Very much a game that's defined the season in general. It's certainly not the first time we've been found wanting when the opposition have simply been the hungrier. Bit of class from Tevez gave us the perfect start,probably a bit against the run of play to be fair,finished off clinically by Nasri and thereafter I felt spurs for all their huff and puff,never looked like getting back into the game playing with that system. Adebeyor is very ineffective isolated up top and is easy to defend against with the lack of runners or a van de vaart lurking off him and Bale was drifting through the game without any meaningful contribution Edin Dzeko was offering identical threat to Adebeyor making it largely 10 v 10 so when AVB finally made the blindingly obvious change it was a match winning one Bale,Defoe & Huddlestone grabbed the headlines but I felt the introduction of Holtby really nullified yaya toure's influence in the middle of the park,aided by Mr Masons leniency towards City and allowed spurs to dominate from then on. Mancinis indecision to remove the dreadful Dzeko from the field cost us dearly and a team at times poorly motivated by the coaching staff continue to flatter to deceive.A wealth of talent he may have at his disposal but they are always vulnerable to a side that wants it more and so it proved when the equaliser instigated the proverbial pack of cards and the early exit from yours truly to beat the hordes heading to seven sisters and an early dash back up to northern civilisation Expectation is a terrible thing Once upon a time we used to go to London,get twatted then go on the beer We were never particularly disappointed,it was just the way it was Now we leave with a sour taste that's a new feature of having talented cowards like Nasri rather than bang average players like Richard Dunne,who had the heart of a lion And it's apparently a simple game
Mason was very lenient towards City!! I make you right re Holtby, he was closing down and harrying your middle 2 far more and far better than Parker or dembele had done. I do think that City sat back after scoring and expected Spurs to melt away for them. Also make you right about Nasri. Horrible player & person. From where I was sat in the ground I didn't see his "tackle" on walker but from what I saw on MOTD he was lucky not to see red.
Not seen Nasri's tackle,couldn't tell from where I was that anything was a problem Sounds like a cowards tackle I'd drive the horrible little **** to PSG myself
He is a horrible player & person. I'd say he is the least consistent player you have and the weak link in an otherwise strong team. Kompany & ya ya toure are class acts. What was Hart moaning about yesterday? Ive always rated Hart but he came across like a spoilt brat yesterday!
Nasri's tackle was slightly worse than the Adebayor and Sidwell challenges It just goes to show that these yellow card offences are met with a red card against Arsenal/Man U/Man C/Chelsea and unpunished if one of the aforementioned teams is involved
Hart was moaning about something being thrown at him from behind the goal? Was at the opposite end so couldn't tell Sometimes acts like he's premenstrual
To the OP: Just to echo above comments - Mason was lenient TO Citeh, not the other way around!! Other than that, yours is a pretty accurate assessment.
I think it's harsh to say for sure that Nasri wasn't going for the block, it was the same action that Sturridge got away with in the Liverpool game afterwards and he doesn't strike me as a dirty player so there's definitely scope for it to have been accidental. It was an incredibly stupid challenge though and deserved a red, there's no way you should be allowed to try and block the ball by bringing your foot down and at full pace, had Walkers leg been planted he'd have broken it. I was surprised so much was made of Spurs doing little and City apparently dominating for most of the game, I actually thought it was pretty even up until our goals. When you look at the good chances there was only really Dempsey's free header and Nasri's chance he poked wide where they really should have scored and then Bale's freekick, Walker going through on goal, Dzeko's shot and Tevez's header were the only other significant chances I remember, at least. I can understand people saying you were comfortable with the lead but on MOTD and a couple of reports I've seen they seemed to suggest that you should have been 2 or 3 up by the time we scored. It's reassuring to hear you felt the ref favoured you at times, I'm always going on about the little stuff going against us but then again I seldom miss a chance to have a go at the ref To an extent, at the beginning of the second half in particular, I felt the decisions going your way stunted our ability to create much momentum. In the first half the problems were all our own doing but even before the subs we were trying to get some more width in our game trying to create some better chances. Anyway, I would say good luck for the rest of the season but you've only really got the FA Cup Final left and I don't mind who wins that. So good luck for next season anyway, it's been boring with no one to put in a proper title challenge and as I don't think we're going to be able to I'd rather it was you lot than Chelsea or letting United run away with it again.
