Next: QPR Away

[AG7]

With Kompany now out for this one, how do you see us lining up?

Clichy was rested and so was Aguero (not rushed back into starting XI) so both are likely to start.

Zaba will captain, no doubt ... so the back line pretty much picks itself.

Hart
Zaba, Lescott, Nasti, Clichy

Only question is will Mancini bring Nasri back in? If yes then which or Milner or Garcia sit out? I'd rather kept Nasri out ...

Finally upfront who'll play alongside Aguero? Tevez or Dzeko? Tevez plays better with Aguero but then given he played on the weekend and with Liverpool coming next weekend, Mancini might shuffle them up front. Even Balo may get a call up here if his virus or whatever it is that has been keeping him out is fixed ...

QPR got beat by MK Dons 4-2 in FA Cup yesterday ... but expect the same team to play against us. I see 8-10 changes in that team and the one Arry puts out will be up for it. Last year at Loftus Road it wasn't easy ... and we win this, we can close the gap to just 2 points for a day and put pressure on the scum.

PS. I hope Kompany recovers by the time Liverpool comes next Sunday.

[Mark Garrett]

I would select Nasri on the bench and would bring Sergio into the side for Dzeko.

------------------------Hart

Zabaleta---------Lescott---Nastasic----Clichy

-------------------Garcia----Barry

Milner----------------Tevez---------------Silva

-----------------------Aguero

[lewisb51]

I could see us going three at the back for this one. Especially how Mancini took ages to make the sub against stoke when nasty was the obvious change. He seems to avoid two left footed centre backs at all costs.

[Bluedj]

I could see us going three at the back for this one. Especially how Mancini took ages to make the sub against stoke when nasty was the obvious change. He seems to avoid two left footed centre backs at all costs.

Interesting point but I'd go with Marks line up, Its the strongest hard working team and it's settled at the moment;

Unread postby Mark Garrett » Sun Jan 27, 2013 6:03 am
I would select Nasri on the bench and would bring Sergio into the side for Dzeko.

------------------------Hart

Zabaleta---------Lescott---Nastasic----Clichy

-------------------Garcia----Barry

Milner----------------Tevez---------------Silva

-----------------------Aguero

[ayrshireblue]

I could see us going three at the back for this one. Especially how Mancini took ages to make the sub against stoke when nasty was the obvious change. He seems to avoid two left footed centre backs at all costs.

Nastasic wasn't on the bench so the obvious change was impossible.

[AG7]

I could see us going three at the back for this one. Especially how Mancini took ages to make the sub against stoke when nasty was the obvious change. He seems to avoid two left footed centre backs at all costs.

It took ages and they went to 3 at the back because no other CB was on the bench. Nasti couldn't be substituted if he's not on the bench. He took a knock in training and wasn't in the squad and Kolo is in Africa, that's why we had to change to 3 at the back. Later he subbed again and put Garcia as a CB and went back to four at the back ... I don't see a 3-5-2 coming back, I think Mancini has learnt his lesson.

[Mark Garrett]

I could see us going three at the back for this one. Especially how Mancini took ages to make the sub against stoke when nasty was the obvious change. He seems to avoid two left footed centre backs at all costs.

It took ages and they went to 3 at the back because no other CB was on the bench. Nasti couldn't be substituted if he's not on the bench. He took a knock in training and wasn't in the squad and Kolo is in Africa, that's why we had to change to 3 at the back. Later he subbed again and put Garcia as a CB and went back to four at the back ... I don't see a 3-5-2 coming back, I think Mancini has learnt his lesson.

Don't think that is the case at all. We play 4-2-3-1 at our best but there have been times when the 3-5-2 or 3-4-1-2 formation has been effective during the match see home to Spurs, away to Wigan etc

[Slim]

I could see us going three at the back for this one. Especially how Mancini took ages to make the sub against stoke when nasty was the obvious change. He seems to avoid two left footed centre backs at all costs.

It took ages and they went to 3 at the back because no other CB was on the bench. Nasti couldn't be substituted if he's not on the bench. He took a knock in training and wasn't in the squad and Kolo is in Africa, that's why we had to change to 3 at the back. Later he subbed again and put Garcia as a CB and went back to four at the back ... I don't see a 3-5-2 coming back, I think Mancini has learnt his lesson.

