Thank you to DAZBY for his sterling work from the other side of the planet….
Manchester City host Everton in the early fixture this Saturday. Everton have been a hoodoo club for City, taking full points from Manchester in the previous five encounters. Although they’ve been tight encounters, the Toffees just love playing and beating City. Form and injuries have mattered little in the past, Everton have somehow found a way to win.
John Wardle and Bill Kenwright- different clubs, similar scenarios.
Everton and City share a lot of similarities. Blue shirts, distastefully crass cross town rivals, etc, etc. Dig a little deeper and the similarities pre-City takeover is startling. John Wardle, lifelong City fan, was Chairman of Manchester City and presided over club debts of around 45 million pounds. Bill Kenwright, lifelong Everton fan last year presented accounts that show Everton’s debt is at 45 million pounds. In the early 2000’s City retained their cashflow by borrowing against future income and season ticket sales. This week Everton announced a refinancing of their debt by borrowing against future income and season ticket sales. City had one of the highest wages to turnover ratios in the league as have Everton. (In fact, when Arteta moved to Arsenal a fortnight ago he took a wage cut.) 10 years ago City prided themselves on promoting youth from a strong academy to the first team. Everton do the same. Pre-takeover, City’s rock in central defence was Sylvain Distin. Everton’s current rock in defence is Phil Jagielka, and another guy whose name escapes me.
To the game. City bounced back from a major-catastrophical-season-ending slump (two draws) midweek by defeating Birmingham 2-0 in the League Cup. Tevez and Zabaleta were the only two players anywhere near being in contention for the Everton match. However, Kolo Toure made his comeback after being banned for taking addictive-junkie-deviant-hardcore-drugs (diet pills) and may come into reckoning for selection. Everton had an extra time victory over West Brom bringing in six new faces for the fixture. The previous league result was a 3-1 win over Wigan. Wigan was well into the match until after half time when the Toffees quality shone through.
Hibbert’s the hard worker and Cahill’s the hard header/hitter
Everton play a very simple style of play. They play the ball on the ground and knock it around until they can work an opening. Their favoured play is a cross from out wide looking to exploit the aerial skills of Tim Cahill. In Leighton Baines they have a set piece specialist. In defence they are very well organised and play with a discipline Arsene Wenger can only dream of. Its players like Tony Hibbert that make Everton tick. Not a star, not flashy, but effective, disciplined and a very hard worker.
City is showing signs of becoming a true Premier League powerhouse. Roberto Mancini has dropped the defensive shackles and let the team play with a more fluid expression of attacking flair. Two factors have affected this. Firstly, Gael Clichy has slotted into the left wing slot seamlessly and is providing some much needed width and quality crosses. The second is the form of Aguero and Dzeko. The two are finding the back of the net regularly which has reduced the reliance on Carlos Tevez. It also means that attacking responsibility is shared more throughout the team resulting in a higher collective workrate.
The flipside of this is that City’s defence is coming under greater scrutiny. Without Nigel De Jong in the side the backline is looking more exposed. This was particularly evident in the matches between Fulham and Napoli. If Everton can get some quality crosses into the box Joe Hart may have a busy afternoon. City have defended more crosses than any other team so far this season (75%.) However, Tim Cahill has scored headers from his previous three visits to the Etihad. It’s sure to be a pivotal battle.
Odds. City 1.40 Draw 4.25 Everton 7.50
City is currently top of the first half league and a good start will be essential to securing victory in this match. Everton have traditionally parked the bus and there is no reason for this successful strategy to change. The longer they can frustrate City the better their chances of nabbing a win can be. Everton’s recent success at the Etihad will ensure that they approach the match believing they can get something out of the match. It’s up to City to seize the initiative and snuff out the Toffee’s hopes.