Champions League Review

The knock-out stages of the UEFA Champions League are always met with great anticipation, even more so this season as the round of 16 kicked off with the small matter of Manchester United versus Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu. When the tie was drawn in late December, Sir Alex was quick to dub it the tie of the round and he wasn’t wrong as a pulsating encounter ensued. With both teams lining up in the fashionable 4-2-3-1 formation it looked, on paper at least, that we were in for a tight game. However what became clear as the early stages of the game progressed was that Sir Alex was operating an astute 6-4 formation with a very flat back four and two incredibly deep holding midfielders in Phil Jones and Michael Carrick, with an attacking midfield three of Wayne Rooney, Shinji Kagawa and Danny Welbeck with Robin Van Persie spearheading the attack. What had been forged here was the perfect counter attacking system, one which Mourinho had used several times in Inter Milan’s victorious UCL campaign in 2010.

De Gea

The game started with Madrid’s Angel Di Maria evading the challenges of Evra and Carrick to flash a shot just wide of the right hand post. Then on his first appearance against the club he left in 2009, Cristiano Ronaldo bamboozled Rafael down the United right and his cut back was met via a deflection off Ferdinand by Fabio Coentrao whose curling shot was magnificently tipped onto the post by David De Gea. All the early pressure was coming from the home side, so it was a shock to essentially everyone when United managed to get into Madrid’s half and win a corner. Rooney expertly delivered an in swinging corner which was met by the head of Danny Welbeck and against the run of play United had taken the lead, but more importantly they had a crucial away goal. 

Ronny 

Madrid responded instantaneously as Di Maria again found space and sent in a low drive which De Gea tipped round the post, Ronaldo then smashed the wall with a free kick but with the rebound he unleashed a rasping volley which flashed past the post. Then that man again Di Maria, curled a superb ball into the united box which was only bettered by Ronaldo’s emphatic header which beat the despairing dive of De Gea and tied the game up at one all. Both sides ended the first half with chances, firstly Kagawa and Van Persie linked up to cross for Welbeck whose improvised finish fell wide of the goal. At the other end Ozil latched onto a long ball and forced De Gea into a save at his near post. 

RVP goes close

The second half saw more of the same from Madrid with Ronaldo and Di Maria again going close, controversy then struck when Evra was seemingly brought down by the last man Varane but nothing was given to United’s dismay. Coentrao was then denied by an unorthodox save from De Gea, who remarkably got his leg up to prevent the Portuguese full back converting from Khedira’s centre. United finished the game with a flurry of chances, all falling to and being spurned by their expert marksman Robin Van Persie. He firstly smashed the bar with a right foot shot after being slipped in by Rooney, he then evaded the Madrid offside trap to beautifully bring the ball down from his chest only to scuff his finish and see Xabi Alonso clear off the line. His final chance saw his intelligent first touch allowing him to test the fingertips of Diego Lopez who tipped his shot around the post. 

Together again

Jose Mourinho was his usual self in the post-match interview saying, “We had a big chance when Fabio Coentrao hit the post. The first chance they had, they scored. In the second half, they played for the result. Now is our time to go Old Trafford. 1-1 is not a bad result and everything is open and we can score more than one goal”. Sir Alex praised the performance of David De Gea and also commented on Ronaldo’s performance, “I'm proud to see how he has flourished. I don't know how you describe a goal like that. I blamed Patrice Evra for not challenging him until I saw the replay. Then I felt a bit stupid”. 

Theo vs Van Buyten

The game that caught Europe’s imagination in the second round of knockout games was that of Bayern Munich’s trip to Arsenal. The Gunners and especially Arsene Wenger were under pressure to put in a performance after being dumped out of the F.A Cup by Blackburn. After resisting the urge for most of the season Wenger started Theo Walcott up front on his own, possibly hoping to take advantage of 35 year old Daniel Van Buytens lack of pace. Bayern had left mainstays from last season’s UCL campaign Arjen Robben and Mario Gomez on the bench. 

