Wigan 0 – 2 MAN CITY – MY THOUGHTS
29 Nov
It was not the most convincing victory, but nor did it need to be. One goalkeeping error, one predatory finish from Mario Balotelli and one James Milner thundebolt were enough to secure the three points and awin when not at your best, as we are so often told, is a mark of champions.
Our unbeaten run continues and although that in itself can be a little confusing – I would rather lose one game and win one than draw two – it does highlight the togetherness and spirit within the squad. After a tiring fixture away to Chelsea, this encounter could have been taken for granted, but there was plenty of grit in the City side and just about enough glimpses of quality.
To suggest this was an impressive team performance would be going a step too far, but on a bitterly cold night, the Blues, after a lethargic opening, managed to impose themselves more on the game as it wore on and with Wigan clearly fatigued towards the end, the final twenty minuets or so were relatively comfortable. Balotelli´s strike in the second half after he showed great desire and strength to hold of the home side´s defence, and capitalise on Ali Al-Habsi´s error, settled the nerves before Milner produced a terrific, swerving shot from outside the box, a goal which he merits for all the time he spends after training working on his finishing.
Indeed, Milner´s introduction partway through the second half was a key moment in alteing the pattern of the game. City had hitherto been insipid with passes going astray and Balotelli isolated up front, but the former Aston Villa midfielder provided that spark and, along with Aleks Kolarov being brought on, provded the width that opened up the home side.
Up until that moment, City had been narrow in the extreme. David Silva and Sergio Aguero were nominally out wide, but their tendency is always to drift infield and it meant we lacked the width or variation in attack to penetrate. But then, as he did against Tottenham to great effect, Roberto Mancini turned to his substitute´s bench, altered the formation and we improved as a result.
With Maicon and Kolarov stretching the play, that gave City the dual benefits of having a threat out wide and also creating more space for the likes of Silva and Yaya Touré in the centre. The Ivorian in particular had struggled to impose himself on the game but came alive after the switch, his powerful surges through the middle a feature of the final few minutes. The goals from Balotelli and Milner vindicated Mancini´s tactical, and personnel, decisions and reminded us, once again, of the different options within the squad.
The one concerning negative yesterday was the performance of Javi Garcia. He is someone I have written about on occasions before and I shall stress again that it is too early to judge him and his City career, but he has not started too well at all, and his display yesterday was as alarming as it was shocking. His passing was horrific, constantly behind teammates or not seeing their runs and affecting our tempo, whilst positionally he was all over the place.
And his tackling, the element of his game which came highly recommended, was non-existent. There were a couple of occasions when, instead of going in strong and winning the ball as any other midfielder would do, he dangled a leg out, lacking any sense of courage or bravery, and saw the Wigan men nip in ahead of him and start an attack. The cliché of foreigners needing time to adapt to the pace of the English game is a well known one and it is a cliché because it is true, but Garcia has not yet shown any positive signs with regards to the holding midfield role. He will improve, hopefully, but that improvement needs to happen very soon.
Opposition View: Wigan were enterprising for periods of the game, their willingness to get the ball down and pass it around in direct contrast to many sides we face. The strike partnership of Koné and Di Santo looked dangerous, the combination of pace, trickery and physical strength causing the odd problem for City´s defence, and with Stam showing bundles of energy and spark down the right, they competed well for an hour. However, once we got the opening goal, their fight seemed to escape them and the last twenty minutes or so was relatively routine, but they can take plenty of positives from the game.
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Forget Garcia, Bring Back De jong, have to say thought Wigan were brilliant, it astonishes me how Rogers and Villas Boas have gotten top jobs ahead of Martinez.
It was a more convincing victory than last year though.
Toure looks tired to me the last few games. He always seems to need a bit to long on the ball & has got caught in possession a few times. I agree we never should have sold de jong, proper hard midfield grafter, but he’s gone so we can’t look back. We haven’t been at our best, yet we are right up there. Role on christmas.
Garcia has been largely dissapointing so far, but I can name many foreign players who started poorly and went on to do well, so its too early to be too critical
Whole heartedly agree BB.
IMO the comments re Garcia are OTT, and in one area, that of ‘courage and bravery’, verging on the nasty.
Lucky then we have Barry, Milner, Yaya, (Rodwell?) to allow us more patience with Garcia for the time being. It’s not his technical ability that worries me but his lack of pace. He honestly makes Barry look quick and I’m not sure that’s something that can be worked on..? I really hope I’m proven wrong and that he comes good.
If Mario is left to lead the line, he would do a fantastic job. His runs behind the defense are excellent provided our midfield can synch-up with him. None of our attackers can keep up a fast pace, Augero had a free run only to be caught up by Wigan defense and I am sure the other ones are in the same boat.
I got to give it to Bobby, I kept my head scratching when he substituted Augero with Kolarov, only to score two goals minutes later. My hat is off to him.
Until proven otherwise I dont question Mancinis decisions,obviously there is always thinking behind it whether it be obvious to us fans or not. Time after time he has come good for us, and so im not pleased to be reading about peps agent saying he has agreed to join us