Edin Dzeko gives Pellegrini food for thought

It is unusual to discuss a club at the start of a new season and wonder where last season’s top goal scorer fits in. This is the current situation surrounding Manchester City and their Premiership top scorer from last season Edin Dzeko. Last season by all accounts Roberto Mancini preferred his other options over the Bosnian. Tevez had 28 starts and 6 sub appearances and fellow Argentinean  Aguero managed 22 with 8 sub appearances. Dzeko managed just 16 starts and 16 sub appearances. The Bosnian was used just as much as from the bench as he was from the start.

In spite of this he managed 14 Premiership goals, two more than Aguero and one more than Tevez. Rickie Lambert & Frank Lampard where described as having fantastic seasons with a goal tally of 15, Theo Walcott who netted the same amount as Dzeko was hailed for his fruitful season in front of goal but yet Dzeko wasn’t being talked about in the same voice.

City saw Balotelli depart in January and this was followed by Carlos Tevez at the start of the summer both headed to Italy to seek pastures new. Dzeko was linked with moves away but nothing concrete materialised and things looked bleak for the hitman when City recruited Jovetic and Negredo, the pair looked to further push Dzeko down the pecking order. Dzeko is not helped however by City’s preferred system as it tends to favour the lone striker and Dzeko isnt suited to a wide role in this system, one in which Balotelli and Tevez were often sacrificed to and one in which Jovetic may thrive in.

Instead under the new Pellegrini on Monday we saw an excellent use of the 4-4-2 by City. They managed to still get players forward and also managed to keep a solid midfield base to protect the back 4. Zabaletta was still even allowed license to maraude forward and cause havoc. Dzeko was the stand out performer however. The only thing the Bosnian did not do was put the ball in the net and he was correctly identified by SkySports as man of the match.

In football many clichés exist. One of the most common is the phrase “he has good feet for a big man”, and although trying to avoid the use of this cliché with Dzeko it seems it was designed to describe him. Pellegrini’s change to a 4-4-2 (albeit with plenty of rotation and movement) saw Aguero the deeper of the forward pairing and Dzeko the main threat.  New signing Jesus Navas is a genuine winger and offers City an option that they did not have before, and you can see the main supply to Dzeko by the Spaniard is dangerous crosses which Dzeko loves to attack.

 Throughout the game Dzeko had 8 shots, half of them where headers which shows the varied nature of his play. He is equally comfortable peppering the goal with shots from inside the box like a genuine penalty box poacher as he is using his considerable height getting on the end of crosses.

Zabaletta offers City a unique threat as he is a wing back who likes to overlap on the inside. One particular example of this coming to effect was the goal against QPR for 1-0 when City won the league on that last day. Wheras Navas will whip crosses into Dzeko for him to attack, Zabaleta will come in the inside and look to find the Bosnian’s feet inside the area. Against Newcastle the most frequent source from which Dzeko received the ball was from Zabaleta  (7 times)and then from Navas (4). The positions Dzeko received his passes from Zabaleta also shows a side to his play, his workrate and willingness to run the channels rather than simply operate centrally. This fits Pellegrini’s 4-4-2 style with plenty of movement and positional rotation.

Many thought Dzeko would be frozen out at City, that he was not suited to the clubs style and that the manager would favour more well regarded superstars over the undoubtedly talented Dzeko. Despite less chances the Bosnian got more goals for the club last season than his positional rivals, and the manner of his play on Monday night, coupled with how high his performance was, means that Edin Dzeko could in fact be in for huge make or break season in the blue of City.

Premiership Prospects 2013/14

A statistical look at some players who could be in for a big year

Andy Carroll

Having amassed over £40million now in transfer fee’s one can hardly consider Andy Carroll a surprise package for the upcoming season. In fact the spotlight will be on Carroll as much as ever as he prepares for this weekend’s kick off. However, this is a world cup year and you could hardly argue any of the other English strikers left last season with particular world cup form. Carroll did well at West Ham, although his season was restricted by injury he helped West Ham finish a credible 10^th. His return of 7 goals and 4 assists was not bad in 24 games but he gives West Ham a lot more than that.

