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January was a fucking nightmare. We knew the fixtures were grim and then we had the ACN and crazy sendings off on top. Yet, we are 2 clear with the Toures and Mario due back plus a fortnight off from the stress of the PL. Game on, big time. Oh yeah, that other fella too. Lol. Sorry, Carl. It's a tricky one that, not sure where I stand, like it matters at all where I stand.

Spurs beating The Rags would be massive. I know that's stating the obvious. Full squad available, 2 points clear, them to come at home. Totally in our hands.

Is Mario available for Blackburn or the game after that?

Moonchesteri wrote:Is Mario available for Blackburn or the game after that?

Definitely the Blackburn game, he's served his 4 matches now

We will have a full squad to pick from when we play our next match in the league and I honestly think we will be 5 points ahead of the Munchenhausens when they play the YIDS.

We were dead lucky we didnt draw todays game and once again Mancini was slow off the mark with his subs...Dzeko on with 1 minute to play is laughable.

Anyway - we are top with 2 point lead again so happy days......

Yaya Toure returning is the key. I will never slag anything about his play ever again. His absence has clarified everything you need to know about this City team; he is the main man and then some. Every team is shit scared of him and that alone creates space for our little geniuses to do their thing.

Those 2 goals last season, you know, those two....should ensure legend status anyway.

carl_feedthegoat wrote:We will have a full squad to pick from when we play our next match in the league and I honestly think we will be 5 points ahead of the Munchenhausens when they play the YIDS.

We were dead lucky we didnt draw todays game and once again Mancini was slow off the mark with his subs...Dzeko on with 1 minute to play is laughable.

Anyway - we are top with 2 point lead again so happy days......

Absolutely. Fucking dreamland, mate.

I am not that confident, looking back at how we won with Wigan and Villa. If we play like this, we will get 2 points from Norwich and Swansea, teams that are very good at their own ground.
Imho, it's absolutely important that we play our best 11 away from home, we don't need to experiment, to try new tactics and so on. Yaya will return, but he will return tired and he will face a new climate and weather of what he was used in Gabon, were Cote d'Ivoire trained. I saw Demba Ba since his comeback and he was poor, he scored, but he looked that the game tempo was extremly quick for him.

PeterParker wrote:I am not that confident, looking back at how we win with Wigan and Villa. If we play like this, we will get 2 points from Norwich and Swansea, teams that are very good at their own ground.
Imho, it's absolutely important that we play our best 11 away from home, we don't need to experiment, to try new tactics and so on. Yaya will return, but he will return tired and he will face a new climate and weather of what he was used in Gabon, were Cote d'Ivoire trained. I saw Demba Ba since his comeback and he was poor, he scored, but he looked that the game tempo was extremly quick for him.

Had 2 weeks off prior to tournament AND didn´t play the last group match. ACON has been a stroll for him from what I´ve seen. He will probaly get another ten days off at least after tonight. He should be fuclin raring to go

PeterParker wrote:I am not that confident, looking back at how we won with Wigan and Villa. If we play like this, we will get 2 points from Norwich and Swansea, teams that are very good at their own ground.
Imho, it's absolutely important that we play our best 11 away from home, we don't need to experiment, to try new tactics and so on. Yaya will return, but he will return tired and he will face a new climate and weather of what he was used in Gabon, were Cote d'Ivoire trained. I saw Demba Ba since his comeback and he was poor, he scored, but he looked that the game tempo was extremly quick for him.

If there are two away matches this season where I believe we will get 3 points they are at Norwich and Swansea.
Swansea's style of play should play into our hands.. and if Norwich put as many players forward as they usually do we will murder them.

Moonchesteri wrote:

PeterParker wrote:I am not that confident, looking back at how we won with Wigan and Villa. If we play like this, we will get 2 points from Norwich and Swansea, teams that are very good at their own ground.
Imho, it's absolutely important that we play our best 11 away from home, we don't need to experiment, to try new tactics and so on. Yaya will return, but he will return tired and he will face a new climate and weather of what he was used in Gabon, were Cote d'Ivoire trained. I saw Demba Ba since his comeback and he was poor, he scored, but he looked that the game tempo was extremly quick for him.

If there are two away matches this season where I believe we will get 3 points they are at Norwich and Swansea.
Swansea's style of play should play into our hands.. and if Norwich put as many players forward as they usually do we will murder them.

You would think both Swansea & Norwich will try to play football, which should really help us get our game together.

Ted Hughes wrote:

Moonchesteri wrote:

PeterParker wrote:I am not that confident, looking back at how we won with Wigan and Villa. If we play like this, we will get 2 points from Norwich and Swansea, teams that are very good at their own ground.
Imho, it's absolutely important that we play our best 11 away from home, we don't need to experiment, to try new tactics and so on. Yaya will return, but he will return tired and he will face a new climate and weather of what he was used in Gabon, were Cote d'Ivoire trained. I saw Demba Ba since his comeback and he was poor, he scored, but he looked that the game tempo was extremly quick for him.

If there are two away matches this season where I believe we will get 3 points they are at Norwich and Swansea.
Swansea's style of play should play into our hands.. and if Norwich put as many players forward as they usually do we will murder them.

You would think both Swansea & Norwich will try to play football, which should really help us get our game together.

