Laughing Stock

[Waz]

What is it that suggests we don't want to win this game or any game?

With Stoke tonight, it's clear that they were fired up by Pulis and for them it would be a big scalp to beat us (after beating Arsenal in the last round as well of course). They were most likely told to get stuck in and die for the cause, the fans would get behind them and they would respond. And that's pretty much what did happen.

There was more urgency about them, they stuck to what they know best and every player knew what they had to do.

I wouldn't say that collectively a team doesn't want to win, but it just didn't seem to be that same level of passion and desire. And that's clearly missing from us at the moment. Whether it's the players, the motivational tactics, behind the scenes, none of us can clearly know. All I see is what's on the pitch. And it's that what concerns me.

Managers may come and go (as do chairmen and boards) but we're the ones that stick with it long term and are still here year on year. Maybe that's why people feel so passionately as they do at the moment?

[Dunne's Half-Time Pint]

You weren't saying the same last season when we lost to fucking Forest under the mune.

Why is that?

so you are going back 13 months and tyring to prove what exactly?

YOU WANTED MANCINI AND HE IS FUCKING SHITE, do you still believe he is the messiah?

What about him being a proven winner? Silverware etc etc etc.....

you thought it'd happen in two months? To get these lazy turds playing who had got used to no tactics and no team discipline?

But hey ho, gary neville is soon available.

Don't tell Mancini, otherwise we might end up starting with 7 defenders.

He's played Barry as a left-back before - natch.
Our starting line up had 7 players who have played in defence, this season under our current manager, in it.

[Beefymcfc]

Wwwwoooooooooooo, a Hughes/Mancini thread!!! Looks like both of them were shite to get us to 2 quarter finals and 5th in the league? Ah well, at least I'm still smiling ;-)

[Blue Since 76]

OK I'll join but there is no point in going OTT after a result that frankly isn't the greatest surprise. And before anyone has a go yes i am totally gutted but what I want to hear thoughts on is the comment made on this thread which I seem to hear a lot of , namely:
" they do not play like they want to win it! Stoke outplayed us for most of that game, because THEY WANT TO WIN!"

Now forget the fact that I don't agree that Stoke outplayed us but the idea that we don't want to win the game baffles me! How can you tell that? What is it that suggests we don't want to win this game or any game?

I would hope that a manager and players wouldn't want to go out to lose, although they might go out to draw, but there is a definite lack of commitment from the majority of them. It was there under Sven, still there under Hughes (whatever some people might fondly think) and is there now. Hughes mentioned it when he arrived and although the players he bought had more bite, there is still an apathy or lack of urgency. Not sure what, but something isn't right.

[HeyMark]

Didn't think there was a lack of desire from most of the players myself. Just think we have a manager who's turned one of the best attacking teams in the PL into Fulham.

Bit harsh on fulham, they play some good stuff!

[walmai]

There is a bright side. No other team credibly challenging for 4th can concentrate its all on the league.

Chin Up.

[Tony P]

We need a manager with a proven record in the English league, who can motivate cloggers and primadonnas alike, who can circle the wagons when under attack by the media. A manager who appreciates youth but can find gems in the transfer market. A manager who has a winning mentality come what may. We need......... oh shit!

[Ted Hughes]

What is it that suggests we don't want to win this game or any game?

With Stoke tonight, it's clear that they were fired up by Pulis and for them it would be a big scalp to beat us (after beating Arsenal in the last round as well of course). They were most likely told to get stuck in and die for the cause, the fans would get behind them and they would respond. And that's pretty much what did happen.

There was more urgency about them, they stuck to what they know best and every player knew what they had to do.

I wouldn't say that collectively a team doesn't want to win, but it just didn't seem to be that same level of passion and desire. And that's clearly missing from us at the moment. Whether it's the players, the motivational tactics, behind the scenes, none of us can clearly know. All I see is what's on the pitch. And it's that what concerns me.

Managers may come and go (as do chairmen and boards) but we're the ones that stick with it long term and are still here year on year. Maybe that's why people feel so passionately as they do at the moment?

Perhaps it's just me but I spent a lot of the time during the years of shite, hoping & dreaming that one day I'd see a City team playing great football again, trophies etc were a dream bonus, I just wanted great football. I got what I wanted & was happy as a pig in shit. It's gone & been replaced with Frank Clark's team again. The best passing football move of the night came from Stoke, they weren't even at full tilt tonight but we struggled to score against them, we were inept with the ball at our feet.

Only City could manage to do that with a squad so full of attacking talent & yes we're the joke club of the PL again & yes we deserve to be, for being arrogant & fucking stupid & moaning cunts who don't know when we've got something good & once again turn a silk purse into a sow's ear.

It would be just like us to beat Chelsea on Saturday but the way I feel tonight, I actually don't fucking care. I'm sick of it.

[zuricity]

Can I remind people we are 5th in the table with a game in hand of the team in 4th.

If we finish 4th in the table at the end of the season it is "job done" by Mancini and his contract will get renewed. Simple as.

