The draw has been draw and Manchester City is to face Barcelona FC... Again. After an impressive fight against The strong Bayern Munich and an impressive win against AS Roma, we are to play one of the greatest teams of all time.
This is the second time Manchester City is meeting Barcelona in the last sixteen. Barcelona won the last one. A controversial decision to award a penalty instead of a free kick did not go down well with Coach Pellegrini. We lost the game and Coach Pellegrini got suspended for showing his disappointment.
We can not deny that Barcelona was the better side and the CityZens would have lost with or without the poor decision of the referee.
Manchester City started poorly this season in their champions league campaign. It looked like another disappointing season in Europe. However, Manchester City pulled off an impressive late display against Bayern Munich and beat them at Germany. The last group game against AS Roma was also impressive. The recent results shows that Coach Pellegrini has been able to find out some reasons why Manchester City were not doing well. Their recent results shows a team growing in confidence.
Mangala was disappointing. His poor form also led to weaknesses in our defence. Recently, Mangala has shown improvement in his game. Mangala's game play improved and his positioning has improved. A lot of Manchester City fans believe Mangala was the east player in our game against Leicester City. That tells a lot of how much growth Mangala has shown.
The victory against Roma showed a team that has learnt from their mistakes. A team that knows how to fix a problem.
No doubt, Barcelona FC have classy players and they know how to show up in big occasions. I expect a tough game. This Manchester City team is ready for the big challenge. Manchester City can compete with the likes of Real Madrid, Barcelona and Bayern Munich in performance. Delivering results in games like this is important.
The biggest strength of the CityZens lie in our confidence. Winning Barcelona will be a big boost in our confidence. The recent results show growth in confidence. If our form continue, then we should expect an entertaining match.
I am not saying beating Barcelona will be easy. I am saying this is a time the hard work and belief can pay.
Monday, 15 December 2014
Thursday, 11 December 2014
Mangala Is Going To Be Great
I have been watching Mangala closely. He is a player bought with a lot of money and people expected him to pick up immediately. One thing people missed is that, Coach Pellegrini plays an open attractive game. If Mangala has walked into a side like Chelsea which protects their back four a lot. Mangala would have looked classy.
Remember how poor the great John Terry looked under Andre Villas-Boas. The open attractive game pattern affected John Terry. That is the same way the total change in playing style is affecting Mangala. Mangala's game is good. His marking is nice. His team play has been exceptional. His tackling and clearances have been good. His only weakness is positional decisions in a new system which affects the way he looks.
If Mangala gets his positioning right in this system, Manchester City will have a gem in their hands. Mangala has the potential of becoming one of the best defenders in the World. I believe Coach Pellegrini will get it right with the team.
It is nice Mangala had a great game against Roma. It does not mean there was a sharp rise in the system. He played with Fernando and Fernandinho which protected the back four. If Yaya was there, there would have been more pressure on the defence. So we should not get too excited and watch closely as Mangala develops.
He needs time to master the system and he will come good.
Remember how poor the great John Terry looked under Andre Villas-Boas. The open attractive game pattern affected John Terry. That is the same way the total change in playing style is affecting Mangala. Mangala's game is good. His marking is nice. His team play has been exceptional. His tackling and clearances have been good. His only weakness is positional decisions in a new system which affects the way he looks.
If Mangala gets his positioning right in this system, Manchester City will have a gem in their hands. Mangala has the potential of becoming one of the best defenders in the World. I believe Coach Pellegrini will get it right with the team.
It is nice Mangala had a great game against Roma. It does not mean there was a sharp rise in the system. He played with Fernando and Fernandinho which protected the back four. If Yaya was there, there would have been more pressure on the defence. So we should not get too excited and watch closely as Mangala develops.
He needs time to master the system and he will come good.
It is time for the CityZens to embrace a five man midfield
The Manchester City Game against Roma showed that Manchester City can cope without Yaya You're when he departs for the African Cup of Nations. No doubt, Yaya has been immense to the club but I feel he is a defensive liability. He adds to the team in other ways. His simple passes, his long balls. His breath taking runs and his sublime finishing.
