£33 Million for Nigel De Jong

The tough tackling, play breaker upper, defence protector is sorely missed by Manchester’s finest side. Say what you will about our friend from the Netherlands, City are missing him.

The fact the reported fee was only £3 million received from AC Milan makes it even harder to bear. I’m sure City paid around £17 million for him in January 2009. In which time I would argue he got better and better. So did he really ‘depreciate’ by £14 million in the space of three and a half years? My mind says no.

What also appears to have happened on the evidence so far is that City has replaced Nigel with inferior players.

Prior to his injury Rodwell suffered a shaky start to his City career. Despite the fact he is still only young and playing at a higher level he is yet to really impress me. I appreciate he may be better going forward than De Jong although there has been no real evidence of that yet. His defensive play is nowhere near the level of Nigel as yet, which is one of the reasons the side is struggling.

At this moment in time I cannot see why Garcia was bought. For me he offers nothing to team above anyone else. I’ve yet to see him play a forward pass. He is not better going forward than Toure and is not better than Barry in the defensive role. £16 million is a lot to pay for a player who offers little to the side, especially with FFP looming on the horizon.

Perhaps those evaluations are a little harsh and I hope both players prove me wrong. As it stands, in simple terms; neither Garcia nor Rodwell offer the qualities of our much missed Nigel.

The defence seems to miss the Dutch master as opposition players are finding it easier to get at them. There are too many open spaces between the midfield and the back four to be exploited.

Nigel would have sat in these exact spaces and prevented those attacks from happening. I bet if you asked Kompany et al would they like De Jong back they would bite your arm off.

The defence has looked shaky and void of confidence at times this season. I never remember them looking like that over the past two seasons. De Jong was a major reason behind that.

If it was a contract dispute that forced his sale then so be it. I’m not privy to what goes on around the boardroom table. However whatever he wanted I’m sure it was more financially viable than the combined transfer fees and wages of Rodwell and Garcia.

In my book it was a mistake to let him go. Paying out £33 million to replace him was even worse.

Grant Mills

@mancinismarvels

Hammer Time

On a day where Chelsea dropped points and United seized the day against a poor Arsenal side, typical City failed to take their opportunity to go level with United.

On a side note, is it now the norm that a side like Arsenal will turn up at City and play out of their skins because we are champions? Contrast this with their non-existent showing at Old Trafford. Something City needs to understand quickly.

City dominated West Ham yet failed to make it count. Mario missed a sitter, Tevez and Toure missed good opportunities. But apart from that City failed to break a spirited resistance.

On a night when it was clear West Ham had only one tactic and seemed to be happy to defend it was simply not good enough from City. As Mancini later stated it was definitely a case of two points dropped.

How frustrating was the often mislaid final pass? There were so many times when a bit more composure or class in the final phase of the play could have led to a goal. With all the ability this side has it’s simply not good enough.

As soon as I saw the line up I was concerned. No recognised right back (how frustrating is that, we have three, all unfit) and a lopsided attack. It’s my opinion that Mancini should not play Edin and Mario together. They are too static and there are too many, annoying, frustrating times when they give the ball away too easily and the move breaks down. This is simply asking for trouble during an away game when the opposition and their fans are well up for it.

The eternal Dzeko debate lingers on. For me, when he starts he is simply not good enough. He is so frustrating at times and seems to offer little threat. Case in point was a great ball in from Mario, all Dezko had to do was take it in his stride and the goal was on (not a hard skill for a top striker I would assume). Annoyingly again it bounced off his thigh and rolled away and the chance gone.

Oh for Rosler in his pomp, chipping Schmeicel or Flowers, Quinn leading the line or Goater getting on the end of everything. They would offer as much threat as Mario and Edin do at present.

Kolo Toure had his best game in a City shirt for a long time. Defensively sound he rarely looked in trouble and was always on for an out ball, he created a few openings as well. Despite this the team miss Richards and Zabaletta who are as much a part of the attacking play as our forwards. Hopefully Zabaletta is back for the Ajax game.

Surely at a time when Silva is injured, Nasri and Yaya are not producing; Sinclair should be given a chance to start, otherwise we did we buy him? Last night’s game would have been a great opportunity for him and would have provided more width and creativity. The Swansea game was also crying out for his introduction yet Kolarov was given the nod instead.

Sinclair must be desperate for a chance to impress, get him on and let him show us what he can do. The team needs a spark from somewhere why not Sinclair?

On a positive note the defence was rarely troubled and Kompany looks back to his commanding best. That is the third clean sheet in the last four games. Sadly we have only scored six goals in those four games. Contrast that with this time last season and we are well off the pace.

Its all well and good saying City have not yet clicked into gear but what if this is it? What if they have already peaked? At a time when United have found their feet and Chelsea can be unplayable, City are in danger of watching them disappear over the hill and out of sight.

With fixtures against Spurs, Chelsea and United now rapidly approaching this is a time for our players to really show what their made of and take control of the title race. Winning those games (two are at home) would most likely put us top (all else being equal) while denting our rival’s aspirations.

Come on City.

Grant Mills

@mancinismarvels