Tony Kroos - World class

From the off, the gulf in class was startling and as early as the 6^th minute Bayern were ahead after poor play from Arteta and Koscielny gave possession to the German league leaders, this allowed Ribery to find Muller on the right and his ball unintentionally made its way Kroos who hit a stinging half volley past Szczesny. After more Bayern possession a second followed on the 20 minute mark, the ever impressive Kroos curled over a corner and after breaking away from a ‘tree like’ Mertesacker, Van Buyten flicked a header towards goal which could only be parried by Szczesny and was pounced upon by Thomas Muller. 

As Bayern continued to look slick in possession, Arsenal were bereft of ideas with Walcott looking isolated up front and Ramsey continuously giving the ball away and as half time came, boos rang around the Emirates. The second half remarkably saw no changes for the Gunners, but despite this Lukas Podolski dragged them back into the game when a Wilshere corner evaded everyone allowing the German to head into an empty net. For twenty minutes and to everyone’s surprise Arsenal were back in the game and matching Munich, they nearly equalised when Walcott expertly controlled a long ball out wide and instantly crossed for Giroud, whose snap shot was parried by Neuer. Alas normality was then restored when Mandzukic held off Koscielny and laid the ball off for sub Robben, who spotted the overlap of Lahm and the Bayern captain, drove in a low cross which looped up off Mandzukic and into the net. 

It's all gone Pete Tong

Bayern had three away goals and the tie was virtually over, the mood in the Emirates was summed up when the cameras panned to DJ Pete Tong as if to confirm that it had indeed, ‘Gone wrong’. Almost on the verge of tears Jack Wilshere admitted that the Gunners started slowly and that the blame did not fall at Wenger’s door. Following the result some people have argued that German football could be overtaking the English game, I am of the opinion that it is more down to the fact that Arsenal and especially Arsene Wenger are and have been for several years on the decline.           

Reading vs Sheffield United F.A. Cup 4th Round

Reading

Federici

Kelly   Mariappa   Morrison   Shorey

McCleary   Leigertwood   Karacan   Robson-Kanu

Hunt   Le Fondre

Sheffield United

Long

McMahon   Maguire   Higginbotham   Westlake

Blackman   McDonald   Doyle   Murphy

Porter   Kitson

The Mad Stad

With giant killings here, there and everywhere on F.A Cup 4^th round weekend, Readings comprehensive 4-0 win over Sheffield United  was something of an anomaly. The ice and snow had passed through Reading earlier in the week and as a result the fans were treated to a slightly warmer walk to the ground, things soon got heated in the stadium as after early possession Nicky Shorey found Hal Robson-Kanu out wide on the left and his pinpoint cross was met by the head of Noel Hunt who beat Darryl Westlake in the air to put the Royals One up after five minutes.

The Away End

Despite being two divisions lower, it was the visitors who were controlling the game after the goal. The trickery of Nick Blackman was causing Reading’s back four all sorts of problems, he beat Shorey down the left and fizzed a ball across the goal line somehow evading everyone. On the other flank new signing Jamie Murphy was linking up well with former R’s man Dave Kitson and the two combined in the 35^th minute only for Federici to deny Murphy. It looked like it would only be a matter of when rather than if Sheffield United would equalise but as is the case often in football the opposite occurred, after good work from Garath McCleary down the right, Mikele Leigertwood picked up the ball and to cries of ‘shoot’ he duly obliged finding the top corner via a deflection off Kevin McDonald to send Brian McDermott’s men in 2-0 up at the break.

Kick Off

Sheffield United came out for the second half all guns blazing with both Blackman and Murphy causing the Reading fullbacks problems, in spite of their early pressure United found themselves three down after Garath McCleary knocked the ball past Westlake and eluded the pressure of Higginbotham and Doyle to cross for Hunt to scuff home and bag his second of the game. If that wasn’t bad enough it got even worse for the Blades as McCleary capped a fine display with a fantastic effort four minutes later. Nicky Shorey brought the ball out from defence and found Adam Le Fondre who in turn spread the ball out to McCleary who after an astute piece of skill found the bottom corner. 

