*** official Wigan vs city match thread ***

[Biamp]

didn't get to watch today's match..what is everyone's problem with Garcia? Curious...

Also, was AK brought on as a left winger or to move to 3-5-2?

And holy shit..just watched Milner's goal. WOW. gorgeous.

It took this long to mention the 3-5-2. Well done Phips.

That was a question. so, did we switch to it?

yeah we did..

[xavi6]

Barry has been dire today. Normally one of my favourite players but I'm not sure if the injuries and his age are catching up with him. So far this season he has been a shadow of the player he was last season

What the fuck were you watching???

[Piccsnumberoneblue]

Well I'm not Bert's biggest fan in terms of the way we play but to call him a shithouse, a word one might reasonably use to describe the likes of Evra or Cattermole, seems a bit over the top. I think that before you criticise Bert you have to remember what he brings to the party and that is shape, resilience and solidity. No, it often is not very easy on the eye, but a lot of more adventurous teams would have got beat by Wigan, whereas our defensive tactics allowed us to eventually wear them down.And constipated as our play can be, I wouldn't be surprised to see someone like Guardiola struggle to match Bert's results.No, it aint Mercer and Allison, but remember that last time we won the title we finished 13th the following season.Chumps league is a different matter though.Awful!

other issues

Nastasic looks like he'll be a regular fixture for the next 10 years, particularly as he's now starting to get his barings in our penalty area as well as looking very composed outside it.Expect to see more of his ability advancing into the oppos half.

Garcia will never make it anywhere but CB and we dont need one. Take a loss.

Milner at fuckin last! First decent strike since he came. Weird considering he's done extra shooting practice after training for the last ten years. Then he goes and injures himself,lol
Maicon continuing to look the part.
Now to beat the Rags

Yes we certainly have resilience, but the shape is too narrow.
We have a fine crop of attacking talent, and yet watching us is a joyless affair.

What was wrong with that Guardian report? That looked a pretty accurate assessment.

As for our away record in 2012
Defeats at Sunderland, Everton, Swansea, Lisbon, Arsenal, Madrid and Ajax.
Throw in some pretty turgid draws and some poor efforts at the likes Liverpool and Stoke and you get a truer picture than just saying, "we're unbeaten this season"

[Grandad Rosler]

It might just be me but does anyone else think big Niall is becoming more and more anti city

He seems to take joy during the periods of the game we are playing crap and doesn't really talk us up when we turn it on

Does he know he's breaking my heart?

[Mase]

It might just be me but does anyone else think big Niall is becoming more and more anti city

He seems to take joy during the periods of the game we are playing crap and doesn't really talk us up when we turn it on

Does he know he's breaking my heart?

He also doesn't know that David Silva isn't called DaSilva

[s1ty m]

It helped greatly when Milner came on for Garcia as it meant we were then playing with a full XI, rathe than a man short.

THIS

Absolutely. Garcia is utter and complete shite in every single aspect of his game. Who the fuck scouted this twat? I groaned when I saw his name in the side, but perhaps after his latest shambles of a display, Mancini might finally realise that he is not good enough. For the Championship.

[Goaters 103]

didn't get to watch today's match..what is everyone's problem with Garcia? Curious...

It was the worst performance I've seen by a City player since Gerry Taggart at Ewood Park on the fateful day of Hillsborough, April 1989 - it was that bad. Quite how he lasted 59 mins, god only knows.

It was like watching Christian Negouai all over again.

[Beefymcfc]

Well I'm not Bert's biggest fan in terms of the way we play but to call him a shithouse, a word one might reasonably use to describe the likes of Evra or Cattermole, seems a bit over the top. I think that before you criticise Bert you have to remember what he brings to the party and that is shape, resilience and solidity. No, it often is not very easy on the eye, but a lot of more adventurous teams would have got beat by Wigan, whereas our defensive tactics allowed us to eventually wear them down.And constipated as our play can be, I wouldn't be surprised to see someone like Guardiola struggle to match Bert's results.No, it aint Mercer and Allison, but remember that last time we won the title we finished 13th the following season.Chumps league is a different matter though.Awful!

other issues

Nastasic looks like he'll be a regular fixture for the next 10 years, particularly as he's now starting to get his barings in our penalty area as well as looking very composed outside it.Expect to see more of his ability advancing into the oppos half.

