Just Ignore the Critics
Writers ought to stop undermining Manchester City and seriously look into the Eastlands’ club’s title challenge.
City have pretty much everything they need to be able to mount a serious challenge for the English Premier League title. They are nothing short of having the potential to become the new Chelsea.
Not long ago, Roman Abramovich bought Chelsea and pumped his wealth into the club. With the stars who joined Stamford Bridge, along with a quality manager on the bench, it only took two years to “buy” the title.
Similarly, the City owners have invested great sums of money in the squad, buying pretty much anyone who could allow them to push themselves up the league table and into the Champions League.
Surely, they fell short of reaching the Champions League last time around, but with a different manager and more quality players aboard, the situation is reminiscent of Jose Mourinho’s potent Chelsea which followed the growing team of Claudio Ranieri.
City’s wealth of talent is incredible, says the fact that the likes of David Silva, Emmanuel Adebayor and Mario Balotelli were not used as the team confidently brushed Liverpool aside on Monday.
Surely Liverpool are not exactly the team to beat right now, but I think Mancini has proved many skeptical writers wrong as his team looked cooperative.
It is true that the likes of Chelsea and Manchester United are more of a team than City because they did not need to sign almost a whole new team, like City did.
But like it or not, City have fantastic talent. And with a good coach – though not a particularly great one – on their bench, City might be ready to shock their many critics and pose a real threat on the big guns’ Premier League title challenge.
All Hail Johnson
The biggest positive in City’s mauling of Liverpool was the introduction of an English spine for Roberto Mancini’s team.
Joe Hart, Micah Richards (although he is unlikely to be a first-team regular), Gareth Barry, James Milner and Adam Johnson all looked impressive.
I am sure Fabio Capello was happy to see English players’ great contribution in City’s triumph. Johnson, in particular, was an absolute breath of sweet hope for England.
The winger frequently opened up the Liverpool defense and went up and down the pitch, dribbling and passing efficiently on the right flank in what was a performance that reminded me of Arjen Robben’s fantastic displays when he was at Chelsea.
Barcelona’s PlayStation Game
City seemed to play the easy, short-pass game, keeping possession and constantly slicing up Liverpool’s midfield.
City actually have the ability to play the Barcelona game with the wealth of talent at their disposal. Many players, such as Carlos Tevez, Mario Balotelli, Adam Johnson and others.
Surely City don’t have the magic of Xavi and Andres Iniesta, but former Barcelona star Yaya Toure, Nigel De Jong and Barry seem to have formed a formidable midfield that can push to the front efficiently and defend aggressively.
There’s no Messi in this team, but if it doesn’t work for them this season, can’t they just buy him? Until then, they have to find their own Messi.
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