MAN CITY 2 – 0 Southampton – MY THOUGHTS
25 May
Two goals from the two players most City fans would have liked to score, a clean sheet to guarantee Joe Hart a record fourth Golden Glove and three points that sealed a run of six successive victories. This was a decent end to a disappointing season.
If the final few matches of the campaign hinted at what City can achieve when playing with a little more freedom and a little less pressure, they should not mask what has, relatively speaking, been a frustrating season. There has been heavy regression in the Premier League, heavy regression (in performances, if not in results) in the Champions League and a pair of thoroughly depressing cup defeats. Speculation has abounded about the future of the manager and several players. Debate has been rife regarding next season.
That may sound a touch negative. The reality of the situation is that I don’t think there is a single City fan who would be unhappy if the club continued the pattern of finishing first, second, first, second for the next few years. To win the title every other year and to be competing for trophies with such regularity is a source of great joy for supporters and should not be taken for granted, but at the same time there is no getting away from the fact that we have underperformed throughout this campaign.
Top quality performances have been rare, whilst mistakes have been frequent. Flat displays have been a more common sight that exhilirating ones. Counting the number of players who will be happy with their seasons does not take long. Expectations at the club have changed drastically over the past handful of years, and there needs to be some honesty when assessing this campaign.
That summary can wait a while, though. For the moment, it seems right to focus on yesterday’s match and Frank Lampard’s departure. The send-off he received from City in the form of being named captain and a post-match on-pitch presentation from children wearing the shirts of all the clubs he has represented was superbly classy. The montages and interviews were full of respect and Lampard himself came across as genuine and humble. There is no getting away from his Chelsea background and nor should there be, but he spoke with warmth about City. He may not have contributed hugely throughout the season, but his presence around the club, as a calming influence on the pitch and as an experienced head in the dressing room, will undoubtedly be missed.
There were other talking points from yesterday, not least the achievements of Hart and Sergio Aguero, two players who have highlighted their importance to the side this season. Hart deserves great credit for bouncing back from his blip last year, showing his mental fortitude and aptitude to learn. Aguero is Aguero, the best striker in the league by a distance.
It promises now to be a summer of intrigue. Who knows what will be City’s line-up come the first game of next season? Who knows, even, who will select that line-up? After a year when matters have felt stale and tired, let’s just hope we arrive in August in an upbeat mood.
Most frustration for many City fans including myself has not been due to a dip in performance or crashing out of Champions League or not even winning the title. For me Pellers’ stubbornness to stick to his philosophy despite the fact that week-in and week-out we ended up shooting ourselves in the foot was the main reason.
City got the best results only when some pragmatism came to Pellers’ decisions out of necessity not out of being pragmatic perse:
1- First one in December when we had no striker and he had to play with 5 in midfield
2- Second one was our last 6 games. He resorted to playing with one striker up only when he truly felt the danger of falling out of 4 and hence the ax.
Unless he learns to adapt to the context, City is going to have the same issue no matter who we sign.
MDM has been excellent this season a real warrior even more so considering v.k lack of everything. Hart Silva aguero & fern have stood up when we needed a strong finish. Super frank come back in November & do it all again, what a player he still is & a very nice presentation at the end. I think Rodgers needs Max Clifford now… Oh wait a minute-
Pellegrini is no more stubborn than any other manager. He certainly no more stubborn than Jose Mourinho. In fact the argument could be made that he wasn’t stubborn enough at certain points of the season. Case in point city’s best run of form came when he played with a striker less formation with Milner playing in a false 9. If he hadn’t played Aguero when fit again he would have been crucified, even though Aguero struggled for form upon his return from injury mid season.