Manchester City: Manuel Pellegrini named Manager of the Month
City boss Manuel Pellegrini has received the Barclays Manager of the Month award for the third time in just 18 months.
The Chilean presided over five consecutive Premier League wins in December, as City crept up on leaders Chelsea during the hectic festive period.
The Blues' winning run was only halted by Burnley in a 2-2 draw at the Etihad Stadium in their final fixture of 2014.
Away from domestic matters, City defeated Roma 2-0 in the Stadio Olimpico to complete a spirited Champions League group stage comeback to qualify for the last 16, where they will face Barcelona.
City host Arsenal in the League on Sunday, 13 months on from their blistering 6-3 battering of Arsene Wenger's side.
Manchester City and Arsenal fans urge their clubs to pay living wage
Manchester City and Arsenal supporters have jointly written to the two clubs before Sunday’s Premier League match at the Etihad Stadium calling on them to pay all staff a living wage. The letter, signed by the Arsenal Independent Supporters Association, Man City Fans Living Wage Campaign, Canal Street Blues, the GMB and Unison unions and Islington politicians, focuses on the hundreds of the clubs’ matchday staff still on low pay.
Arsenal and City say the people they directly employ are paid at least the £7.85 an hour (£9.15 per hour in London) which is assessed by Loughborough University’s Centre for Research in Social Policy, for the campaign body Citizens UK, to be the minimum a person can decently live on and provide for a family. However, those working as stewards and in clubs’ large catering operations on matchdays are employed by contracted companies or agencies and many are understood to be on the legal minimum wage, which is £6.50 per hour for adults, £5.13 per hour for 18-20 year olds.
The letter delivered to both clubs this week states: “As Arsenal and City fans, we are proud of the fantastic work being done by both clubs in our local communities. Surely it’s not too much to ask that the [thousands of] staff who keep our stadiums safe and clean, serve us food and refreshments, sell club programmes and merchandise and carry out many other roles should earn enough to live on?
“We call on our two clubs, that play the most attractive football in the Premiership, to lead the way and name an early date to become living wage employers.”
Last month Chelsea became England’s first fully professional football club to be accredited by Citizens UK as a living wage employer, which involves ensuring that the wage is paid to employees of all contracting companies. Chelsea have committed to incorporating this in all their contracts by 2017. Hearts have been accredited in Scotland, Luton Town have committed to gaining accreditation, and the semi-professional, supporter-owned FC United of Manchester became the first British football club to be accredited, in October.
Campaigners have focused on football partly because of the vast inequality between thousands of workers on the minimum wage and top players who can be paid £15m a year, and chief executives – Arsenal’s Ivan Gazidis was paid £2.2m last year; City’s, Ferran Soriano, is not a director so his salary is not disclosed.
Arsenal’s position is that while they pay their employees more than the living wage in London, they exercise no influence over the wages paid to staff by their suppliers. City’s stance is that they pay their employees a living wage and require the same of contractors for capital works, such as the building of the new academy and stadium expansion.
City say they now ask suppliers of other services such as matchday catering to tell them if they pay the living wage, and if they do, City score them more highly when contracts are being awarded. City also stressed the emphasis in the club’s major projects on employing local people and suppliers and buying locally sourced materials.
No Premier League or Football League club besides Chelsea has yet committed to paying the living wage to all staff, and the leagues centrally do not have a policy on it, leaving it to the individual clubs.
Sergio Aguero's return will give Manchester City big boost in title race
The ESPN FC crew discuss who they'd rather have: Sergio Aguero or Alexis Sanchez ahead of Sunday's Premier League clash between Man City and Arsenal.
Manchester City have done pretty well in Sergio Aguero's absence. Since the Argentine limped off against Everton at the start of December, City have played eight games, winning six and drawing two. They've found the net more than once in six of those games, with a healthy 17 goals scored in total, so based on those numbers, you might think they could get along fine without Aguero, or Wilfried Bony.
There are a couple of important caveats to note, however. Those eight games have not exactly been against the sternest opposition, with the impressive Champions League win over Roma aside. The others were all against sides in the bottom half of the Premier League table, and Sheffield Wednesday in the FA Cup. Furthermore, only one of the goals scored in that period was recorded by a striker.
That's because Manuel Pellegrini has had only one striker at his disposal -- sometimes not even that -- during that span. And Stevan Jovetic has been disappointing, to say the least: So underwhelming, in fact, that he will probably be the man to make way in City's Champions League squad for new signing Bony.
Then there's Edin Dzeko. The big Bosnian has been out since December with a calf injury, but even when healthy he hasn't been a huge amount of use to Pellegrini. Dzeko has four goals in 19 appearances (13 starts) to his name this season, two of which came in a 4-2 league win over Hull, while the others were bagged in City's 7-0 demolition of Wednesday in the Capital One Cup; not exactly contributions a title-challenging team needs.