His style of play is so suited to the Hammers, he is the ideal target man and almost custom built for Sam Allardyce’s team.  He was fouled on average 2.2 times a game. The only players who were fouled more were the likes of Maloney, Sterling and Hazard, tricky wingers rather than strong centre forwards. His physical presence unsettles defences and he gets on the end of many long balls. He brings those around him into play through flick ons and knock downs, as well as offering a threat from set pieces.

In the last 2 seasons Matthew Jarvis has been the Premierships 6^th most accurate crosser, averaging 2.1 accurate crosses per game. When he was at Villa in the 2010/11 season Stewart Downing was averaging the same. In short this quality of service combined with a style of play perfectly suited to him, Andy Carroll may eventually prove that he is worth the hype and book his place in Brazil.

Andy Carroll as an outball.

Kevin De Bruyne

Last season in the Bundesliga only 5 players finished with more assists than Kevin De Bruyne (9). 4 of the 5 played in the Champions League final. Mario Gotze and Marco Reus were tied with De Bruyne on the same number. In short he is a creator of world class ability which he showcased throughout the campaign last season. Not only does the Belgian have a fantastic ability to create he also scores goals. He finished last season with 10 Bundesliga goals which is only one less than Chelsea’s new German star Andre Schurrle. Domestically, De Bruyne was tied with Mario Gotze. The pair both achieved 10 goals and 9 assists (although Gotze done it in fewer appearances,) this shows the calibre of player De Bruyne is.

He saw plenty of action in pre-season for Chelsea, and could fit perfectly into the 4-2-3-1 formation Mourinho is likely to implement. He likes to play from the left of this system but is equally comfortable centrally. Chelsea’s key strength lies in the creative young force which drives on behind the striker. Hazard, Mata, Oscar & Moses all impressed last season in that bank of 3, and with the return of De Bruyne and the acquisition of Schurrle the London side will have more options and more cover.

His style of play is one which will excite Premiership neutrals as well, he likes to get on the ball and make things happen. His close control and skill is exceptional and he is a tidy long and short range passer. When playing from the left he enjoys cutting inside, very similar to fellow Belgian Hazard. If he is given enough playing time, De Bruyne might be one of this seasons stand out performers.

Shinji Kagawa

In the same bracket as Andy Carroll, Kagawa isn’t a player who if he has a good season, he will surprise many people. Making his name at Dortmund, he left for Manchester last season and by the end of the campaign had six goals and a premiership medal to his name. Not bad you think, but there was something about Kagawa’s performances which didn’t quite live up to his reputation. On his debut against Everton as United lost, he was the stand out performer for the reds. He played in the pocket of space behind Rooney and showcased his potential. His ball control and positional play is outstanding. He is a very intelligent footballer who hurts teams by drifting around, getting into space, linking up with others and causing problems. Because of Van Persie last season Rooney was forced to play either as the secondary striker or in the number 10 role behind the Dutchman. Kagawa was resigned to either the wing, the bench or the fitness table. This season with the much publicised problems with Rooney, Kagawa could eventually see a lot more game time in his favourite role.

Moyes is a fan of the player behind the striker, for years at Everton had Tim Cahill and then eventually Marouane Felliani starring in the role. Kagawa only finished with 3 assists in his 20 appearances. He isn’t a player who will pick the ball up in that role and dribble; instead he enjoys making angles and laying off the final ball. He wasn’t getting into these positions enough last season either because of lack of game time or else being played out of position. This season that could change.

With a pass success rate of 89.7% Kagawa was the league’s 13^th best passer last season. This is impressive considering how many more games the other 12 had than him. This season could see Kagawa really fulfil his potential and grow into possible one of United’s most important attacking options, under Moyes and in his favoured number 10 role, the Japanese star could flourish.

