AFCB are okay: City are only playing at 70%, says Typical City

Rival Lines

Match Preview: Man City v AFCB

Blogger Interview: Typical City
Twitter: @TypicalCity

Facebook: Typical City

CC: Oh well, if Man City still have another 30 per cent to go before they really start playing at their very best, perhaps it is good that the Cherries can get this first game of two out of the way? That's how the half full glass Cherries fan might feel, but talking to Typical City's Dan Burke you get a real insight into how City fans can see the season perhaps panning out and they may not yet think that they have much of an advantage over their neighbours so AFCB had better get their defence sorted out as City look formidable even without Sergio Aguero.

CC: How well has the new Man City crest gone down with the fans?

TC: Very well, actually. The fans were consulted during every stage of the design process and we’ve ended up with a modern nod to our classic crest which the vast majority of people are really pleased with. The circular shape, golden ship and red rose are more synonymous with Manchester City than that stupid griffin and those embarrassing “decorative” stars ever were and I feel a sense of pride every time I look at it.

The only minor complaint I have is that the words “Football Club” have been removed from the new badge but it’s not something that keeps me awake at night.

CC: Man City already sit top of the table, but how much better do you think they can play?

TC: As great as City have been so far this season, I feel like this team has only fulfilled around 70% of its potential and, hopefully, the best is yet to come. City absolutely played Manchester United off the park for 40 minutes last weekend, but it was only 40 minutes and Pep Guardiola will be aiming to get his team exerting that level of dominance more often and for longer in future.

We still have players like İlkay Gündoğan and Vincent Kompany to come into the team, while Claudio Bravo and Leroy Sané have only just made their debuts, not to mention Brazilian wonderkid Gabriel Jesus who will join up with the squad in January. Exciting stuff.

CC: The Manchester derby was a well-hyped game and an important game to win, but do you expect Utd to be the biggest threat for the title this season?

TC: Yes, I think so. The likes of Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal and Tottenham will undoubtedly be challengers but I can’t help but feel that City and United will be the ones battling it out for top spot come the end of the season.

The way City played in the win at Old Trafford gives us plenty of encouragement going forward, but there’s a long way to go yet.

CC: Is the goal keeper position the weakest one in your team?

TC: After Claudio Bravo’s hairy debut at Old Trafford I can see why you’d think that, but I don’t agree. Bravo has Champions League, La Liga and Copa America winners medals and has captained his country for a decade so one dropped catch doesn’t make him a mug and I think, in time, he’ll prove to be a very good signing.

It’s a shame his debut is being remembered for that error because those first 40 minutes of City domination would not have been possible had he not been the master of his third of the field and his ability with the ball at his feet makes him integral to the way Guardiola wants his team to play.

I think our full-back positions are probably our weakest but even those players (particularly Aleksandar Kolarov) have come on leaps and bounds this season.

CC: Has Pep Guardiola's arrival filled you with more confidence that City can be a real power in the Champions League this season?

TC: As Pep proved during his time at Bayern Munich, the Champions League is a really tough nut to crack (even the great Sir Alex Ferguson only won it twice in all his years of management) but his main target during the three years he’s expected to be at City will be to win it and I think that’s more realistic than it ever has been.

I’m not convinced it will happen this season but us being a bit more streetwise and possibly even getting a result against a team like Barcelona will represent progress. Manuel Pellegrini took us to the semi-final last season but we were punching above our weight and if we can make it to the last four and look like we belong there this season, I’ll be very happy with that.

CC: With Sergio Aguero out for few games, it has been Kevin de Bruyne that has stepped up his performance. But has Guadiola's presence already made you feel that you are watching more of a team than a group of great individuals?

TC: Very much so, and I made that point to a Manchester United-supporting friend of mine who was convinced City had no chance of winning the derby without Sergio Aguero. Of course, any team would miss a player of Aguero’s quality but it feels more than ever like City are a unit rather than a bunch of names this season and the system is designed to create chances for everyone rather than everything being funnelled towards one main striker.

What’s more, with players like De Bruyne, David Silva, Nolito, Raheem Sterling, Leroy Sane and Kelechi Iheanacho, we have so much attacking talent and creativity that we’re still going cause teams a lot of problems with or without Aguero.

If our chances of achieving anything this season lived or died based on one player, I very much doubt Pep would be pinning his hopes on one who is so injury prone.

CC: Do you see John Stones as a future captain of Man City and if he is to be one of England's main centre-backs who should he be partnered with in Sam Allardyce's team?

TC: I’ve been so impressed with Stones so far and he certainly looks like he has what it takes to be a future captain for club and country. He’s great on the ball, so intelligent and a very un-typically English central defender who could be the cornerstone of the national side’s changing football philosophy in the coming years.

I think Gary Cahill, Chris Smalling and Eric Dier are the best other English centre halves at the moment but I don’t rate any of them particularly highly if the truth be told. We have a young lad in our academy – Tosin Adarabioyo – who is one to keep an eye on.

