1. A week ago, we wistfully sighed at the triumph that a point from Manchester United, Liverpool or Arsenal would be, doubting that even that modest total could be met. Get ye gone, pessimism! Marco Silva is in charge, and there are shades of 2008’s “anything’s possible” mindset bubbling to the surface. 2. Manchester United first. Not unlike our other recent trip to Old Trafford, we went hoping for a point but more realistically aiming to keep it close. Instead, City fought tenaciously enough to pinch a draw, and came desperately close to even stealing what would have been a first win at that ground since 1952. And thoroughly merited it was too, with City playing with a confidence that belied our lowly league status. 3. We can scarcely imagine the chaos that would’ve ensued if Lazar Marković’s cute shot had struck David de Gea’s post another inch further along. In contrast to some visits to the “big clubs”, the away end was largely free of tourists and their revolting half-scarves, and instead the atmosphere was a good one and we all richly enjoyed the performance. But if only Marković had fractionally adjusted his shot…or Hernández had controlled that high ball when twenty yards clear… 3a. Of course, the embittered halfwits at Old Trafford would probably have lodged a High Court injunction striking the game from the records. Jose Mourinho is a nasty specimen whose repellent bullying attitude increasingly render him yesterday’s man, while being chided for playing to the cameras by Zlatan Ibrahimović is simply beyond parody. In case you’re wondering, you pair of dildos, it made the result even sweeter. 4. As it was, we didn’t have long to wait for bedlam in the stands while socking it to one of the Sky Sports Super Clubs. Liverpool may have been wobbling, and our resurrection is clear, but we still started as distant underdogs against a side that panned us 5-1 earlier in the season. This could scarcely have been different. Sure, the statistics may record that Liverpool had more possession, shots, corners and so on – but they looked fretful throughout, whereas City applied themselves with steely resolve. This is a side that really knows what it’s doing and calmly does it. And when Oumar Niasse unflinchingly stroked the game’s second goal past the Liverpool keeper to win the game, we had our moment of Tiger Mayhem. 5. There’s such a long way to go that this cannot be regarded as anything other than the start of things. We remain in the bottom three, and it’s going to take something remarkable at Arsenal to alter that next weekend. What’s clear is that Marco Silva is restoring confidence to a side that (and we really must remember this) was playing well under Mike Phelan, but rarely seemed to believe it could finish sides off. Whatever he’s doing, he needs to continue it. 6. City’s relegation in 2015 should forever dispel the myth that you can ‘win’ the January transfer window, but nonetheless there is good reason to be pleased with the recruitment done on Marco Silva’s behalf. Polish winger Kamil Grosicki seems a particularly exciting signing, giving us width and a ready made dead ball specialist to replace the departing Snodgrass. Grosicki seems genuinely excited to be a City player too, rather than just being here to rehabilitate a faltering career. 7. That might sound sneery, as City have signed a few players on loan who have essentially failed with their parent club (Niasse with Everton, Marković with Liverpool, Ranocchia with Internazionale), but no such sneer is intended. On the contrary Marco Silva’s plan of mobilising a mob of misfits is admirable (possibly inspired), and the vast improvement we’ve seen in David Meyler and likely 2017 Ballon D’or nominee Tom Huddlestone under Silva is testament to his ability to coach and improve players regardless of what has gone before. Sign one such player and the destabilising impact of Hatem Ben Arfa is a possibility, sign three or four and the odds of one or more being a success dramatically improves, and lessens the disruption if one fails miserably. 