Man City Report - Derby Win & Not Much Else

Following the second international break of the season, Man City had seven matches from mid-October through early November before their next international break: four EPL matches, two UEFA Champions League group stage matches, and one Capital One Cup match.

In the first of those seven matches, Man City picked up where they left off in the EPL with a 4-1 win at home over Tottenham thanks to four goals by striker Sergio Aguero.  Man City's Champions League struggles continued with a 2-2 tie on the road against CSKA in an empty stadium on a shaky late penalty for CSKA. The match was played in an empty stadium because of racist chants fans sang at previous matches.  Unfortunately Man City's struggles in the Champions League spilled over into their EPL form with a 2-1 road loss to West Ham.  Just when it looked like things couldn't get any worse, October ended in horrid fashion as Man City crashed out of the Capital One Cup with a 2-0 loss at home to Newcastle.  Thankfully November started out better than October ended as Man City beat Man United 1-0 at home against a 10-man United side that deserved to lose the first Manchester Derby of the 2014-15 season.  Those positive vibes could NOT carry over to the Champions League as Man City lost 2-1 at home to CSKA to put their hopes of advancing to the knockout phase of the Champions League on life support as they finished the match with nine guys after midfielders Fernandinho and Yaya Toure were both given red cards.  Man City tied QPR 2-2 on the road in the EPL in their final match before the third international break of the season.

Following their most uneven set of matches in over a calendar year, here are my updated player rankings for Man City:

2014-15 Player Rankings 2.0

1. Sergio Aguero (F, LR 2) 2. Vincent Kompany (D, LR 3) 3. Yaya Toure (M, LR 1)  4. David Silva (M, LR 4)  5. Pablo Zabaleta (D, LR 5) 6. Edin Dzeko (F, LR 7) 7. Samir Nasri (M, LR 6) 8. Joe Hart (GK, LR 9) 9. James Milner (M, LR 11)  10. Jesus Navas (M, LR 10) 11. Aleksandar Kolarov (D, LR 15) 12. Fernandinho (M, LR 8) 13. Stevan Jovetic (F, LR 13)  14. Fernando (M, LR 12) 15. Eliaquim Mangala (D, LR 14) 16. Gael Clichy (D, LR 16) 17. Martin Demichelis (D, LR 17) 18. Bacary Sagna (D, LR 19)  19. Willy Caballero (GK, LR 18) 20. Dedryck Boyata (D, LR 21)  21. Matija Nastasic (D, LR 20) 22. Scott Sinclair (M, LR 22) 23. José Ángel Pozo (M, LR 23) 24. Sinan Bytyqi (M, LR 24) 25. Frank Lampard (M, LR 25) 26. Richard Wright (GK LR 26)

1) Sergio Aguero (F, LR 2): So far this season Aguero has 12 of Man City's 22 EPL goals and no one else scored more than two EPL goals.  I am not sure what the NBA Jam equavalent of "on fire" is in soccer but whatever it is, that is what Aguero is right now.  In fact if Aguero fails to score in the EPL, Man City usually loses.  Take Man City's four EPL matches discussed above: 4-1 win over Tottenham (four Aguero goals), 2-1 lose to West Ham (zero Aguero goals), 1-0 win over Man United (one Aguero goal), and 2-2 tie with QPR (two Aguero goals).  I never thought I would love a Man City forward from Argentina more than Carlos Tevez but Aguero's flair for the dramatic goals throughout his Man City tenure (remember his 2011-12 EPL title clincher against QPR!?!?!) OFFICIALLY makes him my favorite Man City forward from Argentina of all time.

9) James Milner (M, LR 11): I've long hailed defender Pablo Zabaleta as the most versatile player on the roster despite the fact that he only plays right outside back for Man City because of how well he defends and seamlessly counters-attacks.  Milner's performances so far this season is giving Zabaleta a run for his money given that Milner lined up at every midfield position and even played right back in a pinch earlier this season.  Other than Milner's impressive work rate there is nothing else that stands out about his game as exceptional but that alone gets him well deserved appearances for Man City even though there are many more technically skilled passers and finishers that could line-up ahead of him in the midfield for Man City.  Milner's contract runs out at the end of the season.  I hope Man City are able to retain his services because if Milner leaves not only would it be on a free transfer but Man City would also be forced to spend roughly $25 to $30 million in the open market to get a versatile midfielder like Milner.

12) Fernandinho (M, LR 8): I found the Fernando signing over the 2014 Summer Transfer Window curious.  Sure that signing looked like a straight replacement for Javi Garcia but Fernando's presence made me worry about Fernandinho's spot in the team.  Fernandinho started the season slow following an emotionally and physically draining World Cup Cup in his home country of Brazil.  Thankfully Fernandinho looked more like himself as of late till he was sent off in the Champions League against CSKA.  Last season Fernandinho and Yaya Toure formed one of the most dynamic central midfield tandems in club history but that spark has just not been there this season.  Each guy deserves some blame for the tandem's collective dip in form.  It certainly will be interesting to see how the duo performs in the next couple months given all the fixtures in such a short period of time.  If the tandem struggles, look for Fernando to move ahead of Fernandinho.

