This is a fan’s personal view of AFC Bournemouth from the outside looking in. It reports on the daily official activities reported by the club and comments made by individual fans on social media and fanbase websites. Life as an AFCB fan is never dull. As a life-long supporter of the Cherries, it is the friendliness of the staff, fans and my enthusiasm for the club that inspired me to write this blog.
If the Man City defeat told Eddie Howe anything it was that the team is vulnerable to counter attacks from top rate teams. The way Sterling and Nolito broke on the flanks and the ability of De Bruyne to commit defenders, when they were off balance, made some of the City attacks look like a knife going through butter. In short, AFCB have to use a better defensive midfielder against these top six teams. I believe they have the player in the squad to do that protection role for the back too in Nathan Aké, but he is not getting game time at the moment. It may seem negative to try and be defensively well organised and think more about defence than attack against the top sides, but if the Cherries want to try and pick up anything against these kind of teams then they have to work out a way of conceding fewer goals. Tightening up at the back will be necessary for the match against Everton who are also in a purple patch of form and AFCB have to go back to think again of a better way of stopping Everton, because the set-up against Man City wasn't strong enough.
The goal might have well been empty at times - AFCB couldn't get back in time.
The mid-week cup game against Preston North End is now a lot more valuable than it might have seemed a few days ago. There are players, such as Brad Smith and Marc Wilson and Lewis Cook, that may be able to prove that they should be involved in the Everton game and while I can't see Eddie changing the team massively for Everton from the Man City starting line up, he can't expect a better outcome from what they received up at the Etihad by playing the same system for a home game. The speed of the Man City passing was too precise and slick for the Cherries and it was a bigger test than Man Utd or West Ham Utd. Man City were not pressed by AFCB and the team did not really get close to exerting much pressure on the City goal even if Josh King had a few moments, Callum Wilson struck the cross bar and Harry Arter managed a strike near the end which went close.
Some times you have to play a bit ugly to stop the opposition and while Adam Smith was flustered and had a go back in his tussle with Nolito, I would not mind seeing a bit more aggression from the start against the top teams. AFCB have to get more rough and tough aaginst the big boys, rather than standing off.
A hard day for the Cherries on their travels to the Etihad.
The Cherries went to the Etihad knowing that they were in for a big test and City did not let them leave without feeling the heat of the Sky Blue's new found free-flowing football that has taken Pep Guardiola's side to a five point lead in the Premier League. The contest was difficult for AFCB from the start with City purring with the chance to play in front of their home crowd on a Saturday and with Kevin de Bruyne netting from a simple free -kick in the 15th minute, the doors slowly opened on the Cherries defence with Iheanacho making it two before half time. City were just as dominant in the second half and Bournemouth were found wanting even though they gave of their best. Sterling and Gündogan made it four and the thing that may anger Eddie Howe more is seeing Adam Smith getting involved in needless provoking incident that resulted in City's Nolito getting sent off. Eddie Howe surprised many fans by putting Callum Wilson on the bench for the game against Man City, but he certainly had a game plan for this match with Jack Wilshere making his first Premier League start for AFCB. Nathan Aké was also brought back into the match day squad, while Marc Wilson was left out. For Man City there was only three changes from their midweek match in the Champions League against Borussia Monchengladbach. John Stones was moved to the bench while Aguero was suspended and Navas was left out. In came Sangna at the back, Nolito in midfield and Iheanacho up front.
