Manchester City fans will hope to see something that quickens the pulse in their side's first Premier League home game of the season against Liverpool on Monday night. So far this term, 180 minutes of football against Tottenham and FC Timisoara have brought a solitary goal from the Blues and an approach riven with caution.
A wide array of attacking talent means many of the Eastlands faithful are eager to see the shackles release. But there is method in Roberto Mancini's apparent mundanity.
A common criticism of Mancini's approach since he took up his post in December has been the repeated deployment of three defensively minded midfielders at the expense of more creative operators, such as the now jettisoned Stephen Ireland. Yet during his time at Inter Milan, Mancini predominantly used similar tactics and won three consecutive Serie A titles - the first albeit as a result of the Italian match-fixing scandal.
Javier Zanetti, Esteban Cambiasso, Patrick Viera, Olivier Dacourt and Santiago Solari were all utilised during this time as part of a central midfield base behind a roaming playmaker and front two who enjoyed more or less complete attacking freedom. This supposedly defensive set-up led to Inter a 97 point haul and 80 goals on their way to the 2006/07 Scudetto.
It may surprise those who saw City labour to draws towards the end of last season with a virtual flat-back-seven, but the system does not have to be a negative one. Essentially a 4-1-2-1-2, Mancini now has the personnel to effectively use his favoured approach in Manchester.
He should be wary of the sporadic success the diamond formation has experienced in the English top flight. An unshakeable loyalty to it was a large factor in Luis Felipe Scolari losing his job at Chelsea 18 months ago. On the other hand, his successor Carlo Ancelotti often used a variant of it in guiding the Stamford Bridge outfit to the title last term.
Nigel de Jong is the City player best suited to sweeping up at the base of the diamond, leaving the onus on the midfield two regularly break forward into the opposition box. Yaya Toure showed himself to be fully capable of this against Timisoara, and new signing James Milner should relish the responsibility.
David Silva has been earmarked as the loan playmaker, and his rapport with the club's forwards will be crucial to the system's success. In Romania on Thursday, through balls were misplaced and runs misjudged, but the former Valencia schemer has all the qualities to thrive in the role.
The primary appeal of the system is that it allows a side to dominate possession - something City have done in their opening two encounters.
The Blues have enjoyed their most memorable successes over the past two seasons by using pace and skill to open teams up on the counter-attack. Such an approach can be exhilarating to watch, but championships are won by sides who control possession and therefore their destiny on a weekly basis.
On Thursday night, Mancini sent Mario Balotelli and Adam Johnson out to the flanks to open the game up and the move proved decisive. Nevertheless, he seems to have decided that the approach which has brought him numerous managerial honours will be plan A.
Expect to see City line-up in this way against Liverpool and do not be surprised if the display is disjointed at times. Extravagant price tags do not mean new players will bed into an unfamiliar system immediately, nor should they.
If points are dropped over the next month, it is a time for all associated with Manchester City to hold their nerve and back the man with a new haircut and a familiar plan.
Blog » City v Liverpool: The Mancini plan
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