Starting XI for next season, your prediction.

[Xyplode]

----------------------Hart-------------------
-Richards----Kompany-----Lescott-----Clichy-
---------------Yaya--------De Jong----------
------Balotelli--------Nasri----------Silva-----
--------------------Aguero------------------

 

[Andouble]

----------------------Hart-------------------
-Richards----Kompany-----Lescott-----Clichy-
---------------Yaya--------De Jong----------
------Balotelli--------Nasri----------Silva-----
--------------------Aguero------------------

 

[Rammyblues]

..........Hart

Richards....Kompany..Lescott...Clichy

..........NDJ............Barry

Yaya...........Aguero......Siva

................Tevez

 

[Matt the Giant]

----------------------Hart-------------------
-Richards----Kompany-----Lescott-----Clichy-
---------------Yaya--------De Jong----------
------Balotelli--------Nasri----------Silva-----
--------------------Aguero------------------

Veeery nice!!

Or how about:
----------------------Hart------------------------
-Richards----Kompany-----Lescott-----Clichy-
---------------Yaya--------De Jong-------------
------Aguero--------Mata----------Silva--------
--------------------Balotelli----------------------

 

[Dax777]

I'd agree that I like Mata's attitude. But a primadonna is sometimes just the ticket. The point about the u21 is just that Nasri has done it on a bigger stage. There is a benefit to having that experience in your dressing room, and players who the opposition recognise as having hurt them in the past.

I disagree on needing a pemadonna. We just need the better football player. And Nasri is about the same age as Mata and brings nothing in terms experience. I mean, experience from What? Winning the intertoto cup as a 19 year old?

Mata, 5'6, 60kg(ish), very left footed, facilitator with superb vision, has the spanish game imprinted on the inside of his skull. Favourite position, free role starting on the left wing.

Silva, 5'7, 65kg, very left footed, facilitator with superb vision, has the spanish game imprinted on the inside of his skull. Favourite position, free role starting on the left wing.

Yes, there are some substantial differences, but for goodness sakes stop trying to tell me they aren't similar.

They are not similarly styled. Which is the inference being made when you say he is just like SIlva. And that is the misconception i refer too. As you have pointed out, there are "substantial differences" thus, he is not "Another Silva!"

Yes he can poach. You could make a bit of a fool of yourself by saying he's superior to Silva, I doubt many people in world football would agree that he's near that level, yet.

I did not say he was superior to Silva. But you'd be wrong to think many do not rate him at the Silva's level. Most do. He is that good. And his year without SIlva and Villa confirms it.

It's horses for courses. We don't need another left footed creative player and finisher nearly as much as we need the option of right footed dribbler and creative player.

We don't have a creative player/finisher right now, so yes we do need that. Nasri is a dribbler, how much of a creative player he is, is debateable. And their actual dominant foot is irrelevant to the discussion. Mata is a better creative player, and we need creative players. We have enough dribblers in Balo, AJ, Aguero and Tevez if he stays. We have just Silva in the creative department. I'd say the bigger need is vision and pass threading, not dribbling. Which by the way is an inferior skill. great for youtube, not so useful in the absence of other more important qualities, I.e vision. Besides, dribblers come a dime a dozen, while players with vision are rare.<br /><br />-- Fri Jul 29, 2011 4:37 pm --<br /><br />

----------------------Hart-------------------
-Richards----Kompany-----Lescott-----Clichy-
---------------Yaya--------De Jong----------
------Balotelli--------Nasri----------Silva-----
--------------------Aguero------------------

Veeery nice!!

Or how about:
----------------------Hart------------------------
-Richards----Kompany-----Lescott-----Clichy-
---------------Yaya--------De Jong-------------
------Aguero--------Mata----------Silva--------
--------------------Balotelli----------------------

This is the team we need!

 

[CityFootball]

This is just an example so don't rip on this formation because I am just pointing something out.

Hart
Richards-Kompany-Lescott-Clichy
NDJ-Toure
X-X-X
Dzeko

Why is Agüero in one of those X-marked spots? He belongs up front...

 

[Jumanji]

Because he's a second striker and is a effective really in any attacking role.

 

[mcfc-4-life]

-------------------------Hart-------------------------
------------------------------------------------------
----Richards----Kompany(C)--Lescott----Clichy----
-------------------------------------------------------
-----------------De Jong-----Y.Toure----------------
-------------------------------------------------------
--A.Johnson-------------Silva--------------Balotelli--
-------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------Aguero----------------------

Or

-------------------------Hart-------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------
----Richards----Kompany(C)--Lescott----Clichy----
-------------------------------------------------------
------------------------De Jong----------------------
-------------------------------------------------------
--A.Johnson-------Silva-------Y.Toure-----Balotelli--
-------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------Aguero----------------------

 

[Seosa]

-----------------Hart

Richards - Kompany - Lescott - Clichy

-----------------NDJ

--------------------Yaya

---------Sneijder------------Nasri

----------------------Silva

----------------Kun

;)

 

[Tevez City]

-------------------------Hart-------------------------
------------------------------------------------------
----Richards----Kompany(C)--Lescott----Clichy----
-------------------------------------------------------
-----------------De Jong-----Y.Toure----------------
-------------------------------------------------------
--A.Johnson-------------Silva--------------Balotelli--
-------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------Aguero----------------------

Or

-------------------------Hart-------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------
----Richards----Kompany(C)--Lescott----Clichy----
-------------------------------------------------------
------------------------De Jong----------------------
-------------------------------------------------------
--A.Johnson-------Silva-------Y.Toure-----Balotelli--
-------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------Aguero----------------------

I am not sure that we can rely on Balotelli and AJ week in week out !

I hope they proved me wrong though next season.