City v Wigan Post Match Thread (FA Cup)

[steviemc]

That wasn't a shite team selection at all. It wasn't our strongest selection which is my only gripe. We played well below ourselves for 3/4 of the game and paid the price. Nothing more, nothing less. Those that wish to blame an individual, manager or player, when a team performance is at fault should perhaps consider watching a sport that only involves two players.

 

[Bluemoonie92]

I have been to 3 home matches now and seen 3 defeats . That was worse than the Chelsea and Barcelona defeats . Are season is going down the drain this season . The only saving grace is at we have won a trophy this season .

Haha. similar to my last three games- norwich away, barca and wigan. in fact ive only seen us win four times this season

 

[steviemc]

I try not to post on here often but today was a disgrace...

I don't believe in slagging off MDM or any of the players, but the 2nd string is nowhere near good enough.

At this point I have to point out that Mancini flagged up a number of issues with the squad even in Jan last year.

The same problems are still there, the mediocrity that Mancini was trying to get out of the squad is still there or has been replaced by equally mediocre or worse.

The new manager has come and had half a season, the refresh of faces has had some effect but anyone who's seen us in the 2nd half of this season can see the same faults creeping back in. Even before that, it started with 10 min periods, two or three per game where intensity dropped and teams got at us, even in games we were dominating. re Liverpool & Arsenal...

So the guys I'm really wondering about at this point are the 2 Spanish blokes behind the scenes. Who is really calling the shots when it comes to squad and priorities.

I know some might not like it but I'm going to say it anyway... the rot set in once Mancini was undermined. We're now on a downward curve.

Our downward curve in the PL, Champions League and domestic cup competitions is still looking better than last year. You win the most illogical comment of the day prize...hands down! Try posting a bit less if that's the best you can come out with!

 

[shemnel]

Gunna throw one out there. Nasri looked like a true warrior today. Seemed like he wanted to win more than anybody else. I have never been the greatest fan of Nasri but these last few months he seems to have come into his own. Some of the runs he was doing at times were immense.

Indeed. I was worried about his temper for a moment in first half, but he managed to channel it into an excellent second half. Wanted the win more than anyone else.

as other players have shied away and looked a little, how shall we say, unmotivated, Nasri has looked up for everything and embodied passion for a couple of months now. He didnt play great today but he gave a shit.

 

[west didsblue]

I'm equally enraged, flabbergasted and genuinely distraught over some of the comments people are making on here.

It's easy to point your fingers at Pellegrini and scream that it's his fault. Same with Demi or Garcia (although less so him these days despite the two dire passes straight to a Wigan player.) But today you'd be absolutely wrong to do so.

'Why did he start MDM today?' Because Kompany needs a rest,he has started and played 90 minutes for so long now I can't remember not seeing him in the starting 11, he's going to suffer burn-out unless you rest him. Nastasic is out injured, but that's simply a side note right now. Pellegrini's hands were tied, he has to choose, play kompany today and Wednesday and the weekend and burn him out completely as we enter a very intensive PL game spree That we NEED to win. Rest him for the FA cup, or rest him on the international stage and have that shoddy defence against Barcelona and be embarrassed on an international stage.

'Those were stupid substitutions' Except Yaya had bottled it, Wigan had got under his skin and we all knew it. He was one ball throw or wild kick away from being sent of, one of which you could feel brewing under his skin. And let's be honest the ref wouldn't have been lenient today. Negredo has been ineffective recently and Aguero needed the run out. Jovetic is injured so again his hands were tied he had to bring Dzeko on. Navas, well, he was always going to be subbed.

But enough about Pellegrini, let's talk about Everything else.
Clichy. His crossing was errant and his defending for the second goal, well, the less said the better suffice to say he should have got to that first. He didn't perform today.
Richards let himself down. His normally driving runs we were accustomed to just didn't happen for the first half and yet he was still out of position a hell of a lot of times.