Morgan Schneiderlin

What a signing the Frenchman has been for Southampton. Joining from hometown side RC Strasbourg in 2008 for €1.2million the combative midfielder has become a fans favourite at St Mary’s playing just under 200 times  for the club. Last season he picked up Southampton’s fans player of the year award as well as the players player of the year award.

Last season in the Premiership Schneiderlin averaged 4.1 tackles per game. An exceptional amount which was only beaten by Lucas Leiva. A very combative player Schneiderlin has a fantastic ability to also read the game which saw him make a league high average of 3.9 interceptions per game. This means that on average Schneiderlin was making an average of 4 tackles and 4 interceptions per game, making him statistically the league’s best defensive midfielder. He also very gifted with the ball at his feet, his pass completion rate of 85.2% is equal to that of Chelsea trio Ramires, Eden Hazard and Juan Mata.

Southampton have also captured the Kenyan midfield colossus Victor Wanyama who is also a very combative midfielder. Early indications suggest that Southampton intend for the two to partner each other which makes for a very very difficult midfield to break down. This could result in Southampton being this season’s surprise package; especially with the likes of Gaston Ramirez and Adam Lallana who will be given license to create because of the defensive platform in the midfield. At 23 Schneiderlin has been capped at every level for France except senior, and if he can build on last year’s performances then that could very soon change.

Emanuele Giaccherini

The main problem last season for Sunderland was how blunt they looked in front of goal and at creating chances. They suffered a massive loss through Steven Fletcher’s injury and then made safety in time under Di Canio. The Italian has made the most signings in the league and none stand out more than the Italian international Giaccherini. The rumoured fee is just under £7million and the player may take the Premiership by storm.

Injuries and being played out of position at Juventus meant he didn’t have the most enjoyable time in Turin, but Giaccherini played in every game of Italy’s confederations cup. Sunderland will utilise him on the wing where he should be able to use his pace and trickery. In Serie A Giaccherini made on average 1.9 key passes per game, the 13^th highest in the league. Only Pirlo and Vidal at Juventus averaged more and they played a lot more games than him. Di Canio is trying stamp his own mark upon the club, changes in discipline and personal have been made. Giaccherini has the ability now to become Sunderland’s key man and week in week out football if he remains fit could do his World Cup chances no harm at all.

How Man City's signings could impact the title race

This season the race for the Premiership is wide open. Potentially four teams are challenging for the title and the likes of Tottenham and Liverpool will be not too far behind the pack come May 2014. Arsenal’s squad is in a good overall shape and they have money to spend, but so far have been slow to recruit. Manchester United have failed to land any of their big summer targets and could be set for a loss if Wayne Rooney gets his way and leaves the club. The other two are looking strong. Chelsea enhanced by the return of their charismatic crowd favourite Mourinho, have strengthened with recruitments but also through the returning of last season’s loan stars adding more quality and depth to a young talented squad. Chelsea finished last season incredibly strong whereas Manchester City on the other hand coasted to the end. The Citizen’s season was already over by March except for the FA Cup but this manifested itself in a shock defeat to Wigan which in the end cost Mancini his job.

City have strengthened like no other this season. They recognised what they wanted and they went out and got it. New man Pellegrini has acted smartly, getting his transfer business done early giving him maximum time with his squad and new arrivals before the start of the season. His signings have also been smart. City have many big name players and big name players sometimes tend to come with big ego’s. Recent examples at the club have been Balotelli and Carlos Tevez who clashed with previous manager Mancini in some aspect or another. They have been cut loose and replaced. Pellegrini hasn’t just replaced them with more big name players, he has replaced them with professionals and players who fit into his system. Mancini favoured strikers out wide, or central trequaristas playing from wide coming inside. This was successful in winning him the title two years back, the likes of David Silva performing well in this role. However last season they struggled and the lack of penetration from natural wingers cost the side. In the end they finished with only 66 goals despite coming 2^nd. Liverpool finished 7^th with 71. Navas has been added, a real speed merchant who is almost uncatchable when he is tearing to the by-line. He is often used by the Spanish national side as a plan-b because of his ability to provide quality out wide.

