Bitter and Blue: FanPosts

US fans to be treated to Manchester City, Chelsea and the Champions League final

2013-05-11T00:19:53Z

For football fans stateside, May 25 promises to be a very special date. Premier League giants Manchester City and Chelsea are travelling over to New York to play an end-of-season friendly at the Yankee Stadium, in only the third-ever football game at the historic ground. However, fans can also visit the 50,000 stadium to watch the Champions League final, which will take place before the live game.

This will be the first ever Uefa Champions League viewing, with the clash between German rivals Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund broadcast on the stadium's 59-foot-high by 101-foot-long high-definition centerfield video board. The game at Wembley will be shown live as it kicks off at 2.45pm local time, with the match between Chelsea and Manchester City kicking off afterwards, at 5.30pm.

via static.guim.co.uk

With football looking to increase its popularity in the US, the event is quite the drawcard. To show the Champions League live at a stadium in America is a ground-breaking event, and could be some of the attendees only chance to ever watch the biggest game in world club football in a stadium environment.

Follow that by having two of the best Premier League sides on show, with world-class players throughout, and football fans in New York are being spoiled.

Gates will open at 2pm, allowing fans to pay for access to both the Uefa Champions League viewing and the clash between Chelsea and Manchester City. The organisers at Yankee Stadium are also prepared to delay the kick-off time of the friendly should the Champions League final run into extra-time or penalties.

Tickets for this unique event are available at www.yankees.com/soccer.

Yankee Stadium will also play host to its first international football fixture next month, when defending world and European champions Spain take on Ireland on June 11.

These games follow on from the success of Chelsea's clash with Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid's game against AC Milan last year.

via static.guim.co.uk

Follow that by having two of the best Premier League sides on show, with world-class players throughout, and football fans in New York are being spoiled.

Tickets for this unique event are available at www.yankees.com/soccer.

Yankee Stadium will also play host to its first international football fixture next month, when defending world and European champions Spain take on Ireland on June 11.

These games follow on from the success of Chelsea's clash with Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid's game against AC Milan last year.

Man City Owners Investing in MLS?

2013-04-26T19:44:10Z

The Philly.com blog piece is here. There is also a front page article on SBNation here.

I wonder if they are looking to develop something along the lines that the Pozzo family did by acquiring Udinese, Granada FC & Watford FC where they loan players to each other constantly to develop them under their control.

There seems to be rebirth to the rumors of Manchester City owner Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan investing in a New York City based MLS team. It certainly looks like the reborn NY Cosmos will be staying in a lower league and the next expansion slot is NYC. The Philly.com blog piece is here. There is also a front page article on SBNation here. I wonder if they are looking to develop something along the lines that the Pozzo family did by acquiring Udinese, Granada FC & Watford FC where they loan players to each other constantly to develop them under their control.

PHOTOSHOOT: THE GREEN SOCCER JOURNAL

2013-03-29T14:45:25Z

Hello,
I am working on a photography project feature for The Green Soccer Journal magazine,
The Green Soccer Journal is a biannual magazine that takes an innovative, cultured and intelligent approach to the worlds most popular sport. The publication includes an eclectic mix of football culture and is built on a passion for the game, something which is shared by all of our contributors.

Displayed in a creative, visually stimulating format, we have worked with some of our favourite photographers, and writers to create a title that offers an alternative view on all things football.
We are looking to feature a selection of enthusiastic female football supporters to photograph in front of their memorabilia, posters and shrines of their favourite players and teams. We are looking for preferably but not strictly teenage girls.
We are based in central London but do not mind travelling.
If you feel like you may want to show off your collection and celebrate how much your team means to you feel free to contact me here:
maxc@thehommeplus.com
Please confirm with any family/parents they would be happy for you to participate before contacting. I would be happy to speak to anybody and explain further the concept.
Many Thanks Max

Heavy goals .... that night at the Bernabeu .... and a dead man walking

2013-02-28T19:18:42Z

Ballet dancers, ice skaters and Olympic divers are judged on 'style'. Golfers are not: no golf correspondent would seriously suggest that X is a better golfer than Jim Furyk because the latter's swing is less appealing to the eyes. At the end of the day, footballers have to be judged not according to some unspecified aesthetic qualities (or their height) but rather by their contributions to their teams' performances. Consider then, for selected strikers, their minutes per goal (mpg) aggregating their appearances in major European leagues:

(a) Dzeko, in 179 Bundesliga + PL appearances since 2007, has scored at 133 mpg;

(b) Van Persie, in 221 PL appearances since 2004, has scored at 135 mpg;

(d) Aguero, in 232 Primera Division + PL appearances since 2006, has scored at 164 mpg;

(e) Rooney, in 337 PL appearances since 2002, has scored at 168 mpg;

(f) Tevez, in 191 PL appearances since 2006, has scored at 170 mpg.

[Data from transfermarkt.co.uk as of 28 Feb, 2013]. Perhaps it is not a coincidence that Dzeko and RVP, who have significantly better mpg figures than the rest, score regularly with both feet and with their heads.

For both last season and this season to date, Edin Dzeko outperforms Robin Van Persie in each of the following performance indicators:

(i) minutes per goal;

(ii) clear-cut chance conversion ratio;

(iii) minutes per chance created from open play;

(iv) minutes per being caught offside.

Of course, comparisons between footballers can never meet the ceteris paribus desiderata of laboratory tests. They can never even be as satisfactory as comparisons of the achievements of professional golfers who, provided that they play on the same tours in the same era, at least face reasonably level 'playing fields'. Now it may well be that, compared to RVP, Dzeko spent relatively more of his time on the field during periods at which goals are relatively more common. In such periods, are offsides less common, clear-cut chance misses less common and chances created by strikers in open play more common? But, in any event, how does all that stack up against the fact that, in contrast to Dzeko, RVP has benefited from being serviced by wingers of the quality of Walcott (whom RVP singled out in an awards ceremony at the end of last season), and of Nani and Valencia this season? More significantly, any impartial observer with any clue about man-management, would attach great import to the fact that, whereas RVP has received the unqualified and enthusiastic support of Wenger and Ferguson, Dzeko's performances have been despite Roberto Mancini. In fact, I had hoped with my original post that perhaps some thoughtful forum members might pick up on what the performance figures might say about a manager who, on the one hand, seems to look for any opportunity to relegate Dzeko to the bench or to question his contributions and, on the other, has made public statements that, if United win the league, it will be down to their signing RVP. I had made that point explicitly in commenting on a recent Independent article that suggested (correctly as it turned out) that Mancini planned to drop Dzeko (despite his having scored 6 goals in his 6 previous premier league starts).

