two big matches this week, the outcome of which may determine the outcome of the league.
City are in control of its destiny. With three matches at hand on the leaders, IF we win those games, then we are the leaders!
This is a tough week against two key rivals. First: Saturday vs. Arsenal. We have not defeated Arsenal at home for quite some time, so picking up three points there will be key. And they were crushed this weekend by Chelsea, so they will not be in a 'good mood."
Tuesday is the Derby. Hopefully, many of you will be able to take a "long lunch" and see us at Maggies for what will certainly be an interesting match!
Sunday, March 23, 2014
Saturday, March 15, 2014
Being Positive
After today's match against Hull, I'm going to take the high road and make a POSITIVE top 10!
1) Three important points
2) Three points closer to the top
3) Silva was brilliant
4) One of our strikers scored a goal
5) The back line showed a lot of discipline causing Hull to be caught off side a number of times
6) See number 3)
7) Silva scored a great goal
8) Silva put the ball on a plate for Dzeko. Twice.
9) The team showed a LOT of spirit
10) See number 3). Again.
1) Three important points
2) Three points closer to the top
3) Silva was brilliant
4) One of our strikers scored a goal
5) The back line showed a lot of discipline causing Hull to be caught off side a number of times
6) See number 3)
7) Silva scored a great goal
8) Silva put the ball on a plate for Dzeko. Twice.
9) The team showed a LOT of spirit
10) See number 3). Again.
Friday, March 14, 2014
One Trophy left.....
After the lack of revenge against Wigan, and the not too unexpected loss to Barcelona, we have one thing left to focus on: Premier League!!!
The good news is if we win the three games we are behind, we are at the top of the table. The bad news is that we have to win those three games!
It's particularly difficult given the lack of production from the front line. Aguero and Negrego have been hurt, I've discussed Dzeko in another post. This drought sounds familiar: two years ago, we were ahead in goals scored and as we approached spring the goals dried up. The difference this year is that we are NOT at the top of the table.
The current league leader has been able to grind out three points consistently, without scoring a lot of goals. I don't care if we do it by scoring a lot or a little. We just need the three points. Unfortunately, our slip ups early in the season mean we don't have a lot of wiggle room. Let's see if we can make up for it.
One other point on the lack of goals. When you score a LOT of goals like we have, your competition learns to adapt. Our competition has learned to adapt. We need to adapt back.......!
The good news is if we win the three games we are behind, we are at the top of the table. The bad news is that we have to win those three games!
It's particularly difficult given the lack of production from the front line. Aguero and Negrego have been hurt, I've discussed Dzeko in another post. This drought sounds familiar: two years ago, we were ahead in goals scored and as we approached spring the goals dried up. The difference this year is that we are NOT at the top of the table.
The current league leader has been able to grind out three points consistently, without scoring a lot of goals. I don't care if we do it by scoring a lot or a little. We just need the three points. Unfortunately, our slip ups early in the season mean we don't have a lot of wiggle room. Let's see if we can make up for it.
One other point on the lack of goals. When you score a LOT of goals like we have, your competition learns to adapt. Our competition has learned to adapt. We need to adapt back.......!
Tuesday, March 4, 2014
Now that's QUALITY!
Great, great comeback by City in the League Cup!
It was tough to go down so early. And there was a lot of cause for concern that we couldn't put the ball in the net in the first half.
But that was all forgotten given the quality of our first two goals. To see Yaya look at the goalie, call for the ball, and put a pinpoint precision shot into the net from 30 yards was an incredible experience. And Nasri's goal was just as brilliant from a volley at that distance. The keeper didn't even have a chance to move. But even if he did, there was not way he was going to get it.
Respect to Sunderland, who really appear to have gotten their act together compared to earlier in the season. They were ahead for much of the match, and when they went down, they still looked dangerous. It took two incredible goals from an incredibly talented team to take the Cup from them. Fortunately, City was just that team!
It was tough to go down so early. And there was a lot of cause for concern that we couldn't put the ball in the net in the first half.
But that was all forgotten given the quality of our first two goals. To see Yaya look at the goalie, call for the ball, and put a pinpoint precision shot into the net from 30 yards was an incredible experience. And Nasri's goal was just as brilliant from a volley at that distance. The keeper didn't even have a chance to move. But even if he did, there was not way he was going to get it.
