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Round&White: What would be a dream season for you?
BlueBlog: A dream season for me would be seeing Manchester City lift the Premier League trophy for the first time in our history. We are competing in the Champions League for the first time, so winning that would be best described as optimistic, but not out of the question. It felt good to finally win something and winning the FA Cup again is probably our best chance of another trophy, the atmosphere of a competitive Manchester derby at Wembley is something that will never grow old. The league cup will most likely be used to rest the majority of first team players and to give some of the younger/fringe players some pitch time, therefore winning the cup is possible, but highly unlikely.
Round&White: What would be your worst nightmare?
BlueBlog: I think that most people would think the answer is us not winning anything at all this year, but it’s not. Unfortunately, it is something that all Manchester City fans are used to and something we definitely do not take for granted when we do win. My worst nightmare would be us completely under achieving, it would be exciting for us to at least challenge for the Premier League trophy and it would be a great experience if we could progress to at least the quarter finals of the Champions League. It’s not like we are not going to be back the following year stronger & more experienced, time is most definitely on our side.
Round&White: What do you think of your club's summer transfer activity?
BlueBlog: I could not be happier, the most important things for me were to sign a new left back and replace the departing Tevez, which we have done in a way that was even better than I expected. In my spare time I write a Manchester City blog, I identified Gael Clichy as an ideal signing long before we were ever linked to him, so to see us sign him so quickly and for so cheap, was really pleasing. I always hoped that Tevez would stay for two reasons, one being his worth ethic and the other because I couldn’t think of anyone that we could realistically sign to replace him. Aguero never even came to mind, I just assumed that he was out of the question. I have always been a fan of Aguero, he works so hard for the team and is probably the most similar style of player to Tevez in world football, so when I heard that we were linked with him, I was over the blue moon (pardon the pun). I knew that he was away on international duty with Zabaleta and Tevez, so I was hoping that they would have a little word in his ear and to tell him all about our club, which Zabaleta did… and it worked.
I still feel that if we are going to challenge for another trophy this year we will need to replace Patrick Vieira but with someone that effectively can replace Gareth Barry. I would like to see a midfield of De Jong alongside Yaya Toure with someone with a bit more of a creative flair than Yaya Toure (who occupied that position last season) playing behind the striker. We have been linked with Samir Nasri plenty of times now and I understand that he wants to leave so why not go in all ‘gunners’ blazing and sign him? He wouldn’t cost an arm and a leg because his contract runs out at the end of the season and he would fit in perfectly to our style of play.
BlueBlog: A dream season for me would be seeing Manchester City lift the Premier League trophy for the first time in our history. We are competing in the Champions League for the first time, so winning that would be best described as optimistic, but not out of the question. It felt good to finally win something and winning the FA Cup again is probably our best chance of another trophy, the atmosphere of a competitive Manchester derby at Wembley is something that will never grow old. The league cup will most likely be used to rest the majority of first team players and to give some of the younger/fringe players some pitch time, therefore winning the cup is possible, but highly unlikely.
Round&White: What would be your worst nightmare?
BlueBlog: I think that most people would think the answer is us not winning anything at all this year, but it’s not. Unfortunately, it is something that all Manchester City fans are used to and something we definitely do not take for granted when we do win. My worst nightmare would be us completely under achieving, it would be exciting for us to at least challenge for the Premier League trophy and it would be a great experience if we could progress to at least the quarter finals of the Champions League. It’s not like we are not going to be back the following year stronger & more experienced, time is most definitely on our side.
Round&White: What do you think of your club's summer transfer activity?
BlueBlog: I could not be happier, the most important things for me were to sign a new left back and replace the departing Tevez, which we have done in a way that was even better than I expected. In my spare time I write a Manchester City blog, I identified Gael Clichy as an ideal signing long before we were ever linked to him, so to see us sign him so quickly and for so cheap, was really pleasing. I always hoped that Tevez would stay for two reasons, one being his worth ethic and the other because I couldn’t think of anyone that we could realistically sign to replace him. Aguero never even came to mind, I just assumed that he was out of the question. I have always been a fan of Aguero, he works so hard for the team and is probably the most similar style of player to Tevez in world football, so when I heard that we were linked with him, I was over the blue moon (pardon the pun). I knew that he was away on international duty with Zabaleta and Tevez, so I was hoping that they would have a little word in his ear and to tell him all about our club, which Zabaleta did… and it worked.
I still feel that if we are going to challenge for another trophy this year we will need to replace Patrick Vieira but with someone that effectively can replace Gareth Barry. I would like to see a midfield of De Jong alongside Yaya Toure with someone with a bit more of a creative flair than Yaya Toure (who occupied that position last season) playing behind the striker. We have been linked with Samir Nasri plenty of times now and I understand that he wants to leave so why not go in all ‘gunners’ blazing and sign him? He wouldn’t cost an arm and a leg because his contract runs out at the end of the season and he would fit in perfectly to our style of play.
