‘Take a Bow…’ 5 Things I Noticed – United v City

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Another Manchester Derby, another breathless game which lived up to the hype and another game which was settled by a goal out of nowhere by a Liverpool-born striker in a United shirt.

It was a game in which United didn’t really control much possession considering they were the home side, but what was quite visible was the fact United enjoyed the lions share of quality possession, the possession Fergie values above all others, passing with purpose behind it rather than just going into blind alleys or attempting to suffocate the opposition.

Without further ado, here are 5 talking points that were raised as a result of the Derby..

1. Battle of the Overhead – Rooney v Berbatov

How do you seperate two goals of the highest technical calibre? well its quite easy you’d say.. its down to context. The arena, the timing of the goal taking into account the scoreline, the opposition you were up against, importance of the game in context of the competition you were competing  in and the level of difficulty in terms of technical execution… for me Maradona’s goal is the greatest of all time, it impresses in all facets and the fact it was achieved by the greatest player in the game also adds to the granduer of the goal in question. You’re probably going to argue, that the calibre of the player shouldn’t come into the equation but it inevitably does, a lucky once in a lifetime goal by a player not renowned for scoring spectacular goals doesn’t merit as much praise as a goal which is the confirmation of someones greatness.

Think of Zidanes goal v Bayer Leverkusen, if it had been scored by a lesser talent it would’ve been remembered but I doubt it would’ve captured the imagination in the same way as it did because it was Zidane of all people who had accomplished it, a player who you know executed it using every bit of talent he possessed and with no real need of luck. So hopefully I’ve convinced you that the player in question and the calibre of the player can colour ones opinion on how memorable the goal is and whether it is ‘greater’.

So now lets dissect the goals of Messrs Rooney & Berbatov and measure them using the aforementioned categories;

So there you have it, an objective look at which goal was better and for me Rooney’s effort trumps Berbatov. Remember when deciding a goal the context is almost as important as the level of technical difficulty although Fergie’s face and unrestrained Tourettes moment said it all. Perhaps it did miss a dosage of Andy Gray commentary. Then again maybe not.

2. Art of Defending – Next Generation (Smalling & Kompany)

Smalling Match Statistics: (30/36 Successful Passes, 1 Interception,  7/9 Tackles, 2 Clearances, 1 Block) Kompany Match Statistics: (42/46 Successful Passes, 5 Interceptions, 4/4 Tackles, 7/8 Clearances)

I’ve been saying for quite a while that in my opinion the level of defending in terms of  world football, let alone the Premiership looked at in isolation is suffering from a lack of top quality defenders at their physical peak and hence the likes of Messi and Ronaldo whilst being undoubted geniuses, aren’t really being tested whilst experiencing their own relative peaks. Its what great forwards can achieve against great defenders that really measures their greatness against legends from the other era’s and for me the likes of Ronaldo and Messi have been blessed by timing, since they’ve entered maturity all the worlds best defenders Ferdinand, Puyol, Terry, Carvalho, Nesta, Cannavaro, Lucio etc have experienced injuries, old age and just aren’t as tough to beat as they were at their peak. There were worrying signs that the new generation and some would say what new generation? It was fast becoming Vidic/Ashley Cole (still the right side of 30) v the World (move over Freddie Flintoff!)

I’m rather happy to say however that there are signs of recovery on the defensive front (perhaps a tad over optimistic) and we might be seeing the rise of modern defenders capable of matching up to the likes of Ronaldo, Messi, Rooney, Iniesta.

Likes of David Luiz, Rafael and not to mention Smalling and Kompany, playing for three of Englands top clubs is a positive step forward, young ball-playing defenders with excellent physical capabilities and not afraid to get stuck in either. Furthermore they seem to have abit between the ears too and don’t look overly prone to producing brain farts, a problem which prevents alot of talented young defenders from reaching their potential and confirming themselves as the next big thing.

So lets look at the 24 year old Kompany and the 21 year old Smalling in more detail, well yesterday as Kompany revealed to everyone post-match, he felt he had kept Rooney is his pocket and it had to take an arguable lifetime best to finally get one over on the Belgian. Likewise with Smalling, the only goal his side conceded was a lucky deflection of David Silva’s backside and its a measure of how far he has come in such a short space of time that he’s already replaced Evans as United’s go to deputy whenever Ferdinand is out of action.

Surprisingly Smalling ‘out-Vidiced’ Nemanja Vidic yesterday, producing more crunching tackles than the Serbian and not really accumulating interceptions which is his usual mode of winning back the ball off the opposition, its good to see as it proves he’s got a rough physical side to him if the situation demands it. As for his possession stats, pretty good, always looks composed on the ball and isn’t afraid to take people on if he has to, In fact dare I say it, unlike Rio who in my opinion has never really excelled in possession as much as he could’ve considering his talent. Smalling seems quite willing to take risks and is more confident in keeping the game moving forward rather than lay it off to his goal keeper.

As for Kompany, the stats say it all really, a phenomenal performance and he has been one of City’s standout performers all season and a signing of genuine class who has been worth all the money. One of those rare breed of players who lives up to his FM reputation (lolz), I mean what the hell ever happened to Vanden-Borre and Kerlon of ‘Seal ball-juggling’ fame? His tackle on Rooney inside the box, just oozed top class defending and I think this lad has no real weakness in his game, which is always a pain for forwards trying to work him out. Oh well you can always try a spectacular bicycle kick if all else fails!

