City Bring Toon Back Down To Earth
- 3 days ago
- 3 min read
For the fourth time in five games this season Manchester City beat Newcastle despite making ten changes to their last starting eleven.
That just shows the huge gulf in class between the two squads.
Two Manchester clubs, two totally different teams
Newcastle started the game as they did against United on Wednesday, taking the game to City and deservedly went ahead when a superb pass from Tonali sent Barnes clear and he arrowed the ball past Trafford.
Any comparison to the Man U performance ended almost from the moment the ball hit the back of the net. From that point on City took total control of the game.
My opinion before this game was, for all that it was a magnificent performance and result against Man U, they were poor and never looked like a side with five wins in six games.
City and United may be close neighbours, but their teams are poles apart.
Feathers unruffled after going behind, City's second string dominated possession every bit as well as their first string. And we were hamstrung.
The equaliser - although fortunate after it bounced tamely over the line off Savinho's knee - was almost inevitable and two minutes into the second half the game was as good as over when Marmoush put City 2-1 up.
Marmoush's second, after City carved through our midfield with precision and simplicity in equal measure, was his seventh goal in five games against us.
Goodnight Vienna and goodnight to the FA Cup with 25 minutes to go.
It's hard enough playing City with 11 men, never mind 7
There is no shame in losing to a team like Manchester City.
They are streets ahead of us in quality, technique and squad depth.
But, there were four players who started the game who were awful.
Woltemade, Elanga, Willock, and Wednesday's hero Osula. The only influence those four had on the game was in the negative. Their contribution to the team was zero.
I haven't a clue what position Woltemade was playing in - and from his performance neither did he. Eddie has a massive £69M problem to solve.
Next up is a £55M problem with Elanga. The lad tries, he shows for the ball even after he has made mistake after mistake but when he gets it, he makes another one. One goal and not one outstanding performance, or near it, is a shocking return on investment.
Willock had one of those games when nothing went right, and Osula was practically anonymous. His worldy goal apart, it was back to business as usual for Will.
To cap off a night of negatives Wissa, yet again, hardly touched the ball and when he did, he lost it.
Woltemade, Wissa and Elanga. Haaland, Marmoush and Semenyo.
That sums up how massive the gap is between Newcastle and Manchester City.
Next up Barcelona
After the heroics against Man U and the post match euphoria, Manchester City wiped those feelings out in brutal fashion.
Next up it's Barcelona in what could be a season defining game.
Unless we win the home tie, and probably by two goals or more, Eddie and his squad will have just nine games left to hit a run of results to finish in a Conference League position.
Given that we've never even had a six game run this season that is one tall order.
Can we put that run together and salvage our season?
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From Mac - My take on things is that Eddie doesn't like working with Sporting Directors and wants full control over transfers.
Dan Ashworth said in an interview that if he'd known Amanda Stanley was going to leave he probably would have stayed at Newcastle.
My take on that is that Eddie constantly went over Ashworths head to Amanda to get his desired players as she went out personally to negotiate for Gordon.
Enter Paul Mitchell rattling cages with his "not fit for purpose" assessment.
End of last season there was an apparent meeting between Yasir Al-Rumayyan, Eddie and Mitchell with Mitchell leaving shortly after.
I believe this was because Eddie got the owners full backing on recruitment after an…
"EDDIE HOWE has spelled out the importance of Newcastle United appointing a sporting director – and dismissed suggestions that he is reluctant to work within a structure where such a figure wields significant power.
I don’t know where that has come from [the idea that he doesn’t like working with a sporting director],” said Howe. “I’m desperate for a sporting director. The way the modern football club works, I think you need that person with the expertise, the person who’s going to lead the club in all sorts of different ways"
https://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/sport/25462357.eddie-howe-dismisses-sporting-director-myth-newcastle-united/
@Mac
I wouldn't base an opinion on something in the Athletic that a) i haven't seen and b) is only a suggested possibility.
I've just had a quick look over on RTG (Mackems forum). Absolute uncontrolled meltdown. Even calling for Le Bris to be sacked. After what he's done for them! That my friends is the very definition of entitlement.