We're Top of the League

[Balti]

Re: When All Is Said And Done, Our Away Form Has Cost Us The....

It's entirely feasible we could finish the season with a 100% home record, and still fail to win the league.

Remember, we're the only team to have won the league and been relegated the following season, the only team to have scored 100 goals and been relegated, and the only team to have ever gone down with a positive goal difference.

So being the only team ever to win every single home game in a season, yet still not wining the title, would have a comforting air of 'typical City' about it ;-)

so true! lol

 

[Matty]

We have not been defensive since the Chelsea game the difference is teams parking the bus and silva is of the boil! Just don't get this Mancini being to defensive watch back our away games since chelsea no change what so ever

I don't agree. We play the possession game, lots of passes but most of it sideways and in areas that don't hurt the opposition. The difference in our results from home and away is startling really, of our 70 league points we've picked up 45 at home and only 25 away. You expect to get more points at home, but almost twice as many?! It can't be argued that there hasn't been a decrease in our point accumulation away from home, as my above split (pre and post Chelsea) demonstrated, are we suddenly finding the likes of Swansea, West Brom, Sunderland, Stoke and Everton far too good for us defensively, yet the likes of United, Spurs, Bolton, Blackburn and QPR couldn't even keep us to less than 3 goals against? We've scored 1 goal in the first set games I mentioned, compared to the 21 we scored in the second set of games I mentioned. That can't simply be down to teams "parking the bus", we must have dropped our form considerably, and it's not inconceivable for us to claim a change in tactics is also to blame. The open flowing football of the late summer and autumn simply isn't happening now. It's not like we're absolutely battering sides (potentially Sunderland aside) and being unlucky, in the Swansea, Everton and Stoke games we just didn't trouble the keeper enough at all.

So we are more defensive because we haven't scored enough goals since Chelsea away? The side ways passing is because there are 11 players in front of us not interested in coming out of there half!

I think away from home it might be better if we actually put 11 behind the ball

Yes, instead of attacking in numbers and swarming over the opposition like we did at White Hart Lane, at Old Trafford, at Ewood Park etc, we now sit back, keep possession and prod away at the opposition hoping to find a weakness. This is far more defensive as it leaves us always with several men behind the ball to prevent the counter attack. At home virtually every side we've played has "parked the bus". They all come with a 4-5-1 formation, with the wide players in the 5 invariably dropping deeper and deeper to make it a virtual back 6 at times. And we win. Always. Are you honestly telling me that when it comes to these teams home games they are far better defensively than they are away from home?

3-2 1-2
5-1 0-0
2-2 0-1
4-0 1-0
6-1 0-1
3-2 1-0
1-1 0-1
1-1

7 games pre Chelsea, scored 24 times, conceeded 9.

8 games, Chelsea onwards, scored 4 times, conceeded 6.

The difference is so marked it can't be down to just the opposition shutting up shop.

 

[waspish]

We have not been defensive since the Chelsea game the difference is teams parking the bus and silva is of the boil! Just don't get this Mancini being to defensive watch back our away games since chelsea no change what so ever

Neither Swansea nor Stoke parked any buses. Our first 8 away games saw 36 goals scored for and against, the 7 since have seen 7 goals scored for and against, no change in tactics ? Really ?

Admittedly there are other factors too, like missing certain players, but we are definitely not attacking the way we did early in the season, and we need to get back to it before its too late. As Matty says we've failed to trouble the keepers in at least a couple of those games.

Watch the spurs away game then the Stoke away game then get back to me and tell me what was the difference

 

[Matty]

We have not been defensive since the Chelsea game the difference is teams parking the bus and silva is of the boil! Just don't get this Mancini being to defensive watch back our away games since chelsea no change what so ever

Neither Swansea nor Stoke parked any buses. Our first 8 away games saw 36 goals scored for and against, the 7 since have seen 7 goals scored for and against, no change in tactics ? Really ?

Admittedly there are other factors too, like missing certain players, but we are definitely not attacking the way we did early in the season, and we need to get back to it before its too late. As Matty says we've failed to trouble the keepers in at least a couple of those games.

Watch the spurs away game then the Stoke away game then get back to me and tell me what was the difference

The difference was where we had the possession. Against Spurs it was much closer to the final third. It was also in the quality of the chances we created, pure statistics in themselves are irrelevant. One team can hit 8 speculative long range efforts on target that never trouble the keeper, another can create 3 clear cut goal scoring chances. Stats will make it look like the side that hit the 8 no-hopers was the dominate side.

We all watched the game at Swansea, we very rarely troubled Vorm in their net, and certainly didn't look like we were peppering the goal with chances. The BBC stats? Well, apparently we had 18 shots, 13 of which were on target! Can anyone remember even a couple of really good goalscoring attempts?

 

[Anonymous]

Early or mid-season , before any dust has settled , a point at a place like Stoke would be looked upon as a satisfying result ......

in March , with less than ten games to go , a point at Stoke is unnaceptable to those wishing to win a title ..... true champions , having got back into the game , would have gone on to nick it!

All those dropped points did was to hand the rags the initative , should they win tonite ..... and they almost certainly will!