Click here for the rest of my observations

3. How far can Nani go?

Before we delve into the world of Luis, Just think of the theme of the American Apprentice TV Show, ‘Money, Money, Money’ but replace the words with ‘Super, Super, Super Nani..Suuuper Nani’ and you’re on to a winner. Remember where you heard it first before it goes global!

Anyway where can Nani go, I touched upon it in my last piece on United that this lad is a coach’s dream, unlimited potential. He just has alot of junk in his trunk, actually that didn’t come out right I mean quite some talent in his locker… hmm still a tad dodgy. Regardless you should get the gist of the point, this lad is clearly going places, the only question that remains is where??

My personal take on it is that its got to the stage where Nani has become a better player to watch than Cristiano Ronaldo was for us in terms of open play during the 08/09 season. He is a tad weak in terms of set piece ability (great pen taker though) and whilst he can’t compare to Ronaldo on that front, his play while the game is moving is arguably more entertaining and more natural. He actually beats defenders regularly and leaves them for dead, rather than dropping down as soon as he gets a knock, he uses skill and beats players rather than doing it for show and just running fast into space and laying it off and he’s a very dangerous player to stop 1 v 1 in my opinion, more so than Ronaldo, who relies more on his ability to move off the ball and score goals rather than take people on and score a wonderful dribbling goal ala Messi Stylee.

Nani can physically stronger than he already is, he will get better at balancing his simple passing game with the need to take it to the opposition but I can’t see him becoming a mechanical goal machine, he just has too much natural street flair for that to happen. I don’t want him to lose is his work off the ball, he made 8 tackles yesterday which was more than either of our full backs and whilst one day he’ll probably feel he’s above all that donkey work, I think its a valuable underrated part of his game that endears him to the fans. He just needs to keep this level up against the top European teams and also perform at international level, if he can do so he will be seen as one of the world’s elite players let alone be named as PFA player of the year.

4. Miserly Mancini

Manchester City Statistics: (Current Position: 3rd, Goals Conceded % (per game): 0.88, 12 Clean Sheets/27 games).

Mancini is clearly a decent manager and there are qualities to be admired about him regardless of the team you support. He’s not obnoxious about referees, he’s generally pleasant and courteous post-match, he values players who work hard, a tough disciplinarian, strong in terms of defensive preparation and has pretty good fashion sense. Despite these qualities however there is something missing for me and although I can’t really point my finger on it, I’ll try to give it a go nonetheless.

For me a manager must always try to be balanced in every aspect of his approach towards football for example; strong defensively but most also be aware of what’s needed to score goals, be tough but know when to go easy with certain players, consistent with team selection but also prepared to throw a surprise to catch the other team off guard or to cope with an upcoming threat that would otherwise not be dealt with by your usual set up etc etc. Basically you cannot let your strengths become your weaknesses, they must be reigned in so you are taking into account all manner of information rather than be dogmatic and blinded by your preferences.

Mancini is overly defensive and his line-up yesterday contained only two flair players compared to United’s five, granted this was an away game for him but its been a constant ploy for City even at home, in fact even if his side is losing instead of unleashing the talent on his bench, he’ll make like for like replacements and keep the same tactical set up which wasn’t working in the first place. It is incredibly frustrating and as an England fan eerily familiar, why pick flair when you have a hard working player who follows tactical instructions but doesn’t really make the side dangerous. Its been argued that Mancini just needs time and he will get the balance right, City fans will hope so too otherwise it’ll be goodbye Mancini.

5. Opposition One2Watch:  David Silva

So what should these stats tell you, well if you had any sense they would tell you to make Silva a mainstay of your Fantasy Football side next season as once he finds his feet, which he has been doing this season, he will be a regular match-winner and looking to match the glorious stats of his last year at Valencia.

He is a top quality player, not a wide man in my opinion, rather the attacking midfielder in a midfield trio, free to just roam and create where he sees fit. Very similar player to Modric, but more dangerous in the final third and less likely to feature in deeper areas on the field. If he had pace, he’d be the English leagues answer to Messi but as it is he has to make do with sublime technical talent, vision and a masterful left foot. From a United perspective, imagine if we had this guy playing in front of a Carrick-Anderson partnership? For City he’s almost given sole responsibility to create something out of nothing, which isn’t the way to get the best out of him, instead he has to be the chief schemer rather than the only one because due to his lack of pace he relies on others to move and also be dangerous for him to be effective.

Conclusion:

If I was in charge of Manchester City I’d be looking to utilise a midfield trio of De Jong, Toure with Silva in front, not to mention two high calibre wide forwards to accompany Tevez. Assuming Balotelli is one, I’d rather select the inconsistent Adam Johnson to provide further flair and push the lad to improve his off the ball game, rather than remain conservative and go with the likes of Milner and SWP. This change of philosophy would do wonders for them and convert those draws into wins and those losses into last minute draws. As a United fan that would be a pretty formidable line up to come up against and thankfully they have a man in charge who isn’t really prepared to go toe to toe with us.

Barclays Premier League – Match Facts
Score: 2-1 Venue: Old Trafford Date: Saturday 13th February Kick-off: 1245 GMT

Man Utd (4-3-3): Van Der Sar, O’Shea, Smalling, Vidic, Evra, Nani, Scholes, Fletcher, Anderson, Giggs, Rooney. Subs: Berbatov (67th min), Carrick (79th min).

Man City: Hart, Richards, , Kompany, Zabaleta, Kolarov, Lescott, Milner, Barry, Silva, Toure, Tevez Subs: Wright-Phillips (53rd min), Dzeko (60th min)

Referee: Marriner

Written By

Raees Mahmood (Follow me @ www.twitter.com/redrae7)

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