Robbie Rotten wrote:
I see. Who is playing right back? Just for a formation like that to work, you generally need full backs who can push up and 'make the pitch big'. Silva is an excellent player who will thrive off playing at the pace of the Prem, but I do wonder about him and Tevez in the same team. I think Silva's best attribute is his passing ability when linking up play; he's very good at instigating counter-attacks and linking things up, whilst he has the final pass to put people away if needs be. My worry, though, comes from him playing with Tevez, as they both occupy similar positions in the final third, dropping into 'the hole' and looking for that final pass, whilst Tevez is more capable of getting into the box and scoring, I'd still prefer a player like Silva who will create more and 'dictate' more, whereas Tevez is much more direct. I feel Tevez will get in Silva's way, whilst I feel Silva can be wasted if he's asked to play out wide and face full backs 1v1.
I dunno, we'll have to see, but I thought Mancini might use Balotelli as a left winger cutting in, he can cover three/four positions, so it'll be interesting to see, but he'll do better than Adebayor if his head's screwed on.
Should be interesting to see where Adam Johnson fits in. I like him, but I read a few people saying he wasn't a Mancini signing, but a signing suggested/forced through by Brian Marwood. I'd take him in a heartbeat off Citeh, but his wing play should give you something you'll lack a lot during the season, particularly if you go with a Barry-Toure-de Jong midfield, or Milner or whoever.
I think Mancini rates Johnson, but last season he tended to be ineffective in the first 30 mins and had more of an impact when the game opened up in the second half. I think he'll get plenty of game time but mostly off the bench.
I agree the obvious weakness in Mancini's formation is that the full backs might not be up to the job.
I thought we could have been accurately summed up today in the words of Naomi Camplbell as a team of dirty little stones, although Hart seemed well polished and some of the last ditch defending was better than anything I've seen from City for a long time.
