Johnny Baguette
Alert Team
It`s probably already been said about City`s magnificent and convincing victory against the Red Rags of Stretford, but as the Pedmachine was sunning himself in Turkey last weekend, he simply couldn`t get to the keys any sooner.
While I was in Turkey, I received the usual array of what disaffected Stretfords call "banter". It is a form of internet bullying, but you can`t expect those from the Stretford Soft School to know any better. One of these is from Paris, I call him the "Parisien Stretford Plastic" and often ask him why he doesn`t support PSG instead of being PSP. "The derby is ours" he proclaimed, "To win, you need PASSION and as I look down the City line-up I see no Mancs. We`ve got Lingard and Rashford, so we will win".
Well, no, Kenny, you need Pep Guardiola. We`ve got him and we won.
While Stretfords, plastic or otherwise, were rubbing their hands at the suspension of Sergio Aguero, a truly world-class footballer who regularly sends De Gea to collect the ball from the foot of his netting, all Pep said was "Yes we will be without Aguero, but we will still have eleven men". And that is what happened. Up stepped Iheanacho, up stepped De Bruyne and the rest is assigned to history.
There was a predictability about City`s line-up, but there was no predictability about the quality of football they were to play in the opening half of this match.
Bravo made his debut in goal in possibly the most difficult match. Sagna and the improving Kolarov got the nod at full back with Stones and Otamendi commanding the centres, with Fernadinho sitting in front of them. The glittering array of midfielders presented Sterling, Silva, Nolito and De Bruyne, leaving Iheanacho to fill the golden boots.
United`s opening line-up looked a bit tag-bag by comparison as if Moaning Maureen didn`t really know who to select, opting for Lingard instead of Martial and leaving out in my opinion, their dangerman - Rashford.
With Stones now settling in well and some kind of return to form from Otamendi, the central goon show of Fellaini and Ibrahimovic doesn`t really present any fear. Fellaini is basically rubbish and only there to elbow and thump and kick people, not the ball and Zlatan has showed that, yes he is their top goalscorer, but he is prone to missing chances. Had he been more accurate or passionate, he could have altered the outcome of the match.
But once again, City set off at a blistering pace leaving the counterpart chasing their tails, their shadows and in the end City`s players. The air of invincibility which adorned the years since we whacked them 6-1 but which had waned a little in the last 18 months was back. And the Stretfords struggled to handle it. Maureen knew as early as 20 minutes in that his team selection was wrong, but by then the outcome of this match was known. And it wasn`t to prove to be good reading from him.
It was as early as the fifteenth minute of fluent, enthralling football that Kolarov, after receiving the ball from Bravo, probably went against instructions having spotted a run up top by Iheanacho. He sent a crisp 50 yard pass between the centre backs. Kelechi beat them easily and De Bruynhe was already on the move catching Blind and Shaw by surprise with his electric pace, which was in fact scorned by Mourinho in another life. De Bruyne sprinted clear, drew De Gea then simply sent for a visitation with the back of his net as he put City ahead.
The resplendent Stretfords in the bars of Icmeler were stunned, as were the 70,000 in Old Trafford. This was not the script. They had been diligently disposing, just about, of the division`s whipping boys, but enter a real team and United were playing football from a different planet. Not a very good one.
On 35 minutes play down the right between Sterling and Sagna left the Stretfords with an air of flatfootedness, especially when once again, De Bruyne pounced out of nowhere. It didn`t look particularly dangerous, United were back in numbers, maybe trying to park the bus, but somehow De Bruyne got off a shot that zipped onto the far post. It rebounded to the feet of Iheanacho who made no mistake from six yards. No changing feet, no heroics, just bang..2-0!
There was going to be no return from this position for United. Pogba may as well have not been on the field. There was hardly a mention of his name by the commentators. That said, all his colleagues in midfield were sick of the sight of the numbers on City`s shirts. They didn`t get much chance to see City players` faces.
We all know that City will never let us breathe easily and generally persist in doing things the hard way. Mourinho managed to commandeer a free kick for the Stretfords by whingeing to the ref and up stepped Rooney, who by now had a good case for being in the showers after three possibly cautionable offence in three minutes. Up he stepped for United`s new plan A, B & C. He lofted the ball into the box, in the style of Wimbledon of old. There was a mix up between Stones and Bravo, the matter of which had come out unnecessarily and got himself in a mess, and the hitherto absent, Ibrahimovic limited the damage by drilling the rebound into the City net.
Not a great ending to a half where City could and should have left United needing snookers, but it could have got worse but for poor finishing by Zlatan.
