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Showing posts with label Manchester City. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Manchester City. Show all posts
Caoimhin O’Muraile ☭ Oh Dear What Can the Matter Be.

These were the words of the first verse of a chant Man United fans sang at Maine Road in the Manchester derby in the late seventies and eighties if United won. The chant was:

Oh Dear What Can the Matter be, Manchester City got Hammered on Saturday. 

Unfortunately the modern generation of football fans lack the imagination to conjure up such lyrics but nevertheless on Saturday 25th May that song was as applicable as ever. In the 143rd FA Cup Final played at Wembley Stadium in front of over 84,000 spectators Man Utd, against the odds, destroyed and humiliated neighbours Man City and with it their domestic double. Goals from Garnacho in the 30th minute and young Mainoo in the 39th was sufficient to bring the Cup back to Old Trafford and the glory of the occasion belonged to the red half of Manchester. Both goal scorers, Alejandro Garnacho Ferreya and Kobbie Boateng Mainoo are just 19 years of age and are products of United’s youth policy. Mainoo was Man of the Match according to some, which I would agree with, while others reckon Bruno Fernandes took the honour. Either way it doesn’t matter as the result was all that counted.

City came with their now familiar arrogant attitude, trying to play their ‘possession football’ which did not work this time. Manchester United came with a plan to close the Blues down and did so magnificently, easily outplaying our “noisy neighbours” as they were once coined by Alex Ferguson.

Early in the first half City had a penalty appeal rightly turned down by referee Andrew Madley. Blue nose manager, Pep Guardiola, was fuming as he watched his team being dismantled by a superior Manchester United outfit on the day. United had done their homework and it paid off. We got revenge for last years defeat at the hands of the Blues and that revenge was done in style, no question. The better team won by a country mile, though City did have their moments with Erling Harland hitting the crossbar with a deadly strike. United keeper, Andre Onana. not for the first time in recent weeks revealing himself by producing saves former Soviet keeper Lev Yashin would have been proud of. 

It was a great day to be a Red, not so good for the Blue Noses. City’s open top bus drive around Manchester with no trophy to show was conducted at 3am Sunday morning when the streets were empty!

United were brilliant on the day but despite this our manager, Erik Ten Hag, is not secure in his employment according to reports. He masterminded United’s tactics for the day but will it be enough to satisfy the parasite bastard owners of the club? My own view is keep Ten Hag as it is my understanding he accepted the job of MUFC Manager on the basis he would be given time to rebuild the team. His record in the two seasons he has been in charge is impressive, two cups in as many seasons so why all this talk of sacking him? Even if they do terminate his services who in their right mind would take the job! I can remember when Matt Busby retired the Board kept changing managers until Tommy Docherty brought success at Wembley in 1977 when we defeated Liverpool 2-1. 

The game on Saturday felt like 1977 all over again but shortly after ‘The Doc’ was sacked albeit with mitigating circumstances involved. In 2016 United beat Crystal Palace in the FA Cup Final of that year but this did not stop the Glazers from sacking manager, Louis Van Gall which was ridiculous and shows how little this gang of parasites, the Glazers, know about football. Erik Ten Hag has every reason to be proud of his team last Saturday and when asked about his future he replied, with dignity, “if they do not want me I’ll go somewhere else and win trophies because that is what I do”. It would be a huge mistake sacking Ten Hag: his “project” is incomplete and he must be given more time. If our performance against City at Wembley is anything to go by that “project” when fully furnished will produce a formidable team. The MUFC Manager also stated; “we are better than when I took over, but not yet where we want to be.” So, for fucks sake, if the owners, including Jim Ratcliffe, have any understanding of football or if they are interested in the team at all outside making money they must keep Erik Ten Hag as manager.

For the time being I’ll just continue celebrating this great victory and destruction of Man City by a superior team on the day. City have won one trophy this term as have Liverpool and so have Man Utd. That means on the trophy scale we are equal to both our rivals on one trophy each.

