Tag: Manchester

NASRI SIGNS FOR TURKISH SIDE ANTALYASPOR

‘Out of favour’ Manchester City Midfielder, Samir Nasri has signed a two-year contract for a fee which could see an exponential rise to 3.5m euros(£3.2m)for Turkish professional football club side, Antalyaspor in the Turkish Super Lig.


The France international ends his six-year spell at the Etihad; the midfielder having won two Premier League titles and two League cups since he moved from the North London Side in 2011.

He primarily plays as an attacking midfielder and a winger, although he has also been deployed in centralmidfield in recent times.

The 30 year old midfielder struggled for first team action in recent years and was loaned out to La Liga outfit Sevilla for an undisclosed amount, following the arrival of Pep Guardiola to the Etihad.

Nasri got a nod this summer after his spell in Sevilla netting three goals in 3o appearances and was a surprise inclusion on City’s pre-season’s tour of the United States.

He now joins the likes of Manchester City players [Gael Clichy and Fernando] who have sign for different Professional Turkish League outfits.

Nasri will now join Antalyaspor who are captained by former African Footballer of the year and Blaugrana’sforward Samuel Eto’o. Continue reading NASRI SIGNS FOR TURKISH SIDE ANTALYASPOR

CITY ON AN ALL OUT UPGRADE WAR

Bernado Silva, Ederson, Mendy and many more names have been associated with Manchester City in recent weeks. With Silva and Ederson already confirmed, many more names are set to be stamped on the first team of the Citizens sooner than later.


After undergoing an underwhelming season, the recent wave of talents being directed towards the famed noisy neighbours portrays determined statement of intent on getting back to the level they were when Roberto Mancini led them to their first Premier League trophy 5 years ago.

Of course it is an open secret that PepGuardiola’s being at the helm of affairs is playing a big factor in this monstrous spending spree they seem set to carry on throughout the coming transfer window. When you have a coach like the Spaniard in charge of your club granting his signing wishes is hardly a big deal.

The Citizens were one of the very first heavy weight clubs to make a statements signings. First was Bernando Silva from Monaco and then Ederson, fresh from guarding the white line behind the sticks of Benfica to the Portuguese championship rising above Das Bost powered Sporting Lisbon. Continue reading CITY ON AN ALL OUT UPGRADE WAR

NEVILLE PICKS CITY BEST XI

Manchester United legend Gary Neville has selected his best XI in a Man City jersey.


The Premier League retired star, who played for almost two decades, named the players from his experience. The Pundit named English keeper Joe Hart as his best City shot stopper.

In defence, he named Vincent Kompany. He said the Belgian skipper at his peak was one of the best in the league’s history. In the right back role, he named Pablo Zabaleta. To complete the backline, he listed JoleonLescott and Gael Clichy.

In the battle for the midfield slots, Ivorian Yaya Toure won it. Neville rated Toure in his prime alongside greats as Patrick Vieira, Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard. He paired Toure with Fernandinho. In the wide positions, Neville named David Silva and Kevin De Bruyne.

The pundit said De Bruyne was a “world-class talent who wins games, sets up goals and is lovely to watch.” He said considering the talents City have had, they should have won more titles. He named Toure, Sergio Aguero, Silva and Kompanyas some of the best players in Premier League history. Continue reading NEVILLE PICKS CITY BEST XI

MANCHESTER CITY TO FACE ARSENAL IN FA CUP SEMI

The FA cup semi final draw is out. Manchester City are set to play Arsenal while Chelsea would face Tottenham Hotspurs in the last four.

The dates for the games are 22nd and 23rd of next month. It would be Arsenal’s record 29th FA Cup semi final but they face a tough clash against Pep Guardiola’s men.

Chelsea fought Manchester United en route to making the last four of the tournament, defeating them 1-0 courtesy of N’Golo Kante. Spurs thrashed Milwall 6-0 on Sunday to set-up the meeting against the Premier League leaders.

Arsenal – champions in 2014 and 2015 – completed a 5-0 rout over non-League giant killers Lincoln City at the Emirates on Saturday. Manchester City would be in the semi final of the tournament for the first time in four years. They defeated Middlesbrough 2-0 to qualify.
Chelsea legend Frank Lampard says the clash would be an interesting one, since Spurs have been a source of worry for the Blues this term. Continue reading MANCHESTER CITY TO FACE ARSENAL IN FA CUP SEMI

GUARDIOLA STICKS TO HIS GUNS

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola says latest setbacks experienced by his team – most recently the 4-2 mauling by Leicester City will not force him to change his on-pitch philosophy.