Don't think that is the case at all. We play 4-2-3-1 at our best but there have been times when the 3-5-2 or 3-4-1-2 formation has been effective during the match see home to Spurs, away to Wigan etc

3-5-2 has only worked when we were completely in control of the midfield, ironically Yaya is a necessity for that(other thread).

[patrickblue]

Don't agree with Sergio for Dzeko at all. If anything Sergio for Tevez.

[bobby brows]

Love these threads AG7, get me well up for the next game. Here are the injuries according to physioroom.com

Manchester City 6 M Balotelli Illness no return date
M Nastasić Knock no return date
V Kompany Calf/Shin Injury no return date
S Nasri Illness 29th Jan 13
Maicon Knee Injury no return date
M Richards Cartilage Knee Injury no return date

Queens Park Rangers 4 L Remy Hamstring Injury no return date
D Hoilett Hamstring Injury no return date
J Bosingwa Back Injury no return date
A Johnson ACL Knee Injury 19th Mar 13

If Nasti & Vincent are both injured does that leave us with just Boyata and Lescott? maybe time to dip into the transfer window?

[bobby brows]

The twat in charge on Tuesday night is Phil Dowd!!!

[bobby brows]

Yesterday's team:

Robert Green,Fabio,Armand Traore, Anton Ferdinand, Tal Ben Haim, Alejandro Faurlin, Esteban Granero, Park Ji-Sung (Bobby Zamora, 67), Jamie Mackie, DJ Campbell, Jay Bothroyd

v West Ham:
Julio César, Clint Hill, Fabio, Ryan Nelsen, Nedum Onuoha, Shaun Derry, Shaun Wright-Phillips (Armand Traore, 59), Stéphane Mbia, Jamie Mackie (Jay Bothroyd, 67), Adel Taarabt (Park Ji-Sung, 82), Loïc Remy

[carl_feedthegoat]

THE CUNTS AT IT AGAIN....MORE PROOF HES A FERGIESCUM LICKING CUNT.



I couldn’t manage at City... too many egos

WHEN I see some of the headlines coming out of Manchester City, I wonder how Roberto Mancini puts up with it all.
The fella has done everything that could have been asked of him and more during his three years in charge at the Etihad.
Yet it still doesn’t seem to be enough for some City fans who would have thought you were mad if you’d told them 10 years ago that their team would be Premier League champions.
We play City on Tuesday but hardly a week goes by without some story emerging how this or that manager is being lined up to take over from Mancini in the summer.
But the way I see it, he deserves a medal for the way he has coped with some of the egos he’s got in that dressing room. I don’t think I’d have the patience to put up with them.
If all that nonsense with Carlos Tevez wasn’t bad enough last season, he’s now got Mario Balotelli sitting on the bench most weeks with a face like thunder.
There’s nothing that winds me up more than having footballers moping about the place looking like they’re not enjoying themselves.
Whenever I’ve had a player acting like that I’ve always looked to get them out of the club as quickly as possible.
But that’s easier said than done with Balotelli because City paid £22million to sign him from Inter Milan and he’s probably on a massive contract that he’s not just going to tear up.
I’m sure some clubs in Italy would take him back on the cheap but Mancini still seems to believe in him and I think he understands his mentality better than most. There’s no doubt Balotelli is talented, but he has a very long way to go before he can be considered world class.
I once tried to sign him for Spurs before he went to City.
I spoke with his brother and had a meeting with his agent after he’d had a fall-out with Jose Mourinho at Inter Milan.
But we wanted him on loan and Inter weren’t interested.
And that’s when I thought: ‘If Jose can’t handle him, what chance have I got?’
Maybe it was a lucky escape because I don’t think I’d have been able to handle the way he has behaved in England.
Managing players today is so much more difficult than it was 25 years ago.
In those days they were just working-class kids happy to make a decent living playing football and getting a pay rise if they did well.
Now they are all multi- millionaires with agents demanding contract negotiations and image rights deals every week. Because they are so rich, it is much more difficult to keep them in line.
To be fair, most players are as good as gold. It’s just a few who get carried away by it all who make the news.
But when you sign as many world-class superstars as City have done, you have to put up with the egos. And Mancini deserves a lot of credit for the way he has done that.
They are a great squad and it looks like the race will go down to the wire again with Manchester United.
Mind you, we will be doing our best to improve United’s title challenge by taking points off City on Tuesday.
Since our poor defeat by Liverpool, we’ve beaten Chelsea and drawn with Spurs and West Ham.
If we can keep taking five points from every three games to the end of the season, that will take us to 40 points and give us a fighting chance of staying up.

