Hang On! Where's The Football?

One of my good friends is a Manchester City fan and before start of 2006/07 season I listened to him talk up Man City a lot. Granted he had some lofty aspirations for his side, that's what been a supporter is all about, but I had Manchester City finishing amongst the top 10 teams in the league. Fast forward to today and we have Man City in the midst of a relegation battle, six points adrift from the drop zone. Granted they have two games in hand but their current display does not guarantee victories. What even more baffling than City's poor run of form is trying to figure out the cause. Whom do you point the finger at? The players or the coach? Merely looking at the roaster City have better quality than quite a few sides in the EPL - Wigan, Watford, Reading, Boro and the injury hit Magpies to name a few, so that can't be the sole reason. Stuart Pearce is just as fiery and passionate for the game as I've ever seen me so he too can't be solely be the problem.

I believe City's decline can be pegged to a mixture of acquisition that have turned up duds and players not responding to the coach as they used too. What is very apparent from Manchester City's decline is their lack of firepower up front. Vassel is an aging forward who although does not lack speed to have defenders on their back foot,he does however lacks that killer instinct that has served him well in years past. The signing that was supposed to alleviated City striking concerns has been a bust all season, Bernardo Corradi has only managed to polish is ability in disappearing from the field of play once the whistle is blown for kick-off. The other players also are not void of blame as they contimously fail to string passes that last more than three touches, defenders ball watch and midfield fail to place balls at their strikers feet or construct attacking plays. You see Pierce barking orders from the sidelines but it seems as though the fall on deaf ears and the players remain sluggish and uninspiring on the pitch.

Most evident of all this has got to be the FA Cup tie with Blackburn Rovers. Up a man and with 20 mins of play left City could not even muster any good attacking threats. Worse even than the fact they allowed a goal to a ten man side was how they let a goal in. It was a sorry sight as you have four players forgetting their defensive assignments and swarming over one player who then slotted a sweet pass around them to an open man for the goal. I did not need to be a lip reader to understand the colourful words fans were spewing towards the players and coach.

But as with most sports it is the manager who pays the price for poor performance, but I do hope this is not the case for Stuart Pearce and he is given another chase...maybe a win at Chelsea will calm minds.

Maybe it's was preordained. How else would you explain United's win this against the scousers? Everything seemed to pile up against the Red Devils - they couldn't construct a cohesive attack, Liverpool threw everything but the kitchen sink at United's defense while having a lion share of possession for most of the game, Silvestre came on at left back, Rooney was sub-ed due to injury and the ginger ninja saw red. Then somehow O'Shea being at the right place at the right time slotted a deflected shot behind the net to deny Liverpool a much deserved point.

United in the last 3 games haven't played to the level we've become accustomed to see them but yet eeked out wins. This, depending on which side of the fence you belong, may be a good or bad thing but one thing is certain, winning games you have no business winning is a mark of a champion. This was how Chelsea won their first EPL under "the choosen one". Thought I am not hitting the panic button on United's form, they have been playing wonderful football all season and are due for a dip in form, but if they aspire to achieve another trebel this season they need to get off their funk and start playing like old because luck can only get you so far.

Laid back and flashing the familiar grin during games and in press conferences we see his confidence ever growing, yes the Gaffer is back to his old self. What a difference 6 points makes. Manchester United are in the driver's seat as they light the league ablaze with wonderful football keeping them in the top position since October. The Gaffer can even smile wider knowing he has a full strength squad at his disposal (a luxury he hasn’t experienced for quite a few seasons) which boasts a unique blend of veterans/youngsters partnerships that has yielded a cohesive unit void of any dressing fracas. His acquisitions also are paying dividend, Vidic and Evra who came in during last year’s transfer window are juggernauts in their respective positions and helping to compromise one of the stingiest defenses in the league. Carrick and Larsson, who came in during this year transfer windows, are helping to galvanise an offense that leads the league in goals scored.

The Gaffer is also saying the right things to the lads as he keeps them focused on the game at hand and not to bother what the chasers are doing or saying even. This is evident on the pitch, for much of last season we have seen the players continuously lose focus and inexplicably lose games they should have won but not so this season. Granted there are a few games when the lads fell asleep , games against Chelsea, Arsenal and West Ham come to mind, but in the broader spectrum of things the lads have been mistake free. If United keep their current form, keep bagging games that on paper they are suppose to and stay injury free *knocking on wood* the premiership will be their's for the taking.

Lack of creativity, drive, tactical ingenuity were what came to mind in watching the England performance against Spain. The performance was reminiscent of the Three Lions under Ericksson, but then again McClaren worked under him. McClaren promised a new beginning under his new regime but what we've gotten so far is football lacking any form of attacking flair or creativity and England sitting third in it's weak qualifying group. To top that off he's wasting the multitude of England talents at his disposal be it in his playing people off their position, neglecting to select deserving players into the squad and leaving people undeserving in the squad. I realise the Spain tie was just a friendly, a game where you try new things and new formations but I ask, how many friendlies do you need to realize that Fat Frank and Gerrard can not play together or Jermine Dofoe & Peter Crouch are not a good partnership up front. You'd think these friendlies would be used to access the English talents coming up ranks by giving them starts in the senior line up but some how this rational thinking evades McClaren as he continues to make everyone question the validity of his appointment.

McClaren needs to be remember that he is FIRST a manager so he should act as such.He also should stop being the players friend, avoiding the tough decision and start benchinh some starters and making every position contestible, as the competition will bring the best out of everyone. Also, for all that is right in this world bench Fat Frank!

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