CC: Why was Sunderland at home a tough game for Man City?

TC: I think it was a combination of the team lacking in a bit of match sharpness (our pre-season was very poorly planned this summer), the match coming very early in Pep’s tenure and the fact that Sunderland, to be fair to them, defended very well and hung in there.

We’ve improved incrementally in each game since then and if we were playing Sunderland this weekend, I’d expect us to win a bit more comfortably.

CC: How do you see AFC Bournemouth now - plucky underdogs, relegation candidates, a high-energy/youthful team or southern softies?

TC: I think you had a great season last year and thoroughly earned your place in the Premier League. This will undoubtedly be a difficult second season for you but although you haven’t made the best of starts, I expect you to turn it around and stay up again.

Eddie Howe is an excellent manager who’s done an amazing job and I hope Callum Wilson fulfils his potential after that nightmare injury he sustained last season. I think you’re a high-energy/youthful team and I’m expecting a tough game on Saturday.

CC: Can you remember how has Jack Wilshire done in the past against Man City and is he a player you rate?

TC: He’s generally done well against us in the past and there’s actually been a bit of beef between him and our fans in the past which could be reignited if he plays at the weekend.

He is a player I rate and it’s a shame his career has stalled, through little fault of his own. Fair play to him for trying to give himself a jump-start by joining Bournemouth on loan and good luck to the lad, I say.

CC: How will Man City set up against AFCB?

TC: I’d expect it will be: Bravo, Sagna, Stones, Otamendi, Kolarov, Fernandinho, Silva, De Bruyne, Nolito, Sterling, Iheanacho but Pep may take the opportunity to give Gündoğan and Sané their first starts if they’re ready.

CC: I really liked Dan's answers. It is good to know that Jack Wilshire is likely to be fired up if he gets to play against City even if it sounds a bit ominous that City might only be playing to around 70 per cent of what they might be capable of!! I'll do a quick prayer for AFCB that City don't find an extra 10 per cent somewhere. Maybe with Siva struggling to be fit they might even drop a few per cent from the high standards they have set. Do have a read of the Typical City blog - they have some great ideas that I might pinch like their debate section and historical Halycon Digest - great stuff!


The Football Blog Awards are asking for votes up to 26th September 2016 - Cherry Chimes is asking followers of the blog to vote for it in the Best Football Club Blog category. 

You may also see some of my answers in reply to Typical City on AFCB questions if you visit the Typical City site this weekend.

Rival Lines: Samir Nasri gets a bad rap from the press

Rival Lines

Match Preview: Man City v AFCB

Blogger Interview: Typical City
Twitter: @TypicalCity

I was wondering if I would have to contact a sultan to get some information out of a Man City fan blog, but it appears that the wealth might not yet have trickled down to many of the Sky Blue fans who have followed their team through the good times and the bad. Who better to ask then for a verdict on how Man City are playing than to get in touch with Typical City. Alex Timperley was happy enough to explain that the Etihad is a place where football is a bit special these days.

CC: Tell us about how the Typical City blog got going?

TCB: Typical City was started at the beginning of the 2012/13 season by Rob Pollard and Rob Toole. There weren't really any good City blogs around at the time which seemed a bit strange for the newly minted Premier league champions and so Typical City was started to fill that hole. Even today the number of City blogs - especially ones which are actually good - is a lot lower than that of the other top teams. Since then the blog has expanded a lot and continues to grow.

CC: Pellegrini knows what it takes to win the Premier League, but even if he wins it with Man City this season will it be enough to save his job without success in Europe?

TCB: This is one of those questions where no one could honestly give you a definite answer. My gut says that unless he wins the Champion's League it will probably be the end of the road for him despite the contract extension this summer. It all depends on what Pep Guardiola does next summer. The people in charge at City have made no secret that he is their number one target and if Guardiola indicates he is available they will move heaven and earth to get him to City.

If Pellegrini does leave then he will do so with the good wishes of most of the fans. He has taken City to another level and kept his head (and won trophies) whilst a lot has changed around him. I will miss him when he goes. He's not been perfect, but he has done a fine job at what is surely one of the strangest places to be a manager in the modern game.

CC: When Man City lost to West Ham at home Pellegrini said the team was not aggressive enough and they also had a slow start against Newcastle, so do City need a spark to get going in games?

TCB: I'm wary of taking those two games and creating a larger narrative out of them but it is true that City have started slowly in a few games this season which is obviously not a good thing. There isn't specific cause for this but I would point to our current injury situation which has definitely had an effect on the team. We have only been able to field our first choice front four twice and the injuries to Kompany and Mangala have ensured that once again we have not been able to field a consistent central defensive pair.

On the other hand, those are the ropes in the Premier League and City need to be able to adapt to adverse conditions. Mostly we're fine but there have been one or two very frustrating lapses.

CC: Was the Spurs game a wake up call that came at a good time, if there can be a good time to have a defeat?