Heavy goals and contributions to the team

Mancini has recently been boasting unashamedly about his own achievements in the last two seasons. However, without Dzeko's match-saving goal away at Notts County, we would not have won the 2011 F.A. Cup. Other crucial Dzeko goals have been highlighted by David Platt:

"If you look at Edin's career for Manchester City, the goals he has scored, he has got a lot of heavy goals, goals that are very important. I remember goals at Blackburn the season before last which more or less gave us Champions League qualification. You look back at last season as well and he got some vital goals. To win the league, Aguero's goal will always be the one but remember Edin equalised."

Platt said this to the press in October, after Dzeko's two goals against West Brom had transformed a deficit into a win. After Dzeko's goal won the Spurs game in November, Platt was again sent out to face the press; he spoke again about Dzeko's heavy goals. Without Dzeko's goals this season, Mancini would surely have been a dead man walking some time ago. In any event, given Dzeko's match-winning goals against Fulham, West Brom and Spurs and given that Dzeko, having been brought on in the 90th minute away at Stoke, was only denied a winning goal by Shawcross dashing back and frantically clearing his lob off the line, it was frankly a dereliction of duty when Mancini waited to the 84th minute to bring Dzeko on against United, in what was manifestly the most important home league game of the season.

Any suggestion that Dzeko cannot, and does not, combine effectively with David Silva does injustices to both players' versatility. Silva has gone on record as saying that his best pass of the 2011-12 season was the one to Dzeko for the final goal in the 6:1 victory over United. I will be amazed if, when he looks back over the current season, Silva does not rate as one of his best (if not the very best) his exquisite return pass that set up that Dzeko goal against Spurs. Dzeko set up a goal for Silva in that celebrated victory over United and has created several scoring chances for Silva this season (as in the recent QPR game). Dzeko's mental alertness not only explains his very high chance conversion ratio of 59% this season and why he has so seldom been caught offside; it also means that he is effective in quick passing movements. Moreover, he can pass - not just score - with both feet. One of the best passes by a City player in the 2010-11 season came in the replay against Notts County when Dzeko 'stunned' the ball with his right foot and swept it with his left to put Tevez clear through for the 3rd goal (a pass very similar to that Silva pass to Dzeko against Man. U.). Dzeko has often played a role in the build-ups to goals he scored himself. Examples are that key goal against Spurs, the first goal in the recent Norwich game, and his most recent goal against Southampton. He also passes to other strikers! For example, after Sergio Aguero came on for the last 10 minutes of the recent Fulham game, he was put through by Dzeko on two occasions (and not by his heading on long balls). In the recent Arsenal game, Dzeko played a perfectly weighted ball putting Carlos Tevez clear through one-on-one with the goalkeeper (he missed). Had Messi or Rooney or Silva made that pass or the pass against Notts County, the commentators and reporters would have drooled about them; but, as it was, they barely got a mention.

Anyone familiar with Bluemoon will know that there is a small but strident minority of forum members who regularly denounce Dzeko, partly to inflame the Bosnians who visit that forum. Often believers that Tevez should always be the first name on the team sheet, their anti-Dzeko arguments seldom rise above smart-arse comments such as 'touch like an elephant'. Certainly I cannot recall them providing specific examples (such as Tevez' failure to convert that chance against Arsenal or Balotelli's awful first touch that led to his appalling tackle on Song in the Arsenal game last April). Nor do they point to specific games in which Dzeko's touches were consistently poor (such as Rooney in some of the last few matches of last season or countless games by Torres or even Aguero in our last game against Chelsea). Instead, they make sweeping statements and, when challenged or presented with facts about Dzeko's achievements, they respond with: "I know what my eyes tell me". But, of course, people often see what they want to see; and their brains process what that think they see according to their own preconceptions. One of the advantages of the EPl Index data is that they are collected by people who presumably do not have particular personal axes to grind and who certainly do not think that footballers should be judged, like ballet dancers or ice skaters, in terms of 'style'.

The dream partnership?

Tevez + Aguero may be City's best partnership in Fifa 13 computer games or in the imaginary mental games of those who think in terms of media stereotypes. But this over-hyped partnership simply does not stand up to serious scrutiny. Since the Newcastle away game on May 6th, in the 11 premier league games in which they started together, City were winning in only 3 of those games when the partnership was broken by substitution. A major explanation for the sterility of the partnership is that Tevez sees other strikers as rivals: he rarely passes to them and typically only does so when he sees a return pass in the offing. He froze out Emanuel Adebayor. He froze out Mario Balotelli. He froze out Dzeko after his arrival. Using the Guardian Chalkboard, Tevez completed just 6 passes to Dzeko in the first 6 premier league games after the latter's arrival at City. But what about his Argentine pal? I used TV recordings to count Tevez passes to Aguero in the last three critical games of last season. Ignoring kick-offs, the number of completed passes from Tevez to Aguero were:

Man. U: 1 pass in 67 minutes

Newcastle: 0 (zero) passes in 70 minutes

QPR: 2 passes in 75 minutes

When Tevez was taken off in the QPR game, Niall Quinn observed: "he has certainly frustrated both his colleagues and the City fans today" (or words to that effect). Despite the fact that Tevez contributed virtually nothing in those last three crucial games, we have been subjected to drivel about how Carlitos returned refreshed from his golfing holiday in Argentina and, more or less single-handedly, won the premier league for us!

Before the start of this season, I predicted that, if Tevez played regularly, Aguero would be sidelined by him and much less productive in terms of goals. I also predicted (so far, correctly) that TV commentators and journalists would express bewilderment as to how Aguero could score fewer goals than in his first premier league season, especially with Tevez to inspire him! The Tevez publicity machine - run by Paul McCarthy's agency Macca Media - has such a powerful influence, particularly over journalists with whom McCarthy has worked over the years, that journalists, TV commentators and pundits (with the notable exception of a few ex-players like Niall Quinn) seldom question what Tevez gets up to on the field and they simply regurgitate and reinforce the usual media myths ("always gives 100%").

