MAN CITY 4 – 0 Newcastle – MY THOUGHTS
31 Mar
With the pressure of competing for the title off, this was a return to the enthralling City of last season. There was free-flowing, aesthetically pleasing football galore, plenty of purpose and desire throughout the team and the scoreline didn’t flatter us in the slightest. It’s just a shame this sort of display has been missing for much of this campaign.
It was another glimpse as to what this side is capable of when they operate with a sense of freedom and enjoyment. There was little tension and few nerves; instead, those feelings, which have characterised our performances at times this season, were replaced by extended patches of scintillating, attacking football that drove us forward time and time again. It is too late to pile the pressure of Manchester United but a powerful finish to the campaign is imperative and this was just the showing desired.
Impressive individual performances coursed through the team, right from the dominant pairing of Vincent Kompany and Joleon Lescott through to the mélange of grit, efficiency, touch and majesty provided by Gareth Barry, Yaya Touré and David Silva. Gael Clichy, as he so often is, was the catalyst for much of our pressing, his indefatigable style encouraging those around him to hunt the ball high up the pitch, and he was backed up by his teammates. Even Samir Nasri looked moderately interested.
Indeed, Nasri was named man of the match at the ground, a decision which was baffling to say the least. He was a bright figure on occasions in the first half and showed a pleasing willingness to run at Newcastle’s backline, but whilst it was one of his more impressive performances of the season, he was still overshadowed by a number of others. The Frenchman possesses such natural talent, perhaps more so than any other in our squad, but his involvement is largely passive. When his impact on a game is compared to David Silva, the difference is marked. One dictates the match, is involved in all our attacks and tries valiantly to create chances; the other shirks responsibility for the most part, content to stay on the fringes of the game. Nasri has the potential to ease the creative burden placed on Silva’s shoulders, yet lacks the attitude to make the most of his talent.
Fortunately, Silva was somewhere near his best yesterday, his mesmeric touch and control orchestrating matters. On such form, he really is a joy to watch and his goal – a sublime first touch and then powerful strike – capped a terrific performance. He’s our most important player by a distance. If he plays well, City play well. It really is that simple.
Behind him were the duo of Barry and Yaya, combining well as they invariably do. The former Aston Villa midfielder needed a strong showing after a couple of insipid displays and he produced a midfield masterclass, picking up the pieces in midfield thanks to his intuitive reading of the game and distributing it with purpose and positivity. In games such as this, when we are on the front foot for so much of the time, his no-frills style in the centre is essential in providing the balance to allow our more creative influences to shine.
Opposition View: Newcastle were such a feeble opponent yesterday, a volley from Papiss Cisse and a shot from Yohan Cabaye their only genuine efforts on goal. Whilst it must have been daunting to face City in such an assured mood, the visitors neither defended deep to nullify the space and time in which we had to work, nor did they press high to upset our passing rhythm. There was always a feeling of when, and not if, we would make the breakthrough and save for a five minute spell at the start of the second half, it was a routine victory. Whilst Newcastle are not quite safe just yet, in Cissé and Moussa Sissoko, they have enough of a goal threat to survive, the latter in particular impressing with his pace and strength.
As for the Blues, next up is the Manchester derby on Monday night which could be followed by another blockbuster of an encounter, depending on who prevails between United and Chelsea in the FA Cup quarter-final replay. The title race may be over but there are still some thrilling fixtures to look forward to and the momentum and confidence gained from this victory will hopefully stand us in good stead.
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I was surprised at how poor Newcastle were, sure we played well but they let us!
Quote:
“Even Samir Nasri looked moderately interested.”
Oh dear VfaB.
You write well and have good vision and sources but (IMO) you do allow prejudice to creep in and hang around too long!!
Gareth Barry had a very good game, almost back to his last season best, and Gael Clichy added some decent crosses and adventure to his usual solid defence, but I’d no more use ‘majesty’ and ‘indefatigable ‘ for their solid performances than I would use ‘passive’ for Samir Nasri’s.
It’s a light-hearted quip, Alph. Lighten up!
…and I’d have seen it as such fabbers, if there’d been a smiley after the comment
For the remaining fixtures with champions league football guaranteed i would like to see RM give some of the promising young talent that we have a chance to prove themselves on the big stage to see where we are at with our youth developement with likes of Lopes , Suarez and especially Guidetti. With his expliots in the Dutch League and now 5 goals in 4 games on his return from injury this boy just keeps scoring. We have got to give him his chance before the league ends because he more anyone else deserves it.
This is an open question as I really don’t know the answer (!). Nasri bottled it in the 90th minute of a Derby against a our nearest title rival. He didn’t bottle it from having to display his expected skill, guile or cunning – he bottled it from being hit by the ball. I am shit at football compared to Nasri but I would stand tall, as would many other blues or anyone with an ounce of courage
. Yet he does have the potential to influence us (last season incluing Spurs [away and home]; Chelsea etc) but his arrogant, surly, and quite frankly utter shithouseness attitude is unbecoming of our great club.
Personally I would bin him off, but when Silva is injured he thrives. What is the general concenusus?
As much as you are right with regard to his character and attitude, I would personally do not mind if City gives him for one more year. He is definitely talented and I believe with a bit of smart man-handling of him by Mancini, he can truly come good. The worst case scenario is that we have players like Kolarov that are just making a living on City whom need to be ridden of, before we even think about likes of Nasri.
….prejudice Siamack?
Quote: “players like Kolarov that are just making a living on City whom need to be ridden of”
Kolarov has put in some excellent performances. Despite being a clear second choice to Clichy, due mainly to Gael being much tighter defensively, he never sulks, spits out a dummy or shows dissent when subbed or benched for periods. When he plays he gives us something different from the excellent Clichy, his early ball low into the box has been our best threat at timesnever. He never shirks, never hides and always gives of his best, which I will readily agree has not always been good enough.
Other than Gael Clichy name a better City left back in the last 20 years?
Hinchcliffe and Zabaleta (has played there).
Izzet, Nothing makes me happier more than seeing City players live up to their expectation. Unfortunately, I personally see Kolarov as the Avatar of Joe. He is a defender who can not defend at all and lacks basic skills to beat any player when used in attack. My father used to tell me “Son, because your father is a man, it does not mean you can call every man daddy”. Just because you can kick a ball, that does not mean a footballer. In my personal opinion, Kolarov is an absolute failure.
Agree here, As much as I quite like Kolarov for his great delivery into the box, Clichy is the best left back we have had for a long long te, far better than Zaba at left back even though he has been a standout performer for several years. Clichy also does more running than Tevez if you watch and his energy and commitment is second to none in every match he plays
i disagree, i think nasri was deserving of MOTM. Interesting time to bring up his attitude, as its been very good in his last couple of appearances