Skoorb
Alert Team
City travel to the north east for their penultimate away fixture of the 2016/17 campaign.
The high hopes with which we began the season have been worn away by some unconventional tactics, an almost permanent, unsettling rotation and a chronic inability to see teams off despite our ascendency in games. At times it has felt like more of a slog than it ought to have been as we look back fondly on the #ITBEGINS message dreamt up by the media team when they revealed the coach so long coveted by our owners.
Pep Guardiola has been on the steepest of learning curves. About his players; about the Premier League (reading and watching is not the same as being in the thick of it); about the British media's embrace of schadenfreude and in-built desire to witness successful people to fail; and certainly about himself. He never came here proclaiming that he was going to 'transform English football', he never made any claims that he was going to win all four trophies, he simply came to do a job, to challenge himself and try to move his new club forward.
He has striven to do the best that he can with the squad he inherited; endeavoured to improve that squad with judicious signings of young, exciting forwards (Sane, G Jesus) and mobile, tenacious midfield strength (Gundogan) and impose his style and 'Juego de Posición' playing philosophy on the team. He has made some bold calls not least the loaning of Joe Hart and introduction of Claudio Bravo. Whatever the merits of that last call he has certainly found himself handicapped by injuries to key players (Gundogan, Jesus), the extended absence of club captain, key defender and leader Vincent Kompany and the failure of his team to convert the chances that they create.
But he has never stepped away from his responsibilities, never bemoaned his situation, he has supported his players and effectively 'done the best that he can' with the material available to him - he admitted as much after the derby where he referenced the ages of his full backs and stated that they were not capable of "getting up and down the pitch" and so he had to be adapt to this situation. The club remains a work in progress and we can expect some more changes to personnel over the summer, changes which may see some stalwarts depart the club. It has not been the sparkling season we might have been hoping for but we can rest assured that the work remains in progress and I would rather have been part of we have seen at City than what has had to be endured at a club just outside Manchester whose stale, anti-football, grinding out of 'results' (aka just don't lose') is enough to send any football fan over the edge.
The derby has been the subject of much discussion elsewhere so I will leave only the comment that Maureen is an utter knob. But we knew that already.
To the game............
Middlesbrough are firmly ensconced on the Premier League trap door, parachutes have been issued and the players are desperately trying to reach their agents to see if their salaries are protected or if they ensured they inserted an 'relegation escape clause'. They come to this fixture sat in 19th place, six points from safety and knowing that anything other than a win could be fatal to their chances of remaining in the Premier League. This may well be to our advantage as the standard tactic of sitting deep and waiting for a break may not be open to them in front of their home crowd. Whilst scoring an early goal is always a pretty good way to open a game out, in this case it could never be more pertinent.
Their defeat of fellow strugglers Sunderland was their first win in 11 matches in all competitions and their first league win since the end of January. They have only won five league games all season and prior to last Wednesday hadn't won a league fixture at home since December. The table doesn't lie and City need to take the game to them on Sunday afternoon showing no mercy and getting the job done. Having succumbed to a late, late equaliser in the reverse league fixture City learnt from that game and secured a 0-2 victory in the FA Cup at the Riverside. A similar result on Sunday would be ideal but the more goals the better and after threatening to batter someone this would be an ideal time to bury the memory of the humiliating 8-1 defeat under Sven. Different times, different players but the fans still remember it and it still needs expunging with giving them a good thumping.
In team news Boro have majs]or doubts over Ayala and Barragan, whilst their chief hatchet man, Leadbitter should be available. Valdes is out.
City too will be missing a keeper with Bravo collecting a calf injury after having to rise from his deckchair to deal with a rare attack from the rags on Thursday. Angus Gunn to deputise but on the bench I expect. Silva and Stones face late fitness tests. Hopefully G Jesus will not be suffering any reaction to the kick he received on his previously injured foot (typical of our luck this season) when he closed down Wonderboy Rashford during the closing stages of the derby. An action which bizarrely saw him carded by Atkinson in front of the baying rag fans and the swarm of rag players that surrounded him yet again. You couldn't make it up.....except this is City and nothing surprises me about the decisions of the officials these days. I am half expecting Sergio to be banned for 'simulation' after inconsiderately placing his head in the way of Elbows Fellaini the other evening. City will probably get charged for failing to control the rag players seeing as we were the home side so it has to be down to us right?
We can still take the third automatic Champions League qualification place and so that should be driving us forward.