If anyone wishes to challenge my claims about the reluctance of Tevez to pass to other strikers, please provide specific examples of where Tevez has wittingly provided clear-cut scoring chances for other strikers. I appreciate that he has created some scoring opportunities by crosses from the byline. What I would be impressed by are concrete examples of where he has wittingly provided incisive through balls for Adebayor or for Balotelli or for Dzeko or for Aguero - passes that are similar to the two through passes by Dzeko to Aguero in the Fulham game or to Dzeko's through ball to Tevez in the Notts County replay or to the pass by Dzeko that put Tevez one-on-one with the Arsenal goalkeeper or, indeed, to the recent through pass by Tevez, himself, to Milner in the last Arsenal game. On the face of it, there ought to be lots of examples! In the case of Tevez, we are not talking about a striker who plays little or no part in build-ups / passing movements and who is there just to score goals and who always thinks he is better at it than anyone else (van Nistelrooy?). Tevez is constantly dropping back to get the ball and gets involved in many of our attacks. Indeed, the distinctive feature of Tevez is that his natural, almost child-like, first instinct is to run towards the man with the ball, whether to harry an opponent or to demand a pass from a colleague. That he can energise lesser players was one of the reasons why he was my favourite City player in the 2009-10 season and why I wanted to name our new puppy after him (fortunately my wife would not agree). It was only in the following season - mainly through his behaviour towards Balotelli and subsequently towards Dzeko - that it dawned on me that he takes the selfishness common amongst strikers to unprecedented levels and that, when surrounded by talented players, he can be a serious impediment to team performance.

Possibly the decisive moment in the current season (and in Mancini's managerial career at City) came in the 71st minute against Real Madrid in the Bernabeu. Dzeko had scored in the 69th minute. Just two minutes later, we had a break with Tevez on the ball and with Real Madrid in complete disarray. Dzeko was on his right and a player of Tevez skill could have put a through-ball giving Dzeko as good a chance (on his right foot) as he had just converted (with his left). Instead, Tevez passed left to Kolarov hoping optimistically that he might provide a centre for himself to score. He never got near the attempted cross. Had Tevez passed to Dzeko and had we gone 2:0 up ....

Dzeko's future

Pace shuddertothink but Wolfsburg's strategy was not focused exclusively on Dzeko but involved a formidable partnership between Dzeko and Graffiti. Dzeko has stated his own preference for playing with a strike partner. Last month, he said of his partnership with Aguero: "We played well together. It is important for the team that strikers play together – it makes everything easier." It is much harder for Aguero to reciprocate such a sentiment lest it upset his compatriot. In any event, under astute management, Aguero + Dzeko could have been one the most effective partnerships the premier league has ever seen. Perhaps, it could still be in the future.

There are, of course, currently rumours that Dzeko will be leaving in the summer. Dzeko, himself, is recently quoted in the German magazine, Kicker, as saying: "I love the Bundesliga and I will return to the Bundesliga. I can just not say when I will return. I have still two years [on my] contract. We will see what happens" [my emphasis]. But there were similar rumours last April, based on unofficial press briefings possibly designed in part to deflect attention away from Balotelli's infamous behaviour in the Arsenal game (and from scrutiny of his disciplinary record throughout the season). An Independent article claimed that "privately City acknowledge that he [Dzeko] is a player who needs to be loved". Repeatedly used in briefings against Adebayor, this latter expression was, to my mind, a rather devious way of suggesting a weak personality. Well, anyone who has doubts about the strength of Dzeko's personality should read about his upbringing during the Bosnian war. Certainly, he is not one to be intimidated by Mancini. Just like Joe Hart, in fact. Perhaps therein lies the rub.

Clearly, if Mancini stays at City, it is very likely that Dzeko will be transferred. However, Mancini himself may be a dead man walking -- and only Khaldoon, Soriano and Begiristain (himself, a winger) have any real idea what Mancini's departure might imply for City's playing style and for the futures of particular players. In the interim, as American convicts say of someone on death row with nothing to lose, beware the dead man walking. For my own part, I fear that much damage may have already been done.

(a) Dzeko, in 179 Bundesliga + PL appearances since 2007, has scored at 133 mpg;

(b) Van Persie, in 221 PL appearances since 2004, has scored at 135 mpg;

(d) Aguero, in 232 Primera Division + PL appearances since 2006, has scored at 164 mpg;

(e) Rooney, in 337 PL appearances since 2002, has scored at 168 mpg;

(f) Tevez, in 191 PL appearances since 2006, has scored at 170 mpg.

For both last season and this season to date, Edin Dzeko outperforms Robin Van Persie in each of the following performance indicators:

(i) minutes per goal;

(ii) clear-cut chance conversion ratio;

(iii) minutes per chance created from open play;

(iv) minutes per being caught offside.

Heavy goals and contributions to the team

The dream partnership?

Man. U: 1 pass in 67 minutes

Newcastle: 0 (zero) passes in 70 minutes

QPR: 2 passes in 75 minutes

Dzeko's future

Scoring Chances

2013-02-21T23:46:12Z

After a little help if possible folks. I'm struggling to catch or record any of this Sunday's game so I was wondering whether anyone was keen to do a little analysis by way of the scoring chances I usually record?

If so, drop a reply below or email me bitterandblue@hotmail.co.uk.

Edin Dzeko: A Statistical Comparison with RVP

2013-02-14T15:08:27Z

The purpose of this post is to provide an evaluation of Edin Dzeko's overall performance in the premier league so far this season by means of a comparison with Robin van Persie (RVP). The latter - a world class striker who currently holds the Golden Boot and who is this season's leading scorer - provides a natural benchmark for comparison, albeit a formidable one! The statistics are taken from the EPL Index Stats Centre (as of 14 Feb).

Time spent on the field:
In the light of the differential treatment of the two players by their managers, any meaningful evaluation must take account of time actually on the field and invoke "minutes per x" comparisons.

ED: 11 starts (taken off in 6 of those games) + 12 appearances as a substitute. In total, he has played for 1190 minutes.
RVP: 23 starts (taken off in only 2 of those games) + 3 appearances as a substitute. In total, he has played for 2116 minutes.

Goal scoring:
ED: 12 goals at 99 mins per goal
RVP: 19 goals at 111 mins per goal

Clear-cut chance conversion rate:
ED: 59%
RVP: 38%

Offsides:
ED: 5 offsides at 238 mins per offside
RVP: 31 offsides at 62 mins per offside

Touches:
ED: 1.8 mins per touch with 0.04% unsuccessful
RVP: 1.8 mins per touch with 0.03% unsuccessful
Ball overrun (i.e., touched too far ahead): ED: 0 and RVP: 3

Chances Created from Open Play:
ED: created 21 chances at 57 mins per chance
RVP: created 27 chances at 77 min per chance

NB: Since RVP regularly takes corners and free kicks, the above understates RVP's creative contribution to United: it appears from the EPL stats that he also created 19 chances from set-pieces.

Tackles and Duels:
ED: won 100% of tackles 29% of ground duels 47% of aerial duels
RVP: won 78% of tackles 49% of ground duels 45% of aerial duels

Clearances:
ED: 12 clearances (11 with head) at 99 mins per clearance with 58% successful
RVP: 31 clearances (24 with head) at 68 mins per clearance with 42% successful

By any objective standards, Edin Dzeko has had a remarkably good season so far. His overall performance has been particularly impressive given that he has manifestly not enjoyed the full support of Roberto Mancini. On more than one occasion, it has been left to David Platt to highlight the "heavy goals" that Edin has scored since his arrival.