 At Sevilla Navas formed a good partnership and a good understanding with the Spanish hitman Alvaro Negredo. The former Madrid man had a goal return last season of 25 in La Liga and City added him to their ranks as well. He is a good professional who gives them a genuine number 9 threat. Last season City lacked a goal scorer with Aguero not fulfilling his 1^st season promise, Balotelli out of form, Dzeko lacking confidence at stages and Tevez inconsistent. In short Negredo will get goals. With two of the above player left, there will be less rotation through the ranks and more time on the pitch for the current strikers to find form and improve that goals tally.

Another key addition has been the Montenegrin Stevan Jovetic. City have had big profile strikers who like to score goals but they have often lacked a forward who is isn’t the key man, a striker who offers balance and prefers to be part of the build up, opening space and helping out the other attackers. This is why the addition of Jovetic could prove to be a massive hit for City. His goal return of 13 in 29 last season was good and he is a striker who will still score goals, but his style of play and his intelligence on the pitch will be his key asset. He can lead the line but has said himself he prefers to either be played behind the striker or out left. Tactically having Jovetic support goal scorers of immense quality such as Aguero, Negredo & even Dzeko could give City an advantage in the race for the title.

 Jovetic's passes received against Inter. Look at the varied positions he gets into around the box and in the channels. He finished the game with two goals and an assist.

Jovetic managed to create 5 chances for others throughout the game. One of these lead to a goal. With City's quality upfront to finish a higher number of these chances, Jovetic could have a very good season.

The other capture for City which was the one that they saw the most criticism for was the recruiting of the Donetsk holding midfielder Fernandinho. The fee was around £30million and although anyone who has seen the Brazillian play can’t deny he has quality, there are few who could argue that Manchester City didn’t overspend even slightly. Fernandinho isn’t a natural holder in the mould of De Jong who breaks up play physically and then plays the ball to a more talented attacker. Nor is he in the Javi Garcia mould of a quiet blocker who tactically closes angles and shelters back fours without drawing much attention. Fernandinho is similar to Yaya Toure but without as dominating a physical presence. He plays with a lot of energy a real box to box type player. Perhaps one player he draws comparisons too is Ramires at Chelsea. It was against Chelsea in the Champions League last season Fernandinho made a huge impact, scoring once but maintain an excellent overall standard of play. He again gives City more options in the centre of the pitch, strong in the tackle and with a good reading of the game, the Brazilian is comfortable with the ball at his feet and getting at the opposition.

Fernandinho defensively against Chelsea. Two tackles including one just in front of the 18 yard box, three interceptions and a block.

In addition to his defensive duties in front of the back four, Fernandinho contributed well to the attacking part of his side. 7 shots, 3 on target and a goal show the varied nature of his play.

2013-14 What Lies Ahead For Liverpool?

The 2012/2013 season was a period of adjustment for Liverpool, the new style of Brendan Rodgers needed time to be implemented and by the time the dust settled the future looked bright upon Merseyside. Undoubtedly the captures of Coutinho and Daniel Sturridge helped inject an extra measure of quality to a side who’s season was in immediate danger of stagnating. This season the club have recruited well, but the fortunes of the side are deemed to hang in the balance depending on the situation regarding last season’s top scorer Luis Suarez who weighed in with 23 goals in the Premiership for the English giants.

One obvious area where Liverpool is automatically weakened from last season is centre back. Long serving servant to the club and legend Jaime Carragher retires leaving a massive hole both on the pitch and in the dressing room. Fortunately Liverpool managed to snap up a short-term replacement in the form of Premiership veteran Kolo Toure. The Ivorian was snapped up on a free representing great business. He impressed for City when he came in because of injuries or Mancini’s mistrust of Lescott and will offer Liverpool an extra head of experience inside what is now a  young Anfield dressing room.