21) Matija Nastasic (D, LR 20): Apparently Nastasic is NOT in Man City's long-term plans, which is a shocking fall from grace for Nastasic given that Man City paid Fiorentina roughly $20 million for his services in the 2012 Summer Transfer Window and they signed him to a five-year contract that runs through the 2016-17 EPL season.  Unless Nastasic is a locker room cancer, it makes no sense to me for Man City to give up on Nastasic given that he is still just 21 years old.  I know Nastasic has been perpetually injured during his Man City tenure and is currently 4th on the central defender depth chart behind Kompany, Demichelis, and Mangala but young defenders like Nastasic are hard to find.  In fact they are valued so much by clubs that Man City paid $50 million for Mangala's services this summer.  If healthy, I say give Nastasic some FA Cup starts.  Worst case, you pump up his transfer value.  Best case, you rediscover the central defender you thought your purchased a couple years ago to give Man City some much needed depth at central defender for the first time in a very long time.

Man City has a ton of matches from mid-November through mid-January so make sure to check back for my next Man City Report once Man City's fate in the group stage of the Champions League is decided in mid-December.

Man City Report - So Far So Good...NOT Great...Just Good

It has been an interesting start to the 2014-15 season for Man City.  After a great start to their EPL title defense (beat Newcastle and Liverpool), Man City got a very tough draw in Group E (Bayern Munich, CSKA Moscow, and Roma) of the Champions League group stage.  A few days after my look at Man City's tough Champions League group stage draw, Man City went into the first international break of the season with a whimper thanks to a 1-0 at home loss to Stoke.

Man City didn't do much to improve their roster in the 2014 Summer Transfer Window, instead they tried to clean-up their books to comply with UEFA's Financial Fair Play Regulations.  Coming out of the first international break, Man City had seven matches in September and early October before the next international break: four EPL matches, two UEFA Champions League group stage matches, and one Capital One Cup match.

In the first of the aforementioned matches, Man City tied Arsenal 2-2 on the road in the EPL.  Man City followed that up with a loss on the road 1-0 to Bayern Munich on a goal by former Man City defender Jerome Boetang at the death in their opening Champions League match.  Man City returned home to notch a 1-1 tie against Chelsea in the EPL thanks to a strike by former Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard.  Man City followed that up with a 7-0 home win over Sheffield Wednesday in the Capital One Cup where all seven goals were scored in the second half.  Man City righted the ship in the EPL with a 4-2 win over Hull City on the road.  Man City closed out September with a 1-1 tie at home to AS Roma in their second of six Champions League group stage matches.  Finally Man City beat Aston Villa 2-0 on the road in the EPL to head into their second international break on a high note despite a couple uneven performances in September.

Here are my initial rankings of the roster for Man City at the second international break of the 2014-15 season:

1) Yaya Toure (M): In the off-season speculation swirled that Toure might leave the club after he was less than please with how Man City recognized his 31st birthday on May 13, 2014.  Keep in mind that happened just two days after Toure helped Man City win their second EPL title in three years...so much for enjoying their EPL title.  For how well Toure played in the EPL last season when he scored 20 goals, he started the 2014-15 EPL season with a hangover.  Still Toure's ability to dictate the pace of an entire match makes him one of the most irreplaceable players in the world, which means Man City need to sort out how they are going to fill their central midfield spots when they lose Toure for almost a month for the African Cup of Nations in early 2015.

2014-15 Player Rankings 1.0

1. Yaya Toure (M) 2. Sergio Aguero (F) 3. Vincent Kompany (D) 4. David Silva (M) 5. Pablo Zabaleta (D) 6. Samir Nasri (M) 7. Edin Dzeko (F) 8. Fernandinho (M) 9. Joe Hart (GK) 10. Jesus Navas (M) 11. James Milner (M) 12. Fernando (M) 13. Stevan Jovetic (F) 14. Eliaquim Mangala (D) 15. Aleksandar Kolarov (D) 16. Gael Clichy (D) 17. Martin Demichelis (D) 18. Willy Caballero (GK) 19. Bacary Sagna (D) 20. Matija Nastasic (D) 21. Dedryck Boyata (D) 22. Scott Sinclair (M)  23. José Ángel Pozo (M) 24. Sinan Bytyqi (M) 25. Frank Lampard (M) 26. Richard Wright (GK)

9) Joe Hart (GK): When manager Manuel Pellegrini purchased goalkeeper Willy Caballero for $10 million from Malaga before the season, Hart must have wondered how secure his spot was as Man City's starting keeper.  In just the 3rd EPL match of the season Hart conceded a horrible nutmeg goal to Stoke for Man City to lose 1-0 at home, which really put his starting spot in question.  In an odd twist, just a few days later Hart signed a five-year contract extension with Man City, which had to give Hart some security.  Needless to say, the last few months have been a roller coaster for Hart.  If I were Pellegrini I would ride Hart at all cost but given that Pellegrini spent $10 million on Caballero, he is clearly not ready to ride Hart at all cost despite signing him to a five-year contract extension so it will be interesting to see how the starting goalkeeper position plays out this season for Man City.