Listening to BBC 5 Live and NBC Stream Man City go straight on the attack with De Bruyne taking a shot but Boruc manages to palm it away! Worrying that De Bruyne drove straight through the middle of AFCB. City with the ball and every. AFCB break and Josh King wins the corner. Stanislas takes it but Kolarov clears. Arter defends at the other end and stops Sterling, corner to City. Kolarov hits a high shot into the crowd. Boruc kicks straight to Sagna. It's a gentle start. Iheanacho jumps on a loose ball and he shoots but its deflected wide for a corner off of Steve Cook. Cook had given the ball away. City are pressing AFCB when they have possession at the back. Eight minutes gone. Wilshere gets a cross in. Arter and then Daniels keep the ball in the City half. King chases and King wins a corner off of Otamendi. King has the pace to out sprint the City defence. Sterling is caught by Stanislas and wins a free kick. Daniels cross aims for King, but City clear. Fernandinho comes forward but the move breaks down. Direct free kick to City after Adam Smith pushes Nolito. De Bruyne lines it up. Everyone is back for AFCB. De Bruyne strikes it low and it hits the back of the net through the wall! 1-0 City. Boruc was unsighted and it was a low side footer under the wall on 14 minutes - he just stroked it in. Nolito and De Bruyne break having caught Wilshere in midfield but Nolito hits his shot weakly at Boruc who saves. A let off there! Nolito is causing all kind of problems on the left. AFCB have set up with Wilshere next to Ibe, then Surman and Arter closer to Stanislas on Bournemouth's left side. Sterling on the right puts in a deep Cross and Boruc just about clears with a scrambling prod at the ball. City go forward De Bruyne puts in Sterling across the six-yard line and Iheanacho is there to make it 2-0! Simple, and AFCB are in trouble here. Iheanacho almost stumbled as it went in but he converted it well enough. Some 25 minutes gone at the Etihad. AFCB need to keep this respectable. City are just a step ahead here. AFCB are doing a lot of chasing. King on the break has a chance to get a shot in but Otamendi gets back with the help of Bravo. Adam Smith and Simon Francis work hard to get the ball out from the back but it just comes back. Bournemouth just can't get the ball. City are dictating. Clichy runs long but is offside. Here comes Wilshere and Jordan Ibe, good cross to King and its loose Stanislas almost got in but can't get to the ball first. Kolarov has a shot from range but Boruc is well behind it. Iheanacho into Sterling and Boruc has to save again, corner to City. Wilshere is down holding his hand. Iheanacho and Sterling combine again and Boruc saves with his feet. This just looks like a training game for City. Ibe brings the ball out well but Daniels can't keep it in under challenge. Cook takes a long throw, City clear though. Boruc makes another save from Nolito. Ibe makes a great turn but can't find a team-mate. Wilshere and Arter have switched on either side of Surman. One additional minute, Kolarov pulls the ball right across the box but nobody gets near it. Half time 2-0. Second half Bournemouth make a change with Callum Wilson coming on for Jordan Ibe. King moves out to the left as AFCB set up 4-1-4-1 now. Chance for Stanislas but his miscued it. De Bruyne through the middle to Iheanacho and back across to Sterling for a tap in - 3-0. City just walked that in! Forty-eight minutes gone here. Not the start AFCB needed to the second half. A free kick to City, Boruc saves to his right as De Bruyne strikes it over the wall. Gündogan shoots, but its deflected wide. City win a corner and sub Otamendi for John Stones. Adam Smith looks for Wilshere, but its short and De Bruyne gets a shot in that Boruc saves comfortable. The Cherries are just not playing their normal goal. It's as if they are not sure what to do. Iheanacho chases Francis in the AFCB box and Francis does well not to give away a chance. Wilson on the break comes between Stones and another City defender and draw a save from Bravo. Decent effort that. Sterling at the other end just shoots over. Boruc is getting some attention. There is 30 minutes to go and I'm wondering if AFCB can get on the score sheet. AFCB enjoy a bit of possession but Surman puts his pass to Stanislas off the pitch. Boruc next fails to find Daniels with a throw out, but De Bruyne can't capitalise on it. Sterling comes inside Daniels and into the box. The AFCB players can't get near him, Cook, Francis and Surman don't stop him and the shot is off teh post and saved by Boruc's feet! De Bruyne makes space down the left and feeds Gündogan off the back of Stanislas and he places it to Boruc's left and it's 4-0. Arter comes back and shoots to get a corner. This is tough for the Cherries though, even if they are trying to still pass their way up the field. Gosling comes on for Wilshere on 86 minutes. Leroy Sané then comes on for City as one of the goal scorers Gündogan goes off. Max Gradel comes on for Junior Stanislas. Adam Smith drives forward but screws his shot wide. De Bruyne is now subbed for Alexia García Serrano. Smith comes inside again and passes to Wilson who hits it first time and right onto the cross bar! The Cherries are then off side. Unlucky there. Wilson wins a free kick in his own half. He has been bright since coming in. AFCB are trying to play a bit now but it is a very one-sided game. The last 10 minutes now. City pinch the ball off Daniels but it comes to nothing. Sané puts a shot well over, cutting in from the right. Arter then makes a great shot and drills it just wide of the left upright! That was close. King puts in a cross that is too deep. Smith pushes Nolito and Nolito retaliates with his head put against Adam Smith and he is off! Adam Smith gets a yellow too. Not proud of Smith there but Nolita should not use his head to try and get even. Smith now puts out and arm and Sterling goes down. A bit of a hand-off but not worthy of another yellow to Mr Friend. Garcia stops Wilson from getting a shot in. There's three minutes of added time to go.
