***City v Elton John Match Thread***

[1an3]

Moved to 242 from my normal 328 for this one.

Early yellow for Garcia neutered him, but won a few balls with his head as the match went on. Still not convinced he has the speed/awareness for DM role.

Milner brilliant. Interplay with him, silva and Zab was great. Briefly switched to the left for a while, for some reason. Wish he'd pack in with the short corners though!

Clichy ran his nuts off all game, few more misplaced passes than normal.

Barry had a good game, as did Lescott.

Was a bit concerned to see Pantilimon starting - pretty much strongest available side apart from keeper? Fair play to him though, good save just after we'd scored. Only panic moment was when there was a Comms breakdown him n Lescott but he took the ball.

Mario came on to some boos. Some people are idiots. Held the ball up well, better than Dzeko did anyway. Free kick was poor but I think if he'd have been on longer, he would've scored.

Watford for the most part looked poor - they hardly had the ball in the 20mins after HT. until it was 2-0 I thought they were gonna come right back into it.

[Blue Stu]

Player ratings from Stuart Brennan, which I pretty much agree with:
http://menmedia.co.uk/manchesterevening ... er-ratings

7 PANTILIMON One excellent save from Forestieri in a one-on-one with the score still 1-0 earned him his bread – and steady thereafter

7 ZABALETA Whether it’s Real Madrid or Watford, you get the same from him, 100 per cent. He was booked for contesting a throw-in!

7 KOMPANY Some Rolls Royce defending – and occasional attacking – from the skipper, but also the odd moment of casual indecision

7 LESCOTT Unflappable defending gave the Watford attack very little sniff of goal, and he was a rock in the air, once again

7 CLICHY Bristling with energy and intent down the City left flank in attack, and alert on the rare occasion some defending was needed

8 MILNER Gave Pudil a tough time on the City right, and popped up on the left to neatly set up City’s second goal

6 GARCIA Able to canter through the game with Watford offering little threat, but he still misplaces the easiest of passes. Booked

8 BARRY People have been wondering who will replace Yaya Toure as the heartbeat of the team – perhaps Barry gave them the answer

7 SILVA Flashes of his genius, but he strolled through much of the game, and provided the opening for the second goal

8 TEVEZ Typical hard-working performance, capped by a stunning free kick goal. City's best work revolved around him

6 DZEKO Quiet day after his recent goalscoring exploits, and no surprise when he was replaced by Balotelli

Subs

BALOTELLI (for Dzeko 71) Tried hard to make impact 6

SINCLAIR (for Garcia 74) Too many blind alleys 6

LOPES (for Silva 86) big day for the youngster 6

Not used: Hart, Rekik, Nastasic, Suarez
WATFORD: Bond, Doyley, Nosworthy, Ekstrand, Pudil (Neulon ht), Cassetti, Eustace (Battocchio 85), Chalobah, Forestieri (Mujangi Bia 63), Vydra, Deeney

Referee: Phil Dowd 6

Attendance: 46,821

[Ted Hughes]

The Guardian is not a broadsheet, it is now just another Rag sychophant. That story is aimed purposely at the Rag fans, not City fans.

Good to see Stu Brennan (MEN) saying that Tevez' shot would've killed VP if he was in the wall.

Haha. Not read that yet. Nice one Stuart.

The Guardian piece, although obviously snidey, is correct in the point about Watford's strikers breaching City's defence a couple of times, & they did it using the simple, basic method of playing together & knowing the runs each other would make. One would suddenly come deep, not dawdle there like a midfield player, but sprint off the defender, meaning the cb had to come out to follow him but had no chance of getting the ball. That leaves a hole in our defence, & if the fullback is out wide a player can get in there with a one two etc. I've mentioned this on here before but If our vastly superior strikers had half the understanding of any basic strike pair anywhere, we would be a much much better team. At times, Dzeko in particular looked hopeless in the same position & just playeed the ball casually to their cbs. Tevez played well as Tevez does but he can do it, we saw that when he was at the swamp.