Yaya Toure is up there with the greats of today's football game. I feel he has gotten bored of the defensive role and prefers contributing to the number of goals the club scored.
In the game against QPR, Coach Pellegrini listed a five man midfield with Yaya, Fernando and Fernandinho. With this kind of formation, Fernando and Fernandinho can shield the defence and Yaya can play as a box to box midfielder with the liability to attack. This will give Yaya less defensive concern and allow him focus on his offensive play.
I hope Coach Pellegrini experiments with the 4-5-1 formation in more games. I see this working.
It is nice the Cityzens made it out of such a tough group in the Champions league. I hope we get a favorable draw and I pray the form continues.
Yaya Toure is up there with the greats of today's football game. I feel he has gotten bored of the defensive role and prefers contributing to the number of goals the club scored.
In the game against QPR, Coach Pellegrini listed a five man midfield with Yaya, Fernando and Fernandinho. With this kind of formation, Fernando and Fernandinho can shield the defence and Yaya can play as a box to box midfielder with the liability to attack. This will give Yaya less defensive concern and allow him focus on his offensive play.
I hope Coach Pellegrini experiments with the 4-5-1 formation in more games. I see this working.
It is nice the Cityzens made it out of such a tough group in the Champions league. I hope we get a favorable draw and I pray the form continues.
Thursday, 13 November 2014
Sacking Coach Pellegrini Is Not The Answer
Coach Pellegrini did a lot for Manchester City in his first season. Let us get one thing straight. Liverpool did not the title to Manchester City. Sooner or later, Liverpool were going to slip. Why was Manchester City's loss to Crystal Palace not written as a gift?
It took Coach Pellegrini hardwork to get the team playing some of the best brand of football the club ever played.
We won the English Premier League and the Capital One Cup. That showed we have a good coach in our hands. We had some memorable games like the game we won Hull City woth a man down early in the game.
I will be first to admit that I feel we made mistakes in the transfer market. I am not saying I do not like the signings. Especially, Mangala and Fernando. However, I felt this was a good chance to introduce our going talents like Guidetti, Lopes, Iheanacho, Rekik, Zuculini etc. I thought that was the idea of bringing in a coach with his quality.
Coach Pellegrini developed going talents like Giuseppe Rossi and Isco. He can bring out the best in young talents. Instead, we spent millions buying players. We made the buys. We cannot afford the same mistakes.
Coach Pellegrini needs time and support. News flying around of him getting sacked is not good for the team. The management needs to announce and end the rumors. The management should end any negotiation (If any is going on) with Simeone or whoever.
The team is great. The pattern of football is lovely. There are just some loose ends that need fixing. Changing the system will not do the team good. That will be destroying the building to start again.
Coach Pellegrini will get us there if only he is given time.
It took Coach Pellegrini hardwork to get the team playing some of the best brand of football the club ever played.
We won the English Premier League and the Capital One Cup. That showed we have a good coach in our hands. We had some memorable games like the game we won Hull City woth a man down early in the game.
I will be first to admit that I feel we made mistakes in the transfer market. I am not saying I do not like the signings. Especially, Mangala and Fernando. However, I felt this was a good chance to introduce our going talents like Guidetti, Lopes, Iheanacho, Rekik, Zuculini etc. I thought that was the idea of bringing in a coach with his quality.
Coach Pellegrini developed going talents like Giuseppe Rossi and Isco. He can bring out the best in young talents. Instead, we spent millions buying players. We made the buys. We cannot afford the same mistakes.
Coach Pellegrini needs time and support. News flying around of him getting sacked is not good for the team. The management needs to announce and end the rumors. The management should end any negotiation (If any is going on) with Simeone or whoever.
The team is great. The pattern of football is lovely. There are just some loose ends that need fixing. Changing the system will not do the team good. That will be destroying the building to start again.
Coach Pellegrini will get us there if only he is given time.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)