Goal scoring:
ED: 12 goals at 99 mins per goal
RVP: 19 goals at 111 mins per goal

Clear-cut chance conversion rate:
ED: 59%
RVP: 38%

Offsides:
ED: 5 offsides at 238 mins per offside
RVP: 31 offsides at 62 mins per offside

Touches:
ED: 1.8 mins per touch with 0.04% unsuccessful
RVP: 1.8 mins per touch with 0.03% unsuccessful
Ball overrun (i.e., touched too far ahead): ED: 0 and RVP: 3

Chances Created from Open Play:
ED: created 21 chances at 57 mins per chance
RVP: created 27 chances at 77 min per chance

NB: Since RVP regularly takes corners and free kicks, the above understates RVP's creative contribution to United: it appears from the EPL stats that he also created 19 chances from set-pieces.

Tackles and Duels:
ED: won 100% of tackles 29% of ground duels 47% of aerial duels
RVP: won 78% of tackles 49% of ground duels 45% of aerial duels

Clearances:
ED: 12 clearances (11 with head) at 99 mins per clearance with 58% successful
RVP: 31 clearances (24 with head) at 68 mins per clearance with 42% successful

Total Shots And Game States: Arsenal

2013-02-07T04:19:47Z

We've talked previously on this site on the importance of performance at certain game states. Think of a tied game state (evens) as the most crucial, followed closely by performance at a crucial game state and followed then by the slops (blowouts).

Talk of game states has been evident on this blog since June when I looked at EPL strikers, but it's only since I was able to record teams' total shots, shots on target and goals at certain game states that things have begun to get interesting.

You guys know where to find previous articles on game states, and if you don't I want this piece to be a broad overview of the uses and fine detail which becomes evident when we look at a teams performance by the various game states.

For this example of how a large amount of information that can be teased out from game state data I shall use Arsenal as an example. A league wide, detailed article will appear once we have more completed fixtures. Oh, and when I have the chance to breakdown the W's numbers (West Ham, Wet Brom and Wigan)!

Arsenal Total Shots By Game State

ARSENAL		Shots	Shots against	difference
	Minus 5
	Minus 4
	Minus 3
32	Minus 2	20	12	8
119	Minus 1	61	58	3
331	Evens	200	131	69
83	Plus 1	47	36	11
35	Plus 2	21	14	7
22	Plus 3	14	8	6
28	Plus 4	21	7	14
5	Plus 5	3	2	1
		387	268	119

Nice and all, and it is usefull to look at the raw numbers. Here is a very basic viz to help us a little:

Arsenal's Goals For And Against

	Goals For	Goals Against

Minus 5	0	0
Minus 4	0	0
Minus 3	0	0
Minus 2	3	0
Minus 1	7	5
Evens (0)	17	13
Plus 1	9	6
Plus 2	6	1
Plus 3	6	1
Plus 4	1	3
Plus 5	0	0

These are Arsenal's goals for and against numbers at every game state they spent time at this season, no real need to visualize these numbers again. But what we can do now that we have the shots totals and the goals totals are things like this:

Scoring%, Save%, Pdo% and TSR at certain game states

	Scoring%	Save%	PDO	TSR
Minus 5	n/a	n/a	N/1	n/a
Minus 4	n/a	n/a	N/1	n/a
Minus 3	n/a	n/a	N/1	n/a
Minus 2	15.00	n/a	37.5	62.50
Minus 1	11.48	88.40	99.88	51.26
Evens	8.50	89.92	98.42	60.42
Plus 1	19.15	94.00	113.15	56.63
Plus 2	28.57	86.00	114.57	60.00
Plus 3	42.86	92.00	134.86	63.64
Plus 4	4.76	97.67	102.43	75.00
Plus 5	0.00	n/a	0.00	60.00

It is from the two very basic data sets listed previously (shots and goals) that we are able to find pretty good information like this,

Note Arsenal's scoring% at Evens(tied Game State), or their strong TSR number, again at Evens.

Now, if we strip away some of the the less frequent game states and focus on the close game states, those being -1, Evens and +1, we can reduce some of the noise and focus on the most frequent actions.

81.25% of the total shots that have taken place in Arsenal's fixtures have taken place at the Close Game States.

Close game State

	Shots For	Shots Against	Differential	Scoring%	Save%	PDO	TSR

Close Game State	308	225	83	10.71	89.34	100.05	57.78%

Arsenal are outshooting the opposition at CGS and their PDO would indicate that Arsenal's performance is neither lucky nor unlucky.

By grouping these close game states together we protect around 80% of the sample whilst also evaluating what is really going on with a team when the game is in it's most crucial and frequent states.

Performance at Evens (Tied Game State)

If we refine the data even further and settle on just teams' performance at a tied game state we are left with the most crucial game state with 48.57% of all game time having been played at evens in the PL in2012/13.

A potential issue with focusing only on a tied game state is that just 48-50% (ish) of the shots sample remains. Relevance v sample size concerns?

Arsenal in 2012/13's PL

	Scoring%	Save%	PDO	TSR
Evens	8.50	89.92	98.42	60.42

As mentioned this is just 50% of the data. Even strength/tied game state performance should be the most accurate information we can gather on teams' performance, but I thing Close Game State tells us some things too.

A lot of of the numbers and methods above may look complex, but infact they are simple enough. It may be worth noting that not all of the above information may be useful, but I personally feel much of it is.

Thoughts on Close GS and Game Tied GS?

As a quick bonus feature I thought I'd borrow some of the above Game State methods and apply them to two players: Walcott and Wilshere.

Player Data

Going really, really deep into the data we can look at specific players and how they have performed at certain game states. I'll just post the raw numbers, not much need for viz's at this point.

Walcott numbers when he is on the field of play and at no other time.

Walcott
	Walcott shots	Share of total shots	Walscott SoT	Share of SoT	Gls	Shots Scoring %	SoT scoring%
Minus 2	3	13.66%	2	12.50%	1	33.33	50.00
Minus 1	7	23.52%	5	30.76%	1	14.29	20.00
Evens (0)	28	18.63%	7	16.21%	5	17.86	71.43
Plus 1	6	16.66%	2	16.66		0.00	0.00
Plus 2	3	23.07%	3	37.50%	2	66.67	66.67
Plus 3	2	16.66%	1	33.00%	1	50.00	100.00
Plus 4	2	50.00%	1	50.00%		0.00	0.00
Plus 5	3	11.11%	3	75.00%	1	50.00	33.33

These are Walcott's shot totals and conversion %'s broken down by game state. I think there are many issues with small sample sizes here.