Second Half

It was 4-0 and basically game over with over half an hour to go, so the Reading fans set on taunting the Blades fans with cries of, “Four nil on your big day out’ this to a team who had been in the Premier League with the Royals during the 2005/2006 season. In all fairness to Sheffield United they didn’t throw the towel in, both McMahon and Doyle had chances cleared off the line and substitute Ryan Flynn missed an absolute sitter late on. 

Full Time

In the end it was a professional display from the R’s with manager Brian McDermott conceding afterwards, "I don't think we did particularly well in the first half. We just weren't ourselves. I got a bit agitated, which is unusual for me, but we were much more clinical and efficient after, so we deserved to go through”. The Blades gaffer Danny Wilson said, "I think the score line was a bit flattering but they have taken their chances, we had as many chances but just didn't convert them." The draw for the fifth round was made on Sunday and saw the Royals paired with Manchester United, who having not won the competition since 2004 are determined to claim it again this season. 

January Transfer Window - Signings of the Season So far

With the Transfer Window open for business once again, there has been a lot of debate as to who has been the signing of the season so far. After rafting through the numerous transfers of last summer I've selected my top five Premier League signings of the season so far.

Snoddy

Number five on my list highlights the quality that can be found in the Championship. In recent years we have seen players such as DJ Campbell and Grant Holt make the jump from the Championship to the Premier League appear seamless. When Robert Snodgrass signed for Norwich from Leeds for the small fee of £3 million hardly anything was made of it, but after Norwich's poor start to the season Snodgrass has been one of the main reasons behind their upturn in form. With four goals and four assists so far this season, it is the Scotsman's ability to play on either flank combined with his accuracy from dead ball situations that sees him make it onto my list. 

Fletcher

At number four is Sunderland forward Stephen Fletcher, following Wolves’ relegation last season Fletcher was their prize asset and they were not going to let him go cheap. At £15 million many believed Sunderland had paid over the odds for an average player who had been relegated from the Premier League with his previous two clubs, how wrong they were. Having scored just under a third of Sunderland's goals and assisting four times this season, I think Martin O'Neill would agree with me that he is well on his way to repaying the transfer fee. 

Lukaku

Number three is a player that until signing Demba Ba, Chelsea wished they hadn't let go. I of course speak of Romelu Lukaku, having joined in a £13 million move from Anderlecht in August 2011 Lukaku hardly featured in his first season at Stamford Bridge and as a result West Brom signed him on a season long loan deal. He has flourished under the stewardship of former Chelsea coach Steve Clarke scoring nine times in nineteen appearances, many of those from the bench. Whilst Fernando Torres has flattered to deceive with his lethargic displays, Lukaku has astounded Baggies fans with his mix of raw power, pace and technical ability. In my opinion a future Premier League top scorer and very deserving of his place in my list. 

Michu

The top two spots in my list could have been decided by the toss of a coin, both Michu and Robin Van Persie have been unbelievable this season but I am of the opinion that RVP is worthy of the number one spot. At £2 million Michu takes the award for bargain of the season, thirteen goals in twenty appearances tells you all you need to know about Miguel Pérez Cuesta. His form for the Swans has attracted the attention of Spanish national coach Vicente Del Bosque and I believe he is destined to move to one of Europe’s elite. 

RVP

£24 million for a twenty nine year old injury prone striker on the face of it doesn’t sound like good business, seventeen goals in twenty two appearances certainly does. RVP is the dictionary definition of the term ‘money well spent’, he has saved Manchester United on several occasions this season and his goals have taken an underperforming side to the top of the Premier League. He is pound for pound the signing of the season so far. The January transfer window has so far seen Daniel Sturridge move to Liverpool, Demba Ba move to Chelsea and Joe Cole return to West Ham. Clubs will be working right up to the deadline to sign the player that could transform their season. 

5 Reasons Why Arsenal Won't Make The Top 4

Gooners, Gooners, Gooners despite your club becoming the laughing stock of English football, many of you still expect to easily finish in the top four and in turn qualify for the UEFA Champions League. I am of the opinion that this will not be the case and here are five reasons as to why.  