With some rather sterner tests coming, Aguero's return to fitness will therefore be a massive relief for City and Pellegrini. Their trickier run starts with Arsenal on Sunday, then Chelsea in a couple of weeks before they face Barcelona in the Champions League at the end of February.
With Sergio Aguero back, Manchester City will be as threatening as ever in attack.
Getting by with marginal contributions from Jovetic, or with James Milner stoically filling in up front is fine against the likes of West Brom and Sunderland, but City will need their most potent threat for these more difficult tasks.
Should you require some statistics to appreciate just how good Aguero has been, here are a couple: He has 14 goals in 13 league starts, which is roughly a goal every 77 minutes. He also has three assists to his name, meaning he's been directly involved in around a third of City's league goals despite only starting two-thirds of their games. Impressive, we can probably all agree.
More than mere statistics, Aguero's presence in the City team means every opposition defender will be on edge, nervous about the threat he poses. It must be a terrifying prospect trying to mark a man whose feet and thoughts are as quick as the Argentine's, which allows him to take advantage of space that most players simply wouldn't -- or couldn't. Those sort of marginal advantages are what will prove crucial in City's upcoming games, and indeed in the title race as they look to keep in touch with, and overhaul, Chelsea.
Of course Aguero can't do everything on his own, and while David Silva is just as important to their attacking threat, and Pellegrini will be counting down the days until Yaya Toure's return from international duty, the arrival of Bony will be welcomed, as well.
There have been inevitable doubts over whether Bony can make the step up from Swansea to Man City, but he certainly has all the attributes to be a success in Manchester. He has the goals (nine this season, and more than anyone else in the Premier League in 2014) to his name, while City fans will recall him bullying Vincent Kompany whenever he has faced them in the past 18 months, so will be well aware of his all-round contribution.
ESPN FC's Gab Marcotti analyses the Manchester City deal for Wilfried Bony.
He's also a smarter player than he is given credit for. His use of the ball and neat passes to bring teammates into play will make the eyes of Aguero, Silva, Toure and Samir Nasri light up. Bony also improvises superbly in tight situations, which is one of the reasons his scoring record is so good. His recent last-gasp equaliser against QPR is a case in point. He received the ball with his back to goal and three defenders around him, but he quickly controlled, turned and punted a smart shot into the net a split-second before any defender could have expected. When people talk about a natural finisher, they generally mean an icy-cool marksman who can dispatch one-on-ones with ease. Bony is just as deadly, able to score many different types of goals, which makes him more unpredictable and thus more threatening than most.
Some have also questioned how much he will actually play at City, but given that Pellegrini plays two strikers as often as possible and neither Jovetic nor Dzeko have exactly made unanswerable arguments for their inclusion, one suspects Bony will get a good amount of game time after his return from the Africa Cup of Nations. Not least because of his simple durability: The Ivory Coast forward has been unavailable for just two league games through fitness issues since arriving at Swansea last summer. And with such an injury-prone selection of forwards currently on their books, having one that can at least stay upright for more than a few games at a time will be a refreshing change.
As recently as a few weeks ago it looked like Chelsea were running away with the title, but City have managed to get back on their shoulder. In order to pass them, they will require something a little extra, something that Aguero, and eventually Bony, can provide.
Toure: Bony will be brilliant for City
Yaya Toure has predicted Ivory Coast team-mate Wilfried Bony will be a certain success at Manchester City.
Manchester City midfielder Yaya Toure is convinced new club team-mate and Ivory Coast compatriot Wilfried Bony will be "brilliant" for the Premier League outfit.
Bony secured his move to the Etihad this week, signing a four-and-a-half-year deal after Swansea City agreed to let the Ivory Coast striker leave.
Toure and Bony will both be focused on the Africa Cup of Nations over the next few weeks as they aim to lead their country to its second title, with both starting in Ivory Coast's 2-0 defeat to Sweden in Abu Dhabi on Thursday.
But Toure cannot wait to see the 26-year-old forward in sky blue in the Premier League.
"He's a good player and I think he's going to be a brilliant player for the club," Toure said after the loss to Sweden.
"Now he's a [club] team-mate we're all looking forward."
Toure is also confident Ivory Coast can make an impact in Equatorial Guinea, as they face Guinea, Mali and Cameroon in Group D before potential involvement in the quarter-finals, semi-finals and tournament decider.
"It's an important competition for African players … we will see, our first game is on the 20th of January," the midfielder said.
"It's going to be tough but we've got the team to do it."
Why Yaya Toure's absence may actually help Man City overcome Arsenal
Considering the previous fixture between Arsenal and Manchester City saw 808 successful passes, 30 shots and 36 dribbles, it's safe to say this should be another aesthetically satisfying match between two sides heavily favouring short-passing football and high-tempo pressing.