And will all the people saying he is shit be back on here to wipe the egg off their face ??? I bet not.

If we get 4th then I will be happy to hold my hands up and say he got the job done. But can you really see us getting 4th playing like this?

I think this is the only view we can take, and it's big of you to admit it. Because it might not be pretty getting there, but if we get top 4 then the result would be everything. The club would take off bigtime. Then the fun can start. Personally I don't give a toss if we bore our way to 4th. It's only 12 games. If it is dross to watch I don't a shit now. If he fails to get 4th he can pack his bags. Those are the stakes and he knew what he was taking on.

I firmly agree with that sentiment. It's an uphill battle, You've got the FA against us, referees making very strange decisions. (adebayor , nothing more than a yellow card, he wasbeing a little bit cheeky, but the ref's decision was preposterous).

We have to aim to win as manyas possible for a fourth , and depending on what happens with Arsenal a third position.

No game against PL opposition is 'easy'.

[carl_feedthegoat]

Can I remind people we are 5th in the table with a game in hand of the team in 4th.

If we finish 4th in the table at the end of the season it is "job done" by Mancini and his contract will get renewed. Simple as.

And will all the people saying he is shit be back on here to wipe the egg off their face ??? I bet not.

If we get 4th then I will be happy to hold my hands up and say he got the job done. But can you really see us getting 4th playing like this?

I think this is the only view we can take, and it's big of you to admit it. Because it might not be pretty getting there, but if we get top 4 then the result would be everything. The club would take off bigtime. Then the fun can start. Personally I don't give a toss if we bore our way to 4th. It's only 12 games. If it is dross to watch I don't a shit now. If he fails to get 4th he can pack his bags. Those are the stakes and he knew what he was taking on.

I firmly agree with that sentiment. It's an uphill battle, You've got the FA against us, referees making very strange decisions. (adebayor , nothing more than a yellow card, he wasbeing a little bit cheeky, but the ref's decision was preposterous).

We have to aim to win as manyas possible for a fourth , and depending on what happens with Arsenal a third position.

No game against PL opposition is 'easy'.

GOT NEWS FOR YOU ------- WE WILL BE LUCKY TO MAKE 6TH SPOT MATE WITH THE SHIT MANCINI IS DISHING UP.

[zuricity]

OK I'll join but there is no point in going OTT after a result that frankly isn't the greatest surprise. And before anyone has a go yes i am totally gutted but what I want to hear thoughts on is the comment made on this thread which I seem to hear a lot of , namely:
" they do not play like they want to win it! Stoke outplayed us for most of that game, because THEY WANT TO WIN!"

Now forget the fact that I don't agree that Stoke outplayed us but the idea that we don't want to win the game baffles me! How can you tell that? What is it that suggests we don't want to win this game or any game?

I hope you get a good enough answer Doug, instead of some reactionary crap that gets bandied about on here.

I can't comment on the game, I didn't see it. I've just seen ITV's very abrupt highlights. They showed more City than Stoke. However Stoke's first, comes as no surprise does it ? Bridge's right foot seems nailed to the floor.

Then deflections that work for Stoke.... c'est la vie !

[Beefymcfc]

There is a bright side. No other team credibly challenging for 4th can concentrate its all on the league.

Chin Up.

Well in mate. Definately worth quoting ;-)

[Blue Since 76]

Can I remind people we are 5th in the table with a game in hand of the team in 4th.

If we finish 4th in the table at the end of the season it is "job done" by Mancini and his contract will get renewed. Simple as.

And will all the people saying he is shit be back on here to wipe the egg off their face ??? I bet not.

If we get 4th then I will be happy to hold my hands up and say he got the job done. But can you really see us getting 4th playing like this?

I think this is the only view we can take, and it's big of you to admit it. Because it might not be pretty getting there, but if we get top 4 then the result would be everything. The club would take off bigtime. Then the fun can start. Personally I don't give a toss if we bore our way to 4th. It's only 12 games. If it is dross to watch I don't a shit now. If he fails to get 4th he can pack his bags. Those are the stakes and he knew what he was taking on.

Whilst I don't want to watch rubbish football, if it worked over the next few months to get us to 4th, so we can go out and attract the better players then fine. But you are talking about results football, not boring football. Liverpool played for a result on Sunday by kicking us off the park and it worked. We're playing football which is terrible to watch and doesn't bring results, which is the worst of both worlds.

Mancini needs to work out where our strengths are and concentrate on them pretty quickly, as he's failed to improve our weaknesses so far.

[zuricity]

Can I remind people we are 5th in the table with a game in hand of the team in 4th.

If we finish 4th in the table at the end of the season it is "job done" by Mancini and his contract will get renewed. Simple as.

And will all the people saying he is shit be back on here to wipe the egg off their face ??? I bet not.

If we get 4th then I will be happy to hold my hands up and say he got the job done. But can you really see us getting 4th playing like this?

