It’s not all doom and gloom! Jacob Stear gives you five reasons to carry on being optimistic.
Hot academy prospects
Neither Manuel Pellegrini, nor Roberto Mancini before him, seemed to want to really blood our young players in the first team but this surely has to change. With an ageing squad and the restrictions of FFP it’s only a matter of time before attention turns to the academy. Having spent millions on new state of the art facilities at the CFA we shouldn’t have to wait too long before we reap its rewards. Highly rated prospects such as Denis Suarez and Emyr Huws have come and gone having found it too difficult to break into the City first team. We can’t allow that to happen again.
Players like Marcos Lopes, Karim Rekik and Bruno Zuculini must be given serious game time in the first team to allow them to develop. Even if it means struggling for a season the payoff would be worth it in later years when these youngsters come into their prime.
England’s number one
Joe Hart faced serious questions about his ability at points last season and even found himself as an onlooker after a string of high profile errors led Pellegrini to turn to his then understudy Costel Pantilimon. But the rest seemed to have done him good and he finished the season in fine form. This season, and particularly in recent weeks, he’s been back to his commanding best. His performance against Barcelona was breathtakingly brilliant. At 27 he arguably has his best years ahead of him and it’s reassuring to know that we’ll have such a world class goalkeeper between the sticks for years to come.
Summer war-chest
After our most recent humiliating defeat, this time at the hands of Crystal Palace, Manuel Pellegrini hinted that he’d be looking to bring in some high-profile signings in the summer. Rumours suggest that the Chilean, if he’s still Manchester City manager, would have a significant amount of cash to spend on some big names this summer. City have been linked most strongly with Paul Pogba and Raheem Sterling and a marquee signing could be just what the club needs to rejuvenate and refocus it. It could be an exciting summer for the Blues.
In all serious, please Messrs Pellegrini, Soriano and Begiristain, please sign Paul Pogba.
Please.
Silva lining
David Silva is the best player to ever put on a Manchester City shirt. The diminutive Spaniard is a joy to watch and has been terrorising Premier League defences for years now but this season he has been at his scintillating best. He’s added goals to his game and is having his best season in front of goal making him even more of a threat. The 29-year-old is crucial to our team. When he plays, we play.
We saw long spells earlier in the campaign when he was deployed in the number 10 role behind a lone striker. This is far and away his best position, allowing him to find space in between the lines of defence and midfield. The ball is played to him, he spins and then the opposition defence is in trouble. Do they rush to him and risk leaving space behind them, or do they back off and give him the freedom of the pitch to pick out a deadly pass? We should build our entire squad around Silva playing in the hole behind the lone Aguero.
Silva is simply sublime and if we are to get back to our best, he will be at the heart of it.
Still not the worst we’ve seen
Every single Manchester City fan can remember one game in particular that really tested their resolve (for me it’s August 1998, Wrexham at home, 0-0, just awful). We’ve all had to endure “Typical City” over the years and if you’re really honest with yourself, you’ve seen us worse. My first game was a friendly against Blackpool which we drew 1-1. We were pretty dreadful but I was hooked immediately. Some City fans need a little reminder every now and then of just how far we’ve come. We have the third best player in the world, two league titles in three years, an FA Cup, a Capital One Cup and a Community Shield, all since 2011.
I think if you complained to those Blackpool fans who watched that same friendly with me about our current situation their hearts wouldn’t really bleed for you.
