The first twenty mins of every game

[Original Dub]

Always looks the same to me. Are we sussing the opposition out? Are we slow starters?













Do I give a fuck as long as the next 70 odd mins are that good??

[CityGer]

Slim summed this up nicely in another thread.

It was along the lines of lulling them in to a false sense then murdering them.

[Original Dub]

Slim summed this up nicely in another thread.

It was along the lines of lulling them in to a false sense then murdering them.

It does almost feel like that mate. I just don't bother even giving an opinion until I've seen the game go into the 20 odd min.

Bright starts are one thing. Record breaking half hours are a whole new ball game.

[Dameerto]

I love it when we switch up a gear though - those ten/fifteen minute spells are breathtaking and there's not many teams that can withstand it.

[ronk]

Have an extra pint before the game and stick around until the final whistle

[Original Dub]

Have an extra pint before the game and stick around until the final whistle

Ah... Now there's a plan for the "I've only 80 mins tops in me" crew...

[carl_feedthegoat]

First we toy with them...prod them here and there...then we give them the ball and let them play with it in their own half for a few minutes here and there....then when they get all excited and we get bored..we then get the ball and score 1 to 10 goals.

The End.

[Original Dub]

First we toy with them...prod them here and there...then we give them the ball and let them play with it in their own half for a few minutes here and there....then when they get all excited and we get bored..we then get the ball and score 1 to 10 goals.

The End.

That's up there with dickens, blyton... A beautiful tale... Nay, a beautiful truth.

[twosips]

First we toy with them...prod them here and there...then we give them the ball and let them play with it in their own half for a few minutes here and there....then when they get all excited and we get bored..we then get the ball and score 1 to 10 goals.

The End.

Love it.

However, we tend to score 3-6 goals. Just the one goal? Just the two? Pah! Boring!

[Duckman]

it's all nice, but do we have to let them score?

[Slim]

it's all nice, but do we have to let them score?

If it was Joe, Lescott and Kompany they never would have gotten the shot away.

[Yffi_88]

Shit for 20 years, now were shit for 20 minutes. Now that's progression.

[Avalon]

Three goals in three minutes. I say that Slim has it right. We let them control the game until we're tired playing and we switch on. So far we've caught every team by surprise with the sudden bursts of attacks.

[Slim]

I think it's much more calculating than that. We let teams play with the ball in order to draw them further up the pitch, make them think they are in a game that they really aren't confident in our defensive ability to make sure they don't score(Okay, last night they scored but what Kolo, Savic and Pantomime were doing was baffling, cause it sure as shit wasn't defending). Once the spaces are there, we have just the best passing attack this league has seen in a decade and slice through them like they aren't even there.

Take a look at the 5th goal last night, best goal of the night and it was a tap-in, because there was space and movement, crisp passing and using the right options and every goal should be like that.(Admittedly, a lot of ours ARE like that)

[Dronny]

[highlight]I think it's much more calculating than that. We let teams play with the ball in order to draw them further up the pitch[/highlight], make them think they are in a game that they really aren't confident in our defensive ability to make sure they don't score(Okay, last night they scored but what Kolo, Savic and Pantomime were doing was baffling, cause it sure as shit wasn't defending). Once the spaces are there, we have just the best passing attack this league has seen in a decade and slice through them like they aren't even there.

Take a look at the 5th goal last night, best goal of the night and it was a tap-in, because there was space and movement, crisp passing and using the right options and every goal should be like that.(Admittedly, a lot of ours ARE like that)

Very reminiscent of my old cat, he would let you tickle him under the chin and then he'd roll over, he'd then let you tickle his tummy and after he thinks that you think that he's not going to do it again, he rips your hand to pieces with his claws and teeth!

[stommy]

I think it isn't bad at all to be shit for the first 20, if someone is late for the start (I switched the tv on around the 20th min), he's seeing nothing but a beautiful football show:)))

[john@staustell]

I actually think the basic Mancini tactic has never changed. Hold the defence and let them batter themselves against it and wear themselves out until the opportunities arise with patient passing. Step up the pace as we go and the more tired they get, the more likely we are to score.

Unfortunately we didn't have the players or experience to do this last year especially against Arsenal and Scum home, the 0-0s. The first 20 just lasted for 90!

But the basic building blocks are the same, and now Bobby has his players, we see the rewards.

[guv111]

At least we know that we WILL pick up and get going, which is something we haven't been able to say in the past. If we started slowly, that was often the way it stayed. It's almost like an extended warm-up the way we potter around at the start of some games, these days.

And I prefer it to those lightning fast starts we made a couple of seasons ago, where we would be scintillating for twenty minutes to half an hour, then burn out. It was fine if we scored a goal or two during that period, but when we didn't we struggled. Another Hughes masterclass, no doubt, with the idea being to overwhelm the opposition early on. And if it didn't work...? I don't think Hughes got that far.

[john@staustell]

And I prefer it to those lightning fast starts we made a couple of seasons ago, where we would be scintillating for twenty minutes to half an hour, then burn out. It was fine if we scored a goal or two during that period, but when we didn't we struggled. Another Hughes masterclass, no doubt, with the idea being to overwhelm the opposition early on. And if it didn't work...? I don't think Hughes got that far.

Sven was exactly the same. Great 10 minutes then try and hang on like grim death for 80, usually unsuccessfully!

[Douglas Higginbottom]

Do I detect a touch of arrogance developing in some Cty fans?

Let them have the ball for a while,tire themselves out and then batter them :) Great when/if it happens like that but there will come a game when we go a goal down at the opposition have a defence! Top response last night to going a goal down but it won't always be that easy