After about three corners yesterday, each one of which had been headed effortlessly clear by Stoke, I wondered why there weren't any City players within five yards of where the ball was being delivered.
Mostly the balls were going into the area they have been delivered into for the last year, namely about 8 yards out between the front post and the penalty spot. The problem was, no City players were even close, so instead of watching the ball in the second half I started watching City's runners. They took their usual positions level with the far post about 20 yards out. From there, they usually run on to the ball and at least make a challenge, but yesterday they were being blocked and held and shackled and shirt pulled. Mason, if he saw it, did fuck all.
Hughes obviously knew what we were going to do with the corners, so part of his game plan (apart from waste time at every opportunity and go down if someone farts near you) was obviously (sorry) to make sure City's big players don't get a run on to the delivery from corners. They stopped us by fair means and by foul. Perhaps it was too much to hope that if I could spot what they were doing from EL3 that the referee could see it from 10 yards away.