Enigmatic City

City were always going to get beat in one of these finals sooner or later, but the way in which we surrendered against Wigan at Wembley on Saturday, losing 1-0 in the FA Cup Final, only left me with a feeling of bewilderment.

This defeat was the icing on the cake of City’s enigmatic season, a season that promised so much but has now delivered nothing but failure and – it seems – discontent between the club’s management and administration staff.

Preparation for the final was hardly ideal with rumours of Roberto Mancini’s dismissal and his imminent replacement with Manuel Pellegrini. Mancini is now gone and that development will be addressed another day, but how much impact did this uncertainty have on City’s lethargic performance?

Players are meant to be professionals these days, but to what extent they could have insulated themselves from the rumours swirling around their boss? It cannot have helped.

What was not in doubt was City’s lacklustre display. We laboured, we created chances, with a bit more luck in the first half we would have been 1-0 to the good.

But the chances we did have always seemed against the run of play. We were dominated by Wigan for large parts of the game, overrun in midfield, appeared tired throughout the team and of course, as we always have this season, lacking the goal scoring touch upfront.

And then there was the lack of tempo. We have had a lot of possession this season, but when we win the ball back we have been far too ponderous. We gave Wigan too much time to regroup. We have some of the best passers in England, but sometimes we are not direct enough, not ruthless enough, too intricate.

It is the end of the season and everyone is going to be tired. This is when it comes down to motivation and determination – which are within both Mancini’s sphere and the sphere of the leading players in the squad – our leaders on the field. Mancini indicated the players did not run enough, but it is too difficult to say why they did not run, whether because they did not want to go the extra mile for Mancini, whether they had been out thought tactically, or whether they simply did not have the legs.

Then again, this was an FA Cup Final. At the very least, the players should have wanted to win it for themselves and for the fans, but we just did not turn up.

Full credit to Wigan, a very good performance that kept the romance of the cup intact. They deserved the FA Cup and I hope they stay in the Premier League.

For City though, it is just another reminder of what might have been, and the unfulfilled potential that continues to vex the fans and board alike. 

The strength of 10 men

It could have been a mauling, instead it turned into a cup tie and a half. City ultimately lost their FA Cup crown amidst a first half that was not good enough, whatever is said about the sending off of Vincent Kompany. United will gloat, but they will kick themselves that they did not push the sword in further.

The Blues started well, forcing their opponents back, but there was really nothing they could do against United’s opener, a top drawer header from Wayne Rooney, who seems to save some of his best performances for City.

We were down but far from out, and then came the sending off. The club will appeal the decision but I can’t help thinking there’s no point in doing that. The officials will close ranks and back Chris Foy, but really, there was nothing in the sending off at all, apart from a referee that appeared to be trying to make a name for himself.

With our captain and best defender off the pitch, we went to pieces at the back and United capitalized. We couldn’t clear the ball out of the area, and when we did, we couldn’t hold it long enough to give our defence a breather. It was classic United and there was no doubt that with a man less, it was going to be difficult.

United pressed and Wellbeck’s goal came as a result. I have to commend the strike, taken at an awkward angle and with perfect precision, the young striker showed great athleticism.

But the truth is, he was allowed to do this because we were soft in the area – in this case Nigel de Jong was the culprit. If you are de Jong in this situation, you have to be putting extreme pressure on the man, but instead, de Jong appeared to duck out of the challenge. It might have been out of fear of fouling Wellbeck, it might have been out of fear of deflecting the shot. Whatever it was, it gave the young United striker the window he needed to execute, and suddenly we were flapping.

There can be no qualms over Alexander Kolarov’s tackle on Wellbeck for the penalty. Costel Pantilimon did well to save Rooney’s penalty, but could do nothing with the rebound. It was a baptism of fire for our Romanian stand in keeper, a strange game to rest Joe Hart in.

But it was a credit to the Blues that Wellbeck’s second was the last United scored in open play. In the second half the ten men regrouped, got our heads right and Mancini got the tactics right. We were too belt and braces in the first half, even after we went behind. We needed to slow things down, have a bit of possession, wait for them to come at us, and then hit them. And that’s exactly what we did. Replacing Adam Johnson and David Silva with Pablo Zabaleta and Stefan Savic, we were much more able to repel United’s attacks.

It was the classic dilemma of playing against 10 ten. United were unsure what to do. Do you go for the fourth and kill the opposition off? Or do you wait and allow them to come onto you? The strength of ten men here cast doubt into United's overall play in the second half.

Ferguson helped us with his substitutes. Subbing Nani and Wellbeck took the edge of United’s offensive play. Introducing Paul Scholes particularly slowed things down for them, and as the game wore on, United surprisingly became less of a threat.

