Kun You Believe It?

One of the longest running transfer sagas of the last few years is finally over.  Sergio "Kun" Aguero is officially a Manchester City player as of today.  How does "son-in-law-of-Maradona" fit into the Citeh squad and more importantly your fantasy team? Here's the rundown:

Roberto Mancini admits defensive crisis

Roberto Mancini admits defensive crisis at Manchester City | Mail Online

Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini claims he is desperately short of defensive options for Saturday's Barclays Premier League visit of Chelsea with Micah Richards a major doubt.

After last night's 2-1 Carling Cup defeat at West Bromwich Albion, City could have just three fit defenders for the clash at Eastlands.

Mancini will have only Pablo Zabaleta, Vincent Kompany and Kolo Toure available to face the only Premier League side left with a 100 per cent record unless Micah Richards recovers from a hamstring injury that kept him out at The Hawthorns.

Aleksandar Kolarov, Jerome Boateng and and Wayne Bridge are all currently sidelined.

'We have big problems,' he said. 'I hope that Micah Richards can recover. If not I don't know who can play left-back.'

If Richards misses out, it appears likely that Zabaleta will play on the right side and City would look for an alternative on the left flank. That could either involve Adam Johnson being pressed into emergency service, or more likely a midfielder such as James Milner or Gareth Barry.

Keep an eye out for your Citeh midfielders then. And perhaps it's a week to shy away from Joe Hart - as if with Chelsea visiting he wasn't already a stay-away. There will be better match-ups to come as Citeh next face Newcastle, @Blackpool, Arsenal and Wolves.

Season Preview: Aston Villa

As I did for the Arsenal preview, I'm going to make some assumptions related to ongoing transfer speculation.  I'm going to assume that like Everton did last season with Lescott, Villa will capitulate to the huge offer from Man City on Milner and end up with Ireland and a bunch of cash.  Since I see Ireland plus cash for Milner as being great business for Villa - especially if they put that cash to good use - I don't think this will change the Villa outlook too dramatically if it turns out I'm wrong and they keep Milner.  I'm also assuming that Villa will keep Ashley Young away from the grasp of Spurs, et al.

Overall Outlook - It must be frustrating being a Villa supporter or even in management.  They have done some excellent business on a relatively tight budget over the last few years but seem to be moving backward more than forward.  The first team is as good as nearly any around and for the first time in ages there is actually some quality depth, especially at the back.  The problem is that while Villa are improving the old fashioned way, people with much deeper pockets are moving up the pecking order faster and potentially starting to undo some of that great work.  The insertion of City into the Top Four mix, the emergence of Spurs as a Champions League team with the increased revenue that goes with it, and the potential for Liverpool to be rescued from financial ruin by either Chinese or Syrian investors means that clubs like Everton and Villa are realistically going to have a hard time fighting it out for 7th place.  That said, there is every chance that Liverpool won't complete their sale in time to make a difference until January and that Spurs will wilt on the big stage (see Everton when they made the Champions League) and Citeh will continue to search for the right combination of players and manager to exploit their deep pockets and Villa could challenge for 4th.

Bloggers of the Round Table 2: Top 4 Pretenders

From Neal's kick-off:

I am going to nominate James Milner as the topic of this next post and even get more specific about what he means as a symbol of the ability of each of the current pretenders - AST, MAC, LIV - to challenge for a Champions League spot for next season OR the ability of England's highest profile club - MAN - to attract and pay top level talent given their financial situation, their location, and the higher taxes imposed on footballers in the UK compared to elsewhere in Europe.

You can read the whole discussion at Y!AM's blog.

Koren surprised by exit

Robert Koren has admitted he was surprised that West Brom decided not to keep him at The Hawthorns.

The Baggies confirmed earlier on Monday they were releasing Koren after opting against taking up the further year's option on his contract.

It was expected West Brom would keep hold of the attacking midfielder as they prepare for life back in the Premier League, but Baggies boss Roberto Di Matteo has decided to let him move on.

I'm thinking this is the club rallying around Dorrans, who has already been subject to a transfer offer from West Ham. Though there is also bad blood between he and Di Matteo.  Strops after being substituted, complaints about where he was being played on the pitch, etc.

Koren is a bit old in the tooth at 29, but if he has a good World Cup for Slovenia I could see him being snapped up by a Premier League club. Perhaps Newcastle or Villa will look to him as cover for Nolan or Milner, respectively.

