Man City Report - January 2015 Transfer Window Roundup

A little over a month ago I gave Man City manager Manuel Pellegrini advice on how to approach the January transfer window.  Unfortunately Pellegirini didn't follow my advice, so I will provide my critique after I give you an update on the six competitive (seven total) matches Man City played since my last post: four EPL matches and two FA Cup match.

Man City dropped two points at home to close out 2014 when they surrendered a 2-0 lead to Burnley to tie them 2-2.  Sadly Man City almost did the same thing against Sunderland to open 2015 but thankfully midfielder Frank Lampard notched another important EPL goal for Man City to give them a 3-2 victory over Sunderland.  Man City followed that up with a 2-1 victory over Sheffield Wednesday in the FA Cup.  That form didn't carry back over to the EPL when Man City went back on the road to face Everton because they tied them 1-1.  Sadly that wasn't rock bottom as Man City lost consecutive home matches by a scoreline of 2-0.  Man City first lost to Arsenal in the EPL and then to lowly Middlesbrough to crash out of the FA Cup. In between home 2-0 loses, Man City won a friendly in Abu Dhabi against Hamburg.  I know Man City needs to expand their global brand and play in front of their oil barren owners occasionally to appease them but that came at the expense of the FA Cup given that Man City returned from Abu Dhabi less than 24 hours before their home loss to Middlesbrough.  That is hardly the form Man City wanted to be in ahead of their most important EPL match of the season when they went on the road to face EPL leaders Chelsea.  Man City trailed Chelsea by five points going into the match and that margin remained the same as Man City tied Chelsea 1-1 despite actually being the better side.

With the January transfer window closed, here are my updated thoughts and rankings to the roster:

2014-15 Player Rankings 4.0

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

Loaned Out

1. Scott Sinclair (M) 2. Matija Nastasic (D)

5) Wilfred Bony (F, LR N/A): I am on record as saying I would rather have kept Alvaro Negredo instead of essentially selling him in a move that was called a "loan" before the season to balance the books.  That decisions was exacerbated by all the injuries Man City suffered at striker at the end of 2014, which forced Pellegrini to start midfielder James Milner at striker since he did NOT have a healthy striker available despite being arguably the richest club in the world.  Man City tried to fix that when they bought Wilfred Bony from Swansea.  There is no doubt that Bony is a quality striker given that he was the top scorer in the EPL in 2014 when he scored 24 goals.  In fact the first two of those goals came against Man City at home to open 2014 in a 3-2 loss to Man City.  I presume Pellegrini never forgot that performance, which most likely factored into his decision to buy Bony.  Whether Bony is worth a $40 million transfer fee is another matter.  To put the $40 million transfer fee in perspective, it eclipses the fee that Man City paid to Arsenal for Emmanuel Adebayor in 2009 to make Bony's transfer fee the most expensive transfer fee of all-time for an African footballer.  That is a ton of money, especially given that Man City already have three accomplished strikers on the roster that are all currently in a collective injury/scoring drought but don't forget that Bony is off at the African Cup of Nations tournament as a member of the Ivory Coast so he doesn't even provide immediate help for Man City's striker woes anyhow.  Not only did Man City pay almost $40 million for Bony's services but Man City signed him to a four-and-half year contract worth upwards of $150,000 a week and includes a clause that pays Bony an additional $30,000 per appearance for the club.  The appearance fee seems like it is gilding the lily for Bony but I presume that "bonus" was included to somehow skirt UEFA's Financial Fair Play rules.  That is great business for Swansea given that they paid $20 million for his services just a few years ago even though selling Bony will mean Swansea sold one of the most prolific goal scorers in Europe.  Bony's 56 goals (25 EPL goals since the start of the 2013-14 EPL season) are the 5th most goal scored in Europe's top six leagues since the start of the 2012-13 season behind heavyweights Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, and Graziano Pellè.  Bony has found the back of the net regularly in the Eredivisie and EPL for less glamorous clubs than Man City so I expect that to continue as long as Bony can get regular first-team action. Let's hope this deal goes better than the last time Man City purchased a player from Swansea though given that Man City purchased winger Scott Sinclair for roughly $12 million in 2012 but Sinclair only made three starts and 19 appearances total over a couple seasons for Man City.  Given the lack of regular playing time, Man City loaned Sinclair to Aston Villa with an eye towards a permanent move over the summer.

