The Mancunian Candidate
By Giant_Causeway

With recent transfer events posing questions for the current members of the big four, we focus our attention to the looming threat of big spending Manchester City who is threatening to break the status quo and monopoly of the lucrative Champions League positions of Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal.

One club that has so far posed questions in eye-catching fashion to the status of the big four is Manchester City with their frenetic summer

Under Pressure to Deliver Success Mark Hughes

transfer spending of almost £96m. Forget Everton, Aston Villa and Spurs. They’ve had their chances particularly Spurs and Everton and failed to take or to build on their opportunities. The big story is Manchester City.

So far they have splashed out on Carlos Tevez, Roque Santa Cruz, Emanuel Adebayor, Kolo Toure and Gareth Barry for a total outlay close to £96m with continued rumours of a possible £18m bid for Joleon Lescott. Given their transfer activities, one can’t help but think that they are top heavy with strikers and midfielders but lacking the defensive foundation needed to mount a sustained title or Champions League challenge. With their persistent efforts to sign Arsenal’s Kolo Toure paying off and Everton’s Joleon Lescott as a possible signing, how big a threat do they pose and who is the odd man out?

An analysis of Manchester City’s squad yields nothing but questions. How will Mark Hughes, previously of Wales and Blackburn cope with so many big names and big egos who will surely demand regular football? How will other teams react? Will they treat Manchester City as equals and play their normal game or will they afford the Citizens more respect then they have actually earned thus adopting a more defensive game? How quickly would it take for the new signings to gel?

How Hughes manages those names and egos will have a huge bearing on Manchester City’s season. Predictably his managerial performances will be inextricably linked with the rise and fall of his team’s fortunes. With Hughes likely to start the season with at the very least, 6 strikers, how he rotates those names is fascinating from a managerial viewpoint and fan perspective. His previous tenures with Wales and Blackburn will surely not have prepared him for an experience of this magnitude and only his playing career at the top level with Manchester United and Barcelona will have given him some measure of insight on how to deal with those big names.

Given how big a target his transfer activities have made the club, teams could also afford his side the same respect given to the big 4. That brings Hughes’ tactical savvy to the fore and he will be tested as teams will inevitably sit back and look to expose a weak looking Terry-less defence on the counter attack. With the numerous attacking options at his disposal, he must find a way to breach rearguard actions whilst maintaining the defensive solidity that title winning teams are built upon and also keeping all those star names happy! He has shown he can bully, play a physical game, play an attractive expansive game and adjust his game plan accordingly. He also has the added tasks of gelling those new signings into the side whilst looking for the fast start to the season to signal their intent.

With the reliable Shay Given entrenched at the no.1 in place of the unfortunate Joe Hart they look to have an excellent start when Hughes names his team. But their defence is where questions abound.

No one is questioning the attacking talents that Manchester City possesses lending plenty of tactical versatility to Hughes who seems to favour either a likely 4-3-3 (4-3-2-1) or an equally effective alternative in 4-4-2 at home and a similar tactical formation to Liverpool’s in the shape of 4-2-3-1 away. The likes of Barry, De Jong and Kompany offers excellent defensive midfield options whilst wingers and wide midfielders in the shape of Petrov, Wright Phillips, Ireland, the versatile Zabaleta and Elano offers width, pace and variety not to mention the likes of Bellamy, Tevez and Robinho can be employed on the flanks. They also have the box-to-box option of the talented but injury plagued Michael Johnson who should develop into a very good player with an injury-free run of games.

Up front, with the signings of Santa Cruz and Adebayor, they have such an embarrassment of riches that £19m signing Jo and the young but industrious Ched Evans are likely to be absent from the first team squad come the start of the season. The likes of Benjani, Bojinov and Caciedo are

A defensive weak Link? Richard Dunne

all useful in their own right and the likes of Bellamy, Tevez and Robinho also offers plenty of options with their width, pace, variety and in Tevez’s case, industry.

The problem is defence. Even with the transfer of Toure, they look to be solid in the full back areas but the central areas are where titles are won and lost and they look vulnerable. With no disrespect to Richard Dunne, he doesn’t quite have the look of a world class centre half lacking that extra yard of pace whilst Micah Richards has regressed since he burst onto the Premier League scene in startling fashion. Nedum Onuoha needs more experience and in any case, an experienced but reliable centre-back to mentor him (similarly to Manchester United’s Jonny Evans).

With the signing of Toure, the equation has changed almost instilling the fear that had been previously lacking. Toure has given Manchester City the instant credibility they have lacked despite the signings of Adebayor, Tevez and Barry. They would have to be taken seriously as a clear and present danger to the big four. Without Toure, they would have had to prove they could sneak a point here and there if they do not play well whilst playing well against the big four. They would also have to establish leadership as there doesn’t appear to a leader in the shape of Carragher, Gerrard, Terry, Lampard or Ferdinand. Whilst Toure is not quite the inspirational leaders of the above names he still commands respect on what he has achieved with Arsenal.

