Dynamo Kyiv 2 – 0 MAN CITY – MY THOUGHTS
11 Mar
It’s hard to know what to think. Utter deflation at the situation? Anger at the way we performed? Or hope that we can follow in other’s footsteps and turn around the tie in a week’s time?
I’m willing to admit, at the final whistle I was fuming. Fuming at the inadequacies of our side to produce in an important game, fuming at individuals for such lacklustre performances, and fuming at our ability to seemingly throw away a promising position and collapse. We’ve certainly left ourselves with a hell of a lot to do to progress, but it’s worth remembering that these comebacks have been achieved in the past and that they will happen again in the future. Why can’t we be part of that future…?
Truth be told, Dynamo Kyiv full deserved their 2-0 victory, and had it not been for some wayward finishing, the margin could have been greater. We just weren’t at the races. Whether it was down to fatigue or just a bad day at the office, that’s not for me to discuss, but what is certain is that come Thursday, we must have improved immeasurably.
Here are my main reflections on the game:
The Curious Case of Mario Balotelli
A riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma. He continues to frustrate, amaze, annoy and baffle in equal measure. After a first half in which I thought he worked hard for the team, he then didn’t appear until fifteen seconds into the second period. An ill-at-ease ten minute spell followed before he was substituted, with Mancini claiming after the game he had suffered an allergic reaction to the type of grass on the pitch. It could only happen to Mario…
His City record now reads: 18 appearances, 10 goals, 9 yellow cards, 1 red card, 2 long-term injuries, strops aplenty and now an allergic reaction to grass.
The Yaya Touré Debate
I won’t beat around the bush: I don’t rate him at all. I think his style of play is detrimental to the team, his on-field attitude is horrendous and he doesn’t contribute anywhere enough to the side. With us needing to push on, Yaya was so laboured in possession, taking an age to distribute the ball. I posted a question about him on my Twitter page, asking people what they made of him, and it’s fair to say opinions are split. A fair few share my annoyance at him, whilst an equal number believe him to be a superb player. Let me know your thoughts below.
The Lack of Tempo
Our lack of tempo when in possession is something we are all acutely aware of. It’s a problem that often comes to the fore when we are behind in games and continue to stroke the ball around at leisure. In this match, there was no haste, no desire to break from midfield and join the attack, and to be honest, we never really looked like scoring. If we can see this mistake so frequently, why can’t Mancini address it?
Looking Forward to the Second Leg
Hamburg was a game we will never forget. The atmosphere was as electrifying as I can ever remember and the team’s performance on that day was something to be proud of. And for the second leg of this tie, we must replicate that. The crowd should come with flags, inflatables and anything else to provide support for the players. The players will take heart from that and press for the required result. The result should hopefully come. So remember, as disappointing as yesterday was, we are City. We wouldn’t be City if we did things the easy way.
We do not need Yaya, all it does is take time away from other quality players. If we put him on the bench we can fill that Center Forward/ Attacking midfielder role with either Silva, Tevez, or Even Balo. This could allow us to play a front 4 of Silva, Tevez, Dzeko, and Balo. Which would arguably be the best front 4 in the world
Also, we desperately need Micah Richards to be playing in every game. He was our only real threat against Kiev and he came from right back. He is he future of England and the future of City
Agreed on the Micah front.
Another good review of what was, quite frankly, an abysmal performance.
2 things that jumped out for me when reading through:
1. Love the second paragraph in the Balotelli thoughts section. I was laughing by the end. I can see that being featured on Have I Got News For You or Mock The Week at some point.
2. Yaya is never that thin is he?
Yaya has been a complete waste of time.
Of the current players these are my thoughts on who is good enough for City and who is not:
Good enough – keep
Hart
Richards
Kompany
Zabba
Barry
De Jong
Silva
Tevez
Get rid:
Kolarov
Boateng
Yaya
Milner
Balotelli
Wright Philips
Borderline/Not sure about – Lescott and Dzeko
We really are not good enough at the moment and need to spend money on the correct players.
The sad thing (although I hope it happens) is that we could still win the Europe Cup – and the FA Cup – and finish in the top 4 with the team we have – which will make people think we have a good team – when in fact we havent!
You cannot get rid of Boateng, Kolarov and Milner? These are future stars for our club and just need time to settle? They have not had logn enough in the EPL to get to grips with it.
I wholly agree with everything you say about Yaya Toure , after extensively watching him perform after being skeptical to say the least in his arrival during the summer I have formed the opinion that he offers us very little despite being reportedly by far the biggest earner at the club . All he seems to do is slow our play down invariably when quite the opposite is needed , he painfully slowly probably because of his increasing size ( watch out for your kids missus’ pills pal! ) collects the ball off one of the back four and gives it back to them when there is no need or gets caught in possesion or plays a Hollywood pass that 90 percent of the time doesn’t come off – conceded the ball to Mario for his goal against villa was perfect . However my biggest gripe about him would be his attitude on the pitch he is always waving his arms in the air pointing that he wanted the ball elsewhere from his team mates or getting involved with an unnecessary debate with the opposition or an official when his little energy would be better expended raising the tempo of the game which in my opinion he was bought to do , I thought that he was supposed to be the pace setter of the team the player the team was built around but with him in the team I fear we will achieve none of the targets set . Hopefully when NDJ comes back Bobby will rest Yaya and we will prove to be better without him , we don’t need two defensive midfielders and NDJ is twice the player of Toure ,Nigel knows what he does well and quietly gets on with without looking down on his teammates , to coin a phrase from one of the rags ( Cantona about Didier Deschamps for those too young) Toure is a water carrier and in my view he spills a lot . Ok rant over ! .
