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Do we have any target-man amongst our strikers? After Ade we've been kind of short on them, although Carlos was actually really good at it but... also a bit short. Aguero's first touch seems to let him down when he's the target man and Dzeko's abominable as a target-player, especially if he's having a bad day. I have no idea about Negredo and Jovetic though, are they good at sucking up the ball if we need to lump it in order to move the game up the field?

david james?

Jovetic has a great first touch so if we mistakenly stick him up front, he can control a long ball on the deck or on the chest as well as anyone but not especially strong in the air. V England, Lescott had him for breakfast 1st half, then he moved into advanced midfield & took the piss out of Carrick.

Negredo though is very strong & would be a huge improvement on Stoke or Everton's strikers in that aspect so I guess you could call him a target man. In fact he is more of a target & better at holding/passing it on than Dzeko, so much so that I could imagine the two being able to play together, even though most think this unlikely.

I think one of Negredo's strengths is his ability to create a chance when he is isolated up front, so I'd say him. Dzeko does a reasonable job of knocking it down, as long as we don't give him the choice of playing it on the deck.

Not sure what thread to put this in but interesting piece from pellegrini...

Edin Dzeko will be Manchester City's first-choice striker this season, manager Manuel Pellegrini has revealed.

Despite an array of competition that includes Argentine Sergio Aguero and new signings Stevan Jovetic and Alvaro Negredo, the new boss has pinpointed the former Wolfsburg striker as his main attacking outlet.

"We could've signed other players but I consider [Dzeko] the main striker of the team and I'm sure his performance along the season will be really good," Pellegrini told reporters.

"I very much trust him and I can say that every other player that have come are a support for a squad that needs to have more than one player in every position."

Dzeko has started just 16 matches in both of his full Premier League seasons at City, but those numbers are likely to change given Pellegrini's faith in the 27-year-old.

Pellegrini is in Germany preparing for the Audi Cup pre-season tournament, which is hosted by Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena, and also involves AC Milan and Sao Paulo.

Missing from City's squad is defender Matija Nastasic, while Aguero is also sidelined due to "problems in his knee."

Nastasic fell awkwardly in City's 1-0 Asia Trophy final win over Sunderland on Saturday and the club are anxiously awaiting further developments on the severity of his problem.

"We'll know [on Tuesday] how bad Nastasic's injury is [and] whether he needs surgery," he said.

The former Malaga boss also expressed his joy at coming up against Pep Guardiola again, which could happen at the weekend and he has tipped the Bavarian giants to enjoy plenty of success under their new manager.

"It's a pleasure to be again playing for an important tournament especially with Pep managing Bayern Munich," he said.

"I'm sure he will complete a terrific season this year. I was lucky enough to share four years with him in the same competition, now it's different but we both still want to play good football.

"Bayern are a very important team in Europe, dominating in the last years. They reach always the final stages of Champions League and are at the top of the table in the Bundesliga and now with Pep I think they will be even more dangerous."


Thoughts?

Luke11993 wrote:

Thoughts?

he's a comedy genius.

I guess that means Aguero will be playing off the striker alongside Silva and Milner/Navas.

Brilliant psychology from Pellegrini. Build Dzeko up and fill him with the confidence he appears to have lost. Excellent man management from the Manager this, Dzeko should be bursting to impress. Could end very well.