One of the better buys. It's nice to have a top quality foreign player at the peak of his game - our imports are usually 'one last paycheck' types (Tarnat, Trabelsi, Corradi....) or Football Manager signings (Samaras, Vuoso etc). For his monthly world class performance, Petrov is a joy to watch. West Ham away, Fulham away, Newcastle home, Blackburn home, Man Utd away are the ones that stand out to me, but there are certainly others. He's just too inconsistent, though, to be Player of the Season. When it's not going his way he's bad tempered, and is prone to doing very stupid things; his three game suspension after that red card against Everton came at exactly the wrong time. Can't wait to see him next season though. A-
Ireland (32 (1), 4; 5 (1), 0)
Seems to divide City fans like no other player. I'm a big fan. Only Petrov, Dunne and Corluka started more league games, and Ireland played all over the pitch. In Autumn he was a better right winger than we had all year, when Eriksson chose Vassell instead he was moved inside. He was brilliant doing a spoiling job alongside Gelson at OT, and then had some great games behind Benjani at the end of the season: Portsmouth at home was probably the best I've ever seen him play. It's true that he was inconsistent and occassionally went missing: but given how much he was moved around, and how he relies on others to do work for him (this is not a criticism in itself, Messi relies on Toure and Xavi to win the ball for him...), I think he had a good year. B
Elano (29 (3), 8; 4, 2)
The hardest to judge. For a few months, sublime. Drifting around behind a centreforward (either Mpenza or Bianchi), he was magical. The goals all stand out, but there's DVDs worth of material - flicks and passes up there with the best of Benarbia or Kinkladze. And then for some reason, the flame died out. Whether it was the weather, fatigue, or an injury picked up on international duty, I'm not sure. By the end of the season we had to ask whether it was the first few weeks which were the break from the norm? It's this reversal of the traditional pattern which is so difficult: starting with dazzling skills before struggling to fit in to the culture or weather - it's so counter-intuitive. Judged as a whole, his season was a triumph: top scorer and most assissts, with a few goals and performances to live long in the memory. But why the decline? A-
Hamann (26 (3), 0; 5, 0)
Until March or so, my choice for Player of the Season. He'd had a terrible year in 2006/07 (this is the time in the calendar that 'last year/season' is confusing to the point of being meaningless), and so when he was linked with 1860 Munich in the summer I was hoping he'd go. What we'd underestimated was the extent to which Hamann was unsuited to Pearce's Mike Bassett type tactics. Asking him and Barton to cover every blade of grass was never a sensible use of his talents. But as an unmoving pivot, balancing the weight of our midfield and forwards on his shoulders, Hamann was exceptional. Playing exactly to his strengths; breaking down attacks, taking the ball of the back four, moving it on simply and effectively, not crossing the halfway line, buying free kicks etc etc. He slightly ran out of steam by the spring - was dominated by Steve Harper at the Madjeski in March and from then on Eriksson decided to work on forging the Gelson/Johnson partnership. A-
Johnson (23, 2; 2, 0)
When fit and focussed, probably our best midfielder. There were times in Autumn when it was genuinely like watching Gerrard: not just big and quick and powerful and hardworking (although all of those), but cocky and precocious and elegant - remember, appropriately enough, Gerrard's humiliation of Hamann in the 5-1 seven years ago. Box to box sprints all game are one thing, but box to box struts...
But, just like a teenage Gerrard, niggling muscle injuries that won't go away are seriously hampering progress. Two months out with a groin strain, then 45 minutes back playing, and then another two months out. Upon returning he was never quite the same, and rumours of an attitude problem persist. Very promising, but an awful long way to go. B+
Gelson ( 21 (5), 2; 3(3), 0)
The one Eriksson buy I most want to us to keep next season - I feel like he could grow into a special player for City in the years to come. Took a few months to settle in, but started almost every game in 2008. Increasingly came to dominate midfields in the absence of Johnson and Hamann. Strong, quick, energetic and a real leader, the Patrick Vieira comparisons are inevitable. Currently getting some very useful experience in a major tournament, but fortunately not so impressive as to attract buyers. The worst thing about sacking Sven is losing the contacts that picked up players like Gelson. B+
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