Garcia will never make it anywhere but CB and we dont need one. Take a loss.

Milner at fuckin last! First decent strike since he came. Weird considering he's done extra shooting practice after training for the last ten years. Then he goes and injures himself,lol
Maicon continuing to look the part.
Now to beat the Rags

Yes we certainly have resilience, but the shape is too narrow.
We have a fine crop of attacking talent, and yet watching us is a joyless affair.

What was wrong with that Guardian report? That looked a pretty accurate assessment.

As for our away record in 2012
Defeats at Sunderland, Everton, Swansea, Lisbon, Arsenal, Madrid and Ajax.
Throw in some pretty turgid draws and some poor efforts at the likes Liverpool and Stoke and you get a truer picture than just saying, "we're unbeaten this season"

Come on man, throwing in last seasons results to make a point, one where we won the title? What about those last six games, especially the last 3 away from home. Were Norwich, Wolves and Newcastle turgid; you know the ones, where we scored 10 goals?

Mancini's job it to win games and if we play like Barca then all the better. The problem is, we started the season in first gear and it's very rare we get out of it. Mancini's looking at it, realises it and changes us accordingly. Our away form started with 2 draws against Liverpool and Stoke, not too bad sides if I may say. We then beat Fulham and West Brom, who were both in form, before playing a resillient Alladyce side followed by a game that seen a change in manager at the Bridge. A lot of people were saying that the manager syndrome could be a problem yet we still outplayed them for most of the game.

Then the Wigan match which is always a tightly fought affair. We scraped a win last season and beat them by the same score the season before. Prior to that we didn't win a game in 5 years. We actually lost 3 and drew 2, that is how we've progressed.

As for the CL, I've no idea but it's not so simple as to say 'Mancini is shit'. I seen some good stuff in all our CL games but at the same time we seemed to lack the energy to make our mark. I like to take the holistic approach and try to understand why we aren't cutting it there and there's no way I can just pin our performances on Mancini's head as even when he tried to change, the players just wouldn't adapt.

But yes, the Telegraph piece seemed fair to me. It actually read like the match thread so no problems there.

[Cocacolajojo1]

IMO we are becoming more and more like Inter under Mancini and I don't know if I like that. I mean, just like us they had become practically unbeatable, there were constant rumours about unrest in the dressing room (true or not, it says something about the environment Mancini creates) but they took such a long time to get out of first gear. They'd enter the field looking like they had decided they were gonna win the game, then played like a bunch of grumpy old men for 70 minutes constantly hoofing it to Zlatan, then they'd score three goals in like 5-10 minutes looking like masters and then they'd turn on their grumpiness again and finish the game.

Basically, there's going to be no point in watching the first half unless one really likes seeing the other team score and us underperform.

I like systems and shit, especially stability, but I really don't know if I want us to turn into a newer, albeit better, version of Inter under Mancini. I we continue winning I can't really argue with it but it's going to make it easier for the haters when results take a turn for the worse, as they always do for any team.

[Crossie]

The most positive thing is that we now have that belief that we are destined to win every game. When you believe that much, it usually happens.

[Mase]

Absolutely. Garcia is utter and complete shite in every single aspect of his game. Who the fuck scouted this twat? I groaned when I saw his name in the side, but perhaps after his latest shambles of a display, Mancini might finally realise that he is not good enough. For the Championship.

Wasn't de Jong shite for pretty much a whole season?