Summary AFCB were outclassed but there is no disgrace in that. They could not get a rhythm as they could not get the ball for much of the game. This is a game that they just have to take as a match that they were beaten and well beaten. There is no comfort in that and the four goals came without the gifts that you could accuse AFCB of giving City last time they played at the Etihad. AFCB will not be the only team that get a scoreline like this, and while it is hard to take any positives from the game, the players will know that they have easier games ahead of them. AFCB Boruc, A Smith, Francis, S Cook, Daniels, Ibe (Wilson), Arter, Wilshere (Gosling68), Surman, Stanislas (Gradel 74), King AFCB Subs Federici, Aké, B Smith, Gosling, Gradel, Afobe, Wilson Man City Bravo, Sagna, Otamendi (Stones 52), Kolarov, Clichy, Fernandinho, Gündogan (Sané 72), Sterling, De Bruyne (García Serrano 75), Nolito, Iheanacho
City Subs
Kompany, Zabaleta, Caballero, Jesús Navas, Sané, Stones, García Serrano Referee: Kevin Friend
A lot of the trouble that the Cherries found themselves in against Man City were of their own making. It was simple things too that were proving hard to do, like winning the first ball at corners, following the runs of Kevin De Bruyne and not allowing space between the midfield and back four. Of course Man City used their quality to put AFCB's players into positions where they were not comfortable and that is the sign of a good team. Fans want players though that will take responsibility for their mistakes, but of course we don't want them to make any. That was going to be tested against a side like Man City. While the players might talk about not conceding early and doing the simple things there is certainly more drills that can be done on defending corners on the evidence that we have seen this season. It is not that the players don't know that corners against them are moments of danger, but the opposition come alive in such moments and have the quality to make something of any half chance which is not what you back in the Championship.
AFCB just need to keep playing positively.
What Eddie Howe will want is to see his team staying in games like this for longer. As soon as one goal went in the flood doors were open and these sides that AFCB players are facing now don't let up when they are in control. Doing positive things is the only way to fight your way back into these matches and while AFCB tried to create and penetrate they need some quality finishing at the other end as well. It is hard to know how far the current side can develop to compete with the very best sides, but they are on a steep learning curve at the moment. The only worry I have is that the players and Eddie Howe have admitted that they are still making some of the same mistakes in games when taking on the likes of Spurs and Man City. This season is a learning experience. The players should be enjoying the challenge though and be looking to do better next time. They just need to keep being positive on the ball. UTCIAD! Premier Talk - Count on Man Utd to be title spoilers
AFCB and Man City players at the end of a pretty one-sided game.
There is no easy way to describe the events of this match as the level of optimism and desire that AFCB fans had to see their side do well was swallowed up in a quick 20 minute burst when Man City plundered every little error that the red and black shirts made. The first corner kick ended up in the back of the net as Fernando volleyed home on seven minutes, before Charlie Daniels was pressed just outside his box and Kevin de Bruyne made it two-nil. The third quickly followed with Jesus Navas causing mayhem up the right and pulling back a ball from the byline for Sergio Aguero to head past Boruc. It was frustrating as it was painful, and while a change in shape and a stronger second half restored some pride even in the last added minute of time, Aleksandar Kolarov flashed a beautifully struck left footed shot into AFCB's left hand top corner to make it an emphatic 0-4 win for Man City.
All the flag waving of the Premier League.
There was no Harry Artur powerhouse in midfield for the Cherries as he was still struggling with his achilles and calf problem, while Benik Afobe was also withdrawn from the squad after picking up a hamstring injury during the international week. Eunan O'Kane won a starting place in midfield and Lewis Grabban joined the strike force.
Simon Francis greets Pablo Zabaleta in the middle.
Jason Tindal and Kelly Somers reveal the team news
City were chasing the three points knowing that a win would keep them in the top four but for the Cherries it was all about trying to get over the 40 point mark. This resulted in a bright start with Adam Smith seeing the ball early on and Max Gradel snapping in tackles at the heels of David Silva.
While playing from the back Francis and King combined before Ritchie sent a delightful ball through for Grabban to run on to. Lewis then broke over half way and had to decide whether to play the ball left to Gradel or right to King. He chose King but Josh hit his shot across and wide of the goal.
