A week ago, considering Roberto Mancini's managerial style, a colleague said: "Well, he is Italian." It was not meant as a compliment. National stereotypes in football can be wildly incorrect; not all Brazilians discovered a gift for trickery on Rio's Copacabana beach and the odd German has missed a penalty. And, at the time, Chelsea, with an Italian manager, had scored 12 goals in two games. But negativity was implied. Italian can be used as a byword for catenaccio, while Serie A seems to be the spiritual home of the defensive midfielder. And it is here where Mancini's grounding in his homeland may prove counter-productive.
Manchester City's 1-0 defeat at Sunderland on Sunday may well have been a victory but for a glaring miss by Carlos Tevez. Yet, like their two previous Premier League games, it featured Nigel de Jong, Gareth Barry and Yaya Toure; accomplished footballers all, but essentially defensive midfielders nonetheless. It is starting to seem a policy of Mancini's. The first three fixtures lend themselves to a conclusion that he has prioritised solidity so once City have the lead, they will be fearsomely tough to break down. Liverpool discovered as much last Monday. Getting that lead, however, may be more problematic: City have failed to score at Tottenham Hotspur and Sunderland in their two away games.
There is a natural comparison with Jose Mourinho's Chelsea. They conceded very few goals (just 15 in their first title-winning season) and played with a disciplined central midfield trio. But that three nevertheless included Frank Lampard, one of the most reliable guarantors of goals of the modern era. City have no such finisher in that department right now. Mancini has used Toure in a more advanced role against Liverpool and Sunderland. The former Barcelona player is a fine passer who had a couple of opportunities to open his City account at the Stadium of Light but, with his athleticism and power, he is essentially a destructive player.
Yet, in a squad of City's size, there are alternatives. James Milner was converted into a central midfielder at Aston Villa, while retaining his eye for goal. When he was signed, there was an assumption he would become the most attack-minded of the triumvirate in the centre. Mario Balotelli has not been fit to debut in domestic football, but it was interesting that David Silva spent some of Thursday's Europa League win over Timisoara operating as a trequartista, the role Toure nominally fills.
As Sampdoria supporters can testify, Mancini was a genuine trequartista, the fantasy player Italians simply call a fantasista. In comparison, Toure is a powerhouse, a physical talent where his manager was a creative one. If the temptation is to suggest City could benefit from the Mancini of 15 years ago, the probability is the answers lie within the squad of 2010. Were Tevez to be supported by three of Silva, Milner, Balotelli and Adam Johnson, it would entail sacrificing one of Toure, de Jong and Barry - probably Barry - and altering the balance of the side.
But it may be necessary. With the quantity and quality of the players they have signed, City will encounter plenty of packed defences and a surfeit of sides willing to settle for a point. The current cautious approach may be an attempt to reduce the number of goals City concede, but the greater requirement now is to score more. Because it is worth remembering that, while the Premier League is invariably won by a team with a good defence, it is unfair to describe any of the previous victors as a defensive team. And as Chelsea's Carlo Ancelotti has shown, English adventure and Italian tactical nous can be a potent blend. It is neither catenaccio nor carefree, but somewhere in between.
The turnaround of the weekend occurred at White Hart Lane. Wigan Athletic lost 9-1 to Tottenham there last season and the aggregate score from their three previous games was 18-0. So the 1-0 win Hugo Rodallega's goal earned was improbable. It may be simplistic to argue a change of goalkeeper brought a change of fortune but Ali Al Habsi was outstanding. One interpretation of Chris Kirkland's absence was that his back problem was sustained bending down to pick the ball out of his net, but Al Habsi, the Omani, borrowed from Bolton Wanderers, should have displaced him now.
Both Wolverhampton Wanderers and the refereeing fraternity exacted some revenge on the serial miscreant Joey Barton on Saturday. Four Wolves were cautioned for fouls on the Newcastle United midfielder, with Karl Henry, the Wolverhampton captain, somehow staying on the field after a ludicrous challenge. When Barton belatedly went looking for retribution, he entered referee Stuart Attwell's notebook himself. The result? Barton has been booked every game this year. He is leading the race to five yellow cards and an automatic suspension.
Ajax, AC Milan, Juventus, Barcelona, Inter Milan, Tottenham: few players have a more impressive CV than Edgar Davids. And at the weekend, he made a league debut for Crystal Palace. In the cramped confines of Glanford Park, in front of a mere 5,292 spectators, one of the greatest players of his generation lost 3-0 to Scunthorpe United. Welcome to the Championship, Edgar. sports@thenational.ae