City v Arsenal post match discussion

[Danielmanc]

Just got in from the game.

Thoughts..Clichy was my man of the match today for me. The rest were distinctly average.

Dzeko - I have been a huge critic but his best game for ages.very surprised to see him come off when Sergio was clearly knackered.

Lescott - Yet another good headed goal but then he goes and fucks up with an abysmal headed clearance. He is a good premiership defender but not world class by any means. Oh for a Carlos Puyol with his dominance in the air.

I am concerned with the lack of team spirit at the moment again. They just don't seem together.

Oh well not going to moan and slag the team. Arsenal were good today and they bossed the middle. Who knows with a little more luck VK's overheader and Sergios follow up could have gone in but we are 4 pts behind.

People need to fucking chill and realise it is a long long season.

Can I just mention the round of applause at the start of the game. Well done city supporters.

This is so right. Too much knee jerking

 

[ColinBellsjockstrap]

Passing generally was a disgrace today.....Very sloppy and wasteful.

Not good enough.

 

[robertsuki]

I am not looking to criticise but retaining our title is going to be a big ask this season.

Whilst we are not firing on all cylinders in any section of the team the obvious problem appears to be midfield where we have had a bit of a makeover in the last month.

Firstly we look vulnerable to any side attacking us through that section of the pitch just in front of the back 4.Garcia will improve but at the moment he is chasing the game and lacks that extra speed.Yaya never defensively the best but by repeatedly giving the ball away adds to the pressure. Rodwell is another for the future but at the moment is not upto the standard required.Barry has been injured for quite a period and not upto speed.
Therefore defensively in midfield we are not on a par with last season.

Offensively it just is not happening at the moment with David Silva having lost form and confidence and Samir Nasri whilst improved from parts of last season still not the deadly performer from his Arse days.The jury is still out on Sinclair.

The difference is ,as you are all aware, that we concede rather than retain possession and invite teams to hit us where it hurts.We are not dominating as we did last season.

Mancini needs to tighten up this area as quickly as possible in order that we are not playing catch up in both competitions.

 

[blue for life]

Dont know what is wrong with everyone on here - as has been noted before Arsenal were probably playing at the top of their game - we havent all season and are still only 4 points behind Chelski who have not played anyone decent yet (they play Arsenal next week so they both cant win).

Past scum championship-winning teams also had many bad starts but eventually came out on top - 33 games to go ffs.

Also we have had 3 hard games out of the way now already - Lpool away Stoke away and a rejuvenated Arse at home.

Loads of new players bedding in at the same time - let the scum fans and others think we are spiralling downwards - write us off at your peril.

Oh by the way Utd and Chelski look pretty average to me from what I have seen.

 

[Cielo Azzurro]

For me, one of the reasons of the current form of the squad is the echoes of a bad pre-season. Not in the meaning of a bad trainings or lazy work-outs, no. Remember, half of the team were away (Euro2012), new signings came very late.. They didn't have enough time to play and train with each other, to adapt. Then again international break, few injuries and tough away game in Madrid.. I'm not looking for excuses, what I'm trying to say is the team need more time to gain an optimal form. Nothing is lost, we will get our concentration and desire back.
It's not going to be easy walk in the park this season, but I believe in the manager and this team, they will show what the champions are made of.

 

[davymcfc]

Disappointing performance today. We look quite rusty at the start of this season. Silva was poor today as was yaya and clichy. We certainly need to improve if we are to retain our title. The positive is that we are still unbeaten this season and not playing anywhere near the kind of football we know we are capable of.

 

[blue for life]

Disappointing performance today. We look quite rusty at the start of this season. Silva was poor today as was yaya and clichy. We certainly need to improve if we are to retain our title. The positive is that we are still unbeaten this season and not playing anywhere near the kind of football we know we are capable of.

It can only get better then as I think this is us at our worst!<br /><br />-- Sun Sep 23, 2012 8:21 pm --<br /><br />

For me, one of the reasons of the current form of the squad is the echoes of a bad pre-season. Not in the meaning of a bad trainings or lazy work-outs, no. Remember, half of the team were away (Euro2012), new signings came very late.. They didn't have enough time to play and train with each other, to adapt. Then again international break, few injuries and tough away game in Madrid.. I'm not looking for excuses, what I'm trying to say is the team need more time to gain an optimal form. Nothing is lost, we will get our concentration and desire back.
It's not going to be easy walk in the park this season, but I believe in the manager and this team, they will show what the champions are made of.

Couldnt agree more - some fans need to get a bit of perspective here.

 

[Yaya_Tony]

We didn't play well and still drew, against an arse team previously on fire. Some of the lads in this thread need to realise what fucking game we play here. Football doesn't always go your own way, we have enough quality to pick it up over a season.

You make out as though we were unlucky not to win it. We were miles off the pace and have been poor all season.

A lot of people would of left today thinking we were lucky to take a point.

People know what game we are playing, they are probably hoping Mancini reverts back to what worked last season and go to 4231 instead of 442 or 352. We look all over the shop defensively.

If we started with "one striker", people would be calling for Mancini's head for being too defensive. I agree there was an element of luck which allowed us to get a point today, but a bit more luck and it could have been 3. Taking the long view, there is still a long way to go and it is a point vs a good arsenal side. If in May we win by one point, today will have been pivotal.

 

[kippaxchris]

Zabaleta again for me messed this one up along with Lescott! Zaba played great all game and then he headers it straight to Arsenal Cazorla shoots Hart saves corner in Lescott heads it straight to Koscielny<br /><br />-- Sun Sep 23, 2012 7:26 pm --<br /><br />

Just got in from the game.

Thoughts..Clichy was my man of the match today for me. The rest were distinctly average.

Dzeko - I have been a huge critic but his best game for ages.very surprised to see him come off when Sergio was clearly knackered.

Lescott - Yet another good headed goal but then he goes and fucks up with an abysmal headed clearance. He is a good premiership defender but not world class by any means. Oh for a Carlos Puyol with his dominance in the air.

I am concerned with the lack of team spirit at the moment again. They just don't seem together.

Oh well not going to moan and slag the team. Arsenal were good today and they bossed the middle. Who knows with a little more luck VK's overheader and Sergios follow up could have gone in but we are 4 pts behind.

People need to fucking chill and realise it is a long long season.

Can I just mention the round of applause at the start of the game. Well done city supporters.

Yh Lescott made a bad clearance and they scored from it but the corner would have never came around if Zabaleta didn't head the ball straight to an Arsenal player or if Maicon was playing

 

[blue for life]

We didn't play well and still drew, against an arse team previously on fire. Some of the lads in this thread need to realise what fucking game we play here. Football doesn't always go your own way, we have enough quality to pick it up over a season.

You make out as though we were unlucky not to win it. We were miles off the pace and have been poor all season.

A lot of people would of left today thinking we were lucky to take a point.

People know what game we are playing, they are probably hoping Mancini reverts back to what worked last season and go to 4231 instead of 442 or 352. We look all over the shop defensively.

If we started with "one striker", people would be calling for Mancini's head for being too defensive. I agree there was an element of luck which allowed us to get a point today, but a bit more luck and it could have been 3. Taking the long view, there is still a long way to go and it is a point vs a good arsenal side. If in May we win by one point, today will have been pivotal.

Exactly - in this league it is all about 38 games not 5 plus so far no losses - even though we are playing in 2nd gear we are still up there. I would be worried if I supported one of our rivals - playing poor Man City but cant shake em off!