Having scored 4 of the 17 goals conceded in total in the Premier League (PL) by Spurs at White Hart Lane, Edin was omitted from the starting line-up for the next game. If Mario had scored those same 4 goals, he would not have been omitted. Instead, Roberto would probably have referred to a perfect hat trick (left foot, right foot, header) followed by a candidate for goal of the season; certainly Roberto would have (again) talked about Mario in the same breath as Messi and Ronaldo.
It can be argued that Edin has been messed about this season. Certainly the frequent media references without qualification to 30 premier league appearances is misleading: for 10 of those appearances, he was on the field for a total of 82 minutes (less than the time Mario spent on the field before his red card versus Arsenal).
Given the actual minutes Edin has played and given the fact that our strategy has not played to his strengths, Edin has had a remarkable season which stands comparison with any striker (e.g., in the PL, a lower minutes per goal and a higher conversion rate for clear-cut chances than van Persie; excluding penalties, a lower minutes per goal and much lower minutes per assist than Rooney ). But let's focus on a comparison with Mario.
*According to the Castrol Edge Ranking of every player in Europe's top five leagues - based "purely on objective data on the positive or negative impact on his team's likely performance of every touch by a player” - Edin is 8 and Mario is 236. (van Persie is the only PL player above Edin.)
*For the Premier League this season, the Minutes per Goal were 107 for Edin and 102 for Mario; excluding penalties, they were 107 for Edin and 133 for Mario.
* Edin scored 9 goals in AWAY games (the 3rd highest in the PL) whereas Mario scored 4. The much publicised drop in City's away performance actually coincided with Edin's reduced involvement.
* Up to the end of April, Edin had converted 50% of Clear-Cut Chances (as defined by Opta Stats), whereas Mario had converted 40%.
* The Minutes per Assist for the season were 301 for Edin and 1329 for Mario.
*Sergio Aguero has a much higher strike rate when partnered with Edin than with Mario.
* Mario was unavailable for selection quite often simply because of disciplinary penalties (I cannot be bothered checking for how many games he was unavailable).
I have never seen so much drivel written about a player as Edin Dzeko. Particularly moronic are the smart arse comments about his first touch. Arguably the worst first touches this season were by Mario. Had he controlled brilliant passes to him relatively early in the home game against Sporting Lisbon (he blamed his footwear?), we would probably have beaten them on aggregate. But the worst was in the 20th minute in that away game at Arsenal, where his lousy first touch led him to make what one journalist rightly described as " a horrendous leg-breaker of a challenge on Alex Song".
Whilst being troubled by the point repeatedly made by Fred Eyre that Mario drains energy from the club, I have spent two years defending Mario. I forgave Mario's behaviour against Kiev and I gave him the benefit of the doubt over that 'stamp' (?) on Parker. But I have no time for any City player who behaves the way he went for Song. The manner of his 'apology' afterwards (forced on him by Prandelli) simply made things worse.
For me there is no contest: we should keep Edin rather than Mario.
It can be argued that Edin has been messed about this season. Certainly the frequent media references without qualification to 30 premier league appearances is misleading: for 10 of those appearances, he was on the field for a total of 82 minutes (less than the time Mario spent on the field before his red card versus Arsenal).
Given the actual minutes Edin has played and given the fact that our strategy has not played to his strengths, Edin has had a remarkable season which stands comparison with any striker (e.g., in the PL, a lower minutes per goal and a higher conversion rate for clear-cut chances than van Persie; excluding penalties, a lower minutes per goal and much lower minutes per assist than Rooney ). But let's focus on a comparison with Mario.
*According to the Castrol Edge Ranking of every player in Europe's top five leagues - based "purely on objective data on the positive or negative impact on his team's likely performance of every touch by a player” - Edin is 8 and Mario is 236. (van Persie is the only PL player above Edin.)
*For the Premier League this season, the Minutes per Goal were 107 for Edin and 102 for Mario; excluding penalties, they were 107 for Edin and 133 for Mario.
* Edin scored 9 goals in AWAY games (the 3rd highest in the PL) whereas Mario scored 4. The much publicised drop in City's away performance actually coincided with Edin's reduced involvement.
* Up to the end of April, Edin had converted 50% of Clear-Cut Chances (as defined by Opta Stats), whereas Mario had converted 40%.
* The Minutes per Assist for the season were 301 for Edin and 1329 for Mario.
*Sergio Aguero has a much higher strike rate when partnered with Edin than with Mario.
* Mario was unavailable for selection quite often simply because of disciplinary penalties (I cannot be bothered checking for how many games he was unavailable).
I have never seen so much drivel written about a player as Edin Dzeko. Particularly moronic are the smart arse comments about his first touch. Arguably the worst first touches this season were by Mario. Had he controlled brilliant passes to him relatively early in the home game against Sporting Lisbon (he blamed his footwear?), we would probably have beaten them on aggregate. But the worst was in the 20th minute in that away game at Arsenal, where his lousy first touch led him to make what one journalist rightly described as " a horrendous leg-breaker of a challenge on Alex Song".
Whilst being troubled by the point repeatedly made by Fred Eyre that Mario drains energy from the club, I have spent two years defending Mario. I forgave Mario's behaviour against Kiev and I gave him the benefit of the doubt over that 'stamp' (?) on Parker. But I have no time for any City player who behaves the way he went for Song. The manner of his 'apology' afterwards (forced on him by Prandelli) simply made things worse.
For me there is no contest: we should keep Edin rather than Mario.