Bianchi Proves His Worth

No doubt there will be a flurry of activity in the transfer window in the New Year and endless, rubbish rumours, but I wouldn't be too surprised if Sven doesn't turn out to be that active in the market.

It's been clear that we've been struggling up front this season and have been fortunate that the midfield have been able to score some extremely valuable goals. Despite a lot of work rate, Mpenza doesn't look as good as he was last season, now that he's surrounded by much better players. For me, he's too much like Vassell, but without the blistering pace and bullish strength.

It's been hard to be critical of Sven so far, but his handling of Bianchi has been poor - he even admitted it himself in a recent interview and said lessons had been learned. In the last few games, "Rolandinho" has showed just why Sven forked out £8.8m for him in the summer.

It looks like Bianchi is finally settling down in his new surroundings and is now playing with a confidence that we haven't seen before. It does beg the question about what he could have achieved and where we might be in the table if Sven had picked him every week (when he was fit of course).

The exciting arrival of Castillo will I'm sure spur Rolando on even more and competition for what could be only one striker's position will hot up intensely. it's easy to forget that Bojinov is poised to return and when he does, it will be like having a whole new pool of forwards to choose from.

With more forwards available, it would be nice to see Sven make the most of his attacking options and use a more orthodox 4-4-2 formation, maybe even a 4-3-3 for the right occasion. We've looked much more threatening in recent weeks when Sven's used two strikers.

So, for me it's Mpenza and Samaras that need to be the movers in January. Despite only a handful of appearances, Bianchi has shown that he has got quality and at just 23, City will have him at Eastlands during his prime and that could be worth an awful lot.

The Horse Called It Right !

City 0 - 2 Spurs

I don' t know why, but I had a sense of foreboding driving to Eastlands this evening; I think it's just something about playing Spurs in the Cup, a fixture that always seems to be a highly charged affair.

My anxiety about the game was heightened as we approached the Spurs end outside the stadium when a Police horse scraped its hoof twice on the ground just as we walked past.

My lad and I looked at each other and were reminded Soccer AM's " Mystic Ed" and simultaneously came to the same conclusion - this could only mean a two nil away win, and so it came to pass. I only wish I'd gone straight round to Ladbrokes instead of stopping off for my usual pre-match chips and gravy.

So what did we learn tonight ?

1) Spurs and City fans agreeing in loud chorus that Steve Bennett is "not fit to be a referee"; a truly shocking performance from the man in black tonight. By the time Zokora had been sent off in the middle of the 1st half, he'd already lost control of the game. Malbranque should have been red carded as well for what seemed a worse tackle than Zokora's. Dunne and Johnson should have had penalties, but to add insult to injury, Johnson was yellow carded for a dive, when it was clearly a foul - I was right in line with it.

2) We looked blunt up front again. nice to see Nery Castillo come out on the pitch before the kick off - shame he wasn't available to play tonight as we're crying out for a regular goal scorer. I'm really looking forward to seeing him in a blue shirt in January. Bianchi is still a better option than Mpenza and Samaras though !

3) Sven needs to get the players down to Carrington early tomorrow and do some intensive passing practice. I lost count of how many times we gave the ball away with sloppy passes and poor positioning - real schoolboy stuff.

4) We missed Stevie Ireland in midfield, although when Geo came on we looked a different team and he really should start a few games now and get his chance to cement his place. He looks so strong and comfortable on the ball.

5) Berbatov is a real class act; he was outstanding tonight and if Mr Shinawatra has still got some cash left, sign him up quick!

Disappointing that the home record went tonight, but it wasn't our best performance - lots of effort, but little quality on display.

I must try and find that horse again for the next match though !