Why is it often taking a bucket of cold water – often in the form of a big scare or, worse, going a goal down – for us to wake up so often this season?
Why - even though we have (and have had for some time now) most of our injured players back - do we still look like we’re playing in one of those post, just-won-the-title seasons; where the players can often then find it hard [for some weird reason] to lift themselves after becoming champions the previous season?
Why are we not addressing the weakest area of our team, which is the whole left-side of our defence [in Mangala & Kolarov]?
Come back!
Yeah, it was a fantastic comeback on Saturday…but I’m
thinking more “Come back” with regards to two players in order to help stop our
leaking, creaking and panicked defence.
Like many players this season, Gael Clichy has been ‘up there’ with the worse affected in terms of injury (or
injuries). He’s supposedly back now and I pray that he’s ready to step in; that
he can remain free from injury for the rest of the season and hits the ground
running with some fine, solid displays and long-lasting form.
Not gonna buy or loan a flippin’ good central defender in
January (very unlikely of course)? Is Vinny going to continue to have injury, after injury, after injury, after injury? Then flippin’-well
get Jason Denayer back from Galatasaray if
possible OR let an EDS
player such as Tosin Adarabioyo or Cameron Humphreys step up to the first team! Why?
‘cause we cannot possibly continue with the left-sided pair of Mangala &
Kolarov much longer if we are serious about
winning something this season!
And although he has done very little wrong and has, in fact, had mostly 7/10 performances so
far this season; Bacary Sagna needs some
respite soon and I for one can’t wait to see whether a returning [from injury] Pablo Zabaleta can be back to his very best. Pablo
not-only solidifies that side of the defence but, assuming he’s not lost any
pace (although he was never blessed with blistering
speed of course), he creates an extra dimension on the right-side of our attack
too; with often devastating overlaps with whoever is playing of the right-side
of the midfield in front of him.
Even on paper…
Clichy_____Kompany_____Otamendi_____Zabaleta
…OR…
Clichy_____Denayer_____Otamendi_____Zabaleta
…calms the nerves over the horror show often dished out by…
Kolarov_____Mangala_____Otamendi______Sagna
…Sagna excluded - and with a regular, decent centre-half partner next to him I can see the class in Otamendi.
Sort it out quickly Mr Pellegrini!
Back to Saturday’s game…
It was ALWAYS gonna be a hard-fought contest; I’m quickly
building a lot of respect for Quique Sanchez Flores
who organises his side so very well indeed. They’re a team-spirited, tight unit
but one who don’t just defend but who ‘grind teams down’ and can be-then
devastating in attack too – just ask Liverpool
who went there recently and came away on the ‘nil end’ of a 3-0’er…
Unlike Leicester City a
few days earlier, Watford came at us strong
in the opening 20 to 25 minutes and we struggled like crazy on the slightly
greasy pitch to gain any possession. After that fairly lengthy spell we then
pushed back for the majority of the remainder of the first half, which was
largely ‘even Steven’ over all.
I thought we started the second half quite lively but, and
not for the first time, we looked sluggish and slightly out of sorts; not being
NEARLY as clinical in our passing...and playing, pace-wise, in 2nd to
3rd gear. Result almost inevitable – they hit us with a goal, albeit
an own goal by my least favourite player already mentioned.
BANG! Straight away we reacted
and although well-drilled Watford held strong for 27 minutes, we began to shift
closer to 4th gear and was zipping the ball round with more purpose.
Why? Why do we
need that negative jolt to bring us to life?!
Once alive – and in particular once Yaya
had crashed home a Kolarov corner – we were all over a shell-shocked-looking
home side and finished ‘em off in style…although our “defence” which, by now,
included MotM Fernandinho for the withdraw
Mangala, still managed to make City hearts flutter.
Despite a now-fairly decent 3-game run of
results, which has yielded 7 from 9 points from a …W D W; the
unpredictable [in results over the last dozen or so games] and scary [in play]
Manchester City are well ‘n’ truly back, I’m sorry to say…
How did we fair in ‘the 8’?
On 20th November 2015 I did a piece that included an 8-game, mini season up to an’ including our away game against Watford. Why?
Well, simply put, it was a run of games where I saw a few ‘banana skins’ and
downright difficult clashes; where if we came through it reasonable well; I
felt with-then two home games coming up against ‘up
& down’ Everton & continuely improving Crystal Palace we’d have a fair ol’ crack at the
title this season.
The results were
‘guess work’, of course; perhaps with a little bit of ‘hope’ too at the time…
Liverpool (H)
Prediction: Draw
Outcome: Defeat (a horrible, wrong-personnel choice, scouse rout)
Southampton (H)
Prediction: Win
Outcome: Win
Stoke City (A)
Prediction: Win (silly me…)
Outcome: Defeat (one of the worst, if not ‘THE’ worst
performances I’ve seen under the current manager)
Swansea City (H)
Prediction: Win
Outcome: Win (…just!)
Arsenal (A)
Prediction: Draw
Outcome: Defeat (…against a very good team in good form but,
at least, a good performance from City)
Sunderland (H)
Prediction: Win
Outcome: Win
Leicester City (A)
Prediction: Draw
Outcome: Draw
Watford (A)
Prediction: Win
Outcome: Win
Predicted points
tally: 18 from 24
Actual points tally: 13
from 24
Yikes! That’s
more like a mid-table team’s points tally rather than that of a
title-challenging side, which doesn’t bode well for our Premier League crown chances, does it?
Well fortunately – and
in no particular order – Manyoo have
been playing like dogs of late, West Ham United
hit a run of 5 draws from 5 that caused them to slide away a little; Leicester’s
last 3 reads L D D, Liverpool's "challenge" under their new manager continues to cough & splutter in-between decent results and even consistent,
in-form Arsenal blew up in style 4-0 away to Southampton on Boxing Day.
And despite Tottenham Hotspur
quietly sneaking up the table almost under the radar; that fairly woeful 13
points from 24 still sees us sitting 3rd, just 3 points off the top
and with the joint best goal difference (with Spurs) in the league.
Phew…could have been a lot, lot worse.
Isco news
One report states that talks are well under way and that the Spanish midfield playmaker MAY even sign this week! Reading between the lines and from experience, that means he’ll
either sign in the last week of the transfer window or not at all…
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