Thursday 13 September 2012

City vs Stoke: Match Preview

Premier event before Real deal

By Dave Walker

As a summer of outstanding UK sporting success draws to a close Manchester City will be hoping that it won’t be a case of Rule Britannia when they travel to face Tony Pulis’ ‘pugilists’ from the Potteries.

The exciting escapades of Andy Murray, Bradley Wiggins and Team GB will be the last thing in the minds of Roberto Mancini’s men as they take on the hostile surroundings of the Britannia Stadium, and opponents renowned for their ‘fighting characteristics’.

One can but admire the tenacity of the home support and, with just four junctions of the M6 separating the two cities, it will be an especially intense affair.

The fact the Sky Blues quenched their 35-year thirst for silverware with an FA Cup Final win over Stoke in 2011 hardly dampens the fire that burns within the Britannia - a venue which has seen City emerge with just three points from a possible 12, on four PL visits.

The Premier League champions go into their second away game on the back of a satisfactory, if unspectacular start to the season.

Stoke away is never a game for the faint hearted and it remains to be seen if Sergio Aguero, poised to return from injury, will be risked.

A lack of match fitness, plus a need to safeguard him before the mouthwatering Champions League match with Real Madrid, means Aguero should, at best, be on the bench.

Just how Mancini balances his twin track approach to the PL and CL will be interesting to see. Gareth Barry and Micah Richards aside, he has his entire squad at his disposal including the glut of transfer deadline signings of Maicon, Nastasic, Garcia & Sinclair.

There’ll be more rotating than a disco dance floor globe with team selection, but the Italian boss will not be prepared to comprise the defence of the PL crown for Euro glory. 

Scoring goals has not been a problem with 11 in four games, including the Community Shield. No, it’s at the back where, in a bid to play an even more expansive game, the deployment of a 3-5-2 formation has left City exposed with seven conceded.

Sod’s Law dictates that the forgotten man of English football, one Michael Owen, could make his Stoke debut against City. So often City’s nemesis with a host of previous employers - never more so than in the 97th minute of Fergie time when City lost 4-3 to United - Owen’s appearance could spice up a fixture that is often hotter than a banquet in Bangalore.

Conversely, if Stoke are genuinely attempting to adapt their traditional combative play,  it could benefit the men in blue. City have the skill speed and guile to reflect their superiority and Javi Garcia could be key in supporting the thrusts and probings of Silva, Nasri and Yaya Toure.

Be it 3-5-2, 4-4-2 or even 4-3-3 City’s defence needs to up their game. Kompany and Lescott - the bedrock of the PL’s meanest ‘D’ last season – haven’t been at their supreme best as of yet. Stoke would be a great place to start.

England reject, Peter Crouch can be as effective as he is ungainly – last season’s wonder goal against City is testimony enough - and new signings Charlie Adam and Maurice Edu will also want to impress.

Above all City need to keep Stoke’s 12th man – the capacity crowd – quiet so the Blues can ‘wave’ goodbye to the Britannia and head up the M6 with three points for the first time in five PL visits.

Player watch

                                   Edin Dzeko                          vs                        Ryan Shawcross

Photo 1: Michael Regan/Getty Images Europe                              Photo 2: Peter Aiken/Getty Images Europe


As an ex-Man Utd apprentice Shawcross has little love for City and a deserved reputation for pushing the boundaries with his uncompromising ‘style’ of play. He epitomizes Tony Pulis’ approach, albeit, we keep hearing how Stoke are evolving from what many describe as a somewhat neanderthal approach to Premier League football.

His duel with Dzeko could be a key factor with the Bosnian hit man in fine form having notched six goals in his last four games for club and country. The ever popular Edin will need to be ‘up’ for a physical encounter but, along with strike partner, Tevez, they could out muscle the Stoke defence and take the spoils.


