Manchester City v West Ham United: Match Review

MANCHESTER CITY 2 - 1 WEST HAM UNITED
Aguero 29, Yaya Toure 83                                    Carroll 90+4



Second spot almost secured; but the result doesn't tell the full story.

The blues continued their impressive home record against West Ham with a comfortable 2-1 victory at the Etihad on Saturday. City have now scored in 48 consecutive home games, equaling their previous longest run in 1928. However, with 8 shots on target, Mancini will have been expecting more goals.

City went about the game in a routine fashion and on 29 minutes the returning Sergio Aguero finished off a magical team move involving Samir Nasri and David Silva to put his team 1 nil up. 

Just six minutes before the goal, City and West Ham fans applauded in unison to pay their respects to the late Marc Vivien-Foe who tragically passed away ten years ago. 

Mancini's men continued to delight the crowd with their intricate play and hammered Jussi Jaaskelainen's goal, forcing him to pull off a number of great saves. With ten minutes remaining, the blues found themselves in an all too familiar position that has plagued our 2012/2013 season; they only had one goal.

Step up Yaya Toure. With seven minutes remaining, the Ivorian bulldozer fired a left footed scorcher into the top corner of Jaaskelainen's net, securing the points for City. 

The Hammers weren't finished however, and with the last kick of the game Andy Carroll saw a tame effort slip through the legs of Joe Hart. Roberto Mancini revealed the England stopper had been suffering from a back problem during the second half, but his goalkeeping in the last seconds of the game was quite inexcusable.

One more win, and you'd have to say second place is ours.

Player Ratings
 Joe Hart 6
Poor goalkeeping in the last seconds of the game. Pantillimon will have no worries about the FA Cup final.

 Pablo Zabaleta 7
Intimidated the likes of Jarvis with some crunching challenges. Another peformance that warrants his place in the PFA Team Of The Year which was announced on Sunday night.

 Vincent Kompany 8
Didn't put a foot wrong all game.

 Joleon Lescott 8
Did all he could to convince Mancini and Roy Hodgson that he is the right man for the job. Kept the powerful Andy Carroll out for the whole game, almost.

 Gael Clichy 6
Once again, unable to attack and so we saw little of the Frenchman. Solid defending, however.

 Yaya Toure 8
Capped off a fine performance with  a stunning goal.

 Gareth Barry 7
He's finishing the season in fine form, sweeping up trouble in front of the defence. A much better option than Javi Garcia.

 Samir Nasri 8
Continues to prove his critics wrong and is fastly becoming the player City paid all that money for. Provided Aguero for his goal and remained instrumental throughout the game. Could be like a new signing next season.

 David Silva 7
The City fans were delighted to see 'Merlin' back. Played a key part in City's first and linked up with Nasri brilliantly.

 Carlos Tevez 7
An important figure in City's attacking football but should have scored against his old club.

 Sergio Aguero 7
Led the line well and scored City's first.

4 Myths Of German Football

German football. No one really knew about/ had an opinion on it before it's two greatest representatives Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund destroyed the so called two best teams in the world on Tuesday and Wednesday night, respectively.

Now, with a significantly heavier weight on the bandwagon, the Bundesdliga is being put forward as the best league in the world, with the best fans, the best teams and the best value for money. 

The Bundesliga is now a glistening example to the rest of world football, apparantly. And all after two games. Whilst it's likely that the two German giants will collide at Wembley on the 25th May, it remains very unlikely that German football will 'take over the world'.

