Bolton Branch of the
Manchester City
Official Supporters Club
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Chris Thorn's Review
Hello, my name is Chris Thorn, and welcome to my monthly review page. You may like to think of this page as a mini fanzine, king of the kippax, blue moon rising etc. This page surely beats them all!!!!!!!!! I hope you enjoy reading my thoughts for the month gone by and if you have any comments please leave them on the guestbook................only nice ones allowed.
So, enjoy as we look ahead to the 2011/2012 season....
JANUARY
January Review
Harry Redknapp’s put a complaint in to the F.A. It seems Bobby Manc was waving an imaginary tax return form at him during the Tottenham match.
Well we all knew it was going to be a tough month but I think we all expected a better outcome. The month started on New Years day at Sunderland where, inspired by Martin O’Neal, they repeated last season’s injustice by again beating us with an injury time winner, completely against the run of play. Then, back in the comfort of Eastlands, we thrashed Liverpool giving us what we hoped would be a preview of the Carling Cup semi final, although Gareth Barry got sent off for two challenges that didn’t even warrant free kicks. But I’m sure the referees aren’t against us really.
Then it was the F.A. Cup tie with the over achieving dross. What could possibly go wrong? Well we were without Barry, Silva, YaYa, and Kolo then Fergusson made a genius move by dropping Howard Webb and playing Chris Foy. That one act sent our season into free fall. After being primed by Fergy before the match Foy couldn’t wait to send Vinnie Kompany off for an interception. It seems that if you collect the ball with one foot then control it with the other foot, in a move that the entire football world deemed brilliant defending, both feet need to be planted firmly on the floor. But only if you’re wearing a sky blue shirt. The four match ban that ensued has cost us dearly. But I’m sure referees aren’t against us really. Despite losing, a lot of fans thought we came out this match with pride on how well we fought back with ten men. I just felt pissed off.
So on to the Carling Cup semi and Liverpool at Eastlands. Without Kompany, Ya Ya and David Silva I thought we were a bit predicable going forward and a bit dodgy at the back. Liverpool played well and probably deserved their one nil win although I thought the penalty was another dodgy refereeing decision. But I’m sure referees aren’t against us really.
After grinding out a win at Wigan we came to Spurs at home in what was described as a must win for both teams. Spurs came to play and it was a fabulous match. Still without Kompany the hapless Savic stood in the firing line and forty seven thousand people all asked why are we selling Nedum Anuoha? Savic is young and new to the Premier League but he’s also crap. Spurs were dead and buried but Savic threw them a lifeline and all of a sudden the match was looking like a draw but nobody had accounted for Baliotelli, the brilliant loon. He collected the ball round Ledley King and was scythed to the ground to earn us a penalty in the dying seconds. While others dithered Baliotelli picked up the ball and the result was never in doubt. Still unbeaten in the league at home. That should have been the end of a fantastic match but shifty Harry Redknapp appeared on telly moaning that Mario should have been sent off. A few minutes earlier whilst unbalanced, he had accidently stomped on Scott Parker’s head. No one seemed to mention, that Parker had spent so much of the match hacking away at Silva, I thought he was a part time lumberjack. So even though the match was over Mario got a four match ban, but I’m sure the referees aren’t against us really.
So it was off to Anfield for the second leg of the Carling Cup semi final. In a game where we had 62% of the possession it seemed Liverpool dominated. Unluckily, we also had Savic, and that was our downfall. Bellamy had a field day against him. In a hostile atmosphere, referee Dowd had to be brave and make brave decisions. The trouble was he was about as brave as an Italian cruise captain. Denying us a blatant penalty wasn’t enough to allow Liverpool to win, so to be certain, he awarded them with a penalty, with what must be the most biased decision since Vincent Kompany was sent off. But I’m sure referees aren’t against us really.
We finished off the month with a dismal loss against Everton at Goodison Park. So the month ended with the united press trying to get Joleon sent off, after the fact, for giving an innocuous elbow in the face and Bobby Manc banned for waving imaginary red cards all over the place. What is our PR department doing? To be fair, I don’t think it’s a great idea, the imaginary card waving. For one, referees never takes any notice of imaginary cards and two, giving someone an imaginary card doesn’t have the same affect as a real one. Bobby should show more class than that although, it’s no worse than shrek and fergy priming our unbiased referees or players feigning injury to get fellow professionals sent off or badgering referees to punish opposing players. We are above this. We are Manchester City. Come on PR department, sort it out.
The transfer window came and went without much of the drama we’ve seen in the past. It was sad to see Nedum Onuoha go but I hope he gets a great reception whenever he returns to Eastlands. I think he warrants it. It was sad to see Tevez didn’t go. But never mind eh, let him rot. And I hope he gets the reception he deserves if he ever returns to Eastlands. A few of our kids went out on loan with one transferring to the dross because he thought it would be easier to break into their first team. Well he’s probably right, getting into uniteds’ first team has got to be easier than City’s. We made one significant signing. A handy midfielder from Roma called David Pizarro. He hails from Chile and that’s about all I know about him. Let’s hope somebody has warned him about the unbiased referees we have in the Premiership.
