Why Manchester City’s critics are hit and myth
Stuart Brennan
May 10, 2012
Dastardly Manchester City have built a warehouse in the middle of a vast Wythenshawe industrial estate.
In its cavernous interior there are rows upon rows of crates, all marked ‘This Way Up’ and stretching away into the distance, like the closing scene of Raiders of the Lost Ark.
This is where Roberto Mancini keeps his stockpiled players. He has been spotted cycling to the warehouse in the dead of night, an evil world-dominating grin on his face, and peering into the crates to see Adam Johnson or James Milner peering back, blinking in the torchlight.
Or so some media mugs, and green-faced fans of other clubs might have you believe.
It is another of the myths which has grown up around City, along with the idea that they are set to become the first team ever to ‘buy’ the Premier League, and the one that says their squad is a barmy, squabbling mess of conflicting egos.
And, as the Blues’ moment of destiny approaches, this idea that City have been stockpiling players – buying them simply to keep them out of the hands of their rivals – has been
getting a good airing.
Of course, it is utter baloney.
When the summer transfer window closed, City had 22 players available of Premier League standard – that is, who had already appeared in the competition, or new signings Sergio Aguero and Samir Nasri, who were clearly up to that mark.
A quick scan of the two teams expected to be the Blues’ main title rivals, reveals that United had 29 and Chelsea 25.
Of course, the loan system can disguise the bulk of a squad, but even when that is taken into account, City still had less ‘stockpiling’ than the other clubs. At one point, the Blues had a remarkable 25 players out on loan, but the vast majority were young players, farmed out to gain experience.
The only first-team names loaned out were Emmanuel Adebayor, Roque Santa Cruz, Wayne Bridge, Dedryck Boyata and Vladimir Weiss.
None of them could seriously be seen as stockpiled players.
Adebayor and Bridge were unwanted players who were inherited by Mancini, Santa Cruz had been ruined by injury problems, and Boyata and Weiss are young players being tested at the top level, at Bolton and Espanyol respectively.
United’s only ‘name’ loan was Federico Macheda, while Chelsea farmed out Yossi Benayoun, Gael Kakuta and Josh McEachran.
So, if they are not stored in a warehouse somewhere, where are these stockpiled City players?
Johnson and Milner are the two whose names trip off the lips on national talk radio stations, principally because they have found themselves on the bench, or in the stand, with increasing frequency, in recent weeks.
Johnson has not started a league game since March 3 and didn’t make the bench for the Manchester derby last week.
Milner played the last minute of that game as a sub, but has been left kicking his heels on the bench for four of the last five games as Mancini has settled on his most effective team.
But the truth is that, if City DO win the title, both Johnson and Milner will be more than entitled to puff their medal-bearing chests out on the victory podium.
Milner, far from being stockpiled, has played a huge part in the success of this season.
In fact, he has played in 26 of the 37 league games so far, starting 17 of them, and at key points of the season has made a major contribution.
City fans will always remember his brilliant display in the 6-1 win at Old Trafford in October.
In that game he worked tirelessly but also showed his ability, setting up Mario Balotelli for the first two goals.
The stats also show that Milner consistently runs more miles during a game than anyone, so in terms of sheer graft he has made a big contribution.
But that is matched by his moments of quality – the pass which freed Edin Dzeko for an important equaliser at Queen’s Park Rangers, followed by the counter-attack which led to David Silva making it 2-1, on Bonfire Night.
In fact, when the chill winds of autumn began to cool City’s blazing start to the season, Milner came into his own, and helped to keep the winning run going even as the goal rampage began to calm.
Johnson has also been painted as a peripheral figure, and at times this season he has been less than happy at being left out of the starting XI.
But the fact is that he has scored five league goals, only one less than the players’ player of the year David Silva. In fact, only strikers Sergio Aguero, Balotelli and Dzeko, and midfielders Silva and Yaya Toure, have scored more this season.
The only truly fringe players this season, who won’t qualify for a medal should the Blues complete the job, have been injury-blighted Owen Hargreaves, loan signing David Pizarro, and young midfielder Abdul Razak, who has been out on loan.
Stockpiling HAS been going on at City – but only of points and goals.
