So very proud of the players; who dominated and who
were persistent against a VERY stubborn Aston Villa
side. So very disappointed, disgusted
and frustrated at most of the crowd; who, for the most part, were silent (until
we scored) and literally ‘missing in action’!
Moan first…then I’ll move on
My annoyance at the crowd was visible. My wife was asking me
to calm down and the [nice] bloke next to me asked if I was now enjoying myself
when we went 3-0 up. With eventual rumours filtering through that there had
been some kind of incident blocking-off one of the local Motorways, there were
– and I mean this – literally THOUSANDS of empty seats not just at kick-off but
20…even 30 minutes into the game.
Okay, so we’ve now since discovered that it was someone threatening
to jump from a bridge over the Mancunian
Way
…10 minutes into the second half, when people made the “effort” to return from the concourse areas,
it eventually looked something like a Premier League
football ground belonging to a team that was just 125 minutes away from winning the
league title.
W…T…F!?
There were pockets of fans making the effort [to sing] -
perhaps a few hundred in the South Stand and in the lower-tier-corner of the
East Stand; who were occasionally making some noise. Then there were very
isolated fans dotted around like me who tried to carry on their efforts and
spread the noise around; even if it was just a few belts of, “C’mon City…”
Some may argue that it’s a ‘choice thing’ – after all it’s
not a dictatorship that we live in and you can choose whether or not to vocally
support your team; trying to verbally push your beloved team over the finishing
line in the ONLY way you CAN do from your expensive seat. But, to those people,
I would reply by asking,
“Well if you’re not
going to provide vocal support to your team when they need it why bother
going at all? If you choose to sit down in silence then why not save yourself
the price of a match-day ticket / season ticket and watch it in perfect silence from the
comfort of your own armchair?"
I’m not talking about screaming for 90+ minutes every…single…game
- even
I have my off days (and I tend not to START songs much these days either).
But there are times when, for me, it’s your DUTY to try and lift / support the lads
from the stands.
And do you know what…on 64 minutes - just 26 flippin’ minutes from the end of the game - the ground erupted! Not just when Dzeko scored but for the
several minutes that followed. The word
‘caldron’ is often used to describe such atmospheres but seriously; it went
from almost deafening silence at times to it being ear-piercingly loud for a
good while!
All those slumbering throughout most of the game were even
joining in – even the pathetic Family Stand woke up; a stand, which, has been
the focus of some considerable debate over the last few weeks and months on City Voice.
So it CAN be done. And in case you were wondering, it most certainly wasn’t
a ‘nervousness thing’ either, which I could certainly forgive and understand. There was an
optimistic buzz about the place and so it can’t be pinned down to that in my opinion.
Edin Dzeko said on Sky Sports after the game that he wished to thank the
fans [for their support] last night and that he hopes they can be as good as
today. What?!
Thank you for your
kind words, Edin, but I can only think that the last 20-odd minutes were firmly
etched into your memory as you said that…
And then, just to add to my own doubts about just how noisy
it was or, indeed, wasn’t; the Manchester Evening News
today then print a strip down the side of one of their pages ALSO proclaiming
how brilliant the City fans had been last night. Again…What?!
No I know I am [officially] a bit deaf but even I can tell
the difference between a vociferous crowd and one, which, just can’t be arsed.
But if I have, somehow, lost to ability to tell one
scenario from the other then there’s no mistaking the likes of the 4 blokes behind me. I’ve mentioned them before…and I lie not one bit when I
tell you that I was seriously plotting, as I sat there last night, to bring some [red] wool with me at the oh-so-very-vital West Ham game on Sunday;
to leave in their seats for their, no doubt, late arrival.
Listening to them ‘babble on’ about non-football related
issues for what seemed like the whole of the first half and some of the second,
it sounded like a meeting of the W.I. for
flip’s sake! They’re not even new-comers - three of them I’ve seen at City for
YEARS!
And here’s the thing…they USED to be more vocal, I’m sure they did. Perhaps they are victims of not just ‘modern-day football’
but also success – it sure didn’t pass me by without me noticing that the quietest set of
European supporters by FAR that we’ve ever had at the Etihad were, very recently, Barcelona…
As I was leaving the ground my irritations began to eventually
affect my wife. Rather than enjoying the occasion and being elated at the
eventual drubbing and one more ‘job done’, I was still bleating on about the
lack of support on such a vital and special occasion as we made our way down
the spiral. I was, understandably, getting on her nerves and so I shut up.
But when we got home I STILL felt the need to fire off a
text telling my fellow Blue friends that I was so proud of the players but felt
let down by the crowd. One reply simply asked me to cheer up and together with
my wife, who had been trying her best to lift my mood, I gave in and calmed
down.
I’m still considering
the ‘wool thing’ though…
On the pitch
Right…sorry about that. Moan over.
Wow!
We dominated…utterly dominated a team
hell-bent on defending, defending, defending. There’s some Manager in the Premier League
who bleats on about that, isn’t there? One who both has to endure it and then,
when it suits, employs the same, much-maligned tactic.
The difference between us & Chelsea
though is that we are relentless in our endeavour to break them down and are
confident in our own ability to do so. And we do HAVE the ability…and a lot of
that belief is credit our ‘Engineer’.
I will say that it helped that Villa had key players missing
in their attack and that’s the reason both Martin & Vinny had a relatively comfortable
night of it. They did it when it mattered though and produced a fine display.
Similarly the same situation allowed both Alex & Pablo
to maraud forward for most of the night; acting more like wingers in a formation
that seemed to be 2-7-1 for large parts of the game.
I won’t go through all of them but will, instead, point out
a few.
Edin continues to grow in confidence and is in danger of even becoming
consistent. He was very good again last night – he’s had a good season, goal-scoring-wise, and it’s a shame the season is
coming to an end in that respect.
Yaya, when it counted, was utterly unstoppable last night!
"Men against boys" was how the BBC later described it for the forth goal and to
set up the 3rd; he showed the kind of fast, tricky footwork I thought only David
was capable of in a City shirt. Amazing!
A mention for Stevan too – what a finish from a player who
continues to impress me and ooze class. We really are going to see the benefits
of him having a full pre-season under his belt I'm sure.
But Pablo! What a ******' man (as the song goes)! As if it
was possible; he just gets better and better and BETTER! Huh…and the Manchester
Just one more final push!
There are still some
understandable nervousness from City fans out there – I’ve spoken to a few today. But
if we produce the same kind of performance as last night against West Ham I am
confident we can take another 3 points to final glory!
I don’t see West Ham as being
quite as resilient as Aston Villa – they’re a funny ol’ side who can look very
vulnerable a lot of the time under Sam Allardyce. I suppose what worries me a little is that,
unlike last night’s Villa side; The Hammers do have players who can hurt you if
you slip up and give ‘em an inch. They’re certainly dangerous from set pieces too.
Not just these two but I’m thinking Kevin Nolan and Andy Carroll here.
But after fretting about the
support last night I am enjoying the moment once again; I am looking forward to
Sunday with an optimistic spring in my step and just can’t see us slipping up
now - sorry Stevie-G, no pun intended…
Love this banner by the way…
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