Rochdale v City 0-4
August 4th att 5,500

Two newcomers to the City side. On the left Mike Tarnat who made a very good impression clears the ball.

It was really unusual to see David Seaman in goal for City - right.
He didn't have much to do all game. Only one save later in the game.

Man -of- the- match - possibly Shawn Wright Phillips who improves all the time. He is now starting to score goals and is a workaholic in midfield. Perhaps at times his final pass needs more accuracy.
So what about the new players - Seaman - we know about and his experience will be a godsend.
Tarnat looks very good. His control,l passing and general linkup play gave the impression he had been playing in the side for years!
Bosvelt passed well and there was one excellent example of his defensive qualities with a terrific block tackle.
I don't often get the chance to watch a game from ground level and it gives one a completely different feel of the game. One can really appreciate accurate passing and control.
Keegan now has a stronger squad than last season so the team is likely to be
home
Seaman
Sun, Sommeil, Distin, Tarnat
Wright Phillips, Bosvelt, Sipierski,Sinclair
Fowler, Annelka
away- similar with perhaps Barton coming in for Fowler
bench - Barton, Wanchope, Berkovic(if he stays), Tiatto, Nash
There is also the option of playing just three at the back if required.
Roll on Charlton away.

There were positive signs at the start of the season that a top 6 place was not out of the question. Good away wins at Blackburn and Charlton and comfortable home wins against Villa and Bolton gave lots of hope.There was the odd blip against v Arsenal at home and Wolves away but by mid October we were in fourth position. Difficult to believe now. So what happened to send the team into freefall and to give us the relegation jitters in the final few weeks. The general home form was poor and although on several occasions the opposition were played off the park the inability to score was most frustrating. So who or what was to blame. Probably a combination of things.....
1. The lack of atmosphere at the new stadium. It will take time for both the team and supporters to get used to their new home which is much more sterile than the homely Maine Road.
2. The difficulty of getting anyone to link well with Anelka upfront proved a problem. In goals per game it did not make much difference whether it was Fowler or Wanchope who partnered Anelka upfront. Fowlers initial form was poor but he did improve as the season progressed and then fell away in the last month or so. However I am afraid he is but a shadow of the goalscoring legend he was at Liverpool. I am afraid time has caught up with him and that goalbox speed of thought and action has been lost. Wanchope had bad luck with his injury problems but came back with vengeance at the end of the season and his linking with Anelka looked very promising. Perhaps this might be the pairing of choice at the start of next season. Anelka himself proved a bit of an enigma. Easily City's highest scorer with a total of 24 league and cup goals he missed many more but so do many strikers. In the last few games ,the Middlesbrough game aside, he really worked quite hard and although his manner always gives the impression he does not enjoy the game, his pace and skill is beyond reproach and he was after all the highest of the City players in the Opta ratings for the season scoring with 17% of his shots (12% previous season) and successfully completing 72% of his passes. Macken filled in well on the few occasions he was given a chance and although he always gave 100% I don't think he is a Premier League first choice striker.
3. As I expected the loss of a Benarbia (retired) and Berkovic as providers proved a heavy burden to bare. Sibierski who was bought to take over did not play regularly until the new year and he did not appear to have the same guile and football nouse as the two B's. The transfer of Berkovic to Portsmouth left a bad taste in the mouth. The Israeli's demand for new extended contract did not go down well but I feel the whole episode could have been handled far better when matters came to a head despite the tempestuous character of Berkovic.
4. The signings of McManaman and Sinclair did not have the effect hoped for. Like Fowler both were mere shadows of their former selves and were disappointing in the extreme. Premiership defences are generally pretty good and if teams come to defend then it does take a lot of creative play to make chances for the strikers. If you don't have the players capable to do that then you have to work pretty hard and long in midfield to wear the opposition down and that can be a problem with too many players waiting for their soccer bus passes!
5. There were some positives from the season. The signing of David James following the retirement of David Seaman certainly strengthened the defence and the presence of England's number One gave more confidence to the back four. There are likely to be more changes in defence. Michael Tarnat has been released as have Tiatto and Weikens so we are short of a left sided player unless It is Keegans intention to sign Van Buyten who looked good in his few loan games before injury and move Distin to left back leaving Dunne as Van Buyten's partner. Jihai Sun had a mixed season. His link up attacking play with Wright-Phillips was adventurous but his defensive marking was often at fault.
6. With the stadium filled to nearly 98% of its capacity despite the poor form of City the average attendance was 46,834 - well up on the last season at Maine Road (plus 35%) and third in the Premiership after PLC and Newcastle United. The support for City never wavered last season despite some poor home displays. Lets hope the players respond next season with more consistency in front of a very patient City crowd.