Martin Samuel s take on the match.

Here is the place to talk about all things city and football!

Martin Samuel s take on the match.

Postby carl_feedthegoat » Wed Jan 04, 2012 12:41 am

After the shock at Sunderland, City show they have the steel of champions
By MARTIN SAMUEL
Last updated at 12:19 AM on 4th January 2012
Comments (0)
Share

Bouncebackability. Iain Dowie coined the word during his time as manager of Crystal Palace. It even appeared in the 2005 edition of the Collins dictionary, along with Sir Alex Ferguson’s ‘squeaky bum time’.
That stage of the season is yet to come for Roberto Mancini and Manchester City, but if they get there in the position they occupy this morning, it is their bouncebackability that will be the deciding factor.
City have not lost many this season but, when they have, their powers of recovery have said much about the character of Mancini and his squad. Defeat at Chelsea on December 12 was immediately followed by victory over Arsenal, and following an unexpected reverse at Sunderland came this emphatic win.

Return to form: James Milner wheels away after firing City's third
The statistics flatter Liverpool. They had 64 per cent of possession and won the pass count 593 to 331. Yet that is not the whole story.
Liverpool were two goals down early on, at which point City were content to sit back and absorb pressure. They let Liverpool run the game in the second half while all the time increasing their lead despite going down to 10 men. Here was a team entirely in control. Liverpool had plenty of the ball but it was like being savaged by a dead sheep.
City players had incurred the wrath of Mancini for chasing the game and conceding a late goal at Sunderland. Here they showed they are quick learners. No risks were taken, attacks came on the break, the defence massed in numbers.

Bolt from the Blue: Sergio Aguero shoots, as Jay Spearing and Daniel Agger look on
‘Good result, that, lad,’ said a father to his son on the way out. It was as if the young boy needed educating on the virtues of the bounce back. Raised in the golden years of unimagined wealth, he maybe thought a 3-0 home win over Liverpool was the standard response to defeat at an elite club. He had to be schooled on its exceptional nature. Good teams do not just come back and put three past a Kenny Dalglish side; potential champions do that.
Until a London club demonstrates the nerve to join the title race, the spoils of this season will be subject to a Mancunian duel. The gauntlet now lies at Manchester United’s feet, and they need to match City’s victory with one of their own at Newcastle United.
After that is the FA Cup third round tie between the clubs at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday, with its potential for revenge after the 6-1 drubbing meted out at Old Trafford earlier in the campaign.
As preparation this could hardly have been bettered. Here was a City side responding to instruction, in command and comfortable with setting the pace. Those who thought last Sunday’s late defeat showed signs of mental frailty may have to look for another straw to clutch.


There were questions outstanding about Tuesday night’s match but most concerned how on earth Gary Neville got through both sets of fans to report from Sky’s studio inside the ground. He must have come in a tank.
City will miss Yaya Toure when he departs for the Africa Cup of Nations, though, make no mistake of that. His brother, Kolo, is interchangeable with Joleon Lescott at the heart of defence, and Vincent Kompany is the leader of that pack, anyway. Yet Yaya is a unique presence in City’s midfield, a powerhouse of athleticism without equal in the elite.

Driving force: But Yaya Toure, who scored city's second against Liverpool, will be off to the Africa Cup of Nations until mid-February
Manchester United would kill for his fearsome drive and quality right now; he is exactly what they are without. Soon, City will miss him, too; no wonder he remains the subject of intense negotiations over his release date.
There will be no sympathy for Mancini when the brothers return to the motherland, however, just as his complaints about the fixture schedule fell on deaf ears. Of course it was unjust that City should play games on Sunday afternoon and then Tuesday night, while Liverpool last played five nights ago.
When a team measures its spending in hundreds of millions, however, few will waste time squeezing out a tear at their plight. Understandably, on this evidence.
City’s dismissal of Liverpool was achieved without Mario Balotelli and Samir Nasri and with players of the calibre of Adam Johnson and Nigel de Jong on the bench.

Coining a phrase: Iain Dowie took Crystal Palace from 19th in the Championship to the Premier League
Palace’s bouncebackability under Dowie was considerably more unexpected than Mancini’s marshalling of his stellar squad. The last time Manchester City dropped points in the Premier League at home was against Fulham — and former boss Mark Hughes — on February 27.
Just three more wins, against Tottenham Hotspur, Fulham and Blackburn Rovers, and they will complete the remarkable feat of going a year with a 100 per cent home record. None of this should be taken for granted, no matter the depth of the squad.
It is devilishly hard to stay mentally and physically fit throughout a season, to sidestep a slump under pressure, or a run of disappointment. With the exception of Arsenal’s Invincibles, every champion suffers a dip in form, however temporary.

Tough nut to crack: City maintained their sensational home form
That is what the chasing pack must have been hoping for after Ji Dong-won’s late winner for Sunderland: first the drama, then the crisis. That is what was so important about this result. Manchester City did not display a flicker of nerves, the merest tremble of trepidation. They knew what the manager wanted and they delivered it, to the letter.
Bouncebackability; or as they say around these parts, good result, that. And they have waited long enough to be so matter of fact when putting three past Liverpool.

