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Some Random Website says that Man City will spend up to £150m this summer to transfer their squad, so it must be true. But even if the number was made up for a few extra hits (heresy, I know), there can be little doubt that Man City and Mancini will spend whatever they want. The limitations will have more to do with who would say yes than whatever their price tag would be.
Last year, everyone made fun of them for going striker-crazy with Santa-Cruz, Tevez, and Adebayor. And who have they supposedly been targeting this year?
David Villa. And
Torres.
I get it; Craig Bellamy was brutal down the stretch this year. But adding another target man up front doesn't seem like the solution to their woes. Playing a front line of Tevez, Adebayor, and World Class Striker X seems like overkill on the finishing front while lacking playmaking, crossing and creativity. Wasn't that the problem this year? Even when Mancini ran out an attacking lineup, they would sometimes struggle to score because, frankly, the link-ups moving the ball from back to front seemed totally absent at times.
Shouldn't City be pursuing a great winger on the right to mimic the rampaging runs and calm in-the-box creativity of LW Adam Johnson? Shouldn't they be looking for the next Fabregas or Xavi to pull the strings from midfield? Why does everyone (including them, apparently) just assume they should buy all the strikers in the world?
Adam Johnson was a fantastic signing for them -- he's young, pacey, creative, and already worth at least £10m more than they paid. City ought to grab a few more players like him and then let them grow together with their already world-class pairing of Tevez and Adebayor up front.
If City went after
Javi Martinez from Athletic Bilbao for midfield playmaking,
Rodrigo Palacio from Genoa to run down the right and create chances, and maybe a great LB to replace overrated Wayne Bridge --
Capdevila, maybe? -- then they could field an 11 of:
Goal: Hart/Given
Defense: Zabeleta Kompany Toure
Capdevila
Midfield:
Palacio Martinez Barry Johnson
Strikers: Adebayor Tevez
Bench: Lescott, de Jong, Wright-Phillips, Bellamy, Santa Cruz, Bridge, Vieira, etc.
Looks like a title winner to me -- and probably at the cost of just one elite striker to boot.
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Posted by
Marc on 10:52 AM •
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(Pointless joke because only Auguste will get it) Mancini says: “Will I buy as many strikers as I please? I think I will.”
It’s interesting when it seems that managers take on the silly fan notion of “the more strikers, the better”. You’re totally right that it’s overkill, because people forget that there’s a lot more that needs to happen than just knocking it into the net. And of course, the arrogance factor kicks in, where they all want to be the ones scoring the goals.
I grew up a Man City fan—way way back when PBS was showing “Star Soccer” there was a match where this team won, 5-1 with some beautiful play. It was Man City, and I decided I’d support them then. Little did I know they wouldn’t score five goals in a game again for 25 years… 
Semi-related: How do you guys plan to build/rebuild a readership? I only found it because I bookmarked the first iteration, and I ran a bookmark check to see if anything changed. I don’t think many people do that very often.
Marc is playing 12-dimensional chess, James. JUST WAIT.
Nah, you know - same old ways…Twitter (gathering followers there through following others and RTing and such, and posting links to our own stuff), Facebook I guess though I don’t use it anymore, linking back in comments on other sites…etc etc. Feel free to send people our way 
We’re going to do our best to make it worth your while!
Citeh is coming to Portland this summer.
YOU’RE GOING HOME IN A PORTLAND AMBULANCE
clap clap clap-clap-clap-clap
clap-clap-clap-clap
clap clap
Hey James! My strategy is to enjoy writing about footy regardless of the size of the audience. I am less concerned with creating a big site than I am with having fun on my own terms. I think that’s the healthiest approach, you know?
That said, Alison’s right that we’ll use normal channels to push content, plus as the World Cup draws near, I think we can cross-post/promote at Pandagon to bring a bunch of folks over who’ll be curious to learn more as they tune in as casual fans.
Fair enough… Just that diversity is fun!
In another fitba book I’m reading (<u>The Global Game</u>), there’s an article by Simon Kuper about Dutch football, and his return to a visit to England:
When I later returned to England, I met people who loved football, watched their team each weekend, but never kicked a ball. I discovered that in Britain it is hard to get the chance. Between 1981 and 1997, under the Conservative governments of Margaret Thatcher and John Major, about five thousand British playing fields were sold and turned into houses or supermarkets.
Sad, but true…
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(Pointless joke because only Auguste will get it) Mancini says: “Will I buy as many strikers as I please? I think I will.”
It’s interesting when it seems that managers take on the silly fan notion of “the more strikers, the better”. You’re totally right that it’s overkill, because people forget that there’s a lot more that needs to happen than just knocking it into the net. And of course, the arrogance factor kicks in, where they all want to be the ones scoring the goals.