The last time they'll be in this draw for a while

File this one under 'Crap'

The Old Guard

Reason 1 - Arsene Wenger - Many experts in the game believe that as a manager, Wenger is on the wane and I tend to agree with them. The general consensus of Arsene's success in the early years is that yes, he got his team playing some scintillating football and yes, he signed average players and turned them into world beaters. However it is also widely accepted that the success stemmed from the defence, George Graham had built in the years prior to Wenger's title winning teams. The likes of Dixon, Adams, Bould, Keown and Winterburn and Seaman were all in place long before the arrival of the 'professor'. Since then for every Campbell, Toure and Lauren there has been a Cygan, Senderos, Luzhny, Stepanov, Silvestre, Squillaci and most recently Mertesacker. The inability to buy half decent defenders is just one of his flaws which have become apparent in recent years. As mentioned earlier I am not alone on my view of Wenger, former Arsenal, West Ham and Coventry player Stuart Robson said this about Wenger, "I have to wonder whether Arsene Wenger understands the tactical part of the game. When things go wrong he always says the players are tired or that they didn’t play at the right tempo. I don’t think he ever gets to the bottom of why they don’t played well. It’s just general throwaway comments". Even one of Arsenal's greatest ever players, Ian Wright believes the end is nigh for Wenger,"It is a unique position that Wenger is in – I think that any other manager in any country, in any world, with a record like this and no prospect of light at the end of the tunnel – they would have been gone by now".     

RVP - Clinical

Gervinho - Donkey

Reason 2 - RVP - As I stated in my preview of the season, you cannot sell your best player and expect to qualify for the Champions League. Arsenal's forwards have a combined 17 Premier League goals this season whereas Robin Van Persie alone has 13 Premier League goals, as a result Manchester United sit top of the table and Arsenal sit comfortably in seventh just outside the Europa League spots. The men tasked with filling Van Persie's boots have had indifferent seasons, Theo Walcott is playing some of the best football of his career...however he has yet to sign a new contract and looks odds on to be the next next 'big star' to leave the Emirates. Oliver Giroud is very similar to Thierry Henry in the fact that he is French and......no that is where the similarities end, slow, lethargic and not exactly what you would call clinical or worth the reported £12 million that was paid for his services. Another expensive import from Ligue 1 was Gervinho and you only need to watch his miss against Bradford to know how deadly he is in front of goal. Lukas Podolski was a promising signing who has yet to hit top form, this isn't surprising considering his previous big money move to Bayern Munich where he struggled for form and only scored 15 times in 71 appearances. So the money spent hasn't resulted in goals as opposed to a certain Swansea striker. 

The hunt is on for signings

Reason 3 - The Transfer Market - Apparently there is money to spend in January, despite this I believe it is too late for Arsenal to start spending now. The 09/10 season was when the should have spent big, on the back on getting to the semis of the UCL and F.A. Cup and with Cesc, Nasri, Clichy, RVP, Song, Rosicky and Arshavin (Both in their pomp) in the team all that was needed was a top keeper, centre half (with Vermaelen having been signed) and a couple of world class forwards and another great team could have been well in the works. However they failed to do this and since the summer of 2009 their top players have all left or suffered a severe loss of form. Adebayor and Toure in 2009, Gallas in 2010, Clichy, Cesc and Nasri in 2011 and RVP and Song in 2012. Their status as one of the biggest clubs in the world has taken a huge hit over the last few years and as a result world class players won't join Arsenal, not even good players like Huntelaar want to join. I also wouldn't trust Wenger with any money the infamous Arsenal board want to give him. 

Bould The Ball Boy

Reason 4 - Steve 'The Saviour' Bould - Promoted to assistant with the remit of sorting out the back four, despite initial improvement the defence has since returned to its natural uncertainty and inability to deal with the long ball. I'm still not convinced by Szczesny, in my opinion he believes his own hype and needs to refocus on doing the basics right. Mertesacker was always going to be too slow for this league and doesn't look an 'Arsenal player' whatever that is these days. Arsenal's best defender Vermaelen has if anything gone backwards this season looking nothing like the leader Arsenal need. Gibbs isn't in the same league as Gael Clichy, let alone Ashley Cole (He is better than Andre Santos, just). It was also rumoured in late October that Wenger had a rift with Bould over how to train the defence . Whatever the case, I can see no improvement in the Arsenal back line compared to this time last season. 