14) Eliaquim Mangala (D): Man City have been searching for a central defender to slot next to Vincent Kompany for almost five seasons.  In my review of the 2014 Summer Transfer Window for Man City, I wondered how long it would take Mangala to perform well in the EPL. If Mangala's performance against Hull City (conceded an own goal and fouled a player in the box to concede a penalty) is any indication of how he will perform for the club over the long haul then Mangala picked up where Jolean Lescott and Matija Nastasic left off.  Sadly at this point that means that Martin Demichelis is a better option than Mangala next to Kompany.

25) Frank Lampard (M): My ranking of Lampard is a good illustration of how these rankings work.  Clearly Lampard is much more talented than 25th on the roster but he is on loan from Man City's MLS "sister" club New York City FC, which severely decreases his value since Man City has almost zero chance of keeping him long-term.  Lampard scored a goal against Chelsea to help Man City gut out a draw against his former club.  In a touch of class, Lampard did not celebrate his goal against Chelsea, which makes sense given that he scored the most goals in club history for Chelsea despite not even being a striker.  Lampard followed up that goal with two more against Sheffield Wednesday in the Capital One Cup and scored another goal against Hull City in the EPL.  Given Lampard's age, Man City can ill afford to start him regularly.  Instead they can use Lamard as a "super-sub" of sorts so they can get him into almost every match.  Once Lampard scored against Chelsea, the rumor mill of keeping Lampard on loan past January started and went into over drive after his performances against Sheffield Wednesday and Hull City.  I would be surprised if New York City FC was so accommodating to Man City unless they could get an outlandish fee from Man City for Lampard's services through the end of the 2014-15 EPL season, which doesn't seem likely given all the pressure Man City is under to comply with UEFA's Financial Fair Play Regulations.

Unless something major happens, make sure to check back after the next international break in early November for another Man City Report.

Man City Report - UEFA Champions League Draw

Manchester City stubbed their toe to start the season losing 3-0 to Arsenal in the FA Community Shield, a match that is thankfully meaningless because it merely pits last season's FA Cup Champion (Arsenal) v. the English Premier League ("EPL") Champion (Man City) in a "showcase" match.  For how poorly the FA Community Shield went for Man City, they started their 2014-15 EPL campaign well with a 2-0 road win over Newcastle and followed that up with a 3-1 home win over Liverpool in their first home EPL match of the season.

I am working on a mega review of the summer transfer window for Man City but given that today the groups were drawn for the 2014-15 UEFA Champions League, I thought I would give my quick Man City centric thoughts on the draw.  By way of background, this is the fourth season in a row (and overall) that Man City is participating in the UEFA Champions League. Much like the World Cup draw, teams are split into four groups with some rules governing (e.g. clubs from the same country cannot be drawn into the same group) how the groups are drawn. 

In 2011-12 Man City drew Bayern Munich, Napoli and Villarreal in the group stage.  Although Man City played well in all six matches, they missed getting out of their group by one point.  In 2012-13 Man City drew Borussia Dortmund, Real Madrid and Ajax in the group stage.   For how well Man City played in 2011-12 Champions League group stage, they played the exact opposite in 2012-13 Champions League group stage en route to finishing last in their group.

In 2013-14 Man City drew Bayern Munich, CSKA Moscow and Viktoria Plzeň in the group stage.  Third times a charm because Man City made it out of their group in the Champions League for the first time ever.  Unfortunately since Man City finished second in their group behind Bayern Munich and they drew Barcelona in the knockout stages.  Man City played decent in their home-and-home against Barcelona but ultimately Barcelona went through ahead of Man City.

Given that Man City won two of the last three EPL tittles, expectations are much higher for the club now than just a few seasons ago.  Given their domestic league success, European success is the next box that they need to check if they want to be considered one of the elite clubs in the world that starts with the 2014-15 UEFA Champions League.

Going into the group stage selections for 2014-15 UEFA Champions League, I decided to develop some power rankings for each group.  Just to make these rankings crystal clear, the first team in each pot is the team I would least like the Man City to be drawn against, so on and so forth.  It is sort of academic for Pot Two since the Man City cannot be drawn with any of those teams but I thought it would be a nice way for me to rank the teams as they are currently constituted.  Here are the four pots with my rankings (best to worst) within each pot:

Pot One: Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Chelsea, Arsenal, Atletico Madrid, Benfica, and Porto

Pot Two: Manchester City, Paris St-Germain, Borussia Dortmund, Juventus, Zenit St Petersburg, Schalke, Shakhtar Donetsk, and Basel

Pot Three: Bayer Leverkusen, Liverpool, Ajax, CSKA Moscow, Athletic Bilbao, Sporting Lisbon, Galatasaray, and Olympiakos

Pot Four: Roma, Monaco, Anderlecht, APOEL Nicosia, BATE Borisov, Ludogorets Razgrad, Malmo, and Maribor.

