MAN CITY 1 – 0 Blackpool – MY THOUGHTS
3 Jan
Man City began 2011 the saw they ended 2010; with a win, although the manner of victory here was rather more nerve-wracking than the thumping of Aston Villa last Tuesday. An Adam Johnson shot from outside the area was the only goal of a game which City deserved to win, although Carlos Tévez’s profligacy meant that the result was always in doubt.
Blackpool looked dangerous throughout the second half, with their brand of attacking, easy-on-the-eye football, but Joe Hart was only forced into making a couple of tough saves. And it was only thanks to Tévez’s lack of finishing touch that bums were on the edges of seats towards of the end, as he missed a procession of clear-cut chances, including a penalty and one risible moment when he rounded the ‘keeper and then slipped.
As expected, Roberto Mancini made a number of changes from the side which trampled upon Villa, with Tévez replacing Mario Balotelli, who suffered a knock to the knee in training. Both fullback positions were changed, with Jérome Boateng and Aleks Kolarov recalled, whilst Gareth Barry returned in place of Patrick Vieira.
City have started brightly in the past couple of matches, and they nearly opened the scoring within the first 30 seconds after Carlos Tévez seized upon a misplaced Blackpool pass and fired in a shot that trickled narrowly wide. The Argentine, who appallingly managed to forget his captain’s armband at the start and required Brian Kidd to retrieve it for him, was working hard up front but his killer touch was sorely missing.
The Blues were on the front foot and came close to the opening goal twice, but David Silva fired wide on both occasions. At the other end, Joleon Lescott, again preferred to Kolo Touré, came to the rescue with a magnificent last-ditch challenge which prevented Blackpool from scoring. But just moments later, the opener did arrive, and it came via a Stephen Crainey deflection from an Adam Johnson shot following a corner. The England man then lifted him shirt to reveal a tribute to his best friend, Dale Roberts, the former Rushden and Diamonds goalkeeper who passed away recently.
The opportunity of a second came shortly afterwards, this time from the penalty spot after Luke Varney brought down Yaya Touré, whose performance throughout the match was nothing short of disgraceful. Tévez, who hitherto had never missed for the Blues, proceeded to lamely strike the penalty wide of the post and give renewed hope to the visitors.
The second half began with the Seasiders bringing on former Wycombe winger Matt Phillips and it was he who caused the City defence, namely Kolarov and then later Zabaleta, numerous problems with his pace and direct running. Hart had to be aware to save from Phillips, whose presence forced Mancini to remove Kolarov from the firing line. The Serbian continued to impress going forward but remains a liability defensively.
It was clearly not Tévez’s day as fluffed another couple of chances, including when he rounded the ‘keeper very well before losing his footing as he looked a certainty to open his account for 2011. But the biggest blow of the afternoon came when the influential David Silva twisted his knee in a tackle and needed to be substituted. The Spaniard had yet again been City’s standout performer and he will need to recover quickly if the Blues are to cause Arsenal problems.
As the game neared its conclusion, Hart was forced into action once more to expertly tip over from a rasping Neal Eardley drive, but City saw out the remaining few minutes to record a third successive victory and maintain the pressure on United at the top. 2011 is all set to be a successful year for the Blues and it has certainly got off to a promising start.
Your comment syas:
quote “The opportunity of a second came shortly afterwards, this time from the penalty spot after Luke Varney brought down Yaya Touré, whose performance throughout the match was nothing short of disgraceful.” quote ends.
Exactly what game were you watching to make such a derogatory comment about Yaya Toure whose contribution was very, very far from being disgraceful!
Mind you, it might just be that you are punctuationally challenger?
Alph
Doh!!
That’ll teach me to be smug, that last post should read “challenged”!
Alph
I can for sure say that this blog is my favorite and I always it check it first before I check any other blog. Though I am in line with almost all the blogger point of view, I have sensed some sort of negativity it harbors toward Yaya, You can call Yaya ‘s performance poor, mediocre, … but not certainly “disgraceful”. As a blogger aimed to promote City’s best interest, you should try at least to use politically correct words.
Your style reminds me of Gorgias.
A win is a win as they say and whatever the reason for the misfiring performance, (4th game in 12 days for some) we still got a 1-0 win. Some people did not play well overall, Kolarov, Tevez, Kompany and yes, Yaya, but we still did more than enough to deserve the victory. I am over the moon at how the Christmas & New Year games went, Played 3 Won 3 For 8 Against 1, the best record of anyone in the top 5 for those matches. We just need to back the players who pull on the shirt, even if their style of play does not sit well with us, (Yaya anyone?).
>>> Great word
“The Argentine, who appallingly managed to forget his captain’s armband at the start and required Brian Kidd to retrieve it for him”
>>> Hahaha that was comical! Perhaps he played so badly because his kids were watching?
“Luke Varney brought down Yaya Touré, whose performance throughout the match was nothing short of disgraceful.”
>>> Could not agree more!
“The Serbian continued to impress going forward but remains a liability defensively.”
>>> Could not disagree more!
“But the biggest blow of the afternoon came when the influential David Silva twisted his knee in a tackle and needed to be substituted. The Spaniard had yet again been City’s standout performer and he will need to recover quickly if the Blues are to cause Arsenal problems.”
>>> I guess at least he managed to walk off and not need a stretcher?