In praise of well-chosen one-gamers

Stewart Downing
2 GOALS SCORED
3 SHOTS ON TARGET
1 Match Winning Goal
1 Successful crosses
27.5 Points

James Milner
3 ASSISTS
3 Successful crosses
20 Points

Milner Set To Pen New Magpies Deal

He was Aaron Lennon before Aaron Lennon was cool.

Newcastle boss Sam Allardyce has received a double boost with James Milner ready to commit his future to the club.

Geremi's free transfer from Chelsea was officially completed on Friday when he was granted a work permit after agreeing a three-year deal earlier this week.

The news marks a remarkable turnaround for the player, who was within hours of completing a permanent move to Aston Villa last summer.

Milner was actually at Villa Park when the Magpies' bid to sign Mark Viduka from Middlesbrough fell through and scuppered the transfer.

Ironically, the two men will be in the same team next season after the Leeds-born midfielder proved himself a valuable asset to then-manager Glenn Roeder during an intensely difficult campaign.

Three cheers (and five years) for BFJM! NUFC's side is coming together, and if they would just move Owen and Martins, they would realize my dream of a Duff-Viduka-Milner front line. Now we see how it would work with Butt-Barton-Geremi in the midfield, and defenders to be named later. Like a cheaper version of Chelsea, or a more expensive version of Bolton.

Martins Shock For Big Sam

Do the kids still say "mad hops"?

Newcastle striker Obafemi Martins reportedly has a £13million get-out clause in his contract.

The Nigerian striker signed for the Magpies just last summer for £10million, but new boss Sam Allardyce was shocked to discover a similar clause in Martins' contract to that of strike partner Michael Owen, according to The Evening Chronicle.

Owen could quit the club if someone offers £9million for his services, leaving Allardyce in the nightmare position of not knowing if his top two strikers will be at the club for the beginning of next season.

Martins recently said he was happy at Newcastle, but the north-east newspaper claims Arsenal will make a move if they lose Thierry Henry.

I don't know about Oba to Arsenal, but I'm still pushing for Big Sam to utilize his 4-3-3 with Duff, Viduka, and Milner.

Viduka Closing In On Toon Move

Middlesbrough striker Mark Viduka is understood to have agreed in principle to join north-east rivals Newcastle.

His 19 goals last season - seven of them in his last five starts - were key to Boro's successful fight against relegation from the Barclays Premiership and took his tally for the club to 42 in 100 appearances, 20 of them as a substitute. [emphasis mine -j.]

That's the key. Viduka plays hard when his next payday is the issue. So you invariably get goals from him in August, December, and April. Then he'll go quiet for months at a time. I sure hope Big Sam realizes this. Maybe they'll structure his contract in such a way that he only gets paid when he scores. Or they'll make him sign a series of short-term (like a month at a time) deals. Anything they can do to keep him focused.

Now, is Big Sam going to bring his 4-3-3 to Newcastle? Viduka is certainly the mold of the big center forward he likes. See Davies, Kevin. (As an aside, what would Big Sam have done with Shearer? Wow. Imagine his glee at having the original at his disposal.) But are Owen and Martins the wide attackers he wants? Certainly Duff and Milner would be naturals. In fact, wouldn't a front line of Duff, Viduka, and Milner playing in front of Parker, Barton, and Butt suit Sam nicely? It would be like Bolton but with better quality players. But how do you leave out £17 million worth of striker? Going to be interesting, especially for fantasy managers, how Big Sam works it out.

And can we start the Speed to Newcastle rumours right here and now? He's a former and still much beloved player. He knows and thrives under Allardyce's system. Makes much more sense to me that Sam would go back to Bolton for Speed, rather than Nolan or Diouf.

As for Boro, they now have to replace (and hopefully for them, increase) Viduka's goal tally. Perhaps they should be looking for a bit more mobility to complement Yakubu. In fact, they might just have to replace Yakubu too if his on again, off again relationship with the Nigerian national team is on again for January's African Nations Cup. I think they could do worse than look to prise Louis Saha AND Alan Smith from Manchester United. That would give them the options they would want, and by offering for both players, might sweeten the deal for ManU who have already spent a ton of money, but are still looking for another striker themselves.