This may seem redundant but that means going into the draw I thought the best possible result for Man City was Porto, Olympiakos, and Maribor while the worst possible result was Bayern Munich, Bayer Leverkusen, and Roma.  Technically that draw would not be possible because Bayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen are both German clubs but you get the point of the thought experiment.  Again groups matter because only the top two teams from each group qualify for the knock-out stage.  Here is the full list of the groups for the 2014-15 UEFA Champions League:

Group A: Atletico Madrid, Juventus, Olympiakos, Malmo

Group B: Real Madrid, Basel, Liverpool, Ludogorets

Group C: Benfica, Zenit, Bayer Leverkusen, AS Monaco

Group D: Arsenal, Borussia Dortmund, Galatasaray, Anderlecht

Group E: Bayern Munich, Manchester City, CSKA Moscow, Roma

Group F: FC Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain, Ajax, APOEL Nicosia

Group G: Chelsea, Schalke, Sporting Lisbon, Maribor

Group H: FC Porto, Shakhtar Donetsk, Athletic Bilbao, BATE Borisov

Well as luck would have it, Man City got almost the worst draw possible.  For the second year in a row, Man City are in the same group as Bayern Munich and CSKA Moscow.  Instead of having Viktoria Plzeň as the third member of their group this year, unfortunately they drew Roma.

I don't want to sound too defeatist but given Bayern's quality that essentially relegates Man City to playing for second place in the group.  CSKA Moscow is always a tough draw and Roma was placed in Pot Four because they have a lower co-efficient according to UEFA based on their most recent results in European competition but are always a plucky team.  Of all the clubs in Pot Four UEFA coefficient aside, I honestly think Roma should at least be in Pot Three.

In the World Cup, teams play each other once.  In the Champions League, every team plays each other twice: once at home and once on the road for six matches total.  Hopefully Man City will be able to navigate the "Group of Death" as well as the USMNT did at the 2014 World Cup when they advanced out of the group in second place behind Germany but ahead of Ghana and Portugal.  For that to happen, Man City will need to take maximum points at home (three wins would mean nine points) while either winning one match or drawing two matches on the road.

The summer transfer window closes on Monday, September 1, 2014.  The business that Man City does in the last few days if the summer transfer window will go a long way to determining how they perform in the Champions League this season.  Due to running afoul of UEFA's Financial Fair Play rules, Man City was (essentially) forced to sell players in the summer transfer window than it purchased.  Make sure to check back after the summer transfer window closes for my full breakdown of all the moves that Man City made during the summer transfer window to help them chase the quadruple (Capitol One Cup, EPL, FA Cup, and UEFA Champions League) this season.

Man City Report - Two Trophies out of Four Ain't Bad

There is no question that Manchester City has gone through a meteoric rise since I started following them in the mid-2000's.  I originally started following City because they were the underdogs in their own town employed midfielder Claudio Reyna from 2003-07.  Despite Reyna's injury history and gaffe against Ghana in the 2006 World Cup, he is still my all-time favorite member of the United States Men's National Team.  I am not trying to take credit for City's rise but when I started following City they were owned by Thaksin Shinawatra, the disgraced former prime minister of Thailand that has lived in self-imposed political exile in England since 2008.  Just a few years after I started following City, Shinawatra sold City to Abu Dhabi United Group Investment and Development Limited owned by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, a member of the Abu Dhabi Royal Family.  As a result money has been flowing through the blue side of Manchester since 2008, which has recently gotten them in hot water with the Financial Fair Play rules.

After City won the Capital One Cup 3-1 over Sunderland, there was an outside chance that they could win four trophies this season.  At that point I thought there was an 85% chance they won the FA Cup, 51% chance they won the EPL, & 25% chance they won the Champions League.  As it turns out, City crashed out of the F.A. Cup at the hands of Wigan, the same team that beat them in the F.A. Cup Final in 2013 even though Wigan was relegated from the EPL last season. City crashed out of the Champions League at the hands of Barcelona.  That mean the only way City could hoist another trophy this season was to win the EPL.

