Reflections

[shawzy]

Well peeps.What a fantastic season that was.Ive not seen the prem league so open before.The same top 4 teams year in and out is finally broken...Well done to Spuds,City and Villa for breaking the stranglehold.All finishing above the scouse1.A new dawn awaits us now and we have a fantastic platform to progress.
Well....The blue boys didnt win anything this season but there is plenty of memorable highlights to share and discuss.
Mine are.
Our owner Mansour.For the many times he opens his money pot and backs the club.
AJ...Brilliant signing on the cheap and has a massive future ahead.
Tevez..The rags would have won the league if they had managed to sign him ;-)
Carling Cup run.So close but so proud.
5th place...Massive progress from crappy 10th and in europa on merit.

Match time.
That amazing run from Ade against the gooners at home. Edit--Not the goal celebration lol.I mean where he took the piss out of 4 Arse players and crossed for SWP ;)
Bellers at the swamp.
AJ goal against Sunderland.
Doing the double over the champions.
De Jongs tackles


What has made you smile this season?

[Trautmann]

Lots to make me smile, such as,

Bellamy's fearsome runs
Tevez--everything
Adams--world class in the making
De Jong--rock of gibraltar
Given--solid
How the back four eventually became welded into something strong
Thumping Chelsea, Arsenal
Just a great team starting to function as a unit--we are on our way
Great interview with the Chair after the Spurs game--classy.
Listening to my Utd friends talking about City respectfully.....

[Citeh&Crew]

Tevez has definitely made me smile this season.. he's the perfect mix of blue-collar and flair. He doesn't take any un-necessary dribbles strictly for show (unlike the fake Ronaldo) and has a work-rate to match his salary.

Adam Johnson? This kid is going to be an England legend, some day. (If he keeps a good attitude, of course)

Given is very humble, very talented, and for me, just "one of the guys". Could say the same about De Jong.

What about my alter-ego, Craig Bellamy. Who is this guy? Doesn't he have two crocked knees, yet can still run like a cheetah with the ball at his feet? You know.. you people MUST know that he plays through a lot of pain. What a warrior! And for better or worse, I love how he "calls it like he sees it" both on and off the pitch. As for his heart.. needs we say more than what he shows us on the field, and what he is doingin Sierra Leone?

There certainly are more players to thank, but I would like to conclude with thanking Mancini. I am so very happy we stuck with him; he is a class guy, and will bring trophies eventually.

[john68]

My overriding thought of the season is...Burnley (H) 3-3....Hull (H)...1-1...Fulham (H)...2-2...The final seconds of both league derbies.
Nobody will ever convince me we weren't good enough to qualifyfor the CL.
Disappointed that we were so close and faltered....within touching distance. Full of optimism and hope for next season.
2010-2011 IS GONNA BE OUR YEAR.

BRING IT ON.

[Kyle]

Apart from what everyone else wrote, Kompany at centerback. In my opinon in the second half of the season he showed that we can build a team around him and he is really up for the job.

Apart from DeJong's tackles, his touch has improved greatly this season. Not quite a creative midfielder but he knows how to creat space for himself with smart touches and has definetly improved in that department. Now he can play in the midfield and not just in the hole.

[HeyMark]

3 players in double figures in the league, first time thats happened in a very long time! It was only a few seasons ago barton was top scoring with 6 goals

[aaron bond]

Apart from what everyone else wrote, Kompany at centerback. In my opinon in the second half of the season he showed that we can build a team around him and he is really up for the job.

Apart from DeJong's tackles, his touch has improved greatly this season. Not quite a creative midfielder but he knows how to creat space for himself with smart touches and has definetly improved in that department. Now he can play in the midfield and not just in the hole.

Agree with the first part. Kompany has really grown as a player this season. He's been excellent at centre back. Hopefully Lescott can have a long run in the team next season and those two can form a formidable partnership.

Disagree with the second part. I just honestly don't get the hype around De Jong. Apart from the odd tackle he adds NOTHING to the team. He doesn't score, shoot, assist and his passes always go backwards. I know he's a 'defensive midfielder' but to be so completely incapable of adding to an attack inhibits our side. Barry can easily do the job of the defending role in midfield whilst attacking also. We need a good creative midfielder to partner him. De Jong is good enough for the bench at best.

[Pretty Boy Lee]

That 1st Tevez goal against Arsenal in he carling cup has been largely forgotton IMO, but stands out for me. That for me was the one of the 2 moments that signalled what was to come, the other being when he came on for the 2nd half @ Anfield.

Kompany and Lescott forming a great looking CB pairing when fit.

Beating Chelsea away.

Sad note is missing Robinho, I hope he proves us all wrong, though I greatly doubt it.

Ade's performance V Arsenal

Bellers V Utd

Tevez V Blackburn

29 goals from 1 player, god we've gone seasons with the whole team scoring less than that ahhahahaha.

[Niall Quinns Discopants]

We lost seven games which was same number as Rags and only one more than Chelsea. So we were definitely close most of the time. We drew too many games and lacked that bit of edge in crucial moments but there weren't really many games where we looked completely desperate.

