Three Home Wins.

[Bear60]

Whatever happened to taking one game at a time? Giving Liverpool a seeing to would be great next Monday.

This.
One game at a time folks . We have not been out of the top 4 all season so far and i dont see any reason to drop out of it now.

[Mark (Blue Army)]

Just reading this thread makes me even more nervous, I really want champions league football next season. Please please City don't throw this away now.

[Wonderwall]

IMHO We need 70 ish points.

1 Chelsea 38 17 1 1 68 14 10 4 5 35 18 +71 86
2 Man Utd 38 16 1 2 52 12 11 3 5 34 16 +58 85
3 Arsenal 38 15 2 2 48 15 8 4 7 35 26 +42 75
4 Tottenham 38 14 2 3 40 12 7 5 7 27 29 +26 70
5 Man City 38 12 4 3 41 20 6 9 4 32 25 +28 67

Last year.



1 Man Utd 31 14 1 0 40 9 5 8 3 28 23 +36 66
2 Arsenal 30 10 3 3 30 12 7 5 2 29 17 +30 59
3 Man City 31 10 4 2 28 11 6 4 5 22 16 +23 56
4 Chelsea 30 10 2 2 28 9 6 5 5 26 16 +29 55
5 Tottenham 30 7 6 1 19 10 6 5 5 22 24 +7 50


We still need 5 wins for me.

Liverpool v Man City D
Blackburn v Man City W
Man City v West Ham W
Everton v Man City D/L
Man City v Tottenham ???????
Man City v Stoke ???????
Bolton v Man City W

IMHO THE THREE HIGHLIGHTED GAMES WILL MAKE OR BREAK OUR YEAR and we need to take something from every single one.

what was the everton result after the duckworth Lewis method?

[dazby]

One thing is for certain. We are going to absolutely DICK and JIZZ all over scousepool this weekend. They are pure shite. That's an away win to add to the pile.

hahaha drinking too much again.

Honestly Doug. What have we to fear? If West Brom can do em why can't we smash em?

[lets all have a disco]

IMHO We need 70 ish points.

1 Chelsea 38 17 1 1 68 14 10 4 5 35 18 +71 86
2 Man Utd 38 16 1 2 52 12 11 3 5 34 16 +58 85
3 Arsenal 38 15 2 2 48 15 8 4 7 35 26 +42 75
4 Tottenham 38 14 2 3 40 12 7 5 7 27 29 +26 70
5 Man City 38 12 4 3 41 20 6 9 4 32 25 +28 67

Last year.



1 Man Utd 31 14 1 0 40 9 5 8 3 28 23 +36 66
2 Arsenal 30 10 3 3 30 12 7 5 2 29 17 +30 59
3 Man City 31 10 4 2 28 11 6 4 5 22 16 +23 56
4 Chelsea 30 10 2 2 28 9 6 5 5 26 16 +29 55
5 Tottenham 30 7 6 1 19 10 6 5 5 22 24 +7 50


We still need 5 wins for me.

Liverpool v Man City D
Blackburn v Man City W
Man City v West Ham W
Everton v Man City D/L
Man City v Tottenham ???????
Man City v Stoke ???????
Bolton v Man City W

IMHO THE THREE HIGHLIGHTED GAMES WILL MAKE OR BREAK OUR YEAR and we need to take something from every single one.

what was the everton result after the duckworth Lewis method?

Really want to know?

Its not pretty.

[the_georgian_genius]

We will finish runners up to the rags.

My last prediction after the Birmingham 0-0 games of being top over christmas was spot on.

I know my shit.

[Slim]

IMHO We need 70 ish points.

1 Chelsea 38 17 1 1 68 14 10 4 5 35 18 +71 86
2 Man Utd 38 16 1 2 52 12 11 3 5 34 16 +58 85
3 Arsenal 38 15 2 2 48 15 8 4 7 35 26 +42 75
4 Tottenham 38 14 2 3 40 12 7 5 7 27 29 +26 70
5 Man City 38 12 4 3 41 20 6 9 4 32 25 +28 67

Last year.



1 Man Utd 31 14 1 0 40 9 5 8 3 28 23 +36 66
2 Arsenal 30 10 3 3 30 12 7 5 2 29 17 +30 59
3 Man City 31 10 4 2 28 11 6 4 5 22 16 +23 56
4 Chelsea 30 10 2 2 28 9 6 5 5 26 16 +29 55
5 Tottenham 30 7 6 1 19 10 6 5 5 22 24 +7 50


We still need 5 wins for me.

