Man City prove Mancini wrong

both teams were way too defensive today

stupidly defensive if you ask me. man city were at home and should have attacked more.

the game was pretty boring as a result

anyway come the second half. chelsea decide to step it up a gear and get caught on the break by tevez who ends up scoring. which results in.. surprise surprise. man city going even more defensive and shutting the game out for chelsea

i dont get why the hell ancelotti took drogba off.

he should have taken anelka off.
so frustrationg every time anelka gets the ball, he more often than not loses it.

drogba however bad he is playing can still end up scoring 2/3 goals out of nowhere. anelka is nowhere near drogbas level.

anyway look forward to the arsenal match.

Playing with 3 holding midfielders at home, hoping for something on the break, is not what you'd usually expect from a 'title contender', but it worked perfectly here. And Chelsea are usually the most complete of the top teams, able to use technique or physicality.

Chelsea aren't the last team who'll struggle at Eastlands, but in the longer term I hope Mancini moves away from such a defensive system. Congrats on the victory though.

Good piece Phil. Good result for the premier league

"stupidly defensive if you ask me. man city were at home and should have attacked more.

the game was pretty boring as a result"

They won! What else matters? Maybe this will come as a shock to you but the primary function of the team IS TO WIN *not* to entertain you.

Clearly Man City's tactics worked and they're not going to give two hoots that *you* found the match boring as a result!

Funniest moment of the game: Man C and Chelsea fans singing 'where were you when you were s**t' at each other...

Mancini did the usual 'pressure is on them' trick. awesome. yawnnnn!

I heard on the radio that City fans were complaining about the defensive play of their team. Clearly this is totally unwarranted when one considers that they just claimed to most notable scalp outside of the derby. What some English viewers may not understand is that we witnessed a tactical performance between two Italian managers, whose greatest successes have come on the Serie A, this was vintage Italian football in the premier league. And if I'm honest I really enjoyed it and I am looking forward to seeing some more of it.

Good blog Phil. I thought a draw would have been a fair reflection of the game, and Chelsea should have finished off one of the several free headers they had in the 6 yard box. Fair play to City though, Mancini's gameplan worked a treat and it was a great early finish from Tevez. Silva looked much sharper today too. I was quite disappointed with the Chelsea attack today, and wasn't sure why Drogba kept coming wide so often. Lampard may have made a difference, and Ramires needs a bit of time to acclimatise to the pace of the premier league as he was dwelling on the ball several fractions too long. I think City will be title contenders this season, and will be interesting to see the response with the visit of Arsenal next weekend.

And the mods become ever more pedantic.... I was just commenting on the "where were you when..." chants between the two sets of fans, and even used asterisks to avoid 'profanity'! Get a life guys.

11aSide got it spot on, it was tactical play, which was interesting to watch and as a United fan, its almost comical on what city fans will complain about, if we got that result against Chelsea i would be over the moon.

Another matter is that we can see all the complains about defensive play, but our national side are no barcelona or brazil, that rely on scoring more goals then the opponents. I wish they could give performances like this rather than the shambles of last 2 world cups,and the no-show of euro 2008.

P.S congratulations to CITY

It was a defensively minded game but Alan Durban summed it up beautifully, "if you ant entertainment, go and watch a bunch of clowns". They can be found playing at the DW stdium every other week wearing a blue and white kit performing the act the hopelessly inadequate premiership football team.

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I can only guess that the Chelsea title prediction is mind games from Mancini. You can't spend the amount of money City have and write off your title chances in September, it'd be insane to do so.

Phil,

Good article but I also have some observations.

Mancini talks about "mentality" a w inning "mentality" something CITY have not tasted in over 30 years. CITY have built form the back, Kompany has been outstanding this year and in De Jong CITY have the best defensive midfield player in the division. It is no suprise that on the 3 occasions CITY have beaten Chelsea in the last 18 months De Jong has been the man of the match.