Win all five remaining games and it will make the summer much easier.
Come on City!!!
The high hopes with which we began the season have been worn away by some unconventional tactics, an almost permanent, unsettling rotation and a chronic inability to see teams off despite our ascendency in games. At times it has felt like more of a slog than it ought to have been as we look back fondly on the #ITBEGINS message dreamt up by the media team when they revealed the coach so long coveted by our owners.
Pep Guardiola has been on the steepest of learning curves. About his players; about the Premier League (reading and watching is not the same as being in the thick of it); about the British media's embrace of schadenfreude and in-built desire to witness successful people to fail; and certainly about himself. He never came here proclaiming that he was going to 'transform English football', he never made any claims that he was going to win all four trophies, he simply came to do a job, to challenge himself and try to move his new club forward.
He has striven to do the best that he can with the squad he inherited; endeavoured to improve that squad with judicious signings of young, exciting forwards (Sane, G Jesus) and mobile, tenacious midfield strength (Gundogan) and impose his style and 'Juego de Posición' playing philosophy on the team. He has made some bold calls not least the loaning of Joe Hart and introduction of Claudio Bravo. Whatever the merits of that last call he has certainly found himself handicapped by injuries to key players (Gundogan, Jesus), the extended absence of club captain, key defender and leader Vincent Kompany and the failure of his team to convert the chances that they create.
But he has never stepped away from his responsibilities, never bemoaned his situation, he has supported his players and effectively 'done the best that he can' with the material available to him - he admitted as much after the derby where he referenced the ages of his full backs and stated that they were not capable of "getting up and down the pitch" and so he had to be adapt to this situation. The club remains a work in progress and we can expect some more changes to personnel over the summer, changes which may see some stalwarts depart the club. It has not been the sparkling season we might have been hoping for but we can rest assured that the work remains in progress and I would rather have been part of we have seen at City than what has had to be endured at a club just outside Manchester whose stale, anti-football, grinding out of 'results' (aka just don't lose') is enough to send any football fan over the edge.
The derby has been the subject of much discussion elsewhere so I will leave only the comment that Maureen is an utter knob. But we knew that already.
To the game............
Middlesbrough are firmly ensconced on the Premier League trap door, parachutes have been issued and the players are desperately trying to reach their agents to see if their salaries are protected or if they ensured they inserted an 'relegation escape clause'. They come to this fixture sat in 19th place, six points from safety and knowing that anything other than a win could be fatal to their chances of remaining in the Premier League. This may well be to our advantage as the standard tactic of sitting deep and waiting for a break may not be open to them in front of their home crowd. Whilst scoring an early goal is always a pretty good way to open a game out, in this case it could never be more pertinent.
Their defeat of fellow strugglers Sunderland was their first win in 11 matches in all competitions and their first league win since the end of January. They have only won five league games all season and prior to last Wednesday hadn't won a league fixture at home since December. The table doesn't lie and City need to take the game to them on Sunday afternoon showing no mercy and getting the job done. Having succumbed to a late, late equaliser in the reverse league fixture City learnt from that game and secured a 0-2 victory in the FA Cup at the Riverside. A similar result on Sunday would be ideal but the more goals the better and after threatening to batter someone this would be an ideal time to bury the memory of the humiliating 8-1 defeat under Sven. Different times, different players but the fans still remember it and it still needs expunging with giving them a good thumping.
In team news Boro have majs]or doubts over Ayala and Barragan, whilst their chief hatchet man, Leadbitter should be available. Valdes is out.
City too will be missing a keeper with Bravo collecting a calf injury after having to rise from his deckchair to deal with a rare attack from the rags on Thursday. Angus Gunn to deputise but on the bench I expect. Silva and Stones face late fitness tests. Hopefully G Jesus will not be suffering any reaction to the kick he received on his previously injured foot (typical of our luck this season) when he closed down Wonderboy Rashford during the closing stages of the derby. An action which bizarrely saw him carded by Atkinson in front of the baying rag fans and the swarm of rag players that surrounded him yet again. You couldn't make it up.....except this is City and nothing surprises me about the decisions of the officials these days. I am half expecting Sergio to be banned for 'simulation' after inconsiderately placing his head in the way of Elbows Fellaini the other evening. City will probably get charged for failing to control the rag players seeing as we were the home side so it has to be down to us right?
We can still take the third automatic Champions League qualification place and so that should be driving us forward.
Win all five remaining games and it will make the summer much easier.
Come on City!!!
