Sunderland 1 – 0 MAN CITY – MY THOUGHTS
27 Dec
The most disappointing element from yesterday’s defeat was that it came as no surprise. A series of dramatic late winners and some woeful opposition have masked City’s utterly insipid performances this season. That we are second in the table says everything about the poor quality of other teams, rather than anything overly positive about the Blues.
Performance-wise, it has been a concerning campaign so far from City. Perhaps near our best only three times (West Brom and Newcastle away, Aston Villa at home), we have had to show grit and spirit to battle to victories. That is great to a certain extent to see a fight and heart to the side, but there has been worryingly little of the free-flowing, enthralling football we have come to expect. That, indeed, could be our own fault – we maybe expect too much at times – but irrespective of that point, the quality of footballer we possess should be producing far better performances than they have done so far this season.
As has been the story for much of the campaign, our opponents yesterday sat back, put ten men behind the ball and defied us to break them down. Lacking any sort of tempo, pace, threat out wide or variety, we couldn’t. And there was no last-minute rescue act to gloss over the abjectly toothless display. When the onus is on us to force the breakthrough, we need to show some urgency, some desire and purpose and yet there was none of that from City. Instead, there was a predictability and lethargy that characterised the performance.
Last season, we had a vigour about our play, a drive and focus that meant even if we missed chances, another created opportunity would not be too far away. This season, with sides sat deep and restricting the space in behind, we have plenty of possession but no penetration. You look towards the likes of David Silva and Yaya Toure to unpick the lock, but the former is weighed down by having to carry the creative burden of the team and the less said about the greedy, lazy and consistently poor latter, the better.
In mitigation, we were missing our best four attacking fullbacks due to injury and that severely impeded on our width yesterday, but Roberto Mancini had the option of Scott Sinclair on the bench yet inexplicably failed to introduce him. It was a game that was crying out for a threat out wide, someone to offer variety from the ponderous, laboured and narrow football in the middle. If the manager isn’t going to trust his only real out and out winger in a game that desperately needed width, then the board need to be active in the transfer market. Sinclair may not be technically perfect, but he’s got the pace and directness we have craved recently. And yet he remained on the bench as Mancini threw on Joleon Lescott to act as a target-man striker.
The much-derided 3-5-2 formation which the manager attempted to introduce in the early stages of the season was clearly his attempt to add width and variety to the side, and with opposition teams very much parking the bus against us, it is clear to see the benefits it could bring. Sadly, injuries to key players in the system (Maicon, Richards and Kolarov) have meant we haven’t been able to switch to it recently but it is most definitely a tactic I can envisage Mancini turning to shortly.
With particular focus on this game, we didn’t deserve to lose but we did nowhere near enough to win. Sunderland’s goal came from a shocking refereeing decision to not award a free-kick for a foul on Pablo Zabaleta, then Joe Hart proceeded to dive over Adam Johnson’s swerving shot. Such was our possession and control on the game, it is vexing to lose but we didn’t create too many chances and even when we did, there was a total absence of a clinical touch. And we were made to pay for our profligacy.
In reality this season, we’ve played well three times and relied on late winners to rescue us often. It has not been good enough.
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Few points:
1- Our play is way unbalanced. No decent shots from outside of opponent box, and no decent crosses from the wings. At times when the ball was moved to wings to our full backs i.e Kolo and Zabaleta, it found its way back again to the center so as to try blindly to penetrate through the middle
2- It is great to show spirit to battle for victories in dying moments but City should keep in mind that it only works for a few games and it can not be sustained if they think they can make a habit of it.
3- It is not that Yaya or Silva perform bad, it is the other teams know by now that City can not do it any other way but to go through the middle, thus they park the bus right in the middle. Hence, There is space for Silva to find a killer pass or Yaya to make any meaningful runs.
4- The only meaningful impact that Adam Johnson could have was to cut through the middle and take a shot [and we know that is one thing decent about him]. All they had to do is to stop him from cutting through and instead let him to run along the line and attempt a cross.
5- Not sure why we signed Garcia, Rodwell, Maicon and Sinclair, as I have not seen any positive impact by them. The combined value of them could have got us a world class winger or a player like Fellani who has been outstanding past few years and can make a real impact.
6- We have very promising young talents, one that I can think of is the powerful, terrifyingly pacy raw 20 years old Jermey Helan, that can shine if they are given little bit of trust. Instead of buying a never-to-use winger like Sinclair we could have used our own.
7- Last but not the least, the Lescott introduction instead of Sinclair in dying moments was absolutely baffling esp knowing there that the only thing he can do is to head a ball and there is no one to send direct balls. Was Bobby thinking that he has the trickery footwork of Andres Iniesta!
Agree.
This post hits the nail on the head. I have seen us play well 3 times this season and the three games mentioned above are them.
I don’t understand our summer transfer activity at all. I was all for Adam Johnson going, and stand by that, but to bring in a player who – in the mind of the manager at least – offers even less, is plain daft.