The Citizens are not having the best of times in this season’s league campaign as they have won only one game in their last five fixtures despite making an impressive start to the season that saw them sprint to the top of the EPL standings.

In a post match conference the coach was quoted saying:

“I cannot do something I don’t feel. You have to win immediately. If you don’t win, you will be in trouble and when you don’t win, there are many reasons.”

Saturday brought another reminder of the need for fans and soccer purists to back down a bit and lower the pedestal they might have placed the former Bayern Munich coach.

Just as it was made clear a week ago, Man City are easily unlocked by forceful fast-paced counter-attack minded oppositions. It is what led Chelsea to beating The Citizens at Etihad. It begs the question as to what more evidence one could get when the fact that Antonio Conte’s side scored from all three shots they had on target is taken into consideration. Continue reading GUARDIOLA STICKS TO HIS GUNS

Guardiola Promises to Treat EFL Cup Clash with United As a Final

In the past, the EFL Cup – or the League Cup as it is widely known – was not treated with a lot of importance by managers of top clubs.


The competition was seen as not worthy of the time and effort, but this attitude has certainly changed in the last couple of years. José Mourinho is probably the first manager to consider the League Cup seriously. The Portuguese saw this as a great opportunity to infuse confidence within the team, as the title is handed out midway through the season.

Manchester City certainly have bigger things on their mind, but manager Pep Guardiola confirmed that he will be treating the upcoming EFL Cup game against Manchester United like a final. Guardiola managed a win at Old Trafford in the league a few weeks back. A repeat of the same would put City in the last eight of the competition. Acknowledging the number of games his team has played in the last few weeks, Guardiola says that he will rotate his squad for the game at Old Trafford. Continue reading Guardiola Promises to Treat EFL Cup Clash with United As a Final

Pep Guardiola Places Barcelona as the Best Yet

Manchester City have once again been given a very tough draw as far as the Champions League is concerned.


The blues have been drawn against Barcelona for yet another campaign. In the past, they have struggled to get the better against the Spanish club largely because of the huge gulf in quality. After the arrival of former Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola, it has been suggested that the English club is now more capable of taking on the illustrious Spanish club. Guardiola, though, has downplayed the English team’s quality as he still believes that Barcelona are the superior team.

Despite having won almost 15 titles with Barcelona, the former club captain believes that Luis Enrique been doing a great job at the Camp Nou. City are now favourites to qualify from the group stages as the runners-up and not as the winners. This would affect them severely when it comes to the draw for the last 16 knockout stages. After having failed to win the Champions League title with Bayern Munich, one of the biggest challenges for Guardiola will be to win the European title with City. The team came close to achieving Europe including last season after featuring in the semi-final against eventual winners Real Madrid.
Continue reading Pep Guardiola Places Barcelona as the Best Yet

Pep Guardiola has confirmed that he has banned over with players

Pep Guardiola has confirmed that he has banned over with players from training with the first team.


This is one of the first major actions taken by the new manager since he came to Manchester City in the summer. Guardiola has been seen as a revolutionary coach with grand plans to make City as one of the top clubs in the world. City may have won every major honour in the Premier League, but they have fallen consistently short when it comes to the Champions League. The latter is also the aim for Guardiola since he failed to win major European honours at his previous club Bayern Munich.

Guardiola was expected to bring in a lot of changes when he came to the club to replace Manuel Pellegrini. It has been the order of the day, but none would have expected changes to be made at such a large scale straightaway. City begin their Premier League campaign with a home match against Sunderland on August 13. As they prepare intensively for the start of the new season, Guardiola says that there is no room in his squad for the players who rely heavily upon junk food. He has also ordered overweight players to stay away from training.
Continue reading Pep Guardiola has confirmed that he has banned over with players

Manchester City did not attack Real Madrid enough according to Chris Waddle

Former England player Chris Waddle said that Manchester City respected Real Madrid too much and did not put them under pressure in the second leg of the game.

City was beaten 1-0 in Spain after conceding a goalless draw in the first leg.


Waddle said that Manchester City lacked creativity and attacking intent in Spain and that they could have done much better. He stated that they did not play with any tempo in their game and that it was too easy for Real Madrid. However, he believes that they do not have to be discouraged with the defeat as they are signs that they are progressing.

He added that it is not a humiliation to be beaten by Real Madrid, but it is just the fact that they could have done better. For him, Manchester City was a bit afraid of Real Madrid and forgot how to play their own football. For him, they had nothing to lose in Spain, and they should have attacked from the start of the game. He said that Manchester City had plenty of attacking options in the team, but they were not on display in the game against Madrid. Continue reading Manchester City did not attack Real Madrid enough according to Chris Waddle