20 Manchester City Stats to Tell the Story of the Season so Far
Eight important games have fallen off Manchester City's schedule (Capital One Cup games don't rate—sorry) and we still don't know if the Sky Blues are any good.
City sure looked good dismantling Manchester United in the derby, but then it seems like Premier League sides are lining up to biff United in the chops these days.
If it turns out that United are a sheep in wolf's clothing, City's signature victory thus far is diminished in importance.
Maybe some of the salient numbers hold the answer to whether City are any good—though I fear the numbers are going to ask more questions than they answer.
1. Joe Hart's Consecutive Premier League Match Streak
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Joe Hart has made 120 consecutive Premier League starts for Manchester City.
That number does not even take into account the number of starts he has made for City in Champions League play (14) or the stray FA Cup final.
No wonder even the normally heartless Guardian is now taking pity on the beleaguered keeper:
"Truth be told, poor Hart could probably do with a couple of weeks out of the firing line, sitting alone in a darkened room, regulating his breathing patterns, then slowly reacquainting himself with his mojo. There's hope for him yet.
"
Any dip in Hart's form has to be in part due to the crazy number of high-profile matches he has to play in.
Doesn't it?
2. Possession
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With some sides, you can tell from the possession statistics how they fared in the match.
Not Manchester City.
City held the ball for 67 percent of the time at Aston Villa and 70 percent (!) of the time at Cardiff City. They lost both matches.
In their thumping of Manchester United, City had the ball only 42 percent of the time.
Give them this, though: They ceded 66 percent of possession to Bayern Munich this week. That result was entirely predictable from this statistic.
3. Blown Leads in the Second Half
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Championship sides have many shared characteristics. Perhaps the most common trait of an excellent team is their ability to close up shop and secure a result once the sands in the hourglass become scarce.
Manchester City have been sort of abominable at this so far this season.
It is pretty easy to secure a result from four goals up in the second half, as City were against Newcastle United and Manchester United.
But City had late leads against both Cardiff City and Aston Villa and quite simply spit them up.
Worse yet, they did not even draw those matches, losing them both.
Once was bad enough. Twice is inexcusable.
4. Road Points in the Premier League
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Three Dog Night knows: One is the loneliest number.
Out of nine possible Premier League road points, Manchester City have claimed but one. And that one point, at Stoke City, came from Manchester City's worst Premier League performance to date.
Manchester City either have to sort things out on the road or run the table at the Etihad.
So they had better start playing better on the road, given that showing against Bayern.
5. Shots Ceded to Bayern Munich
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Bayern Munich launched 21 shots at Manchester City's goal on Wednesday, with eight of them on target.
Joe Hart has not been very good lately. We can all agree on that.
But you name the keeper who would have come out of that strafing looking like a superstar. Hart's greatest sin was letting Bayern get on the board in the seventh minute.
After that, though, he had no hand in his field players constantly playing "look out" defense. You know, the play where the defender lets his man by, then turns to the keeper and yells "look out!"
The lone wonder was that Bayern only scored three.
6. Matches Played Against Teams Ahead of City in the Premier League Table
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How many matches have Manchester City played against teams ahead of them in the Premier League table?
In the immortal words of Dean Vernon Wormer, "zero point zero."
There are six teams ahead of City in the table. Whether they can all stay ahead of City is immaterial now.
The fact that City are just above a mid-table side without having faced Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea or Liverpool is pretty disconcerting.
City's first match against a side ahead of them in the table is Saturday against Everton.
7. Place in the Premier League Table
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See what I did here? It's the seventh slide, City are seventh in the Premier League table...never mind.
Hundreds of millions of pounds were spent on player acquisitions over the summer. Manuel Pellegrini was brought in to take City further than they could go under Roberto Mancini.
Six games into the Premier League season, City are trailing freaking Southampton.
Sigh.
8. Points in the Champions League
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Through two Champions League group-stage matches played, City have one win and one loss for three points. Not too bad, right?
Well, it's not too good, either.
City were apt to take six points from Viktoria Plzen. So, unfortunately, are Bayern Munich and CSKA Moscow.
City's loss at home to Bayern means it is entirely unlikely that City will pull even one point from their two fixtures with the reigning Champions League trophy holders.
In other words, City's Champions League hopes are probably going to come down to their home and away matches with CSKA Moscow.
Maybe it was always going to be that way, anyway. But if City could have nicked even a point from Bayern at home, it would have cast a whole new light on the group.
9. Vincent Kompany Missed Starts
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Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany suffered an injury against Newcastle United in City's opener that forced him out of the next three matches.
City were 1-1-1 in those three Premier League fixtures, including an ugly loss at Cardiff City and an even uglier draw at Stoke City.
Even the lone victory in that period was hardly a masterpiece, with City clinging to a 1-0 lead until Yaya Toure's very late free kick iced the three points.
City proved conclusively in those three matches that without Kompany, they are a poor defensive side.
Even with him as of late, they are not exactly air-tight.
10. Joleon Lescott Starts
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How far has Joleon Lescott's star fallen at Manchester City?
Javi Garcia was preferred to Lescott at centre-back in Vincent Kompany's absence. That's how far.