Zola is Italian & from the same footballing background as Mancini. If he can get his shit strikers doing that, then Mancini can get his brilliant strikers doing the same, not in five years, but now. He just hasn't. We should also have 3 men in the 6 yard box when the ball goes in there. I could see it coming 5 seconds before Dzeko. I would have been hit by the ball 3 times in front of an empty net if I'd been wearing his shirt. With a bit of luck one would have bounced in. Mancini needs to get more from his strikers & if he can't, he should bring in a modern day ex striker to work with them or get Kidd to do it. We are wasting time.

Just to add; Mario looked a class above when he came on.

[KippaxBlue]

Pics and comments on the Watford cuptie are now online at
http://www.rtfract.com/citjan13a.htm

[Blue In Bolton]

Has nobody mentioned yet another shite performance from the referee yesterday? Totally exasparating at points during the match but very pleased with the result nonetheless.

[Peter Doherty (AGAIG)]

Has nobody mentioned yet another shite performance from the referee yesterday? Totally exasparating at points during the match but very pleased with the result nonetheless.

It's Phil 'Failed Fitness Test' Dowd, no-one was expecting any different from the clown.

As for the booing of Balotelli, I think that can be put down to it being a cup game and so not the usual crowd.

[Tokyo Blue]

Has nobody mentioned yet another shite performance from the referee yesterday? Totally exasparating at points during the match but very pleased with the result nonetheless.

It's Phil 'Failed Fitness Test' Dowd, no-one was expecting any different from the clown.

As for the booing of Balotelli, I think that can be put down to it being a cup game and so not the usual crowd.

The away fans?

[Beefymcfc]

The Guardian is not a broadsheet, it is now just another Rag sychophant. That story is aimed purposely at the Rag fans, not City fans.

Good to see Stu Brennan (MEN) saying that Tevez' shot would've killed VP if he was in the wall.

Haha. Not read that yet. Nice one Stuart.

The Guardian piece, although obviously snidey, is correct in the point about Watford's strikers breaching City's defence a couple of times, & they did it using the simple, basic method of playing together & knowing the runs each other would make. One would suddenly come deep, not dawdle there like a midfield player, but sprint off the defender, meaning the cb had to come out to follow him but had no chance of getting the ball. That leaves a hole in our defence, & if the fullback is out wide a player can get in there with a one two etc. I've mentioned this on here before but If our vastly superior strikers had half the understanding of any basic strike pair anywhere, we would be a much much better team. At times, Dzeko in particular looked hopeless in the same position & just playeed the ball casually to their cbs. Tevez played well as Tevez does but he can do it, we saw that when he was at the swamp.

Zola is Italian & from the same footballing background as Mancini. If he can get his shit strikers doing that, then Mancini can get his brilliant strikers doing the same, not in five years, but now. He just hasn't. We should also have 3 men in the 6 yard box when the ball goes in there. I could see it coming 5 seconds before Dzeko. I would have been hit by the ball 3 times in front of an empty net if I'd been wearing his shirt. With a bit of luck one would have bounced in. Mancini needs to get more from his strikers & if he can't, he should bring in a modern day ex striker to work with them or get Kidd to do it. We are wasting time.

Just to add; Mario looked a class above when he came on.

Ted, I'm not having a dig here but why do most of your posts revolve around Mancini and his tactics. You start off here saying that Zola's tactics and how he's getting the best out of them; Mancini needs to do the same now, not in 5 years. I personally wouldn't say that Zola's strikers are shit as they've been doing very well in the Championship but yesterday how many goals did they actually score against us? The answer is nil, nada, not a fucking one. So Zola didn't get the best out of his strikers on a set day so you cannot really compare.

Also, forgive me if I've lost my marbles but didn't we score the most goals last season? That's not 5 years mate he's been doing it for a while. And what about the last 3 games, as he not got the most out of our forward play, mixing it up and all that. It's amazing how everybody was talking about pace and width when 4 of our 5 fullbacks were out with injury, now we are complaing because we aren't scoring enough even though we've scored 10 goals in our last 3 games.

And what about our scoring record this season in the league? Even after injuries, set-backs and loss of form to key players we are still 2nd in the league with regard to goals scored with also the joint best defensive record. Remember at the start of the season when everybody said we were shit at the back, well that's another one resolved there.