Hope that's true, but i think those games can be much harder than other trips. Swancelona looked very sharp at home, only Scum went there and won, with a huge mistake by Sinclair and some weird decisions going their way.
Those two games are dangerous because they can get us if we have some over-confidence problems or if we score and then sit back, like we did today.
Just remember what a game we had last year at Blackpool, to confirm my argument.

I'm feeling a lot more confident. Even when the early season swagger was being nullified by everyone clamming up against us, the full strength City side was and is pretty much unbeatable in this league. I cast my mind back to the manner in which we dismissed the dippers 3-0, which was insanely easy. When Yaya had left for the ACN, the team was totally transformed for the worse.

We have an absolely ideal fortnight now where we have a couple of straightforwad PL games due up and a little bit of a rest should some players need it. I know there is EL action mixed in there. City could well come out of the gate against Blackburn like we did at the start of the season. Fully fit squad, no suspensions, etc. I am thinking that if The Rags get 10 wins and a draw from their last 13, we need 29 points to win it. 9 wins, 2 draws and even 2 defeats would clinch it. OK, things rarely pan out like that, but 29 points will probably do it. We have 7 at home. Interesting.

PeterParker wrote:I am not that confident, looking back at how we won with Wigan and Villa. If we play like this, we will get 2 points from Norwich and Swansea, teams that are very good at their own ground.Imho, it's absolutely important that we play our best 11 away from home, we don't need to experiment, to try new tactics and so on. Yaya will return, but he will return tired and he will face a new climate and weather of what he was used in Gabon, were Cote d'Ivoire trained. I saw Demba Ba since his comeback and he was poor, he scored, but he looked that the game tempo was extremly quick for him.

Nah, if we play like that full 90 mins that's 6 points in the bag. No doubt in my mind. Promoted teams fighting for their lives usually overperform against average sides that they see there for the taking. They almost never really challenge top top clubs and treat these games almost like bit of breather during the season. Furthermore, they are both basically clear of relegation battle and teams like that are usually so exhausted by now that they just limp over that 37 to 40 point mark during the spring. In fact, I predict that Norwich will win max two games rest of the season.

Niall Quinns Discopants wrote:
Nah, if we play like that full 90 mins that's 6 points in the bag. No doubt in my mind. Promoted teams fighting for their lives usually overperform against average sides that they see there for the taking. They almost never really challenge top top clubs and treat these games almost like bit of breather during the season. Furthermore, they are both basically clear of relegation battle and teams like that are usually so exhausted by now that they just limp over that 37 to 40 point mark during the spring. In fact, I predict that Norwich will win max two games rest of the season.

I'll bet you they win at least two of their next five and finish on 45+.

Also, 'top top clubs'? Do you literally wear too-tight trousers and obviously have a job as a pundit on Sky Sports?

Alioune DVToure wrote:

Niall Quinns Discopants wrote:
Nah, if we play like that full 90 mins that's 6 points in the bag. No doubt in my mind. Promoted teams fighting for their lives usually overperform against average sides that they see there for the taking. They almost never really challenge top top clubs and treat these games almost like bit of breather during the season. Furthermore, they are both basically clear of relegation battle and teams like that are usually so exhausted by now that they just limp over that 37 to 40 point mark during the spring. In fact, I predict that Norwich will win max two games rest of the season.

I'll bet you they win at least two of their next five and finish on 45+.

Also, 'top top clubs'? Do you literally wear too-tight trousers and obviously have a job as a pundit on Sky Sports?

Or I type with my phone. And I'm a baggy movement man.

I'm not taking you on 2 wins and 45+ points. But I'd take you three or more league wins for tenner on chosen charity of winner. Cool?

Niall Quinns Discopants wrote:
Or I type with my phone. And I'm a baggy movement man.

I'm not taking you on 2 wins and 45+ points. But I'd take you three or more league wins for tenner on chosen charity of winner. Cool?

Yes. (And mine's The Red Cross.)

Alioune DVToure wrote:

Niall Quinns Discopants wrote:
Or I type with my phone. And I'm a baggy movement man.

I'm not taking you on 2 wins and 45+ points. But I'd take you three or more league wins for tenner on chosen charity of winner. Cool?

Yes. (And mine's The Red Cross.)

Red Cross is sound. Just to make this clear, no points limits just straight wins (which was my original point as they are going to draw some games as well).

Niall Quinns Discopants wrote:
Red Cross is sound. Just to make this clear, no points limits just straight wins (which was my original point as they are going to draw some games as well).

OK. 3 wins, I win. Any less and you do. Clear as day.

The main casualty of January was both the domestic Cups. In the Toure's absence we played 5 Prem games (Wigan, Spurs, Everton, Fulham and Villa) and gathered 12 points, so for our ultimate goal the cost wasnt too high.

However if we'd had Ya Ya and Kolo Id bet we'd be in the Carling Cup Final too. The FA Cup had too much influence from Chris Foy so cant be factored into the equation.

Alioune DVToure wrote:

Niall Quinns Discopants wrote:
Red Cross is sound. Just to make this clear, no points limits just straight wins (which was my original point as they are going to draw some games as well).

OK. 3 wins, I win. Any less and you do. Clear as day.

THIS THREAD UP!

Not a single win so far after our bet. Norwich have nine games left and need three wins. They almost NEED to win today in order for this bet to stay alive for you mate.