Manchester City's Lack Of Width

Jonathan Cooper sent Vital Manchester City the following article.

Sitting in the Colin Bell stand, and much to my amusement before kick off against Wigan sat an elderly man with a pair of binoculars.

Midway through the first half and with them firmly pressed up against his eyes it started to dawn on me - there was a reason why he brought them today. Was it to pass onto referee Stuart Atwell for consistently blowing for high feet? (One time when Balotelli attempted to recreate 'that goal' from Derby Day). The answer to that is no. It was due to the fact that the ball seemed consistently cemented to our left flank. A weakness that Wigan attempted to capitalise on at every opportunity.

Doubling up against Micah Richards was common especially as he made numerous forays forward to join in with attacks. Against opposition with perhaps a little more cutting edge we may have been on the end of a different scoreline on the day.

Never has it been more obvious than against Wigan that we miss the dribbling skills of Adam Johnson along with a SWP from his first City spell, and I know Mancini will not agree with me but a Craig Bellamy to add that pace and direct play that we are missing.

It is clear from Mancini's constant fist clenching towards Super Mario that he isn't interested in tracking back and helping out defensively and when Kolorov has been picked in the left winger position he lacks the pass and finesse to really trouble full backs, with a shoot on site policy that even Ashely Cole would be proud of.

But this is an area that clearly needs strengthening, especially if we make the promise land of the Champions League next year. With Bale & Lennon terrorising Champions League opposition with their blistering pace and dribbling skills City can take a leaf out of their book.

With money no obstacle for the Blues anymore, we must be scouring the world for top quality wingers this summer so my old friend can put down the binoculars before they become a trend in the Colin Bell stand, much like the Mancini scarf and the now 'dangerous' snood.

The above article was Jonathan's first for VMC. Many thanks fellow Blue.

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