its previous visit to London had been thrashed 5-0 at Fulham. Watching Fulham crash at West Ham, one wondered how they had ever got all those goals.” World Soccer

Football has gone back to the back three, but why can be a mystery

James Milner
“Everything tactical in football is relative. There are few absolutes; everything has meaning and relevance only in relation to everything else. The question ‘What’s the best formation?’ is nonsensical because it depends on so many subsidiary questions: who are my players? How fit are they? How confident are they? How motivated are they? What are they used to doing? What result do we need from this game? Are we home or away? What is the weather like? What is the pitch like? Who are the opposition? How do they play? What shape do they play? How are their form and fitness? Even if a manager can accurately assess all of that, it may still be that after 10 minutes it becomes apparent that he needs to tweak something because of a player, whether on his side or the opponent’s, suddenly having a great game or an appalling game.” Guardian – Jonathan Wilson

Roberto Mancini may be frustrated over Manchester City’s transfer policy but the buzzword is sustainability

“In the background will be the clinking sounds of yachts, Champagne flutes and roulette wheels, making Monaco a slightly surreal setting for a discussion on tightening belts and balancing books. Marwood, though, does not need any advice from Platini’s Financial Fair Play document or any prompting on the need for fiscal restraint. Contrary to popular perception, the buzzword ‘sustainability’ has long been heard within the corridors of power at City.” Telegraph – Henry Winter

Liverpool 2-2 Manchester City: neither entirely comfortable with new approach

“Liverpool scored from two dead ball situations, Manchester City scored after some poor defending. Brendan Rodgers gave a full league debut to Raheem Sterling on the left wing, and played Sebastian Coates rather than Jamie Carragher at the back. Lucas Leiva started in midfield despite getting injured in the warm-up, and was replaced after three minutes by Jonjo Shelvey, with Joe Allen dropping into the Lucas role.” Zonal Marking

Man City salvages tie vs. Liverpool
“Carlos Tevez pounced on a Martin Skrtel mistake to continue his Manchester City rehabilitation by snatching a draw for the champions at Liverpool. The Argentinian, now firmly back in favor, seized on a backpass to strike his side’s second equalizer and prevent City from slipping to their first Barclays Premier League defeat of the season. Liverpool was much improved after crashing 3-0 at West Brom in its opener and twice led a pulsating clash with goals from Skrtel and Luis Suarez on either side of a Yaya Toure effort.” ESPN

Premier League preview: Breaking down every club’s outlook by tier

“The new Premier League season is about to begin, which means it’s time to dig out the Magic 8 ball, give it a shake and ask: How will things go this year? In recent seasons, teams have been separated into four groupings: top four, the chasing few, the bottom five and the rest. That doesn’t seem like such a good breakdown in 2012, as only a few clubs stand a probable chance at winning the title. A far greater number approach the season with at least a tang of apprehension as the rest of the table is concerned.” SI

England: preview of the 2012-13 season

“The England national side may have battled bravely through the Euro 2012 group stage this summer before their limitations were exposed, but there can be no doubting the strength of the English game at club level.” World Soccer

Things to watch differently in the Premier League this season #1 – Corners

“Manchester United took more corners than any other team bar Liverpool in the EPL last season. They also scored 20% of their goals from headers. On top of this only Blackburn and Manchester City scored more goals from set-pieces than United. For these reasons Differentgame thought they’d be the best team to have a look at to set some things straight about the corner kick. Actually, mainly just one thing: ‘How can a professional footballer not even beat the first man from a corner?'” Different Game

Though Your Dreams Be Tossed and Blown

“When I look ahead to the 2012-13 Premier League season — which starts Saturday, if you can believe that — when I gaze into the swirling void of the future, and try to answer urgent questions like ‘How many points will Manchester City win by’ and ‘Reading: ??’ — when I think about the Premier League at all in terms other than Robin van Persie, nightclub groping incidents, and money, I see a darkness, and the name of the darkness is Liverpool.” Grantland