The club have strengthened up front with the recruitment of talented Spanish forward Iago Aspas. The 26 year old impressed in Spain last season with 12 La Liga goals in addition to 7 assists. His close ball control and his clever linkage with passing movements are a joy to behold. He was superb against Real Madrid, and although the Spanish giants won the game against Vigo 2-1, Aspas got himself on the score sheet and his overall level of play was very high and he offers plenty of backup to Luis Suarez should the Uruguayan stay at Anfield.  His style of play would suit Liverpool, as he likes to drop into space and receive the ball into feet and either lay it off or move with it.

Iago Apas passes received versus Real Madrid. The positions are varied and show the strikers ability to lead the line and expose pockets of space.

The attacking involvement of Aspas vs Madrid

A few players specifically Stewart Downing and Jordan Henderson have to be commended for the way they finished the season, very strongly. Often a source of criticism Downing finished the season with 29 appearances, and 3 goals and 5 assists within those appearances. His overall level of play looks to have improved and he already looks more confident and could have an interesting part to play in Liverpool’s future. The same has to be said for Henderson who eventually replaced Joe Allen in the starting eleven. The midfielder’s 5 goals and 4 assists a testament to his hard work to force his way back into Rodgers plans despite being told he may leave.

Liverpool finished with 71 goals, the 3^rd highest in the league despite coming 7^th. They also conceded the same amount (43) as eventual winners Manchester United, but this was high with the likes of Everton, Arsenal, Manchester City and Chelsea all finishing with less. The brand of football Brendan Rodgers favours is possession bases attacking football, but hard work will need to be done on the training ground in order to improve the defensive unit when playing this specific type of football. Going forward the wing backs for Liverpool look strong, in particular Glen Johnson who had a fantastic season performance wise, however space does open up behind wing backs and teams exploited this a few times last season. If Rodgers can stiffen up his defence and limit the amount of goals then the quality attacking football and defence through possession will help climb Liverpool up the table.

Rodgers has also been targeting more quality for his side, and it’s upsetting for the supporters they didn’t land Henrikh Mkhitaryan who instead chose Dortmund over Liverpool. The Armenian wowed both domestically and in the champions league last season and his recruitment would arguably seen Liverpool pushing for top four. Currently the side are trying to thrash out a deal for Atletico striker Diego Costa, who they are targeting not as a replacement for Suarez but as further ammunition up front.

Should they keep Suarez and land another top quality player, there is no reason why Liverpool can’t break top four. They finished last season very strongly, one specific performance was the 6-0 mauling of Newcastle. One of the main problems last season was inconsistency and this is a key issue that must be addressed. Last season for example Liverpool comfortably beat Fulham 4-0 at home but this was then followed by a 3-1 defeat at Stoke. After defeat to Manchester United (Liverpool finished the stronger team and were unlucky not to get a draw) they humbled Norwich 5-0 at home only to get beat 3-2 in the cup by Oldham. They revenged this with two good results away from home, 2-2 draws at both the Emirates & Etihad only to suffer a 2-0 home defeat to West Brom. If the inconsistency is ironed out then Liverpool will gain more positive momentum rather than the stop start nature which summed up parts of last season. At times it felt like the club was taking one step forward and then two back.

Other squads around them are very strong and this will be a very tough season for Liverpool, but the signs are there. Rodgers philosophy is beginning to be implemented very well on the pitch, as well as good youth prospects coming through; Sterling, Suso, Ibe & Wisdom are all top prospects for the future and if Fabio Borini stays fit he might have a contribution to make. Gerrard had his best season since the Benitez season when he linked so well with Torres and Lucas has a huge role in the side if he stays fit. Keeping Suarez is a priority for the side, if Coutinho & Sturridge can kick off where they left off from last season and Aspas settles quickly then there is no reason why Liverpool can’t have a strong 2013-14.