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| Yeah, so sometimes I a do a roll neck, sometimes a hoodie, other times a cashmere sweater and slacks, sometimes a three piece suit, sometimes I'll do something else, change it up a little. Maybe a t shirt from a little fashion house or a fishing style sweater worth 900 euros. That sort of thing. What about you Neil? |
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| Yeah, similar. Sometimes it's the club issue big coat, sometimes the club issue body warmer. Once in a while I'll even go club issue polo shirt if I'm feeling mad! |
Imagine Critch this last few days. Thinking about meeting Pep. Doing his side parting with a ruler. Cadging a go on Gaz Maz's sunbed to top up his holiday tan. Asking Janine to grab him an extra fresh Sure 48 hr+ roll on so he smells fragrant. Ironing creases into his club issue leisurewear with a jaunty whistle. Sending Mike Garrity to Macro for 'some tapas type stuff to lay out in the dressing room and a bottle of Echo Falls.' Brushing up on his language skills with 'the little book of Catalan phrases for football managers'
la màquina d'objectius : the Goal Machine
Jo també gaudeixo de la possessió més que qualsevol altra cosa, inclosos els gols: I too enjoy possession more than anything else including goals
Aquest noi de Raheem, em recorda a algú que vaig conèixer una vegada. Un noi anomenat "kaikai" : That lad Raheem, he reminds me of some kid I used to know. Went by the name of "Kaikai"
No, ho sento, no pots tenir Chris Maxwell.: No, I'm sorry, you can't have Chris Maxwell.
We're back on telly, behind closed doors. It's a nostalgia trip for the good old days of about 2 months ago when everything was hills around here and we had a right back. Who among us truly saw that Ollie Turton would be the one we missed? I heard that Joanni Mitchell wrote that song about him. The one about taxis and parking lots and all that. Not my favourite song to be honest, but better than Dido in the grand scheme of things...
It would be very Pool to have looked (to use a technical football term) 'a bit meh' against the Carlisle and Morecambe but to then football Man City to defeat. It doesn't really matter, it's just minutes in the legs (etc) but it would be mad craic and then we could all get carried away about how we don't need full backs really anyway and the Championship is there for the taking.
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City score within minutes. Casey makes a mess of playing out from the back and that's all we need to say about that. They nearly score again minutes later. Despite the goal, Pool keep playing out and quite often keep making a hash of it and City look like they could probably score whenever they fancy it.
Pool's first chance comes from a Carey break, the youngster belts down the right, weighing a lovely ball to Lavery, who shows awareness to square it for Bowler who hammers it a mile over the top. This is followed by an immense bit of play where Lavery wins the ball 3 times in one move, each time City nick it back, he snaps into another tackle, like an angry wasp refusing to be shooed away from a glass of sugary pop.
Pool's equaliser comes from the same man, again winning it, driving at the box and going down under a little clip from that lad people on Twitter row about whether he's as good as Van Dijk or not. Garbutt hammers the penalty into the top corner.
A Stewart stumble and a Bowler miscontrol deny further chances. Carey fails to offload when surging through. Bowler has a run on the right, teasing and teasing with the idea of a cross until Mendy makes a last minute interception. Sarkic very nearly threads him through in a later move but a City slide denies him.
Pool have been the better side for 10-15 minutes, but Moore is the first keeper to make a save after the spot kick, sprawling to push away a drive from the left after a mazy run and a square ball from the magician Mahrez who is frankly fucking brilliant.
Pool have just made a nice run forward when Kevin Stewart goes down to his knees and after some on pitch treatment makes way for Cameron Antwi. It's nice to get another look at the youngster but seeing Stewart limp off again (to be accurate, he didn't so much limp as trudge off looking a bit fed up) is not good with Dougall also out.
City slice one wide. They whip one over the top. Youngster Palmer shimmies past 4 players. We're back to chasing shadows. Mahrez plays a stupidly cute ball, Cancello picks it up, changes direction, Carey goes sliding past him, totally sold by the shift, he couldn't even foul him if he tried but Moore sprawls at the near post and saves...
---
Shane Lavery is the standout of the half. He looks hungry, direct and very, very hard working. He's the sort of player who would be a nightmare in a five-a-side if you were a bit hungover and wanted to just mooch at the back and take it easy. Garbutt has had a certain authority about him as well. Marvin is looking a bit more like himself, possibly he needs this sort of test to get back into form, he's that kind of player who looks better in a bit of chaos where he's got to slide about a bit than he does with nothing to do for 15 minutes at a time. Stewart going off seemed to really impact on our ability to win and play through the middle as he seemed the player with the radar to spread play with more ambition than the short pass and move stuff the rest of the team are playing.
