STEW'S PREVIEWS
MIDDLESBROUGH v MANCHESTER CITY
FA CUP THIRD ROUND
Stewart Flaherty, 31 Dec 2009
BORO EYE VIEW
Middlesbrough will begin 2010 as they hope to end it, playing against Premier League
opposition. Gordon Strachan has had a difficult start, but January will very likely
be a busy period, and this could be the last chance for some players to prove their
long term worth to the cause, before fresh faces are brought in. The FA Cup has
brought some exciting memories for Boro fans, who will hope for an upset and another
run in this fixture. Boro however are big underdogs in this tie.
Flashback fans will enjoy this footage of Manchester City's 2008 visit to the
Riverside, or maybe it will just be a painful reminder of how far Boro have fallen
in 2009; YouTube video
CITY EYE VIEW
These are exciting times for the blue half of Manchester. Millions of pounds are available for
transfers, many superstars have already been brought in, and three time Serie A winning manager
Roberto Mancini has recently been appointed. As well as making a run at the coveted
Premiership top four, Manchester City have a real chance of making the FA Cup their
first major domestic honour since 1976, and will not take this game lightly.
Flashback fans will enjoy this footage of Manchester City's last FA Cup victory in
1969, when every City player was an Englishman, how times have changed; YouTube video
Column Continues Below...
HEAD TO HEAD
Goalkeepers
Boro - Danny Coyne has won the starting role in the Boro goal, as well as a battle
with Brad Jones. Coyne will look to prove to Gordon Strachan that he is good enough for
another goalkeeper not to be brought in during the transfer window. Although vastly
experienced in the Football League, Coyne has played few games against Premier
League opposition.
City - Shay Given is no stranger to Boro fan's. As a long time nemesis as goalkeeper
for Newcastle United, Given produced a man of the match performance in his City
debut against Middlesbrough, shutting out the Boro in a 1-0 defeat which played a
part in the club's slide to relegation; YouTube video
With over 100 caps for the Republic of Ireland, and having played well in the 2002
World Cup, Given is one of the top goalkeepers in the English game.
Edge - City. Given is a truly top class goalkeeper, and will be a formidable barrier.
Boro Defence vs Manchester City Attack
Boro - Chris Riggott made a strong return to action against Barnsley, whether he
cements a starting role, or whether his start was part of a shuffle caused by two
games in three days will show over time.
Emanuel Pogatetz has the most experience of the backline and his performance will be important against a very intimidating City front line. Justin Hoyte has performed well of late at left back, and Tony McMahon looks set to continue on the right.
Edge - City.
City field an outstanding frontline with a lot of depth. Their leading goal
scorer is Carlos Tevez, a Champions league winner with rivals Manchester United,
Tevez has scored twelve goals this season since moving across the Manchester divide.
He possesses pace, strength, and a phenomenal work rate. He is a real threat who will
be difficult to cope with.
Emanuel Adebayor has six goals but may well miss this game as he prepares for the
African Cup of Nations with Togo. This still leaves City with an (cliché alert!)
embarrassment of riches to choose from, including Robinho, Roque Santa Cruz, and
pantomime villain Craig Bellamy.
Robinho's work rate and future at the club have recently been put into question; YouTube video
Roque Santa Cruz has a proven Premier League goal scoring pedigree with Blackburn
Rovers and is both a Champions League winner, and five time Bundesliga winner with Bayern
Munich. He also has 61 caps for Paraguay, and will feature in the World Cup this
summer.
Craig Bellamy is the very definition of a player opposition fans love to hate. The
Wales captain has a history of trouble including an alleged assault of then
Liverpool teammate John-Arne Riise with a golf club. However, he is a popular figure
with the City faithful, and few people are aware he has taken the time to set up a
charitable football academy in Sierra Leone; The Craig Bellamy Foundation
Edge - City. No matter which front pair take the field, Middlesbrough will struggle
to cope with an outstanding front line.
Midfield
Boro - Julio Arca is another player who started at Barnsley. This game will help
show if that was also part of a reshuffle, or if he is a starter going forward. Arca,
while good on the ball, would be no physical match for the City midfield. Isaiah
Osborne is unavailable due to the terms of his loan, but Rhys Williams brings
athleticism and short to medium range passing ability to the table. Williams' inexperience and lack of positional awareness could be exposed by a superior City unit however.
Boro do offer a threat on the flanks, with both former England Under-21 international Adam Johnson
and Gary O'Neil possessing the ability to cause Manchester City problems. It may
be prudent for Boro to switch O'Neil into a more central role for this fixture with
Osborne missing.
City- Although the attacking threats naturally gain the most press clippings, the
City midfield is anchored by the stabilizing presence of Gareth Barry, Vincent
Kompany and Nigel De Jong, all of whom are solid defensive presences and good passers of the
ball. In previous games City have been known to deploy two holding midfielders in a
4-2-3-1 formation. Boro may be wise to try and match the extra man rather than
sticking with a traditional line of four.