To paraphrase City’s one and only song, Blue Moon, an alternative version might be; “Blue Moon, you started singing too soon, you thought you win the cup, but Man Utd fucked you up.” Saturdays performance by the Reds was comparable to any United team I can remember including the ‘Holy Trinity’ and Docs attacking side of the mid to late seventies. Even the team which beat Everton in the 1985 FA Cup Final would be marginally in the shadow to last Saturday’s performance.

Just to put the icing on the football cake last weekend Celtic overturned Rangers at Hamden Park making it, for me, a perfect weekend in football terms. Man United, English FA Cup winners, Celtic, Scottish Cup winners. I rest my case but in that order.

Caoimhin O’Muraile is Independent Socialist Republican and Marxist.

Oh Dear What Can the Matter Be

Peter Anderson ⚽ It was inevitable really. 

The away game at Spurs last Tuesday was the decider as everyone predicted. City were awful in the first half, like they have been for many minutes in many matches this season, but in the second half it took one pass from KdB to split the defence and leave The Viking with a tap in from half a yard. Spurs had a chance to equalise but Ortega saved when Son looked odds on to score. A few minutes later and Doku wins a penalty and there was a universal sigh of relief from City fans worldwide.

West Ham were never going to trouble City at the Etihad on Sunday.

Within 79 seconds Foden had put City on course to win Pep's 6th title in the last 7 seasons, and his 4th in a row. A feat never before accomplished in English football. With this victory Pep has secured his place as the greatest manager in EPL history with 6 leagues and one Champions League and numerous FA and Carabao Cups, and don't forget a World Club Cup, all inside 8 years. A treble last season and 4-in-a-row this season demonstrate that this side have something special. Sadly predictable are the taunts of cheating. I understand.

It winds people up that one team dominate, but have they not heard of "innocent until proven otherwise"? It seems not. And if they are guilty of any of the charges, what exactly are they guilty of? Accused of corruption by the most corrupt sporting authorities on the planet smacks of desperation. United have spent more than City in recent years and have finished mid-table. Money doesn't buy titles. City have spent wisely and built excellence. They attracted the best manager in modern football and backed him. The sad sack haters will be pleased to see Pep leave, probably at the end of next season when his current contract runs out. Then it will be someone else's turn to dominate, and the haters will hate them.

Peter Anderson is a Unionist with a keen interest in sports

A Feat Never Before Accomplished In English Football

Peter Anderson ⚽ And so it all comes down to the Spurs v City game on Tuesday night, as expected.

City thumped Fulham on Saturday with Gvardiol getting a double. The centre-half turned "wing-forwardish type player" has been a revelation of late, regularly popping up with goals and assists and striking up a great relationship with Foden on the City left. At the start of the season he looked out of place and was prone to giving the ball away, but Pep worked closely with him and said that the penny finally dropped around Christmas. City's form has followed Gvardiol's.

Another of the new recruits who has finally worked out exactly what Pep wants is Kovacic. He now looks so comfortable playing beside Rodri. Meanwhile, Arsenal then beat a useless United team 0-1 despite not playing well, setting up Tuesday night's crucial game.

The question now is whether or not City can beat Spurs in London, something they haven't done in the league since Spurs moved into their new stadium. Much has been made of Spur's dominance of this fixture, but there are caveats. Firstly, City won there this season in the FA Cup. And secondly, it wasn't really that Spurs beat City, rather it was Kane who beat City, with MoM performances in all of those games.

Whether showing his extraordinary range of passing from deep or finishing off counter-attacks, he put City to the sword with such ease and delight that it must be noted that he is no longer at the club.

Sure they still have the tools in the box to score against City and if they score first it will be a super difficult game, but I don't feel that the jinx will play a part like in previous years.

The neutrals will be hoping for a draw. Then, it will come down to goal difference on the final day, with The Gunners at home to Everton and City at home to West Ham. City would need to score 3 more goals than Arsenal to equal their goal difference, but win it on their superior goals scored. With Arsenal's history of bottling and Everton's ability to grind out clean sheets, it may not be done and dusted for the Gunners if City do draw agianst Spurs.