Would simply Toure be enough? Toure is perceived as the key as he is a proven big four defender and respected around the world. Without Toure, Manchester City would lack that big name central defender with likely Richards or Onuoha as Dunne’s partner. Toure has been the rock for Arsenal but despite his performances, he doesn’t seem to be rated in the same class as Gallas or Terry.

The key in the absence of any recognised world-class defenders could be Vincent Kompany. He has always been highly regarded from a young age and attracted the attentions of most of Europe’s top clubs during his learning curve with Anderlecht. He has also had something of an injury plagued career but at just 23 yrs he has plenty of time to fulfil that immense potential and having proven himself fit and healthy and a very useful defensive midfielder, he has the potential to prove himself as a classy ball playing centre back. With rumours of Miguel Veloso of Sporting Lisbon yet another supposed transfer target, Kompany could find himself playing at the back.

Do they possess a genuine chance of Champions League football? Of course! In sports anything is possible. It would be churlish to dismiss the threat the Mancunian’s poses to the big four but more fascinatingly, at whose possible expense? That’s the (multi) million pound question. At this point in time I am excited but simply cannot see a weak link in any of the big four in the context of the threat from Manchester City as all big four teams can produce a better XI at this point in time and am most likely to conclude that the status quo is likely to be maintained despite the best efforts of Manchester City to buy a Champions League spot. Even in the event they sign Lescott, there are still questions that will have to be answered empathetically and any of the big four is vulnerable.

Of the big four, Liverpool and Arsenal remains the most vulnerable but both sides possess the quality in their respective squads and have the right managers in place to stave off the threat of Manchester City. The key for Liverpool and in particular Arsenal lies in the maturity of their youths given the financial disadvantage both side faces. Arsenal, in particular are widely thought to be the most vulnerable but I do not share the same view as it has to be said, Arsenal have the most scope for improvement of the big four. With the departure of Toure, Arsenal would be left with solid

A City Saviour? Carlos Tevez

fullbacks in Sagna and Gibbs, with Gallas, Vermaelan and Silvestre in the central area with the possibility of Fulham’s Hangeland as a replacement for Toure still giving them a solid look.

Though if Alex Ferguson ever decides to retire or the departure of Ronaldo and Tevez looks set to backfire on them and the core of the West London side ages too quickly, Manchester United and Chelsea can also be vulnerable to regression and a missed Champions League spot. Alex Ferguson’s recent small club dig at Manchester City could be interpreted as fear as the Scot does not normally engage in a war of the words with his less illustrious neighbours. One thing’s for sure and that is, they remain a potent danger in years to come and the big four will have work to do to stay a step ahead of big spending Manchester City.

They say “expect the unexpected”.. For me: I agree. As a football fan these are exciting times. For Hughes, he has nothing to lose and everything to gain and he’ll definitely give the big four managers plenty of sleepless nights! Which one? If we knew, we’d all be rich! For football fans, these are fascinating and exciting times. For fans of the Big Four, we’re all left wondering: Is this possible?

Well nothing last forever and Milan and Juventus are the ultimate cautionary tale. They were omitted from the Champions League competition following the Serie A match fixing scandal in 2006 and has so far looked a shadow of their former glorious selves struggling to compete with the juggernaut of Inter Milan and looking ordinary at Champions League level. That’s what one season in the wilderness does. It sets back a team’s progress and evolution for years. Since then Milan hasn’t come close with its aging core and has since sold Kaka and seen club stalwart Maldini retired. Being linked early in the preseason with the likes of Peter Crouch (no disrespect intended) only highlights the state of the club itself and their finances. Juventus has been much better then Milan but they have had to open their chequebook to get back into Champions League contention with Ranieri doing a similar job at Juventus as he did with Chelsea. It’s not just the financial incentive of the Champions League that is at stake but evolution and progress. Miss out on the lucrative Champions League and it could take years for any club not named Chelsea to recover.

Newcastle were thought too good to be relegated and we all know what happened there. The only way for the big four to stay ahead is fear. Can fear drive those managers and players to further heights? At the same token, Manchester City must be fearless as I am reminded by this quote, “The greatest barrier to success is the fear of failure.” Hughes must be bold, decisive, dynamic and above all, immune to the pressures from the media, fans and his own players. Make no mistakes, the big Four of Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester United and Chelsea all fear Manchester City whether they care to admit it or not. It is that fear of the financial might of Manchester City that will make or break every one of the big Four. Whether they let the fear of being the weakest link, the fear of making mistakes, the fear of the City squad firepower paralyse or spur them to further heights will show in the cold, unblinking truth of the final league standings.

We all await the start of the season with baited breath as the days shorten, the leaves falls, the skies darken (and to borrow a Highlander movie quote) knowing that in the end there can only be four..