Except this time, with no Yaya Toure to drive them forward, Man City will adapt their system to focus more intensely on the wings. It is news Arsene Wenger will not want to hear.
As City calmly steamrollered through 2014 there was no doubting it was Toure who powered them, storming through the centre of the pitch as the beating heart of every move.
Such a dominant influence can, however, contain within it a hidden flaw, as dependability becomes over-reliance; worryingly, it has been 11 months since City last won a match without him in the side.
In City's last two matches without the Ivorian, Pellegrini – without a like-for-like replacement – has fielded an extra defensive midfielder in Fernando.
Clearly, his attacking impetus is nowhere near comparable: Toure makes 88.4 passes per match (the division's highest), while Fernando makes 42.7; Toure has 3.3 shots per game, Fernando 0.3.
Note how high up the pitch Toure plays; his passing back and forth clearly shows that this game – like most – revolved around him. Fernando simply cannot live up to this, as Man City look to other routes of attack.
To address this deficiency, City played the ball into wide areas far more frequently in the draws against Burnley and Everton; as a consequence, Jesus Navas is seeing more of the ball.
He averaged 58 passes across these two games, up from a season average of 39, while Man City's general play clearly favoured the wings.
Jesus Navas was superb against Burnley – his creativity is given higher priority when Toure is out of the team.
Not only do Man City move the ball in deeper areas without Toure in the team, but as the patterns of these passes suggest, they also use central areas less frequently.
Unfortunately for Wenger, it's from wide areas that Arsenal are particularly vulnerable, partially as a result of their attacking instincts leaving them exposed on the flanks, and partly due to their defensive chaos.
With no discernible leader at the back, and with Per Mertersacker in poor form, it is unsurprising that Arsenal have conceded 15 league goals from crosses this season, a staggering 60% of their total.
Man City's preferred, Toure-led approach would have suited Arsenal far more than the approach they will face on Sunday. With Navas tearing down one flank, and Samir Nasri's trickery (cutting inside to release the overlapping Gael Clichy) on the other, Arsenal will need to work extremely hard to avoid another demoralising away defeat.
Note how often Nasri passes the ball to his left; in most instances this will be to Clichy, who loves getting to the byline.
There's no question City will miss Toure while he's away at the Africa Cup of Nations, but in this particular fixture it may work in their favour.
Aston Villa boss Paul Lambert halts pursuit of Scott Sinclair because asking price is too high
Boss Paul Lambert wants to sign the Manchester City midfielder before the end of the month but they’re struggling to agree a deal.
The Premier League champions are thought to want around £3million for the wideman but Villa are not willing to match their asking price.
Sinclair must also lower his wage demands if a deal is to be struck.
Lambert said: “There’s nothing going on with that at the moment – from both ends.
“We can’t do what Man City are asking us to do at this minute.
“If it became feasible financially then who knows but there’s a bit of them asking too much at the moment.”
Owner Randy Lerner is expected to continue to back Lambert in this transfer window after sanctioning a deal to bring Carles Gil to the club for £3million.
He trained for the first time today and will be in the squad to face Liverpool on Saturday.
“Carles coming in will be a boost,” said Lambert.
“We need creative players which is why I’ve signed him.”
Don Garber says Frank Lampard contract 'could have been handled better'
MLS commissioner Don Garber acknolwedged on Thursday that the confusing Frank Lampard contract saga "could have been handled better."
New York City FC said in July it had signed Lampard to a two-year contract starting in August. Lampard then began playing for Manchester City, which like NYCFC is controlled by City Football Group.
But Manchester City said on Dec. 31 it was keeping Lampard through the end of the English Premier League season in May. NYCFC said this month Lampard signed a contract just after New Year's Day to join it this July.
"It could have been handled better," Garber said at the MLS SuperDraft. "And it needs to be handled better going forward. We've learned lessons from this, and those lessons are that transparency is more and more important."
Shortly after the draft began on Thursday, "Where's Frank Lampard?" chant echoed through the grand ballroom of the Pennsylvania Convention Center.
Garber defended NYCFC by saying the club never intended to intentionally "mislead the fans," but added that NYCFC "characterized it improperly" when first announcing Lampard's signing.
Garber also said the list of serious candidates for an expansion franchise continues to grow, with St. Louis and San Antonio recently appearing on the commissioner's radar.
St. Louis could have a void in its local sports schedule if St. Louis Rams owner Stan Kroenke follows through on threats to move the NFL team to Los Angeles if a new stadium is not built.
"I'm going to be out in St. Louis in the next couple of weeks," Garber said. "St. Louis has got a lot of activity going on with a stadium that they're trying to get done for the Rams. There's a big soccer community out there and we'd love to see a soccer stadium downtown like they're thinking about a football stadium.
"San Antonio has been very active. There's a lot of stuff going on. There's a lot of interest in expansion."