Sky Sinclair has done ok on the right, he's been beaten a couple of times, but so has everyone and he's not looked out of place or done anything daft. I am still none the wiser as to whether Bowler is any good or as to what Ollie Sarkic actually is. Moore is quite good at saving things, but he's not Chris Maxwell with his feet. That said, I'm convinced Critch left Maxwell out so Pep doesn't realise how good he is and nab him.
---
Grimshaw, John-Jules, Husband and Ward come on. City score early, A ball across, lovely control from Mahrez and a crisp finish, Husband trailing in his wake and Grimshaw getting a despairing finger tip to it.
I'm struggling for standout moments for Pool. Husband gets a good challenge in on Mahrez, Sky Sinclair is nicely involved in a move down the right. Lavery and John-Jules both tackle back really well. Marvin skins a city man, Antwi plays a really nice ball forward, John-Jules has a chance to set Lavery free but he shanks the pass.
It's very much City. They cross and players stretch but don't quite get a touch. They cross and Casey slams it over his own bar. They lift a free kick in and Gundogan gets in front of everyone, Sinclair the nearest to tracking him, and tucks it home from no range at all. He just appears and scores. If he wasn't world class, you'd ask questions of the defence, but City do this sort of thing.
A nice link up between Sinclair and Antwi gets us out of a hole and then Antwi's lovely flighted ball into the channels sees us running ant the defence. Lavary, then Bowler threaten, but the ball is deflected away. Lavery has a little run and puts it across the face of goal.
Keogh, Yates, Anderson, CJ and Connelly come on. The passing at the back finally works as Ward, Keogh and Antwi play triangles and tempt City on, Connelly launches it forward, Pool are away but John-Jules cushioned header for Yates is cut out and City have it back.
The fourth is similar to the third, a lofted ball, Gundogan ghosts in and tucks it away from the edge of the six yard box. I've given up now. City bring on a sub who looks weirdly like the reflection of Callum Connolly. Mahrez has a mad overhead kick. Their kid Rogers looks quite lively. Mahrez belts another one, Grimshaw skims it over the top.
At last Pool make a chance. Gifted the ball, Yates shows nice feet, Husband a lovely touch as well as Pool work it out of a tight spot and into the box to John-Jules who goes for a side foot placed effort that slides past the post.
---
It's minutes in the legs etc. I could write what I've already written about us possibly not being quite ready and what everyone knows about us needing a right back and for the injury curse that's plagued us since about December last year to lift. But I've already written that and everyone knows it. We actually did well for 20+ minutes then another player got crocked.
What is mad, is that we played tonight at City's spare stadium and they had players with squad numbers in the 90s coming on. The ground is good enough to host at least a league 1 team and their players with 80+ and 90+ on the back are good enough to play for it. That's surely the plan one day. Man City B, mixing it with Port Vale, Crewe and the like. A football machine, a giant conveyor belt of talent, all coached in the tiki-taka arts and then, just as they get near the first team, City will spend a trillion quid on someone else to play in it instead.
Presta’ns una volta, si us plau, Pep. (Lend us a right back please Pep)
City score within minutes. Casey makes a mess of playing out from the back and that's all we need to say about that. They nearly score again minutes later. Despite the goal, Pool keep playing out and quite often keep making a hash of it and City look like they could probably score whenever they fancy it.
Pool's first chance comes from a Carey break, the youngster belts down the right, weighing a lovely ball to Lavery, who shows awareness to square it for Bowler who hammers it a mile over the top. This is followed by an immense bit of play where Lavery wins the ball 3 times in one move, each time City nick it back, he snaps into another tackle, like an angry wasp refusing to be shooed away from a glass of sugary pop.
Pool's equaliser comes from the same man, again winning it, driving at the box and going down under a little clip from that lad people on Twitter row about whether he's as good as Van Dijk or not. Garbutt hammers the penalty into the top corner.
A Stewart stumble and a Bowler miscontrol deny further chances. Carey fails to offload when surging through. Bowler has a run on the right, teasing and teasing with the idea of a cross until Mendy makes a last minute interception. Sarkic very nearly threads him through in a later move but a City slide denies him.
