Johnny Baguette
Alert Team
Celtic Park hasn't been the happiest of hunting grounds for the continent's big guns on European nights of yore, a post Pep Guardiola Barcelona humbled 2-1 four years ago being the pick of the battered bunch. In these very cyber-pages last week City's mission to Scotland was highlighted as being 'tricky' which with hindsight was something of an understatement considering the whirlwind that the passionate Bhoys crowd generated around Brendan Rodgers' team from the kick off, galvanising the players into rattling the Blues repeatedly. This current run of 4 testing away games increasing in significance inside 12 days was always going to tell us much more about the character of Pep's City and despite self-evident disappointment that a clinical winning run has come to an end, there is also satisfaction that the side fought back three times.
Numerous Street of Shame* hacks and BT Bitter pundits are suggesting that they have seized upon a first crack in Pep's masterplan in the form of press and counter press tactics leading to the lauding of Rodgers as something of a genius. Sure, Celtic delivered a high energy ouput, but by the closing stages they were clearly out on their feet. City were in the ascendancy and really should have sealed an invaluable win. The statistics make for stark reading. However, what the experts are overlooking is that Celtic are not the first team to kitchen sink a Guardiola side and history has served to prove that the City boss adapts. Much as a raft of City players under-performed in Glasgow, micro managed from the technical box they were not beaten.
We can certainly expect similar from the mouth-watering top of the table clash at White Hart Lane on Sunday, albeit the waves of attack that Mauricio Pochettino will launch are going to be served up by a more gifted squad than that of Rodgers. Much as there is a Kevin De Bruyne shaped hole in the middle of the pitch right now, the Celtic thriller could yet prove to be a shot across the bows that will lead to a more resilient, tightened up City approach. It is absolutely crucial that the Blues reach the international break undefeated and even more-so that the team demonstrate that last season's constant failures against title contenders can be consigned to the past. Further still, talk of record breaking winning streaks has now subsided which could also make for a renewed focus. Pochettino as we well know is no mug and has history with Pep having beaten Barcelona in the Nou Camp in his first game in charge of Espanyol in 2009. Sunday's game promises to be a cracker. Too close to call.
I have but one critique at this point of the campaign. The captaincy. This is a time for leadership and without Vincent Kompany leading the side, the armband is being passed around numerous senior players as it did under Manuel Pellegrini when Vinny was crocked. I think that Pep should name an outright skipper pending Vinny's indefinite return. Outside of their below par displays north of the border I reckon that of the regulars the experienced Fernandinho or Aleks Kolarov have to be considered ahead of the outstanding but much younger John Stones.
Street of Shame* - Copyright Private Eye
http://www.manchestercity.vitalfootball.co.uk/article.asp?a=571926
Numerous Street of Shame* hacks and BT Bitter pundits are suggesting that they have seized upon a first crack in Pep's masterplan in the form of press and counter press tactics leading to the lauding of Rodgers as something of a genius. Sure, Celtic delivered a high energy ouput, but by the closing stages they were clearly out on their feet. City were in the ascendancy and really should have sealed an invaluable win. The statistics make for stark reading. However, what the experts are overlooking is that Celtic are not the first team to kitchen sink a Guardiola side and history has served to prove that the City boss adapts. Much as a raft of City players under-performed in Glasgow, micro managed from the technical box they were not beaten.
We can certainly expect similar from the mouth-watering top of the table clash at White Hart Lane on Sunday, albeit the waves of attack that Mauricio Pochettino will launch are going to be served up by a more gifted squad than that of Rodgers. Much as there is a Kevin De Bruyne shaped hole in the middle of the pitch right now, the Celtic thriller could yet prove to be a shot across the bows that will lead to a more resilient, tightened up City approach. It is absolutely crucial that the Blues reach the international break undefeated and even more-so that the team demonstrate that last season's constant failures against title contenders can be consigned to the past. Further still, talk of record breaking winning streaks has now subsided which could also make for a renewed focus. Pochettino as we well know is no mug and has history with Pep having beaten Barcelona in the Nou Camp in his first game in charge of Espanyol in 2009. Sunday's game promises to be a cracker. Too close to call.
I have but one critique at this point of the campaign. The captaincy. This is a time for leadership and without Vincent Kompany leading the side, the armband is being passed around numerous senior players as it did under Manuel Pellegrini when Vinny was crocked. I think that Pep should name an outright skipper pending Vinny's indefinite return. Outside of their below par displays north of the border I reckon that of the regulars the experienced Fernandinho or Aleks Kolarov have to be considered ahead of the outstanding but much younger John Stones.
Street of Shame* - Copyright Private Eye
http://www.manchestercity.vitalfootball.co.uk/article.asp?a=571926