Reason 5 - The Other Teams - Spurs, Everton, West Brom, Liverpool, Stoke, Swansea take your pick all of them look like a better prospect for 4th place than the Gunners. Spurs and Everton are leading the race at the moment and I honestly cannot see either finishing below Arsenal. In my opinion Spurs will get 4th place even with AVB at the helm, they would have beaten Arsenal 4-0 at the Emirates if it wasn't for Adebayor's sending off. They have a striker on fire in Defoe, one of the worlds best players in Bale, a solid defence and a world class keeper in Lloris. 

So there you have it Gooners you have no chance of finishing 4th, but the majority of you already know that and are campaigning to oust the board and Wenger. Despite this article I like Arsenal as a club and enjoyed my visit to the Emirates and would return. I for one hope you can rebuild as a club and become a force again for the sake of you the fans and for English football.     

More of this

Less of this

                           

The Robins Revolution - The Tales of Coventry City in League One - Chapter 2

Richard Shaw

A lot has happened since my last blog on September 5th, a new manager, new players and for the first time in a long while a sense of optimism amongst Coventry City fans. Before I get onto what is new at the club I have to address the final days of the previous regime. I stated in my previous post that as much as I respected Richard Shaw for what he did as a player here and as a coach at Millwall, I felt that he was not ready for management. This lack of managerial experience was shown in the next three fixtures, as the Sky Blues slumped to three of the most embarrassing defeats in the club's history.

McGoldrick on debut

The first being against Stevenage, the game was also televised live on Sky which lead to the usual comments from viewers such as, 'Is the volume on mute? Oh no the Ricoh is just that empty'. What the viewers did witness was a wonder goal from new signing David McGoldrick (a sign of things to come) and then a complete capitulation as Stevenage exposed our defensive frailties and won the game 2-1. The following Monday there were various calls from the fans to get the new manager in asap, yet the club didn't expect to name Andy Thorn's successor until after the Shrewsbury game on Tuesday 18th thus forfeiting 6 points there and then. The second game saw the City travel to Birkenhead to face surprise league leaders Tranmere Rovers, the players put in an improved performance up until the 79th minute when we were horrendously exposed twice in four minutes by Jake Cassidy and Andy Robinson. The defensive problems were highlighted after the game by Carl Baker, 'Everyone who was at the game could see that we probably looked the better team but at the end of the day when they need to defend they are defending and we’re not, and, personally that’s where I think we’re going wrong'. For a team put together by a centre half in Andy Thorn and now under the 'leadership' of another centre half in Richard Shaw you would think that getting a team defensively stable would be straight forward, yet it appeared that this was not case.

Not quite the Managerial Dream Team

Along came Tuesday and a short trip to Shrewsbury Town for Richard Shaw's final game at the helm.....for a long, long time. I must show my appreciation to all 610 of the Sky Blue Army who travelled down to the New Meadow only to observe one of the worst performances by a City eleven. 4-0 down after 64 minutes against a team who were in League 2 last season is possibly a bad as it can get for a City fan, and many were asking whether we could come back from this. After this result Shaw admitted he hadn't tried anything tactically different since the departure of Thorn to prevent the players having to change their approach again if he wasn't installed as the manager. This coming from a man who openly admitted to wanting the job is frankly amazing, this was an opportunity for Shaw and Carsley to put their own stamp on the club yet they did nothing, throwing away priceless points in the process. 

Mark Robins

September 20th 2012......remember this date it could well be the start point to the rebuilding process of this once great football club. This was when weeks of speculation came to an end and finally it was announced that Mark Robins was to be the Manager of Coventry City Football Club. For weeks we were hearing about the likes of Chris Wilder, Dennis Wise and Phil Brown being touted for the job, so Robins was a bit of curveball. A minority were questioning the appointment before he had even taken the obligatory picture with the City shirt, highlighting the pressure managers face day in day out. Robins’ record speaks for itself twice getting Rotherham into the upper echelons of League 2 only for point deductions to foil any promotion hopes.He was then hired by Barnsley and kept an average group of players in the championship on a shoestring budget, underlining his ability to work with clubs with tight finances (Like Ourselves!).

