City came third basically solely star power. Now the team has experience playing with each other so add chemistry to the talent and then a shit-wave of destruction emerges

Hmmm, I can't join... o.O Wait, I did join... that was weird XD

Man City isn't a team anymore: it's a social experiment to see how many ego-driven fights you can start by forcing 5 world class strikers to compete for one position. Seriously what are they thinking? They play a 4-3-3 with one striker and two winger/forwards, assuming Tevez stays that means he will automatically start as striker, David Silva will play right forward and either James Milner or Adam Johnson play on the left where do Aguero, Balotelli, Dzeko, Adebayor fit into first team plans? Even if they switch to a 4-4-2 then who plays in the middle? Toure and Barry will start presumably, but then what about De Jong who despite being a ruthless thug is undoubtedly City's only true combative defensive midfielder. So many questions to be answered before the start of the season.

Man City is the new Real Madrid, on one end they have Tevez, Aguero, Silva, Toure, Balotelli, on the other end they have...Joleon Lescott...and Zabaleta

Man City are big enough to put out 2 squads to be honest. I see Aguero playing a big part for them though. Especially because Tevez is constantly whining about how he wants to go back to Argentina. But even when he plays for his national team, he has the same issues. He's just a whinny player in general.

Let's hope United can put a cork in it though :p

With champions league and fa cup on top of the premier league that depth is necessary though. Starting XI will most likely be (from left to right in the 4-2-3-1)
hart
clichy, lescott, kompany, zabaleta --- richards, kolarov as key subs. forgot about kolo toure too
yaya toure, de jong --- richards and kolo toure probably the main subs here
adam johnson (questionable), barry, silva --- milner is the key sub, wright phillips if he stays
tevez --- aguero, balotelli, dzeko

I wouldn't be surprised if tevez plays behind the main striker (any of the other three). Dzeko is probably gonna be useless this year as well as wright phillips. City's got basically 9 quality players to fill the back 6 positions. Milner I see as being the supersub but outside of that another midfielder/winger is still lacking. And then there is the log jam at the lone striker spot... dzeko might as well stay home. If nasri or sneijder join city then look out

Originally Posted by julianface

With champions league and fa cup on top of the premier league that depth is necessary though. Starting XI will most likely be (from left to right in the 4-2-3-1)
hart
clichy, lescott, kompany, zabaleta --- richards, kolarov as key subs. forgot about kolo toure too
yaya toure, de jong --- richards and kolo toure probably the main subs here
adam johnson (questionable), barry, silva --- milner is the key sub, wright phillips if he stays
tevez --- aguero, balotelli, dzeko

I wouldn't be surprised if tevez plays behind the main striker (any of the other three). Dzeko is probably gonna be useless this year as well as wright phillips. City's got basically 9 quality players to fill the back 6 positions. Milner I see as being the supersub but outside of that another midfielder/winger is still lacking. And then there is the log jam at the lone striker spot... dzeko might as well stay home. If nasri or sneijder join city then look out

I was thinking that, except with Richards over Lescott. Lescott is just useless.

Originally Posted by _Luu_

I was thinking that, except with Richards over Lescott. Lescott is just useless.

And Kolarev over Clichy, who's a defensive liability. Toure is back from suspension in September, so count on him pairing alongside Kompany.

Originally Posted by j0sh

Man City are big enough to put out 2 squads to be honest. I see Aguero playing a big part for them though. Especially because Tevez is constantly whining about how he wants to go back to Argentina. But even when he plays for his national team, he has the same issues. He's just a whinny player in general.