Lescott's last start for City (Capital One Cup matches excluded, remember) was on August 31. Lescott dressed for both Champions League matches but watched them both just like you and me thereafter.
Even Lescott must wonder if his ship has finally sailed from the blue side of Manchester.
11. Jesus Navas Assists
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The arrival of Jesus Navas at the Etihad was heralded by many as the greatest emergence since the coming of, well, Jesus.
Returns since Navas pulled on a City kit have been decidedly mixed.
In six Premier League matches, Navas has one assist. One.
Alvaro Negredo (in very limited action) and Pablo Zabaleta have two apiece.
Since Navas really is not a goalscorer and he pretty much cannot defend you, if he is not creating stacks of good chances he is just a very fast blur amounting to nothing on the right wing.
Navas has to get it going if City are to succeed in Europe and at home.
12. David Silva Points
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Like Jesus Navas, one-dimensional playmaker David Silva is really only useful to Manchester City when he is filleting opposing defenses with deft passes and quick movement.
Injury has cost Silva both time off the pitch and some of his explosiveness on it thus far.
Still, one goal and one assist in Premier League football so far is only OK. Yes, they came in three matches, which is great.
It also puts him on pace for 18 appearances and 12 points, which would only be OK.
13. Yaya Toure Goals
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Not all the news is bad, of course. Manchester City have benefited from the relocated scoring touch of Yaya Toure.
The enormous Ivorian has four goals in six Premier League starts. He also scored against Viktoria Plzen in City's lone Champions League victory this campaign.
Given the intermittent service City's strikers receive, more goals from the midfield are an absolute necessity.
14. Goals Conceded from Set Pieces
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Manchester City have allowed seven Premier League goals this season. More than half of them have come from set pieces.
Cardiff City scored twice from corner kicks. Manchester United's only goal was a Wayne Rooney free kick. And Aston Villa leveled through a free kick from Leandro Bacuna.
Manchester City's defense of set pieces was abject under Roberto Mancini, too. But this is still a very disturbing trend.
15. Stevan Jovetic's Minutes
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Stevan Jovetic cost Manchester City £22 million, according to SkySports.com.
Jovetic has played less than a full match for City in the Premier League thus far.
He started against Stoke City and came off in the 63rd minute for Sergio Aguero. He was introduced in the 74th minute against Aston Villa, coming on for Edin Dzeko.
Probably Jovetic is City's fourth striker on merit. But that is an awful lot of money for a guy like Jovetic to just sit around and watch.
16. Penalties Given
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For a team that dominates possession so often and generates the chances they do, they sure do not seem to get to take too many penalty kicks.
In fact, as per myfootballfacts.com, City are joined only by Cardiff City, Newcastle United and Fulham as sides not to have a penalty called either way in any of their matches this season.
It is little surprise that offensively challenged teams like Newcastle United and Fulham are not drawing fouls in the box. Dimitar Berbatov can barely stay awake long enough to berate his teammates, much less get fouled in front of the keeper.
But if Manchester City's players are so skilled, they ought to be drawing the occasional penalty by accident.
17. Jack Rodwell Starts
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With Everton visiting the Etihad this coming weekend, let's check in on everyone's favorite former Evertonian, Jack Rodwell.
Or, you know, maybe we shouldn't.
Rodwell has started one Premier League match this season. Unfortunately for him, it was the turgid scoreless draw at Stoke City. Anyone associated with that match probably disavows it.
At this point, Rodwell is so far buried on Manuel Pellegrini's depth chart that he could be forgiven for trying to don Everton gear and leave the Etihad walking out between Tim Howard and Leighton Baines after Saturday lunchtime's match.
18. City's Own Set Pieces
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As addressed in an earlier slide, Manchester City have a tough time defending set pieces. Sadly, City do not quite deliver similar misery to their opponents when City get their hands on the ball.
City have taken 48 corner kicks in six Premier League matches. All you astrophysicists in the reading public have already figured out that City are averaging eight corner kicks per match.
Yet, save for the occasional Edin Dzeko head flick, City do not penalize their opposition often enough for the corner kicks they cede.
While City lead the Premier League in this category, according to whoscored.com, the plain truth is that they probably should lead it by more than one goal.
If not for Yaya Toure's free-kick heroics so far, City's performance from their own set pieces would be just average or worse.
19. Manchester City's Odds to Win the Champions League
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Per Ladbrokes.com, Manchester City opened at +1100 to win the Champions League. Bayern Munich were the favorites at +333.
City are now +1400. Bayern are +275. That is what "Manchester City 1-3 Bayern Munich" will do to the odds.
City are still the touts' Premier League choice. Remarkably, Chelsea and Manchester United are at +1600 and Arsenal are +1800.
It is hard to believe I am saying this, but what does Arsenal have to do to get some respect?
20. Manchester City's Odds to Win the Premier League
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Again per Ladbrokes, City were more or less in a three-way tie at the top of the Premier League as preseason favorites with Manchester United and Chelsea. All three teams were at or near 2-1.
Somewhat remarkably, despite all their foibles, City are still the betting public's favorite to win the league, at +225.
Hard on their heels are Chelsea at +275 and Arsenal at +350. Manchester United are now +650.
That last one, I hate to say, might be worth getting down on.
But it's too late. I already own a ticket for City to win the league at 2-1.
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