When the formation and squad originally popped up on the screen, I could barely contain my excitement! Mancini must apparently read my blog, I thought! The formation provided by ESPN2 seemed to consist of a 4-4-2, with the midfield players arranged in a diamond shape eerily similar to my fantasy formation below.
I've decided that the format of my match review blog posts will consist of: Pros, Cons, Man of the Match, and Overall Effect.
Pros:
Kolarov played a great game today in the position as Left Wing Back (:LWB). Providing width and some support to Milner/Silva, Kolarov sprinted up and down the field, creating offensive threats and playing pretty good defense. When Mancini bought Kolarov, he must have realized that Kolarov plays more attacking football compared to defensive. I think Kompany and Toure realized that too, shuffling left when he got caught up top from a quick counter-attack.
The relationship between Dzeko and Tevez is something that in my opinion will be dynamite as they get more comfortable with each other. Tevez is allowed to play in an almost floating wherever-he-wants-to-play position with a more natural all-an-out striker sitting up top. This provides Tevez the freedom to play deeper and link up with Silva on a more continuous basis which is a plus for Man City football. To go further, I think Tevez becomes a better player when he helps start the play deeper in the field and can be involved in every step in each play (Look at goal #1, where he started the play with an amazing flick to Silva in our half of the field). With the relationship between Dzeko and Tevez working so well, it really allowed Silva to provide width to the team and attack on that right side.
I thought Richards showed real fire and passion for the game tonight as he toppled over two players resulting in what looked to be like a concussion. Before his injury, he was a nice safety-valve for our offensive players and played great streaking up and down the right flank.
Cons:
To get it out of the way, Richards getting injured. Right when he started to come under Mancini's favor (two starts in a row is good I guess), he is seemingly seriously injured that will probably keep him out of the squad for a couple weeks.
Boateng sucks at Right Wing Back (RWB). His crosses were all poor and he didn't involve himself in any productive plays. I would rather have Zabaleta be the all time sub for our wing backs and Boateng be a sub for a center back, as he did well today in the center.
Joe Hart didn't have the greatest game. Whatever Zigic claims, that goal went in without his aid. High-quality goalies need to be trained in preparing for free kicks to get through the box without touching a player, and Joe Hart literally let this ball slip through his fingers.
Patrick Viera is, in my opinion, Mancini's worst purchase (and that's saying something!). Why purchase a 34 year old midfielder? We have all the experience and knowledge we need in people like Gareth Barry and K. Toure. Even if the penalty was soft, he played horribly today, continuously losing it in the middle of the field allowing Birmingham to counter.
And let's not be fooled by this supposed diamond shaped midfield purported by ESPN in the formation shown prior to the game. Gareth Barry was merely playing a left defensive midfielder position. Instead of Mancini replacing De Jong with Viera, he should have moved Gareth in the central defensive position and brought on Jo to keep the pressure on Birmingham. We need to display positivity and creativity in our formation. Playing three players at or around the age of 30 is NOT the answer (Barry, K. Toure, and Viera).
Man of the Match:
Kolarov hands down. Fantastic free kick. Even if Foster was in the correct position for the free kick, that ball hit the very edge of the side netting. Outside of the free kick, he tirelessly moved up and down the field providing offensive and defensive qualities desperately needed by the blues.
Runners-up: Tevez, Silva
Overall Effect:
This result is one of many indicators that Mancini needs to change his outlook on football. While I appreciate his short-passing mentality evidenced by Tevez and Silva running circles around Birmingham, he needs to get out of his extremely defensive thought process and move towards more neutral ideas (off v. def.). Truly playing 1 defensive midfielder could open up the field to a number of exciting personalities.
This result substantially affects our chances at securing a CL spot. This tie keeps us at 3rd, but gives some life to Chelsea and Tottenham who are 2 and 4 points behind us, respectively, with a game in hand. And with Man U. and Chelsea in the next 2 months, the two points lost today could end up being very pivotal.
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