Joy of six can inspire us, says Mancini

[Mark (Blue Army)]

Roberto Mancini will tell his team to repeat their Burnley performance six more times to earn their passport into the UEFA Champions League next season.

City's breathtaking start at Turf Moor last week swept aside the Premier League strugglers as the Blues surged to a remarkable 5-0 half-time lead on the way to an eventual 6-1 victory.

It meant that a Carlos Tevez-inspired City attack had walloped nine goals in two games - but manager Mancini was just as pleased with the defensive side of his prolific front men.

He smiled: "Can we keep up that standard? We hope so, but I don't know if that will be possible! The first half on Saturday, we played very, very well.

"And if we want to be up at the top of the table, we must play with the same concentration, with the same attitude that we showed at Burnley.

"If we want to beat Birmingham, we
must work very hard, because they
work very hard. They have a good
manager, and they defend very well
and play good football

Tevez has hit seven goals in six games on his way to a season's-best haul of 26, but the non-stop harrying of the opposition by Carlos and Craig Bellamy is also key to success.

Roberto added: "We have a good attack but it is important for us that our strikers, when we've lost the ball, work for their team-mates and defend like midfielders. It is important for the team's balance.

"Of course, scoring goals is the main thing, but one striker must work for the other team-mates, play short with the midfield. Carlos has a good technique, he'll come back to get the ball and it is very difficult to mark him well."

mcfc.co.uk

[s1ty m]

How about, 'Carlos is the best signing for City in 20 years, maybe 30'. Not since Dennis Tueart has a striker so impressed me.

Anelka was, and is, fantastic. But Carltios is with us in his pomp and we are set for 5/6 years of this man. What a player!

Player of the season for City? I would think he will poll 90% of the votes, rightly. If he is not in the top 6 footballers player of the season nominations, it would be a scandal. He could get runner-up to Shrek; come on, it has to go to a rag, it's the law!

[Vhero]

How about, 'Carlos is the best signing for City in 20 years, maybe 30'. Not since Dennis Tueart has a striker so impressed me.

Anelka was, and is, fantastic. But Carltios is with us in his pomp and we are set for 5/6 years of this man. What a player!

Player of the season for City? I would think he will poll 90% of the votes, rightly. If he is not in the top 6 footballers player of the season nominations, it would be a scandal. He could get runner-up to Shrek; come on, it has to go to a rag, it's the law!

Well put

[john@staustell]

How about, 'Carlos is the best signing for City in 20 years, maybe 30'. Not since Dennis Tueart has a striker so impressed me.

Anelka was, and is, fantastic. But Carltios is with us in his pomp and we are set for 5/6 years of this man. What a player!

Player of the season for City? I would think he will poll 90% of the votes, rightly. If he is not in the top 6 footballers player of the season nominations, it would be a scandal. He could get runner-up to Shrek; come on, it has to go to a rag, it's the law!

Ryan Giggs, nailed on.

[Slim]

How about, 'Carlos is the best signing for City in 20 years, maybe 30'. Not since Dennis Tueart has a striker so impressed me.

Anelka was, and is, fantastic. But Carltios is with us in his pomp and we are set for 5/6 years of this man. What a player!

Player of the season for City? I would think he will poll 90% of the votes, rightly. If he is not in the top 6 footballers player of the season nominations, it would be a scandal. He could get runner-up to Shrek; come on, it has to go to a rag, it's the law!

I was thinking this the other day. Tevez is the one player we have that defenders truly fear, you can see them not wanting to commit cause he can ride challenges like they were at Disneyland and skip away from them and they can't back off him because given room he can shoot from anywhere. Robinho had it for a few games before he was found out but the last player we had was Anelka who really had defenders brickin when he ran at them.

[Ted Hughes]

Roberto added: "We have a good attack but it is important for us that our strikers, when we've lost the ball, work for their team-mates and defend like midfielders. It is important for the team's balance.

I agree with that 100% but a few months ago, the City manager would have been ripped to pieces on here for a comment like that. I'm delighted he's said it. To me it shows a realistic understanding of the Premier League. You can perhaps afford one lazy twat in the team at a stretch but even that is pushing it.

Hopefully, if he stays, he'll follow that through & the players we sign will have attitude & workrate (2 dirty words a few months back) to go alongside skill & intelligence, rather than the kind of half arsed, backheeling twats some people on here were slagging Hughes for not signing/keeping (so the half arsed twats we had already would be happy & not leave us!)

Or perhaps he'll build the side around Robinho (another demand for the last manager) when he 'gets the best out of him' (guffaw!)

I really like those comments a lot. Very encouraging imo & should help us to decide which of the inevitable transfer rumours, soon to come, are realistic.