To say Mancini is not getting the best out of our players now he has choice to pick from is disingenuous. Taking all factors into consideration our form is actually coming back and now we've got some wing play weare seeing games open up for us more and more. Mancini may not have got the best out of the players early on but in the same instance, and looking at the lethargy of some of those players, I don't think many could've done much better.

It's coming together now so at least try to see the positives. 10 goals in 3 games does not mean Mancini isn't starting to get the best out of his strikers, actually it means the opposite and if you can't take the other factors into consideration then you are not playing from a straight bat.

[1an3]

Just to add; Mario looked a class above when he came on.

I thought so.

[Ted Hughes]

The Guardian is not a broadsheet, it is now just another Rag sychophant. That story is aimed purposely at the Rag fans, not City fans.

Good to see Stu Brennan (MEN) saying that Tevez' shot would've killed VP if he was in the wall.

Haha. Not read that yet. Nice one Stuart.

The Guardian piece, although obviously snidey, is correct in the point about Watford's strikers breaching City's defence a couple of times, & they did it using the simple, basic method of playing together & knowing the runs each other would make. One would suddenly come deep, not dawdle there like a midfield player, but sprint off the defender, meaning the cb had to come out to follow him but had no chance of getting the ball. That leaves a hole in our defence, & if the fullback is out wide a player can get in there with a one two etc. I've mentioned this on here before but If our vastly superior strikers had half the understanding of any basic strike pair anywhere, we would be a much much better team. At times, Dzeko in particular looked hopeless in the same position & just playeed the ball casually to their cbs. Tevez played well as Tevez does but he can do it, we saw that when he was at the swamp.

Zola is Italian & from the same footballing background as Mancini. If he can get his shit strikers doing that, then Mancini can get his brilliant strikers doing the same, not in five years, but now. He just hasn't. We should also have 3 men in the 6 yard box when the ball goes in there. I could see it coming 5 seconds before Dzeko. I would have been hit by the ball 3 times in front of an empty net if I'd been wearing his shirt. With a bit of luck one would have bounced in. Mancini needs to get more from his strikers & if he can't, he should bring in a modern day ex striker to work with them or get Kidd to do it. We are wasting time.

Just to add; Mario looked a class above when he came on.

Ted, I'm not having a dig here but why do most of your posts revolve around Mancini and his tactics. You start off here saying that Zola's tactics and how he's getting the best out of them; Mancini needs to do the same now, not in 5 years. I personally wouldn't say that Zola's strikers are shit as they've been doing very well in the Championship but yesterday how many goals did they actually score against us? The answer is nil, nada, not a fucking one. So Zola didn't get the best out of his strikers on a set day so you cannot really compare.

Also, forgive me if I've lost my marbles but didn't we score the most goals last season? That's not 5 years mate he's been doing it for a while. And what about the last 3 games, as he not got the most out of our forward play, mixing it up and all that. It's amazing how everybody was talking about pace and width when 4 of our 5 fullbacks were out with injury, now we are complaing because we aren't scoring enough even though we've scored 10 goals in our last 3 games.

And what about our scoring record this season in the league? Even after injuries, set-backs and loss of form to key players we are still 2nd in the league with regard to goals scored with also the joint best defensive record. Remember at the start of the season when everybody said we were shit at the back, well that's another one resolved there.

To say Mancini is not getting the best out of our players now he has choice to pick from is disingenuous. Taking all factors into consideration our form is actually coming back and now we've got some wing play weare seeing games open up for us more and more. Mancini may not have got the best out of the players early on but in the same instance, and looking at the lethargy of some of those players, I don't think many could've done much better.

It's coming together now so at least try to see the positives. 10 goals in 3 games does not mean Mancini isn't starting to get the best out of his strikers, actually it means the opposite and if you can't take the other factors into consideration then you are not playing from a straight bat.

I never mentioned the word 'players' I said strikers. If we were going through the whole team, I would have a big list of stuff where I think we could & should have done better. And as for our scoring record, would you be willing to accept any less ? If so why ? Why do you think we should score less with these players ?

And strangely enough, I was demanding such things as better wing play two years ago & and am still doing it now, (we have barely scatched the surface of our capabilities in spite of recent improvement) and people were saying I was wrong to demand it then. Looking back now, was I right to mention it as something that could, & should, be improved on or was I being too harsh ?

