Watford 1 – 2 MAN CITY – MY THOUGHTS
3 Jan
Oh, City. You never do make it easy for the fans.
This was yet another game in which we were very poor, a display riddled with defensive mistakes and attacking bluntness, before finally springing into action when poked late on and relying on individual brilliance to rescue the victory.
In essence, those are the problems City face at the moment and this dramatic result and the feeling of pure relief that greeted the final whistle should not paper over the worrying cracks that have been present for some time.
For such a supremely talented squad, the level of underperformance over the past two months, starting with the abysmal goalless draw away to Aston Villa in early-November, has been scary. A team of stars with all the quality in the world have been playing like strangers, toothless going forward and all over the place at the back.
At such a crucial stage of the season, when the fixtures come thick and fast and sides look to assert their dominance as others stutter, City’s domestic record since the start of November is four wins, two draws and three defeats. And those stats don’t even reveal the whole disappointing story.
Sergio Aguero’s header yesterday and an injury-time strike from Kelechi Iheanacho against Watford and Swansea respectively snatched victory from the jaws of despair. A draw with Villa, anchored at the bottom of the table and almost certainly doomed, was dire. The point versus Leicester wasn’t bad in isolation, but is symptomatic of our recent malaise. And as for the defeats, we were humiliatingly embarrassed by Liverpool and Stoke, and made to look very average by Arsenal. Two months of absolute mediocrity.
The problems are fairly clear. Much has been made of the absence of Vincent Kompany in defence, and, yes, it goes without saying the captain is huge loss, but Nicolas Otamendi and Eliaquim Mangala are both international centre-backs and should be able to cope. Otamendi has done OK so far in his first season in Manchester, nothing more nothing less. He has a tendency to lunge aggressively into tackles and risk committing himself, but his no-nonsense approach has been generally fine. What is certain is that having the Frenchman next to him is hardly helping.
It’s worth remembering that Mangala is not a kid plucked from reserve team football. He has played for his country. He has played in the Champions League and the Europa League and has made more than 250 career appearances. He is, however, a walking mistake. Built like an athlete, he has the pace and power that should stand him in decent shape, but a total lack of positional awareness and an inability to anticipate danger means he is a liability that we are forced to carry. It is frightening to watch how easily he is dragged out of line and left chasing the ball like a hyperactive child. He will surely be moved on in the summer.
At the same time, there is a justified argument to say that our defenders should not be solely blamed for their troubles. A lack of cover in front of them is hardly ideal, with Fernandinho trying to do the job of two men in the centre of midfield, and I’m sure our fullbacks would appreciate more support from the likes of Raheem Sterling, David Silva and Kevin De Bruyne. To see them shirk challenges and back away from physical battles at the Britannia and Vicarage Road does not inspire confidence.
They might argue they’re in the side to create, but working as a team and fighting for one another is what will make the difference in tight encounters, especially when we are not taking our chances further forward. It feels to me like we are relying on sporadic moments of individual skill to drive us home, perhaps a long range Yaya Touré screamer or a piece of magic from De Bruyne. What we are not doing at the minute as clicking as a collective unit, harnessing all our attacking prowess and blowing sides apart. When on form, we know that the one-touch football and the tempo and the silky interplay between our attacks is scintillating, but it has been all too predictable and insipid lately.
Moreover, our habit of starting slowly and only bursting into life in the final few minutes as we see another opportunity slipping away is something that needs to be rectified immediately. Away to Arsenal, we were outstanding in the final ten minutes in our efforts to claw something back, but the lackadaisical initial 80 minutes caused the problem. Likewise yesterday, we only decided to turn up in the final stages – and, thankfully, it was enough – yet had we started with that urgency, we would not have been in such a precarious position.
Joe Hart alluded to it after the Swansea game, that he does not understand why we need someone to poke us before we play as we can, but it is an issue that has been going on far too long now and we can not expect to be bailed out every time. It’s mystifying why we don’t play with passion and purpose from the start and try to wrap the game up quickly, rather than coast through and then have to pull something out of the bag late on. We have the ability to brush sides away with ease. It is desperately frustrating not to see that happen.
Still, a win is a win and after such a deflating run of form on the road, we needed those three points. That must now act as a catalyst to kick on and establish ourselves as a commanding force in the Premier League once again. Who knows, maybe we’ll look back at the end of the season and reflect on this result as a turning point in this bewildering campaign…
A very intuitive summary of yesterday’s game. Every sensible City fan knows we got out of gaol yesterday with two world class strikes but over the 90 minutes we were not up for the physical battle that teams like Watford and Leicester will give any team.
It is hard to disagree with the comments on Mangala but neither Yaya or Fernandhino give adequate defensive protection to our back four.One long ball can take out our entire midfield. Otimendi hardly justifies his fee on his defensive performances to date.
We need to sign another Gareth Barry like defender to sit in front of our back four especially away from home.
City fans should also praise Sagna’s performances this season as he has been superb in Zaba’s absence.
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My concerns would be far more with the forward line than defence and midfield. Our lack of goals both away and against the better teams backs this up. We look completely toothless considering the combined worth of Aguero, Silva, Sterling and KdB. Yes, they have had some decent games but I struggle to recollect any of them performing consistently against quality opposition this season.
I think this will improve, Silva is still off the pace which is a concern but we will get better away from home. Agree Sterling and KDB not played well away but Silva the key, he has made us tick away for years now.
Agree re Mangala. MD won’t be there either and is a worrying back up for rest of season. What is your view on Txiki B and his signings? He tried to loan Mangala after one season so clearly recognised he had made a mistake. Garcia & Fernando not as good as Barry or De Jong. Bony not as good as Dzeko. Jovetic & Negrado soon sent packing. Navas not good enough. Hasn’t bought a left back. He has lot to answer for I think, wasted a lot of money and we still relying on same players who have been there and done it.
Totally agree with you DDBlue. Well said! Such a lot of money wasted on average players. Mangala not good enough for even Championship football. Barry let go by Pelli after a week and replaced with the useless Garcia! That made me mad!! A disgraceful decision! What a performance Barry gave in the C1C – he was superb. Were you watching that Pelli? I agree Bony is not as good as Dzeko and Navas just runs and gets nowhere. Team has not progressed in last two years. Only KdB and Sagna have been worth the money (and Sagna was free). Whoever signed these players should go, along with the manager, at the end of the season!!
Excellent review of the game. One fundamental change that I did noticed in the last 10 minutes was that we got the ball in the box. I counted 4 excellent crosses 2 from Navas, 1 from Kolarov and 1 from Sagna (for the goal). Maybe this is something we should do from the start of the game.
I also would love to see us try something different. Maybe try Yaya at centre back with Fernandhino and Delph in midfield. I wouldn’t have Mangala on the pitch.
Pellers is the big part of the problem. I have come to believe he lacks defensive strategy for the team and that has exposed the defense more than any other areas. All these near-death wins are totally unacceptable … he has spent over 130+ mil till last January and the team performance has not made any improvement compared to second half of last season.
I am counting the minutes for the time when I can see him let go …