Fulham 2 – 2 MAN CITY – MY THOUGHTS
19 Sep
At the final whistle, it felt like a defeat. Controlling the game at 2-0 against a side who started the day bottom of the table, we really should not have ended up with just a point. But writing this the day after, there has been time for perspective to kick in. It’s still disappointing but not quite as deflating as yesterday. Had you offered Roberto Mancini thirteen points from a possible fifteen before the campaign had commenced, he would surely have taken it. This result should not mask our impressive start.
Fulham should be commended for their battling spirit. It would have been all too easy to fold once Sergio Aguero scored the second of his goals but they fought back well and deserved the point. We are correct to feel disappointed but we don’t have a right to win every game. There will be games in which we struggle, look lethargic and drop points. It’s how we bounce back that is the key.
That doesn’t mean we should ignore what went wrong at Craven Cottage, however, and one of the most worrying aspects for me was how tired we looked. This was the first time we’ve had a midweek game followed by one at the weekend and we were leggy. Mancini only made two changes and I’m sure that was part of the problem, as Yaya Touré and Gareth Barry in particular were off the pace.
To be fair to the manager, without the injured Nigel De Jong and James Milner, plus the not yet match fit Owen Hargreaves, he didn’t have much room for manoeuvre in midfield, but it was noticeable how exhausted we looked. This is something we must improve upon, and quickly, as playing twice in the space of three of four days will become the norm as the season progresses.
As mentioned above, De Jong was missing and his importance was highlighted in this game, as it had been too against Napoli. It’s all well good when we’re defeating the likes of Swansea and Wigan comfortably, but against sides who break with pace and have bite in the midfield, without the Dutchman we look weak. Yaya and Barry are not holding midfielders in the recognised sense, and both Napoli and Fulham exploited the space in front of our defence.
De Jong patrols that area and makes us less susceptible to the counter attack, and it is hoped that Hargreaves, when fit, can do the same job. Without them, we were so open and it was all too easy for Fulham get at Vincent Kompany and Joleon Lescott. Yaya, so outstanding last Wednesday, was back to his disinterested, lazy self, and must learn that he can’t pick and choose which games to work in.
On a more positive note, it was pleasing to see Gael Clichy produce another impressive display. He’s a bundle of energy and willing down the left, provides an attacking thrust and has shown himself to be solid enough at the back. He’s far more cultured in possession than Aleks Kolarov and better defensively. Mancini needs to stick by the Frenchman and not continue to alter the fullbacks every game.
Opposition View: For the first hour so, Fulham were insipid, failing to get tight enough to our playmakers. They allowed us to control the game and didn’t pose any sort of threat to our defence. However, once they took the game by the scruff of the neck, they were a different outfit. They exploited the vast space between our midfield and defence, and deserved their point. Moussa Dembélé really impressed me and if they can cope with playing in the Europa League as well as domestic matters, they could have a decent season.
So onwards we go to the Birmingham game in the Carling Cup and I’m sure there will be plenty of changes to the side. Carlos Tévez, Adam Johnson and Mario Balotelli will all get run outs, and we will see the return of Kolo Touré. A win on Wednesday and the feelgood spirit will be back.
Nice summary. Completely agree about looking tired. I thought that we could have taken a bit more of a risk and rested a few more who played in the CL game. If Mancini’s problems are currently in central midfield one possible solution could have been to push Kompany back into midfield (where he began his City career) and gone with K Toure at centre back.
Also Adam Johnson could have started in place of Nasri or Silva – I know both Nasri and Silva are on fire at the minute but surely that’s the point of squad rotation?
Mancini could have subbed Abdul Razak for Barry or Toure in the second half. Having someone to chase the opposition is better than walking tired legs. If an academy player can play for 15 to 20 minutes, why can n’t he play for 45 minutes when needed esp when he has the potential. Before shipping them to Clubs like Bolton to play them 90 minutes every single game, we can definitely afford a 45 minutes when we have no alternatives.
Balo and Adam were fresh, One of them [if not both] could have started the game on the wings. Mancini should know how to leverage those players in important games not useless ones like Curling Cup when you have a group of players that have played 3 difficult games in span of 9 days. That is the whole purpose of having depth.