I’m pretty shocked at how devoid of ideas we looked on Sunday. I think the extra games each week are finally beginning to have an impact on the squad, and yesterday in a game where we were up against a fully rested Liverpool side it was displayed for all to see. Liverpool had much more fight and urgency about them throughout the game and danced around as our tired legs stumbled on the Anfield surface.
Thinking about it, I suppose we could have come away with three points if Lescott hadn’t been where he was, but it’s a mistake and we can move on. Joleon’s finally getting to the top of his game, so getting on his back won’t help. I think we all know that Lescott is one of England’s best centre-backs, and this mistake doesn’t make him any less of a defender than he was last week.
I thought Joe Hart was our Man of the Match. Some of his saves in the dying seconds were outstanding. In fact, that save from Andy Carroll could be one of the saves of the season. It was incredibly similar to his save from Tottenham’s Steven Pienaar last season: as Joe fell to his right, he managed to thrust out an arm and throw his body weight back in the other direction to make the save. Who says we don’t have a world-class shot shopper between the sticks?
Outfield, our best option was probably Clichy. Normally I’d expect to be lauding Silva, Aguero or Yaya, but they were almost non-existent in the second half. Clichy did brilliantly to get forward and swing balls over. Some of his crosses reminded me of Kolarov’s “crossing”, but when Gael connects with a cross you’re almost certain that a chance will come at the end of it.
Now – the sending off. How? Just how? How, when he’s been so wonderfully well behaved, does Balotelli go from hero to zero in 18 minutes? I guess he’s the only person in the world that can do that. Some could argue that his reputation precedes him, but you can’t jump into someone with your arm up and expect to stay on the field afterwards if you’re already on a yellow? I’m not exactly getting sick of Balotelli (I love him), but I fear that Mancini may be losing patience with him. Thankfully Balotelli, along with Barry, will only miss the League Cup quarter-final against Arsenal on Tuesday but it’s a selection headache Mancini would rather not have.
Even though that was our worst performance of the season so far, you have to just look at the Premier League table and raise a smile; we’re still five points clear, we’re still far ahead of everyone else and we’re still unbeaten. Our form in all competitions has taken a tiny bit of a dent, but regular services should resume on Tuesday – and if not then, at home to Norwich next Saturday. Norwich have only won once away this season, while we sit on a 100% record at home.
Cheers.
Thinking about it, I suppose we could have come away with three points if Lescott hadn’t been where he was, but it’s a mistake and we can move on. Joleon’s finally getting to the top of his game, so getting on his back won’t help. I think we all know that Lescott is one of England’s best centre-backs, and this mistake doesn’t make him any less of a defender than he was last week.
I thought Joe Hart was our Man of the Match. Some of his saves in the dying seconds were outstanding. In fact, that save from Andy Carroll could be one of the saves of the season. It was incredibly similar to his save from Tottenham’s Steven Pienaar last season: as Joe fell to his right, he managed to thrust out an arm and throw his body weight back in the other direction to make the save. Who says we don’t have a world-class shot shopper between the sticks?
Outfield, our best option was probably Clichy. Normally I’d expect to be lauding Silva, Aguero or Yaya, but they were almost non-existent in the second half. Clichy did brilliantly to get forward and swing balls over. Some of his crosses reminded me of Kolarov’s “crossing”, but when Gael connects with a cross you’re almost certain that a chance will come at the end of it.
Now – the sending off. How? Just how? How, when he’s been so wonderfully well behaved, does Balotelli go from hero to zero in 18 minutes? I guess he’s the only person in the world that can do that. Some could argue that his reputation precedes him, but you can’t jump into someone with your arm up and expect to stay on the field afterwards if you’re already on a yellow? I’m not exactly getting sick of Balotelli (I love him), but I fear that Mancini may be losing patience with him. Thankfully Balotelli, along with Barry, will only miss the League Cup quarter-final against Arsenal on Tuesday but it’s a selection headache Mancini would rather not have.
Even though that was our worst performance of the season so far, you have to just look at the Premier League table and raise a smile; we’re still five points clear, we’re still far ahead of everyone else and we’re still unbeaten. Our form in all competitions has taken a tiny bit of a dent, but regular services should resume on Tuesday – and if not then, at home to Norwich next Saturday. Norwich have only won once away this season, while we sit on a 100% record at home.
Cheers.
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