Are You Happy About Todays Game?

[Blue in the face]

Cheers. Its not mentioned on physioroom.com (or fantasy football).

[ronk]

Cheers. Its not mentioned on physioroom.com (or fantasy football).

They've historically had poor information on us. Dunno why.

[symiblue]

Happy with three points and two good goals but overall was a poor performance and some weird tactics.

[kinkylola]

forgot to mention I'm fucking delighted that we scored from a corner. Perfectly taken as well. Also, Ade's goal was very very nice. If it had been rooney that hit it, they'd be righting stories about just the goal alone.

Takes an over his shoulder ball down on his toe with one touch and in one step uses the outside of his boot to hit a dipping shot over James and into the back of the net, with power.

Remember how everyone made fun of chelski fans when they complained about the manner in which Mourinho won a title? Like spoiled little children. Lets not emulate them.

[BobKowalski]

Remember how everyone made fun of chelski fans when they complained about the manner in which Mourinho won a title? Like spoiled little children. Lets not emulate them.

Actually it was pretty much only 1 fan who complained about the way Mourinho won a title. Unfortunately for Jose the fan in question also owned the club. Besides its a bit of a myth because no one complained about Jose when he won the first title and the footie was pretty good when Jose and Roman were best buddies. Not so good when Roman insisted on filling the squad with ageing Ukranians.

But this thread is for those people who have a terrible fear that Mancini will do things in an 'Italian' way. Organised defence, alien tactics and a cold eyed pragmatism to winning football matches. Its a brave new world and all that.

[dazby]

If you check the record books our performances after playing them has been dreadful. To get a win post rags is rare. Nice one City.

[mcfc1632]

Shocking Game

3 points is good , but tatics are questionable to say the least.

Strange but, I've just watched the game in full on TV and we looked a lot better than we did live.

Same here - also I got back home from Birmingham, Bolton and Spurs away - and exactly the same when I watched recordings - think you see a lot more with your own eye

I voted yes because I was more worried about a hangover from midweek than I was expecting a drubbing - manager took the chance to look at a couple of players - really disappointed in Stevie - yes I know it was a great pass - but otherwise.....

[Colin the King]

I think it speaks volumes about how far we've come as a club, in terms of mentality and our expectations. Walking out of the ground today, the vast majority looked quite disappointed and I have to include myself in feeling like that to an extent. It was a disjointed performance and a really poor game of football overall. But the fact that we're in critical mode when we're sixth in the table with two games in hand on our nearest rivals for a Champions League place, that we're unbeaten at home in almost twelve months, and that our new manager has won seven of his first nine games in charge shows just how far we've come.

It's a cliché but the top teams play poorly and still grind out wins. That's exactly what we've done against Portsmouth today and, despite the performance maybe being underwhelming, I know I'd rather win in the manner we did today than come home from a 3-3 thriller. We want top four. To get top four we have to win games. We won.

Simples.

[Ted Hughes]

I would actually prefer not to win anything, ever, if it meant I had to watch football like that but I seem to be in the minority.

[bobadji]

the result, yes
the game, no. awful. thought I was watching Oldham vs Yeovil at times.

[BobbyJ1956]

Today was an anti-climax after Wednesday. I really thought that City would get to Wembley and that beating the rags would show that the tide had turned in Manchester (and perhaps English) football. Wednesday showed that that will have to wait, that right now only Tevez & maybe Bellamy would get into U****d's team (actually Tevez wouldn't because Fergie wouldn't play him, but you know what I mean.) If City had won on Wednesday they'd have scored for fun against Pompey and the place would have been rocking. As it is, look who went to Arsenal and produced their best performance of the season, that's what Wednesday did for them. City still have a shot at the FA Cup and 4th in the league but they're not clearly better than Villa or Spurs, they're a decent team with one brilliant player.

[CityFanFromRome]

City still have a shot at the FA Cup and 4th in the league but they're not clearly better than Villa or Spurs, they're a decent team with one brilliant player.