When City lost 3-2 to Liverpool on the road on April 13th and barely tied Sunderland 2-2 at home on April 16th, it looked like they would have to settle for only one trophy this season given the cushion that they gave Liverpool.  Thankfully less than a fortnight later on April 27th, which will forever be known as "Brace Day" on the blue side of Manchester, City defeated Crystal Palace 2-0 on the road while Liverpool lost 2-0 at home to what amounted to Chelsea's second team.  The stumble by Liverpool on "Brace Day", pun intended as a shot at Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard's gaffe to gift Chelsea a goal, allowed City to regain control of their EPL destiny.  City won their final three matches 3-2 @ Everton, 4-0 over Aston Villa, and 2-0 over West Ham to win their second EPL title in three years.  Here are my final rankings projecting their transfer value going into the summer transfer window along with my thoughts on a few of the unsung heroes of City's 2013-14 EPL Champion squad:

Player Rankings

1. Yaya Toure (M, LR 1) 2. Vincent Kompany (D, LR 3) 3. Sergio Aguero (F, LR 2)  4. David Silva (M, LR 4) 5. Edin Dzeko (F, LR 8) 6. Samir Nasri (M, LR 6) 7. Fernandinho (M, LR 9)   8. Joe Hart (GK, LR 11) 9. Alvaro Negredo (F, LR 5) 10. Pablo Zabaleta (D, LR 10) 11. Jesus Navas (M, LR 7)  12. Stevan Jovetic (F, LR 12) 13. Aleksandar Kolarov (D, LR 13) 14. Javi Garcia (M, LR 17) 15. James Milner (M, LR 14) 16. Gael Clichy (D, LR 15) 17. Matija Nastasic (D, LR 16) 18. Micah Richards (D, LR 19) 19. Jack Rodwell (M, LR 20) 20. Martin Demichelis (D, LR 21) 21. Dedryck Boyata (D, LR 22) 22. Alex Nimely (F, LR 23) 23. Marcos Lopes (M, LR 26) 24. Joleon Lescott (D, LR 18) 25. Costel Pantilimon (GK, LR 24) 26. Erik Johansen (GK, LR 25) 27. Richard Wright (GK, LR 27)

5) Edin Dzeko (F, LR 8): I talked about selling Dzeko to help balance the books in my look at the January Transfer Window.  In fairness to me, at that time Aguero and Negredo were the preferred strikers while Jovetic looked like he was going to finally be healthy.  As a result, I thought City could get by without Dzeko.  Boy was I wrong.  Dzeko ended up scoring big goal after big goal in the second half of the season, which was huge given the injuries to Aguero and cold streak that plagued Negredo. I am still not sure Dzeko deserves to wear the #10 jersey for City but without his services I don't think City would have finished any higher than 3rd or 4th in the table this season so maybe that gives him the right to wear the #10 jersey for City.

10) Pablo Zabaleta (D, LR 10): This season cemented Zabaleta's legacy as one of the best defenders in club history.  At left back this season City switched between Kolarov and Clichy to keep both players fresh since City made deep runs in the F.A. Cup, Champions League, and Capital One Cup.  The thought going into the season is that City would do the same at right back with Richards and Zabaleta but Richards continued to struggle with injuries so Zabaleta pulled what amounted to double-duty relative to his teammates at left back.  Zabaleta was one of the first players purchased in 2008, just a few years after I started following City. There is no question that Zabaleta is a member of my personal City Mount Rushmore.

14) Javi Garcia (M, LR 17): An injury to Fernandino with less than a month to go in the season thrust Garcia into the Starting XI in the central midfield for City's last few matches of the season.  Earlier in the season Garcia struggled when he played extended minutes but thankfully he learned from his struggles to serve as a perfect defensive cover to Toure, which allowed Toure to push forward to create numerous scoring chances each match.  Just six months ago I thought Garcia would be a part of a sham transfer to NYCFC to help balance the books to comply with UEFA's Financial Fair Play Regulations but if  Garcia can carry his end of the season form into next season, he could push for regular playing time in central midfield ahead of Fernandinho.

20) Martin Demichelis (D, LR 21): I guess 7th times a charm given that Demichelis won two Argentine Premera Division Championships (2001-02 & 2002-03) and four Bundesliga Championships (2004-05, 2005-06, 2007-08, & 2009-10).  I've been critical of Demichelis throughout this season but there is no question that he made amends throughout the season to become an integral partner in central defense with Kompany given that Nastasic was injured for most of the season.  I know Atlético Madrid got Demichelis from Málaga on a free transfer just a few months earlier but as crazy as it sounds, Demichelis was the most cost-effective member of the team this season since City was able to purchase his services from for £4.2 million.  I am not sure that City would fetch £4.2 million for Demichelis right now, which is why he is so low in the rankings.  Much like Dzeko, if Demichelis' form did not improve in the 2nd half of the season, City would not be the 2013-14 EPL Champions.

City has to deal with the repercussions of their alleged violations of UEFA's Financial Fair Play Regulations, which could severely impact their plans to reload their already stacked squad in the summer transfer window.  With the 2013-14 season in the rear view mirror, make sure to check back in this space over the next few weeks for my thoughts on how City can navigate this all important summer transfer window.