Round&White: Who will be your most important player/s this season?
BlueBlog: Vincent Kompany will be important for us this season, it looks as if he is going to take over as captain from Tevez and unlike some of the dawdlers (not mentioning any names, Balotelli and Kolarov) he has a fire in his belly. De Jong does the ever important role of breaking up the play as well as anyone in the business, he also improved greatly on the ball last season and can turn and create space for himself with ease.
However, our most important player will be David Silva, he is the creative mastermind of the team. He is on another level to some of the players and is the all important link between the midfield and the strikers that, may I add, Chelsea were lacking last season.
Round&White: Any players you would happily see the back of?
BlueBlog: I wouldn’t say that I would happily see the back of Wayne Bridge, Nedum Onuoha, Emmanual Adebayor and Roque Santa Cruz but I would not miss them if they left. The majority of them are on a silly amount of money and it is important that they leave the club to help free up some of the funds so that we can abide by the new financial fair play regulations. Adebayor is a talent and someone that could score 20+ goals a season in this Manchester City team, but he spends too much time being negative and causing disruptions with team-mates. It is a similar story with Craig Bellamy, his speed alone is a massive asset and if he was playing on the left wing with David Silva behind the striker, I am sure he would cut holes in defenses week in, week out. Unfortunately it’s not like that, he spends too much time having an opinion.
Round&White: Do you have the best manager for the job?
BlueBlog: I really like Mancini, he doesn’t mess about… We have seen that with the admission from the first team of Adebayor and Bellamy. It sends a clear message out to the rest of the squad that if you’re not here to be positive, you’re not here at all. It does have both its pros and cons but at least you can’t say he isn’t consistent, with the exception of his love child Balotelli that is, although Balotelli has never spoke negatively about the squad or the club.
On the pitch I love what he has done, he has made us a force to be reckoned with. People will moan that we are boring and defensive but he isn’t here to have a giggle, he is here to win trophies and he has done that in his first full season in charge. He is a winner and always will be a winner, so to have someone like that who also has a nice personality you have to feel grateful.
Round&White: Opposition players that you respect?
BlueBlog: The one player that came straight to mind was Wayne Rooney, despite the fact that he plays for Manchester United you have to admire his ability as a footballer. He gives his all for the team and like Tevez, I feel that he earns his wages. I know there will be some Manchester City fans reading and disagreeing but no England fan can say that they don’t like Rooney when he plays for England. If it wasn’t for Rooney we would be relying on players like Darren Bent, Peter Crouch and Jermaine Defoe and nobody wants that in their life.
I also have a lot of respect for Jack Wilshire, he could easily get out of what appears to be the sinking ship that is Arsenal Football Club, but he has told fans that he is a true Gunner and will not be leaving any time soon. I personally would love a player like Wilshire at Manchester City and I am sure that if he was available this summer then Mancini would have snapped him up before you could say Fabregas.
BlueBlog: Vincent Kompany will be important for us this season, it looks as if he is going to take over as captain from Tevez and unlike some of the dawdlers (not mentioning any names, Balotelli and Kolarov) he has a fire in his belly. De Jong does the ever important role of breaking up the play as well as anyone in the business, he also improved greatly on the ball last season and can turn and create space for himself with ease.
However, our most important player will be David Silva, he is the creative mastermind of the team. He is on another level to some of the players and is the all important link between the midfield and the strikers that, may I add, Chelsea were lacking last season.
Round&White: Any players you would happily see the back of?
BlueBlog: I wouldn’t say that I would happily see the back of Wayne Bridge, Nedum Onuoha, Emmanual Adebayor and Roque Santa Cruz but I would not miss them if they left. The majority of them are on a silly amount of money and it is important that they leave the club to help free up some of the funds so that we can abide by the new financial fair play regulations. Adebayor is a talent and someone that could score 20+ goals a season in this Manchester City team, but he spends too much time being negative and causing disruptions with team-mates. It is a similar story with Craig Bellamy, his speed alone is a massive asset and if he was playing on the left wing with David Silva behind the striker, I am sure he would cut holes in defenses week in, week out. Unfortunately it’s not like that, he spends too much time having an opinion.
Round&White: Do you have the best manager for the job?
BlueBlog: I really like Mancini, he doesn’t mess about… We have seen that with the admission from the first team of Adebayor and Bellamy. It sends a clear message out to the rest of the squad that if you’re not here to be positive, you’re not here at all. It does have both its pros and cons but at least you can’t say he isn’t consistent, with the exception of his love child Balotelli that is, although Balotelli has never spoke negatively about the squad or the club.
On the pitch I love what he has done, he has made us a force to be reckoned with. People will moan that we are boring and defensive but he isn’t here to have a giggle, he is here to win trophies and he has done that in his first full season in charge. He is a winner and always will be a winner, so to have someone like that who also has a nice personality you have to feel grateful.
Round&White: Opposition players that you respect?
