Post by Macmoish on May 10, 2011 23:06:17 GMT
Not sure we want him, but I presume this might help!
Guardian
Manchester City seal fourth place as Peter Crouch own goal sinks Spurs
* Kevin McCarra
Manchester City ground their way to glamour. The Champions League lies before them although they will have to negotiate a qualifying round unless they can overtake Arsenal and come third on the domestic front. This is a landmark for the club but City did not have the sheen of an elite side, regardless of the fortunes spent on assembling the squad.
The fixture will be remembered for an agonising coincidence as Peter Crouch settled the outcome with an own goal. A year ago the forward had notched a conventional winner for Spurs that sent the club towards the Champions League at City's expense.
It is as well that there was such an irony to consider because this match was dreary. The Eastlands crowd were understandably indifferent to the low quality of a contest that had delivered such a reward, but a moment should be found to appreciate a Tottenham side so full of endeavour.
There is still no avoiding the truth that there are inadequacies in attack that will continue to hinder them unless Harry Redknapp discovers an adept and affordable striker. City's means in that area were expanded when Carlos Tevez came on in the 83rd minute, suggesting he is over his hamstring trouble and will have a part of some kind in Saturday's FA Cup final with Stoke City.
Roberto Mancini is delivering an impact of sorts at Eastlands and the audience had no interest in nit-picking. Even so, there will come a day when a more expansive style is demanded not just for aesthetic reasons but also because a club will not make their mark at Champions League level unless they have the slickness presently missing at City.
he club will not necessarily have to be content with fourth spot in the Premier League. Should Arsenal waver, as is their habit,, Mancini's men could yet overtake them and so advance directly to the Champions League proper. The mereexistence of such issues does show that the Italian's methods are working. He ought, at least, to have an opportunity to show City can eventuallybe allowed to develop a more stylish approach. For the time being, their goals total in the league is barely superior to that of Tottenham despite all the outlay.
City might have given the score a more emphatic tone towards the end when Tevez set up a fellow substitute but Patrick Vieira's shot was cleared by William Gallas. Mancini's line-up had not looked masters of their own fate and shortly before they took the lead Luka Modric ought to have put the visitors ahead after a run and pass from Aaron Lennon, but instead shot wide.
Spurs were lax in a different fashion almost immediately. James Milner not only played a short corner to Adam Johnson in the 30th minute, but was able to receive the return pass well inside the penalty area. The midfielder drilled the ball across the six-yard line and Crouch could not avoid turning it into his own net.
There is little gleam to City despite all the outlay. That, indeed, seems to be the purpose of the exercise for Mancini. While the expenditure points towards lush football, the manager's constant aim might as well be to eradicate any self-indulgence. His attitude is understandable up to a point, considering how decadent the whole operation could become if it became saturated solely with affluence.
There is, however, a problem. Owners of such means as Sheikh Mansour surely do not commit remarkable sums simply to create a team known for little more than competence. It is, after all, 35 years since they collected their last major honour, the League Cup. The notion of the present line-up taking English football by storm is absurd and the bid to increase firepower faltered since the £27m January signing Edin Dzeko has one league goal to his name.
In the absence of Tevez, he can at least be fielded in the middle of the attack but that means there are no mitigating factors when he still falters while in his preferred role. Everything has been put in place to make conditions ideal for the City squad. The club has even had its employee Lee Jackson declared Premier League groundsman of the Year. In this fixture City did not put the surface to the accomplished use it deserves.
Spurs are to be praised for that. There was nothing desultory about them even though Wilson Palacios had be taken off with an injury in the 32nd minute. The visitors could easily have been on level terms at the beginning of the second half. In the 47th minute, the City goalkeeper, Joe Hart, showed extraordinary reactions when moving to his left and blocking the header from the substitute Steven Pienaar that followed a cross from Lennon. City endured as much as thrived to clinch the win.
www.guardian.co.uk/football/2011/may/10/manchester-city-tottenham-hotspur-premier-league
Guardian
Manchester City seal fourth place as Peter Crouch own goal sinks Spurs
* Kevin McCarra
Manchester City ground their way to glamour. The Champions League lies before them although they will have to negotiate a qualifying round unless they can overtake Arsenal and come third on the domestic front. This is a landmark for the club but City did not have the sheen of an elite side, regardless of the fortunes spent on assembling the squad.