 

[cleavers]

Watch the spurs away game then the Stoke away game then get back to me and tell me what was the difference

The difference is the number of players forward of, and behind the ball, when we attack, and the movement isn't anywhere near as good either when we are attacking. I suspect this is down to the fact they have been told to make sure the defensive side of the game is covered first and foremost.

The goal numbers both for and against are not some weird coincidence, we conceded 2 daft goals at Chelsea, it cost us the game, since then the priority has been not condeding, and it isn't working, we still do, usually the first, and then we are chasing the game, and unsurprisingly the home team then defend what they have.

 

[BezzMCFC]

Neither Swansea nor Stoke parked any buses. Our first 8 away games saw 36 goals scored for and against, the 7 since have seen 7 goals scored for and against, no change in tactics ? Really ?

Admittedly there are other factors too, like missing certain players, but we are definitely not attacking the way we did early in the season, and we need to get back to it before its too late. As Matty says we've failed to trouble the keepers in at least a couple of those games.

Watch the spurs away game then the Stoke away game then get back to me and tell me what was the difference

The difference was where we had the possession. Against Spurs it was much closer to the final third. It was also in the quality of the chances we created, pure statistics in themselves are irrelevant. One team can hit 8 speculative long range efforts on target that never trouble the keeper, another can create 3 clear cut goal scoring chances. Stats will make it look like the side that hit the 8 no-hopers was the dominate side.

We all watched the game at Swansea, we very rarely troubled Vorm in their net, and certainly didn't look like we were peppering the goal with chances. The BBC stats? Well, apparently we had 18 shots, 13 of which were on target! Can anyone remember even a couple of really good goalscoring attempts?

i dont even remember getting into the ground mate.. never mind the ammount of shots. :(

 

[Anonymous]

Neither Swansea nor Stoke parked any buses. Our first 8 away games saw 36 goals scored for and against, the 7 since have seen 7 goals scored for and against, no change in tactics ? Really ?

Admittedly there are other factors too, like missing certain players, but we are definitely not attacking the way we did early in the season, and we need to get back to it before its too late. As Matty says we've failed to trouble the keepers in at least a couple of those games.

We all watched the game at Swansea, we very rarely troubled Vorm in their net, and certainly didn't look like we were peppering the goal with chances. The BBC stats? Well, apparently we had 18 shots, 13 of which were on target! Can anyone remember even a couple of really good goalscoring attempts?

All i can remember of us at Swansea is second half efforts from Balotelli and Richards that were well saved , and the Richards disallowed goal ..... aside from that i don't think we did fuck all else in the entire game!

If we managed 13 shots on target there , as those stats suggested , then , quite frankly , i'm Dame Edna Everage !

 

[SWP's back]

Re: When All Is Said And Done, Our Away Form Has Cost Us The....

Fulham 2-2. 2 points dropped.
Chelsea. 2-1. 3 points dropped.
WBA 0-0. 2 points dropped.
Liverpool. 1-1. 2 points dropped.
Sunderland. 1-0. 3 points dropped.
Everton 1-0. 3 points dropped.
Swansea. 1-0. 3 points dropped
Stoke. 1-1. 2 points dropped.

20 points dropped in total.

Fulham 2-2 (foul on Dzeko leading to their first)
Chelsea. 2-1 (penalty that would have potentially made it 2-0 not given)
WBA 0-0 (onside goal disallowed)
Liverpool. 1-1 (reina allowed to stay on after deliberate handball outside the box)
Sunderland. 1-0 (offside goal given)
Everton 1-0 (foul on Dzeko not given again, Drenthe GBH)
Swansea. 1-0 (better team won fair and square)
Stoke. 1-1 (foul on Barry before Crouch goal not given)

You can't measure each result on 1 incident given against us in 90 minutes of play.

In most of those games we've made enough chances to have taken all 3 points, but failed to convert most of them. Fulham, WBA, Sunderland, stand out.

You/we can't keep on blaming refs. That's what you're doing.

Our away form is better than Utd's was last season and they were champions.

 

[BoyBlue_1985]

Re: When All Is Said And Done, Our Away Form Has Cost Us The....

Fulham 2-2 (foul on Dzeko leading to their first)
Chelsea. 2-1 (penalty that would have potentially made it 2-0 not given)
WBA 0-0 (onside goal disallowed)
Liverpool. 1-1 (reina allowed to stay on after deliberate handball outside the box)
Sunderland. 1-0 (offside goal given)
Everton 1-0 (foul on Dzeko not given again, Drenthe GBH)
Swansea. 1-0 (better team won fair and square)
Stoke. 1-1 (foul on Barry before Crouch goal not given)

You can't measure each result on 1 incident given against us in 90 minutes of play.

In most of those games we've made enough chances to have taken all 3 points, but failed to convert most of them. Fulham, WBA, Sunderland, stand out.

You/we can't keep on blaming refs. That's what you're doing.

Our away form is better than Utd's was last season and they were champions.

Yes but its not good enough this year. It was bad enough putting up with 10 points every other year would of got you to the knockouts in CL, yes but it wasn't this year and that's all that matters. Anyway roll on next week im bored of talking about how poor we are away from home