Lescott had a stormer today, but driving the ball forward isn't really a strong point from him.
Yaya was one move away from a red. Ineffective and brash.
Our forwards once again failed to score. All of them. It wasn't just Dzeko, it was all three of them.

It's reprehensible to blame one player or even go as far as questioning if the manager should be sacked for a loss. Instead we should be sucking up and moving on, you have to take the rough with the smooth, we know that better than anybody

Fair play to Wigan, they defended absolutely immaculately and wanted the win more. It was an absolutely torrid performance from us in the first half and we were with the exception of Silva, Nasri and Lescott.

The one and only question I have for Pellegrini is about MDM. What is it we're not seeing about him? Other than that as long as we make the Champions league next year I'll be satisfied with this year. Although I do expect our transfer team to work some magic with a few of our weaker positions.

Spot on.

One slightly worrying thought is if we can't beat Wigan at home, what chance have we got against Barcelona away?

 

[cleavers]

I'd appreciate one of them nice emails or text messages they like to send the next time they're not prioritising a game or more importantly a competition and I'll prioritise the couple of hundred quid I've already spent on this seasons FA Cup on something more important.

No consolation I'm sure, but today's result might have saved you a couple of hundred too J ;o)

Luckily I had to prioritise work today, spent all week trying to swap shifts, but alas work it was (my seats were paid for and used, before the empty seats brigade jump on my case).

Was I the only one not wanting an equaliser in injury time when we chucked Pants forward ? Probably not, as a draw was the last thing our league campaign needed, as probably was playing Arsenal at Wembley in truth, so we now have a simple target, hopefully we'll get our act together for it now.

A league and cup double is a rare thing for any club, let alone ours, so lets focus on that, and wish Uwe all the best against Arsenal.

 

[kismet]

I have to agree with Freewheelinfranklin who makes some very important and perceptive points.

Good post.

 

[Bill]

That wasn't a shite team selection at all. It wasn't our strongest selection which is my only gripe. We played well below ourselves for 3/4 of the game and paid the price. Nothing more, nothing less. Those that wish to blame an individual, manager or player, when a team performance is at fault should perhaps consider watching a sport that only involves two players.

that's fine, except that EVERY time we have rotated we have been or very close to being spanked.

the engineer needs to go back to school and re train.

 

[Burtonblue]

I have been to 3 home matches now and seen 3 defeats . That was worse than the Chelsea and Barcelona defeats . Are season is going down the drain this season . The only saving grace is at we have won a trophy this season .

Please stay at home for the rest of the season:)

Beat me to it!

 

[Anonymous]

I try not to post on here often but today was a disgrace...

I don't believe in slagging off MDM or any of the players, but the 2nd string is nowhere near good enough.

At this point I have to point out that Mancini flagged up a number of issues with the squad even in Jan last year.

The same problems are still there, the mediocrity that Mancini was trying to get out of the squad is still there or has been replaced by equally mediocre or worse.

The new manager has come and had half a season, the refresh of faces has had some effect but anyone who's seen us in the 2nd half of this season can see the same faults creeping back in. Even before that, it started with 10 min periods, two or three per game where intensity dropped and teams got at us, even in games we were dominating. re Liverpool & Arsenal...

So the guys I'm really wondering about at this point are the 2 Spanish blokes behind the scenes. Who is really calling the shots when it comes to squad and priorities. Try posting a bit less if that's the sum total of your contribution!

I know some might not like it but I'm going to say it anyway... the rot set in once Mancini was undermined. We're now on a downward curve.

Our downward curve in the PL, Champions League and domestic cup competitions is still looking better than last year. You win the most illogical comment of the day prize...hands down!

I hope so, but I don't really think that getting one game further in the CL is such a big deal, especially when we've had our arses handed to us at home by Bayern & Barca in that competition. If you think our current league form is good enough then you've probably not watched the last few games. Its great to win the League Cup but I'd still see winning just that as a poor return on the season.

Oh and finally we really need to get someone to manage our PR better. Some of the Quadruple quotes are really going to make us look ridiculous.