Now we talk about defensive sterile tactics which is nonsense. CITY break at pace and stretch teams, look at he goal tey scored today? Also, your looking at a CITY team that is not complete, Bassong, Korav and Boletti will come in and strengthen the areas that in the past have plagued us.

CITY have given 1 goal away in open play, 1 in 6. Now that aint bad. We lost at Sunderland to a dodgey penalty, we hammerd Blackburn with no luck.

I have bought into the Mancini mentality, get on board there is a Blue Moon rising.

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Mourinho got fired from Chelsea after winning 2 EPL titles - because he played too defensively, and not entertaining enough.

So there's still hope that winning alone is not enough in the EPL. And that's a good thing.

Bruce buck is a legend..... do I taste spur grapes. The reality is its one thing beating the bottom 5 teams and when it come to top 10 teams its a different matter. Chelsea had by far the easiest start of last seasons top 4 and whilst they have played well their results reflect that to some extent. Its when a team comes up against quality international players that you find out what they are made off. Who cares if city were "boring" and "overly defensive" they played to an efficient game plan an cancelled out Chelsea's "unbeatables" and covered everything they had to offer. It will be interesting to see how chelski fare as they encouter more proficient opponents in their schedule. Mind perhaps they have gone over the hill, after all 2 straight defeats is hardly what you would expect from the invincibles.

Two Italian Gladiators slogging it out for the Philistine Football Trophy at any cost, should this game have been played at the Coleseum ? A massive thumbs down.

I saw every minute and thoroughly enjoyed the victory. I thought that Mancini set the side up well and obviously the result proves that.

I think Chelsea are still the side to beat regarding the Premiership title just now though.

City is still a work in progress although top 4 should still be an achievable target this season. But if the team keeps up this sort of display, maybe like Tevez's dream goal, Mancini can dream up a better result!

Smellslikesalmon (#5 and #9),

It may not actually be moderators, but a badly written computer program, that took exception to your post. But perhaps that could be who Mr McNulty is taking a side-swipe at when he refers to Mancini's "improving English"?

I've been "moderated" on this blog for, I think, using the name of that volcano in Iceland (after Phil had compared Fabio Capello's temper to the Italian volcano Vesuvius). If you look at its spelling, it's easy to believe that a half-wit or a computer program was responsible. It might also then classify us "New members" for another 3 or 4 years.

I found the game engaging, every manager has to make the best use of his resources as he saw fit, and Mancini came out ahead in a game where a draw would have been a fair result.

As for the once-mighty Wenger, he is far more deserving of criticism than Mancini - the need for a safe goalkeeper has been obvious for a long time, so many points lost last season and again this as a result of failing to replace Almunia.

Great blog, Phil 10/10.

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Yes we are down again but not out, loosen to Mancity again 1-0 tell us Chelsea to sit up. It was a total football, man to man, fire for fire, and it just happen that Chelsea been the one to loose again. We shall live to fight another day... WATCH OUT!
Take note, in premeirship every team can beat each other, no minor, and that was the case of Arsenal loosen at home 2-3 to Westbrom.

City is still a work in progress. Whether or not when the work is more complete they will return to playing the expansive flowing football that has endeared them to so many neutals in the past remains to be seen, but at the moment the results are more important than the style.

The time to pass more specific judgement on the style of football City play will be in at least 12 months time. The players are undoubtedly there, it's up to Mancini to produce a team from them.

A quick football lesson for the know nowts on here.
1. 4-5-1 without possession becomes 4-3-3 with the ball.
2. city played with only 1 attack minded player.....er thats right cos we all know that david silva is that world renowned defensive holding midfielder
3. Yaya is a box to box attack minded midfielder, just because he played the holding role/occasional centre half at barca doesnt mean that is his best position. i saw niall quinn play in nets for city once, does that mean from now on i should refer to him as having been a goalie and not centre forward
4.historically any success is built from the back.2 goals conceded in 6 prem games is impressive....you cannot lose a game of football if you do not concede goals.
5. Both mancio's prefered fullbacks(boateng/kolarov) and support striker (balotelli)out injured,and both back up full backs injured (bridge/richards).
6. City quite clearly possess the most physically imposing midfield of any prem league squad, to not make use of this asset would be a folly

Seems to me city are damned if they do and damned if they dont.