Man City Report - One Down, Three to Go

Going into the 2013-14 season Manchester City previously won 15 major trophies: three English First Division/Premier League titles (1936-37, 1967-68, & 2011-12), five FA Cups (1904, 1934, 1956, 1969, & 2011), two League Cups (1970 & 1976), four FA Community Shields (1937, 1968, 1972, & 2012), and one European Cup Winners' Cup (1970).  This season City had lofty aspirations of winning four trophies: UEFA Champions League, English (aka Barclays) Premier League, FA Cup, and Capital One (aka League) Cup.  To put those aspirations in perspective, no English team has ever won the three major domestic trophies in the same season so City set a very ambitious goal.  Given that City beat Sunderland 3-1 in the 2014 Capital One Cup Final yesterday, I thought it was a good time to take stock of City's chances to hoist four trophies this season.

With the Capital One Cup trophy in had, let's move on to the FA Cup.  City are looking to win the title this season after they lost to Wigan in the final last season.  City knocked off Chelsea at home in the 5th round of the FA Cup less than two weeks after they lost to Chelsea at home in the EPL for their first home loss of the 2013-14 EPL season.  Ironically City now host Wigan in the quarterfinals of the FA Cup.  The other three quarterfinal matches are: Arsenal against Everton, Hull City against Sunderland, and Sheffield United against Charlton Athletic.  If City defeat Wigan, clearly the winner of the Arsenal v. Everton match posses the biggest threat.  Given that semifinal match ups will not be drawn until the field is winnowed down to four clubs, there is a chance City could avoid Arsenal or Everton altogether, which would drastically improve their chances of winning the FA Cup.

Player Rankings

1. Yaya Toure (M, LR 1) 2. Sergio Aguero (F, LR 3) 3. Vincent Kompany (D, LR 2) 4. David Silva (M, LR 4) 5. Alvaro Negredo (F, LR 5)  6. Samir Nasri (M, LR 11) 7. Jesus Navas (M, LR 6)  8. Edin Dzeko (F, LR 10) 9. Fernandinho (M, LR 7) 10. Pablo Zabaleta (D, LR 8) 11. Joe Hart (GK, LR 9) 12. Stevan Jovetic (F, LR 14) 13. Aleksandar Kolarov (D, LR 13) 14. James Milner (M, LR 15) 15. Gael Clichy (D, LR 12) 16. Matija Nastasic (D, LR 16) 17. Javi Garcia (M, LR 17) 18. Joleon Lescott (D, LR 18) 19. Micah Richards (D, LR 19) 20. Jack Rodwell (M, LR 20) 21. Martin Demichelis (D, LR 21) 22. Dedryck Boyata (D, LR 22) 23. Alex Nimely (F, LR 24) 24. Costel Pantilimon (GK, LR 23) 25. Erik Johansen (GK, LR 25) 26. Marcos Lopes (M, LR 26) 27. Richard Wright (GK, LR 27)

After City lost to Chelsea in the EPL at the beginning of February, they tied Norwich 0-0 on the road (beat them 7-0 at home in the corresponding fixture earlier this season).  As if a road tie against Norwich was not bad enough, I was forced to watch a grainy/choppy version of the match at Starbucks.  The connective shutouts that Chelsea and Norwich dealt City marked the first time that City failed to score in consecutive games in the EPL since January 1, 2012.  Following two lackluster performances in the EPL, City barely beat Stoke 1-0 at home thanks to a goal by midfielder Yaya Toure.  Keep in mind City had the best home record in the EPL while Stoke had the worst road record in the league.  All told that means City earned merely four points over their last three Premier League matches.  Despite their dip in form in the EPL, City still controls their own destiny even though they are currently in 4th place in the table behind Chelsea, Liverpool, and Arsenal because City have two games in hand.  Obviously every match will matter down the stretch but they have a huge four match stretch starting at the end of March: away against Manchester United (03/25), away against Arsenal (03/29), home against Southampton (04/05), and away against Liverpool (04/13).  Taking all 12 points (4 wins) would be a dream scenario but 10 points (3 wins and 1 draw) is probably the minimum if City want to win the EPL.

City finished second in their Champions League qualification group to qualify for the knockout round of the Champions League for the first time in club history.  The downside of City finishing second in their group was they they drew a club that won their group.  Unfortunately that meant City drew Barcelona, which marked the first time the clubs played each other in a competitive match.  City hosted Barcelona in the first leg of their home-and-home series, which City lost 2-0 thanks in large part to Martin Demichelis getting sent off when he took down Lionel Messi just outside the penalty box. The referee ruled that the offense occurred in the box and Messi converted the penalty kick.  Dani Alves scored in stoppage time to put City in a borderline insurmountable hole.  If City are able to overturn their 2-0 deficit, it will be without the services of their manager Manuel Pellegrini since UEFA handed him a two match ban for his seething comments about the referee's performance in City's 2-0 loss to Barcelona.