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You can also follow Dave on Twitter: @djwskyblu


(c) The Sky Blue View 2012 

12 comments:

  1. Want some genuine feedback that's truthful - but might hurt?

    Your writing is hackyened, cliche-ridden sub-Daily Mirror hack nonsense that reads like it should have been written in 1986.

    Full of lazy, trite turns of phrase that actually tell me you have very little insight or anything of importance to say.

    This is (over)written as if you're aspiring to the heady heights of deputy sports editor of the Swindon Advertiser.

    Just leave it alone.

    You're a (cliched) average - at best. Don't give up the day job.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. WOW - the lofty vertigo inducing heights of the Swindon Advertiser - as if I would be so bold!

      Thanks for the critique, albeit sadly bereft of any constructive elements. It's always easier to destroy rather than give expert guidance.

      At least you read the piece. I would nonetheless be interested in what lies behind your criticism - criticism that would have more credibility were it not hidden behind anonymity.

      That is, of course your prerogative.


      David Walker

      Delete
  2. What do you mean - what lies behind it?

    You just need a dose of reality - you're nowhere near as good as you think you are. As I said - cliched average at best.

    Clearly - judging from your Twitter posts - you're a really insecure guy who needs constant confirmation that you're ace.

    Sorry, I say it how it is. So, as requested, here's some constructive elements for you:

    1 Cliche - you litter every sentence with them. eg

    Premier event before Real deal
    it won’t be a case of Rule Britannia
    Stoke away is never a game for the faint hearted
    hardly dampens the fire
    the forgotten man of English football
    the glut of transfer deadline signings
    mouthwatering Champions League match
    Sod’s Law dictates
    So often City’s nemesis
    Bosnian hit man
    City need to keep Stoke’s 12th man – the capacity crowd – quiet

    All this is extraneous nonsense. It's cliche city, not Man City! As I said, all this is from another era. Do you actually read Paddy Barclay? Henry Winter? Brian Reade?

    These guys just don't use your language. Just keep it simple, fella. Don't go down that awful Framley Examiner provincial journalism route.

    2 Construction

    You overwrite.

    Example 1 - 'One can but admire the tenacity of the home support and, with just four junctions of the M6 separating the two cities, it will be an especially intense affair.'

    Yes, we know where Stoke is. Saying it's just four junctions of the M6 separating the two cities, adds nothing. Unless you're an alien. And know the junction frequency of the M6. So just leave it out.

    Example 2 - "The exciting escapades of Andy Murray, Bradley Wiggins and Team GB will be the last thing in the minds of Roberto Mancini’s men as they take on the hostile surroundings of the Britannia Stadium."

    No shit. What's this got to do with it? It's all extraneous fluff.

    Example 3 - "So often City’s nemesis with a host of previous employers - never more so than in the 97th minute of Fergie time when City lost 4-3 to United - Owen’s appearance could spice up a fixture that is often hotter than a banquet in Bangalore."

    Your flourish at the end of the sentence is OK-ish - although straying into cliche territory again....but this construction is just too long. There's no need to go on like that.

    Continued on next post....

    ReplyDelete
  3. You just tend to dress things up when you don't need to. I think you think that these are clever creative flourishes that add to the text. They don't. They distract. Again - just grab any Brian Reade and read him closely. You obviously don't. There's a good reason why he's paid £150,000 a year and you're not. He's a class act. You're an amateur.

    As I said in my previous post, all this extra guff is often a telling sign that you actually have little genuine insight or anything of substantive interest to say.

    Example 4 - "Conversely, if Stoke are genuinely attempting to adapt their traditional combative play, it could benefit the men in blue. City have the skill speed and guile to reflect their superiority and Javi Garcia could be key in supporting the thrusts and probings of Silva, Nasri and Yaya Toure."

    Again, choc full of cliche. And "City have the skill speed and guile to reflect their superiority". Reflect their superiority? What does that mean? Is that reflect superiority of Stoke? Or is it the superiority of City? And what is being reflected? It makes no sense.

