Tony Cottee Column: Hot and cold City a big challeneg for West Ham
Manchester City are strong at both ends of the pitch
I don’t hold much hope of a positive result for West Ham at Manchester City.
Yes, they blow hot and cold and we can’t be sure what Manchester City will turn up, but they still have a lot of quality in their ranks.
The City boss Roberto Mancini prefers to focus on defence rather than attack and there is nothing wrong with that. They have one of the best defensive records in the division.
He prefers to have two holding midfielders in Nigel De Jong and Gareth Barry rather than the conventional one.
Quality
However, they have such quality going forward and in the first half against Blackburn on Monday night David Silva, Yaya Toure and Adam Johnson ran the game in the first half.
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In the second they fell asleep and in the end were lucky to take the points. I think that game pretty much summed up their season.
Losing Carlos Tevez will be a massive blow to City as he has scored so many goals for them this season and his replacement Mario Balotelli really isn’t my cup of tea.
He can be quite petulant at times and he is the type of player that would drive me mad.
He joined from Inter Milan with this reputation as a wonderkid, but he has done little to convince me so far that he is that good a prospect.
Another striker, Edin Dzeko, has struggled so far in the Premier League but his winning goal against Blackburn will do him the world of good and he could cause problems for the Hammers.
Dangerman
Another dangerman is Adam Johnson who I am a big fan of. He should have played more games this season in my opinion and he seems to work well as an inside forward.
The key for someone in that position is to have a good shot, something he possesses, pace and his ability to come inside is a big weapon.
It’s a position where I believe Thomas Hitzslperger could be successful.