[Beefymcfc]

IMO we are becoming more and more like Inter under Mancini and I don't know if I like that. I mean, just like us they had become practically unbeatable, there were constant rumours about unrest in the dressing room (true or not, it says something about the environment Mancini creates) but they took such a long time to get out of first gear. They'd enter the field looking like they had decided they were gonna win the game, then played like a bunch of grumpy old men for 70 minutes constantly hoofing it to Zlatan, then they'd score three goals in like 5-10 minutes looking like masters and then they'd turn on their grumpiness again and finish the game.

Basically, there's going to be no point in watching the first half unless one really likes seeing the other team score and us underperform.

I like systems and shit, especially stability, but I really don't know if I want us to turn into a newer, albeit better, version of Inter under Mancini. I we continue winning I can't really argue with it but it's going to make it easier for the haters when results take a turn for the worse, as they always do for any team.

Well, if last season was Inter'esque then I'd take that to the bank. What people are forgetting is last season. When Mancini came in I couldn't stand his brand of football but then, low and behold, we came out a totally different team to win the league. Remember the comparisons to Barca?

This season we have not shown what our true colours are so Mancini has reverted to type in order to get the desired effect, ie. get points on the board. And why not, if it's not working then it means something is wrong and remedial action taken.

At the start of the season every man and his dog were complaining about our ridiculous defence, having to claw a couple of goals back each game. Well, if I'm not mistaken, we now have the best defensive record in the league with only 10 against in 14 games (ave. 0.7 goals per game). Arsenal come next with 14 and then the rest starting at 18 against. We've also scored 27 in the same making us the 2nd most prolific strike force in the Prem. United are top but as we've seen, that's the only way they can play and when they have an off day, then the shit really does hit the fan.

You may say it's Inter'esque, and no doubt there will be some of it in there, but sometimes that's what we need. A mentality that says we won't be beat and if you take your eye off the ball for a split second, we'll crush you. The Barca moments will come, I'm sure, but at this point we are are going in the right direction. The table does not lie.

PS. What is it now, only 1 goal conceded in the last 6, 10 for?

[Cocacolajojo1]

IMO we are becoming more and more like Inter under Mancini and I don't know if I like that. I mean, just like us they had become practically unbeatable, there were constant rumours about unrest in the dressing room (true or not, it says something about the environment Mancini creates) but they took such a long time to get out of first gear. They'd enter the field looking like they had decided they were gonna win the game, then played like a bunch of grumpy old men for 70 minutes constantly hoofing it to Zlatan, then they'd score three goals in like 5-10 minutes looking like masters and then they'd turn on their grumpiness again and finish the game.

Basically, there's going to be no point in watching the first half unless one really likes seeing the other team score and us underperform.

I like systems and shit, especially stability, but I really don't know if I want us to turn into a newer, albeit better, version of Inter under Mancini. I we continue winning I can't really argue with it but it's going to make it easier for the haters when results take a turn for the worse, as they always do for any team.

Well, if last season was Inter'esque then I'd take that to the bank. What people are forgetting is last season. When Mancini came in I couldn't stand his brand of football but then, low and behold, we came out a totally different team to win the league. Remember the comparisons to Barca?

This season we have not shown what our true colours are so Mancini has reverted to type in order to get the desired effect, ie. get points on the board. And why not, if it's not working then it means something is wrong and remedial action taken.

At the start of the season every man and his dog were complaining about our ridiculous defence, having to claw a couple of goals back each game. Well, if I'm not mistaken, we now have the best defensive record in the league with only 10 against in 14 games (ave. 0.7 goals per game). Arsenal come next with 14 and then the rest starting at 18 against. We've also scored 27 in the same making us the 2nd most prolific strike force in the Prem. United are top but as we've seen, that's the only way they can play and when they have an off day, then the shit really does hit the fan.

You may say it's Inter'esque, and no doubt there will be some of it in there, but sometimes that's what we need. A mentality that says we won't be beat and if you take your eye off the ball for a split second, we'll crush you. The Barca moments will come, I'm sure, but at this point we are are going in the right direction. The table does not lie.