Sorry PPLF - but I read the following to suggest that Masons leniency 'helped' Spurs get back into the game.... If I misunderstood then pls accept my apology and take 100% for your comments!! "Edin Dzeko was offering identical threat to Adebeyor making it largely 10 v 10 so when AVB finally made the blindingly obvious change it was a match winning one Bale,Defoe & Huddlestone grabbed the headlines but I felt the introduction of Holtby really nullified yaya toure's influence in the middle of the park,aided by Mr Masons leniency towards City and allowed spurs to dominate from then on."
agree with pretty much all of your comments, PPFL. - Especially on the Holtby part. I think his performance was the catalyst which led to our comeback. No one had rattled city all game, in the way he did when he came on. City looked shocked and didn't know what to do, which left the likes of Huddlestone to capitalise
Just to say thanks Pplf for your useful contribution to our match thread. It's good to have a reasoned opinion/s from the opposition, this thread was better for your part in it.
Agree with almost everything the OP said. I was actually pretty hopeful we could get a win simply because we would want it so much more. It does get me that Nasri's tackle was worse than Ade's against Arsenal. I've disliked Nasri for a long time, but yesterday was the first time I really got to dislike Hart. It was all for his protesting Dempsey's goal. Dempsey was onside by two feet. It just bothers me when people protest a call which was not only right, but not close. I continue to admire Toure and Kompany, by the way, even though Kompany had a notably bad game.
If you read some of the one eyed nonsense from the City forums about how badly done to we are with referees,you'd be right to think the world and his wife are out to get them The truth,unpalatable though it appears to be to many,is somewhat different Since we are now perceived as a " big" club,the difference in how we are officiated from a decade ago is incredible I think City make more cynical fouls than any other side,if an opposition player aims to run at us he gets cythed down,usually around the centre circle and we stop the momentum being allowed to build and week in week out Barry,Milner and Yaya are given carte Blanche to do as they please I've long been of the impression the difference in officiating in European competition has really hampered us and not allowed us to play how we want to But I think it's always been like that,it's no different to Essien,Vieira or Bryan Robson doing the same thing over different decades
Might be a symptom of Mancini's ultra-negativity, PPLF. He's got some extremely talented players available to him, but he always seems to focus on protecting a lead and negating the opposition, when you've often no need to do so. The FA Cup semi-final against Chelsea was another example of it, for me. Totally dominant after a breathtaking opening, he then made a series of defensive moves and allowed them to recover. It wasn't fatal on this occasion, but it was utterly unnecessary. I think that he'd blame what he perceives to be a lack of transfer activity, but I'm not convinced. The FA Cup might save his job, but another poor showing in Europe next season and I doubt he'll see another summer at the Etihad. Thanks for your distinctly unbiased contribution, by the way. It's usually us on the end of painful collapses, as I'm sure you'll remember, so I empathise! It's very annoying to watch a side lose when you don't feel that they've given 100%, isn't it? A lack of talent can be forgiven, but a lack of effort can't.
Mancini is correct in his summing up of there not being much between City and Utd Ferguson would've walked the league by as much if not more than the current points total Don't ever remember seeing Utd out scrapped at Everton or Sunderland like we are every year We had a must win game at Southampton where we meekly surrendered the title,it was pitiful The general consensus in the stands is keep Mancini,he's won 3 trophies in 3 years after decades of nothing However,given a similar squad and transfer kitty to work with even Big Sam would've done equally as well and not alienated so many players with his pissy attitude Still expect to see him at the helm next season and will hypocritically sing his name every week It's what we do isn't it,as fans?
Something is clearly wrong at Man City. There seems to be no team spirit, no inclination to fight for the collective good. Whether that can all be laid at Mancini's door, or whether it's just the fundamental structure of the club, I've no idea, but something is awry - that's for sure.
I don't believe you can finish 2nd and be in the FA cup final without any team spirit Have you been reading the Daily Mail?