[patrickblue]

You're a better man than me Carl, I just saw the headline on newsnow and thought, fuck you, you dodgy twat, I won't even dignify the article by clicking the link. Seeing he's got a load of overpaid primadonnas who can't be arsed to try for him, he's got some neck spouting that shit. And of course he tried to sign Balo, along with every other player any journo mentions to him. Twitchy, dodgy twat of the highest order.

Talking of newsnow, another snub
Keeper snubs City for United

Dicks

[AG7]

City old boy Shaun Wright-Phillips, Adel Taarabt, and new signing Loic Remy are injury doubts for QPR ahead of Tuesday's game against us.

And for us Kompany could be out for 3 weeks, meaning he'd miss QPR, Liverpool, Southampton and Leeds ... City could/should move for a loan signing?

Oh, and the rumours getting stronger by the hour about Balo to AC Milan ...

[phips]

If Nasti is still out then it'll be three at the back for sure:

Hart
Zaba Lescott Clichy
Milner Garcia Barry Kolarov
Silva Tevez
Aguero

But if Nasti plays I think we should go with:

Hart
Zaba Lescott Nasti Clichy
Milner Barry
Silva Tevez Nasri
Aguero

Maybe Maicon will be back to give Zabs a rest...

[TheReturnOfTheSpecialOne]

I could see us going three at the back for this one. Especially how Mancini took ages to make the sub against stoke when nasty was the obvious change. He seems to avoid two left footed centre backs at all costs.

The ITV commentators talking about the 3 at the back being introduced on Saturday as if it marked the End of the World, as we knew it.
Instead it served only to disorient Stoke.
I think he'll use the QPR match to give Nasri a chance to redeem himself: he had been 'playing' quite well, until his rank stupidity against Norwich, - apart from his act of craven cowardice against the Rags.
I'm close to the end of my tether with the guy, but he has the talent, and he could be important on the run-in.
Plus we've spent a helluva lot of money on the guy, for minimal return.

I think Balotelli will be brought on from the bench: somebody else who needs to repay us for his investment in him: Big-Time.

If he goes with two centre-backs, at any stage, he may deploy Garcia there: I think Lescott will start, which or whether

[john68]

Though many fans and pundits seem to think so, playing with three at the back, as with almost all strategies is not set in stone. It is a fluid strategy wholly dependent on how the game develops.

If Mancini does decide to go with it, I doubt that QPR will have the ability to push our wide men back into defensive roles. If they fail, it could prove an attacking strategy.

Whatever happens, Twitchy will announce that he tried to buy the defeat for QPR whilst he was a junior at Wet Spam.

[Nigels Tackle]

doesn't 3 at the back depend on what beguiristain wants?

[Ted Hughes]

When we went to 3 at the back, it didn't disorient Stoke, it disoriented us.

Only a leg stuck out by Lescott saved us from Stoke having & 1v1 with our keeper as, per usual, one of our cbs (Clichy I think) had drifted out of position & left the Stoke c.f. completely unmarked, onside, 15 yards from our penalty area. There were several other almost as dangerous moments which nobody has mentioned, simply because we got away with it, not because it all worked to plan. Had we been unlucky, we would be dissecting this stuff now, as Stoke discussed playing Leeds.

Little things like that don't seem important when the oppo piss up a ten yard pass, but give Apple Tart or even SWP the ball in the same circumstance & you are dicing with death.

Also, the 3 at the back coincided with the only period of the game where Stoke actually competed with us in an attacking sense. As soon as Aguero came on & we went to a 4, we dominated again.

The last time Nasty & Lescott played in a back 3, Aston Villa ran riot against them & it was by far the worst defensive display of any Mancini City game.

Why not just keep it simple ?