Kolarov’s sublime free kick was just was the doctor ordered, the first chance of the second half in the back of the net, start-as-you-mean-to-go-on stuff. Kolarov needs to start weighing in with a few more of these. We all know his defensive frailties – for me he still isn’t cut out for the position of left back in this league – but if he can bring goal scoring free kicks to the table then that weighs things out a bit more.

The game then changed. United continued to have possession but our counter attacking became more effective. Sergio Aguero was ploughing a lonely furrow for the majority of this encounter, but he did what all top strikers do and immediately switched on when he was needed. A brilliant cross from James Milner (who is probably having the season of his life) found Aguero unmarked in the box and the Argentinean scored City’s second, forcing the ball home after Lindegaard had parried his first effort.

Things were looking particularly dicey for United at this point. That is the central difference with Ferguson’s men this season. They are showing a brittleness at the back and throughout the spine of the team. Most sides are sensing blood and exploiting it, and that’s what we did here.

We on the other hand are showing steel, and our character came through.

As things became increasingly tense, too good penalty decisions were turned down. Kolarov brought down Valencia and then Phil Jones handballed inside the penalty area. On another day both could have easily been given.

A late, late Kolarov free kick, parried away by the United keeper in a penalty area full of players, could have gone anywhere. We threatened yet again with a corner, with Micah Richards attempting a scissor kick, but the ball could not be scrambled home. Instead, United scrambled away with a victory. It was a far cry from the thrashing they were surely expecting to give us. Nowadays, its a different City. It wasn't inconceivable that we could have won the game if some more decisions went our way - and all this with a man less.

There is something strange about United this season that I cannot quite put my finger on. There seems an air of capitulation about them, something rarely found in the Ferguson era. The script of this match started as a potential rout for United, but it ended with them on the back foot, exiting stage left as quickly as they could as they hung on while we ended the match heroically. Perhaps it is this inability to keep to the script that is now troubling Ferguson’s squad?

United will take the victory, but with 10 men, and a comeback that was almost United-esque in its manner, City will take the psychological edge.

What will be success for City in 2011/12?

This might seem like a tedious question but it is one that is going to be recurring at Manchester City for seasons to come now. I asked the same question towards the end of last season as Mancini’s days of judgement loomed. But with the manager coming through that period unscathed, and with the club in a record four competitions this season, I think now is an interesting time to ask the question again - whilst we're still relatively at the start of things. So what do people (Blues and non-Blues alike) think can be defined as a successful 2011/12 season for City? Here’s some of my own thoughts.

Let’s take the Premier League first. Given the start that Arsenal has made, and with Chelsea, Spurs and Liverpool not coming out of the blocks too quickly, we have to be looking at the top two positions. United have admittedly had an explosive start, but it will not last forever, as evidenced by the recent loss of Wayne Rooney to injury. Defensively, they are also more open - whilst De Gea is not as bad as everyone thinks it is impossible for the young Spaniard to fill the boots of Edwin Van Der Sar so early in his tenure. Chelsea now are slack and are in the middle of a 'changing of the guard' of sorts, but the signs are there that Fernando Torres is on the way back, and with Juan Mata and Raul Meireles coming into the squad, I've little oubt that Villas-Boas will oversee the necessary transition. This means that Chelsea may well come on strong towards the end of the season, but we still have enough in us for one of the top two spots.

In terms of trophies, I would forgo not winning both the FA Cup and the League Cup (yes!) if it turns out that we can put together a solid run to the latter stages of the Champions League. I think it is a little unrealistic to think that we can win the CL this season, but progress in this competition with serve us better over the longer term, rather than winning the League Cup for example. Don’t get me wrong, its always good to win more trophies and I certainly wouldn't shy away from doing that, but the collective experience gained from a lengthy CL run would be worth more.

But if we win the lot – then great!

I guess the main thing this season is perhaps not to become frustrated if we end up with nothing. It would surely be hard to take for the fans if this were to happen, given the FA Cup glory last year, and the amount of money that has since been spent players – again. But it must be remembered that this season is a new experience for us, fighting on four fronts. We now have the squad to win the league, but the final pieces of that squad must still be given time to settle. Sergio Aguero is one of the reasons why we are title contenders this season, but although he has made a blistering start, he must still be given the time to settle properly. We just need to ensure that we are qualifying comfortably the for CL each season and are having a real crack at the Prem each season. We're established in the top four now, so we've a great base from which to build. I think its a matter of time before we land one of the big two trophies.

But that's my three penneth. What does success mean for you this season?

A second place league finish? Nothing less than the Premier League title? Champions League glory? Domestic cup glory? Settle for nothing in the event that the Blues still prove that they are progressing (i.e. they reach a couple of finals and finish second in the Prem)? Or nothing less than the quadruple?

Answers on the (electronic) postcard below!