6 inches the difference between heaven and hell?

[Patrick]

Imagine if ivanovichs header had been 6 inches lower. Or/and if Boyatas playing of drogba not the ball had resulted in a penalty

Yes we could have gone on to beat them 4-1 but it's a lot more likely that confidence levels would have dropped and we either ground out a draw and perhaps even more likely that we would have lost the game.

we would have been 7th on goal difference and a massive 10 points off the top

Player ratings would have been low and mancinis tactics would have been torn to shreds, substitutions or the lack would have been pilloried and the carling cup lickers would be making more topics than cadburys

Im not sure what my point is here but it occurs to me that we react too much to score lines and often don't take into account the massive element of chance that occurs in every match we play.

The truth would remain that our players played their socks off, but we wouldn't see it that way.

But it didn't happen that way, we won 1-0, the sheik still owns us and the press have finally had to admit that amongst all of the footballing elite around the world city have not only gatecrashed the party, but are in serious danger of rewriting the guest list

It scares me how much a gamble the game is every week. Glory could happen in a few months or the disastrous consequence of a new manager building his team, again, could be the result in the same time frame

Once upon a time all we had to do was stay in the top flight and beat the scum to make a great season, now anything but three
points is expected and a loss against anyone seems a disaster.

It's certainly the best time in a generation to support city, but it sure ain't any easier.

[Goaters 103]

Some good points but I'd much rather have what we have now, watching the quality of player we have now and knowing we are a threat to beat anyone we face, than the days of watching us under Pearce and many of those before who came him when finishing in the top half of the Prem was a major achievement and the thought of a Cup run was something reserved for those who could remember 1981.

[9secondlegend]

topics made by mars ;)

[LookMumImOnMCF.net]

You're dead right Paddy.

I think the plot has been adapted for the tale this week. We could've easily lost that game and there'd be such a different mood. But the fact is we didn't, and, in the process, we played pretty well against a very strong Chelsea side.

Though talk of title contenders is as premature as BlueBoyLewis's wang at the moment. We need to learn how to beat teams like Sunderland & Blackburn as well as Chelsea before we can ever start talking about titles.

[brite blu sky]

Classic Post!.. and bang on the money.

Wellington said after Waterloo " it was one of the closest damn run things you would ever want to see in your life"..

[ronk]

That's the same difference that could have had us winning against Sunderland and Blackburn. 5 extra points that would have us sitting alone at the top of the premier league (for the little that it's worth right now).

We'll have some lucky breaks and some unlucky ones. We had a penalty shout when Ivanovic tripped Silva in the box in a very similar incident to the Boyata one. Drogba was getting some comeuppance for his regular diving antics. Who's going to believe he was fouled when he didn't even go down and it was a tussle off the ball of no consequence. He was trying to block Boyata by shifting his line beyond the back post. If you seek contact like that you sometimes come off worse, Drogba wasn't shy about throwing his weight about against out teenage right-back, he lost the physical contest, big deal.

[Slim]

I am watching a replay of the Chelsea-Marseille game at the moment and in the first 5 minutes they mentioned City a good half dozen times...oh wait, and again now at the 20 minute mark. Talking about how Marseille have been studying how City went about shutting Chelsea down and trying to emulate us and failing to have our physical presence in midfield.

[Ted Hughes]

I've mentioned several times that Chelsea had 3 very good chances to score from set pieces & on another day would score all 3. The pressure would have been on, not because of losing to Chelsea, which can happen to anyone but because we couldn't score enough v Blackburn & Sunderland.

It's great that we're developing a team which is capable of playing that way when needed but if we're to succeed we'll have to attack a lot more & score more goals in most games. The dull performances need to be the exception for tough one off games. I'm sure Mancini knows that & will attack more but if he doesn't, then imo he won't be around this time next year.

[kinkylola]

I don't know what to say really. I mean, three minutes till the biggest battle of our professional lives; all comes down to today. Well, we either we heal as a team or we'll gonna crumble. Inch by inch, play by play, till we're finished. We're in hell right now gentlemen. Believe me. And, we can stay here and get the shit kicked out of us; or we can fight our way back; into the light. We can climb out of hell. One inch at a time.

Now I can't do it for you. I'm to old. I look around and i see these young faces and I think. I made every wrong choice a middle-aged man can make. I pissed away all my money, believe it or not. I chased off anyone who has ever loved me. And lately, I can't even stand the face I see in the mirror. You know, when you get old in life; things get taken away from you. That's part of life. But you only learn that when you start losing stuff. You find out life's this game of inches. So is football. Because in either game life or football the margin for error is so small. I mean one half step too early or too late and you don't quite make it. One half a second too slow or too fast and you don't quite catch it. The inches we need are everywhere around us. They're in every break of the game; every minute every second.