Myth 1: Tickets are cheaper

German clubs pride themselves on being at one with their fans. Standing areas encourage more noise which in turn promotes a vociferous atmosphere on matchday. Standing tickets are also incredibly cheap:

 Standing ticket: €15.30/ £12.90     Standing season ticket: €187/ £157.61

 Standing ticket: €12/ £10.11           Standing season ticket €104/ £87.66

Whilst this is all fine and dandy for the boastful Bavarians and Bundeslanders, not everyone wants to stand. They also make fine work of hiding their seated pricing rates which, in some cases, provide less value for money than the Premiership. (Bare in mind that a Bundesliga season ticket includes 17 home games, whereas a Premiership season ticket includes 18 home games):

 Most expensive matchday ticket £58     Most expensive season ticket £745

 Most expensive matchday ticket £52     Most expensive season ticket £950

 Most expensive matchday ticket £42     Most expensive season ticket £712

 Most expensive matchday ticket £59     Most expensive season ticket £561

These stats show that German and English football clubs charge fairly similar prices for seated tickets. Whether the Germans possess a profound lack of respect for the reasons why standing areas could be a controversial move in English football (Hillsborough disaster) or they just simply enjoy mocking us, it's unclear, but in terms of value for money, they're no heroes.

Myth 2: Stable Ownership
In the build up to Borussia Dortmund's Champions League group match with Manchester City, owner Hans-Joachim Watzke slammed the number of foreign owners in the Premier League. He preached the romanticism in German football, insisting 'Germans want to have a sense of belonging'. Well that's all well and good, Hans, but borrowing €2 million from your fiercest rivals just to cover wage costs isn't exactly romantic, is it?

Just 10 months prior to these comments, reports emerged confirming Bayern Munich had given Dortmund a loan less than a decade ago. In 2003, Dortmund were on the verge of financial collapse, even after winning the Bundesliga and the Champions League in the mid 1990's. 

Although standing tickets allow fans to watch their club on the cheap, they're obviously having a detrimental effect on the running of German clubs. Would fans rather pay more for tickets or watch their club collapse entirely? You decide, Hans.

Bayern have also confirmed loans to 1860 Munich and St Pauli in recent years.

Myth 3: Fierce Competition
The only competition you'll find in the Bundesliga is the competition between Dortmund and Bayern. And let's face it, Bayern are pretty much paying for Dortmund to compete. 

When 38 points separate 1st and 4th, competition isn't really the word that you'd associate with the Bundesliga. Although the Premier League doesn't provide a great example of competitive football this year, leagues such as Serie A, La Liga and even Ligue 1 (where only one team has undergone huge investment) display much tighter point gaps. 

Myth 4: Friendly Atmosphere
Last November, the Independent published an article regarding growing violence in German football. Police reports in Germany confirmed that the 2011/2012 season had the highest number of criminal proceedings in 12 years and the problem was getting out of hand. 

This included almost double the amount of injured fans and a more than 20% increase in police work hours from the previous season. A total of 8,143 criminal proceedings against individuals were launched last season compared to 5,818 in 2010/2011.

Whilst German officials are attempting to encourage young fans to come to games with cheap standing tickets, growing violence is preventing them.

On the surface, the Bundesliga may look like a developing haven ready to influence the European footballing world. Cheap standing tickets, owners that are also fans and high attendances make German football a glimmering prospect for the future, however, growing violence, bankruptcy and the utter dominance and control of Bayern Munich show that the league has some way to go. 

Manchester City v West Ham United

DATE: 27/04/13

KICK OFF: 12.45pm

VENUE: Etihad Stadium

PREDICTION: 2-0

                                                                                                                                                                 

Preview

With the title race officially done and dusted, will we see the blues return to their old winning ways?

Robin Van Persie fired a stunning first half hat-trick to seal United's 20th Premier League title last week and hammer the final nail into the coffin of City's fading title dream. However, both teams have reasons to kick on with second place and relegation slots still unconfirmed.

Mancini's men go into the game on the back of a disappointing 3-1 loss to Tottenham Hotspur. The citizens were carved open in 8 minutes by the Champions League chasing Londoners are their performance will worry Mancini who has urged a huge response from his team. The date also marks the tenth anniversary of the tragic death of Marc Vivien-Foe. If that isn't a good enough reason to pull a performance out of the hat, I don't know what is.

The Hammers will also be playing for Marc. The Cameroonian international had a spell at the club in 1999 and both sets of fans will join in paying tribute to the gentle giant. Allardyce's side are unbeaten in five, including draws with Liverpool and Manchester United, and plan to add to City's misery on Saturday afternoon.