When clubs like City are spread across so many competitions, they almost need to have two full starting lineups.  City have that covered at goalkeeper (Hart & Pantilimon), right back (Zabaleta & Richards), left back (Clichy & Kolarov), winger (Silva, Navas, & Nasari), and aerial striker (Negrado & Dzeko).  Unfortunately City do not have that covered at the important positions of central defender, central midfield, and attacking midfielder/withdrawn striker.  News broke recently that City will purchase center midfielder Bruno Zuculini from Racing Club for merely £3 million.  Sadly City will not be able to use Zuculini's services until next season, which might be too late if City actually wants to win more than one trophy this season.  With the Capital One Cup already in the trophy case I would give City a 85% chance of winning the FA Cup, 51% chance of winning the EPL, and 25% chance of winning the Champions League.

Man City Report - City Beat Sunderland 3-1 in 2014 Capital One Cup Final

Manchester City faced Sunderland in the 2014 Capital One (aka League) Cup Final in search of their first of a possible four trophies this season.  Going into the 54th league cup final, City hoisted the league cup twice in three tries (beat West Brom in 1970, lost to Wolves in 1974, beat Newcastle in 1976) while Sunderland have never won the league cup (runners-up in 1985).  In fact, Sunderland has not won a major trophy since 1973 when they beat Leeds in the FA Cup final.

Before we get too excited about the Capital One Cup, let's make it clear that the Capital One Cup is clearly the least prestigious of the four major trophies that an English Premier League club can win.  Despite what hard core EPL supporters tell you, winning the UEFA Champions League is more prestigious than winning the EPL.  Both of those titles are more prestigious than winning the FA Cup, which is more prestigious than winning the Capital One Cup given that the Capital One Cup involves the weakest field and is the newest of four competitions.

Until the early 1980's the Capital One Cup was just referred to as the Football League Cup but since then it has gone through a number of sponsorship changes: Milk Cup (1982-86), Littlewoods Challenge Cup (1986-90), Rumbelows Cup (1990-92), Coca-Cola Cup (1992-98), Worthington Cup (1998-03), Carling Cup (2003-12), and now the Capital One Cup through at least 2016.

With that quick historical/sponsorship background out of the way, let's get back the actual 2014 Capital One Cup.  Sunderland had a much harder road to the final than City given that Sunderland knocked off Southampton, Chelsea, and Manchester United en route to punching their ticket to the 2014 Capital One Cup Final while City scored 19 goals and only conceded one by knocking off the likes of Wigan, Newcastle, Leicester, and West Ham.

Sunderland has been very successful against City at home.  Sunderland beat City 1-0 earlier this season in the Premier League at the Stadium of Light for their second win over City in a row.  In fact, Sunderland beat City the last four times they played at the Stadium of Light but have not beaten City away from home since 1998.  Despite currently being in the relegation zone in the EPL, Sunderland has been in a good run of form lately across all competitions winning four of their last six and seven of their last 11 matches.

City were buoyed by the return of striker Sergio Aguero, the fifth fastest person to score 50 Premier League goals (behind Andy Cole, Alan Shearer, Ruud van Nistelrooy and Fernando Torres) in just 81 matches.  Aguero limped off with a hamstring injury in City's 5-1 thumping of Tottenham at White Hart Lane in the EPL at the end of January.  The starting 11 for City against Sunderland were: Pantilimon (GK), Zabaleta (RB), Kompany (C, CB), Demichelis (CB), Kolarov (LB), Nasri (RM), Toure (CM), Fernandinho (CM), Silva (LM), Aguero (F), and Dzeko (F).  The substitutes were: Hart (GK), Clichy (LB), Lescott (CB), Milner (M), Garcia (M), Navas (M), and Negredo (F).  If I was City manager Manuel Pellegrini I would have started Hart ahead of Pantilimon, Lescott ahead of Demichelis, and Negredo ahead of Dzeko.

As we know by the title of this post, City beat Sunderland 3-1 in the 2014 Capital One Cup Final but that result was far from certain until the early part of the second half.  Fabio Borini notched the opener for Sunderland in the 10th minute as he got behind Martin Demichelis and Vincent Kompany for a clinical finish past Pantilimon.  Sunderland almost struck again from an off-side position in the first half that the assistant referee missed but Kompany slid in to save the day.  City managed a few chances in the first half but nothing as menacing as Sunderland's opportunities because Sunderland was getting everyone behind the ball following their opener.  Through the opening 45 minutes City and Sunderland both had four shots with two on target.  City dominated possession 63% to 37% but Sunderland still lead 1-0 thanks to Sunderland effectively packing it in and counter-attacking.

