Manchester City 6 - 0 Portsmouth (Sunday 21st September 2008; City of Manchester Stadium; Att.: 40,121)
On Saturday afternoon I went for a little walk under the new terrace covering at West Leigh Park. Unfortunately, I saw Havant & Waterlooville lose 1-4, and witnessed a full on punch-up between the two teams (I'll let you decide whether seeing the latter was "unfortunate" or an added sideshow bonus!). The H&W line-up had left their collective shooting boots at home, but you couldn't fault their effort. The player's workrate was impressive, their tackling committed but fair, and even as the goals piled up against them they still created chances.
Fast forward to 5pm, Sunday afternoon, in Manchester. The inquest begins...
Fans seem to be divided over this result. Some say this is a blip, that we shouldn't get on the team's back, and that moaning marks you out as a 'Johnny Come Lately'. Others are calling for players to be released and for the team to reimburse their travel expenses.
In my view one swallow rarely makes a summer, and neither does one snowflake indicate winter has arrived. So I am not overly concerned by the freak 6-0 scoreline. What concerns me is the manner of the defeat - the fact that some of our players literally gave up and came to a standstill in the last 20-30 minutes. I can handle defeat, but I can't handle it when players don't put in 100%.
The six goals Man City scorded also means that we now have the worst goal difference in the Premier League. Yes, it's early days, but this needs to be nipped in the bud - we don't want to be missing out on Europe through goal difference again.
"I have concerns about whether our squad can cope with the rigours of a European campaign on top of the domestic competitions." These words, from my last blog post, were written shortly before kick off at the City of Manchester Stadium. The loss only reinforces my view. Personally, the Premier League comes first every time, with the UEFA cup second for me this year. The domestic cups aren't as important this season and should be used as a chance to see how good the fringe players really are.
A final point... on the one hand I feel we haven't had it so good, and it seems a bit churlish to complain if something goes wrong. On the other hand, while the current squad is the best we've ever had, it's also the best ever paid. Supporting Pompey isn't getting any cheaper for anyone, so I think it's only fair that we judge the players accordingly. It isn't being disloyal to question someone who isn't giving 100% - I care about my club, not transitory playing staff.
Fast forward to 5pm, Sunday afternoon, in Manchester. The inquest begins...
Fans seem to be divided over this result. Some say this is a blip, that we shouldn't get on the team's back, and that moaning marks you out as a 'Johnny Come Lately'. Others are calling for players to be released and for the team to reimburse their travel expenses.
In my view one swallow rarely makes a summer, and neither does one snowflake indicate winter has arrived. So I am not overly concerned by the freak 6-0 scoreline. What concerns me is the manner of the defeat - the fact that some of our players literally gave up and came to a standstill in the last 20-30 minutes. I can handle defeat, but I can't handle it when players don't put in 100%.
The six goals Man City scorded also means that we now have the worst goal difference in the Premier League. Yes, it's early days, but this needs to be nipped in the bud - we don't want to be missing out on Europe through goal difference again.
"I have concerns about whether our squad can cope with the rigours of a European campaign on top of the domestic competitions." These words, from my last blog post, were written shortly before kick off at the City of Manchester Stadium. The loss only reinforces my view. Personally, the Premier League comes first every time, with the UEFA cup second for me this year. The domestic cups aren't as important this season and should be used as a chance to see how good the fringe players really are.
A final point... on the one hand I feel we haven't had it so good, and it seems a bit churlish to complain if something goes wrong. On the other hand, while the current squad is the best we've ever had, it's also the best ever paid. Supporting Pompey isn't getting any cheaper for anyone, so I think it's only fair that we judge the players accordingly. It isn't being disloyal to question someone who isn't giving 100% - I care about my club, not transitory playing staff.
posted by Gliiitches at
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
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