Las Vegas, Sacramento and Minneapolis have been seen as the front-runners for a new MLS team.
"It's very positive that we have multiple owners in an important market that want to come into Major League Soccer," Garber said. "We have got a lot of decisions we need to make.
"We are bullish on Minneapolis. We think it's a good market, it's an important market for us strategically from a geographic perspective.
"We love the two ownership groups. We've been spending time with both of them. We have work to do with both groups. But I'm very bullish on the market."
Garber also said he was "hopeful" about two stadium situations: the New England Revolution's plans to build a new home in Boston and NYCFC's quest to move out of Yankee Stadium after this season.
Sloppy Seconds – The Verdict on Manchester City’s Ex-Gunners
It seems that since moving to our shiny new stadium, Arsenal have gained a bit of a reputation for being a feeder club.
It started off with Barcelona, taking the likes of Henry, Hleb, Fabregas, Song and most recently Vermaelen, but somewhere along the way Manchester City decided to get in on the act. Since 2006 we have seen a total of five Arsenal men made the move Oop north (down t’pit) with no return travellers, as well as a rather public courtship of the Dutch skunk.
In this article, we’ll be taking a look at how those who have transferred directly from Arsenal to Manchester City over the last eight-and-a-half years have fared, reviewing their motives for moving and their relative success. (Or in some cases, lack thereof!)
Emmanuel Adebayor – Forward – Transferred for £25m in July 2009
Arsenal
Adebayor signed for Arsenal for £7m from Monaco in January 2006, and although it was clear he was rough around the edges, he had a decent impact in his first season, scoring four goals in 13 appearances. Renowned throughout his career for his performances in the first few months of a contract (and the last few months before the next one!), he then had a less successful second season including getting himself sent off in the League Cup final.
Never one to keep his nose clean for too long, Adebayor went on to attack his own teammate, Nicklas Bendtner, late on in a game against Tottnumb the following season, which for many Gunners became a sign of things to come.
Somewhere in between his aggressive lapses Adebayor found time for a spectacular season, scoring 24 goals in 36 games and earning himself a long-term contract in the process. However, he clearly thrives on conflict, and was sent off again in December 2008 for an altercation with Albeloa of Liverpool.
It’s easy to look at Adebayor and say it was all about the money, and there’s probably some truth in that, but clearly Arsene Wenger had also had enough and decided the Togolese was surplus to requirements. So despite the shiny new contract, Adebayor was packed off to Manchester City for the princely sum of £25m.
Manchester City
As with Arsenal before and Tottnumb afterwards, Adebayor started with a bang at City, scoring in all of his first four games for the club, two of which secured 1-0 victories for his team. The fourth of those games happened to be against his former club, and Adebayor reverted to type by deliberately kicking the Dutch skunk in the face – he was subsequently banned for there matches. Unsurprisingly though, the ban is a mere footnote in the story of that game, as many will remember the furore Adebayor caused by his ill-advised goal celebration.
In a culture where the vogue is to refuse to celebrate against former teams, Adebayor bucked the trend by running the full length of the pitch to knee slide in from of the Arsenal fans. Whether or not you agree with whether he should have celebrated, his chosen provocative style of celebration was a little foolish and cemented his place as a comedy villain for Arsenal fans. If you are going to be so provocative, you better make darned sure you are good enough. Adebayor is not.
How hilarious then, that despite City winning their first few major trophies in his time at the club, Adebayor was still trophyless when he left the Etihad, having been on loan at Real Madrid when City won the FA Cup in 2010-11 and again on loan at Tottnumb when they won the League in 2011-12. (They being Man City, not Tottnumb – ‘61, never again.)
Ultimately, Adebayor never regained his early form, and was shipped off first to Real Madrid where he made just 14 appearances, and later to Tottnumb which just about shows the level of his decline – from North London’s premier outfit to the riffraff up the Seven Sisters Road. It says a lot when even Mancini (a manager so keen on a project that he took on Mario Balotelli) gives up on a player, but Adebayor has shown time and again his inability to both motivate and control himself consistently, and he is now at a club where even Goaldado (hahahahaha) gets selected ahead of him oftentimes.
How are the mighty fallen?
Verdict
A player unable to perform with the discipline required at the top level, Adebayor didn’t make a lasting impact at either club, and as a result now plies his trade (when he even gets picked) for a small time club where even their success-starved fans believe he isn’t good enough.
A particular highlight was his needless red card at the Emirates in the second 5-2, which just about summed him up.
Kolo Toure – Defender – Transferred for £16m in July 2009
Arsenal
If ever there was something that would give you a free pass to move to another domestic club, then being one of the Invincibles is as close as you can get.
Kolo signed for Arsenal for peanuts in 2002 as a jack of all trades, featuring across the backline and more often in defensive midfield. However, it was in his second full season at the club that Toure started to stand out in a consistent role at centre back alongside Sol Campbell, winning the support of the Arsenal fan base in the process. The rest, as they say, is history.