New starts for the Premier League’s fresh-faced managers

“Paul Lambert, Aston Villa. A large part of Lambert’s success at Norwich was his ability to switch seamlessly between systems – between and within matches – using a 5-3-2, a 4-4-1-1, a midfield diamond and a 4-4-2 at various points last season. Three of his summer recruits, Brett Holman, Karim El Ahmadi and Matthew Lowton, are versatile, indicating that Lambert intends to continue this approach at Villa Park. But these reactive tactics do not necessarily result in defensive football – last season, only the top six scored more goals than Lambert’s side, only the bottom three conceded more. Having seen Alex McLeish’s side score only 20 goals in 19 home games last season, Villa fans will enjoy the entertainment. …” Guardian

Premier League storylines to watch

“They called it The Greatest Season Ever, and in terms of drama, the 2011-12 Premier League campaign will be hard to beat. A little more than three months, another Spanish tournament victory and a successful Olympic Games later, and the Premier League is back and likely to dominate the British sporting agenda — like it or not — for the next nine months. Here are 10 storylines to monitor in the run-up to kickoff.” SI

How can Manchester City strengthen their title-winning side?

“With more possession, more passes completed, fewer shots conceded, and more shots per game than any other team in the Premier League, you may think Manchester City don’t need to change a thing as they look to defend their Premier League crown. But City will want to improve on last season’s disastrous Champions League campaign, as well as firmly cement themselves as the best team in England.” FourFourTwo

Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini determined to strengthen champions’ squad before start of season

“The City manager, who struck a conciliatory note towards the club’s hierarchy by insisting they should no longer pay excessive fees for transfer targets, has yet to add to the squad who delivered the Premier League title to the Etihad Stadium last season. And while the Italian admits the priority this season is to retain the title and progress merely to the knockout stages of the Champions League, he insists that his recent calls for reinforcements have been rooted in his determination to elevate City from European also-rans to contenders for the club football’s premier competition.” Telegraph

In The Premier League, The Sun Always Shines On TV

“When Sergio Aguero crashed home the injury time winner to secure Manchester City’s Premier League title, he almost certainly gave little thought to the financial ramifications of his well taken goal, but it could be argued that this sublime moment provided the impetus for last week’s record television deal, which has climbed around 70% to £3 billion over the next three-year cycle. As the Premier League’s chief executive, Richard Scudamore, said, ‘We couldn’t have gone to market at a better time.'” Swiss Ramble

The myth of football management

“Once a turnip, now reincarnated as a goldfish. Suppose they’re roughly the same colour. At the back end of 2010 few people would have predicted that come the end of the following season Roy Hodgson would be announcing his first England squad on the day his successor at Anfield, Kenny Dalglish, was being handed his P45 by the Fenway Sports Group.” World Soccer

‘Daddy’s Crying’

“For nearly three years, I’ve been giving myself the same speech. Since my one and only heartbreaking trip to Old Trafford in the fall of 2009, it’s been the go-to pep talk for the voices inside my head. Having supported Manchester City since the age of 11, finally daring to step inside Manchester United’s famous ground as a 40-year-old and then being forced to witness City lose a soul-crushing classic to a Michael Owen goal that made it 4-3 nearly two minutes after the final whistle should have been blown, this became my mantra: Nothing can ever hurt me again.” Grantland

The best eleven

Joe Hart, Manchester City
“To change an old football cliché slightly, this was a season of two halves. The likes of Demba Ba and Jose Enrique were superb before Christmas but then faded badly, while Papiss Cisse and Paul Scholes had a superb impact but played only in the second half of the campaign. Then there are players like Lucas Leiva and Alejandro Faurlin, who excelled early on but saw their seasons end prematurely due to injury. This season, more than any other, highlighted the importance of consistency. With that being a crucial consideration, here is a Premier League team of the season, complete with two backups at each position.” ESPN

