For exactly 100 games now, Manchester City have been going about things the right way.
The constant criticisms of negative defensive football are steadily dissipating.
For the last season and a half, Roberto Mancini has spent his time building from the back, focusing on defensive duties first.
Teaching his ‘team’ how to play as a team.
Slowly but surely he has started to let his team off their leash.
And on Sunday - they exploded.
Against the second best team in the world - Manchester United.
Who’ve reached 3 of the last 4 Champions League finals.
Won 4 of the last 5 Premier League titles.
Yet Manchester City managed to beat them 6-1 in their own backyard.
The 6 goals were not actually the impressive part.
In reality, they were 3-1 up against ten men in the 90th minute.
It was the fact that United had dropped only 2 points at home in the whole of last season.
And suddenly City had taken 3 points off them.
By starting to produce some of the best football seen in the Premier League since it began.
City are on course to overtake Arsenal as the critics favourite footballing side.
For years now Critics have labelled the talented North London side as the best in England.
But while Arsenal were thrilling us with their attacking flair, United and Chelsea were busy lifting trophies.
Beautiful on the eye yet ultimately no substance.
However, Man City are not trying to emulate Arsenal.
They’re aiming much higher than that.
Roberto is building a team full of style and substance.
A team that has just managed to topple the Champions in their own back yard after all.
And when you beat the second best team in the world - there’s only one team you can go after.
Barcelona.
A team they are fast becoming like, but - whisper it - more attacking.
The City formation may well go on to become as synonymous as the Ajax formation the way things are building.
The Barcelona way is to have 4 defensive players, 3 link players and 3 attackers.
City have gone with 4 attackers.
The 4 defenders defend, get the ball to the 2 link players in midfield and in turn they just look for an attacker.
Any attacker.
They all play the same.
Silva, Balotelli, Aguero, Tevez, Dzeko, Nasri, Milner, Johnson.
All can play anywhere across the front four.
All do.
Barcelona use 3 attackers that can play anywhere - Messi, Pedro and Villa.
Roberto has gone with 1 more.
Neutrals should be licking their lips all over the world.
Here is a team, with ambitions of being the best in the world, going about this ambition in the right way.
Humility at management level.
Great handling of a parasite like Tevez.
Even the fans - so long telling us they are the real fans in Manchester - have invented their own unique celebration.
They’re loving every minute of it.
So should we.
And now they are going after Barcelona.
With 1 more attacker in hand.
So good luck City.
We’re all behind you.
Except for Barcelona...
The constant criticisms of negative defensive football are steadily dissipating.
For the last season and a half, Roberto Mancini has spent his time building from the back, focusing on defensive duties first.
Teaching his ‘team’ how to play as a team.
Slowly but surely he has started to let his team off their leash.
And on Sunday - they exploded.
Against the second best team in the world - Manchester United.
Who’ve reached 3 of the last 4 Champions League finals.
Won 4 of the last 5 Premier League titles.
Yet Manchester City managed to beat them 6-1 in their own backyard.
The 6 goals were not actually the impressive part.
In reality, they were 3-1 up against ten men in the 90th minute.
It was the fact that United had dropped only 2 points at home in the whole of last season.
And suddenly City had taken 3 points off them.
By starting to produce some of the best football seen in the Premier League since it began.
City are on course to overtake Arsenal as the critics favourite footballing side.
For years now Critics have labelled the talented North London side as the best in England.
But while Arsenal were thrilling us with their attacking flair, United and Chelsea were busy lifting trophies.
Beautiful on the eye yet ultimately no substance.
However, Man City are not trying to emulate Arsenal.
They’re aiming much higher than that.
Roberto is building a team full of style and substance.
A team that has just managed to topple the Champions in their own back yard after all.
And when you beat the second best team in the world - there’s only one team you can go after.
Barcelona.
A team they are fast becoming like, but - whisper it - more attacking.
The City formation may well go on to become as synonymous as the Ajax formation the way things are building.
The Barcelona way is to have 4 defensive players, 3 link players and 3 attackers.
City have gone with 4 attackers.
The 4 defenders defend, get the ball to the 2 link players in midfield and in turn they just look for an attacker.
Any attacker.
They all play the same.
Silva, Balotelli, Aguero, Tevez, Dzeko, Nasri, Milner, Johnson.
All can play anywhere across the front four.
All do.
Barcelona use 3 attackers that can play anywhere - Messi, Pedro and Villa.
Roberto has gone with 1 more.
Neutrals should be licking their lips all over the world.
Here is a team, with ambitions of being the best in the world, going about this ambition in the right way.
Humility at management level.
Great handling of a parasite like Tevez.
Even the fans - so long telling us they are the real fans in Manchester - have invented their own unique celebration.
They’re loving every minute of it.
So should we.
And now they are going after Barcelona.
With 1 more attacker in hand.
So good luck City.
We’re all behind you.
Except for Barcelona...
This whole post was written on the premise that people have accepted money is in football and is not going away. Like it or loathe it, big clubs buying teams as opposed to growing them is now synonymous with football but of course doesn't guarantee success. Liverpool have spent far more than Manchester United (Gross and Net) in the Premier League and comparisons of success is purportless. Tottenham spending far more than Arsenal - another such case.
ReplyDeleteman city will never play as well as arsenal have under wenger. they may win more but they wont play as attrctive as the best aresenal side of the last 10 years. never
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