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Last weekend, with all the Bridge/Terry stuff going on at full tilt ..... probably made it the best time for us to play that game.

However, had we beaten Manyoo in the CC Semis, we wouldn't have played it until later on in the year when all the fuss had died down etc, and may not have had the same result.

As things stand, we picked up 3 vital points and a massive confidence boost ..... which may work out far more valuable than a Carling Cup Final come the end of the season, and indeed within the future development of MCFC.

If we want to become the best there is ...... then Champions League progression is a absolute must. If we can achieve that, we will also challenge for League titles and pick up many Carling and FA Cups on the way, without even trying ..... don't worry about that!

Damn you are a mind reader, that is exactly what i said to my wife after the game.

Had we beaten ManU in the cup s/f we would have been running on adrenaline for the rest of the season and beaten every team that lined up before us, so wouldn't have made any difference to the Chelsea game
Had JT slept with Shay's wife, then he might have actualy come out for a cross and puched the shits head off
loads of angles that you can look at this type of stuff

Interesting angle tbh..

i suppose what is suggested in the OP and sweeny's alternative is the long term effect of positive results. Long term effects imo are one of the most difficult things to guage. There is no doubt that a win against the rags in the CC would have had an effect on the team.
However and this is the crunch for me at the moment with City. We seem to always go overboard. We win convincingly against Arsenal and suddenly all the players are in the OS and MUEN saying the title is a possibility.
The old typical city chestnut still has to be roasted.. we still are capable of wacking a top team and then struggling like f*ck against Hull or Fulham.

So in answer to the OP, no i dont think we were anywhere near ready to have taken advantage of winning the CC semi against the rags, we still have no sense of what it takes to be consistent. It looks like we are getting better.. slowly.. and i think i am happier with that in many ways cos it shows we might develop that consistency for once, and for me that is what is lacking with this squad.

There is a good chance we have put Chelsea off balance on Sat ( they have a super important CL game at home coming up and they must be seriously worried now that their season could unravel )

We also have a very good chance to do a similar thing to Arsenal coming up..
And best of all we can yet fuck up the rags run-in when they visit us at Comms

But those 'highs' will be for nothing unless we can get a result at Craven Cottage for once and be solid in all the other games we have left.
I dont feel that we were ready at the time of the CC semi to build on it for the rest of the season, however after the Stoke games we had to battle in and the result on Sat i have a lot more confidence that now we are in a much better situation to take the adrenelin boost.. keep our traps shut and get on with taking Sundeland apart for starters.

It was a good time to face Chelsea, but in the wrong circumstances (down to Terry of course). I believe the City players were well up for it and the boil over from the Tevez and Terry incident really seemed to galvanise the team, and they played for one reason, to beat Terry. I think we frustrated them severely which led to lapses in concentration and fueled their anger that they had to protect their man. Terry himself was woeful, and as the Captain and spirit of Chelsea seemed to be lacking in all areas, and soon, their team started to follow his pre-conceived lead that they could get away with anything.

One thing I did notice was that for some reason, City were the ones walking down shaking hands, when it usual for the home team to do so. Whether this was a specific ploy so that Wayne didn't have to shake hands with Terry (even though the ref looked disgusted at the lack of Fare Play), I don't know, but even a change in pre-match protocols can affect teams.

Beefymcfc wrote:It was a good time to face Chelsea, but in the wrong circumstances (down to Terry of course). I believe the City players were well up for it and the boil over from the Tevez and Terry incident really seemed to galvanise the team, and they played for one reason, to beat Terry. I think we frustrated them severely which led to lapses in concentration and fueled their anger that they had to protect their man. Terry himself was woeful, and as the Captain and spirit of Chelsea seemed to be lacking in all areas, and soon, their team started to follow his pre-conceived lead that they could get away with anything.

One thing I did notice was that for some reason, City were the ones walking down shaking hands, when it usual for the home team to do so. Whether this was a specific ploy so that Wayne didn't have to shake hands with Terry (even though the ref looked disgusted at the lack of Fare Play), I don't know, but even a change in pre-match protocols can affect teams.

Sounds like you are suggesting the win was due to the 'Terry' affair. accepted that as captain a ropey performance can effect the team.
But i think that would underestimate the frustration that City players have that they have not hit the heights that their talents deserve. The Stoke games must have been extremely frustrating for our players.. and we were due a reaction if you like.
Having watched the game again, i put the way it panned out as Chelsea simply not being prepared for how resilient City were on the day. Apart from Lampards run and goal we pretty much contained them, they got frustrated by that and more so as they went goals down.

Big games have drama attached to them.. we now have that extra spice with Arsenal as well.. all concerned will up the ante before the return game at the Emirates and Arsenal will not be as confident as they 'normally' would be facing City at home.

brite blu sky wrote:... keep our traps shut and get on with taking Sundeland apart for starters.

I do wish they would sometimes. I get tired of the cringeworthy rubbish the players sometimes spout only to have it smack them in the face like a wet haddock come matchday. I am all for a bit of tub thumping every now and then, it can gee everyone up including us but for god's sake please make sure you back it up the next time we play.

You should have a career as a spin doctor.

Hmm... Well, I started my "predictions" thread for a reason and, after looking at it post 4-2, I didn't see too many people predicting such a scoreline. Especially one that had been 3-1 and 4-1 until a late consolation Penalty from Lampard.

The Terry v Bridge stuff didn't interest me. I'm embarrassed and upset for the pair of them. Mancini v Ancelotti was a far more interesting prospect, IMHO.

But yes, we were in the right place at the right time. It was an incredible result and one we MUST build on if we're to meet Mancini's target of Top 4.

When I saw the title of your thread, I thought here we go again, you've been hanging around The Lowry so here's another pic of Bobby Manc and Mrs Lythamblue.

But.......you're right with your thoughts, in hindsight a good time to play them, though I like many other Blues wasn't too enthusiastic about our chance leading up to the game.

Hope the players keep their confidence levels up and maintain that form going in to the rest of the season where we come up against a fair number of 'footballing' teams whom we usually fare better against rather than the Stoke City's of the league.

Thinking Villa, Spuds, Scum, Everton at home - West Ham, Arsenal and Fulham when I say 'footballing'. We'd expect to get wins at Sunderland and Burnley (?!) away, and beat Brummies and Wigan at home out of the 'non-footballing' sides.

Top 4 - why not, a bit more positive play, put players in the right positions and our destiny is in our own hands, especially with Villa and Tottingham at CoMs.