Negative much, mate? We are clearly better than Spurs and Villa, we just need to show it on the pitch, winning games even when we don't play at our best. Which is what was done yesterday.

[salford city]

Jaysus, you can't please everyone can you. We come off from probably the biggest disappointing result in years and take three points in the next game. We have to carry on and keep picking up the points. Yes the performanace was flat but I'll settle for the points and look forward to a solid performance at Hull. The most important thing about yesterday's game was that three points were imperative, we couldn't afford anything else as that would have carried on a downward turn. As it was, we got the points and pulled another two back on Spuds.

We're heading into the unknown with regards to having to keep grinding out the results over the next couple of weeks and months and I expect that there may be more disjointed displays particularily if we have to rest key players but the mentality has to remaim a winning one and that in itself will breed confidence which will show on the pitch - as was displayed in the performance by our neighbours at the Emirates

[Ted Hughes]

Jaysus, you can't please everyone can you. We come off from probably the biggest disappointing result in years and take three points in the next game.

There lies the difference. Many people on here seem to think that it's a good thing we turned in one of our worst performances for years, with almost all of our best attacking players available & won. I think a genuine top side would respond to Wednesday's defeat by giving the worst side in the PL the biggest thrashing they've ever had, improving the goal difference & proving they have what it takes to bridge the gap between themselves & the rags in the near future.

Imo the two games v rags didn't prove the difference in quality, heart & general will to win between us & them; yesterday did & I hated it.

[Crossie]

Would people rather see Petrov on the right, or on the bench?

Personally I like having him on the pitch. So if it has to be on the right, at the moment, then so be it.

Im abit worried that we are only 1 big injury away from being quite fragile on the wings/midfield. SWP, Bellers, Petrov, are the only "wingers" we have, although they all like to cut in, rarely in a game do you get more than a couple of crosses in from either of these players.

Adam Johnson could come in and fill a big hole I think. Hope we get him

[BobKowalski]

Jaysus, you can't please everyone can you. We come off from probably the biggest disappointing result in years and take three points in the next game.

There lies the difference. Many people on here seem to think that it's a good thing we turned in one of our worst performances for years, with almost all of our best attacking players available & won. I think a genuine top side would respond to Wednesday's defeat by giving the worst side in the PL the biggest thrashing they've ever had, improving the goal difference & proving they have what it takes to bridge the gap between themselves & the rags in the near future.

Well a genuine top side may have attempted to give the worst side in the PL a thrashing but you can bet your life that a top side would first and foremost ensure they won.

Chelsea are a top side and lost to us having just been eliminated from the QF of the CC and then wobbled in their next 2 home games (draws against Nicosia and Everton) with some dire defending, managed a 2-1 home win against Pompey (you know the worst side in the PL) and then 2 more draws against WHU and Brum before getting back on track win with a sequence of wins.

Defeats have an impact on all sides even the top sides and the best way to get them out of your system is to win the next game otherwise it becomes a run of poor results and people start to question as they did with Chelsea and us when all we could do was draw games. Doesn't matter much how you win it as long as you get back on track. Defeat or a draw against Pompey and it would have been 'same old City', 'why can't we scrap an ugly win when we need it' and 'thats blown a top 4 spot' yada, yada.

It is a sign of progress when we can walk away with a disappointed feeling after a comfortable 2-0 home win. It is a disappointment that I could get use to and I don't automatically think that all games will be like that anymore than I think all games wil be a 6-0 rout or that all games will be 'boring' because we have an Italian as manager.

[Ted Hughes]

Jaysus, you can't please everyone can you. We come off from probably the biggest disappointing result in years and take three points in the next game.

There lies the difference. Many people on here seem to think that it's a good thing we turned in one of our worst performances for years, with almost all of our best attacking players available & won. I think a genuine top side would respond to Wednesday's defeat by giving the worst side in the PL the biggest thrashing they've ever had, improving the goal difference & proving they have what it takes to bridge the gap between themselves & the rags in the near future.

