Afternoon gents. Thought I was gonna have a break this weekend but I was asked by Swansea fanzine SOS to answer a few questions: (I'll get muting helmet)
Rob McKay from
http://www.mancityfans.net/mcfnet gives us the lowdown on the outgoing Premier League champions ahead of Saturday’s clash at the Liberty.
You’ve failed to hit the heights of last season’s title success this term, why do you think that is?
Simply put we’ve been average to awful for most of the season and we’ve never got going. I’d struggle to count the number of times we’ve played to our best this season. Some will blame injuries, others will blame Mancini and he himself puts it down to the lack of investment in the summer. Truth is probably somewhere between all of the above as we’ve missed Micah Richards more than most will admit, Nigel De Jong has no equal replacement and it was criminal he was allowed to leave (for just £3.5m), Adam Johnson wasn’t replaced adequately and the lack of a single reinforcement in January was effectively the surrender of the title. In addition United have been unstoppable all season.
Do you think Roberto Mancini’s position could be under threat as a result of this and are the fans still behind him?
Yes and Yes. The man is baffling as sometimes he makes terrifically astute judgments, his use of Pizarro last season was flawless, mind games in the last 8 games, but sometimes it’s ludicrous, leaving Milner out of the team for Garcia or Nasri, bringing on centre backs up front, criticising his own players in public and playing Kolarov…ever. I see the end coming in the form of a good-for-everyone move to Monaco in the summer.
The backing of the supporters whoever is almost universal, there will be no mistaking what the man has done for us. We’ve played in two league cup semis, two FA Cup finals, and have a 3rd, 2nd (hopefully) and 1st place finish under him. However the owners are right to feel has underachieved given his European record (someone should have checked this before his appointment) but the general feeling this season is that Brian Marwood seriously undermined him last summer.
Who have been your star performers and who has flattered to deceive?
James Milner would be hands down the player of the season if it wasn’t for Pablo Zabaleta. Milner has been phenomenal this season and it’s unreal to think that he’s been dropped for the likes of Nasri, Rodwell and Garcia at times. He can also play anywhere and often plays everywhere. Zabaleta is a man who has literally bled for the cause and has been the clubs leader in the all-too-often absence of Vincent Kompany this year.
Nasri, Kolarov and Garcia all get special mentions from supporters. However in terms of money earned to contribution to our club Maicon has set Bosingwa-esque standards between injuries, lack of effort and even arguing with his own supporters when taking a throw in.
Scott Sinclair is well known to Swansea fans, given his lack of action do you think he will depart in the summer?
It’s hard to say, if Mancini remains I would say it is likely however given that his wages were quadrupled from £10k to £40k a week the calibre of clubs who are likely to be interested in him would probably have to break their wage structure to bring him in. In short QPR’s relegation has probably torpedoed him.
What do you make of Swansea and who if any players are you fearful of?
Swansea are fantastic club with a terrific ethos and significantly more likeable with Michael Laudrup now Rodgers has shown his true colours at Liverpool. I am biased as my mother was from Neath and I’ve had Dyer, Michu and Routledge in my fantasy team since the opening day of the season. Most supporters would say they are fearful of Michu but for me it will the wing play of Wayne Routledge, Nathan Dyer, Jonathan De Guzman and/or Pablo Hernandez. Width and pace are our weakness and Clichy is worse than awful at blocking crosses and against quick wing play Zabaleta can sell himself pulling Kompany out of position leaving us exposed.
Give us a score prediction
First goal will be key and if it’s us we’ll more than likely go on to win. If it’s you I’m not sure the players will dig deep and find a big performance but they do have FA Cup final positions to play for. I think 2-0 City…I hope