I have said from the start of the season that City have been a long way off their best, but at the business end of the season they are in the FA Cup final and will take the EPL to the last day. Another remarkable performance from Pep. But not so good for the league in general. Last season's top two will be unchanged and the three promoted will be the three relegated, making the league look less competitive than it has done in a long time. 

Competitive or not, Tuesday's game will be a cracker and watched all around the world.
 
Peter Anderson is a Unionist with a keen interest in sports

City Closing In

Peter Anderson ⚽ There's no doubt about the team of the year in 2023. 

City beating Fluminense in the final of the Club World Cup sealed an extraordinary year for my team. That's 5 trophies this year, FA Cup, EPL, UCL, Super Cup and Club Worlds. The UCL being the highlight, the must win, the cherry on top, the "Pep's a shit manager if he doesn't win it" cup.

The interesting thing about Fluminense was that they played out from the back with incredible balls and skill. All the top sides are at it now and this may be Pep's lasting legacy to world football. I remember when he took over at Barça and made his team play out from the back at all times. They were playing in Pep's first El Clásico at the Bernabéu and Victor Valdes was having a 'mare. After several mistakes and near misses his nerves were shot and the crowd were raucous, but still Pep insisted they play out from the back. The Spanish "pro-madridista" commentators were having a field day slagging Pep off. In his post match interview he was unrepentant, insisting his side will always play like that and so will just have to get better at it. He has since relented a tad, and if the team is under immense pressure they can give the ball the laces up the pitch, but this insistence and his dedication to possession football has been a game changer in the world game.

As is his high press. Teams have pressed high long before Pep arrived, but with his sides they have 6 seconds after losing the ball to regain it, and they must all contribute to the winning back of that precious ball. After winning it back they will pass it around while everyone calms their heart rate. This makes his sides so difficult to beat.

What he has achieved is just incredible and it is now looking ominous for the other sides in the EPL.

Before going to the Club World Cup he was asked in an interview if he feared being 12 points behind Liverpool and Arsenal when he returned.

Two games after the return and City are 2 points behind Liverpool and Arsenal (before the LFC v NCFC game). Arsenal's wheels have well and truly came off taking just 4 points from the last 15. While Liverpool face a nightmare January, playing Arsenal away in the FA Cup and league, Chelsea, Newcastle and Bournemouth in the league and 2 League cup semi-final games against Fulham. In the same period City have just 3 games, one of those is Huddersfield in the cup, and they plan a winter training camp in Dubai. Add to this the news that KdB, Haaland and Doku are ready to return and you would have to bet that City will take their 4th EPL in a row.

I still have my doubts. I think there will be many twists and turns still to come. City have looked very flat in numerous games this season, so nothing is written in stone just yet. Gundo has been a huge loss, and we don't know how KdB will have been affected by the injury and how his form and fitness will be in the run in. That being said, who would bet against City now?

A Happy New Year to all you Quillers, and a big thanks to all who read and comment on the weekly blogs.

Peter Anderson is a Unionist with a keen interest in sports

Team Of The Year

Peter Anderson ⚽ This week saw the announcement that Everton will be deducted 10 points in the EPL, effectively dropping them into the relegation zone for a breach of the “Break-even Laws”. 

UEFA and the EPL set up their own Financial Fair Play (FFP) laws after the shambles that was Leeds United and Deportivo La Coruña in the early noughties. Both clubs got into massive debt problems which saw them relegated and desperate to sell off top players at bargain prices to ward off the debt collectors. This intervention was all more than welcome.

Too many unscrupulous investors got into football for money and glory, borrowed a small fortune and lost it all and more. The outcome is always that the real supporters suffer the most. Everton have over spent by £19m in the last 3 year period and so have to take their punishment. If ever there was a good year to lose 10 points it is this one, as there are 3 awful clubs in the league who will almost certainly finish as the bottom three.

As soon as the Everton news broke, the pundits were anticipating the punishment that Man City will get, if and when they are found guilty of their alleged breach of FFP rules. Liverpool, Man U and Arsenal all want City relegated, as they say any fine would be meaningless and point deductions would not cause any jeopardy.