PS. What is it now, only 1 goal conceded in the last 6, 10 for?

I agree with all the points that your making and I want us to win as much as possible, and I remember last season very vividly (Aguerooooooo!). I was just letting out some steam and worries I suppose, and I did really appreciate Inter's mentality in the league under Mancini.

And yeah, I was thinking about the defence yesterday as well. It's gone from (sort of) unreliable to most reliable without making any headlines.

In the end I think a lot of worries stem from the fact that we've grown accustomed to a certain standard and when that standard is not met, although the team keeps playing at a very satisfactory level, it results in fear. I know that's how I react anyway. "What if this, what if that".

[Beefymcfc]

I agree with all the points that your making and I want us to win as much as possible, and I remember last season very vividly (Aguerooooooo!). I was just letting out some steam and worries I suppose, and I did really appreciate Inter's mentality in the league under Mancini.

And yeah, I was thinking about the defence yesterday as well. It's gone from (sort of) unreliable to most reliable without making any headlines.

In the end I think a lot of worries stem from the fact that we've grown accustomed to a certain standard and when that standard is not met, although the team keeps playing at a very satisfactory level, it results in fear. I know that's how I react anyway. "What if this, what if that".

Fair one mate, I just see it as not being so simplistic. When I look at how United have come out of the blocks and then compare them to us, playing wise, I'd normally be thinking we've not got a chance, but not this time.

The only thing I can put our game and their game down to is conditioning. At what peak were they at and where were we at the start of the season? Looking at theirs, and a few of Taggarts comments, I'm getting the feeling that Taggart has pushed his players to the max early in order to move away at the top. Last season, they started with a slower tempo but seemed to up it urgently due to the way we playing and getting results. That led to his team getting numerous injuries and putting them under even more pressure, a pressure that really told come the end of the season.

With us, I thought we had a bit of a hangover from winning the league, and probably true, but now I'm thinking a lot of our players won't peak for a while yet. We've had many players come back from WC duty who have had to adjust themselves back into the swing of things, bringing their levels up laterthan the rest.

Just an opinion mate, and probably too far for anybody to care. It does interest me though.

[Douglas Higginbottom]

Interesting that Slur Alex has decided that shoring up their defence is a priority right now and he will have been well pleased with yesterday's 1 nil scramble home.There is no way a team will win the league without a good defence ( and that's not just the back 5) but equally it has to have the capability to control games and win with flair and quality.

We were getting by early in the season whilst giving away silly goals,we got to grips with that and actually started to play some good stuff but somehow we are still not firing on anything like full steam. Last night was a great example.For much of the game we were simply poor but still not massively threatened by Wigan.Mancini might have selected the wrong side and formation but worked it out,made key substitutions and formation changes and within minutes the game was over.

The next 2 league games will tell us a lot but it seems that the next few games ( whoever they are against) will tell us a lot.That's what it's like at the top as you just cannot afford to lose games.

[Swales4ever]

I just want to put on records that I am absolutely amused with Beefy's holistic approach.

Probably it's not commonly accorded with standards of internet fans forums, but certainly one of the brightest evidences that, looking deep into Mancityfan.net, You can always find out why it's the best cyber-venue in the Land and the whole World.

Priceless.

[Beefymcfc]

I just want to put on records that I am absolutely amused with Beefy's holistic approach.

Probably it's not commonly accorded with standards of internet fans forums, but certainly one of the brightest evidences that, looking deep into Mancityfan.net, You can always find out why it's the best cyber-venue in the Land and the whole World.

Priceless.

You taking the piss big man!






