Two years later, Kolo was part of the Arsenal backline that went ten games without conceding en route to the Champions League final, and even scored the only goal of the two-legged semi-final in the last ever European game at Highbury. Pacey, comfortable on the ball and part of a well-drilled defensive unit, Toure committed his best years to the club and was the last man standing from the first XI of the Invincibles.
Along with so many Arsenal fans, he must have wondered: “What if…?”
Few begrudged him a new challenge as the toll of the new stadium affected Arsenal, and amid stories of a bust up with William Gallas, Kolo moved on to pastures new in 2009.
Manchester City
Toure went on to spend four seasons in Manchester, helping the club to its first league title in 44 years and first FA Cup in 42 years.
Initially appointed club captain, he featured heavily in his first two seasons before being suspended for six months for failing a drugs test. This was after he was found to have breached doping regulations by taking his wife’s water tablets, but the length of his ban reflected that the panel found he had not intended to enhance his sporting performance.
Thereafter he was relegated to squad appearances only, and in the summer of 2013 joined Liverpool on a free. It’s telling that perhaps his biggest contribution to the club was that his presence attracted younger brother Yaya to sign from Barcelona a year after him, a move which elevated City to a new level.
Verdict
A cultured and committed centre back, Toure remains fondly remembered by Arsenal fans and achieved early success at City, but ultimately he was on the wane when he left the Emirates and never quite had the same impact for the Sky Blues.
He is now showing his age at Liverpool, but will go down as an Arsenal great for his role in the record breaking 2003-04 triumph.
Gael Clichy – Defender – Transferred for £7m in July 2011
Arsenal
The case of Gael Clichy is a bit of an odd one.
Joining Arsenal in 2003 aged 17, he played the understudy role to Ca$hley Cole for a number of years, before finally making the left back position his own following the Londoner’s departure to Chel$ki. A bit-part player in the invincible season, he became the youngest ever player to win a Premier League medal, and also played a role in the following season’s FA Cup success. And yet he is remembered at Arsenal in perhaps a not very flattering light, where his style constantly rubbed up against that of the team, leading to a number of individual errors and an overall feeling that he is what Winnie the Pooh would call “a bear of very little brain”.
Clichy suffered a number of injuries throughout his time at Arsenal, and never really lived up to his billing as the long term replacement for Cole.
He always benefited from having an experienced defender alongside him at left centre back and ultimately suffered from Arsenal’s propensity to throw everyone forward with little regard for defensive stability. Certainly this exposed Clichy’s weaknesses defensively, and his inability to do anything meaningful in the way of crosses became something of a running joke. All of this combined meant that when it was announced that he was departing for City, Arsenal fans were more commonly surprised than disappointed. It was hard to see that he would have a place in a team hoping to challenge for titles.
Manchester City
Near the start of his City career, Clichy picked up a red card for taking out Ramires, and that in itself ought really be enough to elevate anyone to hero status. More recently, he seems to have established himself as Pellegrini’s first choice left back ahead of Kolarov, which is perhaps surprising given City’s move towards a more attacking style in the last two seasons. Nonetheless, he has benefited from moving to a side where there is greater midfield cover and a stronger core in central defence than in his last few seasons at Arsenal.
He has enjoyed similar levels of success at City, with an extra league but no FA Cup glory to his name.
One of the few players to have kept his counsel and conducted himself with dignity during his move and while he is unlikely to be remembered in the long term by either club, at least he won’t be remembered for the wrong reasons.
Verdict
A simple but effective defender, Clichy has perhaps been more suited to Manchester City than he ever was to Arsenal. He never quite hit the dizzy heights initially expected of him, and has ultimately proven himself to be a solid if unspectacular professional.
Samir Nasri – Midfielder – Transferred for £22m in August 2011
Arsenal
Samir Nasri joined Arsenal from Marseille in the summer of 2008 for around £12m. His period at the club coincided with the last few years of the infamous trophy drought, and as with so many players in that spell, his departure was all the more frustrating for the level of progress he made during his time at the club. After a promising first season at the club, Nasri had a stop-start second season following a broken leg at the start, and concluded with his failure to secure a spot in France’s 2010 World Cup squad.
However, in his final season a newly motivated Nasri returned 10 goals in his 30 league appearances and 15 in 46 overall – a ratio to rival the top goalscoring midfielders, and was selected in the PFA’s team of the year. His versatility in any of the three positions behind the foremost striker meant that he got a regular run of games and developed a good understanding with players like Arshavin and Fabregas, as well as being able to take on their mantle when unavailable.
After all that, he then made clear his desire to leave in the same summer as the one in which Fabregas departed – with just a year to run on his contract, he rather had the club over a barrel in that regard
For some he was derided for ‘selling out’ and behaving like the rats in the old ‘abandoning ship’ analogy, particularly in light of the contract situation. For others, he was praised for continuing to play when it became clear he was going to leave – you’d have thought it was the least to expect given the amount he was paid!
