Manchester City: The Season so far

Current Standings: 1^st  – Pts:48; GD: +40

Best XI (4-2-3-1): Joe Hart; Micah Richards, Joleon Lescott, Vincent Kompany, Aleksandar  Kolarov; Gareth Barry, Yaya Toure; James Milner, Sergio Aguero, David Silva; Mario Balotelli.

The Manager:

After two years of transfer dealings and developing team chemistry, City is finally clicking and are in the title race. That’s all thanks to Roberto Mancini’s cool, calm, professional manner that has led the club to the summit, despite constant off field controversies. They are even more attacking than ever before. 

The Season in a few words:

Scintillating start. More Gung-ho than last season and have played like Champions at times. 

Key Player:

Vincent Kompany - Named Captain at the start of the season, the Belgian international has been the rock in which City have been build on. Tough, uncompromising, Kompany has been a fantastic professional both on and off. When he’s on the pitch, City look like a steel wall is holding up their goal. Such is his expert tackling and timing; he’s missed one game through suspension the whole season.

Best Player this season:

David Silva - Watch his game against Manchester United to see how good the Spaniard has become. Or against Arsenal, Tottenham, Liverpool to mention a few games. Unable to track due to his ability to find space, plus his quick feet, bursting speed, deft touch and eye for goal, Silva is the lynchpin in the Manchester City side. Player of the Season so Far.

Worst Player this Season:

Gael Clichy. Has not adapted well to his switch from the Emirates, leaving attackers in his wake, most recently Daniel Sturridge in his side’s 2-1 lost to Chelsea then in the same game getting sent off. Still defends as if he were still at Arsenal. Defending at City is a whole different (and much tougher) ball game.

Most improved Player:

David Silva – Last Season: many pundits and critics thought he couldn’t adjust to life in the premier league and his first season showed glimpses of his class and Mancini promised that we will see the best of him soon. This season: Who can stop him?

Worst Match they played:

Chelsea 2 – City 1. Not that they played that badly, but it’s the only blemish so far this season and even that, they played with 10 men. After getting the 1-nil lead 2mins in thanks to a Balotelli strike, City played as if they won the game already. Meireles drew the game level in the 34^th min. After Clichy was shown his second yellow, Chelsea stamped their authority on the game and from an Lescott handball, Lampard duly scored from the penalty.

Best Match they played:

Manchester United 1 – Manchester City 6. Destroying their rivals at Old Trafford is a highlight for the Sky Blues. Leading 1-nil at half time thanks to Balotelli, things got better and better for City in the first minute of the second half when Evans, the last man, brought down the Italian and was shown a straight red. One man to the good, City ran rampart adding 5 more goals to the second half with Aguero, Dzeko (two), Balotelli (again) and Silva scoring.

Best Signing this Season:

Sergio Aguero. No even notices the departure of Tevez thanks to his compatriot’s arrival. A carbon-copy of Tevez, Aguero has adjusted to life in the Premier League as if he’s been playing for years. 13 goals in 16 games already this season, the Argentine has added another attacking dimension to an already star-studded line up. In fact, compared to Tevez, he’s more of a quicker and slippery prospect for defenders to handle. If he’s this good 6 months in, imagine another six more months.

Prediction for 2012:

Out of the Champions League and sitting on top of the Premier League, City will never get a better chance to win the Premiership than this year. With only Manchester United realistically challenging, City only have to contend with their rivals instead of a horde of pretenders from previous seasons. Despite battling in four competitions City will surely have their eyes solely focused on the Premier League if they want to be top dog. 1^st.

What they need to do:

Don’t let the pressure of the title race get to them. They have better position than many thought they would be at the start of the season. Focus on the Premier League first and foremost, without letting other competitions harm their title bid. Getting rid of Carlos Tevez would finally get rid of the negative attention surrounding him and club. Also, controlling Balotelli: if they can of course.

Andrew Bishara

Football Friends bring you the latest football news and opinion from football fans around the world. Football News