More...


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/footba ... z1iRgUArsm
THEY SAY SWEARING IS DUE TO A LIMITED VOCABULARY. I KNOW THOUSANDS OF WORDS, BUT I STILL PREFER "FUCK OFF" TO "GO AWAY"
carl_feedthegoat
Donated to the site
Donated to the site
Anna Connell's Vision
 
Posts: 32303
Joined: Sun Dec 25, 2005 2:51 am
Supporter of: Man City

Re: Martin Samuel s take on the match.

Postby DoomMerchant » Wed Jan 04, 2012 1:27 am

jizzing in my pants reading that...fucking aye. Martin Samuel balances out the rag media more and more. As they get more negative with us he writes the prose like this is some epic shit we're about to throw down with, and i'm gobbling it up.

cheers

p.s. not that i believe there is a rag media, i'm just sayin, IF there was such a thing.
viVa el ciTy!

"All things considered, there's absolutely no escape from this hellish situation. I'm prepared to take the coward's way out if you are. It's reincarnation or nothing." -- Gideon Stargrave

Image
User avatar
DoomMerchant
Donated to the site
Donated to the site
Pellegrini's Hoodie
 
Posts: 22332
Joined: Fri Jun 15, 2007 6:46 pm
Location: Orlando, FL
Supporter of: MCFC. OK.
My favourite player is: The Game

Re: Martin Samuel s take on the match.

Postby shawzy » Wed Jan 04, 2012 1:42 am

Fuckinell that was a good read..10/10 Mr Samuel.
Image
User avatar
shawzy
Dickov's Injury Time Equaliser
 
Posts: 4619
Joined: Sun Jan 04, 2009 10:22 pm
Supporter of: MCFC
My favourite player is: Marc-Vivien Foé

Re: Martin Samuel s take on the match.

Postby CityGer » Wed Jan 04, 2012 7:33 am

Probably the best around. Even his pieces which aren't so kind to us are well written and fair.
User avatar
CityGer
Donated to the site
Donated to the site
David Silva's Silky Skills
 
Posts: 6572
Joined: Thu Jul 05, 2007 7:07 pm
Location: Linlithgow - via Ardwick
Supporter of: us

Re: Martin Samuel s take on the match.

Postby Socrates » Wed Jan 04, 2012 7:37 am

Fallen out with him now, the bastard likened us to Geoffrey fucking Howe!
Manchester : New York : Melbourne : Yokohama
User avatar
Socrates
Pellegrini's Hoodie
 
Posts: 22681
Joined: Fri Jan 18, 2008 2:08 am
Supporter of: st marks (gorton)

Re: Martin Samuel s take on the match.

Postby aaron bond » Wed Jan 04, 2012 7:44 am

Samuel has been the best sports writer for a considerable time now. He always writes well-balanced articles and has been one of the few people in the media who can see what we're trying to achieve and how we plan to do it.
aaron bond
Dickov's Injury Time Equaliser
 
Posts: 4725
Joined: Sun Feb 19, 2006 9:11 pm
Location: Singapore
Supporter of: City

Re: Martin Samuel s take on the match.

Postby CityFanFromRome » Wed Jan 04, 2012 7:48 am

Very good read, fair and balanced.
User avatar
CityFanFromRome
Joe Hart's 29 Clean Sheets
 
Posts: 5129
Joined: Sun Dec 28, 2008 6:20 pm
Location: Rome
Supporter of: Man City & Roma
My favourite player is: Carlos Tévez

Re: Martin Samuel s take on the match.

Postby Im_Spartacus » Wed Jan 04, 2012 9:00 am

So because it's positive, he is not a licker?

Maybe he just has the sense to write something original rather than follow the herd. I mean how fucking stupid do some of the cunts look who keep predicting implosion after an away draw or rare defeat, only for us to go and pick up a good win the week after.

WIth a 100% record at home of 57 points, it doesnt take a genuis to work out that if this was maintained, we would only really need 33 points from 19 away games to hit 90 points which should be more than enough to piss the league this year.
Image
Im_Spartacus
Donated to the site
Donated to the site
Denis Law's Backheel
 
Posts: 9588
Joined: Thu Aug 28, 2008 8:41 pm
Location: Abu Dhabi
Supporter of: .

Re: Martin Samuel s take on the match.

Postby Chinners » Wed Jan 04, 2012 9:21 am

Im_Spartacus wrote:So because it's positive, he is not a licker?

Maybe he just has the sense to write something original rather than follow the herd. I mean how fucking stupid do some of the cunts look who keep predicting implosion after an away draw or rare defeat, only for us to go and pick up a good win the week after.

WIth a 100% record at home of 57 points, it doesnt take a genuis to work out that if this was maintained, we would only really need 33 points from 19 away games to hit 90 points which should be more than enough to piss the league this year.


This
Image
User avatar
Chinners
Donated to the site
Donated to the site
Kaptain Kompany's Komposure
 
Posts: 14256
Joined: Wed Apr 04, 2007 12:52 pm
Location: Hampton Court Palace
Supporter of: B*ll*x
My favourite player is: Kun Tueart

Re: Martin Samuel s take on the match.