Either way, Nasri didn’t spend enough time at the club to exit peacefully to a rival club, as City had by this time become. Thus no matter the opinion fans held of the way he left, the fact that he left at all means that he joins Adebayor in the category of pantomime villain.
Manchester City:
As with Arsenal, Nasri started his career at Man City with a strong first season before having a rather less impressive second season. Under Mancini he was fair game for the seemingly random rotation policy the Italian employed, and unsurprisingly was a little hit and miss as a result. Under Pellegrini last year he underwent something of a rejuvenation, scoring seven goals in 34 league appearances. Seemingly a favourite of the new manager, he has been selected almost whenever available this year, and although he has yet to find the net, it is surely a matter of time once he gets an uninterrupted run of games in the team.
Nasri seems to have more in common with Adebayor than any sane person would desire, and one of these habits is a seeming need to open his mouth unnecessarily. It was a particularly poor touch to question the passion of Arsenal’s fans upon his departure, and then to again goad Arsenal fans when City won the league. Most recently he has come out around how he ended up at Man City, discussing how Alex Ferguson tapped him up in an attempt to get him to move to the other side of Manchester. Sometimes, it’s better to keep our counsel. He probably wants to have a word with his girlfriend, too, after she threw a hissy fit on his behalf when he wasn’t selected for France’s World Cup squad.
In his time at City, Nasri won two Premier Leagues and a couple of minor trophies, so arguably he has had a better time at City. The trouble is, it’s hard to think that Nasri himself was a huge influence in winning those trophies like he could have been had he stayed at Arsenal.
His Arsenal appearances were only 14% off the bench, whereas at City he comes in at 23% of games where he only came on later in the game. It looks like Nasri prefers being a little fish in a bigger pond than a big fish in a smaller pond.
Verdict
Somehow Nasri always looks like he has a bad smell under his nose, and certainly he’s a player who seems to find happiness hard to come by. He’s played well for both clubs without being spectacular and has still yet to fulfil his potential. At City, despite being surrounded by a wealth of attacking talent, he remains at a ratio of 0.13 goals per game, whereas at Arsenal he contributed half as many again despite being in an arguably inferior team. He still have years ahead of him but much to prove.
Bacary Sagna – Defender – Transferred on a Free in July 2014
Arsenal
Bacary Sagna joined Arsenal from Auxerre in 2007 to rebalance an Arsenal defence which at the time boasted the enigmatic Emmanuel Eboue. A highly athletic and combative player, Sagna bombed up and down his wing throughout his Arsenal career – it’s a shame that some of his early attacking prowess has been forgotten amidst the memories of endless crosses which failed to beat the first man in his latter years at the club. It is easy to forget his two leg breaks which in years gone by would have ended his career, and the fact that he was able to return to such a high level is credit to his dedication.
Also, for a player only 5’9”, he is bloody good in the air!
His commitment to the cause and his high levels of consistency earned him both a place in the Premier League team of the season on two occasions and also a place in the hearts of the Arsenal fan base. Somehow he had a knack of grabbing a game by the scruff of the neck when required and his commitment was a true example.
Few if any Arsenal fans will have forgotten his powerful header against Tottnumb in the first 5-2 game which he got his head to with pretty much nothing else beyond sheer willpower, and his reaction on Arsenal’s triumph in last season’s FA Cup Final showed his true feelings towards the club, despite already knowing that it was likely to be his final hurrah.
So then although many thought he was leaving for one last big paycheck, few begrudged him the move to City when his contract expired – unlike Nasri, he had given the best years of his career to the club through a difficult period in our history, and for that he will receive only respect, both now and whenever he returns to the Emirates.
Dodgy hair, we don’t care, Bacary Sagna!
Manchester City
It’s still early to comment too much on his time at Manchester City, but Sagna must have known when he made the switch that he was likely to spend much of the season playing second fiddle to Pablo Zabaleta. He has not featured much, with just five starts and one sub appearance to his name in the league, but perhaps tellingly he has been trusted more in European games, where his experience is most valuable.
Verdict
A player in the twilight of his career, Sagna is unlikely to make much of a mark at City, but his professionalism and his passion for the game mean that he commands respect from both clubs. A player who worked hard to earn his last big contract and is now seeing it out.
Let’s hope those seats on the City bench are comfortable.
OVERALL VERDICT
In summary then, of the five players to make the move, it feels like only Nasri and Clichy have got close to matching their exploits at Arsenal.