When I made these points again a month or so ago, people were telling me it takes years, suddenly, stuff starts to happen & now I'm being too harsh because I'm asking for it to go a step further ? Why ?


It's nowhere even close to where it could & should be. Shit teams do certain things better than us.

Here's a question; if you were buliding a team for 300 million or whatever, would your only decent dead ball specialist be a shit fullback, or would you have done something about it ? And please don't bring up Tevez' free kick from Saturday, yes it was great but anyone on here knows what I'm saying.

Several years ago, we were building a side, amongst a club of losers. Bob has turned that corner & imo, has done something few managers could have done, in that space of time. For that, he is a City legend. So is Allison.

Times & requirements move on. We are no longer a bunch of losers & we have the world at our feet.

Asking for somebody to put a cross in, somebody to be in the six yard box to convert it, & somebody to organise our 4 multi million £ strikers into bog standard partnerships, that Joe Royle could manage, is not outragous or disingenuous it is an area of weakness that we can improve on.

Mancini talks about improvement all the time, day in day out, well so do I & I include him & his coaching staff in that.

Edit: I thought Zola's tactics and his team were dogshit btw. I just thought his (utter shite) strikers had more understanding together than ours. And the reason they didn't score; they are shite.

[Swales4ever]

The Guardian is not a broadsheet, it is now just another Rag sychophant. That story is aimed purposely at the Rag fans, not City fans.

Good to see Stu Brennan (MEN) saying that Tevez' shot would've killed VP if he was in the wall.

Haha. Not read that yet. Nice one Stuart.

The Guardian piece, although obviously snidey, is correct in the point about Watford's strikers breaching City's defence a couple of times, & they did it using the simple, basic method of playing together & knowing the runs each other would make. One would suddenly come deep, not dawdle there like a midfield player, but sprint off the defender, meaning the cb had to come out to follow him but had no chance of getting the ball. That leaves a hole in our defence, & if the fullback is out wide a player can get in there with a one two etc. I've mentioned this on here before but If our vastly superior strikers had half the understanding of any basic strike pair anywhere, we would be a much much better team. At times, Dzeko in particular looked hopeless in the same position & just playeed the ball casually to their cbs. Tevez played well as Tevez does but he can do it, we saw that when he was at the swamp.

Zola is Italian & from the same footballing background as Mancini. If he can get his shit strikers doing that, then Mancini can get his brilliant strikers doing the same, not in five years, but now. He just hasn't. We should also have 3 men in the 6 yard box when the ball goes in there. I could see it coming 5 seconds before Dzeko. I would have been hit by the ball 3 times in front of an empty net if I'd been wearing his shirt. With a bit of luck one would have bounced in. Mancini needs to get more from his strikers & if he can't, he should bring in a modern day ex striker to work with them or get Kidd to do it. We are wasting time.

Just to add; Mario looked a class above when he came on.

Ted, I'm not having a dig here but why do most of your posts revolve around Mancini and his tactics. You start off here saying that Zola's tactics and how he's getting the best out of them; Mancini needs to do the same now, not in 5 years. I personally wouldn't say that Zola's strikers are shit as they've been doing very well in the Championship but yesterday how many goals did they actually score against us? The answer is nil, nada, not a fucking one. So Zola didn't get the best out of his strikers on a set day so you cannot really compare.

Also, forgive me if I've lost my marbles but didn't we score the most goals last season? That's not 5 years mate he's been doing it for a while. And what about the last 3 games, as he not got the most out of our forward play, mixing it up and all that. It's amazing how everybody was talking about pace and width when 4 of our 5 fullbacks were out with injury, now we are complaing because we aren't scoring enough even though we've scored 10 goals in our last 3 games.

And what about our scoring record this season in the league? Even after injuries, set-backs and loss of form to key players we are still 2nd in the league with regard to goals scored with also the joint best defensive record. Remember at the start of the season when everybody said we were shit at the back, well that's another one resolved there.

