Yeah I had the same. A mate from Moston text me at half time saying we were shite and weren't in the game.I was there and thought we had done ok first half. Was surprised when a mate messaged me to say he thought Arsenal controlled the first half (he was watching on Sky).
Yeah I had the same. A mate from Moston text me at half time saying we were shite and weren't in the game.
We had a quick text argument with me saying he was talking bollocks.
But if the match thread is still around then check it out. Posters were saying Arsenal could as many as they wanted.
It's madness. What was telling was applause and no boos at half time.
I have noted a few people on here pick up on stuff that Tyler and Neville chose to highlight as if they had observed it for themselves. Kev's failure to track back on their goal being one of them. Neville harped n about atmosphere playing to the RAG agenda - never hear him mention that elsewhere... more importantly the ebb and flow of the game is never reflected in the tone of the commentators. A pass to the edge of the box by them was greeted with hysterics, we were continually around their box and they barely raised a mutter. I am not a Neville hater but as a co- commentator I think his bias was clearly showing. If I have to watch by stream now I deliberately look for a foreign channel to avoid commentator influence. So much of it is subliminal it could turn you to the dark side ;-)
Opening gambit from Carragher "City won't win the league, not with that defence" he whined. He schreeched several times how Arsenal should have and any decent team would have, destroyed us in the second half because of all the space behind the defence!
Then Neville spends the next five or so minutes psycho-analysing why Arsenal were 'tired' including the bizarre concept that it was because they travelled back to London, near Outer Mongolia, and they were fatigued. He came up with even more reasons including saying they were lazy. Not once did he mention the possibility that City might have ran the legs off them in the first half, and the second was a possible consequence of that!!!
Weird? Yes. Biased? Without a doubt.
I've just had a look and it's gone but i did look in the pre match thread from 3pm and fuck me we've some fannies supporting us!!
I'll be honest, i was worried regarding Zab and especially Clichy, as i'd have prefered Maffeo and Angelino,but some comments in that thread are ridiculous!! Arsenal to get 4 ffs!!
Glad the match day thread is unavailable to be honest, can just imagine some of the comments in it.
I agree his tone when we scored wasn't exactly cheerful but he was pretty much the same when Walcott scored.Agreed. Tyler sounded like someone had just shit on his sandwiches when Sane scored. I got to the car on Sunday, and was quite surprised at how the likes of Ian Wright kept going on about how poor we were in the first half. If they had said good approach play but not enough chances, then I guess I could agree to that.
Then on MNF, they repeat the same mantra with bells on it.
Opening gambit from Carragher "City won't win the league, not with that defence" he whined. He schreeched several times how Arsenal should have and any decent team would have, destroyed us in the second half because of all the space behind the defence!
Then Neville spends the next five or so minutes psycho-analysing why Arsenal were 'tired' including the bizarre concept that it was because they travelled back to London, near Outer Mongolia, and they were fatigued. He came up with even more reasons including saying they were lazy. Not once did he mention the possibility that City might have ran the legs off them in the first half, and the second was a possible consequence of that!!!
Weird? Yes. Biased? Without a doubt.
The semi-literate, incomprehensible Carragher might have said that but what he meant was probably "I hope to fuck City don't win the title with that defence!"
As for Gary Nutter he's just a failed manager! Nuff said. Talk the talk all day long but give him the manager's job and he'll shit the shit 24/7.
The press are peddling the line that Arsenal were firmly in control in the first half but wilted in the face of City's second half onslaught, when Gusrdiola realised pretty-pretty football had to give way to good old English physicality to overcome Arsenal's foreign softies. There followed analysis after analysis of how Arsenal were sabotaged by the ref as they threw the game away. This is not the game any of us watched.
Guardiola teams have never simply played pretty-pretty football and City don't. They didn't convert to physicality during halftime either. City play high energy, intense, possession-based pressing football. For 45 minutes yesterday the high energy, the intensity and the pressing were missing. Arsenal's goal was the best example- a full back allowed to run 60 yards, two other players move the ball into our area and Walcott puts it in without a City player getting within 5 yards of any of them! Bravo did what he always seems to do in a one-on-one - go down to his left far too early. It was the missing ingredients which had destroyed United, which had not given Messi & co a sniff for over an hour and which had tortured Chelsea for an hour which came back in the second half.
But Arsenal were beaten tactically as well. The MEN has failed to grasp this by asking what Pep has got against Iheanacho. The answer is - nothing at all. But in Barcelona he left Sergio out for greater solidity in midfield, and yesterday he left out Iheanacho to pack the midfield. I think the explanation is quite simple. Arsenal - like Barcelona- pass the ball well and play through midfield. Pep wanted numerical superiority there to deny Arsenal the ball and marginalise Sanchez and Walcott. Now, this clearly won't work without the intense press. In the second half City pressed in packs, isolated the Arsenal lad with the ball and the Gooners didn't launch an attack of note. But City also had two wide men of frightening pace, who, much of the time, did keep the chalk on their boots. This stretched Arsenal's back line across the pitch but also forced Arsenal to try and counter their pace by dropping ever deeper. Two lines of four in a decent defensive formation gave way to isolated front men unable to link with midfielders unable to keep the ball or shield a beleaguered back four. City's back four, so vulnerable early on, we're given excellent protection because Arsenal were denied time and good ball in midfield and couldn't move it forward, and so our lads could move forward to make interceptions or tackles. We were never turned and no-one was allowed to run at us with the ball.
I think the comeback was a triumph for Silva, KdB, Sané, Sterling and YaYa but most of all for Pep. He drew up the blue print for success but for 45 minutes the lads only put half of it into practice. In the second half we got nearly the whole package and it was impressive. That is Pep's mission - to get us playing Guardiola football for 90 minutes a game, 65 games a season.
If you actually watch the game without commentary and look at what actually happened, we dominated both halves, Arsenal scored off their only shot on goal, they forced 1 corner and had 39% of the ball. We absolutely battered them from beginning to end. The only difference in the second half is we had more of a cutting edge.
Better team over 90 mins, better team in first half (just) much better for most of second half.
However,as I saw it, the last 10mins were mostly Arsenal and although we did well on the counter I thought that was by far their best period and they were better than us I that 10min spell. But can't see anyone (I'll be honest I've not read every post) mentioning this.
The best analysis of the game you'll read all week:
http://spielverlagerung.com/2016/12/20/city-in-comeback-win-with-dominant-2nd-half/
No question, but Arsenal must surely have DESERVERED the three points more than us, Arsene intimated as much, just as the Dippers DESERVED their win on Monday!! How many times do we hear such shite as 'deserved the win'! One of the biggest loads of talkshite about football going!
Has Wenger stopped crying yet?
Anyone else hear Matterazzi claim Watford deserved to win the game on Wed night? I ****stop laughing at that blinkered twat either.
Has Wenger stopped crying yet?
Anyone else hear Matterazzi claim Watford deserved to win the game on Wed night? I ****stop laughing at that blinkered twat either.