McGoldrick scores in Robins
first game

Robins immediately was saying the things City fans were yearning to hear, 'It’s got tradition and potential and I am going to try to build on that. There has been a ten-year slide in terms of results and we have got to try to stop that'. He certainly talked a good game, but he had to get to work straight away with Carlisle to come in the next few days. As Saturday arrived there was the initial optimism that comes with a new manager, yet many had seen too many managers come in and say the right things yet be out the door several months later to get too excited. There was little optimism after the game as the City slumped to a 2-1 defeat to the Cumbrians, despite the loss in the two or so days Robins had been in the job he had already made slight improvements to a squad with no confidence in their ability which Robins alluded to after the game, 'The clear thing to come from the game is that we are totally bereft of confidence. They are better players than the opposition – there’s no doubt in my mind about that – but they’re just not showing it. It’s a mental thing and you can’t wave a magic wand and suddenly everything’s great again because it’s more deep-seated than that'. For once a manager was seeing exactly what the fans were seeing, next for Robins was the daunting prospect of Arsenal in the League Cup. Robins was also at work in the transfer market bringing in Franck Moussa, Conor Henderson, James Bailey and Jamie Reckord. 

Ball gives the City fans something to shout about

9000 City fans made the mid-week journey south to London with no hope or expectation, but came away with a sense of belief in what Robins was trying to do with the team. Despite the 6-1 scoreline for 40 minutes we matched Arsenal for possession, shots and ability on the ball, Robins had talked about the players having ability and for 40 minutes against an Arsenal side that included Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Oliver Giroud, Theo Walcott and Andrey Arshavin we saw this ability come out. The quality of Arsenal eventually showed along with their ruthless finishing, but I left that night knowing that if we could repeat some of the play we had shown at the Emirates in League 1 then something special could happen with Robins at the helm of our club. 

McGoldrick bags the winner
 against Bournemouth

He just can't stop scoring

Fast forward to the 13th October and the Sky Blues are walking off the County Ground pitch annoyed that they hadn’t beaten league title contenders Swindon Town having given up a 2-0 lead, nevertheless we are still unbeaten in five games under Robins which include wins over Oldham, Bournemouth and York and a draw against MK Dons. Each game there have been improvements and players again playing with confidence, Robins has overseen the squad in action for just over three weeks now, seeking out those who are reluctant to change and getting the best out of them like Chris Hussey who looks a rejuvenated player in a left midfield role. He is attempting to change the whole image and mentality of the club like a certain Jimmy Hill did all those years ago, of course its early days but everything he has said he has gone and done. He has removed players who just aren't ready yet like Billy Daniels and players that are over the hill like Kevin Kilbane. The thoughts of Callum Ball emphasise the effect Mark Robins is having, 'Since he has come in it has been brilliant; training has been more enjoyable and everyone has been buzzing and looking forward to games. Since the gaffer has come in, there is a lot more discipline. There are a few fines being thrown out there with one of the fines being if your man scores at a set-piece, it’s a £100 fine'. Discipline, confidence and ability are what Robins has talked about since coming in; he has disciplined the players, he has given the players confidence and allowed them to express their ability. Is this the start of a Revolution under Robins........I believe so

The Robins Revolution

  

   

Thorn, Tactics and the Fans - The tales of Coventry City in League One - Chapter 1

Cast your minds back to the morning of the 18th of August, just over 2000 City supporters were preparing for the three and a half hour trip down to Yeovil for the club's first game in the third tier of English football for 48 years. There was a sense of optimism in the air which was justified following three friendly wins and a narrow victory over Dagenham and Redbridge in the League cup. With nine new players having been signed, the majority of fans were expecting a good start to the campaign with a win over relegation favourites Yeovil Town. Fast forward nineteen days and the club find themselves manager-less, in 18th position in the league and having just scraped through 10-9 on penalties against League 2 Burton Albion in the club's first ever appearance in the Johnstone's Paint Trophy. Compare this to our opening day counterparts Yeovil who have had their best start to a season in recent years and sit 2nd in the table. A lot can happen in nineteen days especially at Coventry City Football Club.   

