What if we win 'nowt?

[Exeter Blue I am here]

Now is a critical point in our season, but injuries are killing it off. We have to get the injured players back and fit before to long, so we can build momentum and carry on to finish well. A fully fit squad would have seen Chelsea off on Monday, of that I have no doubts. I feel that there is something wrong with the training method or maybe the physio staff. It needs sorting for sure.

Injuries will cost us dear IMO. For all the talk of a great squad, there's a good number of players on our books ill suited to Pellegrini's style of play, and each time we've tried to rest our best players (mainly in cup competitions), we've ended up having to whistle Kun, Ya Ya, Vinny or Spanish D up off the bench to save the day.
We've had horrendous luck with not just injuries (no other club has lost 6 of its 7 most technically gifted players like we have - to date; Vinny twice for a total of 8 weeks, Kun twice for 8 weeks, Nasri 7 weeks, Silva 4 weeks, Fernandinho 4 weeks, Jovetic 22 weeks.......and also Nastasic 8 weeks, Milner 4 weeks and Rodwell 22 weeks on top of that), but also with the fixture list. To draw Chelsea in the FA Cup with half the team out, 3 days after we play Sunderland and 3 days before we play Barca, was absolutely cruel, and I think we will bow out of both competitions as a consequence.
If we are to have any chance in the league we've got to win our next five for starters, and pray that Chelsea slip up somewhere. Unfortunately, Everton, Liverpool, Arsenal and the rags all away looks a daunting task, particularly as the Chavs have got them all at home, and I think finishing above them will be a tall order unless we get Kun, Nas and Ferna back asap.
The Capital One Cup then assumes very real importance, as I think we absolutely have to win something to keep morale high. Again though, unless we can get our key personnel fit, even that won't be the breeze some Blues seem to think. They've won 8 out of their last 10 haven't they, and I would expect them to adopt he same parked bus MO against us as usual, something we have been unable to circumvent on our last 4 visits to the Stadium of Shite. We've got the best starting XI in England, but not necessarily the best (or most well balanced) squad<br /><br />-- Thu Feb 06, 2014 12:32 pm --<br /><br />

The worst case scenario is clearly 3rd place in league, and out of FA, CL in early March and fuck up the League cup final vs Sunderland.

This would be an awful big fuck up of the season where started to play a lot more attacking style with scoring for fun sometimes. But the reasons would have to searched ad answered as well.
It couldnt go "ohh we got a new manager in the summer, we were told he is top class in man management, also he was backed to sign 5 players for around 90m, spent more than any of our rivals, and he himself said he thinks we have the best squad in August, its not a big thing he couldnt win anything, at least we attack a lot more with better pace than before".

Yeah but we cannot defend anymore sometimes, and without a stable defence you can count on winning trophies will be hard, really hard. While Arsenal and Chelsea have that very strong defence and strong defensive performances.
And this could be our downfall in CL as well. Probably sooner than later.

League Cup is a nice thing but no team loses sleep over losing it or finishing it in the 2nd,3rd,4th round. The least important trophy, its great if you win it no one cares a shit if you lose it unless you do it in the final especially vs a weaker team.
Wigan result last year, Birmingham also, but Pool-Cardiff not long ago was decided only by pens.
It wont save our season if win fuck all but win the League Cup.
Btw we had pretty easy fixture in League Cup, strongest team we met based on PL order was Newcastle. And a relegation battle team in the final...
(Sunderland had Chelsea, United in recent rounds.)

FA Cup is lot harder, so far we had it easy with Watford, Blackburn, but failing vs the first strong team coming next, and with the adavantage we are at home that would be bad. Still nothing guaranteed after that as Everton/Arsenal/Pool are all very dangerous. Also chance of losing 3/3 to Mourinho in less than 6 months maybe...

CL:

For me a big improvement was needed on Mancini's CL records. Getting out of a weak group is nice and improvement also. But not a big improvement for me. Being better than CSKA/Plzen and finish behind Bayern was hardly a big ask. Lot bigger luck we had i the draw this time than Mancini had two times before, so we finally didnt fuck up CL group stage.
Big improvement would be to play at least a very close tie with Barca or even beat them out. Now that could be classed as great improvement to go from finishing behind Ajax to playing a close tie and lose with small margin to Barca.
Unfortunately I fear the worst with our new playing style being very open, reacting bad to being pressed, something Barca will do for 100% etc...

PL:
We cant finish behind Arsenal. Now thats a disaster for me. Chelsea OK, I know Mourinho he is probably the best manager who wins trophies on a regular basis, he has a very strong squad and even without a 30 goal striker he can win this league easily, he has the experience. Playing mind games they have no chance, when every chance is for them from now on (lack of injuries, easy fixtures etc.).
But finishing behind Arsenal that awful with our squad. I could finish behind Arsenal with City squad. Thats a poor return from a strong squad like ours.

I am not very optimistic, I see major flaws in the way we play, also this gives us a chance to be very exciting going forward, but the times when we are attacked and how open we are, these things will be punished big time in our next 15-20 games we have, while the room for errors is very small for us especially in the league.
Sunderland away, Stoke away, Villa away, cardiff away, Chelsea home, Chelsea away= 1 point in all from 18. It could make all those great 4-1,5-0,6-0 result worth fuck all if we are 2nd or even worse 3rd in the league.