Respect to Sunderland, who really appear to have gotten their act together compared to earlier in the season. They were ahead for much of the match, and when they went down, they still looked dangerous. It took two incredible goals from an incredibly talented team to take the Cup from them. Fortunately, City was just that team!
Sunday, February 23, 2014
Edin Dzeko
lately on the fb page, there has been a lot of discussion about Edin Dzeko. A LOT of discussion. Not all of it good. The miss he had yesterday was terrible. But all players have an occasional miss. Right? That is a very true statement.
So, I thought I'd look at some statistics. I looked at http://espnfc.com/team/squad/_/id/382/league/all/manchester-city?cc=5901 on 23 Feb 14, and copied them into a spreadsheet, doing some quick math. Please find the spreadsheet attached. I can not tell when ESPN last updated this, but it does seem slightly out of date.
First, let me say that I am NOT a hater. He's done a few clutch things for the team. I WANT him to succeed. But anyone who makes it to Maggies on a regular basis has seen me in the moan zone going on about him shooting wide, and over, and at the keeper. It seems to me he does it a lot. But what do the stats say?
For as many goals as City have scored this year, there are 4 players that lead the way: Sergio Agüero, Álvaro Negredo, Edin Dzeko and Yaya Touré. Between these four, I've done some quick math and found the following:
Compared to the others scoring goals on the team (I did not include Jovetic because he hasn't played much, but he beats Dzeko in everything but assists), Edin doesn't look so good. What's not in the table is the number of shots he takes. He's got 20%+ more than Sergio or the Beast and almost double the shots of Yaya. If his shooting percentage was that of Yaya or Sergio, he'd have 32 goals!
As a baseball fan, I have one thing to suggest. That Edin get his eyes checked. I mean that seriously, not maliciously. In baseball, players who's batting average has slumped frequently find that their eyesight has gotten worse without them knowing it. Contact lenses have added 30-50 points to a players batting average. Perhaps they can help Edin?
If Jovetic can get and stay healthy, I'd much rather see Edin on the bench. He's received a lot of minutes this year and much of it is due to injuries. Certainly, he's better than some of the strikers in City's not so distant past. But he doesn't seem up to par with the current bunch. And unless that changes, I hope we can find someone who can make better use of the chances they get on the pitch.
Soooo, in light of the upcoming Liverpool vs. City match, I thought I'd update this table to reflect some updated stats and some interesting compares:
So, I thought I'd look at some statistics. I looked at http://espnfc.com/team/squad/_/id/382/league/all/manchester-city?cc=5901 on 23 Feb 14, and copied them into a spreadsheet, doing some quick math. Please find the spreadsheet attached. I can not tell when ESPN last updated this, but it does seem slightly out of date.
First, let me say that I am NOT a hater. He's done a few clutch things for the team. I WANT him to succeed. But anyone who makes it to Maggies on a regular basis has seen me in the moan zone going on about him shooting wide, and over, and at the keeper. It seems to me he does it a lot. But what do the stats say?
For as many goals as City have scored this year, there are 4 players that lead the way: Sergio Agüero, Álvaro Negredo, Edin Dzeko and Yaya Touré. Between these four, I've done some quick math and found the following:
| % of shots on goal | % of SG that go in | % of shots that go in | Assists/game started | |
| 50% | 54% | 27% | 0.364 | Sergio Agüero |
| 42% | 62% | 26% | 0.231 | Álvaro Negredo |
| 32% | 45% | 14% | 0.240 | Edin Dzeko |
| 37% | 73% | 27% | 0.152 | Yaya Touré |
Compared to the others scoring goals on the team (I did not include Jovetic because he hasn't played much, but he beats Dzeko in everything but assists), Edin doesn't look so good. What's not in the table is the number of shots he takes. He's got 20%+ more than Sergio or the Beast and almost double the shots of Yaya. If his shooting percentage was that of Yaya or Sergio, he'd have 32 goals!
As a baseball fan, I have one thing to suggest. That Edin get his eyes checked. I mean that seriously, not maliciously. In baseball, players who's batting average has slumped frequently find that their eyesight has gotten worse without them knowing it. Contact lenses have added 30-50 points to a players batting average. Perhaps they can help Edin?
