Manchester City 2012/13 Options
by @1Bonz
Introduction
ManchesterCity went into the 2011/12 season with high ambitions having finished in 3rd place in 2010/11 and lifting the FA Cup, but despite early failure in the European Champions League and throwing away a big EPL lead, THAT goal with the last kick of the game by Aguero v QPR crowned ManCity champions in spectacular fashion! But with that goal and that title success, Mancini will be under a different type of pressure as he enters 2012/13, with ambitions not only to retain the Title but also push hard in the Champions League.
With the millions previously available to the Manager, the big surprise is that despite other Clubs already strengthening their Squads, Manchester City have remained very very patient and as yet have not added any new players!!
It is likely that City will look to rotate even more in the EPL with the hunger for European success. I think that from an FPL perspective, we would have to assume that the squad will be expanded over the coming weeks. Whilst Robin Van Persie is one target that seems to be proving a tough nut to crack – with both Juventus and Man Utd tabling offers!! At this stage of pre season City have also retained last seasons squad – despite constant rumours of Tevez leaving and Dzeko being unhappy they remain City players as does Emmanuel Adebayor, who has been forced to return after a season long loan to Spurs.
City attacking style last season showed huge improvements, scoring more than any other team, with 88 EPL goals an increase of 30 from the previous season. Despite the best attack, they maintained the best defence in the league for the second consecutive season having conceded only 27 goals, with 17 clean sheets compared to 18 in 2010/11.
The Champions have been rock solid for the last two seasons and should offer the same resilience in 2012/13 but with Man Utd, Chelsea and Arsenal strengthening, City will need to be fully prepared to fight tooth & nail if they are to defend the title.
Opening 10 fixtures: Sampton H / Lpool A / QPR H / Stoke A / Arse H / Ful A / Sun H / WBA A / Swa H / WHM A
FPL Considerations:
Defence
Hart – £7.0m
The England number one returned from his loan spell at Brum in 2010 and was given the nod over Shay Given, a decision which resulted in City and Hart chalked up 18 clean sheets in 38 games. He continued the sensational form in the title winning season playing ever minute of the season, clocking up 17 clean sheets and a mammoth 168 FPL points.
Whilst expensive, it buys you a guaranteed route into the City defence, as rotation will play no part and this guy could, be your every game Keeper. You pay your money, and should expect a healthy return.
Kompany – £7.5m
The high outlay would seem to be well spent on a player that seems to guarantee clean sheets, having played in 15 of the 17 last season and all 18 clean sheets in 2010/11.
The Captain and key central defender contributed hugely towards the clubs success and looks a nailed on regular in the heart of City’s defence. The Belgian poses an attacking threat at set pieces, scoring 3 EPL goals last season, and providing an assist for 2 others, whilst collect 12 bonus points.
His controversial red card in the Manchester derby, cost him several games where his 145 point FPL may have been improved upon but he was still the second highest scoring defender in FPL last season.
So why choose Kompany over Lescott (£6.5), Clichy (£6.0), Richards (£6.0),or Zabaleta (£6.0) purely down to the rotation as frustratingly Clichy/Kolorov shared games at left back as did Zabaleta/Richards on the right. Lescott did maintain his central position following the return of Toure from his ban, but with big European games he too may become more of a rotation risk with both Toure & Savic offered game time.
Midfield
Silva – £10m
Having a Spanish World and double European Champion play within your team must inspire all at the Club? The mercurial “midfielder” was outstanding last season, albeit his form dipped in the late stages of the season, but he had contributed 6 goals, and created 17 other goals, therefore responsible for over a quarter of the goals City scored.
The system deployed by Mancini had Silva operate as part of a 3 pronged attack and could be argued as an “OOP”?
The EA bonus system awarded 21 bonus points to help him to 184 FPL points, the third highest scoring midfielder last season and if his batteries are recharged this extra striker could reap huge dividends with what seems great opening fixtures.
Yaya – £8.0m
The talismanic former Barca midfielder has been priced at a very affordable £8m, perhaps in part due to his 2011/12 FPL points haul of just 139 points, however he bettered his previous seasons return with 6 goals and 9 assists despite playing less games due to ACON duties.
The EA stats only allocated 15 bonus points – due in part to the brilliance of Silva and Aguero in many games, however his physical power and speed has been critical in the adoption of “plan B” moving him from defensive midfield to an attacking role and Mancini relies heavily on the giant Ivorian and inevitably any FPL manager will be expecting even better returns with no ACON and high expectation on a player unlikely to be rotated frequently.
Obviously there are several other midfielder options which may be of interest, however the rotation risk of ownership has to be factored and whilst Nasri is a great option, he does tend to get rotated and subbed frequently so has to be taken into consideration.
Strikers
Aguero – £11.5m
Whilst expensive, at this stage he is the only striker that hasn’t been linked with moves away, settled so well last year that this season he has the ability to surpass the 23 goals he blazed last season and is well worth the asking price.
The Argentine striker didn’t just score 23 goals, but assisted 9 other goals and collected 30 bonus points as he collected 211 FPL points and finished the 3rd highest points scoring striker in his first season in the EPL. Out of the “big” strikers, with the fixtures being very kind to the Champions, it is worth getting on this bandwagon, before the value starts increasing.
The Tevez option is tempting at just £9.0m but is he going to stay and would he be a regular? The same can be asked for Edin Dzeko who scored 14 goals last season – but he is unlikely to play regularly which leaves Balotelli, who is a superb talent, but as we all know, is a ticking time bomb that can explode at any time……..what is worth pointing out is Adebayor at £9.5m looks an absolute steal – IF HE LEAVES AND GOES TO SPURS!! His stats last season was excellent with 17 goals, 12 assists, 31 bonus points and 194 FPL points – its unlikely he will remain at City but definitely one player to watch.
Who to pick – you decide!!
FFS UEFA 