mcfc1632 said:4/ Now I am admittedley an anti-Micah poster and was dismayed to see him start with the armband on. After 20mins though I was wondering if this had been a masterstroke by Mancini as Micah was impressing more than he had in the last 2 years put together - defending and going forward...
But after that brief spell of effort we saw the same old same old - as examples:
a) For the 1st goal - he lost the person he should be marking and made a piss poor effort to jump for the ball (the scorer was a slight chap who should not be able to get free headers)
kevilldavies said:From what I could see and admittedly it wasn't much, there was not a lot of difference between the sides. The difference in the end was that the portuguese side grafted out a couple of goals to win the match. And isn't this what counts? In tight games, it is important that it is City that produces those moments of brilliance that wins games. We've got enough coaches to work on this, for heaven's sake.
Many supporters on the City web sites are saying that it's only a friendly and didn't really matter. Some gave the excuse that Lisbon were a couple of weeks ahead of us in training. Its that old City mentality of indifference to the result. Hasn't it always been the way. Hasn't the team always run alternatively hot and cold; its part of City's history and culture. 'Well isn't that City all over,' they would say and have been saying for too long.
I had hoped that we'd banished that mentality for good and were beginning to accept that winning is what counts, even if the manner of winning wasn't always pretty.
City isn't, however, solely about the supporters. I believe that winning EVERY game is what the owner would want. To all Arabs, honour is important in their family and tribal centred culture. I am sure that success by the team will be a source of great pride to the Sheik and that defeat, even in so called 'friendlies' will be sharply felt.
Manchester City have changed as a club. Their reach extends worldwide as we have recently seen with the project in Manhattan. Players who are already in the Club and those coming must understand that they are now numbered amongst the world's footballing elite. Pulling on the City shirt has consequences; responsibilities as well as rewards. It is no place for the faint hearted or those who think it is just a game. Let us hear no more feeble excuses for failing to deliver. The world is watching let alone us faithful Blues.
I wish us all a bloody good season. We deserve it!
Deepest Blue said:Don't sell "the Yanks" short on the subject of pre-season games.
They know that they are glorified practice matches arranged to increase fitness levels and mental sharpness without picking up injuries. All American sports leagues (NFL MLB etc) do this also.
The local media may talk the games up as they need to keep viewers/readers interested til the next ad break.
The Richards as captain thing was interesting. This plus the diary on OS strongly suggests that he's staying and that giving him responsibility will help cut out the petulance and mental errors on the pitch.
mcfc1632 said:My summary was:
1/ Enjoyed first 15mins - was pleased to see the tempo / effort from both teams - thought "...this could be a good match..."
2/ In the end Jo showed just how good he is - he was given a platform to impress, and well...... despite some effort he does not even have the basics for a PL striker
3/ Felt for the young lad given a chance at LB (Cunningham) - he had a mare and this was his big chance - and Bridge was ineffective when he came on - shows LB needs sorting still and no surprise the first goal cam from there
4/ Now I am admittedley an anti-Micah poster and was dismayed to see him start with the armband on. After 20mins though I was wondering if this had been a masterstroke by Mancini as Micah was impressing more than he had in the last 2 years put together - defending and going forward...
But after that brief spell of effort we saw the same old same old - as examples:
a) For the 1st goal - he lost the person he should be marking and made a piss poor effort to jump for the ball (the scorer was a slight chap who should not be able to get free headers)
b) He was not responsible directly for the 2nd goal - but god I hate to watch him 'just stand there and watch' - what happens if there is a second play - perhaps a rebaound from the GK - well he is not there 'cos he isn't arsed to get back just in case
c) After the 1st goal he seemed to lose motivation - more and more occaisions of him just jogging about - you could see a break down our right when he was not in the picture - even when the play had been held up by there attacker for quite a while and any defender even 'half-trying' would have been back helping - simply would get totally exposed in PL (again...)
5/ AJ had his most ineffective performance I have seen for quite a while - no lack of effort but he was trying to play as M/F as well as winger and got found out with lots of poor passing - giving the ball away often
6/ Stevie had a platform to impress as well - and I did love some of his touches - but he did not really take this chance - OMG (only a pre-season friendly) but it shows the need for the M/F players we have bought - big problem last season was how Tevez et al were not getting MF service and had to always become the MF to get the ball - Bellers was doing that before hald tie had been reached
7/....the commentators gave a good example of the sort of shit that is gonna be spouted by commentators about our spending every time we are less than 'top drawer'