Envy is thin because it bites but never eats.

I think if City were to approach every game like this they would definitely finish in the top 4. Stay really tight at the back, and counter attack, this game plan would work a treat against other weaker opposition, and instead of picking up draws they would be getting all three points. It’s not really acceptable drawing 1-1 at home with Blackburn, or getting beat 1-0 away to Sunderland, its not all about attractive football either. They have the quality to defend, they have a great goalkeeper, and they have lethal attacking players who can strike on the counter. Adopt this play, and when all is done and good in the game and you are cruising at 2-0, then you can open up and play your fancy stuff.

Three quite tricky fixtures coming up, I would expect the man city off yesterday to pick up 7 points against Newcastle, Blackpool and Arsenal.

City have done all the contenders a massive favour yesterday. There was a bit of an aura beginning to surround Chelsea as they were already champs and had started the season on fire albeit against weaker sides. Now with their first major test failed they don't look so invincible anymore. Drogba was taken off too which I just can't see him taking on the chin and getting on with. Sulk and a strop with some bad dressing room vibes at the very least. City won't like hearing it but no one will be happier than the gang at Old Trafford. Game on!

I think it is interesting that the first really serious challenge that Chelsea come up against they stumbled. I dont think they [Chelsea] are the ones who are claiming they are "invincibles" it is the typical over reaction of the media who do this every year to the current league leaders.

It is also interesting that Manchester United, should they win today (and that is by no means a given) will only be 1 point behind the "invincibles" despite having, according to the same media, a dodgy defence!

Chelsea are a very strong team, but they use muscle more than guile to win matches, when matched physically at City, they ran out of ideas quite quickly, and were resorting to wonder goals from Essien. That said, i still think they are the ones to beat in the league this year.

It was a great result for City, but it just goes to reinforce their unpredictable nature - they will raise their game for big matches, and yet could conceiveably get beaten by Newcastle in their next game.

Both teams deployed three holding midfielders, for teams with title aspirations this was a pathetic display of football.
No imagination or guile, just a great piece of play by a great player was the difference.

Shame you weren't at Anfield to witness the England captains' assault on Danny Welbeck. Still, a good result for City but it could so easily have been a win for Chelsea.

The Premier League has never been a stroll for any team.Losing key players to injury is a key factor in a clubs results and nobody can foresee when this problem can come up and bite them. Rules like transfer windows , squad sizes etc, means even wealthy clubs cant dodge this . Chelsea got tripped up badly by City home and away last season,but still went on to achieve the double--so yesterdays result may be an omen. Whatever--its certainly been a wake up call which sometimes even champions need!

The game against Chelsea may not have been exhibition football but the great thing about Man City is that it's work in progress. Mancini most definitely has more attacking creativity in mind otherwise he wouldn't have bought Silva, who has yet to get anywhere near his best, and Balotelli, who's still injured. Adam Johnson has proved he can do the business. I think that Mancini has enough talent in the squad to take several approaches depending on the opposition and he needed to be slightly cautious against Chelsea yesterday. This may be Man City's 'confidence platform' for the rest of the season.

What I don't like is that 'lesser' teams now tend to park the bus against Man City as if they have to prove, beyond all else, that money can't buy success – so I don't think we're going to see a lot of high-scoring games, unfortunately. However, I think that Mancini is astute enough to handle those teams in the long run.