Most departed in search of bigger and better things in a period when Arsenal were rather hamstrung from the new stadium, and ultimately we received some sizeable and in some case ludicrous transfer fees in return. (Imagine paying £25m for Adebayor when an extra £7m would get you Alexis Sanchez…)
Ultimately Manchester City needed those early signings, at whatever cost, to get them up and running in the Premier League. The acquisition of a number of well-respected (if slightly past their peak) Arsenal players established them as a credible challenger in English football and gave them a far greater chance of attracting the very best players.
That need came at a time when Arsenal required money to fund the stadium move, and passing on our sloppy seconds to the Sky Blues at inflated prices was as good a way as any of gaining it. Certainly as soon as the stadium burden was relaxed, Arsene Wenger went on record to say that the moves to City would now stop, and then backed it up with his actions over Van Persie.
In my book, it was a good trade-off for both sides.
Certainly it was clear that most were only ever signed for a short term purpose, and that is reflected by the number of games each has played. Of the players who moved, it is only Nasri who racked up his highest number of appearances in a single season for Manchester City rather than Arsenal, and for Adebayor, Toure and Sagna, they all played more games for Arsenal in every single season at the club than they did in any one season at City.
In the interim years, City have remained nervous of Arsenal, with draws common among recent results despite the Gunners’ poor form in the other big games. Now that we’re through our very own period of austerity though, the time is right to kick on and lay down a marker in the same way that City did back in 2010.
And if it happens to mean we stick it to a few confrontational ex-Gunners along the way? So be it – this is war.
Source: http://ladyarse.co.uk/2015/01/sloppy-se ... x-gunners/
Degenerate Crackhead Bollox
Ex-Gunner Paul Merson believes Arsenal will come unstuck away at Manchester City again this weekend, he told SkySports.
The pundit says he has little confidence Arsene Wenger's side will get a result against the side sitting joint top of the Premier League.
He said: "I can’t pick Arsenal because of their record against the top four. If they get a draw they should be happy. It’s a shame that Arsenal are going to the Etihad and they’re only thinking about getting in the top four, they should be going up there and fighting for the title.
"Sergio Aguero will definitely play on Saturday and give Per Mertesacker a hard time. Going to Everton and getting a draw - as City did - isn’t normally an easy feat. But to go from eight points behind to just two, they have done really well."
Aguero featuring would be real difference maker for City, but even without him they have hauled in Chelsea's lead in the table.
They could to head into the game three points off the top with Chelsea travelling to Swansea City a day earlier, or will also be motivated to take an outright lead should Jose Mourinho's team slip up.
Arsenal are also engaged in their own battle for a top four place, and as Merson says, will want to come away with at least a draw from a ground where they conceded six goals last season in an entertaining 6-3 defeat.
City's home record is the fourth best in the Premier League, winning seven drawing two and losing one, while Arsenal have the fifth best away record, but have lost four games on their travels including their last one against Southampton.
David Moyes has made the in-demand Burnley striker Danny Ings, 22, one of his main targets this summer at Real Sociedad, with the Englishman available on a free transfer and pursued by a number of Premier League clubs. (Independent)
Louis van Gaal will be given the green light for another £150m spending spree at a Manchester United transfer summit. (Daily Mirror)
Italian giants Juventus and Roma want to rescue 28-year-old striker Radamel Falcao from his Manchester United nightmare. (Daily Star)
Roma would be willing to listen to a "stupid" offer for Manchester United midfield target Kevin Strootman, 24, according to the club's president James Pallotta. (Talkshit)
Everton midfielder Kevin Mirallas, 27, has alerted the Premier League and Europe's top clubs by putting contract talks on hold. (Daily Mirror)
Gonzalo Higuain's brother and agent insists he has not spoken to Liverpool and claims the 27-year-old Argentina striker is happy at Napoli. (DSSC)
Real Sociedad boss David Moyes has compared Adnan Januzaj to Dutch legend Johan Cruyff, but says he has no plans to sign the 20-year-old Manchester United winger on loan. (ESPN)
Brendan Rodgers has ruled out the possibility of 28-year-old midfielder Lucas Leiva leaving Liverpool during the current transfer window. (Times)
Crystal Palace manager Alan Pardew has refused to dismiss speculation linking him with moves for Swansea striker Bafetimbi Gomis, 29, and 28-year-old Liverpool defender Jose Enrique. (Daily Star)
Hull City are not about to make an imminent £4m swoop for Blackburn striker Rudy Gestede, 26; the loan market remains their top priority instead. (Hull DSSC)
Celtic defender Virgil van Dijk, 23, has welcomed reports linking him with a move to Arsenal this month. (Metro)
Arsenal striker Alexis Sanchez, 26, has told boss Arsene Wenger to forget about giving him a rest this season. (Daily Star)
Crystal Palace boss Alan Pardew has said that 32-year-old striker Jermain Defoe will face pressure to hit the ground running after his expected move to Sunderland, but admitted that his goals could tilt the relegation battle. (Times)
Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino insists striker Emmanuel Adebayor, 30, can still carve out a role at White Hart Lane despite his absence in the FA Cup victory over Burnley on Wednesday evening. (London Evening Standard)
Brendan Rodgers has described 25-year-old striker Daniel Sturridge's recovery as "critical" for Liverpool but the manager warned the striker needs time to recapture last season's devastating form following a spate of injuries. (Guardian)
Former Chelsea midfielder Michael Essien, 32, is set to leave AC Milan this summer, and could still prove a useful addition for a Premier League club, according to his agent. (Daily Express)
Caretaker boss John Carver is confident that Newcastle United fans will have a clearer indication of who the club's next head coach will be by the end of the month. (Chronicle)
Gary Rowett insists Birmingham City remain active in the transfer window despite the backdrop of boardroom unrest in Hong Kong. (Birmingham Mail)
Stoke City goalkeeper Asmir Begovic posted a picture of himself, team-mate Ryan Shawcross and their wives at the New York Knicks v Milwaukee Bucks NBA game at London's O2 Arena on Thursday.