To say Mancini is not getting the best out of our players now he has choice to pick from is disingenuous. Taking all factors into consideration our form is actually coming back and now we've got some wing play weare seeing games open up for us more and more. Mancini may not have got the best out of the players early on but in the same instance, and looking at the lethargy of some of those players, I don't think many could've done much better.

It's coming together now so at least try to see the positives. 10 goals in 3 games does not mean Mancini isn't starting to get the best out of his strikers, actually it means the opposite and if you can't take the other factors into consideration then you are not playing from a straight bat.

SERIOUS BREAK:

Wayne,

the above is probably the most Mancio4ever post ever appeared. The combination of my supposed blind love with Sir John/Shawzy & alias eloquent disposal of the Shakespeare's language could have hardly made better. Also noticeable, it comes from a poster who has taken what Sir John would call a full journey on the learning curve of the issue.

Nonetheless, as me with some struggles and You much easier and well before myself have learnt, the beauty, use and merits of a Fans Football Forum are comprehensive, multipurpose and manifold. let alone on THE BEST in the all Land and whole world of Fans Football Forum.
Many people are still perceiving Roberto Mancini as an usurper, who can barely tollerated until he does deliver a bigger prize season after season. But where is the problem with this attitude on a football forum: ain't this also and partly a cyber-dreamland where to come and steam off the piss of life or the boredoom, while keep living the genuine love for the Blues?

I understand that You are not having a dig at Teddy, but don't You find a tad weird addressing just him? I mean I am sure You realized much earlier than me that we can be amused by different Teddies, particularly a Monday to Thursday Ted and a Friday to Sunday Ted?... :-) I for one have grown a special love for the least while having always felt an utmost devotion for the last, but that's irrelevant!
Perhaps a little more relevant would be that, reading into Ted's ways to self-amusements I think it's not difficult to find out that the very few times when the heat goes up on Bob's shoulders.... our Teddy is always amongst firsts to quit his personal entertainments and stand up firmly for Stability: You know.... Ted knows football and loves MCFC.

Several others, perfectly and obviously legitimated to express personal opinions different to the Mancini's way, would better be target of Your excellent post, imho.

[Ted Hughes]

The Guardian is not a broadsheet, it is now just another Rag sychophant. That story is aimed purposely at the Rag fans, not City fans.

Good to see Stu Brennan (MEN) saying that Tevez' shot would've killed VP if he was in the wall.

Haha. Not read that yet. Nice one Stuart.

The Guardian piece, although obviously snidey, is correct in the point about Watford's strikers breaching City's defence a couple of times, & they did it using the simple, basic method of playing together & knowing the runs each other would make. One would suddenly come deep, not dawdle there like a midfield player, but sprint off the defender, meaning the cb had to come out to follow him but had no chance of getting the ball. That leaves a hole in our defence, & if the fullback is out wide a player can get in there with a one two etc. I've mentioned this on here before but If our vastly superior strikers had half the understanding of any basic strike pair anywhere, we would be a much much better team. At times, Dzeko in particular looked hopeless in the same position & just playeed the ball casually to their cbs. Tevez played well as Tevez does but he can do it, we saw that when he was at the swamp.

Zola is Italian & from the same footballing background as Mancini. If he can get his shit strikers doing that, then Mancini can get his brilliant strikers doing the same, not in five years, but now. He just hasn't. We should also have 3 men in the 6 yard box when the ball goes in there. I could see it coming 5 seconds before Dzeko. I would have been hit by the ball 3 times in front of an empty net if I'd been wearing his shirt. With a bit of luck one would have bounced in. Mancini needs to get more from his strikers & if he can't, he should bring in a modern day ex striker to work with them or get Kidd to do it. We are wasting time.

Just to add; Mario looked a class above when he came on.

Ted, I'm not having a dig here but why do most of your posts revolve around Mancini and his tactics. You start off here saying that Zola's tactics and how he's getting the best out of them; Mancini needs to do the same now, not in 5 years. I personally wouldn't say that Zola's strikers are shit as they've been doing very well in the Championship but yesterday how many goals did they actually score against us? The answer is nil, nada, not a fucking one. So Zola didn't get the best out of his strikers on a set day so you cannot really compare.