In recent matches, City have allowed goals just after half time and this was one match where they couldn`t afford to do that. Maureen had finally made the changes that he needed, bringing on the threat of Rashford, leaving them with a three-pronged attack of big men. City stood up to the test as United had their best spell of the match, albeit a limited one. For his part Guardiola sacrificed Sterling in favour of the more robust Fernando to shore up the ramparts.
Chances came and went for United. Rashford was justifiably called offside after scoring what he thought was the equaliser and there was a pretty good call for a penalty after 55 minutes when Bravo magic footwork lost him control of the ball and his lunging tackle brought typical theatrics from the despicable Rooney, intent on getting a penalty and Bravo red carded, but the ref saw it differently and City survived. Not long after Zlatan joined in the fun running on to a knock down by Fellaini then tumbling, rolling and holding his leg when in fact Stones simply blocked his shot. City too might have had a shout when following an effort by Fernandinho which the keeper let go, Otamendi was chopped from behind by the Old Bailly. The evidence should have weighed in favour of City.
Naturally the Stretfords were trying every trick in the Moaning Maureen Book of Tactical Gems and thankfully Mark Clattenburg was having none of it. Their football was deteriorating, if that was possible, to simply route one hail marys and as the Fellaini elbows flew, Stones and Otamendi simply had them in their pockets. It didn`t stop the disgusting Belgian landing one on Kolarov near the end though. He gets away with it every week and Sergio gets a three match ban.
As the game wore on, City returned to dominate proceedings and keep United at bay. De Bruyne, easily man of the match saw another shot cannon off one post and scrape the other before heading for safety. Had that gone in the giant Dyson outside the turnstiles would have cleared out the stadium except for the away end.. Silva, back to his majestic best could also have topped out the afternoon but lifted his shot too high. Nolito, also wasn`t too far away either.
You can see a pattern here. Everyone is starting to get in on the act and in the end the goals from this team will flow. Despite the anticipated late onslaught by the home side and the game clock ticked up nearly 96 minutes, City finally got through to the final whistle unscathed, well except that Kolarov got a tooth knocked out and Otamendi finished looking like someone from a spaghetti western.
Guardiola says he is still "disappointed" despite his side clocking up six-out-of-six before they entertain Munchengladbach tonight. But this was an excellent all round performance. The team is starting to function as a team now with contributions from everyone and it looks dangerous.
Going to Streford and winning without our goal king would have been unheard of in the past, but this team is looking confident, it is looking more "together" and this will improve each week, I suspect. The only danger I see is underestimating opposition. In the past this has cost City the points that they needed to win the title. You only have to look at Barcelona last weekend when they gave their stars an afternoon off as they were "only playing Alaves", you know the team who had one shot against Atletico and got themselves a draw. They have now whacked the mighty Barca. Bournemouth are next up in the league and this maybe looks an easy points collection, but no games are easy in the Barclays Premier League.
It was good to see the introduction of Sane, who also has a bit of speed about him and with Gudongan on the horizon there should be enough resources to see off the troubles of earlier seasons.
No doubt the jury will be out on Bravo. He simply didn`t need to come out for the cross. Stones and Sagna had the threat covered, but on the basis that the eclipsed Joe Hart apparently generated a carbon copy of the Bravo error playing for Torino, we can`t get on his back, especially when his debut was the derby. Stones and Otamendi seem to be building a useful understanding and the full backs, whichever are selected now have a better appreciation of their jobs.
Fernandinho has been brilliant all season and is growing into his newly-designed role and ahead of him looks like a box of fireworks all ignited at the same time. Plus, we can even rely on a relative youngster to snatch the winner.
Fast rewind to last season at the Etihad. The scribes almost wet themselves drooling over Rashford. No such accolade for Kelechi, oh no, all the scribes could write about where the not unexpected rantings and ramblings and bleatings of Moaning Maureen and his missing penalties. Ladies and Gentlemen, something special and different is happening at the Etihad and there is more to footballing life in this country than the Theatre of Nightmares.
Happy from the morning offering we stepped out to watch Sue`s team, Liverpool hammer the Fox and Hounds, already flourishing towards the foot of the table and looking forward to their Champions League debut tomorrow. Does Gary Lineker really think there will be a second part to "the surprise"? Well, Sue certainly had a little screech as the Scouser goals flew in, although she was more than unhappy when Lucas set up a goal for Leicester. In fact she upset the restaurant customers on the next table!
Champions League football returns to the Etihad tonight, dear readers, when City take on Borussia Munchengladbach, but surely the biggest story of the week will be the Stretfords going to Feyenoord in the Europa League along with Maureen claiming the FA do not help the teams who play in Europe. Old news but still regurgitated when there is nothing to say about them.
Come on City!!!