But City’s case highlights the flaw at the heart of FFP which makes it such a dubious set of rules. The world and his wife knows that FFP was waved through as it helped to preserve the domination of the “big clubs”. Essentially Real, Bayern and Man U were worried about the rise of PSG and Chelsea then City. We can argue all day long about whether Abu Dhabi are fit and proper owners of an EPL team, or who precisely should be able to own a British football team, but what can not be argued about is their commitment to City and to the community in East Manchester in general. They have invested heavily in Man City, created unparalleled facilities and opportunities for kids’ and women’s football in the area. They have not mortgaged the club and let the stadium rot like our neighbours. City have reported revenue of £713m for last year, the biggest ever in the EPL.

I staunchly believe that clubs should not be able to borrow beyond their means, and that fit and proper persons laws should be strict and powerful, but tell me please, how exactly what City has done is bad for football or for East Manchester? City haven’t gambled borrowed money nor mortgaged the club to line their own pockets, just taken league titles off Man U, Liverpool and Arsenal. Maybe City have broken the law, but the law’s an ass in this case.

Peter Anderson is a Unionist with a keen interest in sports

Financial Fair Play

Peter Anderson ⚽ So, about 25 years ago I was in Connemarra for the weekend with Her Indoors. 

On the Saturday evening we went to a pub for some grub and a wee feed of the black stuff. On the pub TV was a Man City match. I think it was against Birmingham in the Championship or League One.

Being a footy hater, Her Indoors wasn't too happy! I got caught multiple times sneaking a peak.

Since losing the '81 FA Cup final, City were on a downward spiral.

Getting relegated or promoted was an almost annual event. It seemed like we were in a different league every season. I actually quite enjoyed being in the lower leagues as we were the big fish in the small pond. We still were getting 30,000 at Maine Rd and we were the team to beat, which we frequently were. Another benefit was that I could watch the EPL as a complete neutral, having no skin in the game.

Those days are long gone.

We are now (arguably) the best club on the planet. We have the best manager, a fantastic facility at the Etihad, owners who know what they want and how to get it and an executive (Begiristain and Sorriano) that is best in class. On Sunday we were not at our best against a rampant Chelsea on their home pitch, yet still we scored four times and walked away with a point. The match was an EPL classic. Well done to Chelsea for their stellar performance.

I was convinced this season would be an epic fail. I expected post Treble-itis and losing Gundo and Mahrez, and KdB to injury, would see us struggle, yet we have reached the November International break at the top of the league and are the first team to qualify for the last 16 in the UCL. The goal now is to win 4 EPLs in a row, a feat never done before and few will bet against it.

But for all the success, I know that I have to live in the moment because it won't last. Just like Liverpool in the 70s and 80s, and Man U in the 90s and 00s, it will all come to an end. We could end up in the lower leagues again, quite easily. Just ask Leeds or Forest fans.

And that would not be the end of the world. I just need to keep pinching myself that the club which 25 years ago was playing Stockport and Wycombe Wanderers will soon be representing Europe in the World Club Championship. I'll enjoy it while it lasts.

Peter Anderson is a Unionist with a keen interest in sports

Her Indoors

Peter Anderson ⚽ Happily, City are proving my pre-season prediction wrong. 

I thought a drop off after winning the Treble was inevitable. Just like after the season they went toe-to-toe with Liverpool and pipped them at the post, then couldn't get going the following season. 

The summer also saw the departures of Mahrez and Gundogan, with Laporte and Cancelo also heading for the door, as well as injuries to KdB and Stoner, and rumours of Walker and Bernardo Silva wanting out. Surely, I reasoned, they can't get off to a good start. This week, they faced Sevilla in the Super Cup in a 35c Athens, then 3 days later faced a superb Newcastle. Surely, a draw was the most we could hope for? After lifting the Super Cup, they put on a top quality performance to take all three points against Toon. 

Pep is next level genius. With KdB out until the new year, Foden got the nod in central midfield as the main creator. He produced a master class. He created 7 chances including Alvarez's winner. His nickname is the Stockport Iniesta and it's not without merit, he is in the same class as the Spaniard on the half turn. The only question is whether he can keep it up until at least when KdB returns.