Liverpool v Man City D
Blackburn v Man City W
Man City v West Ham W
Everton v Man City D/L
Man City v Tottenham ???????
Man City v Stoke ???????
Bolton v Man City W

IMHO THE THREE HIGHLIGHTED GAMES WILL MAKE OR BREAK OUR YEAR and we need to take something from every single one.

So if we need 5 wins that will give us 71 points, you honestly think Spurs are gonna get 7 wins and 1 draw from their last eight games?

[Slim]

Form.
City WLDWLW
Chelsea LDWWWD
Spurs WWLDDD

[lets all have a disco]

IMHO We need 70 ish points.

1 Chelsea 38 17 1 1 68 14 10 4 5 35 18 +71 86
2 Man Utd 38 16 1 2 52 12 11 3 5 34 16 +58 85
3 Arsenal 38 15 2 2 48 15 8 4 7 35 26 +42 75
4 Tottenham 38 14 2 3 40 12 7 5 7 27 29 +26 70
5 Man City 38 12 4 3 41 20 6 9 4 32 25 +28 67

Last year.



1 Man Utd 31 14 1 0 40 9 5 8 3 28 23 +36 66
2 Arsenal 30 10 3 3 30 12 7 5 2 29 17 +30 59
3 Man City 31 10 4 2 28 11 6 4 5 22 16 +23 56
4 Chelsea 30 10 2 2 28 9 6 5 5 26 16 +29 55
5 Tottenham 30 7 6 1 19 10 6 5 5 22 24 +7 50


We still need 5 wins for me.

Liverpool v Man City D
Blackburn v Man City W
Man City v West Ham W
Everton v Man City D/L
Man City v Tottenham ???????
Man City v Stoke ???????
Bolton v Man City W

IMHO THE THREE HIGHLIGHTED GAMES WILL MAKE OR BREAK OUR YEAR and we need to take something from every single one.

So if we need 5 wins that will give us 71 points, you honestly think Spurs are gonna get 7 wins and 1 draw from their last eight games?

I thought the same last year mate,then they went and turned in some amazing performances.
I just hope the injuries and lack of steam work against them.

[Slim]

I thought the same last year mate,then they went and turned in some amazing performances.
I just hope the injuries and lack of steam work against them.

Yeah good point, they had no right winning those games, should have been all over after those matches.

[Ted Hughes]

The trick is, to get in front of Arsenal & Chelsea, which isn't impossible by any means. If Spurs were to finish above us, they would most likely have to beat Arsenal or Chelsea or both.

If we do our job, then rather than Spurs catching us if/when they win those games, we could be using Spurs victories to put more distance between us & Arse/Chelsea & let them fight it out.

We have almost cracked it now. Win at Anfield & it's all over imo. We should trust our players to be better than Liverpool's & go for it. If we lose, we lose, it's not the end of the world. Most of the teams we have to play, can't cope with a City team going forward at full tilt like we did v Sunderland. They could take advantage of our openess & score v us, but we can score more. We don't have to be stupid at the back anyway, just be positive.

[BobKowalski]

The trick is, to get in front of Arsenal & Chelsea, which isn't impossible by any means. If Spurs were to finish above us, they would most likely have to beat Arsenal or Chelsea or both.

If we do our job, then rather than Spurs catching us if/when they win those games, we could be using Spurs victories to put more distance between us & Arse/Chelsea & let them fight it out.

We have almost cracked it now. Win at Anfield & it's all over imo. We should trust our players to be better than Liverpool's & go for it. If we lose, we lose, it's not the end of the world. Most of the teams we have to play, can't cope with a City team going forward at full tilt like we did v Sunderland. They could take advantage of our openess & score v us, but we can score more. We don't have to be stupid at the back anyway, just be positive.

NDJ in his post match comments was mirroring some of this. The defence knows its job and providing a solid, professional base at the back allowing the front 3 or 4 to shine is a major part of it. We can argue back and forth whether Mancini has kept the 'training wheels' on for too long but looking at our run in and the opposition we have to face in the league I think a tipping point has been reached where we have and should be allowing the team more licence to 'cut loose'. We have had a few false starts with trying to be more expressive but I do sense a mood in the camp that the time is now right. I could be being a bit optimistic here but I also think that the team spirit and collectivity is reaching a new level at just the right time (fingers crossed).

