jay_mcfc said:
Marvin said:
Most games at St Andrews are bleak, and after the 1st half collision which cost us 2 players I think this thread is harsh in the extreme, particularly as we drew.
There has been a lot of shit written about this one game but that shouldn't surprise anyone. Birmingham is a very tough place to go and we're disappointed we didn't win after twice taking the lead. We should have had a penalty and on a pitch that just wasn't suited to us we played well at times and had Vieira not given away a silly penalty we'd all be talking about a brilliant away victory. Those are the margins we're dealing with.
There is concern about set-piece defending and giving away silly fouls but I'm sure Mancini will sort these out.
I think there are a few reasons why. There are some on here who would give the guy claiming to be Brazilian the freedom of Manchester, merely because he plays for City, because it's a joke he plays for City still, and thus because it's a joke, it actually becomes a literal joke, where it's fashionable and 'funny' to defend him on the basis of 'oh we have a song about him now'. And then there are others who if we conceed a single goal in any game, and far too critical. I sense, the truth is, there are a lot of genuine honest fans out there, and on Bluemoon, who deep down, know this season, has been up and down when put into context, yes (im sorry for those who fail to accept this point) how much money we have spent to improve on our overall league position at the end of the season, the way we have set up in some games, and the selection of one or two players in the squad over others.
The reason why some genuine critical thoughts have been brushed under the carpet for the majority of the season, is because we have remained in the top 3 mix throughout. Of course, I am giving Mancini credit for this, because I've acknowledged many times, particularly prior to xmas, he was working on developing us into a more resolute, disciplined side with a fear of losing. We were developing momentum, being able to play before teams and make a statement, and play after teams and still stay in the mix.
But there have been other concerns, sometimes the playing style being far too narrow against teams with a lack of pace at the back, against teams coming to park the bus, and the laws of average say, you can't continue to keep winning games, on a low 'clear cut' chance created ratio. We have had lots of possession, and lots of powder puff half chances in games, but only in a handful of games, have we really created 6 or 7 clinical clear cut chances. We have relied far too often on moments of individual quality. We need to score more team goals.
I sense, the two cup games away (with those who turned up to West Brom still remembering the way we threw away the opportunity to go further in that competition) have started to make people take a bit more notice of this 'momentum thing'. Because, of course we have been in the title mix, whether people liked to admit it of not. That's not arrogance. That's the truth. So fans are asking them, is there momentum at the moment, in terms of progression on the field of play, not just results, but performances, and player selection. And are we likely to do what we did after the Everton defeat (go on a 4 winning game run etc) or are we likely to do what all of those on hear who are shitting themselves daily about, and that is 'be typical city again'. It's that mentality syndrome which is one of the problems. So its very difficult at times to weed out the genuine concerns, the concerns based on the 'typical city let us down mentality' and the 'concerns but met well with the right positives'.
When fans start to look over their shoulder (Spurs) instead of ahead (Utd), then of course, whatever the real target was, they rightly will consider some of the other concerns, which were brushed under the carpet a while back. Patience is key, but at the same time, being honest on here, and discussing genuine positives and negatives, is fair.