The warning signs started ringing when Steve Cook had a ball charged down by Kevin De Bruyne when trying to clear. A following corner was fought for at the near post but flew back to Fernando who steered his shot, roundhouse style, high into the net to give City the lead - 0-1. Exuberant celebrations followed for the number six as he praised the heavens, but it was a sloppy start by the Cherries and a soft goal to concede. Daniels will be disappointed he did not get a challenge in on Fernando when he sees that played back again.
The smile returned to some fans' faces when Aguero hit a shot that spooned out so far wide that it went for a throw. The Cherries were getting back on their game and while Zebaleta held up Gradel for a while the Ivory Coast man put in a deep cross that just passed Grabban.
Man City were not letting the Cherries have time on the ball though and their pressing was causing problems, so much so that Silva found Kevin De Bruyne in space and he hit a shot from some 25 yards that was low but still tested Boruc down to his right.
The next segment of play was just maddening to watch. Cook, Boruc and Daniels were playing keep ball at the back and Boruc's touch was far from controlled while Daniels found himself quickly surrounded and headed in field only to lose the ball to Silva. Then Aguero who slipped a pass back to David Silva, who with his back to goal, saw De Bruyne running free and passed into his stride for the young Belgian to beat Brouc for precision and pace with a low, side-step, volley to make it two-nil on 12 minutes.
AFCB will never boot it long from the back while Howe is in charge and the Cherries usually play from the back well, but on this day they were slow and ponderous and City took full advantage. Agureo soon saw another attempt fly over the bar from a central position before Kevin de Bruyne did the same. Keeping the ball was proving too difficult for more than three passes for the Cherries and a break on 19 minutes had Navas racing to the byline to retrieve De Bruyne's pass. He made a chipped cross for Aguero who stood towering over Adam Smith at the far post, heading back across Boruc and putting City 0-3 up!
It was all too easy and these were soft goals going in as had happened before when the Cherries had played City up at the Etihad. There was some rearrangement as Ritchie moved into the centre of midfield, O'Kane played in the number 10 role and Josh King moved out to the right. It was still City that were making strides forward though with Fernandinho crashing his shot against the bar on 25 minutes!
This was becoming a project of damage limitation. While Man City's front three looked comfortable on the ball in exposing gaps and finding their teammates, AFCB seemed to be rushed into everything and only Gradel seemed to have any luck in winning back possession off of the opposition. When the Cherries did get up the other end they did not have much success. Gradel's ball in was almost scissor kicked by Grabban but not quite met. The resulting corner saw Surman and Cook go for a header which Caballero saved excellently down to his right. That was the closest that the Cherries came to scoring in the first 45 minutes.
While Silva and De Bruyne made patterns to baffle AFCB's back four and Aguero stood ready to play in killer passes it was good to know that even Silva could volley over on occasion.
Adam Smith was still getting up the right wing and he delivered a good cross for King who leaning back put a looping header just wide of Caballero's right upright. That was followed by a Lewis Grabban header that went just over the top right corner of the goal. AFCB were creating chances but were not getting many attempts on target.
Meanwhile, Aguero was bemusing defenders and had them all snaking in a line as he turned one way and then the other in the box, before shooting wide of Boruc's right post. A sudden salvo from Ritchie was looking goal bound but was blocked as we approached half time. 0-3 down.
Even Cherry Bear is getting used to picking the ball out of the back of the net.
Marc Pugh comes on for the second half.
Second Half
Marc Pugh came on for a struggling Josh King at the start of the second half, but there was no change in the control of the game. De Bruyne early on made Boruc make a save to his left. Then Aguero shot and hit the side netting.
An O'Kane clearance that was fired against Francis had the City fans yelling penalty but Francis was not even looking at the ball when it hit him unexpectedly.
A bit of hesitancy and uncertainty travelled all the way up to Man City's box then when Clichy found the ball at his feet and expected Caballero to come, but he quickly found his feet just in time to get the ball out of the six yard area before Pugh arrived.
City subbed De Bruyne on 57 minutes and brought on Kolarov. While City put in a good free kick that Boruc flapped at it hurried out just for a corner. Even Zabaleta was getting forward and getting a cross in now. Francis had rolled his sleeves up in the sense of the phrase and was putting in challenge after challenge on Aguero and winning every time - a small victory but Franno was the best AFCB player on the day.