9) Jesus Navas (M, LR 10): With Nasri out injured for a few more weeks, Navas is getting regular starts at winger despite the fact that his crosses have been sub-par besides his most recent outing against Chelsea.  I know that might seem like a fairly general criticism but Navas is essentially on the field to combine with the right back to provide good service to the strikers so when his crosses are sub-par, there is not much reason to play him  Unfortunately Man City doesn't really have a better option than Navas at this point since Silva thrives as a playmaker in the middle and Milner is a nice option opposite Navas on the other wing.  I wonder whether Man City need to consider something somewhat unconventional like playing Kolarov or Zabaleta as a winger as opposed to their regular spot as an outside defender.  Kolarov has played as a winger a couple of times for Man City so moving Zabaleta or him to winger from outside back might not be all that revolutionary, especially given how much they already push forward from their outside back positions.

17) Fernando (M, LR 15): The Mangala signing is clearly the biggest disappointment of the summer transfer window for Man City but Fernando is not that far behind.  That is exacerbated by the fact that Yaya Toure is playing with new teammate Bony for the Ivory Coast in the African Cup of Nations.  Given how invisible Fernando has been in place of Toure, Man City need to consider starting Frank Lampard along side Fernandinho ahead of Fernando now that they secured Lampard's services through the end of the season.  I would even rather see James Milner play in central midfield ahead of Fernando at this point. When Toure returns, Lampard can move back to his super-sub role, which will essentially relegate Fernando to spot appearances till next season unless Toure, Fernandinho, Lampard, or Milner are injured for an extended period of time.

22) Dedryck Boyata (D, LR 21): Pellegrini loaned central defender Matija Nastasic to Schalke through the end of the season.  Much like Negredo's loan, Nastasic's loan to Schalke includes a purchase option.  Apparently Pellegrini holds Dedryck Boyata in higher esteem than Nastasic, otherwise this loan makes no sense.  The structure of the loan means the proverbial ball is in Schalke's court now for how they want to proceed with Nastasic.  Unless Man City can recoup almost all of their original $20 transfer fee they paid Fiorentina for Nastasic's services, which I think is highly unlikely, I hope Schalke passes on their purchase option for Nastasic because I still think he could be a useful defender for Man City given that he is still only 21 years old. 

With the transfer window closed till the summer, Man City will have an uphill battle in the Champions League (face Barcelona in their quarterfinal home-and-home match up) and the EPL (currently in second place, five points behind Chelsea).  Check back at the end of the next international break for my updated thoughts on the squad.

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.

#TweetBeat - City beats Fulham at Craven Cottage

Much like I did last week for Manchester City's thrilling 6-3 victory over Arsenal, here are my real-time thoughts on City's 4-2 road victory over Fulham on the road at Craven Cottage:

Questionable free kick for @21LVA pounded home by @Toure_yaya42 on yet another amazing free kick by him to put #mcfc up 1-0 over #fulham
— CheeseheadSportsNut (@CheeseheadSN) December 21, 2013

Free kick by @21LVA centered back by @demichelisok and finished by @VincentKompany to put #MCFC up 2-0 over #Fulham after 45 minutes.
— CheeseheadSportsNut (@CheeseheadSN) December 21, 2013

Deserved goal for #Fulham as they pull back one on #MCFC to make it 2-1.
— CheeseheadSportsNut (@CheeseheadSN) December 21, 2013

Makes sense to add @Navitas7 in place of @EdDzeko to give #mcfc a boost against #fulham with the score line 2-1 in favor of #mcfc
— CheeseheadSportsNut (@CheeseheadSN) December 21, 2013

Nightmare freakish own goal by @VincentKompany makes the scoreline 2-2 between #mcfc and #fulham. Hang on for a nervy final 20 minutes.
— CheeseheadSportsNut (@CheeseheadSN) December 21, 2013

@JM7Foundation is the only other #MCFC player worthy of getting in this match, not sure it was worth taking out @SamNasri19 against #fulham.
— CheeseheadSportsNut (@CheeseheadSN) December 21, 2013

Great through ball by @21LVA for Jesus Navas to finish five-hole on @M_stekelenburg to give #mcfc a 3-2 lead over #fulham
— CheeseheadSportsNut (@CheeseheadSN) December 21, 2013

Oh my god, what a ball by @_AlvaroNegredo_ to @JM7Foundation for a clinical finish to ice the match 4-2 for #mcfc over #fulham
— CheeseheadSportsNut (@CheeseheadSN) December 21, 2013

@21LVA makes way for @javigarcia06 as #MCFC will ice a nice road victory over #fulham to set-up a huge boxing day match against #Liverpool
— CheeseheadSportsNut (@CheeseheadSN) December 21, 2013

Great 4-2 victory for #mcfc over #fulham on the road, @JoeHart played well despite "giving up" 2 goals since neither were his fault.
— CheeseheadSportsNut (@CheeseheadSN) December 21, 2013

City has seven matches (six in the EPL and one in the FA Cup) between Boxing Day and the close of the January transfer window.  With a full slate of EPL matches in a condensed window, City hosts Liverpool to start the make-or-break portion of their EPL schedule in hopes of winning the EPL for the second time in three seasons.  Check back over the next few weeks for full coverage of arguably the most exciting portion of the EPL calender.