This Week in Mario Balotelli: The Spirit of a Champion

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“Manchester City’s improbable Premier League title is a story of redemption. A few weeks ago City looked to have blown their chance at the trophy, blowing a sizable lead with a string of middling performances and dropped points. For the squad to end up with ultimate glory, they had to display a great deal of resolve and character. During much of that stretch, they played without enigmatic striker Mario Balotelli. Depending on who you ask, that was a positive rather than a negative. When we last left our hero, he had earned a red card (and really should have been sent off after about 20 minutes) in a 1-0 loss at Arsenal. His manager claimed he’d never play for the club again and essentially deemed him unmanageable. Pundits all over the globe said he wasn’t the kind of player who wins clubs titles.” The Classical (YouTube)

Visions Of Capitalism: Twenty-First Century Football, The Premier League & Manchester

“By tomorrow evening, half of Manchester – a phrase that in itself provokes so much debate that it is worth pointing out that it is being used for the purposes of simplicity alone – will be celebrating a Premier League championship victory. Either Manchester City or Manchester United will be crowned as the champions of England. That such a set of circumstances should have come about on the final day of the season is a situation that has likely caused Peter Scudamore to make some faintly obscene gurgling noises over the last couple of weeks or so, but it has also sparked a debate over the nature of Manchester City’s sudden, testosterone-fuelled rise to the summit of the game, a rise fuelled by the money of the Abu Dhabi United group.” twohundredpercent

The Reducer, Week 36: You Take the Champagne

“This coming Sunday we will all be overwhelmed by an overwhelming amount of Premier League football. I’m seriously overwhelmed just thinking about it all. All the Premier League teams will take part in matches, all kicking off at the same time so that no competitive advantage can be had by any one club. We’ll get to Manic Sunday in a bit, but for now, let’s take a different kind of look at this past weekend’s proceedings: three snapshots of three goals in three games that hugely impacted the Premier League’s second-to-last weekend.” Grantland (YouTube)
The Reducer, Week 35: Manchester Civil War (YouTube)

Premier League 2011-12 review of the season

“Marcus Christenson: Is it more difficult to take Newcastle to the brink of the Champions League or Manchester City to the brink of the title?” Guardian

Manchester City and the Llorente Dzeko Parallel

“Football suffers from anterograde amnesia. There tends to be an overriding trend amongst lovers of the Beautiful Game to live in the moment, focusing on the last match to evaluate the progress of an individual or a team. Harry Redknapp has been labelled as the nation’s saviour one minute before being described as an intransigent squad rotator who may have destroyed Spurs’ hopes of Champions League qualification the next. It is funny how a consecutive victories or defeats can shift public opinion so quickly. Athletic Bilbao have attracted unanimous praise for the way they have stylishly steered their way into the Europa League final against Atlético Madrid in Bucharest.” In Bed With Maradona

Manchester City 1-0 Manchester United: City work the ball down right, United fail to test Hart

“Vincent Kompany’s header won the game – and City returned to the top of the league. As expected, Roberto Mancini named an unchanged XI. That meant Pablo Zabaleta continuing at right-back, and Samir Nasri starting wide in midfield. Sir Alex Ferguson switched formation to a 4-5-1 with Wayne Rooney upfront alone. Ryan Giggs and Park Ji-Sung were given starts in in midfield, while Nani was used rather than Antonio Valencia on the right. Jonny Evans was ill and Rafael was dropped, so Chris Smalling and Phil Jones were at the back.” Zonal Marking

The Reducer, Week 34: My Mind Is Playing Tricks on Me

“I will not invent light sabers. I will not be able to pull off the Ryan Gosling satin jacket from Drive if I decide to start rocking it. I will not grow old with the grace and dignity of John Slattery. I will not retire to an island off the coast of Dubai where I entertain myself in my latter days by watching robot greyhound races. Secretly, I fully expect all these things to happen. Hell, if it works for Roberto Mancini, why can’t it work for me?” Grantland