Also, forgive me if I've lost my marbles but didn't we score the most goals last season? That's not 5 years mate he's been doing it for a while. And what about the last 3 games, as he not got the most out of our forward play, mixing it up and all that. It's amazing how everybody was talking about pace and width when 4 of our 5 fullbacks were out with injury, now we are complaing because we aren't scoring enough even though we've scored 10 goals in our last 3 games.

And what about our scoring record this season in the league? Even after injuries, set-backs and loss of form to key players we are still 2nd in the league with regard to goals scored with also the joint best defensive record. Remember at the start of the season when everybody said we were shit at the back, well that's another one resolved there.

To say Mancini is not getting the best out of our players now he has choice to pick from is disingenuous. Taking all factors into consideration our form is actually coming back and now we've got some wing play weare seeing games open up for us more and more. Mancini may not have got the best out of the players early on but in the same instance, and looking at the lethargy of some of those players, I don't think many could've done much better.

It's coming together now so at least try to see the positives. 10 goals in 3 games does not mean Mancini isn't starting to get the best out of his strikers, actually it means the opposite and if you can't take the other factors into consideration then you are not playing from a straight bat.

SERIOUS BREAK:

Wayne,

the above is probably the most Mancio4ever post ever appeared. The combination of my supposed blind love with Sir John/Shawzy & alias eloquent disposal of the Shakespeare's language could have hardly made better. Also noticeable, it comes from a poster who has taken what Sir John would call a full journey on the learning curve of the issue.

Nonetheless, as me with some struggles and You much easier and well before myself have learnt, the beauty, use and merits of a Fans Football Forum are comprehensive, multipurpose and manifold. let alone on THE BEST in the all Land and whole world of Fans Football Forum.
Many people are still perceiving Roberto Mancini as an usurper, who can barely tollerated until he does deliver a bigger prize season after season. But where is the problem with this attitude on a football forum: ain't this also and partly a cyber-dreamland where to come and steam off the piss of life or the boredoom, while keep living the genuine love for the Blues?

I understand that You are not having a dig at Teddy, but don't You find a tad weird addressing just him? I mean I am sure You realizes much earlier than me that we can be amused by different Teddies, particularly a Monday to Thursday Ted and a Friday to Sunday Ted?... :-) I for one have grown a special love for the least while having always felt an utmost devotion for the last, but that's irrelevant!
Perhaps a little more relevant would be that, reading into Ted's ways to self-amusements I think it's not difficult to find out that the very few times when the heat goes up on Bob's shoulders.... our Teddy is always amongst first to quit his personal entertainments and stand up firmly for Stability: You know.... Ted knows football and loves MCFC.

Several others, perfectly and obviously legitimated to express personal opinions different to the Mancini's way, would better be target of Your excellent post, imho.

I'm not making any of those points for my own amusement and haven't changed any of them since I first mentined it years ago, in fact I was criticising Hughes for similar before Bob arrived. He tried to fix it & failed.

I believe 100% in what I'm saying. It's not a pro or anti Mancini position, it's about football & what imo we should be doing, nothing else. Imo, Pep Guardiola for instance would be less likely to fix it than Mancini. That doesn't mean I'm happy with Mancini this season uptil now, I think he's been pretty crap tbh.

That doesn't mean I'm for sacking him. I think Aguero & Vinny have been often been crap too. Funny how people pull me up for all kinds of reasons when I criticise Mancini, but every time I slag off Sergio, which I 've been doing week in week out; not a word from anyone.

Anybody know why this is ?

[Pretty Boy Lee]

I'm not making any of those points for my own amusement and haven't changed any of them since I first mentined it years ago, in fact I was criticising Hughes for similar before Bob arrived. He tried to fix it & failed.

I believe 100% in what I'm saying. It's not a pro or anti Mancini position, it's about football & what imo we should be doing, nothing else. Imo, Pep Guardiola for instance would be less likely to fix it than Mancini. That doesn't mean I'm happy with Mancini this season uptil now, I think he's been pretty crap tbh.

That doesn't mean I'm for sacking him. I think Aguero & Vinny have been often been crap too. Funny how people pull me up for all kinds of reasons when I criticise Mancini, but every time I slag off Sergio, which I 've been doing week in week out; not a word from anyone.

