Manchester City are starting to remind me of the dude you run into in the gym who's so top heavy he can barely put his arms down to his side, flirts with falling over due to his bulk up top yet isn't the kind of guy you want to piss off. While those muscle bound meat heads are mostly water weight anyway, City are serious title contenders the likes of the next big thing in the UFC. With enough fire power to put five past anyone when on, those who don't fear City in some respect should let their pride fall down.
Edin Dzeko Close To Manchester City Move, So Where Does The Bosnian Fit?
With their recent acquisition of Bosnian forward Edin Dzeko, City further prove they have a shout in this title race which looks to have more runners in it than in years past. Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham all have a chance while Manchester Blue seem to be the only side willing or able to enhance their already strong squad. With Dzeko, City have purchased an internationally experienced striker with youth on his side (24 years old) and a proven goal scorer (66 goals in 111 appearances since 2007).
But as we’ve touched on, City already possess the kind of personnel who can get them goals. They’re currently fourth in the league with 33 goals scored (level with Bolton), which hopefully begs the question you’re asking yourself, but were too afraid to ask: how does Dzeko fit in at City, where does he start and who might he replace?
The Main Option
For those largely unfamiliar with Dzeko, he's a classic number 9 forward who plays through the middle and high up the pitch. A glaring problem now could be that Dzeko likes to occupy the space that Carlos Tevez currently dominates - space that sees Tevez as the outlet, the point man, a target (although a short one) to aim at and City's highest up the pitch forward. While it's silly to assume Mancini would ever consider benching his best player, it's likely Tevez will revert back to his most preferred position: a roamer, creator and attacker linking play from midfield and playing just behind a central striker.
Should Mancini elect to use this option, City will set up in something resembling a 4-2-3-1 with Nigel de Jong and Yaya Toure as holders and likely David Silva, Tevez and Mario Balotelli as the "3" with Dzeko up top. This, however, remains just one of many options and also assumes that at any time, like for like players could be replaced with each other. Remeber that deep bench we were talking about? On it sits Adam Johnson, Gareth Barry, James Milner and Roque Santa Cruz.
4-4-2 Is Not An Option
We know Mancini doesn’t like 4-4-2 and with current personnel, he doesn’t need to experiment with it. Even if he gave it a go, implemented Tevez and Dzeko in a strike partnership, Tevez’s proclivities to roam would play out more as a five man midfield anyway and we already know that Mancini, with de Jong, Barry and Toure, likes the idea of holding midfielders.
While highly unlikely, Mancini could elect to simply leave his formation as is and force Dzeko to live off scraps and come off the bench as a third or fourth attacking option. Some time will be needed for Dzeko to acclimate himself to the rigors of the Premier League, yet a role where the Bosnian languishes on the bench remains unlikely. After all, Dzeko is a Mancini purchase and City, although rich, did invest £27 million on their newest prize asset.
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