David Silva and James Milner have been declared fit to play and will indubitably provide City with a needed boost in Saturday's early kick off. With fans and manager expecting a performance, the blues remain under pressure to kick on.

Come on City!

Line-Up

The return of Milner and Silva will allow Mancini to field his strongest midfield, however, with the FA Cup final in mind and the title over, we may see a few players rested.

Kolo Toure has announced that he will leave at the end of the season, citing a lack of first team opportunities as the reason for his departure. With only five games left in the league, we may see the Ivorian hold down a place in the defence until the final.

Whilst rotation is a strong possibility as City near their FA Cup final date with Wigan, fans will be expecting to see the strongest line-up possible as the blues look to secure second place.

Head to Head

West Ham's last win against the blues was in 2009 thanks to a Jack Collison goal. Since then, City have recorded 3 wins in 5 against the Hammers. The reverse tie at Upton Park dealt an early blow in City's title ambitions as they were held to a goalless draw.

History certainly favours the citizens on home turf. With 29 wins from 43 games, Mancini's men will be looking to maintain their impressive home record against Allardyce's side.

Key Men

Carlos Tevez

Yep, it's him again. City's stand out performer of the latter half of the season faces his old side today and will yet again be instrumental in the manner of City's performance. Aguero and Dzeko are unlikely to feature for very different reasons so we could see the Argentine up top on his own.

Andy Carroll

Defenders are aware of the problems Carroll's height and aerial ability can cause, but still have no way of combatting it. The Geordie has a fine record against the blues and will look to bully City's defence with his powerful attributes.

Fantasy Premier League Leaders

Carlos Tevez 158 points

Joe Hart 132 points

David Silva 131 points

Jussi Jaaskelainen 132 points

Kevin Nolan 121 points

Joey O'Brien 115 points

Top Scorers

Carlos Tevez

 

                            17

Kevin Nolan

                             7

                            

Tottenham Hotspur v Manchester City: Match Review

TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR 3 - 1 MANCHESTER CITY
Dempsey 75, Defoe 79, Bale 82                                          Nasri 5



Sunday's crucial tie saw Bale and co. serve up title delight for Manchester United with a magical 7 minute comeback. 

Five minutes in and Spurs' Champions League hopes looked hopelessly far away; Samir Nasri opening the scoring for the blues with a tidy finish following some outstanding work by Carlos Tevez. Calm and comfortable, City continued their frustrating habit of sitting back after scoring. And Spurs prepared a lethal attack.

The returning Gareth Bale, absolutely instrumental in Tottenham's Champions League push this season, delivered an inch perfect ball for Clint Dempsey to equalise on 75 minutes. And it wasn't over there. Before the game, Emmanuel Adebayor had words to say about the so-called tension in City's dressing room. However, actions speak louder than words and action certainly deserted the temperamental Togolese forward who's departure ignited Spurs' comeback. Jermaine Defoe took his place and four minutes after Dempsey had clinched an equaliser, the deadly England striker lashed a beautiful finish into Joe Hart's left hand corner from 20 yards.

Fanatic frenzy erupted in the Lane and they wanted more. So did Bale. With eight minutes to go, the Welsh wizard waved off Gael Clichy, drove into City's box and chipped a delightful finish over the head of Joe Hart.

City stunned. Spurs stupendous.

Questions have been asked all year about the curious tactics employed by Mancini. Sinclair, Kolarov and Lescott were all brought on instead of the in form Sergio Aguero who would have offered us a goal threat. Roberto's eyes seem to be on the FA Cup, however, why deprive his side, and fans, of a possible win? Many believe his future rests on the outcome of the FA Cup, but is that enough for a club of our stature?

You decide.

Player Ratings
 Joe Hart 7
Could do nothing for any of the goals and for 75 minutes, seemed to have no trouble.

 Pablo Zabaleta 6
Solid until the 79th minute when he was missing for Defoe's goal.

