Most of you will know that I'm an ardent Manchester United fan. I don't go out to claim the scalps of Gunners or Koppers, and I don't agree with many of Chelsea's or Manchester City's antics, but here I'll touch on a few tactical observations I've made from an objective standpoint.
Since Manchester City has become the love-child of the Abu Dhabi United group, they've grown from strength to strength on and off the pitch, evolving from a bottom-feeder that Liam Gallagher turned down to a team that will probably finish within the top two in the Barclays Premier League.
The man at the helm of this project, pitch-side at least, is one Roberto Mancini. For a man who finished his playing career at Leicester City, he seems to be doing rather well for himself. Boasting an impressive CV (at least before that stint in Leicester), many questioned his appointment at first, but it seems like he's doing something right. One FA Cup so far means he might even be ahead of the Arab schedule imposed by the Sheikh.
His most successful period by far was as manager of Internazionale, where he won three back-to-back Serie A titles - though one of them will always be "tainted" - and brought Inter back to the pinnacle of Italian football. After replacing Mark Hughes at the Eastlands, it was immediately apparent that the scarfed-one wanted to lay down his own ideas, ideals and identity to an under-achieving Manchester City. Aside from dropping key players like Craig Bellamy (and replacing them with Jo), Mancini attempted to import his successful "Inter Diamond" from the San Siro, the tactical framework that served him so well in Italy.
Connoisseurs of Football Manager might recognize the phrase as a description of Mancini's variation of the "4-4-2 Diamond", or the "narrow 4-1-2-1-2". At Inter, his team-selection invariably revolved around the same rigid, effective principles, which many expected (and have since observed) in England. And lately it's my belief that he's finally done it.
Let's take a look at their starting lineups at Inter and Man City side-by-side:
In defence, Julio Cesar and Joe Hart as a regular, solid goalkeeper. Maicon/Maxwell and Richards/Kolarov as strong-running attacking fullbacks. Two steady centre-backs (Burdisso, Chivu, Materazzi/Kompany, Lescott, Kolo Toure).
And the midfield is where it gets interesting. At its base, Mancini often deploys one anchorman, a destroyer-type, a role fulfilled by Cambiasso and De Jong, accompanied by two other "Box-to-Box" type of midfielders, of which Mancini would regularly rotate at Inter (someone partnering Zanetti, primarily). These three act as a shield for the defence while the remaining players do the damage in attack. At City, players like James Milner, Gareth Barry, and Yaya Toure fit here. It's also interesting that Mancini brought one Patrick Vieira to Eastlands as well, someone who fits this system perfectly.
At the base of his attack, or the head of the midfield, is his playmaker, the Trequartista, if you may. It's easy to see who fills that spot now, with the ever-elegant David Silva pulling all the strings. Inter continued with this even after Mancini left, by recruiting Wesley Sneijder to replace such names as Figo and Recoba. Finishing off the lineup, and the chances, are two strong and skilful forwards. Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Julio Cruz, Adriano, Hernan Crespo, and Mario Balotelli fit the bill at Inter, while Man City currently boast Sergio Aguero, Carlos Tevez, Ediz Dzeko, and a repeat appearance from Balotelli. And Jo.
Over the past 18 months or so, we've seen David Silva perform magnificently "in the hole" behind one or two strikers - usually just the one when Tevez is fit and mentally-sound - and it's something he continues to do. Many point to the recent Bolton-Man City game and call it a regular or flat 4-4-2 that Mancini put out, but after looking at the game in great detail for hours (no exaggeration), I've found a few things.
1. Yaya Toure just about never stepped ahead of Milner and Barry.
2. Milner and Barry covered a lot of ground up and down the pitch.
3. David Silva spent more time in the middle of the field, and not the right wing, than anywhere else.
4. David Silva made few, if any tackles, even going to far to allow an opponent 3 yards from him to run unimpeded while another team-mate would close him down.
5. Edin Dzeko and Sergio Aguero linked up especially well with each other, fed by Silva.
Point 1 is an interesting one, and would probably not have been observed had Nigel De Jong been fit (Toure would have displaced Barry, perhaps the last vestige of the Hughes era). Still, it was a role he played well at Barcelona, despite his obvious ability in storming forward. When De Jong is fit again, I would expect the Dutchman to play the Anchorman, and Toure and Milner probably to flank him, as in Point 2. Points 3, 4 and 5 perhaps best illustrate why I feel that Mancini has finally gotten his "Inter Diamond" working at Manchester City; David Silva's role as the Trequartista. And it's working beautifully.
Sharp-eyed readers and quick-minded football analysts would be quick to point out that this system leaves little room for the likes of Adam Johnson, and I agree. Mancini's 4-2-3-1 perhaps does, but that necessitates playing the lone figure of Carlos Tevez or Mario Balotelli, neither of which are dependable for their own specific reasons. And past and recent history suggests that the ways of last season at a Plan B, at best, and that the pairing of Aguero-Dzeko, supplied by Silva and guarded by the others, is the way Mancini envisions his team.
How this will pan out against the likes of Manchester United and Chelsea (with Andre Villas-Boas' tactics my next project) remain to be seen of course. Mancini, so long accused of being too negative, had a team that scored more than "attacking" Tottenham Hotspur last season, and also led Inter to a record number of points and goals during his last season at the club. And witht he addition of Samir Nasri, this whole analysis my become moot by the time anyone reads this. Another factor to consider is the possibility that want-away Tevez will change his mind and Mancini his tactics to accommodate his former skipper, but for now, I'm fairly sure this is what is actually happening when Man City take the field, and not the 4-4-2 that you might see flashed on your screen.
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