Wilshere

	Shots For	Shots against	Gls for	Gls against	On Filed Sc%	On Field Save%	On field PDO	TSR
Minus 2	24	18	2	0	8.33	100.00	108.33	57.14
Minus 1	40	36	5	5	12.50	86.11	98.61	52.63
Evens (0)	103	75	10	9	9.71	88.00	97.71	57.87
Plus 1	23	24	5	5	21.74	79.17	100.91	48.94
Plus 2	14	8	4	1	28.57	87.50	116.07	63.64
Plus 3	14	5	2	1	14.29	80.00	94.29	73.68
Plus 4	13	3			0.00	100.00	100.00	81.25

A slightly different take here for Jack Wilshere. These numbers are solely for when Wilshere was on the field of play and help us understand some of what was happening at certain game states.

I particularly like On Field PDO and TSR although the players personal ability is trapped within the teams ability to a great extent.

I will probably release individual teams' game state data if and when I can between now and seasons end. June will probably see a lot of words on this topic when I look at this topic on a league wide basis.

If there is any interest in this topic I may well dump the raw data someplace and let people pick over it.

Any thoughts or reactions, please let me know?

Arsenal Total Shots By Game State

ARSENAL		Shots	Shots against	difference
	Minus 5
	Minus 4
	Minus 3
32	Minus 2	20	12	8
119	Minus 1	61	58	3
331	Evens	200	131	69
83	Plus 1	47	36	11
35	Plus 2	21	14	7
22	Plus 3	14	8	6
28	Plus 4	21	7	14
5	Plus 5	3	2	1
		387	268	119

Nice and all, and it is usefull to look at the raw numbers. Here is a very basic viz to help us a little:

Arsenal's Goals For And Against

	Goals For	Goals Against

Minus 5	0	0
Minus 4	0	0
Minus 3	0	0
Minus 2	3	0
Minus 1	7	5
Evens (0)	17	13
Plus 1	9	6
Plus 2	6	1
Plus 3	6	1
Plus 4	1	3
Plus 5	0	0

Scoring%, Save%, Pdo% and TSR at certain game states

	Scoring%	Save%	PDO	TSR
Minus 5	n/a	n/a	N/1	n/a
Minus 4	n/a	n/a	N/1	n/a
Minus 3	n/a	n/a	N/1	n/a
Minus 2	15.00	n/a	37.5	62.50
Minus 1	11.48	88.40	99.88	51.26
Evens	8.50	89.92	98.42	60.42
Plus 1	19.15	94.00	113.15	56.63
Plus 2	28.57	86.00	114.57	60.00
Plus 3	42.86	92.00	134.86	63.64
Plus 4	4.76	97.67	102.43	75.00
Plus 5	0.00	n/a	0.00	60.00

It is from the two very basic data sets listed previously (shots and goals) that we are able to find pretty good information like this,

Note Arsenal's scoring% at Evens(tied Game State), or their strong TSR number, again at Evens.

81.25% of the total shots that have taken place in Arsenal's fixtures have taken place at the Close Game States.

Close game State

	Shots For	Shots Against	Differential	Scoring%	Save%	PDO	TSR

Close Game State	308	225	83	10.71	89.34	100.05	57.78%

Arsenal are outshooting the opposition at CGS and their PDO would indicate that Arsenal's performance is neither lucky nor unlucky.

By grouping these close game states together we protect around 80% of the sample whilst also evaluating what is really going on with a team when the game is in it's most crucial and frequent states.

Performance at Evens (Tied Game State)

A potential issue with focusing only on a tied game state is that just 48-50% (ish) of the shots sample remains. Relevance v sample size concerns?

Arsenal in 2012/13's PL

	Scoring%	Save%	PDO	TSR
Evens	8.50	89.92	98.42	60.42

Thoughts on Close GS and Game Tied GS?

As a quick bonus feature I thought I'd borrow some of the above Game State methods and apply them to two players: Walcott and Wilshere.

Player Data

Going really, really deep into the data we can look at specific players and how they have performed at certain game states. I'll just post the raw numbers, not much need for viz's at this point.

Walcott numbers when he is on the field of play and at no other time.

Walcott
	Walcott shots	Share of total shots	Walscott SoT	Share of SoT	Gls	Shots Scoring %	SoT scoring%
Minus 2	3	13.66%	2	12.50%	1	33.33	50.00
Minus 1	7	23.52%	5	30.76%	1	14.29	20.00
Evens (0)	28	18.63%	7	16.21%	5	17.86	71.43
Plus 1	6	16.66%	2	16.66		0.00	0.00
Plus 2	3	23.07%	3	37.50%	2	66.67	66.67
Plus 3	2	16.66%	1	33.00%	1	50.00	100.00
Plus 4	2	50.00%	1	50.00%		0.00	0.00
Plus 5	3	11.11%	3	75.00%	1	50.00	33.33

These are Walcott's shot totals and conversion %'s broken down by game state. I think there are many issues with small sample sizes here.

Wilshere

	Shots For	Shots against	Gls for	Gls against	On Filed Sc%	On Field Save%	On field PDO	TSR
Minus 2	24	18	2	0	8.33	100.00	108.33	57.14
Minus 1	40	36	5	5	12.50	86.11	98.61	52.63
Evens (0)	103	75	10	9	9.71	88.00	97.71	57.87
Plus 1	23	24	5	5	21.74	79.17	100.91	48.94
Plus 2	14	8	4	1	28.57	87.50	116.07	63.64
Plus 3	14	5	2	1	14.29	80.00	94.29	73.68
Plus 4	13	3			0.00	100.00	100.00	81.25

A slightly different take here for Jack Wilshere. These numbers are solely for when Wilshere was on the field of play and help us understand some of what was happening at certain game states.

I particularly like On Field PDO and TSR although the players personal ability is trapped within the teams ability to a great extent.

If there is any interest in this topic I may well dump the raw data someplace and let people pick over it.

Any thoughts or reactions, please let me know?

Playing at the Emirates

2013-01-07T17:43:38Z

This coming Sunday, Manchester City play Arsenal at Emirates Stadium. This game could be a chance to make up some points on Manchester United, as they play an in-form Liverpool at Old Trafford. It could also be another game away to Arsenal where we drop points.

Problem is, playing at Arsenal has always proved tricky for City, as our struggles there have stretched for several decades now.

Last season, the 1-0 loss by City seemed to spell doom for our title hopes. Only the most dramatic fight back from 8 points back with 5 games to go helped secure the title. That game was marred by foolishness from Mario Balotelli, and City failed to score. Not scoring goals away at Arsenal is hardly a new problem for City.