The fixture will be remembered for an agonising coincidence as Peter Crouch settled the outcome with an own goal. A year ago the forward had notched a conventional winner for Spurs that sent the club towards the Champions League at City's expense.
It is as well that there was such an irony to consider because this match was dreary. The Eastlands crowd were understandably indifferent to the low quality of a contest that had delivered such a reward, but a moment should be found to appreciate a Tottenham side so full of endeavour.
There is still no avoiding the truth that there are inadequacies in attack that will continue to hinder them unless Harry Redknapp discovers an adept and affordable striker. City's means in that area were expanded when Carlos Tevez came on in the 83rd minute, suggesting he is over his hamstring trouble and will have a part of some kind in Saturday's FA Cup final with Stoke City.
Roberto Mancini is delivering an impact of sorts at Eastlands and the audience had no interest in nit-picking. Even so, there will come a day when a more expansive style is demanded not just for aesthetic reasons but also because a club will not make their mark at Champions League level unless they have the slickness presently missing at City.
he club will not necessarily have to be content with fourth spot in the Premier League. Should Arsenal waver, as is their habit,, Mancini's men could yet overtake them and so advance directly to the Champions League proper. The mereexistence of such issues does show that the Italian's methods are working. He ought, at least, to have an opportunity to show City can eventuallybe allowed to develop a more stylish approach. For the time being, their goals total in the league is barely superior to that of Tottenham despite all the outlay.
City might have given the score a more emphatic tone towards the end when Tevez set up a fellow substitute but Patrick Vieira's shot was cleared by William Gallas. Mancini's line-up had not looked masters of their own fate and shortly before they took the lead Luka Modric ought to have put the visitors ahead after a run and pass from Aaron Lennon, but instead shot wide.
Spurs were lax in a different fashion almost immediately. James Milner not only played a short corner to Adam Johnson in the 30th minute, but was able to receive the return pass well inside the penalty area. The midfielder drilled the ball across the six-yard line and Crouch could not avoid turning it into his own net.
There is little gleam to City despite all the outlay. That, indeed, seems to be the purpose of the exercise for Mancini. While the expenditure points towards lush football, the manager's constant aim might as well be to eradicate any self-indulgence. His attitude is understandable up to a point, considering how decadent the whole operation could become if it became saturated solely with affluence.
There is, however, a problem. Owners of such means as Sheikh Mansour surely do not commit remarkable sums simply to create a team known for little more than competence. It is, after all, 35 years since they collected their last major honour, the League Cup. The notion of the present line-up taking English football by storm is absurd and the bid to increase firepower faltered since the £27m January signing Edin Dzeko has one league goal to his name.
In the absence of Tevez, he can at least be fielded in the middle of the attack but that means there are no mitigating factors when he still falters while in his preferred role. Everything has been put in place to make conditions ideal for the City squad. The club has even had its employee Lee Jackson declared Premier League groundsman of the Year. In this fixture City did not put the surface to the accomplished use it deserves.
Spurs are to be praised for that. There was nothing desultory about them even though Wilson Palacios had be taken off with an injury in the 32nd minute. The visitors could easily have been on level terms at the beginning of the second half. In the 47th minute, the City goalkeeper, Joe Hart, showed extraordinary reactions when moving to his left and blocking the header from the substitute Steven Pienaar that followed a cross from Lennon. City endured as much as thrived to clinch the win.
www.guardian.co.uk/football/2011/may/10/manchester-city-tottenham-hotspur-premier-league