Man City Report - City Thumps Tottenham

I was going to write a lengthy Manchester City post during the international to give an update on City's recent form but since City hosted Tottenham at the Etihad in their first match following the international break, I decided to wait for that match because I thought it would be a good litmus test for both clubs.  Before the season City and Tottenham looked like virtual locks for a Top 4 finish but going into their match Tottenham was 6th and City was 7th in the table.  That meant both clubs desperately needed three points from the match to keep their faint title chances alive.

As I covered a few months back, City spent roughly £85 million purchasing four players: midfielder Fernandinho, winger Jesus Navas, striker Stevan Jovetic, and striker Alvaro Negredo.  The jury is till out on Jovetic with injuries limiting him to a handful of appearances for City but as you will see in my updated rankings below, the other three signings were great business for City.

Tottenham went on a spending spree this summer purchasing Christian Eriksen, Érik Lamela, Paulinho, and Roberto Soldado for roughly £85 million.  So far Paulinho and Soldado have been useful but Tottenham had to expect more from the quartet given their collective price tag.

In order to balance the books, Tottenham sold winger Gareth Bale to Real Madrid for a record £85.3 million transfer fee, which eclipsed the previous record of £80 million that Real Madrid paid Manchester United for Cristiano Ronaldo. I understand why Tottenham made some of the purchases just discussed but unfortunately for Tottenham when you factor in the Bale sale it looks like they get two quarters and two dimes for a dollar.

With all of that as background, just 13 seconds into the City/Tottenham match I realized it was a great decision to delay my City update post till after the City/Tottenham match was in the books as Navas put City up 1-0 despite Tottenham kicking off to start the match due to a poor clearance by Tottenham keeper Hugo Lloris.  In the end Navas scored a bookend brace with a brace by striker Sergio Aguero, a goal by Negredo, and an own goal by Sandro in between as City went on to win 6-0.  Sandro's own goal could have easily been credited to Negredo to give City a trio of braces.  City bossed the match from start to finish to put together their best performance since Manuel Pellegrini took over as manager of City this summer.

Just to get you back up to speed since my last City post that focused on City's 4-1 drubbing of United.  City played 12 matches going 4-3 in the seven English Premier League matches, 2-0 in the Capital One Cup, and 2-1 in the UEFA Champions League.  After coming up short in their last three attempts, City qualified for the knock-out stage of the Champions League for the first time in club history.

For how well City played in the Champions League, they've been equally unimpressive in the EPL on the road with their most recent road struggles coming at Sunderland in a 1-0 defeat before the international break.  Lately City has had trouble on the road but losing to Sunderland when they were the 19th team (20 total) in the EPL is unacceptable.

Fortunately City has been borderline perfect in their six home matches in the EPL.  City scored 26 goals scored and conceded just two en route to earning the maximum 18 points at home thanks in large part to beating Norwich 7-0 and Tottenham 6-0 at the Etihad.  With all of that background out of the way, here are my updated rankings and player thoughts:

Player Rankings

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

1) Sergio Aguero (F, LR 2): Named EPL player of the month in October thanks to scoring four goals in three matches and might be adding more awards in November thanks to scoring a brace en route to beating Tottenham as discussed above.  Aguero now leads the EPL in scoring with 10 goals but that is not the reason that I finally moved Aguero above Toure.  No, the reason that I finally moved Aguero ahead of Toure was Lionel Messi's request that Barcelona purchase Aguero.  Despite being injured, Messi is unquestionable the best player in the world.  Part of Messi's affinity for Aguero might be the fact that they play together for the Argentinian national team.  There is no question that when healthy, they form the most potent national team scoring attack.  That duo could go a long way towards ensuring that Argentina wins the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.  In my recent trip to South America with Cheesehead Chick we got to experience the depth and breath of the rivalry between Brazil and Argentina.  Suffice to say, if Argentina wins the 2014 World Cup in Rio de Janeiro at the Maracana, there will be no Samba dancing following the match. 