The last time that we scored at Arsenal was 17 April 2007. It was a game where City lost 3-1, but at least we scored! That goal was driven in by none other than DaMarcus Beasley (which shows you how long ago it was!).

Kolo Toure and Gael Clichy played, but on the other side of the pitch. Joey Barton was one of the star City players at the time (ironic, since Barton was suspended for the rest of the season two weeks later, and then transferred at the end of the season).

The last game that Manchester City won at Arsenal was 4 October 1975. Here are the highlights from that last victory:

[75/76] Arsenal v Manchester City, Oct 4th 1975 (via mcfcvideos)

This should be a highly entertaining fixture, as Arsenal and City are both in the top 4 teams for goals allowed in the Premier League this season. They are also both in the top 3 teams for goals scored this season.

These stats can be a little misleading, as both teams have also struggled to find consistent form this season. Arsenal are a grab bag, scoring 7 goals one game, and then getting a single point the next (from an own goal).

City are an enigma of their own, although with 3 straight victories (and a much healthier defense), they looked to be back in good form. Now that Aguero may (or may not have) torn his hamstring, the squad looks to be back in turmoil.

City will be hoping to finally get a win away at Arsenal, since the last one happened before any member of the squad was born (yes, even Richard Wright).

Problem is, playing at Arsenal has always proved tricky for City, as our struggles there have stretched for several decades now.

The last game that Manchester City won at Arsenal was 4 October 1975. Here are the highlights from that last victory:

[75/76] Arsenal v Manchester City, Oct 4th 1975 (via mcfcvideos)

City will be hoping to finally get a win away at Arsenal, since the last one happened before any member of the squad was born (yes, even Richard Wright).

Good and Bad from the Manchester City - Norwich City game

2012-12-31T15:31:25Z

via i.eurosport.com

These are the things that I liked about City's game.

1. Javi Garcia wasn't in the starting lineup. I can't watch him without thinking bitterly about paying 15m for him (while getting rid of de Jong for 3.5m).

2. Gael Clichy was. He provided the spacing and pace that City have been missing along the left flank. Silva and Nasri playing wider helped as well, but Clichy looked really good, which bodes well for the team.

3. Nastasic looked very comfortable. He seems to not be stressing as much, and has been making good plays. Playing along side Kompany has helped accelerate his growth over the past few months. He looks like a Premier League caliber defender.

Things that weren't as great.

1. Joe Hart. I have defended him again and again this season, but he is in a poor run of form. The first two goals were difficult ones (although I think he would have stopped at least one of them had he been in good form).

The third one I find the most fault with. When the corner first came in, he got totally screened off, and was no where near where he should have been. He ended up on the ground along with Kompany and two Norwich defenders. Hart usually does a great job of getting on the inside of those collisions, and claiming the ball before it ends up in chaos.

2. Nasri. I've been trying hard not to think poorly of him, but he seemed to embody every "little man" syndrome in that square up. The tackle was brutal, and Bassong should have been sent off for it, but Nasri reacted very poorly, and it almost cost the team.

via u.goal.com

On the whole, the team looked good. A little shaky defensively, but a lot of that has to be attributed to going a man down so early. Our attacking play was brilliant though. Norwich has been a tough team to break down, but it happened so easily and so quickly. I feel like we haven't seen that level of attacking movement this whole season (the closest for me would be the 5-0 over Villa, but that score was helped by two dodgy penalties, and a Silva goal that was scuffled in).

I hope that it is a sign of finding our form, because it will be needed against Stoke tomorrow.

via i.eurosport.com

These are the things that I liked about City's game.

1. Javi Garcia wasn't in the starting lineup. I can't watch him without thinking bitterly about paying 15m for him (while getting rid of de Jong for 3.5m).

Things that weren't as great.

via u.goal.com

I hope that it is a sign of finding our form, because it will be needed against Stoke tomorrow.

City's Defense Undone by Injuries

2012-12-28T19:31:03Z

This season, a lot has been made over why City have failed to find their form. Last season, City got off on a scorching start, with gobs of goals scored. Here are the first 10 fixtures from last season, and the back line for City in those games.

City v Swansea City - W 4-0 Richards, Kompany, Lescott, Clichy

Bolton v City - W 3-2 Richards, Kompany, Lescott, Kolarov

Tottenham v City - W 5-1 Zabaleta, Kompany, Lescott, Clichy

City v Wigan - W 3-0 Richards, Kompany, Lescott, Clichy

Fulham v City - D 2-2 Richards, Kompany, Lescott, Clichy

City v Everton - W 2-0 Richards, Kompany, Lescott, Clichy

Blackburn v City - W 4-0 Zabaleta, Kompany, Lescott, Kolarov

City v Villa - W 4-1 Richards, Kompany, Lescott, Clichy

United v City - W 6-1 Richards, Kompany, Lescott, Clichy

City v Wolves - W 3-1 Richards, Kompany, Lescott, Kolarov

In those 10 fixtures, there is a remarkably stable back line. Kompany and Lescott in every start in central defense. Richards started 8 of those games at RB, and Clichy started 7 of them at LB.

In that run, City scored 36, conceded 8, and took 28 out of 30 possible points. This is the kind of football to be emulated. It put an enormous amount of pressure on United, and gave City confidence. This confidence was relied on when they finished out the season, coming from 8 points back to win the title.

As the season went on, Zabaleta began to be preferred to Richards, and Kolarov and Clichy traded starts. Savic even got 11 appearances throughout the campaign. The back line knew each other, each having played together for several seasons (except for Clichy), and were able to rely on each other.

This season is an entirely different story. By comparison, the start has been absolute rubbish.

City v Southampton W 3-2 Zabaleta, Kompany, Lescott, Clichy

Liverpool v City D 2-2 Zabaleta, Kompany, K. Toure, Clichy

City v QPR W 3-1 Zabaleta, Kompany, Lescott, Kolarov

Stoke v City D 1-1 Maicon, Kompany, Lescott, Clichy

City v Arsenal D 1-1 Zabaleta, Kompany, Lescott, Clichy

Fulham v City W 2-1 Zabaleta, Kompany, Nastasic, Clichy

City v Sunderland W 3-0 Richards, Zabaleta, Lescott, Kolarov

WBA v City W 2-1 Richards, Kompany, Lescott, Clichy

City v Swansea W 1-0 Zabaleta, Kompany, Nastasic, Clichy

West Ham v City D 0-0 K. Toure, Kompany, Nastasic, Clichy

4 draws from 10 played, 8 dropped points. 18 goals scored, 9 conceded. Scraping wins against illustrious sides like Swansea and Southampton. Dropping points against West Ham, Liverpool, and Stoke.