So I think we've set up a good platform for future success and taken a leap forward. Nice points tally and the final position I was expecting, so can't be anything but happy.

Onwards and upwards!

[ant london]

It's been a great season upon reflection but it has been an incredibly frustrating one on many levels:

I'll deal with the frustrations first....

- Being so far away has been shite, I've really missed being at Eastlands and watching with Andie....that part has been the shittest bit of the season

- Us being brilliant every single time I couldn't watch a match (fuck off Sunday fixtures....when I am at work...).....and shitty so many times when I could get to see the game

- The derbies....fucking bastards (the munichs) and fucking idiots (our lads for not staying switched on....that means you Micah Richards, Stephen Ireland, Shaun Wright Phillips and the assorted balloons not picking up fucking Rooney in the CC 2nd leg)

- The shitty divisions under Hughes and the cunts on here who continued to make me want to spear their eyeballs out with their hate campaign. It did no-one any favours and it soured the season for me.

- Stephen Ireland and SWP.....what happened lads?? How can you both have been so poor all season? Sort it out as I love you both and DO NOT want to see you re-discover form elsewhere. You both owe us...the fans.....don't forget that.

- Gareth Barry....at Villa Park and subsequently. WTF happened to your form too? You were brilliant before that match and bloody hopeless for ages afterwards.....grow a pair before our next visit please.

- Shay Given.....you have feet. Please use them to come off your line now and then.

- Robinho. You utter disgrace of a child.

- The injuries - Key players again and again in and out of the side did destabilise our campaign. Lescott was a big miss for us, Tevez falling over in showers, whatever keeps going wrong with Stephen Ireland, Michael Johnson's woeful luck, Roque Made'a Glass, Bridge, Nedum, Micah and our old friends fragile Rigsby

- The suspensions - Emmanuel Adebayor and Patrick Vieira both being sent off/banned for ridiculous amateurish, childlike offences. Jesus christ you two are supposed to be top professionals...no more behaving like petulant dickheads and depriving us of your services when most needed you knobs.

- Mancini's tactics/team selections. At times we have sparkled but at times it has seemed as if he has set out to deliberately restrict us. I don't understand what he was up to on many occasions. I like him though and I shall give him the benefit of the doubt and hope that we see a slightly more unshackled approach next term.

But the positives.....well.....they have been many

- A bloody brilliant achievement to suffer all of the above, with a pretty much new team....and change managers....and still only just get pipped to the post for CL qualification. A decent cup run thrown in and some really great memories from the season in terms of performances/moments of magic

I shall name a few.....

- Craig Bellamy's performance at OT....his goals and, above all, his maniac celebration at the cameras in the corner. For that alone he is a legend in my books. I can't see him going anywhere to be honest but he'll be fondly remembered if he does.

- Carlos Tevez vs Man Utd/Gary Neville/Taggart.....fucking epic stuff. I have never seen a City player stick it up the munichs like he has done this season. I know he had his own agenda to an extent but fuck that.....he shoved it right up their hole.

- Emmanuel Adebayor's pitch length run vs Arsenal - just brilliant "exactly what I would do if I was him" stuff. If he'd been banned for that (as opposed to stamping on RvP) I honestly wouldn't have minded

- Dedryk Boyata and Abdi Ibrahim's debuts (and the fact also that Cunningham and Nimely did get on the pitch). I think the first two showed flashes of promise in the quality of their performances....let's see about the latter two. Exciting to see whether we shall see more from them and the fact that there is (IMO) some promise of further quality to join them in the form of returning Weiss, Mak, Ball and maybe even a glimpse of Guidetti. Pre-season is an exciting prospect this year.

- Vincent Kompany - Excellent to see Vinnie get back into the reckoning and I would say that he is the only one of our current defenders who is absolutely nailed on for a starting berth next season as things stand. Amazing to think that Vincent is only in his early 20's and should have a lot of improvement in him still

- Adam Johnson - What a signing he looks already. Great attitude above all but he is so exciting to watch with the ball at his feet. Lovely lovely goal vs Sunderland and he doesn't look scared of the big occasion

Lastly...I have actually perversely enjoyed the fact that we are no longer "everyone's favourite second team". It was patronising affection towards Liddle Siddy....and I am glad to see the back of it. Our position as Public Enemy No 1 will fade in time and we shall just come to be loved by blues and disliked/feared by others....that's how it should be.

[dazby]

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrreat post Anty Anty.

[Bear60]

It has been a great season , we are now a team who people talk about and are wary of, I overheard two blokes talking about us yesterday whilst on my fishing match and surprisingly all of their comments were positive. Agree with the points in the previous posts best moment for me was beating Chelsea and Arsenal and Adam Johnsons goal at Sunderland. Good luck to Spuds in CL, we have to remember that they have been building their squad for a few years now, we very nearly got there whilst still building which bodes well for the future . Looking forward to the great things that will be coming to us soon. Onwards and upwards.

[btajim]

Adebayor's goal celebration against Arsenal was stuff of legend.

Tevez The Goalscoring Machine is my best memory of the season.

[Chinners]

3 players in double figures in the league, first time thats happened in a very long time! It was only a few seasons ago barton was top scoring with 6 goals

Good point!