[DoomMerchant]

Roberto added: "We have a good attack but it is important for us that our strikers, when we've lost the ball, work for their team-mates and defend like midfielders. It is important for the team's balance.

I agree with that 100% but a few months ago, the City manager would have been ripped to pieces on here for a comment like that. I'm delighted he's said it. To me it shows a realistic understanding of the Premier League. You can perhaps afford one lazy twat in the team at a stretch but even that is pushing it.

Hopefully, if he stays, he'll follow that through & the players we sign will have attitude & workrate (2 dirty words a few months back) to go alongside skill & intelligence, rather than the kind of half arsed, backheeling twats some people on here were slagging Hughes for not signing/keeping (so the half arsed twats we had already would be happy & not leave us!)

Or perhaps he'll build the side around Robinho (another demand for the last manager) when he 'gets the best out of him' (guffaw!)

I really like those comments a lot. Very encouraging imo & should help us to decide which of the inevitable transfer rumours, soon to come, are realistic.

There is an ironic element to all this given the board's responses to Hughes and Mancini. i'm starting to feel Mancini's a pragmatic man who will find a way to win in the Premier League. This is a very different story than the anti-lickers rolled out about him by saying he'd be the man who understood how to manage continental players and South Americans and world-class talent in a way that Hughes couldn't. In fact, he's done the opposite. He's focused on formation, teamwork and a bit of graft...with uneven results, but certainly encouraging words and signs.

He's out-Hughesing Hughes in some departments and i hope he keeps thing rolling after the last couple games.

cheers

[brite blu sky]

read these comments this morning and thought the same.. good simple analysis that shows where the interest of the manager lies and his understanding of the modern game.

On a similar note, but a bit off topic. In the recent Barca v Arsenal game at Camp Nou.. Barca were clearly very very worried about Arsenal and harrassed them every time they got the ball.. even to the extent of running behind the Arse players and pushing them. Now you may think that is normal, but for Barca it isnt. They do close players down but they dont harrass, and certainly their forwards dont harrass.

So in the sense that this is something required just in the Prem is short of the mark.. it is and will be required in Europe too.

But back on topic it is great to hear Mancini talk in this way.. and other comments from him this week. If you have re-read Doug's report and additions he tells us about intensive stuff going on with NDJ that looks like it is specifically designed to improve his forward play. all good.

[Douglas Higginbottom]

[quote="Ted Hughes"]Roberto added: "We have a good attack but it is important for us that our strikers, when we've lost the ball, work for their team-mates and defend like midfielders. It is important for the team's balance.

I agree with that 100% but a few months ago, the City manager would have been ripped to pieces on here for a comment like that. I'm delighted he's said it. To me it shows a realistic understanding of the Premier League. You can perhaps afford one lazy twat in the team at a stretch but even that is pushing it.

Hmmm confused. Weren't almost the same words spoken after we had beaten Arsenal or Chelsea.

[BobKowalski]

Roberto added: "We have a good attack but it is important for us that our strikers, when we've lost the ball, work for their team-mates and defend like midfielders. It is important for the team's balance.

I agree with that 100% but a few months ago, the City manager would have been ripped to pieces on here for a comment like that. I'm delighted he's said it. To me it shows a realistic understanding of the Premier League. You can perhaps afford one lazy twat in the team at a stretch but even that is pushing it.

Hopefully, if he stays, he'll follow that through & the players we sign will have attitude & workrate (2 dirty words a few months back) to go alongside skill & intelligence, rather than the kind of half arsed, backheeling twats some people on here were slagging Hughes for not signing/keeping (so the half arsed twats we had already would be happy & not leave us!)

Or perhaps he'll build the side around Robinho (another demand for the last manager) when he 'gets the best out of him' (guffaw!)

I really like those comments a lot. Very encouraging imo & should help us to decide which of the inevitable transfer rumours, soon to come, are realistic.

There is an ironic element to all this given the board's responses to Hughes and Mancini. i'm starting to feel Mancini's a pragmatic man who will find a way to win in the Premier League. This is a very different story than the anti-lickers rolled out about him by saying he'd be the man who understood how to manage continental players and South Americans and world-class talent in a way that Hughes couldn't. In fact, he's done the opposite. He's focused on formation, teamwork and a bit of graft...with uneven results, but certainly encouraging words and signs.

He's out-Hughesing Hughes in some departments and i hope he keeps thing rolling after the last couple games.

cheers

The out-Hughsing Hughes is well put. There is no question that to succeed at the highest level in the PL and in Europe, talent must be accompanied by industry. Messi is a supreme talent but also puts in a shift for the team. Robinho is a supreme talent and doesn't. One player is in the semi finals of the CL and the other is playing kick-about in the back waters of Brazil.

