Manchester City's current fourth place position, one in which the Citizens find themselves level on points with both Arsenal and neighbors Manchester United, doesn't warrant a crisis. Oppositely, City manager Roberto Mancini has yet to witness his first choice back line once this season due to ill-timed injuries and is surely itching at the prospect of fulfilling his deep squad's potential before time slips away.
Aleksandar Kolarov: The Missing Piece To The Manchester City Puzzle
While City are in fact coming off their worst lost of the 2010-11 campaign, Sunday's 0-3 loss to Arsenal, the early sending off of left back Dedryck Boyata in that match proved decisive in the game's eventual outcome. While the sky remains in tact above Eastlands, City fans and Mancini progress with that nervous, anxious feeling as they approach this weekends trip to Molineux to face Wolves, desperately wanting to prove to the Premier League that playing Arsenal with one less man for 85 minutes is no easy feat.
Newly acquired summer signings Jerome Boateng from Bundesliga side Hamburg and former Lazio left back Aleksandar Kolarov were both tipped to appear either side of center backs Kolo Toure and Vincent Kompany to augment a City side looking to push for Champions League football and quite possibly a Premier League title this time out. These players were Mancini buys, while the Wayne Bridge's and Joleon Lescott's of the world were hand me downs from the former Mark Hughes regime. Bridge and Lescott have combined to produce a comedy of errors this season filling in at left back or in central defense as has been Lescott's fate. While Mancini laments the absence of his picks, he's done well enough to keep his boss and detractors off his back for the time being as City enjoy a top 4 spot.
New signings a part, Mancini's men have had an interesting season thus far. It's been a season that's seen the blue half of Manchester win 1-0 at home against Champions Chelsea, thrash Liverpool, also at home, 3-0, but equally a season where they've lost 0-1 away to Sunderland and drawn 0-0 away to Tottenham, an decent enough result, but a result wherein the epitome of a defensive, attack-less side was implemented.
Recently, City's 2010-11 season has screamed for that extra spark, both in defense and moving forward with the in form but now injured Carlos Tevez and David Silva. While the 2-3 away win at Blackpool gained three important points in the grand scheme of City's push forward, that's now five goals conceded in just two league matches when Sunday's loss to Arsenal is figured in. Leaky to say the least.
While I believe Mancini was lucky to not get lambasted by an ever-ready British press for his starting XI on Sunday, one that featured the 19 year old left back Boyata and not the more experienced Joleon Lescott, and a side that ignored the attacking qualities of winger boy wonder Adam Johnson, City's true desire as it pertains to the overall balance of their side just might be left back extraordinaire Aleksandar Kolarov who is currently ever so close to making his first team return.
Kolarov is the type of marauding left back that will compliment a side like the one Mancini elects to implement. Three defensive minded midfielders, Yaya Toure, Nigel de Jong and Gareth Barry, all first choice along with James Milner or Adam Johnson, at times lack the forward thinking intellect needed to effectively link play with Carlos Tevez and David Silva. Simply stated, sometimes they just sit back too much.
Think of Kolarov as just that link. A Gareth Bale type player, but one who starts at left back as opposed to Bale's more preferred left midfield, gifted with pace and an extremely powerful strike, Kolarov has been compared to the great Brazilian Roberto Carlos as set piece brilliance is also a skill he possesses. At times he'll go hard into the tackle, but his attacking abilities far outweigh his defensive talents.
When racing up and down the left side, Kolarov can add dimensions to City’s attack. Although City lack a target man up front for crosses into the box, it’ll be the Serbian’s runs from deep, his pace, his long distance shot and his prowess at set pieces that will benefit a side looking for that spark in attack.
And while City’s midfield looks to stay conservative in their approach, their ability to keep defensive shape will provide cover when Kolarov moves forward into attack, gets caught out, or when City’s opponents elect to break on the counter.
More than just one to watch, Kolarov brings a combative element to a City side looking to compete. Always dangerous standing over a free kick, Kolarov brings City into contention when he regains match fitness and completes a run of Premier League matches for the Citizens thus solidifying his spot in the starting XI.
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