Away atmosphere is generally better than at home, because people from all parts of the ground back home are put together when away, so people who might not sing where they sit at home, because others around them are not, everyone joints in away.
No one criticised anyone for slagging off Swansea performance. It was ****e. Trying to make an anomalous performance part of a some people's biased narrative ever since Liam took over was ****ing ridiculous though, and that's where the bed wetting comes in. In the context of 3 wins in 4, do you really think a lot of that utter toss post Swansea was rational? And yeah re: fan unity. There was a point where the day-tripper home fans when we were well on top first half, were shouting Liam sort it out, and immediately after the usual away stalwarts immediately responded with nan is from hull in support.. Said a lot.
Not just that. It's a mentality thing. You go and make the most of it regardless of the result and performance away. A result is a bonus. Lot of usual home fans grumbling til we equalised tonight. Like they needed the validation of a goal to appreciate the effort and performance. If support is supposed to be the 12th man, we have it away. Rarely at home unless we're winning. Honestly I think we're better away than home a lot of the time as a direct result of that. And it's been like it for years. You honestly think we'd have won L1 with the home fans in the stadium? I don't.
Slater was miles better than Morton who I thought generally was non existent, despite having a decent season.
We started slowly again, but at least, unlike against Swansea we recovered after conceding early on. After that, they had their goalkeeper to thank to prevent us from scoring in the first half. 2nd half, credit to Liam who changed things after an hour and certainly the subs made a big difference. Tufan's pressing for Jaden's goal, which did take a deflection, nevertheless, it was an audacious piece of skill. It was very noticeable to watch Coyle, as soon as Jaden scored he ran straight to Tufan to congratulate him. A real captain is our Lewie! Great to see Ohio get his goal, which he took very well, lovely cross by Giles to pick him out, he looks useful and must be in a chance to start Saturday. As yet, IMO, the front 4, Jaden, Fabio (had a better game, but still short of expectations), Zaroury and whoever plays up top, have not gelled yet, they look like 4 individuals rather than a unit, Hopefully, by keep playing them they will fit together. We can play better, but credit to all concerned for getting the 3 points, back that up with another win Saturday and the Swansea loss will be a distant memory, Southampton losing last night, let's hope they are starting a sticky patch, and we can get something from the game next week.
Probably not, I don't think we are any worse that most other clubs though, I've been to many away games, and they are equally quiet, or even worse.
Football is not rational, the whole point of why we all love it is because of the ups and downs, the irrational reactions, and the way it makes us feel. Go to every football stadium in the world, read every fan forum it’s all exactly the same everywhere. There’s nothing rational about football. Most people were complaining about the poor performances that have happened a few times this season rather than the results, believe it or not people still want to be entertained even if we do sneak a 1-0 result.
I've seen much worse entertainment than this season in my time. More often than not. Tonight was fantastic entertainment FFS. If you can't enjoy this season, then frankly when can you enjoy it? Maybe support Man c from an armchair of Dull FC if you want kick and rush and a high scoring sport. You're right though, it's not a transactional relationship. Unfortunately about 2/3rds of our home fans see it as such as they soon **** off when the going gets tough.
I find Man City boring to watch most the time tbh tonight was much more entertaining, we went for it which I think is what most people have wanted for the past few games, less passing in the first third and more in the final (easier said than done I know)
Think any successful side can't be swashbuckling all the time. There's the practicality of trying to get the right result and you have to acknowledge the opposition trying to stop you also. Thing is though, no city side (or any other) I've ever watched have been always exciting. That's football. You endure the turgid to enjoy the excitement and you enjoy that more as a result of the ****, almost like you've earned it. It's not something that's come about with Pep, Rosenior, playing out or whatever. It's always been like that.
It certainly is now compared to a few years back, players like Kaka and such don’t have a place anymore like before as they wouldn’t do any defending. Can’t remember which ex professional said it but the classic number 10 free role is pretty much non existent now. All about pass completion and rigid structure. You get the occasional player like Neymar and Jaden that still have flair but it seems to be drilled out of players now. Like someone said earlier, Pep has removed nearly all the flair from Grealish, was fun to watch before now he seems scared to take players on.
Doku still seems pretty flairy for City, and Spurs seem to have a lot of freedom with guys like Maddison and Richarlison. Bournemouth another team that seem quite attacking and free roam.
Think it's a bit of rose tinted specs colouring the past to a certain extent. Honestly I think football is increasingly becoming more technical, individual and attractive to watch. You maybe get fewer turnovers, but then it was rare that anyone could keep it long enough to do anything with it.
The morning after the night before.. Mike and I will be jumping on shortly if anyone wants to tune in!