If Jovetic can get and stay healthy, I'd much rather see Edin on the bench. He's received a lot of minutes this year and much of it is due to injuries. Certainly, he's better than some of the strikers in City's not so distant past. But he doesn't seem up to par with the current bunch. And unless that changes, I hope we can find someone who can make better use of the chances they get on the pitch.
Soooo, in light of the upcoming Liverpool vs. City match, I thought I'd update this table to reflect some updated stats and some interesting compares:
| G/Shot | G/Shot on Goal | Sh/SH | |
| Sergio Agüero | 0.28 | 0.54 | 0.52 |
| Álvaro Negredo | 0.27 | 0.63 | 0.42 |
| Edin Dzeko | 0.15 | 0.41 | 0.36 |
| Yaya Touré | 0.3 | 0.71 | 0.42 |
| Luis Suárez | 0.16 | 0.36 | 0.44 |
| Daniel Sturridge | 0.22 | 0.51 | 0.44 |
Edin compares favorably to the Liverpool strikers, except in the category of shots/shots on goal. In other words, if he could hit the net he'd have more goals than Suarez, because he's playing more games.
C'mon CITY!!!!
Sunday, February 16, 2014
Bogie Vanquished
Chelsea had definitely gotten the better of us in our Premiership meeting this year, but the FA Cup match was definitely all City. Chelsea didn't even have an attempt on goal!
Although he had a good match, we were surprised to see that David Silva got man of the match. Most of the support was for Javier Garcia. Personally, I thought it should have gone to Vincent Kompany. The captain was everywhere: blocking shots, clearing crosses, intercepting passes, moving up into the midfield to break up passes and pushing the ball forward. A truly awesome display.
One surprising downside was the substitute of Jesus Navas. Whenever he touched the ball, his defender (not sure who it was) stuffed him. We'll have to keep an eye on that.
The good news is that we know we CAN beat anyone else in this competition. Of course, that does not mean we will.
For now, even the bosses' eyes can focus on one thing: BARCELONA! They looked in fine form Saturday, winning 6-0. A lot will be on the line for MCFC as to our aspirations as a world class team. Samir Nasri has been quoted as saying we can beat them. I hope he's right, and that we do. I think the biggest risk right now is that we get nervous and look like we did in the first match against Bayern. If we play with confidence, this will be a great match!
Although he had a good match, we were surprised to see that David Silva got man of the match. Most of the support was for Javier Garcia. Personally, I thought it should have gone to Vincent Kompany. The captain was everywhere: blocking shots, clearing crosses, intercepting passes, moving up into the midfield to break up passes and pushing the ball forward. A truly awesome display.
One surprising downside was the substitute of Jesus Navas. Whenever he touched the ball, his defender (not sure who it was) stuffed him. We'll have to keep an eye on that.
The good news is that we know we CAN beat anyone else in this competition. Of course, that does not mean we will.
For now, even the bosses' eyes can focus on one thing: BARCELONA! They looked in fine form Saturday, winning 6-0. A lot will be on the line for MCFC as to our aspirations as a world class team. Samir Nasri has been quoted as saying we can beat them. I hope he's right, and that we do. I think the biggest risk right now is that we get nervous and look like we did in the first match against Bayern. If we play with confidence, this will be a great match!
Tuesday, February 4, 2014
Bump in the road
Well, as hard as it is to say this, Chelsea played better than we did.
What they did well was WANT every ball. We were dispossessed too many times. They did not allow us to break and it is on the break that we are very dangerous. When we had the ball in the box, they had 8 men there, blocking almost every shot.
The most telling statistic for me: 65% possession, 25 shots, only 3 on goal. One was a dribbler, the other two were the free kick from David Silva and the curler from Jovetic. Unfortunately, Czek made some fine saves. On the plus side, Joe Hart made some fine saves.
But it was not our day.
The good news is that there are still 42 points to play for. May we get more than everyone else!
What they did well was WANT every ball. We were dispossessed too many times. They did not allow us to break and it is on the break that we are very dangerous. When we had the ball in the box, they had 8 men there, blocking almost every shot.
The most telling statistic for me: 65% possession, 25 shots, only 3 on goal. One was a dribbler, the other two were the free kick from David Silva and the curler from Jovetic. Unfortunately, Czek made some fine saves. On the plus side, Joe Hart made some fine saves.
But it was not our day.
The good news is that there are still 42 points to play for. May we get more than everyone else!
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