Now were out of the title race (swear to god if someone comes on here an says were still in the race i'll go mental)
We're still in the title race.
Were out the league, we are on the verge of going out of Europe, at the moment i can't see us winning the f.a cup either. If we finish outside the top 4 this season i can't begin to say how much of an effect that will have on us finacially. Im s'hitting myself. Maybe im being dramatic but i can see us becoming the next Leeds with these 2 c'unts running the club.
Get your chin up fella. When things are going bad it's all too easy to emphasize the possibility of things getting worse. Given that we're in a bad situation with the disgraceful owners, things can and will improve on the pitch.
Fair enough, we do struggle up front when Torres is missing. That's plain to see and I don't disagree. But a good thing about yesterdays game was a goal coming from a defender at a set piece. When was the last time a defender scored a goal for us? Probably Johnson, but from a set piece? I might be wrong, but it could possibly be a goal from Big Sami!
What I'm saying is this might hopefully boost our confidence and the players who don't usually offer a goal threat, at set pieces. Because the confidence in our team is shot deep down. When we scored that first goal, it was heartbreaking to see the players suddenly be more concerned about conceding rather than go for the jugular.
Anything that can be taken to boost our lads confidence should be used and emphasized. It was a small factor, but they all add up at the end of the day.
Another point about the final third thing. I think you're asking a lot of Ngog to play up top on his todd when the confidence of the team is not in a good state. Once we scored that first goal yesterday, the midfield was camped out in or around our own half. Passes started going astray and long balls started going straight back to their keeper or defence.
If you've played football yourself, then you know if you go about ten/fifteen minutes without touching the ball, your instinct makes you want to do something really good with it when you finally receive it. Now I think Ngog is alright. He's no Torres but he's showing signs of being a slippery character in or around the box. But he's young and pretty much inexperienced. If he gets isolated up front, he's not going to be thinking straight and will need support.
This needs addressing when we're without Torres. It further needs addressing when January comes. And the burden shouldn't just be on Torres by the way. Before a game, the first thing I do when I see the team is look to where the goal threats will come from. It's upsetting that it's usually no more than four players - in some cases five.
More players need to be chipping in.
For what I quoted though:
1) It's certainly looking likely that we're out of the title race. But it's not impossible.
2) Europe is no longer in our hands. But it's not impossible to go through.
3) We haven't even got started in the FA Cup yet, so there's a very good chance we could win it. Just like everyone else in a knock out competition.
4) The league ends in May - just over six months away. Plenty of time to improve the confidence, get players fit and get on a winning run. And that is very possible.
We've got to get our chins up and stop licking our wounds. We are gradually, small step by step getting better on the field. Nothing drastic has changed on the pitch. We're just missing the confidence and a solid regular first team.
There's no doubt we need very good additions to the squad and things to improve off the pitch, but for the time being, we've got to soldier on together.
how many times did Ireland find space between the back four and Masch/Lucas.
The goal Ireland scored, he walked into the box without one of our midfielders anywhere near him. Wright-Phillips' shot in the first half was left by Ireland, again with him in open space.
Ireland was the one midfielder for them constantly breaking to support the forward(s) and our two holding midfielders were nowhere near him when he did so.
Very true. And he's a very good player him. He deserves credit for the graft he puts in on the attack. The sad fact is, you won't get that with Lucas and Mascherano in our engine room.
I can understand why hardcoresoldier thought Mascherano was strong though. He did put the graft in, but unfortunately, we made things easier for City when we scored our first goal. We made them look better than they are, with the exception of Ireland.
