Since joining from Wolfsburg for £27 million back in January 2011, Edin Dzeko has become an extremely important part of City’s front line. Considered one of the hottest strikers in Europe prior to signing him (Dzeko managed 85 goals in 145 games for the Bundesliga side), many City fans were keen to see if Edin could emulate that in England. In fact, it took the big Bosnian just three games to open his account for City- in a hard-fought 1-1 draw at Notts County in the FA Cup four years ago- and since then he has gone on to net 71 times for the Blues in 182 appearances, which is some mean feat for a striker who, before joining, was not proven in the Premier League.
City fans don’t need reminding of his goals, either. His four-goal haul at White Hart Lane in our first-title winning season of 2011/12 set up an incredible 5-1 victory in North London; he netted the only goal of the game against Wigan Athletic in the same season to keep City within arm’s reach of the title; he scored the 92nd minute equaliser in THAT decider against QPR, which we sensationally went on to win 3-2 in the dying seconds; and in our second title-winning campaign last year, Dzeko grabbed some crucial strikes towards the business end of the season, including vital goals against Everton at Goodison in a 3-2 triumph and Aston Villa at home to set up a convincing 4-0 victory, and keep City on track for their second Premier League title in three years, which we confirmed with a 2-0 win over West Ham on the final day. Edin scored 26 times in all competitions throughout this successful campaign. The signing of Alvaro Negredo and Stevan Jovetic at the start of that season left many fans wondering where Edin’s future would lie, but the new additions failed to trouble him, and he proved with his goals that he was the man to partner Sergio Aguero; and not Negredo, as was previously thought. Alvaro never recovered from a shoulder injury he sustained away at West Ham in the League Cup in January 2014, and was subsequently loaned out to Valencia in the summer, whilst Dzeko continued at City in what is now his fourth season with us.
This season, though, Dzeko has failed to reach the heights of previous campaigns, and has netted a meagre 5 times in all competitions so far this term. It is worth mentioning that the Bosnian has been hampered by injury for a large part of it (resulting in him making just 16 Premier League appearances); but his lacklustre displays have caused him to come under scrutiny from some sections of the City faithful for his laziness; lethargic attitude and lack of motivation to chase and win the ball back for his team. He has shown some glimpses of his former self this season, with 2 goals in the 7-0 Capital One Cup demolishing of Sheffield Wednesday in September and another well-taken brace at the KC Stadium against Hull three days later; temporarily convincing some people that the real Edin was back. However, this season’s current total of 5 goals significantly contrasts with the 26 he achieved last year. This has resulted in many questioning where Dzeko’s destiny lies once more, with Premier League opponents Arsenal, and clubs from Edin’s previous home in Germany, showing an apparent interest in his services.
Dzeko’s poor form, coupled with a recent shortage of strikers (in which City had to play James Milner as the makeshift number 9 whilst Dzeko, Jovetic and Aguero were all out), forced Manuel Pellegrini and the City board to identify Swansea hitman Wilfried Bony as the man to solve the issues for cover in attack. The Ivory Coast international joined The Blues for a sum of £28 million in January 2015, and offered City something new with his strength, pace and aerial ability.
Bony’s arrival was hindered by the African Cup of Nations, which he won with the Ivory Coast, and he didn’t join up with his City team-mates until mid-February, just a few days prior to the Newcastle game. Shortly before the encounter with the Magpies, many City fans were expecting Bony to go straight into the side, given his recent good form for Swansea and impressive contribution to the Ivory Coast’s international success (in which he scored 2 goals during the group stage). However, Pellegrini had other ideas as he persisted with Edin Dzeko at the heart of City’s attack.
Maybe it was the rare start that Pellegrini had given him, or maybe it was the recent Bony singing; but whatever it was, there was an entirely different Edin Dzeko against John Carver’s men. The Bosnian put in his most spirited performance of the season so far, and achieved a goal for his efforts, as he excellently took down a pinpoint David Silva pass to score past Tim Krul to add City’s third of the game in a convincing 5-0 win; our first clean sheet of 2015. This time, nobody could question his work-rate as he chased down every ball and supported his fellow team-mates in both attack and defence. Dzeko seemed like a completely changed player, and it couldn’t have come at a better time for him with the recent arrival of a fellow proven Premier League top-scorer. Wilfried Bony did get some minutes against The Magpies, coming on for the half an hour of the game for the ever-impressive Sergio Aguero. Bony’s low amount of minutes in the game mean that not a lot can be judged of him, but he did have a glorious opportunity to add a sixth for City when international team-mate Yaya Toure played the ball through to him, only for his effort to be saved by Krul.
If Dzeko can carry on with performances like the one against Newcastle, then his future still very much lies with City. On his day, he can be a real handful for defenders; he possesses a powerful shot on either foot; is great in the air and is excellent at knocking four past Tottenham!
Many were wondering whether Bony’s arrival would signal the end of Edin’s time on the blue side of Manchester, but it seems to have rejuvenated him. Not that us City fans are complaining. More of the same please, Edin.