3) Alvaro Negredo (F, LR 9): Last season Negredo was one of the leading scorers in the Spanish Premier League so he obviously has a nose for goal, I just thought it would take him some time to get acclimated to the EPL before going on a scoring binge.  Instead, Negredo picked up in the EPL and Champions League right where he left off in the SPL last season.  Case and point, Negrado notched a hat-trick to help City secure a spot in the knock-out stage of the Champions League.  Aguero and Negrado are playing so well lately that absent injury to one of the two, it looks like striker Edin Dzeko could be sold in the January transfer window since Dzeko's first team opportunities will be limited to substitute appearances for the foreseeable future.

6) Jesus Navas (M, LR 6): Going into this season, City's best winger was David Silva.  With Silva out a month due to a calf injury I thought Navas might not be as effective but given his recent form, Navas is making a run at Silva for the best winger throne.  Navas combines well with right back Pablo Zabaleta to form a potent attack that not only sets up goals for the likes of Aguero and Negrado but leads to goals for Navas as well.  I really enjoyed watching Adam Johnson pick apart defenses when he played for City so I was somewhat surprised that City unloaded him to Sunderland for £10 million.  I only saw Navas play a handful of times before joining City but after seeing Navas play the last few months, the differences between entertaining wingers like the Johnson and world-class wingers like Bale, Navas, and Silva are huge so now I understand the thought process.  That goes back to the point I made earlier about Bale.  You can replace guys like Johnson obviously but you can't replace players like Bale, which is a big reason why Tottenham have struggled so far this season.

16) Costel Pantilimon (GK, LR 20): Pellegrini has handled everything besides the keeper situation during his tenure so far.  I know Joe Hart made a couple gaffes for City but he still remains England's starting keeper.  Juxtapose that with Pantilimon fighting for his first team spot on the Romanian national team with Tătăruşanu and I just don't get the thought process for starting Pantilimon over Hart.  My guess is that there is something going on behind the scenes that will never get aired in public that would make the Pantilimon over Hart decision make more sense.  In an odd twist, Pellegrini committed to Pantilimon following the international break against Tottenham but following that match Pellegrini announced that Hart will start midweek in City's Champions League match.  City already qualified for the knock-out stages for the Champions League so it will be interesting to see whether Hart or Pantilimon start this weekend in their next EPL match at home against Swansea.

One final note.  Although City are already through to the knock-out stages, they host Viktoria Plzen on Wednesday before going on the road to face Bayern Munich on December 10th.  City currently trail Bayern by three points in the table and six goals in goal differential.  Given City's impressive form at the Etihad, if they beat Viktoria Plzen by four or five goals, they have an outside chance of winning Group D to get more favorable seeding in the knockout stage if they can knock off Bayern on the road.

As the January transfer window approaches, look for more City posts for how Pellegrini and Company should handle the transfer window.

Man City Report - City 4-1 United

The first Manchester Derby with new managers for each side since 1947 will go down as a memorable one.  City, lead by manager Manuel Pellegrini, absolutely dominated the first half with Sergio Aguero opening the score line and Yaya Toure adding a goal as well as City managed 13 shots (2 on goal) while United could only muster 2 shots (0 on goal).  Newly appointed United manager David Moyes clearly did not get United organized at halftime because a few minutes into the second half City already doubled their advantage thanks to another goal by Aguero and a goal Samir Nasri to take a 4-0 lead.  United strike Wayne Rooney notched a free kick goal with a few minutes left in the match to give United a consolation goal.  City's 4-1 win over United at the Etihad Stadium was the first Manchester Derby that did not involve "Sir" Alex Ferguson since the mid-1980's.

Here are my updated player rankings following City's last three matches (tied Stoke 0-0 on the road in the EPL, beat Viktoria Plzen 3-0 on the road in the Champions League, and beat United 4-1 at home in the EPL):

Player Rankings

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

2. Sergio Aguero (F, LW 3):  Despite scoring a brace against United, Aguero still could not knock Toure out of the top spot.  Trust me, I thought long and hard about moving Aguero ahead of Toure but with how well Toure continues to patrol the midfield I could not move him out of the top spot.  Both Toure and Aguero are essentially untouchable.  The only argument for putting Aguero ahead of Toure is that Aguero would demand a larger transfer fee since he is five years younger than Toure.  Even factoring that into the equation, Toure continues to be the engine that powers this impressive City side.  Aguero deserves mention for scoring twice against United to show that City was clearly the much better half of Manchester in this incarnation of Manchester Derby.