 Vincent Kompany 6
Intimidating defending from the Belgian whose return has indubitably sured up City's back line. However, seemed to go into meltdown after the 75th minute, allowing Dempsey and Defoe to score.

 Matija Nastasic 6
Won the battle between himself and Adebayor but ultimately struggled with the frightening pace of Spurs.

 Gael Clichy 6
Handled Walker relatively well but was unable to provide City with any attacking threat.

 Yaya Toure 7
Mancini has to realise that Yaya is a different player when pushed up. He manned the midfield brilliantly, but is so much more effective higher up the pitch.

 Gareth Barry 7
Continued his impressive form by keeping out Bale for the majority of the game.

 James Milner 6
Instrumental in Nasri's goal but was taken off at half time.

 Samir Nasri 6
Tidy finish for City's goal but he is gradually earning the nickname of 'the drifter'.

 Carlos Tevez 7
I'd like to give him an 8 for his brilliance in City's goal, but he was tamed in the second half.

 Edin Dzeko 3
Did absolutely nothing. He'll be gone in summer.

Tottenham Hotspur v Manchester City

DATE: 21/04/13

KICK OFF: 13.30pm

VENUE: White Hart Line

PREDICTION: 0-1

                                                                                                                                                                                   

Preview

Mancini's men may have secured their Champions League place, but Sunday's opponents certainly haven't...yet.

Tottenham Hotspur welcome back PFA Player Of The Year favourite Gareth Bale following an ankle injury in their Europa League defeat to FC Basel. Although the Welsh wizard may not be at his best on Sunday, his presence back in the side will undoubtedly help Spurs push for the vital fourth spot.

Former City striker Emmanuel Adebayor has stoked the pre match flames by questioning the blues' dressing room morale. In an interview with Sky Sports, the Togolese forward referred to a number of bust ups involving the likes of Carlos Tevez, Mario Balotelli and Roberto Mancini and has told his side to capitalise on the disharmony on Sunday.

While Spurs are welcoming back their star man, City are saying goodbye to two of theirs. Sergio Aguero and David Silva are doubtful after picking up injuries in the last two games. However, Micah Richards may feature once again after playing the full 90 minutes in City's 1-0 win over Wigan on Wednesday night. 

It's unarguably City's toughest remaining fixture of the 2012/2013 season, but will they come through and apply some more pressure to their Manchester rivals? 

Find out Sunday.

Line-Up

With Sergio Aguero unlikely to feature, Edin Dzeko could be welcomed back into the side to partner Carlos Tevez up top. Every City fan will remember his four goals in the blues stunning 1-5 victory over Spurs last season and he will be hoping to cement his name on the teamsheet with another impressive performance if chosen on Sunday.

Joleon Lescott will also be hoping to feature tomorrow. The defender gave a solid performance on Wednesday night and needs game time to show Roy Hodgson why he should be on the plane to Brazil next year.

Head to Head

The Citizens have been victorious in their last four fixtures against Andre Villas Boas' team and you have to go back to 2009 to find a Tottenham win. 

Historically however, Spurs have nearly a 50% win record against the blues at White Hart Lane with 31 wins from 53 games since the Premier League began. City have only won 15 times at the Lane, but their recent record against them will give them hope on Sunday afternoon. 

Key Men

Gareth Bale

Although the Welshman may not start, his presence will be a major boost to the whole club. Even half fit, he still has the ability to punish defences with his blistering speed and will be a real asset to Villas Boas if he makes a late cameo or even manages to start the game.

Carlos Tevez

The Argentine machine can't stop scoring at the moment and gave his team yet another priceless victory with a stunning effort on Wednesday night. Without Aguero, his tenacity will be vital in City's performance on Sunday.

Fantasy Premier League Leaders

Gareth Bale 200 points

Aaron Lennon 118 points

Jan Vertonghen 116 points

Carlos Tevez 156 points

David Silva 131 points

Joe Hart 131 points

Top Scorers

Gareth Bale

                           22

Carlos Tevez

                               17