Cody makes it 1-0

On arriving at Huish Park the reality of what we were about to embark upon slapped you right in the face. Huish Park epitomises what you would expect from a lower league ground, a small stadium with a tight, compact pitch and a stand with no roof on it. The official programme highlighted how our reputation as a 'big club' had taken a big hit as it claimed Adam Barton to be former Notts County winger Ishmel Demontagnac (God Knows How) and Gary McSheffrey to be former skipper Sammy Clingan. The game itself started in a frantic fashion with both teams trying to work each other out, then in the tenth minute summer signing John Fleck curled a free-kick into the Town box and it was met by the head of Cody McDonald, cue calls of 'We are going to walk this league' and 'That's the first of many for Cody'. For the next ten minutes this talk seemed valid, only for Yeovil centre half Richard Hinds to head home from a corner and silence the noisy Sky Blue fans and in turn bring us back down to earth. 1-1 it remained with Yeovil probably playing the better football and us having the better chances but there were positives to take from the game and every reason to look forward to the next two home games.

Malaga's despair

Those games were on paper against the promotion favourites Sheffield United and relegation certainties Bury, despite the apparent differences between the two teams both games drew similarities. These similarities being; one half of awful football and another of good football, letting a lead slip and pace changing the game. The Tuesday night game against United saw City bumble through the first half with only a Richard Wood goal line clearance the difference between the teams. After the break City came out rejuvenated and started to pass the ball with more urgency and direction, opening up the United defence with Carl Baker starting to influence the game and it should have been 1-0 when Frenchman Kevin Malaga on debut appeared to head in from a corner only for the United defence to scramble the ball off the line. The breakthrough came from a Murphy kick down-field which was flicked into the path of Stephen Elliott by Cody McDonald, Elliott smashing the ball past Mark Howard and the Sky Blues were ahead for the second time in four days. The game ebbed and flowed for the next twenty minutes, with United looking dangerous on the break with the pace of John Cofie and Nick Blackman causing concern for a tiring City midfield. Rather than freshen the team up by taking off the fatigued Adam Barton and Kevin Kilbane Thorn hesitated, cue a Stephen Quinn break down the right side of the City defence and United front man Blackman burst past Hussey and Kilbane to finish and bag the Blades a point.

John Lewis completes the comeback

Roll on Saturday was the call from the fans, the hypothesis was simple perform like we did in the second half and a win will follow. For 45 minutes this appeared true, free flowing football saw us take a 2-0 lead through Barton and Baker and show Bury up as a very average side. The second half started in a rather stagnant fashion; similarities from Tuesday night were beginning to show again without Thorn even contemplating a sub. Then in the 55th minute Richard Wood bundled over David Healy in the box and the Northern Ireland forward scored the resulting spot kick, this was a sign for Thorn to freshen things up but yet again he did nothing unlike his counterpart in the opposition dugout Peter Shirtliff. He realised City were on the rack and went for it, bringing on the pacy duo of Marcus Marshall and Lenell-John Lewis. Every time they got on the ball our defence looked worried and John-Lewis delivered the goods as his header flew past Murphy in the 69th minute and The Shakers were level, what had seen impossible at half time had become a reality. Of course now Thorn freshened things up with a double substitution but nothing changed and we just about hung on for the point. Once again we had witnessed a combination of Thorn's inadequacies and the pace of the opposition result in us giving up a lead. 

Thorn during better times

The very next day many were shocked to hear that after three league games Thorn had been given the bullet. I had defended Thorn throughout last season for the simple fact that trying to manage a club under such owners as SISU was an impossible job. However it had become evident from the first three games that tactically Thorn was limited, he would speak of wanting to play the right way which we did do during his time with us in the Championship. But this season the aimless booting of the ball to our two small strikers, playing a young striker in defensive midfield and failing to add any pace to the squad showed Thorn up to be what he really was or wasn't - a manager. As Chief Executive Tim Fisher put it, “To me the second half against Bury, abjectly losing two points from a position of strength, was a symptom of an underlying problem that we had aimed to correct during the summer and that progression hadn't happened". 

