The X Factor: Five Thoughts on Manchester City

photo by Sberla_	via PhotoRee

A recently received postcard from Correspondent Ed:

I wanted to write about Spurs this week, but...that West Bromwich Albion versus Manchester City game was just too good to ignore, so here's five thoughts instead:

1. Ben Foster's reckless decision to come out and attack a Carlos Tevez free kick was so bad that it honestly made me wonder if he had money on City.  West Brom had an easy 3 points against a City side down to ten men after a first half red to Milner, when Foster just plain choked. Even his execution was terrible. Uggh.

2. Turning to James Milner, he was caught trying to recover from yet another poor play by Vincent Kompany, who's terrible season continues. That said, Milner's decision was not noble, but terrible, as well. You've got enough great players to recover from a goal - which was anything but certain, by the way - and leaving your team a man down just seems crazy even though it worked out.

3. How about Edin Dzeko? The guy puts two in the back of the net in about 15 minutes of play -- remind me, why isn't he starting? Not unlike their cross-town rivals United, City is stacked up top with Tevez, Kun Aguero, Dzeko and Mario alotelli.

Please Cancel the Fruit Basket: Week 8 in the BPL

photo by Earl-Wilkerson	via PhotoRee

o We have no idea what Andre Villas-Boas was furiously scribbling in his notebook on the sideline of spurs' 4-2 loss to Chelsea on Saturday, but we hope it had something to do with teaching his players how to hold onto a second half lead.

o farlieonfootie held an office competition this week, in which the loser was forced to watch all of Fulham hosting Aston Villa on Saturday at Craven Cottage. Needless to say, the boss lost -- twice. Although Fulham may have nipped the win in the dying moments, we were long asleep by that time despite the daytime kickoff.

o So if it's time for the Tyne-Wear derby it must be time for the referee to perform a pre-game check on the whereabouts of his red card. This time is was Cheick Tiote playing the part of the unwilling participant, a victim of his own aggressiveness and the natural order of things when these two rivals collide. Of course, it took about 45 minutes for Sunderland to figure out they were the team with the man advantage, but by the time they worked it out it was all they could do to manage a draw with an undermanned Toon side.

o We'll bet James Milner isn't planning to send any fruit baskets Vincent Kompany's way this week. After finally being handed a rare start in midfield for the Citizens, Milner may be forgiven for being slightly peeved at his Captain, who momentarily forgot his role as last line of defense while he was busy daydreaming what it must feel like to be Cristiano Ronaldo. Needlessly stripped of the ball while attempting to carry it across the midfield line, Kompany left Milner totally exposed.

Fat, Dumb & Happy

England Flags photo by sk8geek via Flickr

England struggled to an unconvincing 1-nil win over a spirited bunch from Wales on Tuesday night at Wembley, in a match more notable for the lack of ambition and cohesion from the England squad than anything else.  Liverpool's Steward Downing combined with Manchester United's Ashley Young to put the English in front shortly before the half, yet the home side was unable to convincingly put the contest to bed in the match's second half, despite a starting lineup containing considerable EPL 'star power.'  My belief is that this stems from a central midfield that played as if fat, dumb and happy, coasting through the game at three-quarters speed, and lacking the required creativity and quality to link up with the man up top, a bonafide goal scorer who goes by the name of Wayne Rooney.

o In fact, England spent the last fifteen minutes of the match on the back heel, as Wales threw attack after attack at their nearby neighbors.  Sure, the English eventually held out and took all three points for Euro qualifying , but at the risk of being obvious, let me point something out. This was Wales they were playing, not Germany or Holland. At home.

o Indeed, England were very fortunate not to end up with a draw, as Rob Earnshaw somehow conspired to miss a wide open net from point blank range with roughly 15 minutes left, well after England had grown content with their slim one goal lead. I can't figure out how a team spearheaded by Wayne Rooney and Ashley Young can look so blase on offense, but Fabio Capello apparently has. Maybe it has something to do with the forcefield that is Gareth Barry in the midfield.

The Worst of the Worst

A New Award for the Holiday Season: The Ballon du Merde
photo by johannal	via PhotoRee

It seems as if virtually everyone else has used the Christmas break to come up with their Season-to-Date Recaps, or EPL Best XI list, but we don't work like that here at farlieonfootie.  Instead, we're proposing to do something just a little bit different.  Herewith the First Annual farlieonfootie Nominations for the Ballon du Merde, a new award we're trying to convince FIFA to grant to this year's worst players in the EPL:


Goalkeeper: Robert Green, West Ham United.  His problems began back in the World Cup, allowing an inexplicable goal against the USA and promptly losing his starting spot, and have continued into the EPL season.  By allowing 31 goals so far, Green's conceded more often than any other 'keeper in the EPL this year (he's actually tied for this dubious honor with Scott Carson of West Brom).  Although Green's not always terrible, he's routinely bad enough to take home the prize this year. 


Defender: Jonathan Spector, West Ham United.  Dismiss the two goals he scored against Manchester United in the League Cup, and focus more on Spector's consistently poor defending, which sets an awful standard even for an American.  He's been so bad in defense that the Hammers are now trying to hide him in midfield  They'd be better off hiding him on the bench.


Defender: Richard Dunne, Aston Villa.  Where did this guy's skills go?  Like Rhett Butler, they're seemingly Gone With the Wind.  Last year this guy was a joy to behold and a rock in the center of defense.  This season he's arguing with management and his status is sinking like a rock.  What a difference a year makes.

Bottled

A Pretty Good Visualization of Manchester City's Defense Last Night
photo by Moe_	via PhotoRee

farlieonfootie braved the cold weather last night to watch Citteh - Everton from his warm living room couch.  Below, some brief observations on the Sky Blues comedic attempts to take the top spot -- never mind the two games in hand -- in the EPL last night. 

• With the opportunity to go top, City bottled it once again, contributing yet another exhibit favorable to the prosecution in the case of Doubters v. City's Title Prospects. For the record, today's game kept the number of goals scored at home by a City player at 8, in 9 games overall at Wastelands.

That's some exciting offense, huh?  Good thing they kept Carlos Tevez happy....

• Also for the record, from @seaningle: Last season through 18 games, City managed to gain 32 points and had a goal differential of +10.  This season through 18 games, City have managed to gain 32 points and have a goal differential of +8.  Bring back Mark Hughes!

• It says a lot about Manchester City's offense last night to note that their leading scorer was Phil Jagielka. Yes, the same Phil Jagielka who plays defense for Everton. And their best and most consistent offensive effort consisted of raising their arms, faces contorted in rage, screaming at the referee and appealing time and again for a hand ball on Everton.