    3 Punctuation

    "England reject, Peter Crouch" - you don't need the comma. "England reject Peter Crouch" will do.
    Inverted commas - on ‘pugilists’ 'wave' 'style'. Rarely needed - certainly not in two of these three instances.

    In summary, you strike me as a bloke who says it in 35 words when 10 would do. I know it's easy to take comfort from Twitter people saying how great you are, and a lot harder to take someone telling you you're average.

    I have no axe to grind. I just think it was important to re-address the balance when you're showered with daft comments from people who aren't exactly professionals when it comes to good judgement on prose.

    All the best and I hope you improve.

    Regards

    Jim Waller (Salford Blue)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Brilliant Dave another good piece, keep it up! (@mcfc_james123)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well Jim, thanks for that - I'd love to see your comments when you DO have an axe to grind.

      You make some valid points but contrive to wrap them up in a very offensive fashion. What's your day job, Professor of Psychology? So, I'm insecure and think I'm ace do I?

      At what point in simply writing a blog for City fans, who seem to like it as a 'good read', do I think I am up there with the elite in sports journalism? I don't.

      Yes,by definition I am an amateur, I never purported to be anything else did I - or did I miss something?

      I don't present myself as any big deal. I simply write to my obviously extremely limited capacity, for an audience who, according to you, are daft and presumably of very limited intelligence.

      I'm sorry if that rankles with you as an elite member of society. A simple solution would be to avoid polluting your brain with my outdated cliched drivel.

      You seem to have an unhealthy interest in my twitter account to be monitoring feedback from my followers and readers - why?

      Anyway, I'll just keep churning out the garbage in the hope that there are enough dullards out there who want to read it.

      I'm sure you must have much more important things to occupy your vastly superior brain.

      Best

      David Walker

      Delete
  5. I'm just a normal bloke who likes to read simple, straight forward English.
    You're the one who has an unhealthy interest in their twitter account - not me.
    I'm really sorry but with only the quickest of glances at @djwskyblu (whic you advertise so prominently above) you can't really help but see the dozens of "read my article and say I'm great" tweets.
    It's very telling and says a lot about you. You seem very needy.
    I've no idea what you do for a living, but I really hope it's something to do with numbers and not words.
    Sorry if you think I'm being offensive, because I'm clearly not. I'm just expressing an honest opinion.
    You seem like a very sensitive guy who finds criticism hard to take. Maybe you're just not used to hearing people tell you like it really is. Or maybe I should have just said there's nothing wrong with your writing and then we could have been best-est friends?
    I think you should consider less public forums, otherwise you may feel hurt by someone who doesn't see the world in quite the same way as you do.
    Anyway, let's agree to differ. You're quite right, I won't waste my time reading your stuff again.

    Regards

    Jim

    ReplyDelete
  6. I wish I had perfected being obnoxious, partonizing and supercilious with a propensity for regularly disappearing up my own backside. Memo to self - must try harder, much harder.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Couldn't agree more. Dave Walker needs to try much, much harder...

    ReplyDelete
  8. I think Dave Walker's articles are entertaining & well constructed. I don't understand why anyone feels the need to be so vicious in their condemnation of them.

    Plenty of Man City fans seem to share my view so carry on writing and ignore these vitriolic comments.

    It's probably a Rag pretending to be a City fan anyway .

    ReplyDelete
  9. From Susan Bookbinder

    I think David Walker is a talented and entertaining writer, he has authority, passion and style as an experienced communicator and City fan. Don't change a thing David and ignore this isolated and vicious individual who obviously has more time than sense

    ReplyDelete
  10. surely any writer is writing for the reader? in which case to the vast majority of your readers you're a success I've never heard you purport to be Dostoyevsky just David, so try not to take what your anonymous moaner has to say too much to heart! he sounds like the kind of unpleasant critic whose sneer ridden ramblings appear in the Guardians Saturday art supplement! he's probably itching to correct my spelling and grammar as we speak! pretentious old scrote!!

    ReplyDelete