Another fantastic performance was given by Kovacic. He seems comfortable already playing with Rodri, and for the first time in a City shirt he went on forward dribbles, breaking the line. It would be churlish to say that Gundo won't be missed, but if Kovacic continues in this way we will have a more than adequate replacement. 

A special mention must also be made for Akanji. Last season, after Cancelo fell out with Pep, Stones was moved to left back but played a special role in midfield when City had the ball. With Stones injured, Akanji was asked to fulfil that role against Newcastle and he was pretty much flawless. In an interview after the game, he commented that it was the 5th position he has been asked to play in under Pep. The €15m signing from Dortmund has proved to be such a wonderful acquisition to the squad.

Which brings me to arguably City's most important signings of the past 10 years: Txiki Begiristain and Ferran Soriano, City's DoF and CEO respectively. The phenomenal success at City has been built on their foundations. When you see the problems at Liverpool and Man U, one can't get the right players in and the other can't get the dead wood out, you appreciate a decade of almost perfect transfer dealings.

So, in a season where I thought City would not compete, I have changed my mind. I still think Arsenal are favourites but nothing, absolutely nothing, is beyond Pep's City.

Peter Anderson is a Unionist with a keen interest in sports

Pep's City Looking Good

Peter Anderson ⚽ Thank god that's over. 

The pressure on City to win the Champions League was immense. Add to that that it was for a treble and you will understand the sense of relief. I kind of hoped that Arsenal would run away with the league so we could concentrate on the UCL, but in the end it was not to be, and an epic treble was won. The game, like most finals, was pretty drab by City standards. Like last week's FA Cup Final, Inter were never really in it nor never really out of it. Also, like last week, Inter had a few good chances that they failed to take.

Lukaku showing why nobody really wants him by missing a sitter of a free header. At the end of it all, City won the treble fairly easily but Arsenal, Man U and Inter could and should have made it a lot, lot harder. The outcome of it all for Pep is that he can finally be acknowledged as the best coach in world football right now and he will go on to become the greatest in history. It is suspected that after City he will go into international football with Brazil or Argentina.

If he were to win the World Cup, he would reach legend status as the GOAT. For now, he has shut up the doubters. Like he has done from the start. In 2008 he took over the Barça job with much fanfare. His first game was against the minnows of Numancia. I remember going to watch it on TV with some mates in Madrid as it was the talk of Spain. Numancia won. The Madridista press were jubilant. It didn't last long. Barça went the next 20 games undefeated and won La Liga in some style. They also won the Copa del Rey and duffed Man U in the 2009 UCL final. A treble in Pep's first season. That August they also won the Supercopa España, European Supercup and later the World Club Cup. So, at the end of 2009, his first full year in management, he had won all 6 trophies that it was possible to win. He won two more La Ligas and another UCL by playing Sir AF's Man U off the park at Wembley in 2011. He won three German titles in a row with Munich before moving to City. His first season didn't go so well. City's 4 full-backs, Sagna, Clichy, Zabaleta and Kolarov were all over 30 and were not good enough to play the "Pep way". City ended the season trophyless and the madness began.

"Fraudiola" cried the gutter press. "Not good enough for English football" they said. "Pep had no idea what he would face in England" they mockingly exclaimed, as if he hadn't studied English football before he came, or spoke to Txiki and Soriano at length about English football. Since then, he has won 5 out of 6 Premier Leagues, 4 Carabao Cups, 2 FA Cups and one Champions League. But it took the Champions League victory for the doubters to be silenced. "Pep can't win the Champions League without Messi" one press wanker wrote last season.

Seriously? In 14 years of top flight management he has won 11 league titles, 3 Champions Leagues and 6 "FA" Cups, including 2 trebles, yet all this would be in question if City didn't beat Inter. Crazy or what! As Pep himself said "maybe now my 5 league titles will get the recognition they deserve". The bad news for the opposition is that he will be with City for the next 2 seasons.

Peter Anderson is a Unionist with a keen interest in sports

Pep The GOAT

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