The second half opened up with City driving forward early and finally locating little cracks in Sunderland's defense.  All of City's effort paid off when who else, the incomparable midfielder Yaya Toure notched an amazing finish from distance in the 55th minute to tie the score at 1-1.  Before Sunderland could re-group, City went up 2-1 thanks to a powerful strike from midfielder Samir Nasri in the 56th minute.  Going into the match Nasri was 0-2 at Wembley with a trophy on the line so you could see the raw emotions pour out of Nasri as he celebrated what ultimately turned out to be the winner for City.  The final scoreline in City's three previous appearances in the Capital One Cup Final was 2-1.  Until the death, it looked like 2-1 would be the final scoreline until a beautiful counter-attack by Toure was finished by substitute midfielder Jesus Navas in the 90th minute.

On a personal note, I was excited to watch the 2014 Capital One Cup on beIn Sports from the comforts of the humble apartment I share with Cheesehead Chick.  Earlier in the week Cheesehead Chick and I thought we purchased our first condo together.  Unfortunately, the sellers pulled a move that our real estate agent said she never saw in her 27 years in the business to take a higher offer despite the fact they received that offer after we had a signed contract.  By no means does City winning the 2014 Capital One Cup make up for that disappointment but at least it provided a nice reprieve from all of the housing craziness we've been going through lately.

It was nice to see City score three goals in the second half after going down 1-0 in the first half.  City also exercised some demons with their win over Sunderland at Wembley because that is the same pitch where City lost 1-0 to Wigan in the 2013 FA Cup Final.  A trophy is a trophy, even if the Capital One Cup is the PGA Championship of English soccer.  Plus, winning the 2014 Capital One Cup keeps City's goal of winning four trophies a possibility.  Check back tomorrow for my thoughts on how realistic it is for City to win the quadruple this season.

Man City Report - Champions League & New York FC

It is hard to complain about Manchester City handing Bayern their first loss in the Champions League in their last 10 matches but apparently City manager Manuel Pellegrini did not understand the tie breaker rules for the Champions League group stages because when teams are level on points it is their head-to-head records not goal difference that decides the group winner.  Since Bayern won 3-1 at The Etihad that meant City had to score at least three goals on the road to jump Bayern to win the group.

Thomas Müller and Mario Götze scored twice in the first half to give Bayern a 2-0 lead and put them up 5-1 on aggregate.  City could have packed it in especially given that Pellegrini named an undermanned first team of  Joe Hart (GK), Micah Richards (RB), Martín Demichelis (CB), Joleon Lescott (CB), Aleksandar Kolarov (LB), Jesus Navas (W), Javi Garcia (CM), Fernandinho (CM), James Milner (W), David Silva (S), and Edin Dzeko (S) with Jack Rodwell (CM), Vincent Kompany (CB), Dedryck Boyata (CB), Sergio Agüero (S), and Costel Pantilimon (GK) on the bench to save their legs for their home match against league leaders Arsenal at The Etihad on the weekend.

In what is becoming a recurring nightmare for Richards, he was injured early in the first half with City down 2-0 so Pellegrini inserted Pablo Zabaleta in place of Richards.  City amazingly fought back with goals from Silva (28th minute), Kolarov (p.k. in 59th minute), and Milner (62nd minute) to take a 3-2 lead.  At that point City only needed to score one more goal to win the group stage, which it looks like Pellegrini understood when he inserted Negredo in place of Silva in the 73rd minute.  That understanding became murky when Pellegrini inserted Rodwell for Dzeko with a few minutes to play to "protect" a 3-2 lead not realizing that a 4-2 victory not a 5-2 victory is what City needed to win their group.  Pellegrini's and Milner's post-game commented confirmed they did not understand the Champions League group stage tie-breaker, which is inexcusable.

Sure City ended Bayern's 27-match undefeated run but they still finished second in the group.  If City would have won the group they could have been drawn against Bayer Leverkusen, Galatasaray, Milan, Olympiacos, Schalke, or Zenit St. Peterburg.  Since City did not win the group, they could have been drawn against Atlético Madrid, Barcelona, Borussia Dortmund, Paris Saint-Germain, or Real Madrid.  Unfortunately as the graphic to the right shows, City was drawn against Barcelona so their odds of progression from the Round of 16 to the Round of 8 are low.
 

In other City related news, New York City FC has their first manager in place officially naming Jason Kreis as their manager despite the fact that New York City FC does not join the MLS until the 2015 season.  Kreis lead real Salt Lake to six consecutive playoff appearances including an MLS Cup in 2009 and a runner up this past season.  Kreis has long been rumored to be the first manager in the club's history so apparently Kreis will embark on a one-year apprenticeship of sorts under Pellegrini...pretty nice way to earn a living for a year right?

Besides the handling of the goal keeper situation and understand the rules of the Champions League group stage tie-breaker rules, I've generally agreed with how Pellegrini has handled City so far in his first season with the club.

 

City faces Leister in the Capital One Cup quarterfinal match tomorrow.  If City and United win, hopefully they will get opposite semi-final draws to set-up a Manchester Derby at Wembley for the Capital One Cup.  This weekend City heads on the road to face Fulham as the EPL kicks into high-gear.  I will have full coverage of all the action in this space over the next month.