Btw I think we win the league Cup but not anything else, of course firing Pellegrini not an option, but if he will be backed on the market in the summer like Mancini was when he had big targets (De Rossi, RVP, Hazard) and got the great players like Garcia, Sinclair, Rodwell (lol), so was basically done by Marwood and co, I dont have high hopes for Pellegrini in that case. Hope with Txiki doing transfers now the manager will be helped.

Say what now?!

 

[munster]

I think we will win the league cup, finish 2nd in Prem, go out to Chelsea in the FA Cup (after a replay) and go out to Barca.

But at the start of the season I wanted top 3 any domestic cup and group stages of CL so I suppose that's ok its just that expectations had been lifted.

Too many injuries.

Good odds on that.

Some interesting thoughts on here. We've never previously had realistic expectations of winning 'owt, but that counts for nothing now; £1bn investments don't come expectation-free.

Seems that there's little suggestion MP will be ousted. For me, that's the most important outcome of the conclusion of the season.

I reiterate my pred: 2 pots

 

[GoMancini7]

In less than one month we will know most of things we have to know. FA Cup games will be played until that, our fate in CL also wil be known, LC final also and if we drop any points or just lose once in the upcoming 4-5 league games than we wont be Champions.

Dealing with injuries is not easy. Bt its still a lot easier if you are manager of Man City, PSG, Bayern than Norwich, Fulham or Palace. Its never really an excuse for top teams that they have injuries. No one feels sorry for Wenger and his team must have the worst injury record in last 5 years in PL.
Lot of muscle injuries for us this season, hard to imagine its only down to pure luck, could be someting with medical team, fitness trainings etc.
Many of our players gets injured on the field just making a bad move/step/run instead of getting tackled very bad (like Nasri).

Hope its not only the League Cup is what we will win this season. Of course I am must more pragmatist than Pellegrini and Soriano and I prefer winning 1-0 at home vs Spurs and 1-0 away to Cardiff than winning 6-0 and losing 3-2. With this new risky but more enjoyable style certainly our defence facing very hard times in crunch games coming up in FA Cup, CL and in PL away games at Emirates, OT, Goodison Park, Anfield and some other teams that fighting relegation.

If the worst thing happens and we really win nowt, the pressure will be huge on Pellegrini to deliver next season. He will get patience for sure especiall with this "playing well first, and trophies will come later" attitude.

 

[SaddleworthBlueRhino]

If we win "nowt" no problem. Having walked down the spiral from level 3 this year several times saying "This is the best football I have ever seen." there won't be a problem because if we win nowt, win one, or win two I suspect that next season will be even better. And the season after that ......
Only winning all four this season can spoil my theory and personally I could take this dent in personal pride! I am just enjoying city for what they are at present "Playing the best football I have seen since 1963." So not an issue for me. My prediction is two with the first coming at Wembley in March.

 

[kaz7]

If we don't win anything i will be disappointed because competing is about winning not just taking part
I love our squad and we play the game the right way and we have the most talented squad in the league
I am not at all bothered about the CL,we are some way off winning that but i want us to concentrate on the PL and not slipping up at wembly
I think the twatty one will knock us out of the FA Cup,he will play the same game and i suspect so will we with the same key players still out

 

[CatMan]

On the grand scheme of things, winning nothing isn't the end of the world.

What is more worrying, and pisses me off hugely, is the fact that it will have been due to once again being shot in the foot by a business decision; i.e. not to pay the money for the 2 lads from Porto.

Similar to last year's Wembley fiasco, when we needlessly handed a trophy away due to behind the scenes power battles!

Now don't get me wrong, I am all for running the football club as a business, however the important word is football and sadly, and perhaps ill advisedly, what happens on the pitch is being to readily compromised by goings on behind the scenes.

Certainly if come the summer we have won nothing, then questions will need to be asked and it won't be of Pellegrini. He has provided the best brand of football most of us have ever seen. What is also apparent however is that we still have 3-4 members of the squad who he knows are liabilities, we know are liabilities and even those upstairs must know are liabilities, yet in spite of the blatantly obvious, we, and it can only be for financial reasons, decided to wait until the last day of the transfer window to replace them and in doing so enter a game of play russian roulette, which we subsequently lost!

The upshot is now that we still have no wholly suitable partner for Vincent Kompany and no credible substitute for Ferny/Yaya, despite of course fully knowing this since the closing of the Summer Window!

How does the saying go, as the King stood and watched his world collapse around him?

A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse or even a Centre Half/Defensive Midfielder.

 

[unicorn]

As we so proudly sing, don't give a f. Personally am enjoying every game this season, great atmosphere at away games and always good beer. Even v Chelsea there was some wonderful football from us early on.

Whether success is vital to continued success I'm less sure, but live for today.

 

[james1910]

if we win 0!!!
then am £22 down!
if we win any off them or even better more then just the one then am well up!! lol
it wont be the first time we have won sodall lol

 

[mat]

If we win nowt this will still go down as one of the best seasons I've seen city play and know that next season would be better trophy wise.

 

[chris85mcfc]

I never thought id see the day that there was a thread on a City forum about the possibility of us winning nothing. Perspective.