It's been rumoured that Adebayor is sniffing other options and I'd have to say 'good riddance' as he doesn't seem to fit in with Mancini's work ethic but once Balotelli, Kolarov and Boeteng are back from injury and playing regularly, I really do think Man City will be a genuine force to be reckoned with.

As for Chelsea, for many seasons the team has had a swaggering self-confidence as if it's their right to win every game and every title – a bit like Arsenal in the Thierry Henry days. Well, now the 'easy' start is over, they're actually going to have to 'work' for it… that four-letter word that Mancini has already drilled into his squad.

@Bruce Buck Is A Legend

City were far too defensive to say they were playing at home? They beat the league leaders and best team in the country. As a City fan I couldn't care less if they lined up with 10 defenders on the pitch, Mancini and the team still got us a massive 3 points against Chelsea.

Mancini had the tactics spot on. City aren't at a position yet where they can go toe-to-toe with Chelsea in the football department, and Mancini knew that, so he concocted a plan to stifle Chelsea and steal a goal on the counter...a plan which worked beautifully. City played to their strengths (literally) and hardly let Chelsea have any time on the ball.

All the comments here are making me laugh. People are probably just jealous that City were the first team to beat Chelsea this season in PL. If City had gone all out attack and played football against Chelsea they'd have probably lost 3-0. So are you people saying you'd rather your team go and attack and lose the game, than get the tactics spot on, play to the teams strengths and walk away with 3 points? Baffling. Roberto Mancini certainly showed me yesterday that he is much better tactically than I ever gave him credit for.

You keep harping on about City's expensively reconstructed side Phil, but not a word about expensively constructed and reconstructed Chelsea.

I agree that Mancini hasn't been overly adventurous, but your blog doesn't mention that he inherited a lot of expensive merchandise that wasn't to his taste, e.g. Santa Cruz, Robinho to name 2, and that 3 of his 5 summer signings haven't been available, 2 of these exciting, attacking full backs aimed I feel to address our attacking limitations and fitting in to RM's football philosophy at the same time. And with Adebayor's unavailabilty on top of Balotelli's injury, RM's been left with 1 quality striker. Jo's been given a chance, and has tried, but still seems to be falling short. When all the above are back in the reckoning, I think City will have more of a cutting edge so will be a lot more dangerous attacking proposition, even if Mancini's doesn't change his approach.

There appears to be a split regarding the merits of the match, entertainment or pure result driven boredom.

I pray that this is not a sign of what to expect in the future when the top sides meet but I believe the trend has already started.

Is winning everything? NO. Football has to be about entertainment as well as result driven. Several have mentioned Serie A as an example but Serie A has seen a massive decline in attendance and a switch off by tv fans. Scandal led by the need to succeed at all costs and the negativity of teams afraid to lose are the prime factors.

The City game did resemble Serie A because both managers thought of not losing rather than winning a match. Long term this will have an effect because only one team can win a league each season and watching drivel when failing to win the league is not appetising at all.

If Arsenal really want a new goalkeeper they should look at Sergio Romero of AZ Alkmaar in Holland.He is young the first keeper of Argentina and the club need to sell him after their chairman went bankrupt at the beginning of the season.They have five goal keepers and need the money.He is really big,good in the air and quick for a big guy.

Wasn't a game for the purists but City showed the rest how to play Chelsea. Some teams just give them far too much respect but like anyone, knock them out of their rhythm and with a bit of luck you can get a result.

Both sides were quite negative but Mancini got it right. City are improving but if they had been naive and played more open I would fully expect they would have been defeated. I don't think city will come close to winning it, but you know there is certainly more to come, and their games against Arsenal, Utd and Chelsea will have a big say in who wins this years title. Carry on improving and they will be the 4th placed team.