Thinking of a masterplan?

With Thorn gone the baton had been passed over to club legend Richard Shaw whilst the process of finding a new manager took place. Shaw admitted that he wanted the job but that he was only focussing on the next game which was the League Cup second round tie against neighbours Birmingham. His audition for the job was very much enhanced during this game in which City won 3-2 after extra time. Shaw stuck with the diamond formation, giving William Edjenguele his debut at centre half. Despite going behind early on, the Sky Blues hit back through Cody McDonald and Kevin Kilbane and led up until the 44th minute when that underlying problem struck again and Jonathan Spector made it 2-2. Despite this set back there was no second half capitulation from the team with Carl Baker basically running the show as the game drifted into extra time. Baker topped off one of his best games in a city shirt by bagging the winner. The duo of Shaw and Carsley had started well and raised hopes for the league game against Crewe on Saturday. 

TACTICS GAFFER?

For many it was a case of; turn up, win the game, go home. However anyone thinking Crewe would lie down and take the defeat were very much mistaken. Just over 1500 fans had made the short trip to Crewe and we made ourselves heard dwarfing any noise the Crewe fans could muster. Despite the atmosphere the fans were making the team didn't perform, there appeared to be no philosophy behind what Shaw was trying to do. It was neither Aidy Boothroyd style long ball or Andy Thorn style passing football, there was just no direction or game plan which in the end amounted to booting the ball aimlessly up to McDonald and Elliott who had no chance of winning the ball off the Crewe centre backs. Crewe on the other hand played an attacking 4-2-3-1 formation with the pace and skill of Moore, Clayton and Leitch-Smith causing havoc in the City defence and that was where the winning goal came from. Despite rallying early in the second half with both Cody and David McGoldrick going close, City's toothless display was personified by Kevin Kilbane's late altercation with a fan in which Killer told him in no uncertain terms to eff off. Personally I don't blame Killer for objecting to the abuse from the fans, I am of the opinion that it is fine to voice your displeasure at the end of the game but during the game the team need the fans to stay onside and support them. It appears that a small minority of our fans are mindless idiots who wouldn't know Kevin Kilbane from Zinedine Zidane, this minority was showcased by one genius who abused a ball boy so much that he made him cry once again dragging our great club through the mud. 

Murphy celebrates scoring the winning spot kick

On Tuesday it became clear that all applications for the manager’s job had been taken and the club were now following a process to appoint a new manager. This was now Richard Shaw's last chance to show his credentials to the board by getting a thumping win over League two Burton in the JPT.........or not. What can only be described as 90 minutes of the most mind numbingly dull football to ever grace the Ricoh Arena was followed by a tight 10-9 win on penalties for City. There was no tactics; direction, game plan or anything that suggested Shaw has what it takes to get the job and that small minority of fans again showed themselves up as the idiotic simpletons they are by booing players throughout the game, if only to destroy their confidence even more. Don't get me wrong it is of course the players that go onto to the field but any instructions they were given clearly hadn't come through. I have a lot of respect for both Shaw and Carsley and would love them to stay on as coaches but this team needs a change of mentality and a huge kick up the backside. 

The man to take us forward?

Earlier in the week it appeared that Oxford United manager Chris Wilder was the favourite to get the job although any approach has been denied by the Oxford chairman. For me however the choice has to be Dennis Wise, a man with unfinished business in football management having previously managed Millwall, Swindon and Leeds before taking an obscure role at Newcastle United which only served to damage his reputation. Wise was a winner as a player mainly with Chelsea during the pre Roman Abramovich reign, during his career he won the F.A Cup three times, the League Cup, the UEFA Cup winners Cup and UEFA Super Cup. He has a 46.95% win ratio throughout his managerial career which is much better than Chris Wilder, Paul Ince or Kevin Blackwell. I just hope the club make the right decision as I still believe this squad is more than good enough to get promotion. At least we get to see what a ‘successful club’ is like when we face the mighty Arsenal at the Emirates in the League Cup in a few weeks.  

For those of you who still aren't sure this is Kevin Kilbane  

Kilbane

And this is Zinedine Zidane

Zidane