I wouldn't take too many liberties with scouse 1 though as against the bigger teams they have shown up and taggart paid the price with his '2 up top with no cover for a makeshift back four' tactic. I can see either Mario or AJ making way for Barry or Milner on Monday and wouldn't argue against it.

[Ted Hughes]

The trick is, to get in front of Arsenal & Chelsea, which isn't impossible by any means. If Spurs were to finish above us, they would most likely have to beat Arsenal or Chelsea or both.

If we do our job, then rather than Spurs catching us if/when they win those games, we could be using Spurs victories to put more distance between us & Arse/Chelsea & let them fight it out.

We have almost cracked it now. Win at Anfield & it's all over imo. We should trust our players to be better than Liverpool's & go for it. If we lose, we lose, it's not the end of the world. Most of the teams we have to play, can't cope with a City team going forward at full tilt like we did v Sunderland. They could take advantage of our openess & score v us, but we can score more. We don't have to be stupid at the back anyway, just be positive.

NDJ in his post match comments was mirroring some of this. The defence knows its job and providing a solid, professional base at the back allowing the front 3 or 4 to shine is a major part of it. We can argue back and forth whether Mancini has kept the 'training wheels' on for too long but looking at our run in and the opposition we have to face in the league I think a tipping point has been reached where we have and should be allowing the team more licence to 'cut loose'. We have had a few false starts with trying to be more expressive but I do sense a mood in the camp that the time is now right. I could be being a bit optimistic here but I also think that the team spirit and collectivity is reaching a new level at just the right time (fingers crossed).

I wouldn't take too many liberties with scouse 1 though as against the bigger teams they have shown up and taggart paid the price with his '2 up top with no cover for a makeshift back four' tactic. I can see either Mario or AJ making way for Barry or Milner on Monday and wouldn't argue against it.

I wouldn't be gutted if he makes a change like that but I wouldn't be gutted if he kept the same team, attacked & lost either, so long as we looked the part. You have to risk losing some games in order to win titles imo & we need to build for next season. Milner played a positive role for England & looks very sharp imo so it could work using him in his best role.

At some point we have to make the transition from feeding off scraps in big games to taking the initiative & going for the win. Imo, it's better to start that now, rather than wait til next season, when the expectation level will have gone up a notch. We don't have to be stupid about it & take huge risks, just have the focus on attack whenever possible, rather than 1st & foremost getting behind the ball & attacking as an afterthought. It's easier to attack successfully when there are more creative players in the team though.

[Piccsnumberoneblue]

I don't believe Spurs are up to the job this year. And I also think they will fuck up one of their 'easier' games at least.

[BobKowalski]

The trick is, to get in front of Arsenal & Chelsea, which isn't impossible by any means. If Spurs were to finish above us, they would most likely have to beat Arsenal or Chelsea or both.

If we do our job, then rather than Spurs catching us if/when they win those games, we could be using Spurs victories to put more distance between us & Arse/Chelsea & let them fight it out.

We have almost cracked it now. Win at Anfield & it's all over imo. We should trust our players to be better than Liverpool's & go for it. If we lose, we lose, it's not the end of the world. Most of the teams we have to play, can't cope with a City team going forward at full tilt like we did v Sunderland. They could take advantage of our openess & score v us, but we can score more. We don't have to be stupid at the back anyway, just be positive.

NDJ in his post match comments was mirroring some of this. The defence knows its job and providing a solid, professional base at the back allowing the front 3 or 4 to shine is a major part of it. We can argue back and forth whether Mancini has kept the 'training wheels' on for too long but looking at our run in and the opposition we have to face in the league I think a tipping point has been reached where we have and should be allowing the team more licence to 'cut loose'. We have had a few false starts with trying to be more expressive but I do sense a mood in the camp that the time is now right. I could be being a bit optimistic here but I also think that the team spirit and collectivity is reaching a new level at just the right time (fingers crossed).

I wouldn't take too many liberties with scouse 1 though as against the bigger teams they have shown up and taggart paid the price with his '2 up top with no cover for a makeshift back four' tactic. I can see either Mario or AJ making way for Barry or Milner on Monday and wouldn't argue against it.

I wouldn't be gutted if he makes a change like that but I wouldn't be gutted if he kept the same team, attacked & lost either, so long as we looked the part. You have to risk losing some games in order to win titles imo & we need to build for next season. Milner played a positive role for England & looks very sharp imo so it could work using him in his best role.

