Johnny Baguette
Alert Team
There is a cast iron guarantee the vast majority of times that you watch Manchester City in their first season under Pep Guardiola. You will be entertained with some wonderful attacking approach play. But the stark reality with 9 games remaining in this Premier League campaign is that we find ourselves in 4th place, 11 points behind the league leaders who will be breathing that bit easier again tonight.
If you don't take your chances at this level you will be punished no matter who you are playing. With a City defence that is still prone to conceding soft goals when the side is in the ascendancy, that fact is all the more pronounced. Factor in continually inconsistent English refereeing and it's clear and present that City have made this season way too hard for themselves. Incredulously, after some of the sensational football they have served up this season, they are flirting with failing to secure Champions League qualification.
The glaring truth is that City are not scoring enough goals from the gilt-edged chances they create. Without Kun Aguero's reliable if profligate input, we would be in trouble. Of the current top six, only the scrape-through rags, admittedly by some distance have scored less goals than us. Kun must remain fit for the run in.
Beleaguered Arsenal, gripped in uncertainty from protesting entitled fans to the touchline came into this game off the back of 6 wretched defeats in 9 outings. It was evident from the off that they were there for the taking, but somehow City contrived to let them out of jail. Besieged Arsene Wenger's men do merit credit for there double comeback as they had to throw everything at City to force the issue, but if you ask me they possess nowhere near the level of dominant players that they once held in abundance and this looks like very much the slow crawl to the end of an era. However, there can be no room for sentiment for our part after the years of regular batterings they once gave us. City's players looked crestfallen at the close yet will still get another chance to hammer the final nail into the Gunners' season's coffin at Wembley later this month.
This was a bitterly disappointing result but Planet Blue can take some comfort in a gradually improving performance level against top six sides this season, if not the 'should have been' wins. Of course, with only the rags at home and Chelsea away to come, a return of 9 points from a possible 24 to date is never going to be enough to win a title, but it is still an improvement upon last season's pisspoor effort. City have become quintessential flat track bullies and until they can re-discover the mental ruthlessness and will to win required to kill the top sides off from winning positions they will not win the Premier League again. Big changes in personnel can certainly be expected this summer. Brace yourselves for some shocks because Pep will not be hanging about - in the transfer market - and neither will His Highness Sheikh Mansour.
Read more: http://www.manchestercity.vitalfootball.co.uk/article.asp?a=579789#ixzz4d7In68jm
If you don't take your chances at this level you will be punished no matter who you are playing. With a City defence that is still prone to conceding soft goals when the side is in the ascendancy, that fact is all the more pronounced. Factor in continually inconsistent English refereeing and it's clear and present that City have made this season way too hard for themselves. Incredulously, after some of the sensational football they have served up this season, they are flirting with failing to secure Champions League qualification.
The glaring truth is that City are not scoring enough goals from the gilt-edged chances they create. Without Kun Aguero's reliable if profligate input, we would be in trouble. Of the current top six, only the scrape-through rags, admittedly by some distance have scored less goals than us. Kun must remain fit for the run in.
Beleaguered Arsenal, gripped in uncertainty from protesting entitled fans to the touchline came into this game off the back of 6 wretched defeats in 9 outings. It was evident from the off that they were there for the taking, but somehow City contrived to let them out of jail. Besieged Arsene Wenger's men do merit credit for there double comeback as they had to throw everything at City to force the issue, but if you ask me they possess nowhere near the level of dominant players that they once held in abundance and this looks like very much the slow crawl to the end of an era. However, there can be no room for sentiment for our part after the years of regular batterings they once gave us. City's players looked crestfallen at the close yet will still get another chance to hammer the final nail into the Gunners' season's coffin at Wembley later this month.
This was a bitterly disappointing result but Planet Blue can take some comfort in a gradually improving performance level against top six sides this season, if not the 'should have been' wins. Of course, with only the rags at home and Chelsea away to come, a return of 9 points from a possible 24 to date is never going to be enough to win a title, but it is still an improvement upon last season's pisspoor effort. City have become quintessential flat track bullies and until they can re-discover the mental ruthlessness and will to win required to kill the top sides off from winning positions they will not win the Premier League again. Big changes in personnel can certainly be expected this summer. Brace yourselves for some shocks because Pep will not be hanging about - in the transfer market - and neither will His Highness Sheikh Mansour.
Read more: http://www.manchestercity.vitalfootball.co.uk/article.asp?a=579789#ixzz4d7In68jm
