Could...?

[Douglas Higginbottom]

You can call it a bonus if you like but it is there staring us in the face now. Mancini will want and you can bet your life the players will want it led by Vinnie and Nigel.

Stoke will be no pushover as they will be out to show they are better than they showed at Wembley.But we should beat them on Tuesday and that will leave us needing to beat Notlob away and we know we can do that. Mancini will field the best team he can and go all out for two wins against the sort of teams we know we can beat.

There has been a thread that was all about when it matters he cannot deliver.Mostly about the results against top 6 or top 7 sides.The record wasnt good at all but I was just thinking about the last 6 games at the business end of the season where pretty well every game mattered a hell of a lot.Not necessarily in order but:

Won 1 nil v Blackburn away ( massive result to take pressure off)
Won 1 nil v Scum (awesome)
Won 1 nil v Spurs (awesome result given our history against them)
Lost 2.1 v Everton (looked good for quite a while but....)
Won 2.1 v WHU ( good enough)
Won 1 nil v Stoke ( awesome result)

4 clean sheets and 4 1 nil results in really importany games that mattered a lot.2 more to go.

[Niall Quinns Discopants]

Calm the fook down. We won FA Cup and are already in CL. 3rd would be nice little bonus. That's all. It was all about the Cup for me.

[Fesan]

Ofcourse third would have been a bonus at the START of the season, but now that we have two not-that-difficult games left and we can get third without someone else having to fuck up then third is no bonus.

Looking back at the season after the Bolton game nomatter how things went I am sure everyone will be happy with 4th and the cup, but as it stands now not making 3rd would be a let-down. A minor letdown, soon forgotten, in a season that ended up with everything we could dream of:-)

But noone can say that with the current situation not making 3rd would kind of suck alittle? But both at the start of and end of the season 3rd is a bonus, but from right here...?:)

[Dameerto]

it's not a question of whether they want it or not, we all know they do - it's a question of whether they should feel pressured into achieving it (and presumably risk that pressure affecting their performance).

[Fesan]

Well that is no question, ofcourse they should not feel preassured so it ends with performing worse... :P Who would ever want that? That is one of the most important jobs for coaches and staff to build things up to just that perfect place where they are hyped up to perform maximum and not so much they fear loosing more than want victory.

I think they all know that the most important part is over and even though third would be great, the season will still be viewed as a success if they don't.

[Mark (Blue Army)]

I'm a fan of Bobby and am pleased that we've won a trophy and got CL.

However, could the "pressure" return quickly from both the media and Elements of our support if we don't win the next two games, and take advantage of that third place? Not trying to destabilise but get opinions.

As far as I'm concerned it's job done for this season. Anthing else now would be a bonus.

Having said that, I'm sure some people will still find something negative to say about our club and manager.

Same here. If we get 3rd great, but im happy if the season was to end now.

[Bluez]

The defeat to Liverpool was a major low point for many fans. Not because we lost, but because of how we went about the game. What's interesting is it's as if it was a major low point for the team as well. We have been more positive since then ( mostly). I would have gladly sacked him after that game. Now though, I do think the pressure is off and he should get more time. Maybe it's been a learning experience for him too, especially when you see how we pushed further forward and put pressure on Utd in the semi. This win should give us the confidence to play our own game.

[blues-clues]

One game at a time - if we hadn't already qualified we would be confident of beating Stoke at home. Their biggest threat didn't work at in the FA Cup final and our pitch is wider than Wembley and both their main wingers are crocked. Huth probably wont play either. Our squad should be strong enough to beat Stoke comfortably in the circumstances. Will they want revenge, probably, will they want it as much as we want third, probably not.. They will just be looking forward to the end of the season now.

As others have said, I am happy with what we have achieved but we could have done better in the league and the chance to climb one more place is an unexpected bonus that we should be able to grasp now.

[horlock2000]

I agree totally with the guys talking about the being important to get 3rd! The guy who said about the city mentality of being happy with 4th is spot on in pointing out we need to leave that behind if we are going to go for champs league and PL etc.

We should go full strength and go at them for the win.... in my eyes it a must as it cuts out 2 games from the season which could be very important for the players.

And.... We will p**s Stoke of even more if we can beat them again,which is always joyful as i cant stand them!!!

CTID!!!!!

[Douglas Higginbottom]

Calm the fook down. We won FA Cup and are already in CL. 3rd would be nice little bonus. That's all. It was all about the Cup for me.

Ok let's get a message to Mancini and the boys to tell them it's no big deal and just put out any old side,give EDS lads a run out because it doesnt matter that much. Weird!

[Chinners]

I'm a fan of Bobby and am pleased that we've won a trophy and got CL.

However, could the "pressure" return quickly from both the media and Elements of our support if we don't win the next two games, and take advantage of that third place? Not trying to destabilise but get opinions.

Yeah I reckon we should sack him if we loes the next two games!