Former Liverpool goalkeeper Pepe Reina knows how to command a five-man defence. But how about five kids? Well, he's about to find out after tweeting the arrival of his fifth child on Thursday morning. The Spain international called it "one of the happiest days of my life". Presumably he can point to four others.
Manchester United full-back Luke Shaw tweeted a picture of himself 'enjoying' an ice bath after training on Thursday, alongside a rallying call of "let's get back on the winning run".
AND FINALLY
Note the Sweedish flag!
How Manchester City Ruined Your Life… 5. Anger
You probably don’t remember the first time you clenched your fists together in public and screamed your lungs off to make your mum or dad do what you wanted them to do. But you possibly remember that it didn’t work. That’s because you had good parents. The type of parents who wouldn’t allow their kid to have a temper tantrum in the middle of Sainsbury’s and get away with it. They taught you well and taught you how to control those feelings of disappointment and hurt so that they didn’t spill over.
But then they were bad parents too. It was them who allowed you to go to the football and experience the weekly disappointments of Maine Road and what exactly was going on. You’d grown out of all those bouts of uncontrollable rage and were happily living your life until some selfish sod put you on a number 53 bus and made you watch eleven grown men in blue shirts toss away a three goal lead.
You never used to get this mad. But now you do. It’s Manchester City that brought all that back to you when they ruined your life. And here’s why.
There’s a tendency to look back at the late 1990s with rose-tinted glasses as a Manchester City fan. That’s helped, in part, by the dramatic end to the 1998-99 season, but also by what has happened since. Back then, nobody would have backed the Blues to have won two Premier League titles, an FA Cup and a League Cup within the space of 15 years. That’s how far off the pace they were.
Now, it’s not seen the same way as it was at the time. Back then, there was a toxic atmosphere filling the stands at Maine Road and the supporters were turning up fully expecting to be left with feelings of pure, unadulterated rage.
There were campaigns to get the chairman to leave the club, there was vitriol aimed at manager after manager, none of who were good enough but each was trying his best, and the players received a ton of flak for being of a third division standard… when in the third division. The disasters that took place week after week on the Maine Road pitch were largely down to a series of mismanagements in the years before, but someone had to be a target for all the fury that had built up.
As the Blues held the ball in the corner against Liverpool in 1996, which was just enough to see them safely relegated from the Premier League, various people inside the stadium turned a very deep shade of purple. Those were the early days of the ever-building rage; the fury ended about half an hour after the final whistle – but a few years later, it would go on for days.
Sickies were thrown after a last-minute own goal saw the Blues lose out to The Bull’s Head, while therapists were actively moving to the region in order to take on all the additional anger management work that was heading their way. Walls were punched, seats were kicked… There was much rage that needed dealing with.
The problem was – and always would be – that it never goes away. The anger was like heroin and the visits to Maine Road, and later to Eastlands, were like the methadone needed to get that fix. In comparison to the dark days of the late 90s, what’s happened at the Etihad Stadium has been a breeze, but think back to some of those times you’ve been walking round the spirals on the way out and the concrete has copped for it. Or the times the blue plastic chair in front of you has nearly come off its hinges because of a stray kick.
The anger is there and it’s still very real. I nearly broke my foot when Paul Scholes won the derby in 2010.
With the stakes being so much higher now, it’s almost as if that old feeling of the red mist descending is multiplied exponentially. A single dropped point could be enough to ruin a weekend – the defeat to Liverpool in last season’s title race was enough to make sure I didn’t speak to anybody for three days. I was barely able to get out of bed.
We’re all the same. Yet, before you’d ever been introduced to Manchester City, you never used to get this mad. You used to be able to shrug the annoyances and inconveniences and upsets of life off, but not anymore. You’re fuming.
And it’s Manchester City that did that to you. Source: http://www.typicalcity.org
MORE BOLLOX SHORTLY