I think this is the only view we can take, and it's big of you to admit it. Because it might not be pretty getting there, but if we get top 4 then the result would be everything. The club would take off bigtime. Then the fun can start. Personally I don't give a toss if we bore our way to 4th. It's only 12 games. If it is dross to watch I don't a shit now. If he fails to get 4th he can pack his bags. Those are the stakes and he knew what he was taking on.

I firmly agree with that sentiment. It's an uphill battle, You've got the FA against us, referees making very strange decisions. (adebayor , nothing more than a yellow card, he wasbeing a little bit cheeky, but the ref's decision was preposterous).

We have to aim to win as manyas possible for a fourth , and depending on what happens with Arsenal a third position.

No game against PL opposition is 'easy'.

GOT NEWS FOR YOU ------- WE WILL BE LUCKY TO MAKE 6TH SPOT MATE WITH THE SHIT MANCINI IS DISHING UP.

Time will tell Carl. That's true, but you certainly can't , neither can i. we can only sit and watch what happens. Our team has been dishing up shit long before Mancini came.

[MaineRoadMemories]

Could you imagine Mancini in the Champions League? We wouldn't reach the group stages as he'd buy 8 more defenders in summer and instil so much fear into them about losing that they would quiver as they walked out to play the champions of Wales.

[Ted Hughes]

Can I remind people we are 5th in the table with a game in hand of the team in 4th.

If we finish 4th in the table at the end of the season it is "job done" by Mancini and his contract will get renewed. Simple as.

And will all the people saying he is shit be back on here to wipe the egg off their face ??? I bet not.

If we get 4th then I will be happy to hold my hands up and say he got the job done. But can you really see us getting 4th playing like this?

I think this is the only view we can take, and it's big of you to admit it. Because it might not be pretty getting there, but if we get top 4 then the result would be everything. The club would take off bigtime. Then the fun can start. Personally I don't give a toss if we bore our way to 4th. It's only 12 games. If it is dross to watch I don't a shit now. If he fails to get 4th he can pack his bags. Those are the stakes and he knew what he was taking on.

I firmly agree with that sentiment. It's an uphill battle, You've got the FA against us, referees making very strange decisions. (adebayor , nothing more than a yellow card, he wasbeing a little bit cheeky, but the ref's decision was preposterous).

We have to aim to win as manyas possible for a fourth , and depending on what happens with Arsenal a third position.

No game against PL opposition is 'easy'.

I hate to bring a dose of realism to the proceedings but look at the teams we've played recently, look at the teams we've beaten & how we performed in those games, look at the teams we've struggled against, look at the teams we've lost to, look at the fixtures we have coming up, look at how many teams are after top 6 & look at Everton's position & compare their current performances to ours.

If we don't improve very quickly we won't make the top 7. However anyone tries to be reasonable or objective & believe me I've tried, on the whole, in most games, WE ARE FUCKING SHITE.

[Dunne's Half-Time Pint]

we can only sit and watch what happens.

Or not in your case.

I can't comment on the game, I didn't see it.

[Douglas Higginbottom]

The most likely reason City might be considered a laughing stock could be down to the mixture of the immediate expectations we are perceived to have and the reactions of the fans when we fall over in a game like this.

We knew we were not going to win the league this year or even challenge for it but somehow the expectations grew and before you know it we lose a match or draw a few too many and a sense of panic comes in.It was inevitable that these things would happen and at times against teams that we really should beat.It was exactly at those times where we needed to be strong , accept it , learn from it and move onto the next one and do better.
By we I am talking about the club owners,management, players fans the whole lot. Rightly or wrongly the perception was there under Hughes that it wasn't going right quickly enough. No doubt there were a few really poor results in the home draws against weak sides but overall we were in a decent position.IT was a project wasn't it and it would take a few years wouldn't it?


Whatever , we changed manager and lo and behold after a few good early results ( just like we had at the beginning of the season) we have started to lose our way a bit. Granted the quality of the football has turned pretty bad as well but aren't we just falling into the same trap again. By we this time I am referring to the fans. Do we really want to change the manager already? Surely we have to accept nothing special is going to happen this year and just build on the excellent foundations we have?

There is no point in wild accusations that the players don't care or aren't trying and all sorts of OTT reactions just because we lose a game. Course it's not good enough and the next few games could be very painful unless we put in some great performances which don't look likely but is a new manager a guarantee of the success?

[Nickyboy]

i've got my city head on - ever since wembley 99 i've never expected to win and when we do its a great surprise.

its been the same this year and i've been ecstatic against arsenal, chelsea and rags at home in the cup.

cook said he wanted to get rid of typical city - but if he does that we expect to win - well i'm typical city and i always expect to lose in the worse fashion.

we'll beat chelsea on the weekend - but all our top 4 rivals will also win - typical city

[blue 68]

Well this thread helps DHTP but it doesn't tackle our real troubles, our armada is lacking moral fibre and it's a simple as that.

I hope footballers wake up in general, they will be the next banker wanker hate boys, good I say as they too often take the piss, difference is we pay thousands after tax to watch them.

Their wages will be coming down, full stop, we cannot keep this farce up, our club can afford it but this takes the piss, I'm with the old school on this.