Anybody know why this is ?

Probably because managers underperforming get sacked, players don't.

I agree with a lot of what you say mind.

Tevez has scored more free kicks for us than the two that fight for every single one tho. Yaya and Mario both fucking suck at them, yet Tevez has scored this week, v stoke, v Chelsea and at least one other I can remember.

[Ted Hughes]

I'm not making any of those points for my own amusement and haven't changed any of them since I first mentined it years ago, in fact I was criticising Hughes for similar before Bob arrived. He tried to fix it & failed.

I believe 100% in what I'm saying. It's not a pro or anti Mancini position, it's about football & what imo we should be doing, nothing else. Imo, Pep Guardiola for instance would be less likely to fix it than Mancini. That doesn't mean I'm happy with Mancini this season uptil now, I think he's been pretty crap tbh.

That doesn't mean I'm for sacking him. I think Aguero & Vinny have been often been crap too. Funny how people pull me up for all kinds of reasons when I criticise Mancini, but every time I slag off Sergio, which I 've been doing week in week out; not a word from anyone.

Anybody know why this is ?

Probably because managers underperforming get sacked, players don't.

I agree with a lot of what you say mind.


Tevez has scored more free kicks for us than the two that fight for every single one tho. Yaya and Mario both fucking suck at them, yet Tevez has scored this week, v stoke, v Chelsea and at least one other I can remember.

Free kicks are just one of many things we could & should improve on. Tbf RVP would have solved that, but putting all our eggs in that basket was stupid & still as a club, we should have 4 or 5 players who can hit a dead ball anyway, not one or two. I firmly believe we have players at the club now who could do that stuff IF they were spending the time practicing it. Balotelli in particular. Milner, gawd blessim, does not have the natural talent for it, just the effort.

I think there are loads of things we can do as a club, which we should have done already, but need to be doing now, in order to get ourselves up a level. The stuff about basic crossing etc has been on the agenda for years & we are now, at last, starting to make improvements there. Milner put some absolute corkers accross the 6 yard box v Stoke though & Dzeko was nowhere near any of them. Once, fair enough but 3 or 4 times ? This should be bread and butter stuff, which should not be happening when these blokes have been together this long. It's down to a lack of basic understanding of each other's game & it should have been sorted months and years ago.

This kind of stuff, plus a return to the solid defending Mancini originally brought to the club, is what the important time should be spent on imo rather than back 5's & space age tactical mumbo jumbo. Get the team playing to the absolute best of its abilities, sign the appropriate players to achieve that, THEN start with all the other stuff once its fully bedded in.

We have Aguero injured & the two most likely strikers for a possible season decider next week, have just played like they never met. Tevez was good on his own, but you could have had a helium filled inflatable knob with lead boots attached to it in place of Dzeko & the team would have played exactly the same.

I hope he dosn't repeat that next week.

[ant london]

Don't disagree with any of the above.....I just wanted to re-iterate the part about the balls Milner put in against Stoke.

A combination of either/or Silva with Milner/Zaba overlapping on the right hand side of the box again and again gives rise this season to very decent balls either going across the 6 yard box or pulled back into the area and we have converted a pitiful proportion of those chances. United would have buried over 50% of them IMO. It's really not rocket science and most teams in the Prem (and I'd say equally the lower divisions) would be getting people on the end of those. I'd actually go as far as to say as it is harder to manage to do what we do and routinely end up with no fucker there to get a foot on it.

It's shambolic and that is down to the coaching staff mainly but I also don't get how the players haven't sussed and sorted this themselves.

[john68]

Don't disagree with any of the above.....I just wanted to re-iterate the part about the balls Milner put in against Stoke.

A combination of either/or Silva with Milner/Zaba overlapping on the right hand side of the box again and again gives rise this season to very decent balls either going across the 6 yard box or pulled back into the area and we have converted a pitiful proportion of those chances. United would have buried over 50% of them IMO. It's really not rocket science and most teams in the Prem (and I'd say equally the lower divisions) would be getting people on the end of those. I'd actually go as far as to say as it is harder to manage to do what we do and routinely end up with no fucker there to get a foot on it.

It's shambolic and that is down to the coaching staff mainly but I also don't get how the players haven't sussed and sorted this themselves.

