Sunday, September 21, 2014

THANK YOU, uh...., Frank Lampard?

So.......

It feels really, really weird to say that.

Really, really weird.

But that's the way it is, and all things considered, I'll take the result.  It's been a difficult week.  Two draws and a heart breaking loss.

The Arsenal match seemed like a draw was a fair result.  The loss at Bayern was tough the way it happened, but we were not the better team that night.

But the Chelsea match.....

58% possession.  Shots 16 to 6. Corners 14 to 2.  And that's after having Zabs sent off after 66 minutes.  Chelsea did not have a shot on net until the 71st minute.  But it went in.  Other than that counter attack, we completely dominated the match.

The referee gave nine yellow cards.  Nine.  Two went to Zabs of the five that went to City.

Five weeks in, and we've played three of the top teams.  It seems really, really different this year vs. last.  Certainly, our away form is better.  But our plan of attack seems different.  Chelsea scored on a break.  Last year, we scored a lot of goals.  And a lot of those goals were scored on the break.  In our matches so far this year, we are playing a much more measured pace, waiting for the defense to set up and then trying to break them down.  Last year, we pushed the ball up the pitch much harder and took advantage of creativity to dominate defenders that were not yet in the right place.  Is this part of the plan or is the opposition holding more back?  I'm not sure, but certainly our goal scoring is way, way down.

Chelsea will be a tough team this year.  There is a lot of talent.  We didn't want to let them start with five wins.  Frank Lampard scored an important goal for us.  Only time will tell how important.

Two comments on the officiating today.  Dzeko is driving me a little crazy with his flopping.  The refs have seen it and he's not getting away with it.  It is causing the refs not to give him fouls when he earns them.  Like when he was manhandled by Diego Costa in the box in the 34th minute today.  Mike Dean really missed that one.  A goal at that point could have made a significant difference in the match.  The other comment has to do with Zabs.  His cards were not completely out of like, but certainly at least a little harsh.  But really, you can grab someone by the throat in this league and not get punished for it?  http://t.co/WwjyG9CXzx

C'mon CITY!

Monday, September 8, 2014

Another Derby!

Well folks, it's time to shake off the miserable home result against Stoke and look forward to another Maggie McGarry's derby.

The Arsenal fans have the trophy due to their win at the Community Shield.   But now that the matches really count, we'll be looking forward to winning it back.

Speaking of Stoke, they had not beaten us since Feb, 2010.  But it seems that every match against that team is a tough one.  They are a defensive marvel.  In the calendar year 2014 (I write this in early September), they have only two matches where they have given up more than one goal.  And one of those ended in a draw!