Read more: http://www.manchestercity.vitalfootball.co.uk/article.asp?a=571156#ixzz4K8cJrLX1
While I was in Turkey, I received the usual array of what disaffected Stretfords call "banter". It is a form of internet bullying, but you can`t expect those from the Stretford Soft School to know any better. One of these is from Paris, I call him the "Parisien Stretford Plastic" and often ask him why he doesn`t support PSG instead of being PSP. "The derby is ours" he proclaimed, "To win, you need PASSION and as I look down the City line-up I see no Mancs. We`ve got Lingard and Rashford, so we will win".
Well, no, Kenny, you need Pep Guardiola. We`ve got him and we won.
While Stretfords, plastic or otherwise, were rubbing their hands at the suspension of Sergio Aguero, a truly world-class footballer who regularly sends De Gea to collect the ball from the foot of his netting, all Pep said was "Yes we will be without Aguero, but we will still have eleven men". And that is what happened. Up stepped Iheanacho, up stepped De Bruyne and the rest is assigned to history.
There was a predictability about City`s line-up, but there was no predictability about the quality of football they were to play in the opening half of this match.
Bravo made his debut in goal in possibly the most difficult match. Sagna and the improving Kolarov got the nod at full back with Stones and Otamendi commanding the centres, with Fernadinho sitting in front of them. The glittering array of midfielders presented Sterling, Silva, Nolito and De Bruyne, leaving Iheanacho to fill the golden boots.
United`s opening line-up looked a bit tag-bag by comparison as if Moaning Maureen didn`t really know who to select, opting for Lingard instead of Martial and leaving out in my opinion, their dangerman - Rashford.
With Stones now settling in well and some kind of return to form from Otamendi, the central goon show of Fellaini and Ibrahimovic doesn`t really present any fear. Fellaini is basically rubbish and only there to elbow and thump and kick people, not the ball and Zlatan has showed that, yes he is their top goalscorer, but he is prone to missing chances. Had he been more accurate or passionate, he could have altered the outcome of the match.
But once again, City set off at a blistering pace leaving the counterpart chasing their tails, their shadows and in the end City`s players. The air of invincibility which adorned the years since we whacked them 6-1 but which had waned a little in the last 18 months was back. And the Stretfords struggled to handle it. Maureen knew as early as 20 minutes in that his team selection was wrong, but by then the outcome of this match was known. And it wasn`t to prove to be good reading from him.
It was as early as the fifteenth minute of fluent, enthralling football that Kolarov, after receiving the ball from Bravo, probably went against instructions having spotted a run up top by Iheanacho. He sent a crisp 50 yard pass between the centre backs. Kelechi beat them easily and De Bruynhe was already on the move catching Blind and Shaw by surprise with his electric pace, which was in fact scorned by Mourinho in another life. De Bruyne sprinted clear, drew De Gea then simply sent for a visitation with the back of his net as he put City ahead.
The resplendent Stretfords in the bars of Icmeler were stunned, as were the 70,000 in Old Trafford. This was not the script. They had been diligently disposing, just about, of the division`s whipping boys, but enter a real team and United were playing football from a different planet. Not a very good one.
On 35 minutes play down the right between Sterling and Sagna left the Stretfords with an air of flatfootedness, especially when once again, De Bruyne pounced out of nowhere. It didn`t look particularly dangerous, United were back in numbers, maybe trying to park the bus, but somehow De Bruyne got off a shot that zipped onto the far post. It rebounded to the feet of Iheanacho who made no mistake from six yards. No changing feet, no heroics, just bang..2-0!
There was going to be no return from this position for United. Pogba may as well have not been on the field. There was hardly a mention of his name by the commentators. That said, all his colleagues in midfield were sick of the sight of the numbers on City`s shirts. They didn`t get much chance to see City players` faces.
We all know that City will never let us breathe easily and generally persist in doing things the hard way. Mourinho managed to commandeer a free kick for the Stretfords by whingeing to the ref and up stepped Rooney, who by now had a good case for being in the showers after three possibly cautionable offence in three minutes. Up he stepped for United`s new plan A, B & C. He lofted the ball into the box, in the style of Wimbledon of old. There was a mix up between Stones and Bravo, the matter of which had come out unnecessarily and got himself in a mess, and the hitherto absent, Ibrahimovic limited the damage by drilling the rebound into the City net.
Not a great ending to a half where City could and should have left United needing snookers, but it could have got worse but for poor finishing by Zlatan.
In recent matches, City have allowed goals just after half time and this was one match where they couldn`t afford to do that. Maureen had finally made the changes that he needed, bringing on the threat of Rashford, leaving them with a three-pronged attack of big men. City stood up to the test as United had their best spell of the match, albeit a limited one. For his part Guardiola sacrificed Sterling in favour of the more robust Fernando to shore up the ramparts.
