FantasyIreland said:
Dave Ewing's Back 'eader said:
Tevez, Dzeko and Balotelli in the starting line-up. Good enough to win a championship.
Not without a capable midfield.
But I can only think of:
--Busquets--
Xavi---Iniesta
who are better than:
--de Jong--
Yaya---Silva
And a front 6 of:
---------------de Jong---------------
----------Yaya--------Silva----------
------Tevez--------------Balotelli---
----------------Dzeko----------------
is as good as any you can name anywhere once they're all fit, in form and a unit.
But they haven't been: de Jong has missed 3 of the 6 games we've lost and in my opinion he's our best player, Yaya was fat until November, Silva took until November to settle in, Tevez wanted to leave then didn't, Balotelli has been injured more than he's played, and Dzeko will take a good while to adjust to the Prem.
With these things holding us back - plus Hart being a young keeper, and us having a very unsettled back four (it seems to be a different combination every week!) - we are not/were never going to challenge for the title. This is what I keep saying to those who say "but with the money we've spent we should be at least challenging", the reality is we shouldn't be, we're a long way off!
I love Kompany, he's the best footballing(Beckenbauer/Carvalho), none-dominant(Dawson/Vidic/Terry) centre half in the Prem. He is only 24, TWENTY-FOUR! Micah Richards is the most improved player in the Prem. So we have a start on the back four but need to settle on who will play left back and we are crying our to sign Michael Dawson to play with Kompany for me. I'd give Lescott or Kolo with money for him, I think he's that good, he's immense! Plus he's English.
But then we have a problem. Barry, Vieira, Jo, amongst others, wouldn't get in United, Arsenal, Chelsea or even Spurs in fact nor Liverpool's squads! It's questionable whether Milner would get in the first three I named. Yet these players start games for us because we have not got that first 6 fit and in form. This is where we're not at the very top level just yet. We need to bring through high quality players or buy in excellent replacements for our strongest XI when they aren't fit. This is what wins titles, players playing who don't change the quality of performances from the strongest XI.
Then we have the fact we haven't played together for very long. As a team we don't have enough experience of big games. Derbies, crunch games like against Spurs, cup semi-finals and finals all make a team a better team. They provide experience of playing under the highest pressure and intensity, the most hostile atmospheres and against the highest quality opposition, not only in individual quality but against the best TEAMS. We need more time to learn how to break down the most stubborn opposition. We also need to learn how to hold onto good leads when we get them. From winning positions we've lost points and goal difference (Blackpool away 3-1 up, ended 3-2; Stoke away 1-0 up, ended 1-1; Wolves home 4-1 up, ended 4-3; Birmingham away 2-1 up, ended 2-2).
All this improves with experience, and as a team we don't have it. When we get a bit of experience of all these situations, get our bench sorted out, buy a top quality centre half to play with Kompany, have a fully settled and gelled squad, have Mancini knowing the ins and outs of every team and every player who plays for them, etc etc We might then be in with a chane to win the league. It's not just about buying super stars.