Gareth Barry was one of many big name signings to join Eastlands over the summer,
choosing City after being heavily courted by Liverpool. Barry is a full England
international and his stabilizing presence in midfield helped him force his way into
the team, breaking up the long term pairing of Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard, with
Gerrard being deployed out wide to accommodate the excellent Barry.
Kompany is a very athletic physical presence with a 6 foot 4 inch frame. Also
capable of playing in defence, he is a Belgian international with 27 caps.
De Jong, a graduate of the famed Ajax youth academy is another defensive midfielder who also
possesses solid technical ability. De Jong has 39 caps and is very likely to play
in the upcoming World Cup for Holland.
The attacking flair in the City midfield comes from some very quick wingers and the
well timed forward runs of Stephen Ireland, these players coming in behind a very
talented front line make Manchester City a very difficult side to deal with when
they are in possession.
Stephen Ireland began his career with the Cobh Ramblers club, famous for producing
Roy Keane. A number of British clubs rejected him after trials as a teenager due to
him suffering Osgood-Schlatter disease in his mid teen's. Those doubts proved to be
ill founded as he has blossomed into an outstanding player, scoring 15 goals for
Manchester City and tallying over 100 appearances. Ireland also made a promising
start to international football, netting four goals in six appearances for the Republic of
Ireland. However, he has not played since a controversy surrounding him leaving the
team before a crucial qualifying fixture in 2007.
The wingers in the City squad are Martin Petrov and Shaun Wright-Phillips, both of
whom provide pace and attacking threat in abundance.
Shaun Wright-Phillips has served Manchester City well both on the field and in the
bank balance! An academy graduate he played 153 games for Manchester City between
1999 and 2005, he was then sold to Chelsea for a 21 million pound profit before
returning to the Blue's in 2008. In between, Shaun played 82 games for Chelsea
winning a Premier League and an FA Cup. Shaun has pace and looks to beat full backs
to the byline, he will certainly be a handful for the athletic Hoyte. A full
England international, he has 29 caps, and has scored five goals. A strong contender
to be on the plane for South Africa with England come the summer.
Martin Petrov is a full Bulgarian international with 75 caps and 19 goals.
Lightning quick and a goal scoring threat, Petrov has played top division football in
his native Bulgaria, Germany, Spain, and England.
Edge - City. They have good athletic holding midfielders, and the pace and attacking ability
to overrun a comparatively inexperienced Boro unit.
Boro Attack vs City Defence
Boro - Boro have a lightweight front line at present, and will be looking to add to
their quality up front in January. Any doubt on that front was erased with the
following comments by Gordon Strachan this week after the loan spells of Dave Kitson
and Marcus Bent ended;
"We have not got a single striker at the club. Jeremie Aliadiere is a footballer,
Luke Williams is a footballer, Marvin Emnes is a winger, Jonathan Franks isn't a
striker. Not one of them is a striker, as their goal scoring records tell you"; Strachan article
With Jeremie Aliadiere questionable due to a sore ankle, Boro may line up with very flimsy front line, and may be just as well sticking to a lone target man and combating City with an extra midfielder. Johnson and O'Neil certainly have the ability to attack from midfield, as attested to by the fact that Johnson is the team's leading scorer with 10 goals.
Edge - City will likely be missing the excellent Kolo Toure due to him representing
the Ivory Coast in the African Nations Cup. England international Joleon Lescott,
and Nedum Onuoha are also questionable with injuries.
Pablo Zabaleta is an Argentina international who won an Olympic Gold medal in 2008.
England international Micah Richards is a phenomenal athlete who can play as a
central defender, or a right back with an excellent ability to overlap and join the
attack.
Richards was one of England's best performers in the ultimately
unsuccessful Euro 2008 qualifying campaign.
The excellent Wayne Bridge plays at
left back, and is a former Strachan player from his Southampton days. Spanish
fullback Javier Garrido made a goal scoring return to action in City's last game, a
3-0 win at Wolves.
Edge - City. City are missing some influential defenders, but a Boro front line led
possibly by Franks and Williams will be unlikely to captialise. Boro's biggest
threats will come from midfielders joining the attack or set pieces.
Fans
Boro - It seems every loss is a setback to the mentality of an impatient and
fractured crowd. The home win against Scunthorpe was quickly cancelled out by the defeat
at Barnsley. It will be interesting to see if the small crowds are increased by a
visit from a high flying Premier League team with a number of star names.
City - Many City fans will hold dreams of winning a trophy this season, and this
could be it. City are a contender this season and their depth means rotating the
squad later in the campaign still leaves them with a strong line up. The fans will know
this and will look to make this step one of a good Cup run. The away end could be very
full.
Edge - City. Many Boro fans will be more interested in promotion, and the kind of
atmosphere generated in the glorious cup runs of the mid 90's and the McLaren days
seem a long way off right now.
Prediction
City win. A side with depth, flair, and goals from a number of sources should be
too much for Boro to handle. The inexperience of some Boro players could be
painfully exposed in this fixture.
