Mancini says 'Tactics' will change.

[K.Reeves right foot]

I've got a feeling he'll drop de jong when balotelli is fit

..........Toure.....Barry............

Silva.........Tevez..........Milner

.................Balotelli.................

Thats just what Nigel wants to hear at the moment after the week he's had!

 

[Warwickhunt]

I've got a feeling he'll drop de jong when balotelli is fit

..........Toure.....Barry............

Silva.........Tevez..........Milner

.................Balotelli.................

But he doesn't deserve to be dropped, he's been one of our most consistent performers this season.

 

[Bill]

I've got a feeling he'll drop de jong when balotelli is fit

..........Toure.....Barry............

Silva.........Tevez..........Milner

.................Balotelli.................

no chance, will be silva or barry.

 

[Happy Feet]

A B C D

 

[Didsbury Dave]

On form it should be Yaya or Milner.

 

[ST Coleridge]

The 4-4-2 vs 4-3-3 (4-5-1 / 4-2-3-1) debate has been well aired on this forum but I would point out that in the end it boils down to players rather than formations.

One reason that many City fans have reservations about 4-4-2 is that in recent years we have seen both City (e.g. under MH) and England struggle in games using this formation. But this was often because the other team had BETTER players rather than that they were playing a fancy superior system.

In a 4-4-2 match up the game boils down to 1) better defence ? 2) quality of 2 CM's 3) quality of wide players 4) quality of strikers.

Utd won the treble with a 4-4-2 system because Giggs / Scholes / Keane / Beckham was pretty useful.

I don't see a City player suitable to play on the left in a 4-4-2 so I am happy to see RM play around with other formations... but if we had Gareth Bale in our squad, I see no reason why we couldn't play Bale / Milner / Toure / AJ (Silva) as an attacking midfield 4 at home vs weaker teams, allowing us to play Tevez + Ade / Balotelli up front.

I understand what you're saying, but the 4-4-2's gone. Giggs, Scholes, Keane and Beckham were up against 442s every week - this is no longer the case.

The two up top argument infuriates me. Last season we played with a deep Barry & NDJ. They tried to hit the wings and we played on the counter, relying on the pace of Bellamy and Sweep.

Look at Barca - they start with Villa on the left (where Balotelli will go), little Pedro in the middle and Messi on the right. Our front three, when we have possession, have the licence to wander about (as they did against Newcastle). Look at Chelsea - Anelka to the right, Drogba in the middle and Malouda to the left and slightly withdrawn (see Milner vs. Newcastle). They also have Essien, Mikel and Ramires in the middle, but no-one mentions their 'three defensive midfielders'. Look at Inter's CL winning team - one up top.

442 is shiiiiit.

 

[BlueGun]

Morning chaps.
I read this too and was quite pleased [being a Mancini critic] to hear what he had to say. We don't get much feedback from him usually other than stock answers to questions in terrible English along the lines of he is 'important' / 'good player' etc.
It gives us hope for a more expansive team formation in future games when needed with the knowledge the more cautious approach works against the better teams.
Having said that, there has still been the possibility for a more inventive formation with Silva pushed behind Tevez and SWP or Johnson on the wing, Milner in the middle and leaving out Barry or deJong when ok to do so. So I see what he is saying but I still think he's been too cautious in some games that were there for the taking.

Against Newcastle, with their outragous high defensive line Johnson would have had a field day considering as he said, they had been working on him running diagionally across the back line to latch on to through balls as he did against Juve and it worked perfectly. Against Newcastle it was there to be done yet Mancini chose to ignore it. That to me is strange.
Does anyone think Yaya is unfit? From sundays game and some others he looks over weight and very stodgy in his running whereas at Barcelona he was trimmer and more nippy around the pitch. We're 2 months into the season so fitness shouldn't be an issue now at all. The whole team looked knackered on sunday which was worrying and Milner as we now know wasn't well so really shouldn't have been on the pitch and it showed. Yes we got the win but boy was it a poor performance. Balotelli is needed more than ever just to help tevez who surely can't keep this up at his present rate and regardless of the half time bust up [if true] he's not loooking happy on the pitch and his run to RSC after the penalty to me was a direct message to mancini to play another striker [but ffs not RSC!].

He was carrying a knock, that's why he was playing shit and was taken off.

 

[Rushton121]

I've got a feeling he'll drop de jong when balotelli is fit

..........Toure.....Barry............

Silva.........Tevez..........Milner

.................Balotelli.................

Thats just what Nigel wants to hear at the moment after the week he's had!

Good job i decided to post it on here then before i text it to him isnt it? ;)

I just think he'll drop him, even though he's probably been our best player.

 

[K.Reeves right foot]

Thats just what Nigel wants to hear at the moment after the week he's had!

Good job i decided to post it on here then before i text it to him isnt it? ;)

I just think he'll drop him, even though he's probably been our best player.

I doubt it, think Mancini loves him for his obvious combative style and for the insurance he gives us infront of our defence. With balotelli Mancini will probably think DeJong is even more important as Balotelli is a bit of a free spirit on the pitch and therefore deJong is the polar opposite and creates the balance and insurance. Just my opinion but it would also make sense.

 

[Didsbury Dave]

..........De Jong.....Barry............

Silva.........Tevez..........Milner/AJ

.................Balotelli

That's it for me...Milner for the harder games, AJ for the easier ones. Yaya is there if his form improves.