The back line has been rotated constantly, with only one lineup repeated in those first ten games (and none played in back to back weeks). This constant rotation has lead to a lack of understanding between the back line. When watched, you can see the hesitation on their faces, as they are never quite sure when they are supposed to move forward or not. There is no established trust for who will cover their position.

Last season, the rampaging runs of Clichy and Zabaleta/Richards down the touchline lead to dangerous crosses in the box. More importantly, space was given for Silva, Nasri, Milner, and Yaya to operate in. Without those same runs, teams have been able to pack the box, giving no room for them to work in. A major reason for the lack of goals scored by the strikers is the fact that they are not receiving dangerous passes in dangerous spaces.

The reason for the rotations is due in no small part to injuries, which have knocked Richards out for months, Clichy out for weeks at a time, and hampered Kompany, Kolarov, and Maicon.The effect of these injuries should not be downplayed.

In addition, and perhaps more importantly, the strange lineups of Roberto Mancini have also caused this lack of confidence. Lescott is prone to make mistakes (as seen when he tried to give United the title last season), but he is still an international player with years of Premier League experience. It is difficult to throw 19 year old Nastasic into the lions den (giving him his first start against Real Madrid???). I think that Nastasic can be a great player, but he needs to be brought along more slowly.

I believe that many of the problems currently hampering Manchester City will be solved as Clichy and Kolarov return to full fitness. This will allow Zabaleta to return to right back, which gives a more stable back line. As City faces more and more teams willing to pack the box, the importance of playing our first choice fullbacks grows in significance. While not all of City's woes will be solved by this, it will help tremendously. Whether Mancini survives long enough to see this happen is a different story.

City v Swansea City - W 4-0 Richards, Kompany, Lescott, Clichy

Bolton v City - W 3-2 Richards, Kompany, Lescott, Kolarov

Tottenham v City - W 5-1 Zabaleta, Kompany, Lescott, Clichy

City v Wigan - W 3-0 Richards, Kompany, Lescott, Clichy

Fulham v City - D 2-2 Richards, Kompany, Lescott, Clichy

City v Everton - W 2-0 Richards, Kompany, Lescott, Clichy

Blackburn v City - W 4-0 Zabaleta, Kompany, Lescott, Kolarov

City v Villa - W 4-1 Richards, Kompany, Lescott, Clichy

United v City - W 6-1 Richards, Kompany, Lescott, Clichy

City v Wolves - W 3-1 Richards, Kompany, Lescott, Kolarov

In those 10 fixtures, there is a remarkably stable back line. Kompany and Lescott in every start in central defense. Richards started 8 of those games at RB, and Clichy started 7 of them at LB.

This season is an entirely different story. By comparison, the start has been absolute rubbish.

City v Southampton W 3-2 Zabaleta, Kompany, Lescott, Clichy

Liverpool v City D 2-2 Zabaleta, Kompany, K. Toure, Clichy

City v QPR W 3-1 Zabaleta, Kompany, Lescott, Kolarov

Stoke v City D 1-1 Maicon, Kompany, Lescott, Clichy

City v Arsenal D 1-1 Zabaleta, Kompany, Lescott, Clichy

Fulham v City W 2-1 Zabaleta, Kompany, Nastasic, Clichy

City v Sunderland W 3-0 Richards, Zabaleta, Lescott, Kolarov

WBA v City W 2-1 Richards, Kompany, Lescott, Clichy

City v Swansea W 1-0 Zabaleta, Kompany, Nastasic, Clichy

West Ham v City D 0-0 K. Toure, Kompany, Nastasic, Clichy

4 draws from 10 played, 8 dropped points. 18 goals scored, 9 conceded. Scraping wins against illustrious sides like Swansea and Southampton. Dropping points against West Ham, Liverpool, and Stoke.

Fourteen Years Ago Today, City Started To Believe

2012-12-28T16:54:57Z

City in recent times you may think back only a few months when Sergio Aguero lifted the Blues back up above United to win the Premiership title in the most dramatic of ways.

You may even go back to the year before when the single Yaya Toure goal dumped United out of the FA Cup, the trophy we would then go on to win.

How about the wins which got us into our first Chamions League campaign? It is true that all these were certainly important but one of my most important games came back in the 1998-99 season and no it isn't the Playoff game with Gillingham although it is a related game.

On this day fourteen years ago Manchester City were in the third tier of English football and had been struggling. Sure we were 7th in the league but had played two more games than Bournmouth who were above us with three points more and a cool 15 points away from the top team.

Boxing Day had seen us beat Wrexham 1-0 away from home but in truth that win was one of only 8 from the opening 23 games. It wasn't that we had lost a lot but the nine draws really were holding us back from what we had to achieve, promotion. It became clear after the fact how close City came to being financially ruined and a second season at this level would have been unthinkable.

So to the 28th and City hosted the high flying Stoke City in a must win game. As it was City, Manchester that is went behind 1-0. Bournmouth, Preston went on to win and of course Stoke currently were winning. In fact of all the other teams above us at this time only one outside of our game, Walsall would lose.

Cometh the hour though cometh the Dickov and Taylor to pull us through to a very important 2-1 win and kick start our promotion push. It would be Taylors first and probably most important goal for City and that result turned one win into back to back wins. That back to back win was extended to a 12 game unbeaten run and in fact we only suffered two defeats in the back end of the season. Fourteen wins from the last 23 games and 7 draws were enough to see us finish third and on good form heading into the playoff system.

That game, I feel, built the belief and team bond that we needed on May 30th that year and got us the promotion that not only we wanted but financially desperately needed.

City in recent times you may think back only a few months when Sergio Aguero lifted the Blues back up above United to win the Premiership title in the most dramatic of ways.

You may even go back to the year before when the single Yaya Toure goal dumped United out of the FA Cup, the trophy we would then go on to win.

That game, I feel, built the belief and team bond that we needed on May 30th that year and got us the promotion that not only we wanted but financially desperately needed.

Sunderland 1-0 City: Post match thoughts

2012-12-27T00:33:14Z

Thanks for the bad send off boys :( sadly I was forced to listen to the match on the radio, so bear with my analysis this time.

Roberto Mancini had another new lineup for us this week, much to do with injuries. It was Interesting to see Garcia getting the nod, rather than having a defensive mid field pairing of Barry and Milner. To defend the choice Garcia could use some time, especially if our unlucky run of injuries persists.