Nothing was really coming off for Eunan O'Kane an his job was getting no easier as Samir Nasri replaced Silva on 66 minutes. Tommy Elphick also came on for Adam Smith who had a groin strain on 68 minutes. This saw Francis move to right back and the old Championship back four were back together.
Moments later O'Kane's big chance came as he saw the ball rebound back to him in the box but under pressure he forced his shot wide with his instep rather than going with the outside of his foot and he shot a couple of metres wide! Pugh was seeing more of the ball and started to beat some of the Man City players although not in dangerous areas.
Boruc had to make another save from guess who? Yes, Aguero. Referee Robert Madley had been rather generous to the big named team, but eventually started to give a few free kicks AFCB's way even if he would not let any quick kicks be taken. Aguero played Kolarov in for what looked like another certain goal on the left, but Boruc narrowed the angle to save well with his legs on 75 minutes. Ritchie then shot wide with 14 minutes to go and there was a bit of inevitability about the game fading out at this stage.
Man City made a change with Aguero departing to allow Iheanachoon. Dan Gosling then came on for Max Gradel on 84 minutes and with three minutes of added time it looked like the game would soon be seen out quietly, until Ritchie had a shot from the edge of the box that Caballero fumbled. That was followed by a City surge up the other end and a throw to Kolarov may have seemed harmless enough but he turned, slipped between O'Kane and Ritchie, and headed towards the box from the left and unleashed a powerful shot that flew right into the top left corner - 0-4!
A hard day for Eddie, the team and the fans.
Summary
What can you say? Out played, short on power and presence and looking rather bewildered at how easy Man City had made this game look, AFCB's players will be watching this game back for some time. In short they are not yet at a level where they can play confidently at the back when pressed hard by the best teams. The movement of City's front three was excellent and created gaps that were not closed down quickly enough and their shooting was on target frequently enough to work Boruc far more than Eddie Howe would have liked. What really hurts though is a lack of marking for that opening corner and falling into the same traps as the team did only two weeks ago against Spurs by conceding early and putting pressure on themselves to do things that suddenly don't feel easy or right and land them in even more trouble. The players and fans no there is a big difference in the quality and cos of the players on the pitch, but City did not need such a helping hand from the Cherries.
City Subs Sagna, Nasri, Kolarov, Bony, Demichelis, Wright, Iheanacho Rob Wells @afcbwellsworld predicted the correct score of 0-4 and wins the Dean Court fridge magnet. Congratulations Rob!
How hard will it be to get three more points?
Man City players go over to their fans.
AFCB Ratings
Boruc 5, Smith 5, Francis 7, Cook 5, Daniels 4, Ritchie 5, O'Kane 4, Surman 5, Gradel 6, Grabban 5, King 5
Referee Rating Robert Madley: 4/10 - one booking for Fernando in the 89th minute - Did he forget that he had some cards on him and why did it take him until City were out of site to award a few free kicks AFCB's way?
Going up against some of the best players in the Premier League has its dangers. On certain days those players can really excel and while there have not been too many games where you felt the Cherries were being outplayed, it was not comfortable watching up at Man City. Raheem Sterling felt inspired and he was hard to contain. Spurs will similarly be looking for their stars to perform on the day, but AFCB have to be up for stopping that. Every week we see the best players scooping the headlines on the back pages. They are good at what they do for a reason and when players put defenders on their backsides, and still manage to keep control of what they are doing to steady themselves before scoring, it is a sign that they have something more than your average player. Even the experience of Sylvain Distin could only help him so much against the trickery of Sterling and with De Bruyne, Bony and Navas keeping the back four very occupied. I think it was the multiple talent of Man City's strikeforce that was the real problem for the Cherries. It was not just a single star player that pulled them about, it was trying to keep up with all the different threats and to hold their shape which proved difficult and ultimately led to mistakes.
Distin has seen it all before and will be crucial in this period.
Luckily, not all the top teams are quite so star-studded. Spurs will bring their own type of game which is sure to be effective under Pochettino, but they also have to play Anderlecht tonight, before they visit the Vitality Stadium on Sunday. I suspect that Spurs will still assemble a very strong team for both games, and having drawn their last league match they will be looking to improve on that, which hopefully means they play a little more open than is wise against the Cherries.
Do check out All Departments today. If you visit the All Departments' Website you'll be able to hear a podcast with White Bear which is a new sponsor for the podcast.
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.
