***city v tigers official match thread***

[Ted Hughes]

If we'd started the game as we finished it, we would have won. It's that simple. Part of it is down to Navas not starting hence us having no width. Silva being closed down & lacking imagination. But mostly it's because we were putting a lot more into the game later on & put nothing in to start with.

Of course. But that's like saying 'if we had played well, then we would have been better and maybe won'... We all know we can do it but the point is that they're not doing it at the moment, and if they are - well its just in spurts at the end when its all about to go pear-shaped which makes it hugely frustrating. I know we showed we can do it, but why aren't we putting that much effort in from the off and why does it take an impending crisis to bring out urgency in the players?

Why the players weren't going at it harder, I've no idea. Dzeko was actually putting a lot of them to shame.

Two of my heroes, Silva & Zabba, are doing my fucking head in at the moment.

[branny]

Mancini's second season all over again. What a fucking shambles of a team. How long have we been limping along like this now? A month? Two months? Core players were the problem three seasons ago and they are still the problem.

Most of the season with the exception of the nine game run up to the Burnley draw.

[twosips]

Exactly. Same.

For whatever reason it's not happening and the players don't have that fire and to be honest, it's just not acceptable.

[Michigan Blue]

It was this bad under Mancini too towards the end or have you blocked that out mentally?

Chelsea aside, the performances have been shit since halftime v. Burnley. That was on December 28.

Mancini's team was a basketcase towards the end, liable to throw up a disastrous performance at any moment (QPR at home, Southampton away, Spurs away), but it wasn't this consistently shit.

[roblues]

Exactly. Same.

For whatever reason it's not happening and the players don't have that fire and to be honest, it's just not acceptable.

Truly unacceptable. I'm not going to try to defend that, but I'm also worried about the message they are getting from the boss. 'Go out and play well, in an attacking way, and have ideas.' It's hard to fathom what the plan is in most games outside of that overview.

[Ted Hughes]

Exactly. Same.

For whatever reason it's not happening and the players don't have that fire and to be honest, it's just not acceptable.

Bad selection as well imo. Both Ferns, Silva & Nasri just back from injury, with two central strikers, is a bus parker's dream. Different maybe if Aguero was on a scoring streak but bad under these circumstances.

[Bridge'srightfoot]

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[Bridge'srightfoot]

This is like last season when teams started going to Old Trafford and realized they could win.
Now everybody fancies their chances against us. We've lost at home to Stoke, Hull, Arsenal, Boro, Newcastle and CSKA. That's not to mention the home games we've scraped through such as Sheffield Wednesday.

That's pretty fucking ridiculous tbh.

If they fancied their chances, they would be taking us on. They are parking the bus & hoping to nick a draw because they have seen that teams who take us on, get beat.

We are handing them goals.

Not true. Burnley came at us, attacked us and got a deserved point. CSKA took us on and beat us. Boro took us on and beat us. Newcastle had a good go in the cup and beat us.
Hull first half had a good go and were the better team and nearly beat us. Yes they sat back once they took the lead but for the first half at least they were the better side.

[roblues]

Exactly. Same.

For whatever reason it's not happening and the players don't have that fire and to be honest, it's just not acceptable.

Bad selection as well imo. Both Ferns, Silva & Nasri just back from injury, with two central strikers, is a bus parker's dream. Different maybe if Aguero was on a scoring streak but bad under these circumstances.

Agreed - the nature of the game meant that Fernando was never really in it and was unnecessary, Nasri is great for keeping possession but we were always going to have the lion's share of the ball so that added nothing, and with nobody pulling the strings from the middle (on account of the two strikers taking the centre and SIlva/Nasri wide) there weren't too many decent opportunities for the full backs to overlap into the box.

[twosips]

Exactly. Same.

For whatever reason it's not happening and the players don't have that fire and to be honest, it's just not acceptable.

Bad selection as well imo. Both Ferns, Silva & Nasri just back from injury, with two central strikers, is a bus parker's dream. Different maybe if Aguero was on a scoring streak but bad under these circumstances.

Which comes back to Pellegrini. His Aguero blind spot and treatment of Dzeko today too was baffling in the extreme.

[zuricity]

This is like last season when teams started going to Old Trafford and realized they could win.
Now everybody fancies their chances against us. We've lost at home to Stoke, Hull, Arsenal, Boro, Newcastle and CSKA. That's not to mention the home games we've scraped through such as Sheffield Wednesday.

That's pretty fucking ridiculous tbh.

If they fancied their chances, they would be taking us on. They are parking the bus & hoping to nick a draw because they have seen that teams who take us on, get beat.

We are handing them goals.

Not true. Burnley came at us, attacked us and got a deserved point. CSKA took us on and beat us. Boro took us on and beat us. Newcastle had a good go in the cup and beat us.

Yep you are correct there.

[City64]

As bad as I have seen us play in the last 4 or 5 years , fucking crap !!! Fernando and Dzeko can fuck off , corners , crosses what a fucking joke , abysmal . Pellegrini had all week to sort this , he got it wrong yet again !!! Title gone !!!!

[Ted Hughes]

Burnley had a go & Newcastle to some extent although a lot of that game was us vs their back 10.

The rest just defended & hoped to nick something as did Chelsea last week. We are gifting goals from very little oppo pressure.

[Moonchesteri]

As bad as I have seen us play in the last 4 or 5 years , fucking crap !!! Fernando and Dzeko can fuck off , corners , crosses what a fucking joke , abysmal . Pellegrini had all week to sort this , he got it wrong yet again !!! Title gone !!!!

what? how can you criticise him but not aguero if that's based on today's performances?

[Ted Hughes]

As bad as I have seen us play in the last 4 or 5 years , fucking crap !!! Fernando and Dzeko can fuck off , corners , crosses what a fucking joke , abysmal . Pellegrini had all week to sort this , he got it wrong yet again !!! Title gone !!!!

what? how can you criticise him but not aguero if that's based on today's performances?

Fucking hell first Jovetic & Navas get the blame, now it's Dzeko.

[twosips]

Baffled at any criticism towards Dzeko. He was our best player and shouldn't have been taken off.

[Hazy2]

Horrible performance from many too many players, frustration with each other. Another crap day. Just not happening.

[roblues]

Baffled at any criticism towards Dzeko. He was our best player and shouldn't have been taken off.

It was clear in some of the pre-match discussion, and to be honest it's been obvious for some time, that people have their opinions on Dzeko based on the bits they choose to remember. I wouldn't go overboard to praise him today but Sergio had done less than him at the point when the change was made.

[Foreverinbluedreams]

Baffled at any criticism towards Dzeko. He was our best player and shouldn't have been taken off.

Thought he was decent but really should've got that header on target first half from a sublime Clichy? cross, he did really well to steal a yard on McShane but the header was woeful. That aside he did what he could with what he got.

[Sister of fu]

Title gone IMO. Far two many teams that we have to play where we won't get maximum points and Chelsea will not drop many frm here. We have to go to Stoke, Spurs, United, Liverpool, just don't see us getting a lot out of any of those games. Another shambles today. We have no spark anymore, gone from a free flowing team to one that just goes sideways and as predictable as the weather.