You plan a day to make time to watch the game. You sit by TV hoping for some decent game and then boom you get hit by a sledge hammer. The collective performance was so bad that it leaves you groping for words on what to say. Only Richards stood out and the rest including the manager should be ashamed of themselves. I guess they plan to put up some show with with a second-rated team plagued by injuries for FA cup to redeem themselves before the next disappointment at Stamford Bridge
Here are my two cents on Yaya, is he a quality player? yes is he living up to it? definitely not. Shevchenko at his prime was a world class player but for some reason he was not a fit in Chelsea. It is the job of manager to bring the best out of players. He has all attributes of a player to make an impact in EPL and a proven record in the past. I wish I could pin-point the reason but I can not and I believe Mancini is the one who needs to find a way to reverse the trend.
Yaya is no more deserving of criticism than a good many others who are not only overplayed (especially barry) but also seem victim to the lack of dynamism/one-pacedness besetting the team. but kiev game aside i thought he was beginning to do more for the team and contribute more at the opposing end.
IMHO, mancini badly misjudged last night like he did Aris first leg, by again going for a strong team in the hope we’d somehow be out of sight by the 2nd leg. we were never likely to get much at kiev and to my mind the likes of Boateng, SWP, Vieiria and Jo should have played, saving some players.
all the more annoying then i wasnt that impressed with Kiev going forward, who scored both goals due to our defensive errors, and that a chance for an away goal or two was definitely there.
lastly going back to the lack of dynamism. more tactical displays can be excused while there are still options in terms of games and our season, but if we dont see the players busting guts when it comes to the do or die then we’ll see a huge backlash from the fans. that will start this sunday unless we score early, carry on next thursday and continue at chelsea
Didn’t watch the match, but as a United fan of course I enjoyed the result. That said United have lost two on the bounce, so still deflated and not too optimistic.
However, I don’t like your comment that fans should ‘bring inflatables and flags to help create an atmosphere!’. It should be vocal roaring singing from the City fans, rather than waving inflatable bananas around and copying an average unoriginal Polish dance, which doesn’t really help the players in anyway. Also I think Blue Moon should only be sang at the end of the matches when City have won, like ‘Blue is my colour’at Chelsea and ‘Blowing Bubbles’ at West Ham. Singing it throughout the match, makes it lose it’s impact and magic imo.
Regarding Yaya, he has shown glimpses of class, like his goals vs West ham which were wonderful, yet is not very consistent. I don’t know whether Mancini is using him correctly but as a manager he is not quite maximising his potential. This goes for Milner too, who has been distinctly average all season and pretty underwhelming considering the money spent on him and his relatively young age. So much talent, yet has not replicated anywhere near his Villa form.
. Evra took some adapting to the PL, but now when on form he is probs the second best LB in the world!
For the person who wants to get rid of Kolarov….that’s silly! He is extremely good full back, who has an awesome shot on him, a rare asset. Part of the Serbian defence that has unearthed gems such as Vidic and Ivanovic, who have been massive successes in the PL. He could be as good as R.Carlos, but I doubt he will fulfill his potential at City
Fair enough, we should blame mancini not the players i believe that he should encourage and give them self confidence…when Adam johnson is fit ,mancini should play both adam johnson,silva flanks, barry – de jong on the midfield, Tevez and dzeko upfront…ballo as substitute .
For the first time ver…well said on your second paragraph Amman – couldnt have put it better myself! But the first bit….nahhh, thats rubbish!
Let’s face it, the main gripe comes from our away performances in the last couple of months. We do not have the same conviction and drive we had when Adam Johnson was fit and there is no real spark of invention, unless it is provided by either Silva, Balotelli or Tevez. Teams see us coming a lot more due to the lack of pace in the middle of the park, and for me Tevez has blown hot and cold (mainly cold) since his Transfer saga, so we cannot rely on his moments of inspiration as often. But, nothing worth having comes easy and if they can just get it together for these three games I think the break will do them the power of good. They will come back recharged (and hopefully with Adam Johnson) ready for the business end of the season. We are capable of getting the two wins and a draw needed to keep us in the running on all three fronts and us fans have a part to play in that starting tomorrow. What I’m saying is if you think some of the players are playing beneath themselves or not, get your arse to the ground on Sunday and Thursday and sing and shout until your throats are sore. We can do this!
we are 2-0 down at half time but fortunate to have a 90 min second half. if city play their system to control the game it will not work, all this back passing looks so pretty but always ends in losing the ball before an attacking passage. city need to come out firing with constant attack and aggression keegan / pearce style but still be strong in defence…. we need to scare teams but there are no teams afraid of city at the moment. i am a seasoncard holder and i have witnessed every team that has come to eastlands the likes of blackpool, wolves, leicester ipswich and played rings around us, luckily we got some winning results in them games but the point is that we allow teams to pass the ball around and gain confidence while we get more nervous and jittery which is what happened at kiev…
Tear them in a return match! A Dynamo Moscow for you!! Forward Manchester of City!!GO GO Manchester!!