On this team, we fight for that inch. On this team we tear ourselves and everyone else around us to pieces for that inch. We claw with our fingernails for that inch. Because we know when we add up all those inches, that's what gonna make the fucking difference between winning and losing. Between living and dying. I'll tell you this in any fight, it's the guy who's willing to die who's gonna win that inch. And I know if I'm gona have any life anymore. It's because I'm still willing to fight and die for that inch. Because that's what living is. The six inches in front of your face. Now I can't make you do it. You have to look at the guy next to you. Look into his eyes. Now i think your gonna see a guy who will go that inch with you. Your gonna see a guy who will sacrifice himself for this team because he knows when it comes down to it; your gonna do the same for him.

That's a team gentlemen. And, either we heal, now as a team, or we will die as individuals. That's football guys. That's all it is.

Now, what are you gonna do ?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BOhCeMz ... r_embedded

[DoomMerchant]

i really thought this was going to be a size thread. About me.

i love that Pacino soliloquy. Classic fucking shit. Classic. In an otherwise really kinda average flick.

cheers

[dazby]

Wow Patrick, you are like such a deep thinker.

Meet the fuclers please. For old times sake.

[kinkylola]

i really thought this was going to be a size thread. About me.

i love that Pacino soliloquy. Classic fucking shit. Classic. In an otherwise really kinda average flick.

cheers

thought the movie was alright ... definitely dominated by pacino and defined by that speech.

great speech though, as most of pacino's turn out to be. Another fav of mine is the devil's advocate speech.

[Slim]

i really thought this was going to be a size thread. About me.

i love that Pacino soliloquy. Classic fucking shit. Classic. In an otherwise really kinda average flick.

cheers

thought the movie was alright ... definitely dominated by pacino and defined by that speech.

great speech though, as most of pacino's turn out to be. Another fav of mine is the devil's advocate speech.

Jamie Fox, LL Cool J....the death of every movie ever. Only way it could have been worse was to add Tom Cruise and Dave Chappelle.

[DoomMerchant]

i really thought this was going to be a size thread. About me.

i love that Pacino soliloquy. Classic fucking shit. Classic. In an otherwise really kinda average flick.

cheers

thought the movie was alright ... definitely dominated by pacino and defined by that speech.

great speech though, as most of pacino's turn out to be. Another fav of mine is the devil's advocate speech.

Jamie Fox, LL Cool J....the death of every movie ever. Only way it could have been worse was to add Tom Cruise and Dave Chappelle.

you've pretty much cast the "kiss of death" movie team with that crew. You might add a few women like Charlize Theron and Demi Moore just to make sure you lose money.

cheers

[kinkylola]

don't forget kevin costner ... if you added charlize theron, demi moore and kevin costner to ll cool jay and jamie foxx (actually I think jamie foxx has had some good movie 'Ray' ... maybe that's the only one) ... that would guarantee a multi-hundred million dollar budget and fewest possible returns/good reviews.

[Niall Quinns Discopants]

Then again, if one of the chances against Blackburn had few inches up or left or right. Or Tevez could've converted his chance against Sunderland and so on and so on.

[The Man In Blue]

Then again, if one of the chances against Blackburn had few inches up or left or right. Or Tevez could've converted his chance against Sunderland and so on and so on.

pretty sure that's the point paddy is making mate.

[Cocacolajojo1]

Roy Hodgson once said that games are sometimes decided by five seconds and afterwards everyone analyzes their brains off but really, as a manager, you can't plan for every five seconds off a game.

Pardon my english. You know what I mean.

[Curlie]

If your grannie had balls she'd be your granda!
For christ's sake come away from the dark side and enjoy the moment.
If Tevez had scored against Sunderland and Hart hadn't fluffed against Blackburn we could have gone on and won those games and be top of the league this morning.
But they didn't and we are were we are.
Enjoy it guys, we have waited too long and deserve some glory.

[john@staustell]

There seems to some perception that top teams always go out and blow away the oppo 18-0. Whilst Chelsea have been exceptional this season against crap teams, the reality is that most games are won by the odd goal, or a few late goals, and all fans have a heart-stopping time of it.

We are no different and I dont know why people are expecting us to be. That is football.