Let's hope United can put a cork in it though :p

Ha, I'll be hoping Pool can make things more interesting this year, I really do see a top four consisting of: United, City, Chelsea and Pool. Arsenal shows how fragile they are right around Christmas time every year. Nasri will leave, and Fabregas will stay but his heart will be somewhere else. Arsenal is definitely the team with the most to lose this season, and if they finish outside of the top 4 I expect Wenger to be asked to leave. Chelsea needs to strengthen, too many of their starting 11 are now past their prime. And when you rely on a 33 year old Drogba, Anelka and a Spanish donkey to score all of your goals you are in deep trouble. United look as strong as ever and City just looks formidable at this point. It really will be interesting to see if Mancini is a good enough people person to get the most out of all the egos at his disposal.

Originally Posted by julianface

With champions league and fa cup on top of the premier league that depth is necessary though. Starting XI will most likely be (from left to right in the 4-2-3-1)
hart
clichy, lescott, kompany, zabaleta --- richards, kolarov as key subs. forgot about kolo toure too
yaya toure, de jong --- richards and kolo toure probably the main subs here
adam johnson (questionable), barry, silva --- milner is the key sub, wright phillips if he stays
tevez --- aguero, balotelli, dzeko

I wouldn't be surprised if tevez plays behind the main striker (any of the other three). Dzeko is probably gonna be useless this year as well as wright phillips. City's got basically 9 quality players to fill the back 6 positions. Milner I see as being the supersub but outside of that another midfielder/winger is still lacking. And then there is the log jam at the lone striker spot... dzeko might as well stay home. If nasri or sneijder join city then look out

i'd ditch barry and play another striker with tevez in a 4-4-2. or 4-2-1-3, with toure/de jong at the base of midfield, silva ahead, and tevez, aguero, balotelli/johnson the 3 up front

I don't think Aguero will have much success in the premier league. Especially since he is coming from the la liga. South American players usually have a style of play that is unique. They develop in leagues were flair and individual talent and creativity is what makes separates them from the rest, eventually causing them to move to European leagues. Now a player like Aguero would play at his best in the Spanish or Italian leagues as his style of play is welcome and makes a difference. However, in England, the most physical league in the world, such players usually have a tough time adapting to the league.

It also depends the players commitment to adapt. Ramires, having played his first year in England, is a great example. His first 2-3 months at Chelsea were difficult and it was evident he wasn't playing his best as he did for Benfica and the national squad. Eventually, you could tell he adapted and started playing at his best and during many matches was Chelsea's best midfielder.

I think Aguero will have a tough time adapting. However, if he does, and is able find his prime, City might find the consistent striker they need.


Anyways, did anyone hear about the Flamengo vs Santos match that happened this past week? Some people are saying this among the best matches in history, and if you watch these highlights you will see why.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhelwDRKqhY

Originally Posted by Oilenroc

Anyways, did anyone hear about the Flamengo vs Santos match that happened this past week? Some people are saying this among the best matches in history, and if you watch these highlights you will see why.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhelwDRKqhY

I was semi watching this, neymar's first goal was amazing his soo good. And its good to see ronaldinho doing good

I cried after neymars sick goal what a move

Originally Posted by Oilenroc

I don't think Aguero will have much success in the premier league. Especially since he is coming from the la liga. South American players usually have a style of play that is unique. They develop in leagues were flair and individual talent and creativity is what makes separates them from the rest, eventually causing them to move to European leagues. Now a player like Aguero would play at his best in the Spanish or Italian leagues as his style of play is welcome and makes a difference. However, in England, the most physical league in the world, such players usually have a tough time adapting to the league.

I don't think Aguero should have a rough time adapting. Look at Van der Vaart, he fit into Spurs colors so quickly that sometimes you forget he used to play for Real! and Aguero is brilliant in front of goal. I think he's gonna cause some serious damage up front if Mancini can work out the proper chemistry for his team.

That being said, who do you guys think will play upfront with Rooney if Hernandez doesn't recover from his concussion before the start of the season? I'd personally stick with Berbatov but I think Young's pace could cause some serious damage too. Seen him do it for Aston Villa when he played as a forward

Anyone interested in soccer intramurals? It could be a fantasy league intramural team lol I don't have any soccer playing friends at mac really