Vinny - The perfect captain. A wall at the back. Loves City. Married a Manc. Want to straighten out Balo? They should force Mario to just watch film of Vinny living his life. Examples don't seem to come much more exemplary than VK.
Kun - So fun to watch. Absolute class. The kind of guy you ride to the silver every season. I'm going to cry into my cereal if he answers the call when Real Madrid or Barca come calling. I pray it won't be for many years.. I pray City turns into such a juggernaut that it's seen as a better place to stay than the Spanish big two are a place to go. Also.. You can tell he is nervous to use English, although his initial attitude was very positive when it came to learning English ways and "fitting in" in England. (Aguero always says the right things, there's no doubting that - and I love how he does a Spanish and then English post each time he sends out a tweet.) He has plenty of time of course (and he has yet to even have an offseason here yet) but I think he is already thrilled with the football aspect of his life, and let's all just hope that on personal level, he really starts to become comfortable with living in England, and that goes double for his wifey. THERE ARE ART CLASSES IN MANCHESTER!!! As far as La Mano de Dios, I think we've shut up Diego about Sergio leaving anytime soon for the time being, so hopefully it's all up from here. I know he is miles away from being a Tevez type, but I think we should all hope he starts gravitating toward being a Zab type. That would be ideal. The day I see him give a solid two minute post game interview in Manc-tinged English (with Spanish accent of course) without a translator standing nearby will be a happy day. Maybe I'm worrying too much about the whole thing, but I think it makes a difference. It's only because I want him to stay forever. Bottom line: my wife is a bit worried about my devotion to this man. 'nuff said.
ZABMAN - How can the above plan work without our iron-headed lion? He shows up to EDS matches. He's ok with being on the bench if he needs to be. This year? he did his part and it turned out Roberto preferred him when it counted most. AND he scores? bloody glorious this whole scenario. Some folks just look better in a head bandage.
Joe Hart - I won't miss his kicks, but his shot blocking, leadership, sense of humor, and "AWAY" calls are part of what makes City feel like City. Plus he's tall as shit. Sign me up.
Micah - His speed, physicality, loyalty to City, and winning smile make him a fan favorite (and certainly one of mine). He inspires me to start the answer to every question I am asked with a high-pitched "Yeah, I think that..."
Yaya Toure - One. Of. A. Kind. Dude runs shit in the midfield. He makes your eyes deceive you; he IS going faster and smoother than he looks, cursing at you in French, remixing Whitney Houston and Celine Dion songs over Coupé-Décalé beats in his head, and constantly redefining the word "clutch". And I think his ears give him character. So booya.
David Silva - His pass to Dzeko for the sixth at the swamp is all you need to know. Merlin is magical. I think big goofy defenders get extra pissed when a guy the size of a kid in middle-school absolutely slices them apart. At first I thought Silva dove a lot... then I realized that our opponents really were kicking the shit out of his ankles. Never underestimate what frustration will make people do. The guy deserves every free kick he gets. He's been playing half this season on one leg. What many think was a drop in form in the latter part of the season might have just been the drop of his exceptionally huge balls.
Joleon - OK Initially he didn't make my list.. but can you really picture Vinny and Micah and Joe and the boys without him? He has done (and continues to do) what so many pro athletes just stop doing once they have attained some measure of success. He keeps growing. He has improved. He defends with the best of em these days. That thing on his head is awesome. He literally headbutted the shit out of a car when he was little. Hard as nails. Zidane never did anything like that. All of nature and the heavens screams for him to buzz his hair down, but he continually lets the curls fly. I have a widow's peak. He has an inverted widow's peak. We are like Yin and Yang. We should hang out. We must hang out. He likes video games and visiting America. He makes the list.