<sacastic mode off>
It's a great point considering the knee jerk response to every defeat ... it bollox thou ain't it ... he's more than achieved and I was'nt his biggest fan by any stretch about 3 months ago! Could be a mental 8 days if we get third as well, that will be like the sugary sprinkles on top of the cherry on top of the cake ... hmm .. lets got for it, but the cake will still be mighty fine if we don't get third imo

[Ted Hughes]

There's no pressure on Mancini whatsoever, he's done is job but anyone who doesn't think getting 3rd is important is off their fucking bonces!! It's absolutely fucking enormous if we get 3rd. The whole pre season will be organised completely differently. Players who may have reservations about coming to the club because we're not in the real Chump's Lg will be more likely to sign.

Bayern Munich may well be in that draw along with a whole bunch of other teams better than those who've beaten us in the Europa. We'll be going in with new players, who've barely met. Imagine that v Bayern? Imagine the damage not getting 4th could do to Arsenal, one of our biggest rivals? Wake up you twerps!! We've been handed a dream end to the season. This is fucking crucial!

[Fesan]

Bayern is in the qualifier 100% as of this weekends game.

[BobKowalski]

The difference between 4th and 3rd is a yawning chasm. Our season starts again on Tuesday and whilst beating Stoke on Tuesday will not be as emotional as beating them last Saturday it could be just as pivotal.

This is what all the money invested has been about. Winning major competitions and being in at the death come season end with major prizes still to be played for so get the boys out of the boozer because the party is cancelled. We need 6 points.

[Fesan]

so get the boys out of the boozer because the party is moved to next weekend. We need 6 points.

Fixed:-)

[john68]

Sticking to the original question and judging by the past behaviour of the more impatient and drama seeking queen members of this board coupled with the subversive way Mancini has been reported for his tactics and his poor man management skills etc, by the press and media; I wouldn't give 5 minutes survival time under any circumstances. I could still see some seeking to replace him.

Such is the fickleness of football.

[King Kev]

Sticking to the original question and judging by the past behaviour of the more impatient and drama seeking queen members of this board coupled with the subversive way Mancini has been reported for his tactics and his poor man management skills etc, by the press and media; I wouldn't give 5 minutes survival time under any circumstances. I could still see some seeking to replace him.

Such is the fickleness of football.

I hear Mark Robbins is available.

[Kladze]

it's not a question of whether they want it or not, we all know they do - it's a question of whether they should feel pressured into achieving it (and presumably risk that pressure affecting their performance).

Thank you.

[Niall Quinns Discopants]

Calm the fook down. We won FA Cup and are already in CL. 3rd would be nice little bonus. That's all. It was all about the Cup for me.

Ok let's get a message to Mancini and the boys to tell them it's no big deal and just put out any old side,give EDS lads a run out because it doesnt matter that much. Weird!

I didn't say put out reserves, did I? But fer me, mission accomplished. Nice if we get 3rd but I will not be any less happy if we finish 4th.

Let's get this straight, I always dreamed of seeing City win something. FA Cup is a REAL dream come true. I never dreamed of finishing 3rd. There's no bronze medal given in the league you know. I've seen us finish fifth (twice) in my lifetime. It's not that big of a deal really.

Also, getting in the Champion's League is nice bonus for me (hopefully get to see few away games in our European tour) but for ME personally it's not much different to UEFA Cup. I understand the financial meaning and exposure and how important that is for the Club but for me it's another European tour.

But yeah, this is my happy stop. I knew many people will continue in "spanking the team forward" train but I'm going to take a while now to just enjoy what we have achieved. I doubt that the day I die I remember whether we finished 3rd or 4th in 10/11 season. I will remember our Cup triumph though.

[Ted Hughes]

Calm the fook down. We won FA Cup and are already in CL. 3rd would be nice little bonus. That's all. It was all about the Cup for me.

Ok let's get a message to Mancini and the boys to tell them it's no big deal and just put out any old side,give EDS lads a run out because it doesnt matter that much. Weird!

I didn't say put out reserves, did I? But fer me, mission accomplished. Nice if we get 3rd but I will not be any less happy if we finish 4th.

Let's get this straight, I always dreamed of seeing City win something. FA Cup is a REAL dream come true. I never dreamed of finishing 3rd. There's no bronze medal given in the league you know. I've seen us finish fifth (twice) in my lifetime. It's not that big of a deal really.

Also, getting in the Champion's League is nice bonus for me (hopefully get to see few away games in our European tour) but for ME personally it's not much different to UEFA Cup. I understand the financial meaning and exposure and how important that is for the Club but for me it's another European tour.

But yeah, this is my happy stop. I knew many people will continue in "spanking the team forward" train but I'm going to take a while now to just enjoy what we have achieved. I doubt that the day I day I remember whether we finished 3rd or 4th in 10/11 season. I will remember our Cup triumph though.

It's great that you're fulfilled by what's happened but the difference in finishing 3rd or fourth could mean the difference between success and failure next season. There's a very decent chance we could lose the qualification game, which would set the whole season off to a bad start. Not only that but the financial people can't budget for the Champ's Lg money when looking at signings, wages, If we're not sure of being there. If we don't have to play a qualification game Bob can plan his pre season better & aim for a big start in the league. We have to go for this with the same attitude we've gone for the other recent games & then we'll get it; Champion's Lg football is what the club needs most & this gives it to us beyond doubt.