;-)

[Piccsnumberoneblue]

Well I'm not Bert's biggest fan in terms of the way we play but to call him a shithouse, a word one might reasonably use to describe the likes of Evra or Cattermole, seems a bit over the top. I think that before you criticise Bert you have to remember what he brings to the party and that is shape, resilience and solidity. No, it often is not very easy on the eye, but a lot of more adventurous teams would have got beat by Wigan, whereas our defensive tactics allowed us to eventually wear them down.And constipated as our play can be, I wouldn't be surprised to see someone like Guardiola struggle to match Bert's results.No, it aint Mercer and Allison, but remember that last time we won the title we finished 13th the following season.Chumps league is a different matter though.Awful!

other issues

Nastasic looks like he'll be a regular fixture for the next 10 years, particularly as he's now starting to get his barings in our penalty area as well as looking very composed outside it.Expect to see more of his ability advancing into the oppos half.

Garcia will never make it anywhere but CB and we dont need one. Take a loss.

Milner at fuckin last! First decent strike since he came. Weird considering he's done extra shooting practice after training for the last ten years. Then he goes and injures himself,lol
Maicon continuing to look the part.
Now to beat the Rags

Yes we certainly have resilience, but the shape is too narrow.
We have a fine crop of attacking talent, and yet watching us is a joyless affair.

What was wrong with that Guardian report? That looked a pretty accurate assessment.

As for our away record in 2012
Defeats at Sunderland, Everton, Swansea, Lisbon, Arsenal, Madrid and Ajax.
Throw in some pretty turgid draws and some poor efforts at the likes Liverpool and Stoke and you get a truer picture than just saying, "we're unbeaten this season"

Come on man, throwing in last seasons results to make a point, one where we won the title? What about those last six games, especially the last 3 away from home. Were Norwich, Wolves and Newcastle turgid; you know the ones, where we scored 10 goals?

Mancini's job it to win games and if we play like Barca then all the better. The problem is, we started the season in first gear and it's very rare we get out of it. Mancini's looking at it, realises it and changes us accordingly. Our away form started with 2 draws against Liverpool and Stoke, not too bad sides if I may say. We then beat Fulham and West Brom, who were both in form, before playing a resillient Alladyce side followed by a game that seen a change in manager at the Bridge. A lot of people were saying that the manager syndrome could be a problem yet we still outplayed them for most of the game.

Then the Wigan match which is always a tightly fought affair. We scraped a win last season and beat them by the same score the season before. Prior to that we didn't win a game in 5 years. We actually lost 3 and drew 2, that is how we've progressed.

As for the CL, I've no idea but it's not so simple as to say 'Mancini is shit'. I seen some good stuff in all our CL games but at the same time we seemed to lack the energy to make our mark. I like to take the holistic approach and try to understand why we aren't cutting it there and there's no way I can just pin our performances on Mancini's head as even when he tried to change, the players just wouldn't adapt.

But yes, the Telegraph piece seemed fair to me. It actually read like the match thread so no problems there.

What is wrong with using last season's results when making the point that in 2012 we have been poor away from home? I'd have thought it was essential.
Yes Norwich, Newcastle and Wolves were good results and we played some good football, but it only started once the title was fucked and we really had no choice but to play to win, we had nothing left to lose. Even Mancini couldn't be scared and negative any more. It's also worth pointing out those decent efforts were six months ago and very much atypical of our performances this year. The norm has become 'shite'.

[s1ty m]

Absolutely. Garcia is utter and complete shite in every single aspect of his game. Who the fuck scouted this twat? I groaned when I saw his name in the side, but perhaps after his latest shambles of a display, Mancini might finally realise that he is not good enough. For the Championship.

Wasn't de Jong shite for pretty much a whole season?

I have no recollection of NDJ being shite for a whole season. Garcia isn't fit to lace NDJ's boots. I would be as delighted as I would be totally astonsihed if Garcia turned our OK. Thus far, he's been horrendous.

[Swales4ever]

NOT AT ALL! I genuinely intended it and, more importantly I do feel and think what I wrote.

that obviously won't prevents occasional confrontations and / or piss taking,