I'm honestly getting bored of this "we must get fourth this season or MCFC will implode" outlook.
Looking back at not getting fourth last season, all it showed was that we weren't good enough just yet. We didn't miss out on anything. I think if we had finished fourth, or even won the league; we'd'v probably still only signed Silva, Yaya, Kolarov, Boateng, Balotelli, Milner and Dzeko and no others anyway. If we get fourth this season, or even win the league and FA Cup, we won't be signing anyone that we won't sign if we finish fifth. Messi, CRonaldo, Iniesta, Xavi won't be coming. Long term not getting fourth last season, or this season, will not effect MCFC!
This season we were pretty poor (especially away from home where we were terrible) in the Europa Lg. This highlighted that we certainly weren't ready for the Champions Lg. I also think it shows we won't be ready for it next season. Everything about us shouts out that we are a naive new (at being at the top) club who are starting out at the early stages of a development into what will be greatness in a decade or so. Some of our squad aren't good enough; a lot of players have been here five minutes; a lot haven't moulded into the club yet; as a squad and club we lack experience of big games (we've not won any derbies, end of season crunch games, semi finals nor reached a final with the Sheikh yet); Mancini has been here just 15 months; our atmopsheres are not intimidating to opposition teams at all and very often are not motivating towards our own team (sitting in silence doesn't help, 35000 of you). There are so many things that aren't right yet that just scream out we aren't quite a big club, a good team or ready for the proper big time just yet.
The thing is, in a decade we will be great, regardless of what happened last season, what will happen this season or what will happen even next season.
I personally don't think we'll be ready to make a good show of ourselves in the Champions Lg until Hart (23), Kompany (24), de Jong (25) and Silva (25) are all right in their prime when they're about 28.
I don't think we'll be ready to make a good show of ourselves in the CL as well as playing well and keeping up a high level consistency in the Prem with a squad of: Given, Gonzalez, Neilsen, Taylor, Bridge, Cunningham, Logan, Onuoha, Kolo (for a supposed good player, an Arsenal invincible, I don't rate him at all), Vidal, sometimes Barry's performances, Ibrahim, often Yaya's performances, Vieira (although we needed him when de Jong was injured, Barry could fill his role now he's getting older), Weiss, Wright-Phillips, Adebayor's lazy arse performances (Wolves away was a disgrace), Balotelli as he has been so far (not saying for one minute he won't become great, but right now he's not been good enough outside the goals he's scored), Bellamy (yeah great when he was here and playing but he was injured so often he was pointless), Caicedo, Jo, Santa Cruz, Nimely; and what if Boateng, Kolorov, Milner and Dzeko who have all been a bit under what I expected (I know they've not been here long but there is a big chance what we see now is all we'll get) don't improve? What if Tevez leaves (even if we get fourth)?
It will be a few more summer windows before we iron this out. It will be a few more years of experiencing big games and getting European experience before we're gonna be a real top club. That spine of the team (who just happen to be our best players) will be in their later 20's and we'll have a different looking squad to that above before we're a proper dangerous side.
And as I've stated our fans need to improve ten fold, one hundred fold. We're silent more often than we're noisy and most of the time we're averagely quiet. This honestly gains points over the season, even if it's just an extra three, it's an extra three. We've not had a good derby atmopshere for absolutely ages! And all this leaving early is a joke no matter what anyone says!
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So all this considered I would rather win the FA Cup a million times over finishing not first, not second, not third, but fourth in the league.
We will get in the Champions Lg and do well in it, maybe even in the 2013-14 season (which will be here in no time!). But this and next season I don't think we're ready to make a good show of ourselves.
I'm not even bothered about the banner at the Swamp. I rarely think about it. I'm more bothered that I'm 28 and been a City regular to home and away games since I was 6 years old and I've not seen us do anything of any note or even threaten to win a cup. A trophy is what I want. The FA Cup will be amazing! We'll get the bigger things in time as we get better as a squad and bigger as a club.