Chances came and went for United. Rashford was justifiably called offside after scoring what he thought was the equaliser and there was a pretty good call for a penalty after 55 minutes when Bravo magic footwork lost him control of the ball and his lunging tackle brought typical theatrics from the despicable Rooney, intent on getting a penalty and Bravo red carded, but the ref saw it differently and City survived. Not long after Zlatan joined in the fun running on to a knock down by Fellaini then tumbling, rolling and holding his leg when in fact Stones simply blocked his shot. City too might have had a shout when following an effort by Fernandinho which the keeper let go, Otamendi was chopped from behind by the Old Bailly. The evidence should have weighed in favour of City.
Naturally the Stretfords were trying every trick in the Moaning Maureen Book of Tactical Gems and thankfully Mark Clattenburg was having none of it. Their football was deteriorating, if that was possible, to simply route one hail marys and as the Fellaini elbows flew, Stones and Otamendi simply had them in their pockets. It didn`t stop the disgusting Belgian landing one on Kolarov near the end though. He gets away with it every week and Sergio gets a three match ban.
As the game wore on, City returned to dominate proceedings and keep United at bay. De Bruyne, easily man of the match saw another shot cannon off one post and scrape the other before heading for safety. Had that gone in the giant Dyson outside the turnstiles would have cleared out the stadium except for the away end.. Silva, back to his majestic best could also have topped out the afternoon but lifted his shot too high. Nolito, also wasn`t too far away either.
You can see a pattern here. Everyone is starting to get in on the act and in the end the goals from this team will flow. Despite the anticipated late onslaught by the home side and the game clock ticked up nearly 96 minutes, City finally got through to the final whistle unscathed, well except that Kolarov got a tooth knocked out and Otamendi finished looking like someone from a spaghetti western.
Guardiola says he is still "disappointed" despite his side clocking up six-out-of-six before they entertain Munchengladbach tonight. But this was an excellent all round performance. The team is starting to function as a team now with contributions from everyone and it looks dangerous.
Going to Streford and winning without our goal king would have been unheard of in the past, but this team is looking confident, it is looking more "together" and this will improve each week, I suspect. The only danger I see is underestimating opposition. In the past this has cost City the points that they needed to win the title. You only have to look at Barcelona last weekend when they gave their stars an afternoon off as they were "only playing Alaves", you know the team who had one shot against Atletico and got themselves a draw. They have now whacked the mighty Barca. Bournemouth are next up in the league and this maybe looks an easy points collection, but no games are easy in the Barclays Premier League.
It was good to see the introduction of Sane, who also has a bit of speed about him and with Gudongan on the horizon there should be enough resources to see off the troubles of earlier seasons.
No doubt the jury will be out on Bravo. He simply didn`t need to come out for the cross. Stones and Sagna had the threat covered, but on the basis that the eclipsed Joe Hart apparently generated a carbon copy of the Bravo error playing for Torino, we can`t get on his back, especially when his debut was the derby. Stones and Otamendi seem to be building a useful understanding and the full backs, whichever are selected now have a better appreciation of their jobs.
Fernandinho has been brilliant all season and is growing into his newly-designed role and ahead of him looks like a box of fireworks all ignited at the same time. Plus, we can even rely on a relative youngster to snatch the winner.
Fast rewind to last season at the Etihad. The scribes almost wet themselves drooling over Rashford. No such accolade for Kelechi, oh no, all the scribes could write about where the not unexpected rantings and ramblings and bleatings of Moaning Maureen and his missing penalties. Ladies and Gentlemen, something special and different is happening at the Etihad and there is more to footballing life in this country than the Theatre of Nightmares.
Happy from the morning offering we stepped out to watch Sue`s team, Liverpool hammer the Fox and Hounds, already flourishing towards the foot of the table and looking forward to their Champions League debut tomorrow. Does Gary Lineker really think there will be a second part to "the surprise"? Well, Sue certainly had a little screech as the Scouser goals flew in, although she was more than unhappy when Lucas set up a goal for Leicester. In fact she upset the restaurant customers on the next table!
Champions League football returns to the Etihad tonight, dear readers, when City take on Borussia Munchengladbach, but surely the biggest story of the week will be the Stretfords going to Feyenoord in the Europa League along with Maureen claiming the FA do not help the teams who play in Europe. Old news but still regurgitated when there is nothing to say about them.
Come on City!!!
Read more: http://www.manchestercity.vitalfootball.co.uk/article.asp?a=571156#ixzz4K8cJrLX1