Well a genuine top side may have attempted to give the worst side in the PL a thrashing but you can bet your life that a top side would first and foremost ensure they won.

And we 'ensured we won' by strolling round the pitch, handing what should have been a two goal start to the oppo & passing the ball like Bolton? I thought we were just shit but if as you're suggesting; playing like that was a tactical decision, it's much worse than I thought.

[Bingo Lewis]

I'm just happy we got the 3 points. The team will have been on a downer from wednesday, so we were never going to play great. Its just good to get straight back into winning ways, without any moping or feeling sorry for ourselves.
Look at what losing against the scum did to us earlier in the season.......

[BobKowalski]

Jaysus, you can't please everyone can you. We come off from probably the biggest disappointing result in years and take three points in the next game.

There lies the difference. Many people on here seem to think that it's a good thing we turned in one of our worst performances for years, with almost all of our best attacking players available & won. I think a genuine top side would respond to Wednesday's defeat by giving the worst side in the PL the biggest thrashing they've ever had, improving the goal difference & proving they have what it takes to bridge the gap between themselves & the rags in the near future.

Well a genuine top side may have attempted to give the worst side in the PL a thrashing but you can bet your life that a top side would first and foremost ensure they won.

And we 'ensured we won' by strolling round the pitch, handing what should have been a two goal start to the oppo & passing the ball like Bolton? I thought we were just shit but if as you're suggesting; playing like that was a tactical decision, it's much worse than I thought.

Yes. That is what I said. Mancini told the players to play like shit, score 2 goals and continue playing like shit.

If all you want to do is derive pure misery from the game yesterday then go ahead.

[Original Dub]

What I want to know is why a one-footed left-winger was out on the right and a central midfielder, a very slow one at that, was trying to be a left-winger? After it was obvious this was shite, another central midfielder got stuck on the left. Bellamy or SWP should've definitely been in ahead of Barry or Ireland. We also desperately need an attacking midfielder, cos Barry doesn't really do any attacking OR defending and Ireland has lost all form.

ireland won the match today with his ball over the top. i'll gladly suffer through 89 minutes and 55 seconds of whatever he was doing today for that one moment that wins a match. Isn't that ultimately his fuclin job? Overall...lackluster and let down on the whole but 3 pts. What did you expect after Wednesday? the denouement could have been much more depressing to be honest.

pleasus christ.

cheers

couldn't agree more.

I'm with you too. For that little rant Vhero went on about Ireland, he didn't do too many things yesterday, but 2 things he did do was tear their defence apart to break the deadlock.

Was that before or after he stopped them scoring on the line?

Nah Fidel mate, you're wide of the mark here I reckons!

Anyway, I went for NO. Purely because there was no feeling of happiness after the game. I expected us to win. Winning was the bare minimum. The play was absolutely mind-numbingly boring IMO.

It was like watching Pearce's brand of football, Fidel was bang on.

There's a negative feeling to some of our play lately and I took on board the fact that we were missing so many players, that our only creative midfielder was injured (OR so we're being told, eh Vhero??! :).... But we're not missing many players now and we still seem very cautious at home.... and to be cautious against the scum was annoying enough for me (and it cost us a place in the final), but to be cautious against fuckng portsmouth is just mad!

That coupled with fact that we haven't gone for a top class creative central midfielde in this transfer market, when we only have ONE, is slightly worrying for me in how Mancini might be thinking...

Still, I could be way wide of the mark.... time will tell, these are just early impressions.

Hey NQDP - you started something similar after the slightly negative feel a lot of people had after the first leg of the semi. Surely you understand now why people weren't jumping up and down and celebrating a "fantastic derby win" and didn't automatically hold a "special place in their heart" for Mancini?

Anyway, we're winning against the shit teams and that's encouraging. I like winning, but I love entertaining football. It gives me goosebumps to be honest. You can't always win beautifully, but if any manager tries to win beautifully, I'm on his side.

Someone on here said that Manicini has his teams play with flair and attacking intent, so hopefully as his style becomes fully stamped on the team, we will be easier on the eye.