Pool have been the better side for 10-15 minutes, but Moore is the first keeper to make a save after the spot kick, sprawling to push away a drive from the left after a mazy run and a square ball from the magician Mahrez who is frankly fucking brilliant.
Pool have just made a nice run forward when Kevin Stewart goes down to his knees and after some on pitch treatment makes way for Cameron Antwi. It's nice to get another look at the youngster but seeing Stewart limp off again (to be accurate, he didn't so much limp as trudge off looking a bit fed up) is not good with Dougall also out.
City slice one wide. They whip one over the top. Youngster Palmer shimmies past 4 players. We're back to chasing shadows. Mahrez plays a stupidly cute ball, Cancello picks it up, changes direction, Carey goes sliding past him, totally sold by the shift, he couldn't even foul him if he tried but Moore sprawls at the near post and saves...
---
Shane Lavery is the standout of the half. He looks hungry, direct and very, very hard working. He's the sort of player who would be a nightmare in a five-a-side if you were a bit hungover and wanted to just mooch at the back and take it easy. Garbutt has had a certain authority about him as well. Marvin is looking a bit more like himself, possibly he needs this sort of test to get back into form, he's that kind of player who looks better in a bit of chaos where he's got to slide about a bit than he does with nothing to do for 15 minutes at a time. Stewart going off seemed to really impact on our ability to win and play through the middle as he seemed the player with the radar to spread play with more ambition than the short pass and move stuff the rest of the team are playing.
Sky Sinclair has done ok on the right, he's been beaten a couple of times, but so has everyone and he's not looked out of place or done anything daft. I am still none the wiser as to whether Bowler is any good or as to what Ollie Sarkic actually is. Moore is quite good at saving things, but he's not Chris Maxwell with his feet. That said, I'm convinced Critch left Maxwell out so Pep doesn't realise how good he is and nab him.
---
Grimshaw, John-Jules, Husband and Ward come on. City score early, A ball across, lovely control from Mahrez and a crisp finish, Husband trailing in his wake and Grimshaw getting a despairing finger tip to it.
I'm struggling for standout moments for Pool. Husband gets a good challenge in on Mahrez, Sky Sinclair is nicely involved in a move down the right. Lavery and John-Jules both tackle back really well. Marvin skins a city man, Antwi plays a really nice ball forward, John-Jules has a chance to set Lavery free but he shanks the pass.
It's very much City. They cross and players stretch but don't quite get a touch. They cross and Casey slams it over his own bar. They lift a free kick in and Gundogan gets in front of everyone, Sinclair the nearest to tracking him, and tucks it home from no range at all. He just appears and scores. If he wasn't world class, you'd ask questions of the defence, but City do this sort of thing.
A nice link up between Sinclair and Antwi gets us out of a hole and then Antwi's lovely flighted ball into the channels sees us running ant the defence. Lavary, then Bowler threaten, but the ball is deflected away. Lavery has a little run and puts it across the face of goal.
Keogh, Yates, Anderson, CJ and Connelly come on. The passing at the back finally works as Ward, Keogh and Antwi play triangles and tempt City on, Connelly launches it forward, Pool are away but John-Jules cushioned header for Yates is cut out and City have it back.
The fourth is similar to the third, a lofted ball, Gundogan ghosts in and tucks it away from the edge of the six yard box. I've given up now. City bring on a sub who looks weirdly like the reflection of Callum Connolly. Mahrez has a mad overhead kick. Their kid Rogers looks quite lively. Mahrez belts another one, Grimshaw skims it over the top.
At last Pool make a chance. Gifted the ball, Yates shows nice feet, Husband a lovely touch as well as Pool work it out of a tight spot and into the box to John-Jules who goes for a side foot placed effort that slides past the post.
---
It's minutes in the legs etc. I could write what I've already written about us possibly not being quite ready and what everyone knows about us needing a right back and for the injury curse that's plagued us since about December last year to lift. But I've already written that and everyone knows it. We actually did well for 20+ minutes then another player got crocked.
What is mad, is that we played tonight at City's spare stadium and they had players with squad numbers in the 90s coming on. The ground is good enough to host at least a league 1 team and their players with 80+ and 90+ on the back are good enough to play for it. That's surely the plan one day. Man City B, mixing it with Port Vale, Crewe and the like. A football machine, a giant conveyor belt of talent, all coached in the tiki-taka arts and then, just as they get near the first team, City will spend a trillion quid on someone else to play in it instead.
Presta’ns una volta, si us plau, Pep. (Lend us a right back please Pep)
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