How to win the league?

[Grob]

I thought the answer to the OP was José ?

Thats certainly one of the answers IMO.

Another one is to keep doing what we have been doing over the last 3 games. A settled team playing together rather than for themselves, at a high tempo with a bit of controlled agression thrown in.

It might on have been Wolves, WBA, and Norwich but 2 of those were away wins, the achilles heel since November in reality.

[Chopper]

I just hope Johann Evans is playing. The boy folds under pressure. If we beat them they will fall apart.

[dazby]

I saw a bit of the old Tevez on Sunday. ie greeeeedy. I did not like it. He has to keep playing for the team. Evidence? The assist for the second goal.

But before that pass he was looking for another hat trick when the pass was the better option.

[Ted Hughes]

I thought the answer to the OP was José ?

The derby. pretty much as mentioned already and as previously, Park will play and they will adopt a 5 man mid, try to contain us and hit fast.
I don't see it as a complex game and I believe that City have been there before many times this season. I don't believe they have it in their locker to try anything different and caution will rule the day with slur.
We will outscore them basically. But I also have a sneeky feeling that Bob and the players will keep a cautious reserve throughout the game and look to keep a clean sheet. If we have that front 4 out we can afford to do that and basically have a bit more disconnection between the front 4 and the rest of the team. I would go for Barry for 60mins with specific instructions not to pile too far forward, and Nige behind him. Yaya for Barry as an when - 60mins probs.

The other games for them. Now both very difficult games, They will make heavy weather of unpicking Swansea, something I think they would do easily prior to Everton. They will underperform and end up in a really difficult game they clearly are not enjoying. Still think they will nick a win though just.
Sunderland. Confidence low not looking forward to it and knowing they have to win it. They will actually play well and not get anything. a draw.

City's other games. We have the ability to win both the last two... I'm just not convinced the players have learnt enough not to clam up. For all those blaming Mancini for the Arse performance, that is categorically wrong, it is the players and only the players.
If I were Bob in these last games I'd keep some real powder dry. Mainly Yaya, but possibly even Tevez. It might sound daft to some but City's biggest problem by far in the last two games is going to be our own players mentality and nothing else. I'd go for having someone on the bench that can lift the whole team by coming on.

Please don't get us going on the Arsenal game again, he didn't put Tevez on until it was over. I don't think you'll find many City fans anywhere who think that was good management & I bet if you asked Bob now, he'd agree he fucked up.

It's a very fine line between playing like we did at Norwich & like we did at Arsenal & one of the main differences is having a new fresh world class player to boost the team. We're still fragile even with him. He was the main person who kept it together v Wolves when Silva, Yaya etc were slipping back into their shells.

If it's only down to the players & the manager can't do anything when he has a bench most would die for, he isn't good enough.

I predicted not long after the start of the season that the team would start to struggle as things got serious. I have said the same thing consistently throughout the season, that the initial burst would evaporate as they tried too hard to reproduce it. I doubt anyone actually understood what the fucl I was going on about, as no-one questioned or pulled me up on that view.

I have that view because I have worked for over 20 years as a consultant on human process.. basically getting fucked up knobs in high level jobs to come down to earth and start thinking and acting like real people and engaging with what is around them instead of stuck up their own tight arses. We call it facilitating innovation process. It basically amounts to removing blocks. Blocks created by doing what you think you are supposed to do instead of doing what your intuition tells you to do.
I can only second guess what is happening at a football club that I am not involved with personally.. but even second guessing I can have an opinion based on observing over time and my understanding of group behavior and what I see in front of me.
I am very serious about my opinion that what we have seen in recent poor performances at City is primarily down to the players and not Mancini, if you dont like to hear that, that's your prob not mine.
As I have said all season it is inevitable that the easy nature of the performances would give way to a stilted 'trying too hard to make it work and not getting it', type performances. Those are only broken by a crisis of no options that mentally creates a fuck it attitude.
I have seen it happen so many times, in fact it is part of the process. ( i think there are greek myths written about the same thing - it is as old as humanity )
We have seen exactly that imo.

Further to this I started a thread asking what character City had..or if it wasn't yet defined. I wasn't sure of anything at the time. Now I'm starting to think that it is 'Hard Headed' ie. up its own arse and learns slowly because of that; does things its own way; stubborn.
But hey that is a good trait for winners.. stressful to have to manage though.

It's a game of football.

[halnone]

I saw a bit of the old Tevez on Sunday. ie greeeeedy. I did not like it. He has to keep playing for the team. Evidence? The assist for the second goal.

But before that pass he was looking for another hat trick when the pass was the better option.

greediness is exactly what this team needs sometimes with all the useless side and backwards passing to nowhere for the majority of the match.

[dazby]

Carlos Tevez shooting whilst being completely covered whilst an open teammate begs for the ball doesn't help us.

[Pretty Boy Lee]

Carlos Tevez shooting whilst being completely covered whilst an open teammate begs for the ball doesn't help us.

I don't think he was being especially greedy I just think he had a few shots blocked as wolves unlike Norwich didn't play open and allow him space.

[Original Dub]

I don't think he was being especially greedy I just think he had a few shots blocked as wolves unlike Norwich didn't play open and allow him space.

Definitely.

I hope he keeps playing the exact same way for the next three games.

How many goals and assists is that now? I heard the commentator mention something about 45 goals in his last 55 starts? Amazing.

Anyway, I think kun took more shots on goal than Tevez against wolves.

Fuck it, I just love how they all play together. Must be a nightmare.