No, this is not the sort of article you think it is. This is not an apologetic for or against Jose`s sale of KDB. I made my views on that known when the sale was done. That deed is done and there is really no point crying over spilt milk. Since that sale happened Chelsea FC has won a domestic double and KDB while at Wolfsburg has almost on his own transformed what was previously a mid table side that last saw Bundesliga glory in the early days of Eden Dzeko`s rise to prominence to the only real veritable challenge to bayerns ongoing domination of the bundesliga. With KDB at the no 10 playmaker helm the German Wolves won the DFB Pokal beating Borussia Dortmund to do it and then beat mighty Bayern in the German super cup to given the Volkswagen boys a pair of trophies in a landscape that has otherwise been dominated by the colossus that is Bayern Munich.
This article is not to argue one way or the other about KDBs ability as a player his body of work at Wolfsburg even if it is for one year only should answer that.
KDB just completed a move to our rivals City and while many outside City circles will hear this a groan saying that pretty much wraps up the BPL title for them I have a very different view of this signing and that is why I have penned this to generate some discussion and thought that does not involve further angst against our players, our manager and our board.
City are way and by far the best team in the BPL right now. On paper they have the best starting 11 and they have the greatest depth and quality in their 25 man first 11. When you bring on substitutes like Wilfred Bony and Samir Nasri with Pablo Zabaleta, Nicolas Otamendi and even Martin demichelles as defensive back ups you have quality depth. Furthermore they have started like gangbusters. 4 games played all won with wins already against us and everton, leading the league in points, goals scored (10) and yet to concede even once. It does not get any better than that and therein lies the problem. City have had it thus far as good as it can get. They have not yet had to face any adversity. They haven`t yet had to play a man down, to play a goal down, nor to play on a day when all that can go wrong does go wrong. While the other top four candidate teams are essentially sleep walking right now city are in full gear already. The only way left for them is down because we all know the BPL is a marathon league like no other in Europe. City cant play much better than they are playing right now so all we have to do is wait for when the dip and fall that will come happens. The problem is wther by that time we would have righted our near capsized ship to be able to capitalize.
Last year City`s capacity to retain their title I feel turned on a small decision they made late in the summer transfer window that few noticed but which I picked up and mentioned. Late in the summer transfer window last year they loaned out Alvaro Negredo who was injured at the time to Valencia. With that move they cut their striker corps from 4 which is the usual number Pellegrini had worked with in his title winning debut season (same goes for Roberto Mancini in his title winning season) to 3. Of those 3, Jovetic had a long history of long term multiple injuries and the recurrent on and of injuries Sergio Arguero sustains are well documented. As the BPL season wore on last year even though City finally caught us by the New year, injuries then decimated their strikers corps and there were several games they played with no single striker fit or available and had to actually deploy James Milner to play striker. One would think they would have learnt their lesson but this brings me to the KDB signing.
While the exact figures are variable depending on the site the suggestion is that City paid ~ 58 million pounds in transfer fees and offered KDB a 6 yr contract which if it is anything typical of City wages will be a kings Ransom and will tie him to them till he is 30. In a first for me the selling clubs president actually went on record to say that the City offer for KDB was “astonishing”. Selling clubs usually try to diminish the adequacy of funds they receive for their players especially prized assets but here the club president essentially admitted that the fee City paid was so over the top that there was no way they could refuse. Time will tell the impact losing KDB will have on the fortunes of Wolfsbrug both in the Bundesliga and in the champions league (which they will be returning to this year after a long absence) but they certainly have the funds to find a half decent playmaker if not this summer window then certainly by January.
The bigger question for me though is? Do city really need KDB? Did they really need to spend so flamboyantly to get him?
Now left to me I think our city colleagues have way more money than common sense but there is no crime in that..it is their money and they have the right to spend it as they like. I am still trying to fathom why they felt it worthwhile to make this sgining by all means necessary because City are already the deepest team in the BPL by far. The need is really not there. For the position he plays they have David Silva who is right now in imperious form and is generally not a major injury risk. Behind him is the also very talented Samir Nasri. So why get KDB? And at such a high price? Because they can? Because money is no object to them? To troll Chelsea by bringing him back to the BPL the same way they did Frank Lampard? I just wonder because there is such a thing as subtraction by addition.
Right now City have easily the best starting 11 in the BPL and a host of options and back ups as far as subs except in one small area. Whatever else Chelsea fans may disagree on most will agree that what was central in spurring KDBs exit was lack of sufficient playing time. Jose said he did not earn it in traning and was unwilling to put in the work to compete for playing time, Jose`s detractors say he simply did not give the lad enough opportunities that he merited. At Wolsfburg, KDB became the man. His name was literally the first name on the starting list. He was a perpetual starter from day one and hardly ever disappointed. As their playmaker no 10 the entire attack flowed through and centered around him. The big question is who will be relegated to City`s bench for KDB to start (because you don`t pay that kind of money for a player then plant him on the bench as squad depth..that is asking for trouble).
KDB started out as a winger at Genk but in his little time with us it was obvious that that was not his best position . He is not particularly fast and his vision, passing skill and ferocious shot were all best used in a central 10 role which is where Wolfsburg played him and where he thrived. It will be very interesting to see how Pellegrini handles this. Does he now sit one of his pacy wingers in Navas and Sterling who provide way more width and speed than KDB ever can and both of whom are far more conscientious as regards their defensive responsibilities (KDB had virtually no defensive duties in his role at Wolfsburg)? Will Pellegrini dare tinker with what is already working and actually bench Silva for KDB? This is not a minor matter because it was issues like this that spurred the exits of both Jovetic and Dzeko from city this very transfer window.
I can tell you up front neither of those two, Silva or KDB will want to be ride the bench for games of big significance like the BPL or champions league. KDB profoundly improves the depth quality of City but they already had by far the greatest depth and quality in the BPL. The team dynamics that result from this will be interesting to watch. Meanwhile, though City have curiously failed to address the only place I see a possible chink their almost invincible armor and it is at striker. Right now goals are coming from every where and Sergio Arguero is probably the very best finisher in the entire BPL but if anyone has learnt anything from the RVP saga at ManU it is that strikers with long standing injury histories don`t become iron men overnight. Especially as they start closing in on 30. Arguero will have his injury issues again this season…it is just a matter of time.That is almost guaranteed especially as the games begin to pile up and right now for a side that won its two titles with 4 senior strikers on their books each time, right now they have just two in Arguero and Bony. In my mind this is where they actually have a need.
Let us hope this remains this way by the end of Sept 2 because the way City is playing right now that Achilles heel could be the only hope the rest of the BPL have of making this season`s BPL not turn out to be a laugher like all the recent Bundesliga seasons have been. Having seen teams like ManU, Spurs, Liverpool and even the Gunners play thus far it is clear to me that really only two teams can pose any serious threat to city in their determined match to the BPL title this year. It is only the gunners and us (if we ever get our heads on right and if Jose and the board make peace long enough to salvage something from this window). Wenger as usual has reverted to old bad habits and after scoring the Cech coup refused to make the 1-2 other signings that would have transformed the gunners into true championship contending material. We all know our story so far as we have looked like the ghost of last season`s double winning side.
But in all this I actually think that City have made a mistake in signing KDB and spending so much capital on him. Though that may not have been their intent, KDB may well end up being our Manchurian candidate in the City camp and thus may become the well camouflaged kryptonite dressed as a Trojan horse delivered to the superman team of man City. Time will tell who laughs last regarding this signing..us or the Citizens. KTBFFH.
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