Getting a chance to watch the first ten minutes, we had great pressure on the black cats. Plenty of early chances fell by the wayside, as we missed by millimeters and stellar goal keeping from Minolet. Pablo applied early pressure down the left but seemed unable to produce goals. Our first great chance came from an early corner that Kompany connected with but was denied by the cross bar. City held much of the possession throughout the first half but the action could be better described as end to end. Corners provided opportunities. Kompany seemed up to the challenge with crucial tackles in the final third but a first half goal had him playing less aggressive than he would have liked.

The second half was more of the same end to end football we saw in the first. Sadly, Sunderland was the beneficiary of poor officiating (from what I heard) and a lapse in quality from Joe Hart, making it 1-0 Sunderland early in the first. The goal seemed like the boxing day wake up call the team needed, but there was not enough time for our boys to stage another late surge and goal.

This will be my last post of the year, as I head to New Zealand for a study abroad trip. Have a good new year and see you all for Fulham!

Announcer line of the day: "Sweating like a Turkey on Christmas eve" in relation to the AC in the booth not working.

Tevez (4)- hasn't done much lately when called on to start. He is given much freedom up front as a Aguero is sent wide to provide him passes.
Aguero (5)- same as tevez, I believe it's time for RM to switch their roles and see what effect that has on the chances created.

Silva (5)- he was his same creative self, but it seemed like his unfamiliar pairing with yaya threw him a little and he was hesitant inside the box with his decisions.

Yaya (5)- was allowed to push forward today for the first time in awhile this season. Sadly, his chances fell to the wayside and couldn't produce any goals with his powerful right foot.

Garcia (3)- interesting selection from RM but couldn't really tell from the radio what kind of visual impact v from "v for vendetta" had. Hence the low rating.

Milner (5)- glad to see him back from injury as his services will be needed, and quickly. He was highly involves offensively, as was yaya.

Zaba (5)- always a strong performing when called upon and today was no different. He did what he could to provide pace down the left but couldn't produce any goals. And side note: he always seems to need a bandage around his head at some point during the season.

Kolo (4)- couldn't really get a sense of his impact on the game and much like Garcia I did not hear his name a lot during the broadcast.

Nasty (4)- another less than stellar game but as a young player he will have periods in time where we he struggles. The hope is that through this extensive playing time he can have less periods of struggles.

Kompany (6)- had a brilliant game especially when it came down to making a crucial tackle in the final third. Unfortunately he seemed to have gotten to involved with the physical nature of the game. Going forward his health is essential for city's success

Hart (4)- seemed to be having a good match until he absolutely flubbed on the Johnson goal. From what I heard he most certainly should have saved it.

Dzeko (n/a)
Barry (n/a)
Lescott (n/a)

Thanks for the bad send off boys :( sadly I was forced to listen to the match on the radio, so bear with my analysis this time.

This will be my last post of the year, as I head to New Zealand for a study abroad trip. Have a good new year and see you all for Fulham!

Announcer line of the day: "Sweating like a Turkey on Christmas eve" in relation to the AC in the booth not working.

Silva (5)- he was his same creative self, but it seemed like his unfamiliar pairing with yaya threw him a little and he was hesitant inside the box with his decisions.

Yaya (5)- was allowed to push forward today for the first time in awhile this season. Sadly, his chances fell to the wayside and couldn't produce any goals with his powerful right foot.

Kolo (4)- couldn't really get a sense of his impact on the game and much like Garcia I did not hear his name a lot during the broadcast.

Hart (4)- seemed to be having a good match until he absolutely flubbed on the Johnson goal. From what I heard he most certainly should have saved it.

Dzeko (n/a)
Barry (n/a)
Lescott (n/a)

City 1-0 Reading: Post match thoughts

2012-12-22T19:11:10Z

Let's all join together in a collective sigh of relief, as we have had to do throughout much of this season! But, as we have learned, City has a flare for the dramatic. Oh, and happy three year anniversary to Roberto and city. It has been a magical pairing.

City came out in the first-half on fire, as they should against a side of Readings class so far this season. City controlled most of the possession throughout the game and especially in the first half. But the lack of production in the final third reared its ugly head again this afternoon, as City were unable to produce SOT and goals. We bludgeoned the Royals' goal with shot, after shot and corner, after corner. To Readings credit they barricaded City in the box in a way that would rival the barricades during French Revolution. The offensive bright spot this afternoon was the combination of Tevez, Aguero, and Silva, as they worked meticulously together in the final third with beautiful one, two's, and were a thorn in Readings' defenses side. Until Tevez was subbed midway through the second half

In the second half there was much of the same from City, but Reading showed signs of life when they were able to break out and counter attack. Set piece defense continues to give City problems as Reading players were provided plenty of chances at goal from corners and free kicks, thankfully Reading was unable to produce a goal from their chances. Until Tevez was subbed out midway through the second half game, Aguero, who came out so strong in the first half, seemed to disappear from attack. But when attacking he was reminiscent of the Aguero from last season. In his absence, David Silva provided numerous chances for his teammates through his incredible play-making ability, that culminating in the cross that produce Gareth Barry's 91st minute "over the back" goal.

Due to injury, City had quite an unusual starting 11 resulting in the debut for EDS defender Karim Rekik, a target of much of Reading's attack. So far this season City has struggle with team selection, that has led to miscommunication among the back four. But, a bright spot for city so far this season has been the unlikely pairing of Nastasic and Kolo, who have flourished when playing together. City had a very limited but effective bench.

"We are Man City, and we will fight til the end."

Player ratings

Tevez (7)- he provided his typical pace that gave readings defense fits all game, but was unable to produce a goal.

Javi Garcia (5)- wasn't called upon much, but when he was needed he stepped up.

Rekik (5)- given his first, first-team call up he played well. He was a constant target of readings attack which should be of no surprise.

Aguero (7)- much like our offense, he was up and down today, but showed signs of his old self.

Silva(8) man of the match. His creativity was on display today. He produced the cross that led to the game winning goal.

Yaya(5)- trended downward this week after a strong performance last week. He was forced to play back and was unable to produce the chances we are use to getting from him.

Kolo(6)- ever since being called upon with injuries to our back four he has stepped up to a level I wasn't sure he still had.

Barry(5)- up until his goal he was left a lot to be desired. He lacked his usual touch and tenacity. He seemed out of touch with the rest of the team.

Zaba(6) "keep calm, pablos on" he continued his strong form so far this season and I hope to see more.

Nastasic (5)- he had a quiet game but him and kolo have worked well together.

Hart (5)- wasn't called on much today. He looked pretty bad on that pass in the first half that almost led to a goal.

Sinclair (5)- hasn't gotten much first team action and it showed. He looked rusty and it was apparent in his only shot "towards" goal.

Dzeko (4)- he had multiple opportunities to be the hero today but couldn't finish. Other than that he was his usual touch less self.

Milner(n/a)- didn't have enough opportunity