From having our wings clipped by those sainted Saints Just over a week ago now, We had to come home and play with no restraints And I´d say we bounced back, and how In this, the craziest of Premier League years Where half the teams can still go down, And where one win, now and then, brings such cheers We´re once again holding our own Those Cats from Wearside had sharpened their claws In readiness to pick some holes, But they were blunted and with toothless jaws Had no answer to our two goals The first, a reasonably straightforward one Elmander setting up the Snod, Not so the second, like shot from a gun Tettey´s, led by the hand of God Hit hard and true it never veered its course Once the target was plotted in, Flying past Mannone with supersonic force I felt then we would claim the win Many have maligned van Wolfswinkel R. And Elmander J. too, this year, For not finding their way between posts and bar When chances might seem to be there But the way they both work and work for the team Could not be denied yesterday, Work that´s more valuable than it might seem And an integral part of our play I still feel firmly that ´wolf´ will come good But while he still puts in a shift, Even if he feels that perhaps he should Score more, he´s no need to feel miffed But there weren´t any exceptions in the field In winning one more ´must win´ game, And if we can maintain such form then we´ll yield Enough points to fulfill our aim. OTBC
Many have maligned van Wolfswinkel R. And Elmander J. too, this year, For not finding their way between posts and bar When chances might seem to be there But the way they both work and work for the team Could not be denied yesterday, Work that´s more valuable than it might seem And an integral part of our play I have been scornful, mostly about Elmander, and on previous performances (from what I can see on my monitor), most of that scorn appeared rather valid. Yesterday, he either got far more involved (as did the Wolf), or the cameras were following him around much more, as it was notable just how much effort he put in against the Cats. If he keeps up that kind of level, then I would not be too opposed to an extension of his loan, or even a short contract permanent signing. It actually felt quite good and made a wonderful change, after 90 minutes, trying to figure a bad or even below par performance by any of our players. It was a 'Team' performance at last
Well done RBF, fabulous performance by all, but I have to say you omitted to mention one of the more influential performances of the day, that of the creator of the match-day thread! royalbarclayfan, take a bow!
Morning Thai, but the point I was making was, that many have been criticising the two for not scoring, but forgetting what they otherwise bring to the team, they´ve done it for quite a while now after all, but it was clearly visible yesterday.
That would suggest that he has been most of his work "off camera", which is where the ball can traditionally be found. As he is 'normally' played as a forward in a 4-4-2 (as he was yesterday), why such a gulf in 'perception' of the work he is doing? This could imply he has been sitting deeper than he should be when the ball is near the opponents penalty box, or just simply not getting involved very much. As I pointed out, I only have a monitor to look at to guide me, so I know I can never get the full picture - so which has it been?
Can RBF do all the match threads please for the rest of the season? Unless we lose it`s a results business after all
I raised the Elmander question after the Southampton game.I just wonder if that two minute two goal spell was responsible for a mental change in him.
A great result and a good performance. Whatever our opinion on Hughton - and you know I've been an outer for a long time - let's all pull together now and hope we can get 5 or 6 points from the next 3 games, which should be enough for safety. And RBF, lucky mascot, please do the threads until we lose again, ok?
I'm pretty sure he's out of contract in the summer so could be had on a free. Question will probably be wages I know they're currently rather high but if we brought him in he'd have to take a cut.
The 'Free Transfer' would off-set the wages issue, or at least to an extent. He's 33 in May, so may be open to a 1 year contract, which would not prove too costly. Would he really expect anything longer, considering his age?
Thank you Dave, although I´m not entirely sure how much of the credit for the win should be mine , as always, the words tend to choose themselves and I just try and keep up. and 23 and vietnam - I´ll be glad to carry on Match Threading, if it´ll do us any good
True would be good to have around, I'd then like us to bring in a promising young striker in place of Becchio. Speaking of making loan permanent. Another year of Yobo would be pretty good and I reckon cheap. Again with a view to develop younger players to come in the year after.
I would like to see Yobo on a proper contract too. He is not the greatest in the PL, but he is decent and his mistakes are relatively few, and I would not be sure about getting better without it costing considerably more.
Thai's question is a good one, as I think Elmander does most of his work 'off the ball' and therefore isn't seen much on monitors. I've also watched him play for Sweden quite a lot, and you can see why he's Ibrahimovic's preferred partner (over Toivonen). He works his socks off and, like RvW and Hooper, is not afraid of the physical side either. He reads the game well, as shown in his cut-back for Snods' goal. He's also an excellent player to bring on if we're chasing a game, as at Southampton where he nearly turned the game around single-handed. I'd like to see him stay. If so, it seems to me that if Yobo stays as well, City only need a quality striker to replace Becchio and a creative midfielder to replace Fox (two if Wes leaves).
Thanks RBF, you know how ridiculously superstitious we football fans can be. How does it feel to be the equivalent of a lucky pair of underpants?
The striker situation is interesting. I'd take Elmander back for a second season, but I doubt he'd have a third in him. Presuming Becchio wants a move, then a new striker would ideally be competition for Elmander as third choice, but younger. Hopefully then in the following season, Elmander can leave and the 4th striker slot can be filled by the likes of Loza or Morris coming through the academy. In midfield, we definitely need at least a creative attacking midfielder, and a winger may be necessary too. I'm not convinced by Gutierrez, and suspect Pilks may be moving on. Wouldn't say no to a RB too.
So glad we didn't sell Wes, with Fer missing he's done very well for us. I do wonder if the gaffer will bring Jonson back for Swansea which will be a mistake IMO
I think Elmander gets a bit too much flack, but I wouldn't have him back next season. I think it would be a big mistake to use a striker slot on him, much like Wilbraham, he's done his job for us but we need to move on and develop.