At some point we have to make the transition from feeding off scraps in big games to taking the initiative & going for the win. Imo, it's better to start that now, rather than wait til next season, when the expectation level will have gone up a notch. We don't have to be stupid about it & take huge risks, just have the focus on attack whenever possible, rather than 1st & foremost getting behind the ball & attacking as an afterthought. It's easier to attack successfully when there are more creative players in the team though.

Agreed. I can't shake off the feeling that the time has now arrived for us to make that transistion. Our run in is against teams that will find it difficult to withstand our attacking abilities and the defence is strong enough and well drilled enough to handle most things. A slightly more conservative line up against pool does not preclude us from showing attacking intent especially as they have injury problems we can exploit.

There will be the odd stumble along the way and at least one game where we just stink the place out but overall I am very bullish with where the team, the squad and the management are at right now.

[john68]

I have always felt that Mancini has defined his tactics by the tools he belives he has available. I think there were signs before AJ was injured that Mancini was allowing the team more freedom of expression. For me, the loss of form of SWP and the loss of AJ due to injury was a major blow to Mancini's plans, which caused him to become cautious again. We had no quality out wide and Plan B was cancelled...and we went back to plan A.
I don't think it is any coincidence that we set up more positively when AJ returned.

[Piccsnumberoneblue]

Just a thought...has anyone bothered about looking above us to see who we could possibly catch, instead of looking below and worrying about a safety net.
Huh!..talk about a winning mentality...whining one maybe.

Though unlikely, we are more than capable of winning each individual game left...that would give us 77pts.
It would be intersting if we discussed that sort of scenario....but hey ho!

Don't want to get into a big row with yer John. But you do have it on every one of your posts
2010-2011 4TH PLACE TARGET. So I don't think it is unfair to talk about what is required to secure that position.
People in glass houses eh?

[john68]

I wouldn't dream of getting into a big row with you Piccs...I have far too much love and respect for you. I would simply tell you that you are wrong and expect you to agree...because you love and respect me....:-)

My sig contains that target because it was apparently the target set by the club at the start of the season and it reasonable to talk about it...but to the almost exclusion of any other finishing position.

As we currently sit closer in the league to Chelsea, and having Chelsea as our current nearest rivals, it would also be perfectly reasonable to consider the possibility of finishing 3rd.

As we currently sit on schedule for 4th. the vast majority of the debate on here seems to be about whether we might fail and fall to 5th. There seems to little thought that we might succeed/improve and finish higher.

City fans seem to have become the undertakers of ambition....Is it permissable for us to have a teeny weeny row?

[Slim]

I wouldn't dream of getting into a big row with you Piccs...I have far too much love and respect for you. I would simply tell you that you are wrong and expect you to agree...because you love and respect me....:-)

My sig contains that target because it was apparently the target set by the club at the start of the season and it reasonable to talk about it...but to the almost exclusion of any other finishing position.

As we currently sit closer in the league to Chelsea, and having Chelsea as our current nearest rivals, it would also be perfectly reasonable to consider the possibility of finishing 3rd.

As we currently sit on schedule for 4th. the vast majority of the debate on here seems to be about whether we might fail and fall to 5th. There seems to little thought that we might succeed/improve and finish higher.

City fans seem to have become the undertakers of ambition....Is it permissable for us to have a teeny weeny row?

You said it yourself, we are City fans.

But the reality is the significance of finishing 3rd as opposed to 4th are debatable, whereas the difference between 4th and 5th will have far reaching ramifications on City as a club. If we finish 4th, players who are seeing the CL as the grail will have no reason to move on, other players who might not have joined City in the past will see the move in a new light. Competition prize money will affect the bottom line for the financial fairplay rules.

Whereas the difference between 3rd and 4th is two extra early season games.

[CityFanFromRome]

Whereas the difference between 3rd and 4th is two extra early season games.

Not really; fail those games and you're back in the Europa League for a whole season; whereas if you end third you are guaranteed a place in the group stage of the CL; then you may fall back to the Europa if you end third in your group, sure, but for half the season you'll have still played in the real CL, not only the preliminary rounds.

I agree that ending fourth or fifth has a bigger difference, but I wouldn't snub the difference between third or fourth; it's coming second or third which really carries no difference if not the pride of having finished second.