QPR 0 – 0 Man City – MY THOUGHTS
30 Jan
A hugely frustrating draw yet one which wasn’t, perhaps, overly surprising. Whilst it may seem churlish to complain at how this season has gone – we are, after all, second in the table and pushing Manchester United – it is fair to say we’ve not hit anywhere near the heights we would expect. There has been plenty of spirit and character but we’ve lacked a creative spark throughout the season, with the absence of a clinical touch from the strikers often overlooked thanks to a late winner. And whilst that battling front is rightly praised, it cannot save us every game.
That was the story last night. As to be expected when the opposition put ten men behind the ball, we controlled possession but there was no real intensity to our play, no manifest purpose behind our passing. We created a number of chances and Julio Cesar produced a pair of excellent saves to thwart us, but the pressure wasn’t relentless and I’d be hard-pressed to argue that we deserved anything more than a point.
It is, of course, easy to overreact based on one performance. We have been victorious in six of the past seven games, are yet to concede a goal in 2013 and I have no hesitation in saying that Roberto Mancini would accept 19 points from the next 21 available, but there were failings last night that have been symptomatic of our campaign: no tempo to our play, no spark in the final third and an alarming wastefulness from our strikers. The fact that we have had 37 shots in the past couple of games yet have scored just once – thanks to a right-back – is damning.
We have become accustomed to opposition sides showing no attacking ambition of their own, more than content to get everyone behind the ball and thus limit the space and time in which we have to operate. In those situations, when someone such as David Silva is finding it tough to make the breakthrough, it would be nice to see some width in the side, a genuine pacey threat out on the flanks to offer variety.
I’ve written in the past about this subject and how Scott Sinclair could be that alternative, but it is becoming increasingly evident that Mancini doesn’t trust the former Swansea man to change a game. Whilst the manager may not have rated Adam Johnson particularly highly, he wasn’t afraid to throw him on a substitute and give him time to make an impression. Yet he seems completely unwilling to hand Sinclair the same opportunity. He introduced the winger in the 85th minute yesterday, a token gesture when other options had failed. And immediately we saw the benefit.
Sinclair may not be the greatest technically and he may struggle to link up with Silva, Aguero et al in terms of intricate passing but he provides a contrasting threat, someone not afraid to run at defenders and commit them in dangerous areas. He nearly won us a penalty last night thanks to taking on his fullback, dribbling inside him at pace before drawing the foul. Phil Dowd’s decision not to award a spot-kick was the correct one, but we saw straight away what problems a different threat may cause.
One man who certainly did not cause any problems for QPR was Samir Nasri and that is all too often a complaint where he is concerned. His natural talent is unquestionable and yet there is a lingering sense that the Frenchman is more than content to be a passenger, worryingly happy to shirk the creative responsibility. How often do you see him really dictate a game? How often do you see him usurp Silva as the main inventor? How often do you see him running a match, rather than sitting on the fringes? Not very often.
Otherwise, it’s hard to focus on individuals. Our strikers, collectively, aren’t functioning too well, the midfield lack a drive to their play and we’re being kept in the title race at the moment by our resilient defence. It is dearly hoped that we click at some point soon otherwise the gap to the leaders at the top of the table will only increase. We’re hanging in at the moment and that’s commendable, but unless we find that clinical touch, we won’t be knocking on the door for too much longer.
-QPR is a team that has conceded more goals on set pieces than any other team in EPL. You could see how shaky they were [including their goal keeper] when corners were being taken by City. And yet, we did nothing to exploit this weakness till late in the game when Dzeko and Sinclair were introduced.
-I do not know it is seriously me who is messed up or it is the team that half-billion dollar investment on the pitch and bench can not deliver a freaking decent cross. 10 corners, a few calls outside the box and no slightest upset in the box.
-Time and again teams jam up the central midfield area with 10 men and we just keep hitting the dead-end again and again! please can someone tell me that the adage “You can not teach old dogs new tricks” is not true!
-Silva should never be played on the right, the position he is best effective is on the left and please someone put Nasri and Silva on far opposite end, it is becoming like Circus those two getting into each others hair.
-For once I found myself that none of my hisses, screams and curses were directed at Garica. He really looks promising as CB, let’s hope he flourishes there which opens space for a midfielder once Kolo leaves.
-Now Ballo is gone, if someone form City hierarchy reads this, please get us Cavani or Falco! we definitely lack some vibe at front and not to mention wings as well.
Good report VFAB. Still not over by a long shot but I fear last night could be key; we have now shored up at the back but our forwards are not scoring and have not gelled consistently. Liverpool at home next and Utd have Fulham away – that 7 point gap could be 9/10 come the w/e.
Some how I doubt this year we can win the title as things stand now [though I do love to be proven wrong]. United has been clinical and Van persi seems to be the difference
For sure; I wish he’d stayed at Arsenal (or joined us!). Fact is our forwards need to find their scoring boots and we need some variation/width in our play. Still got Spurs, Utd, Everton and Swansea away…ouch.
Since the Newcastle away game on May 6th, Aguero + Tevez has been the starting partnership in 11 premier league games. In ONLY THREE of those games were City winning when the partnership was disrupted by substitution (normally by taking off Tevez.
So your not a fan of Tevez or the partnership?
Tevez very seldom passes to other strikers and then normally does so only if he sees a return pass in the offing. (1) After Dzeko’s arrival in January 2011, he received just 6 completed passes IN TOTAL from Tevez in the premier league games against Wolves, Birmingham, Man U., West Brom, Fulham and Liverpool (whereas Dzeko completed 6 passes to Tevez just in the Fulham game) [source: Guardian Chalkboard]. (2) Anyone who has watched City regularly knows that Tevez virtually ignored Balotelli from the outset of the latter’s City career. (3) In the critical final three games of last season versus Man U., Newcastle and QPR, Tevez completed just 4 passes in total to Aguero (whereas Aguero completed 8 passes to Tevez).
In contrast, not only do Aguero and Dzeko complement each other in terms of style, they actually pass to each other. Moreover, Dzeko’s performances in terms of minutes per goal and in terms of conversion of clear-cut chances compare favourably with any premier league striker. For this season’s premier league, Dzeko has scored a goal every 102 minutes, compared to 165 for Aguero and 216 for Tevez (and to 108 for van Persie and 171 for Rooney). Last season, Dzeko’s minutes per goal performance was on a par with Golden Boot winner, van Persie.
They should all 3 be on the field together. Nasri doesn’t impact matches. Why can’t we have 3 goal scoring threats on the field at once to start matches? United do it all the time and they get away with it defensively
Is anyone else worried about what would have happened if we had have got a penalty kick from that decision at the end of the game? I’m thoroughly glad Balotelli’s gone, but there’s no denying he’s a great penalty taker. Dzeko and Silva have all shown they’re not capable, don’t even mention Tevez to me. I hope Aguero takes the responsibility or perhaps Joe Hart (anyone remember his stunner against LA Galaxy?).
Also just wanted to say I thoroughly enjoy this blog. I always find it a good read and enjoy your unbiased opinion on the game which is refreshing.
Would I have been worried if we’d got a penalty? No
Man this was a boring match. Silva needs to not take corners anymore.
On the bright side, glad to see we parted ways with Balotelli
I cant understand the concept of finding a city game boring, I would find it hard to believe you could care that much if you were bored throughout
Lol ok in comparison then
better
Agree about Nasri, he’s slow and I don’t know what he offers at this point besides being someone who can hold onto possession for us. I’ve said it all year but i think tevez should start instead of Nasri, with two more attackers up front Kun and whoever-Dzeko mostly