Postby Beefymcfc » Wed Jan 04, 2012 10:57 am

Samuel's write-up's are always decent and he is one of a few who jumped on the bandwaggon early. It wasn't his love for City or that he knew we'd reach the top, it seemed more of a way to beat the current, now becoming defunct, Top 4 sycophants with. He's preached for a long time on the need to stir up the cosy set-up that had all new-comers swept away in favour of the 'No-change at the Top' mentality.

You'll notice that many of his write-up's allude to the FFPR in someway, or sometimes in full, and that's because he understands what UEFA, and in particular, Platini, are trying to do by putting steps in place to stop not only us, but to stop any team being able to break into the elite, basically closing the only door available to many clubs.

He's not really a City person, more an individual who wants to see fair play and allow those football clubs who wish to dream-the-dream that slight possibilty of breaking the trend of the Sky 4 dominance.

In short he's just like every other fan out there, other than the elite, who would like to think their club could one day make it into the Champions League or a chance to at least have a go at the league. We all need to dream, don't we.
In the words of my Old Man, "Life will never be the same without Man City, so get it in while you can".

The Future's Bright, The Future's Blue!!!
User avatar
Beefymcfc
Anna Connell's Vision
 
Posts: 46711
Joined: Thu Jun 21, 2007 7:14 am
Supporter of: The Mighty Blues

Re: Martin Samuel s take on the match.

Postby Piccsnumberoneblue » Wed Jan 04, 2012 10:59 am

Chinners wrote:
Im_Spartacus wrote:So because it's positive, he is not a licker?

Maybe he just has the sense to write something original rather than follow the herd. I mean how fucking stupid do some of the cunts look who keep predicting implosion after an away draw or rare defeat, only for us to go and pick up a good win the week after.

WIth a 100% record at home of 57 points, it doesnt take a genuis to work out that if this was maintained, we would only really need 33 points from 19 away games to hit 90 points which should be more than enough to piss the league this year.


This


That's how the shite won it last season. They weren't great away from home.
Fifty odd points at home and then mid thirties away and we're done and dusted. We've got eighteen away already with the hardest tests out of the way. This is ours if we want it. Step up to the plate and finish Spurs chances next home game then watch the filth run out of steam. That's plan A anyway.
City and sniffing knickers.
Come on Blues.
Piccsnumberoneblue
Donated to the site
Donated to the site
Pablo Zabaleta's Manc Accent
 
Posts: 13353
Joined: Wed Aug 01, 2007 10:09 pm
Location: Weirdosville.
Supporter of: Us

Re: Martin Samuel s take on the match.

Postby Im_Spartacus » Wed Jan 04, 2012 11:05 am

Piccsnumberoneblue wrote:
Chinners wrote:
Im_Spartacus wrote:So because it's positive, he is not a licker?

Maybe he just has the sense to write something original rather than follow the herd. I mean how fucking stupid do some of the cunts look who keep predicting implosion after an away draw or rare defeat, only for us to go and pick up a good win the week after.

WIth a 100% record at home of 57 points, it doesnt take a genuis to work out that if this was maintained, we would only really need 33 points from 19 away games to hit 90 points which should be more than enough to piss the league this year.


This


That's how the shite won it last season. They weren't great away from home.
Fifty odd points at home and then mid thirties away and we're done and dusted. We've got eighteen away already with the hardest tests out of the way. This is ours if we want it. Step up to the plate and finish Spurs chances next home game then watch the filth run out of steam. That's plan A anyway.



It certainly puts it into perspective that 5 away wins, along with normal service at home could be all that stands between us and the title.

The reality is actually better than that, because that if we beat Spuds, and United at home - the likely points tally to win it would be closer to 83-85 imo given United's away fixtures which means we could drop 2 points at home against Chelsea and it not particularly cost us (assuming our home form continues). If we don't beat United/Spurs, then 90 points is probably what we will need.
Image
Im_Spartacus
Donated to the site
Donated to the site
Denis Law's Backheel
 
Posts: 9588
Joined: Thu Aug 28, 2008 8:41 pm
Location: Abu Dhabi
Supporter of: .

Re: Martin Samuel s take on the match.

Postby Beefymcfc » Wed Jan 04, 2012 11:26 am

Plan A - 90 points.

Plan B - 90 points and the Carling Cup.

Plan C - 90 Points, Carling Cup and FA Cup.

Plan D - 90 Points, Carling Cup, FA Cup and Europa Cup.

Or maybe the opposite way around ;-)
In the words of my Old Man, "Life will never be the same without Man City, so get it in while you can".

The Future's Bright, The Future's Blue!!!
User avatar
Beefymcfc
Anna Connell's Vision
 
Posts: 46711
Joined: Thu Jun 21, 2007 7:14 am
Supporter of: The Mighty Blues


Return to The Maine Football forum

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Blue Jam, Google [Bot], Majestic-12 [Bot], Nick, Scatman and 160 guests