Notts County have announced the signing of Kasper Schmeichel on a five year contract. The fee was undisclosed but is thought to be over a million.
Kasper was a great shot-stopper, with plenty of enthusiasm and self-belief by all accounts. If he also had his father’s height, then it’s unlikely we would be letting him go. The high point at City was his spell in the first team at the beginning of the Sven season, when he played in the side that completed the first half of the double over United.
Ultimately Sven went with Joe Hart that season and Kasper’s future has probably lain elsewhere ever since. The signing of Shay Given merely confirmed that. It’s therefore a slight irony that Sven is likely to be the the man behind him joining County.
Going to a League Two club is a big step down for Kasper, but a bold one in that there could be exciting times ahead. He enjoyed a good rapport with the fans while at Bury so there’s a chance he could become a bit of a folk hero down by the Trent. We wish him well.
Video:
YouTube compilation featuring saves against United
Our injury crisis may not be as bad as some are fearing. Obviously Santa Cruz and Michael ‘couple of weeks away’ Johnson are out, along with Vincent Kompany. Of the rest, Given, Toure, Bellamy, Tevez and Adebayor could all be fit enough to play.
The midfield has looked strongest in pre-season with De Jong alongside Barry and Ireland playing in front. For a tricky away game, this would provide a solid platform even if it allows for only one striker. Bellamy is probably fittest despite being AWOL for Wales and could well be the man if Adebayor has a problem with his groin.
If Adebayor is fit, then he may get his first competitive start, with his extra height being useful in defending Blackburn’s set pieces. Robinho and Wright-Phillips could play the flanks, though Petrov and Tevez could both make an appearance from the bench.
If Tevez has been flying in training, Hughes could spring a surprise, which may mean a place on the bench for Wright-Phillips.
With Toure likely to be fit, he could be partnered by Dunne with the Irishman’s strength in the air getting him the nod over Onuoha. The fear is Dunne having to play on the left side of central defence.
I have reservations about Toure’s lack of inches, making his selection a bit of a gamble for this game, but I think Hughes will want to play his new signing. Personally I’d go for Dunne and Onuoha against an Allardyce team with Onuoha taking the left hand side.
With the aerial threat of Blackburn, Richards could get the nod ahead of Zabaleta despite an excellent performance by the Argentinian against Celtic.
Hughes:
“We are just looking forward to the first game of the season,”
“That is the challenge for everyone. We are really chomping at the bit. We are six weeks or so into our pre-season and we just want to get on with it.”
Sam Allardyce:
“For us it’s about trying to spoil their party, being that they think that they can come to a place like Blackburn Rovers and beat us comfortably with that kind of spending.
“We’re certainly going to go all out to make sure that’s not the case.”
David Dunn:
“It’s important we do our best and kick lumps out of them – fairly, of course.”
To say this match and this season are hotly anticipated seems an understatement with every man and his dog currently expressing an opinion. With that in mind, I’ve spared the punditry and focused on the possible team. Here’s just a few of the views from elsewhere:
BBC preview
BBC City assessment
The Independent
Manchester Evening News preview
Manchester Evening News – Hughes views
Teamtalk – Sam Allardyce
The Telegraph
Rather than Hughes sticking the words of David Dunn on our dressing room door for motivation, maybe he should put them on the referee’s. It’s up to the officials to make sure any foul play is properly punished and we can get on with playing football. That’s what wins respect for the men in black.
Possible team:
Given, Richards, Toure, Dunne, Bridge, De Jong, Barry, Ireland, Robinho, Wright-Phillips, Bellamy.
Subs: Taylor, Zabaleta, Adebayor, Petrov, Tevez, Onuoha, Ben Haim.
Prediction: We’ve only won once at Ewood Park in the Premier League, and that was in 2003 (cracking winner by Anelka incidentally), so let’s go for a 3-1 win!
Speaking to Sport, Martin Petrov’s agent played down talk of the Bulgarian leaving City during this transfer window.
When asked if he thought Petrov would be leaving, Wolfgang Voege said:
“No, I think he will stay will Manchester City. We have had a few calls from German clubs regarding him, but nothing concrete.
“We will see maybe in the January [transfer window] how he is going. But, as you know the next ten days in football are interesting. However, I think he will stay with City.”
He also denied Harry Redknapp had been in touch when asked. It appears City weren’t anticipating Petrov’s comments and presumably Hughes wasn’t impressed, especially as we’ve nursed him back to fitness following his injury with the Bulgarian national team.
This sounds like the agent backtracking on behalf on his client, though naturally not wishing to rule out the idea of a transfer at some point.
With the number of new forwards at City, it is far from clear how things will pan out in the coming months and it wouldn’t make sense for Hughes to start letting go of players who could well be required. Petrov certainly comes into this category
As arguably our most dangerous crosser I’m sure Hughes has considered the idea of him as a supply line for Santa Cruz and Adebayor. He’s also versatile enough to switch flanks during a game, as is Robinho who can also play as a second striker. Therefore the presence of the Brazilian doesn’t preclude Petrov from first team action.
There’s a second reason why it could make sense for Petrov and his agent to wait till January. Given he missed virtually the whole of last season with injury, potential buyers might like to see him play a few games before committing themselves to paying a large wage for a thirty year old with a history of knee problems.
Speaking to the Bulgarian paper Dnevnik, Martin Petrov was concerned he may only be used from the bench this season.
“I don’t see City depending too much on me this year, at least from what I have seen from the pre-season friendlies so far. No footballer is content with polishing the bench and I am no exception.”
As to a possible transfer:
“There were several inquiries but no offers as of yet.”
I doubt Hughes would want to let him go as he likes to have wide players who can put in a good cross. However if we play with a single striker then Robinho is ideally suited to playing on the left with his ability to cut inside and goalscoring threat.
Petrov remains a fantastic option as an out and out winger if we want to play 4-4-2 and he also chips in with a few goals. Hughes wants to have different options as well as quality cover so hopefully he’ll convince Petrov of his importance. The Bulgarian should get plenty of game time this season even if he doesn’t always start.
One of the big tests this season for Hughes will be his man-management skills in keeping quality players happy when they’re not an automatic choice. This is essential when managing big clubs in the modern game, but didn’t appear to be his forte last season when it came to our Brazilian contingent.