BlueBlog: The one player that came straight to mind was Wayne Rooney, despite the fact that he plays for Manchester United you have to admire his ability as a footballer. He gives his all for the team and like Tevez, I feel that he earns his wages. I know there will be some Manchester City fans reading and disagreeing but no England fan can say that they don’t like Rooney when he plays for England. If it wasn’t for Rooney we would be relying on players like Darren Bent, Peter Crouch and Jermaine Defoe and nobody wants that in their life.
I also have a lot of respect for Jack Wilshire, he could easily get out of what appears to be the sinking ship that is Arsenal Football Club, but he has told fans that he is a true Gunner and will not be leaving any time soon. I personally would love a player like Wilshire at Manchester City and I am sure that if he was available this summer then Mancini would have snapped him up before you could say Fabregas.
Round&White: Opposition players that you despise?
BlueBlog: Wayne Rooney, although I respect his footballing ability, I do not like his conduct. Whether it’s him swearing down the camera for no apparent reason (twice) or gesturing something in front of us Manchester City fans, he isn’t the nicest of people sometimes. I don’t like the way that he snarls down his nose and that he doesn’t show a great deal of respect for anyone around him. He consistently swears at the match officials and is a poor role model to the millions of children that look up to him as a footballer. He is slowly improving as he matures but I understand the difference between passion and ignorance, as do the FA...
I also dislike Victor Anichebe as a footballer, I would love for somebody to try and explain to me how someone that has been a professional striker since 2006 can only score 8 senior goals and still be playing at the highest level. I suppose that only David Moyes can answer that question because I bet if you asked Victor, he wouldn’t have a clue!
Round&White: Best away fans/ground in your league?
BlueBlog: The best away fans (although not in our league) that I have witnessed myself at the Etihad Stadium have to be Nottingham Forest back in 2009, we lost the game 3-0 eventually and they didn’t half make some noise. It was an FA Cup tie, they took the lead in the 38th minute and from that moment on they just sang their hearts out.
The Manchester City fans make some noise away from home too though you know, ask any Manchester United fan that was at Wembley for the FA Cup semi final...
Round&White: Which teams do you really want to beat this season?
BlueBlog: It would be nice to do the double over Manchester United again, we only took one point of them last season which is strangely unusual for us. However, I feel that we need to start taking points off the smaller teams in the Premier League such as Wigan, Wolves, Swansea, QPR and Norwich. We had a good record overall against most of the teams in the top third of the league last season but we always took our foot of the gas against teams that we should be beating.
Round&White: Finally, where do you honestly think you will finish?
BlueBlog: I was impressed with the way that we finished the season last term, you could see that the team had bonded and we put together a good run of wins to eventually secure an unexpected 3rd place finish. I feel that we can improve on this yet again and I honestly believe we can finish at least 2nd this season. I expect us to remain in the title race until the end and I feel a 2nd place finish would be a successful season.
BlueBlog: Wayne Rooney, although I respect his footballing ability, I do not like his conduct. Whether it’s him swearing down the camera for no apparent reason (twice) or gesturing something in front of us Manchester City fans, he isn’t the nicest of people sometimes. I don’t like the way that he snarls down his nose and that he doesn’t show a great deal of respect for anyone around him. He consistently swears at the match officials and is a poor role model to the millions of children that look up to him as a footballer. He is slowly improving as he matures but I understand the difference between passion and ignorance, as do the FA...
I also dislike Victor Anichebe as a footballer, I would love for somebody to try and explain to me how someone that has been a professional striker since 2006 can only score 8 senior goals and still be playing at the highest level. I suppose that only David Moyes can answer that question because I bet if you asked Victor, he wouldn’t have a clue!
Round&White: Best away fans/ground in your league?
BlueBlog: The best away fans (although not in our league) that I have witnessed myself at the Etihad Stadium have to be Nottingham Forest back in 2009, we lost the game 3-0 eventually and they didn’t half make some noise. It was an FA Cup tie, they took the lead in the 38th minute and from that moment on they just sang their hearts out.
The Manchester City fans make some noise away from home too though you know, ask any Manchester United fan that was at Wembley for the FA Cup semi final...
Round&White: Which teams do you really want to beat this season?
BlueBlog: It would be nice to do the double over Manchester United again, we only took one point of them last season which is strangely unusual for us. However, I feel that we need to start taking points off the smaller teams in the Premier League such as Wigan, Wolves, Swansea, QPR and Norwich. We had a good record overall against most of the teams in the top third of the league last season but we always took our foot of the gas against teams that we should be beating.
Round&White: Finally, where do you honestly think you will finish?
BlueBlog: I was impressed with the way that we finished the season last term, you could see that the team had bonded and we put together a good run of wins to eventually secure an unexpected 3rd place finish. I feel that we can improve on this yet again and I honestly believe we can finish at least 2nd this season. I expect us to remain in the title race until the end and I feel a 2nd place finish would be a successful season.
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