That Mancini values industry and the team ethic is no surprise either after his putting on and subsequent hauling off of Robinho which was quickly followed by picking him for the big game....against Scunthorpe. Nothing quite says 'fuck off ' then a stint at Scunny. And Robbie duly did. Fuck off that is.

Equally though I didn't see too many people pointing out that our defensive problems early in the season stemed from our inability to defend as a team - as opposed to just leaving it to the poor sods at the back - or our inability to keep our shape or our discipline. Dunne copped a lot of the flak last year and Lescott went from being 'the final piece in the jigsaw' to the 'final nail in Hughes coffin' pdq.

Irrespective of Mancini's long term future or otherwise at City I do think he has demonstrated the need to have a coaching team and manager that understands what is needed at the highest level and has the ability to drum that into the players. Shay Given made the comment that the players have found it difficult with all the 'tactical stuff when all they want to do is play footie'. Well if we want to win the PL and conquer Europe its going take more than just turning up and 'playing a bit of footie'.

Top 4 and beyond is a foreign country. They do things differently there.

[Ted Hughes]

Roberto added: "We have a good attack but it is important for us that our strikers, when we've lost the ball, work for their team-mates and defend like midfielders. It is important for the team's balance.

I agree with that 100% but a few months ago, the City manager would have been ripped to pieces on here for a comment like that. I'm delighted he's said it. To me it shows a realistic understanding of the Premier League. You can perhaps afford one lazy twat in the team at a stretch but even that is pushing it.

Hopefully, if he stays, he'll follow that through & the players we sign will have attitude & workrate (2 dirty words a few months back) to go alongside skill & intelligence, rather than the kind of half arsed, backheeling twats some people on here were slagging Hughes for not signing/keeping (so the half arsed twats we had already would be happy & not leave us!)

Or perhaps he'll build the side around Robinho (another demand for the last manager) when he 'gets the best out of him' (guffaw!)

I really like those comments a lot. Very encouraging imo & should help us to decide which of the inevitable transfer rumours, soon to come, are realistic.

There is an ironic element to all this given the board's responses to Hughes and Mancini. i'm starting to feel Mancini's a pragmatic man who will find a way to win in the Premier League. This is a very different story than the anti-lickers rolled out about him by saying he'd be the man who understood how to manage continental players and South Americans and world-class talent in a way that Hughes couldn't. In fact, he's done the opposite. He's focused on formation, teamwork and a bit of graft...with uneven results, but certainly encouraging words and signs.

He's out-Hughesing Hughes in some departments and i hope he keeps thing rolling after the last couple games.

cheers

The out-Hughsing Hughes is well put. There is no question that to succeed at the highest level in the PL and in Europe, talent must be accompanied by industry. Messi is a supreme talent but also puts in a shift for the team. Robinho is a supreme talent and doesn't. One player is in the semi finals of the CL and the other is playing kick-about in the back waters of Brazil.

That Mancini values industry and the team ethic is no surprise either after his putting on and subsequent hauling off of Robinho which was quickly followed by picking him for the big game....against Scunthorpe. Nothing quite says 'fuck off ' then a stint at Scunny. And Robbie duly did. Fuck off that is.

Equally though I didn't see too many people pointing out that our defensive problems early in the season stemed from our inability to defend as a team - as opposed to just leaving it to the poor sods at the back - or our inability to keep our shape or our discipline. Dunne copped a lot of the flak last year and Lescott went from being 'the final piece in the jigsaw' to the 'final nail in Hughes coffin' pdq.

Irrespective of Mancini's long term future or otherwise at City I do think he has demonstrated the need to have a coaching team and manager that understands what is needed at the highest level and has the ability to drum that into the players. Shay Given made the comment that the players have found it difficult with all the 'tactical stuff when all they want to do is play footie'. Well if we want to win the PL and conquer Europe its going take more than just turning up and 'playing a bit of footie'.

Top 4 and beyond is a foreign country. They do things differently there.

Yep & certain teams, who it would pain me too much to mention, have showed how, if you work hard from the front, you can play a variety of attacking football & still win titles whilst still having a high percentage of attacking players in the team for most games IF everyone pulls their weight. Something we were clearly working toward with the signings of players such as Tevez & Bellamy but needed to prove to fans & owners alike the deficiencies of certain other players in that regard. Now the pressure to bow down to wankers has gone, the manager can get on with the real job.

Sometimes the previous manager wasn't cautious enough, sometimes the present one has been over cautious but it's starting to look as if their general aims football wise are very similar. It will come badly unstuck on occasions , as in Spurs & Everton but overall it looks like we're continuing on the right track, in spite of the advice from some of the lunatics who thought we could become Barcelona overnight because we've got a few quid. It takes time but we're taking the 1st steps.