6. Jersus Navas (M, LW 10): When City purchased Navas this summer that gave City three wingers (Silva, Navas, and Nasri) for just two spots.  Silva is clearly the best of the three, which meant I thought Navas and Nasri would battle weekly for the other spot.  Given his pace and ingenuity, Navas quickly showed that he is worthy of a spot in the starting 11 ahead of Nasri though, which might make him the most cost effective signing of the summer for City.  For some reason, Pellegrini subbed out Navas for Milner with 20 minutes remaining.  Milner should make the best of his opportunities given that he is nominally the 4th best winger on the roster.

8. Joe Hart (GK, LW 11): After conceding three goals on the road to Cardiff City in a 3-2 loss, there were whispers that Hart's spot as the starting goal keeper for England might be in jeopardy.  Hart followed that up with three clean sheets in all competitions heading into the Manchester Derby.  Hart is back in form.  Despite conceding a goal on a quality free kick by United striker Wayne Rooney, Hart should have solidified his spot in goal for City and England based on his current form.

13. Aleksandar Kolarov (D, LW 17): Against United, Kolarov was instrumental in the buildup to the first goal providing a perfect cross for Aguero's spectacular finish. Given the quality that City have at left (Clichy and Kolarov) and right (Zabaleta and Richards) back, health will most likely dictate the outsider defenders in the starting 11.

Check back for more City coverage over the next few weeks as their 2013-14 Champions League and EPL campaigns kick into high gear over the next month.

Man City Report - Start of Manuel Pellegrini Era

There has been a fair amount of turnover for Manchester City this off-season following their second place finish in the 2012-13 English Premier League and 2013 FA Cup final loss 1-0 to Wigan.  Despite manager Roberto Mancini leading City to their first trophy in 35 years when City won the 2011 FA Cup and their first EPL title in 44 years when City won the EPL in 2011-12, even if City won the 2013 FA Cup, the writing was on the wall that Mancini was on the way out.  City brought the Mancini era officially to a close with two matches left in EPL season.

Besides Mancini, a number of players left City during the off-season: Wayne Bridge (free transfer, D, Reading), Kolo Toure (free transfer, D, Liverpool), Jeremy Helan ($500,000, D, Sheffield Wednesday), Maicon (free transfer, D, AS Roma), Karim Rekik (loan, D, PSV), Carlos Tevez (F, Juventus), Roque Santa Cruz (free transfer, F, Malaga), and Reece Wabara (loan, D, Doncaster Rovers).  The only real loss was Tevez.  It is symbolic that Mancini and Tevez left the club at the same time because despite clashing on a number of occasions, both were important figures in shepherding City from being a second tier EPL side to a world class side.

Even while Mancini was still in charge of City, rumors were swirling that he would be replaced by Manuel Pellegrini.  Once the former Villarreal, Real Madrid, and Malaga manager (among other stops) officially signed on as manager of City, the club's pocketbooks opened up.  The transfer window is open until the end of August but as of the start of their 2013-14 season, City already added four quality players: Fernandinho ($50 million, F, Shakhtar Donetsk), Jesus Navas ($30 million, M, Sevilla), Stevan Jovetic ($35 million, F, Fiorentina), and Alvaro Negredo ($27.5 million, F, Sevilla).

Given the quality City already had on their roster before signing the four players just mentioned, they start their run towards an EPL title with their strongest roster ever.  Taking into account the transfers above, the current City depth chart heading into the 2013-14 campaign looks like this:

Goalkeeper:
Joe Hart
Costel Pantilimon
Richard Wright

Right Back:
Pablo Zabaleta
Micah Richards

Center Back:
Vincent Kompany
Matija Nastasic
Joleon Lescott

Left Back:
Gael Clichy
Aleksandar Kolarov

Central Midfield:
Yaya Toure
Fernandinho
Javi Garcia
Jack Rodwell
Gareth Barry
Abdul Razak

Winger:
David Silva
Samir Nasri
Jesus Navas
James Milner
Scott Sinclair

Striker:
Sergio Aguero
Edin Dzeko
Stevan Jovetic
Alvaro Negredo
John Guidetti

After spending in excess of $125 million on four players, I would be surprised if City purchased any more players before the transfer window closes.  In fact, it is much more likely that Man City will sell or loan out some of the younger players (Scott Sinclair, Abdul Razak, or John Guidetti) since playing time will be scarce given the quality of their current roster.

I hope you enjoy the start of City's run towards the quadruple (Capital One Cup, EPL, FA Cup, and UEFA Champions League) as they host Newcastle in their first match of the 2013-14 EPL season. 

Make sure to check back after the transfer window closes on Monday, September 2nd for a full review of all the moves made by City this off-season.