by Im_Spartacus » Fri Jan 27, 2012 2:15 pm
I must say, that for the first time ever, I feel very calm about things.
I was upset at the manner of the result on Weds, but felt that once Kolarov had been booked for being fouled there was not a snowflake in hell's chance of getting the rub of the green. However that is not to say I felt we played as we could and should.
In fact, I was pleased bobby set out the formation he did, because I think with our squad as it is it would have been a mistake to play Savic in a back 4, and giving him the support of Micah and Joleen could and should have given him a chance to escape the jitters and take some confidence from the game. Unfortunately it hasnt quite worked out like that, but was worth a try and didnt really cost us.
I also believe that ultimately, Kolarov and Clichy are attacking wing backs, not defenders and there are signs that Mancini may choose to play this way in the future with Micah at CB, and a marauding right wing back eventually. I think the balance of that team works well, and if Kolarov is going to play, I would much rather see him a little further up the pitch where he can't cause us too much trouble defensively.
We can blame the referee, the ball, Savic etc, but I am disappointed that over the space of two games vs Liverpool, Dalglish has done a number on Mancini after the 3.0 defeat, and neither Mancini nor the players seemed to have the answer - because I would have put my house on them beating Liverpool over 2 games. However too many players looked poor, slow, apathetic, which was disappointing with a trip to Wembley at stake.
I hope it's just tiredness, we have a week now to recover so we will see.