TCB: There isn't a good time to have a defeat really, is there! Spurs outplayed us in the second half and deservedly came away with the three points but who knows what would have happened if the linesmen hadn't missed the two offside Spurs goals? I'm hesitant to go into counter factual history but the timing of the two goals was important.

We have since won away at Gladbach and hammered Newcastle at home so the Spurs result is behind us now.

CC: Nasri has been out of the team for a while, but is his creativity something that the team really needs now with the latest batch of injuries?

TCB: Samir Nasri is a very important player in our side. He gets something of a bad rap from the press and football fans in general but in reality he works hard, never hides and is City's best player when it comes to keeping hold of the ball. He doesn't quite dictate things like David Silva does, but then neither does anyone else in football.

The idea that Nasri was set to warm the bench all season has arisen from somewhere but that was never going to be the case. I'd expect him to start this weekend and to give a good account of himself.

CC: We have seen players go to Man City and almost disappear so how important will it be for Wilfred Bony to get games now and to make a good impression?

TCB: Some players have "disappeared" as you put it but there has always been a reason for it. City isn't the graveyard for players it is made out to be. The only player who really was a mistake was Scott Sinclair. Both Sinclair and City made a mistake there. Apart from that there has always been a good reason why a player hasn't played very much beyond these tired old cliches about City not caring about English players/youth players etc etc. Not much is ever made of the players who have come to City and succeeded such as James Milner. If a player is consistently good enough they will always play.

And on that note, Wilfried Bony now has a chance to prove that he is good enough to be a Manchester City striker. Sergio Aguero picked up an injury playing for Argentina in the week and Bony will be getting a lot of playing time over the next few months. His start at City was curtailed by the African Cup of Nations and a few injuries but it's fair to say that he hasn't taken the chances he has had - quite often literally. He needs to to start scoring regularly over the next few weeks as otherwise it is easy to see him playing second fiddle his entire City career. He is not a young developing player like Kelechi Iheanacho. His time is right now and he needs to take it, starting with the game against Bournemouth this weekend.

CC: With Aguero, Silva and Kompany injured how do you see Man City lining up for the match against AFC Bournemouth?

TCB:

Hart

Sagna - Otamendi - Mangala - Clichy

Fernando - Fernandinho - Nasri

De Bruyne - Bony - Sterling

(The midfield might be slightly different depending on Toure's fitness).

CC: Who have you been more impressed by Sterling or De Bruyne and why?

TCB: Can I be impressed with both of them? De Bruyne has made the flashier start to his City career. The Belgian already looks the real deal and you should take any bets above evens you can find for him scoring this weekend. He is in red hot form and looks deadly every time he gets the ball. His passing can go a little awry but that will improve as he gets onto the same wavelength as his new colleagues over time. His shooting is direct and powerful and his creative brain looks to be second to none. We have a real player here.

Raheem Sterling has also made a pretty good start at City. Despite the deeply unpleasant lust in the press to see him fail, Sterling has shown that he will be a part of this team for a long time to come. Not everything has worked out for him yet but he's 20-years-old and has suddenly been catapulted up a few levels and is finding his way. Opposition teams are rightly terrified of his pace and incision, but his most important attribute is that he drags defenders way out of position, freeing up our other forwards. It cannot be understated how much that ruins defensive game plans.

There is a lot more to come from Sterling and I cannot wait to see it.

CC: Do you see games like Bournemouth as a potential banana skin or just a regular Premier league fixture?

TCB: I see every game as a potential banana skin - whether that says more about me or City is open to debate...

Seriously though, I think we should win comfortably. Bournemouth are probably the only team with a worse selection of injuries to key players than City and I think that will be the difference. I expect to see the Bournemouth players to give a good account of themselves, but I feel our strength in depth will tell over 90 minutes. We can absorb important injuries much more than you can. I do not think you will embarrass yourselves like Newcastle did and I look forward to having Bournemouth visit.

CC: What do you think AFCB fans will enjoy most about visiting the Etihad stadium?

TCB: Well if you're like all the other Premier League teams you'll enjoy singing "Where were you when you were s_ _t?" in some abortive attempt at the dreaded Football Banter.

Other than the inevitable musical banter I hope you will like the stadium. Your fans will be in the newly expanded South Stand and it really is lovely. There's also entertainment beforehand in City Square which is normally extremely weird so have a look at that. Also, the football. I hope you enjoy the football and Kevin De Bruyne.

CC: It is great to get such a clear indication of a City fans feelings about their team and while I might have avoided antagonising Alex with a question about the other half of the city it seems that the Sky Blues will be the team to beat this season. For AFCB fans though that makes this game even more exciting as there is no doubt that the Cherries are the underdogs here and it will be fabulous to watch so many great players in front of us. We will be doing everything we can though to put the de Bruyne's of this world off their game though and just perhaps we can give Mr Pellegrini a bad day for once. Make sure you have a good look at A Typical City Blog to read more about the amazing talent at the Etihad and to see what Man City fans have been thinking in the build up to this game. I have also written some return answers for them so you can find out what I was asked about AFCB before the match.