I would concede that there was an argument for moving on De Jong too. At times, last season, his lack of will to play the ball forward interrupted or slowed our attacks. There was a need for a player who could marry his destructive skills with one who could be more creative. I have to say, I thought Garcia might be that man, after having seen him a few times in the red of Benfica, but it’s evidently not worked out thusfar.
Rodwell adds nothing to the side, whatsoever and Maicon, despite a few matches where he’s made a difference, has not been worth the gamble. He’s been injury prone for a couple of seasons and is not defensively sound.
We need to splash some cash in January or risk a fight with Chelsea for second which, let’s not forget, thanks to our awful UEFA coefficient, could result in us having one of the most difficult possible UCL qualifiers.
How much of this is Mancini’s fault is difficult to say. Was the summer spending mainly looked after by Marwood? Whoever it was, has a lot to answer for.
Finally, it’s not only Yaya who looks uninterested. The occasionally outstanding Nasri does not do enough and – judging from his agent’s comments this week – is perhaps getting itchy feet.
If we don’t find our spark, this season could see us regressing by 2 years. Worrying.
Spot on.
Id throw Sunderland at home in the pot as the only other good performance. In January a quality winger is needed , who themselves can create chances, but also allow players like Silva more space through stretching teams. Realistically I dont know if we could get the calibre of player we ar looking for in this window. We might have a chance if we broke the bank for Bale, his pace and goal scoring ability are much needed assets in our team at the moment.
Great write up VFAB.
I’m appreciate reporters don’t ask the real questions that fans want to know as they’re worried about obtaining future access to press cons and subsequently maintaining their job. However, surely someone like Cheeseman who is in touch with supporter’s feelings (you’d like to think) needs to ask the following:-
1. Why have we played well for only (part of) 3/4 games this season? It seems there is a structural rather than temporary problem.
2. Why is there no meaningfull width to our game? You’ve had 3 years and 6 windows to buy wingers but have failed to do so. Why buy Scott Sinclair and not introduce him against Sunderland!
Utterly embarrassing bringing on Lescott up front.
I’d be interested to know how many crosses we have put in per game (excluding corners) in comparison to other teams.
All that said, we are second and SURELY we can’t maintain this level of performance all season…
It has been proven time and time again that Milner is a Central midfielder, not a wide player. Yet what does Mancini do? He leaves Milner out of position the entire game and leaves our only wide man on the bench for the entire game. I swear he makes managing look twice as hard as it should be
Milner is a great player, but he does not have the pace to play as a winger. You are right, his best position is probably in the middle and I think he would make a big impact if he were to play in front of a holding Yaya. The other option is a Yaya, Milner, Silva trio with an attacking Tevez, Dzeko, Aguero trident. With allot of movement that should open teams up as it gives pace and width from the strikers wide while the creativity of Milner and his ability to defend.
That is the exact front 6 I’ve been dying to see for months now. That’s our best team. Bobby will never see it though, he’ll keep playing Kolarov and Milner out wide with no height to cross to instead
After boxing day, I am convinced that Mancini is not the man to produce a sustainable system of success for the club. The play is far too narrow and it is very easy to defend against as all Sunderland had to do was force the ball wide , leaving our only really attacking option as the cross, which is not going to work with Hobbits in the middle. But this is not a new problem, it has been a problem many times this season (Reading last week) and was increasingly a problem towards the end of last season. Once teams figure out how to defend against us, the slow build up and reliance on players to pick through 10 men just to get a shot off, simply is not going to work week after week. The major problem is, that Mancini has not yet corrected the problem, nor has he brought in players that can correct it. The ball moves far too slowly out of the middle, the build up is slow and even on the counter attack we slow the ball. The opposition do not even have to press they can just mark the space and stay organized. At times against Sunderland our defensive midfielders were so far deep and our attacking players were so far forward there was 20 + yards of space in the middle, that only one player (Silva) dropped into it. Our off the ball movement is poor and with the talent city have it should resemble Barcelona, but it does not.
More games will be lost or drawn if Mancini does not get the side moving the ball quicker and also incorporate a wide playing option into our game. He has not figured it out, so I have little faith he will until it is too late.
Exactly, if he tries to buy another CM or striker in January I will puke.
Exactly, if he tries to buy another CM or striker in January I will puke.
Sell Balotelli, bring in Guidetti and some wingers
All the problems that exist this season were evident last season too. Sure we started off the season well, and at the death the players pulled together, Tevez returned, and we snatched the league. But the slow build up and possession football which is Mancini;s trademark had already been rumbled and we were often struggling.
Mancini has tried to introduce tactics to overcome other teams counter-play, with limited success.
But the bottom line is when the players play with pace, when the midfielders supporting the forwards in the opposition box, few teams can live with us. It just isn’t the way our team is coached to play so it only happens when the players are angry or feel they have something to prove – I don;t see anything from management that gets them to play that way.
From shortly after he joined us I’ve never been a big Mancini fan – he is not a man-manager who will get the best out of his players. And I think the treatment of Lescott to get him to move is disgraceful for someone who is a model professional- but of course Kolo has already been down that route with our manager.