7a. City apparently missed out on Guingamp midfielder Yannis Salibur because they ‘ran out of time’. The transfer window is only open for one day after all. What’s that? It isn’t? Oh! 8. City fans have got so used to a lack of meaningful communication from either of the Allams that some have responded to the club’s ‘Transfer Window Review with Ehab Allam” with delirious glee. Regular meaningful communication is a MINIMUM REQUIREMENT of a chairman, it’s should not be considered an unexpected bonus or anything particularly laudable, even if the latest attempt is a positive step. 9. The Allams just don’t do admissions of personal culpability do they? Ehab attempted to pin the ‘permanent’ hiring of Mike Phelan (and indeed the overlooking of Marco Silva in the summer) on “three potential buyers” as if he had no input. With those deals no longer pursued (they lost interest as City dropped down the table, Ehab says; his standing up one of the bidders, Peter Grieve, had no impact) Ehab took positive, decisive action to bring Silva in. Nicely staged Ehab, of course you’ll come across well when there are no probing or challenging questions on the table. It’s way past time for you to address the Premier League rulebreaking on lack of concessions and the laughable marketing mess caused by using different club names on different media platforms. 10. Hard luck to Ahmed Elmohamady, who last night featured in the Egypt side that lost the final of the African Cup of Nations. He’s going to find a lot’s changed here when he returns to East Yorkshire… ://www.ambernectar.org/blog/2017/02/things-we-think-we-think-244/
Not sure about point 6 - are they referring to us winning the summer window? We only bought N'Doye in the January window and he was a Deadline Day panic buy so I think they're mixing up windows. 7a, in an attempt to gleefully spite the Allams, seems to be remarkably out of touch with recent developments and the actual facts of the situation. One of their weaker ones recently in all honesty.
7a is absolutely right. Why the **** clubs need to do everything on the last day is beyond me. It should never happen but it seems to happen a handful of times per window. Bloody stupid.Why it takes a week for the authorities to decide if it was done in time or not is even more baffling.
It's not right because we didn't send the paper work too late and we may well still get the player. The paper work was sent to the wrong place. Waiting until late in the window is a tactic both buyers and sellers can use to either push up the price or cause the seller to panic and sell for a lower price for cash in hand. We brought in several players before the final day as did many clubs. Many also bought on the final day.
In both windows many clubs do a lot on the last day, it's just the way it is, Ehab touched on some of the reasons why. Grosicki confirmed we'd been eyeing him up for weeks so it's not like Ehab had sat on his arse and couldn't be bothered until deadline day. If a selling club wants to twiddle their thumbs and sit on the fence til the last minute there's not a lot you can do about it.
He may have been eyeing him up for weeks, but we didn't actually bid until the day before the window closed. We didn't bid for Salibur until noon on deadline day. It was all very last minute, just as it was in the summer (though obviously not as bad).
Maybe we had another target we preferred who may have become available but never did. We got plenty done before deadline day so I'm not sure it's a valid accusation.
Agreed, especially re: 7a. It's almost as if some of our fans seem to think it's just us "leaving it til the last minute", plus of course, the clubs, and especially clubs in our position are in a huge position of power from which they can wrap things up to their own benefit way ahead of the time running out. Still, not knowing the facts, but being expert players in FM seems enough for some. It is what it is I guess.
The only way leaving it last minute can work is if we've got someone in mind and it stops his agent touting him around to other clubs? Maybe how the Watford lad ended up at the smogs?
We bid for Salibur at noon on deadline day, if that's not leaving it until the last minute, I don't know what is. It seems we than sent through the paperwork at 10.30pm (despite him not having a medical), but we sent it to the wrong place, hence it not being done in time.
11 hours before the deadline isn't leaving it til the last minute. I'm going to ignore anything that starts off with "It seems...". My point is, almost every club, especially ones in our situation end up doing their business on the last day, with tight timescales, it's not that unusual, although it seems popular among a certain group to make it out like it is.
It might not be last minute if you're signing a player from an English club, it's very last minute if you're going to try and fly in a player from abroad for a medical and agree terms on a permanent deal. Fact is, the club ****ed the deal up, what ever way you look at it. It's not the end of the world, we've made decent additions, I'm just making the point that point 7a is entirely accurate, we simply left it too late.
4. Was this truly penned by Amber Nectar? I thought they were much more accurate than this. Niasse 'stroked' the ball into the net? Did he ****, it's well documented that he scuffed the bastarding thing!
