I've seen this point made a few times but not sure it really holds up. Man City - 28 shots, 10 on target, 6 goals Tottenham - 26 shots, 8 on target, 0 goals Man City had a game where everything went right for them, Tottenham had one of those games where nothing went right. Man City got the rub of the green with offside goals, Spurs hit the woodwork and should have had at least one penalty. Both us and Swansea were completely dominated, in fact we had a bit more of a threat going forwards as they didn't have anything like the chances we had to score. We also had more of the ball and more corners. I don't buy that it was some sort of masterplan from Swansea and tactical naivete from us.
It was Doucoure who took a couple of steps back to allow Silva a free run, but I agree Mapps could have done more in covering Janmaat. He didn't do enough to close Jesus down, he basically jockeyed him in the anticipation Jesus would run at him rather than pass. Had Mapps gone towards him he would have left a space in behind and would have been vulnerable had Jesus run at him instead of passing, which possibly why he did what he did. What I don't understand is why Doucoure didn't track Silva's run and actually took a couple of steps backwards. However, Doucoure is a young player who is having a great season. Defence is not his primary position and at least he was there trying to help out, even if his actions were strange. This is why we need to invest in the defence. We have too many defenders that switch off at key moments, are constantly in the wrong position or make incorrect tactical decisions. They are decent players up to a certain point, but we do need better right across the back line.
My wife is regarded by my sons as a bad luck charm. She thinks we might have got a real thrashing if she'd gone
Funny thing is when Quique played that 4-6-0 formation against City and we still lost 2-0 I'm pretty sure the same people telling Silva to be pragmatic were saying "I'd rather go for it and lose 5-0!!" I, for one prefer Silva's way, don't ask me why.
If Wague was signed for back up but cannot even get a game ahead of Mariappa then there is really no point in him being here.
Er, maybe Swansea are better at blocking and shot stopping? Man City always look invincible about now until they get embarrassed by some tinpot team, which sadly is never us. Our purpose it seems is to make them look good.
Over the nearly 6 decades I've watched football it has always appeared that top teams get dodgy decisions in their favour against lesser teams. This observation is of course subjective and anecdotal, but the sheer length of time I've noticed indicates there might at least be something in it - perhaps it's just bias on my part. Perhaps, also, the speed, skill and organisation that bewilders the 'lesser'opposition also bewilders the officials: Not only do top teams play better, they also cheat better. Secondly, the equivocation and inconsistency that many tv pundits show towards application of the rules I find dismaying: If the 'experts' (ex-professionals) can't agree then there's something badly wrong. But this has been a bone of contention among all supporters seemingly forever. Why? I believe it's at least partly to promote tension, drama and argument. In other words it is deliberate - football as an entertainment, not as a sport. Suits the professionals and Sky, etc. Call me a conspiracy theorist if you like. Also should mention incompetence - there are plenty of stupid or cynical people in the World and that includes football. Plus football is global and huge - it's very difficult to get agreement across the entire World, with its multiple cultures and criteria. I'm still mug enough to watch it though.
Oh blast! Sorry everyone I fear this maybe the case,although they had served us well until then. I think I may also have got my underwear selection wrong and will be addressing this topic later in the week, in preparation for Saturday. Please advise sock colour for Saturday. I have black,white,purple,yellow,grey ( usual tennis length) and shoe height variety.
The thing is with Pereya and Zarate in the squad it's exactly what we should have done, both can keep/win the ball and both carry a threat. Gray for all his effort showed little of either.
Both Doucoure and Chalobah had none of their usual swagger. They were crowded by city players at alarming intensity every time they had the ball and as a result were completely nullified. I'd say Kabasele looked as bad, if not worse than Mariappa. He was completely out of his depth in that game. He's our fastest and most mobile defender, yet his positioning was so bad that he was constantly in no position to defend. Rich and Carillo showed real quality at times, but u fortunately they needed a striker of similar capability to link with. Gray is so limited that when possession and space is at a premium, as yesterday, he offers nothing
One thing nobody mentioned which I noticed as I was sitting in line with the defence for their fourth goal was that Holebas, just before the cross came in looked over his shoulder to give the linesman his usual 'look' about a possible (actually nowhere near) offside in the passage of play immediately preceding the cross. If he didn't do that he would have seen the cross coming in a lot earlier and would have been a lot closer to Otamendi. I like Holebas as a player but the way we constantly moans and stares at the linesman is infuriating.