Lescott and Kolo Toure are in their 30s and are on wages that are too high for their skill level [this is on top of the incredible transfer fees we paid to sign them which is understandable at the time]. With UEFA financial fair play in the hind-sight and the City’s ongoing transition to be among the soccer elites, it is time for them to move on. I support Bobby in this regard 100%. Both Lescott and Kolo have played their parts in City’s rise and have been financially compensated handsomely to the extend that no other club could have matched it. They also have our gratitude as well but the time has come for them to move on.
I think you miss my point. Mancini has little or no class and certainly no man-management skills. If Mancini wants to move them on thats one thing. To ostracize them so that they feel they have to move on is a cheap shot. Kolo is now back in favour because he is needed and there’s no takers for him. Lescott, who is more than able to do a great job for us, is being marginlised so that he feels he has to move out to play on any kind of regular basis. Nastasic has done well, but overplaying a 19 year old is just asking for him to get burnt out and ruin his career just like so many youngsters in the game. All the players are just commodities to Mancini, to be used, abused and cast aside if they can’t do the job anymore. He’s a fool who doesn’t understand or care to understand human nature and as such will never get the best out of any players who work for him and his autocratic manner. After many players have put in a hard shift for him and run there socks off he almost universally ignores them even as they pass him and look for a ‘well done’ or pat on the back – though he does have the odd favourite he will acknowledge. I think as a leader he is pretty worthless and the players are fed up of him and his methods. And he certainly hasn;t got the skills or knowledge to inspire them to do their utmost for him and the team.
Srexr, to like or dislike Mancini is down to the individual, but the opinions you have are in such detail that his wife wouldnt even be able to comment. I very much doubt you know him well enough to be able to make some of the judgements you have. In contrast to your almost vitriolic attack on Mancini, I would go as far to say that ive heard players both past and present have generally more positive things to say than negative
In professional soccer managers are hired/sacked based on results [though there are always few exceptions to any rule to varying extend], so far in 2 and half years of his reign, he has delivered an FA cup, premier league title and a community shield which I assume any City fan would take the same result for the next two year, if they were to be offered the same now [I know I would]. I am not a die hard fan of Bobby but for club’s stability sake, unless he really screws up [which is way more than a few bad results], I do not think any City fan should undermine him. At least, That is my opinion.
Sometimes ostracizing players is the only way to make them move though it would fail if a players are paid more than what they deserve more often than not. Wayne Bridge and Santa Cruz are living money sucking examples. I am sure Lescott and Kolo fall in the same category when it comes to money and their skill set [though way better than Bridge or Cruz]. Anyways, as it was and still is the hall mark of Mark Hughes to over-pay for players [Harry Redknapp is already blowing up his top over this in QPR].
Most of my post contains observations, which are not the same as opinions.
How many players has Mancini fallen out with at some time or other? 7/8 where he has become embroiled in public arguments. Very professional.
He did ostracise Kolo and told him he didn;t have a future at the club when he though he could get 3mil and a one way ticket to Turkey. He is now doing the same with Lescott.
Nastasic is playing too many games – which is an opinion but I have seen many great talents burn out young through being overplayed at an early age. SAF, Wenger and many great managers take care of their youngsters and limit their outings so that they can develop properly. Mancini is not one of those managers based upon his actions.
Lescott could do a good job for us – that is an opinion. However I would imagine most pros including Kompany, who would partner him, would agree.
He does use the same players – check the stats.
That he is a fool who does not understand human nature is an opinion based upon his actions – the public castigation of players, the lack of communication with players that they have reported, the way he ignores them, the fact the squad knows they could be next to get the cold shoulder if Mancini suddenly decides their face doesn;t fit. Management detract from any team spirit in my opinion.
As for the players, they are speaking out more about the way we play. Last season they wouldn;t have dared. So far I’ve heard from Hart, Richards, Clichy, and this week Yaya.
Personally I haven’t heard much of anything from players about Mancini, praise or otherwise, so I don’t take that as evidence of anything quite frankly.
And if my attack seems so bad, its borne from a continued frustration of watching a manager who has consistently relied on quality players getting results rather than anything much he contributes. Add the fact that he inherited many of his best players – Hart, Richards, Zabby, Kompany, Lescott, Barry, and the departed de Jong, and numerically even his signings have been more miss or mediocre than hit (and anyone can sign a successful mega star without much credit – another opinion) – and he has a supporting cast of minions that makes the Ben Hur cast seem reasonable! Those personnel expenses went up considerably in the last finacials as pointed out by Forbes magazine.
And I’m not too keen on the job the defensive coach and medical teams he decided to change close season are doing quite frankly – the results don’t show them as being an improvement – though he does have more italian friends around.
Needless to say I’ll be glad when he’s gone.
hi,plenty compaints about alleged foul before goal,but dont you think your captain komp should have been sent off ??????
Has anyone else noticed we are alarmingly shocking at taking corners?! With people like Vinnie and Garcia as potential arial threats, surely we should be working on these MUCH MORE?