So that’s the month. Eight matches, three wins, four losses and a draw. Three players banned, out the FA Cup, out the Carling Cup in the Semi Final, a five point lead squandered at the top of the Premiership, and everyone hates us for waving imaginary red cards (and being rich). It’s a good job the referees aren’t against us. See you next month.
Harry Redknapp’s put a complaint in to the F.A. It seems Bobby Manc was waving an imaginary tax return form at him during the Tottenham match.
Well we all knew it was going to be a tough month but I think we all expected a better outcome. The month started on New Years day at Sunderland where, inspired by Martin O’Neal, they repeated last season’s injustice by again beating us with an injury time winner, completely against the run of play. Then, back in the comfort of Eastlands, we thrashed Liverpool giving us what we hoped would be a preview of the Carling Cup semi final, although Gareth Barry got sent off for two challenges that didn’t even warrant free kicks. But I’m sure the referees aren’t against us really.
Then it was the F.A. Cup tie with the over achieving dross. What could possibly go wrong? Well we were without Barry, Silva, YaYa, and Kolo then Fergusson made a genius move by dropping Howard Webb and playing Chris Foy. That one act sent our season into free fall. After being primed by Fergy before the match Foy couldn’t wait to send Vinnie Kompany off for an interception. It seems that if you collect the ball with one foot then control it with the other foot, in a move that the entire football world deemed brilliant defending, both feet need to be planted firmly on the floor. But only if you’re wearing a sky blue shirt. The four match ban that ensued has cost us dearly. But I’m sure referees aren’t against us really. Despite losing, a lot of fans thought we came out this match with pride on how well we fought back with ten men. I just felt pissed off.
So on to the Carling Cup semi and Liverpool at Eastlands. Without Kompany, Ya Ya and David Silva I thought we were a bit predicable going forward and a bit dodgy at the back. Liverpool played well and probably deserved their one nil win although I thought the penalty was another dodgy refereeing decision. But I’m sure referees aren’t against us really.
After grinding out a win at Wigan we came to Spurs at home in what was described as a must win for both teams. Spurs came to play and it was a fabulous match. Still without Kompany the hapless Savic stood in the firing line and forty seven thousand people all asked why are we selling Nedum Anuoha? Savic is young and new to the Premier League but he’s also crap. Spurs were dead and buried but Savic threw them a lifeline and all of a sudden the match was looking like a draw but nobody had accounted for Baliotelli, the brilliant loon. He collected the ball round Ledley King and was scythed to the ground to earn us a penalty in the dying seconds. While others dithered Baliotelli picked up the ball and the result was never in doubt. Still unbeaten in the league at home. That should have been the end of a fantastic match but shifty Harry Redknapp appeared on telly moaning that Mario should have been sent off. A few minutes earlier whilst unbalanced, he had accidently stomped on Scott Parker’s head. No one seemed to mention, that Parker had spent so much of the match hacking away at Silva, I thought he was a part time lumberjack. So even though the match was over Mario got a four match ban, but I’m sure the referees aren’t against us really.
So it was off to Anfield for the second leg of the Carling Cup semi final. In a game where we had 62% of the possession it seemed Liverpool dominated. Unluckily, we also had Savic, and that was our downfall. Bellamy had a field day against him. In a hostile atmosphere, referee Dowd had to be brave and make brave decisions. The trouble was he was about as brave as an Italian cruise captain. Denying us a blatant penalty wasn’t enough to allow Liverpool to win, so to be certain, he awarded them with a penalty, with what must be the most biased decision since Vincent Kompany was sent off. But I’m sure referees aren’t against us really.
We finished off the month with a dismal loss against Everton at Goodison Park. So the month ended with the united press trying to get Joleon sent off, after the fact, for giving an innocuous elbow in the face and Bobby Manc banned for waving imaginary red cards all over the place. What is our PR department doing? To be fair, I don’t think it’s a great idea, the imaginary card waving. For one, referees never takes any notice of imaginary cards and two, giving someone an imaginary card doesn’t have the same affect as a real one. Bobby should show more class than that although, it’s no worse than shrek and fergy priming our unbiased referees or players feigning injury to get fellow professionals sent off or badgering referees to punish opposing players. We are above this. We are Manchester City. Come on PR department, sort it out.
The transfer window came and went without much of the drama we’ve seen in the past. It was sad to see Nedum Onuoha go but I hope he gets a great reception whenever he returns to Eastlands. I think he warrants it. It was sad to see Tevez didn’t go. But never mind eh, let him rot. And I hope he gets the reception he deserves if he ever returns to Eastlands. A few of our kids went out on loan with one transferring to the dross because he thought it would be easier to break into their first team. Well he’s probably right, getting into uniteds’ first team has got to be easier than City’s. We made one significant signing. A handy midfielder from Roma called David Pizarro. He hails from Chile and that’s about all I know about him. Let’s hope somebody has warned him about the unbiased referees we have in the Premiership.
So that’s the month. Eight matches, three wins, four losses and a draw. Three players banned, out the FA Cup, out the Carling Cup in the Semi Final, a five point lead squandered at the top of the Premiership, and everyone hates us for waving imaginary red cards (and being rich). It’s a good job the referees aren’t against us. See you next month.