Just how would some of you survive if you supported a really shit club like Chelsea who were only 3rd?

[ant london]

Now now Johannes.....don't go all JR Hartley!

You know that the vast majority of us are happy with overall how we are doing...that doesn't mean that we shouldn't be able to discuss some glaring issues now does it?

[Ted Hughes]

Now now Johannes.....don't go all JR Hartley!

You know that the vast majority of us are happy with overall how we are doing...that doesn't mean that we shouldn't be able to discuss some glaring issues now does it?

I thought that's what this place was for.

I found myself sat in my seat doing that twitching, phantom running thing on Saturday; in my head I was sprinting into the 6 yard box as Milner moved onto the ball. As, in my imagination, I tapped the inevitable ball onto the empty net, Dzeko had stopped, 8 yards back.

It is puzzling why the players themselves don't sort this, as you say, but it's something the coaching staff should pounce on. And they don't, or they haven't done so far. Eventually they will probably get round to it & it will take them literally a week to sort out. That's how easy this stuff is for players of that quality & that's what is doing my head in. Well, either they'll sort it, or they'll spend 50 million quid on Cavani in the summer & then marvel at how he gets so many tap ins. Why coach when you can just spend ?

[john68]

Hi Ant Mate,
This may surprise you but it actually ain't me that is all J R Hartley Pal. But I do feel there ain't enough Werthers in creation to quell the doom spouted by so effin many on here.

By all means discuss and debate each microscopic frailty our team may have but FFS let's have a bit of balance. Reading through threads since the start of this season has been like doing research for Samaritans. One suifuckingcide note after another.

I defy anyone on here to tell me they have ever in their lifetime watched a better City team. For well over 30 years, this is what we all fuclin dreamed of, but FOR SOME IT AIN'T FUCLIN GOOD ENOUGH, SO THEY FILL THIS BOARD WITH MOAN AFTER WHINGE AFTER BLEAT.
The most successful City manager in the history of our club....3 years into a 15 year project and well ahead of schedule,encumbered by the FFP...some want to SACK HIM?

...and you think I'm JR Hartley Mate?
Not asking for happy clappy but a bit of balance would be useful. I come on here, log on, read a few posts and find myself logging off before I am tempted to slash my wrists with a blunt penknife.

[Slim]

Hi Ant Mate,
This may surprise you but it actually ain't me that is all J R Hartley Pal. But I do feel there ain't enough Werthers in creation to quell the doom spouted by so effin many on here.

By all means discuss and debate each microscopic frailty our team may have but FFS let's have a bit of balance. Reading through threads since the start of this season has been like doing research for Samaritans. One suifuckingcide note after another.

I defy anyone on here to tell me they have ever in their lifetime watched a better City team. For well over 30 years, this is what we all fuclin dreamed of, but FOR SOME IT AIN'T FUCLIN GOOD ENOUGH, SO THEY FILL THIS BOARD WITH MOAN AFTER WHINGE AFTER BLEAT.
The most successful City manager in the history of our club....3 years into a 15 year project and well ahead of schedule,encumbered by the FFP...some want to SACK HIM?

...and you think I'm JR Hartley Mate?
Not asking for happy clappy but a bit of balance would be useful. I come on here, log on, read a few posts and find myself logging off before I am tempted to slash my wrists with a blunt penknife.

You have been coming off as a bit of a crossan(which even crossan isn't) in recent times young Johnnie. Who in the hell wants Mancini sacked BTW? I admit I haven't been around much lately but that brand of madness should have been stomped on right from the start.

On the upside, Milner looks every bit the player we saw at Leeds, Newcastle and Villa. And he is proving effective in 3 positions, which makes Mancini's job a lot easier. I think it was praise from ant for Milner's newly found vigor that prompted his post and I have noticed the strikers not quite on the same wavelength as yet. I hope Milner stays right as he and Zabs are proving impossible to deal with and that should mean plenty more balls into dangerous areas, however this has only been a recent turn and I am sure our strikers will find themselves in the right spots soon enough to take advantage. How Sinclair missed the 4th against Stoke is beyond me....Milner again I believe with the gorgeous pass.