I hope Mr. Wenger can take a cue from Mancini on how to stifle Chelsea

City appear to have had little choice but to field the team they did & play the way they did to get anything from this game irrespective of the comments from some who have blogged here.
Boyata is not a RB, but he played as well there as any of the back 4. Zabaleta is not a LB, but ditto my previous. Had we had Boateng start, Kolarov, Lescott, Richards available then City might not have played such a stifling game in midfield. However, to have played like that against Chelsea is more a sign of respect for the quality of the opposition than a desire to try and win ugly.
Tevez is a lonesome striker at the moment because Balotelli is injured, Adebayor's mind is not right for the team, Santa Cruz does not look like returning to the player he was at Blackburn, and Jo does not look like a striker who could trouble a Terry / Alex combo.
Given the same circumstances my guess is Ancelotti would have done exactly the same if he was City boss.
City's defence used to be a long standing joke. I bet after 6 games and only 2 (unnecessary) goals conceded (now the same as Chelsea's)Ancelotti, Wenger, Ferguson et al know that if they are going to take 3 points they are going to have to play out of their skins and hope for more luck than they've enjoyed in the past.

Interesting weekend in Premier League, Arsenal, Chelsea and Spurs lost! Manchester United now got another third consecutive away draw in Premier League!

The more Mancini says Chelsea will win the league, the more likely Manchester City will win Premier League!

Phil, I think way too much is being made of this defeat being a failure at the first challenge for Chelsea. While City were deserving winners they could hardly have complained had it been a draw. There was not a lot to choose between the 2 sides up front and in defence, but the City midfield in the second half were very strong. I am surprised that you and others have not however commented on the incredible non-decisions by Mariner for the fouls by Boyota on Drogba. Surely the second was blatant penalty (see where Boyota is looking - certainly not at the ball) and in the nature of such a close match, was conceivably a game changing decision. Later on also unbelievable missed the Alex foul on Tevez.

Interesting game yesterday. There was a touch of the Everton-style anti-football which made them hard to beat (or at least it did last year). There was also a lot of end-to-end stuff and I noticed that we were keeping our shape really, really well, both in possession and without the ball. Silva's run for Tevez's goal, essentially pulling Terry out of position, was incredibly smart and he deserves as much praise for that as Toure does for the pass and Tevez does for scoring it - without runs like that, there is no possession, there is no goal.

That we have only conceded twice this season is no coincidence and Chelsea's inability to score despite 20somthing goals to their name so far this term again was no coincidence. Good tactical football can be a joy to watch, I found yesterday genuinely exciting, entertaining and absorbing. No, there wasn't a hatful of goals but there was good football, a good tactical battle and evidence of a city midfield that is really starting to impose itself.

I disagree about the team being too defensive. Boyata and Zabaleta were constantly getting forwards, so yes, players like Yaya Toure and Barry and Milner had to drop back occasionally to cover, that is not being overly defensive it's being sensible and organised. They are still very dangerous going forward which they did a lot of the time, it's suicidal to leave enormous gaps at the back so we don't. You can see players dropping back and holding shape because there will always be another opportunity to get forward. It meant we never look like we're running out of ideas, constantly pressing and probing. We have a lot of players who like to get forward, even occasionally Kompany and Kolo Toure. I'd be dismayed if team mates were not dropping back to cover for them.

Milner caused plenty of problems and so did Silva - at times Chelsea looked overwhelmed by the pace and organisation we were showing and the speed and skill of our attacks. I certainly didn't get the impression that Chelsea were bossing us or that we were hanging on for a draw, before we scored.

I would have been happy with a draw - all 3 points is a fantastic achievement and proves the worth of players like Tevez, Silva and Toure. Italians have played football this way for years, turning the pace on as needed, lulling opponents into a false sense of security - it's not blood and thunder and it's not goal-a-minute and it's not the Arsenal of old who could cut through a team like a hot knife through butter but it IS football and it works for some of the world's biggest teams.

#42 Phil wrote: 'Do Chelsea fans think other teams will try to copy City's methods?'
- Not a Chelsea fan but do you mean their tactics or spending over £400m buying a team? ;)...either of which would be difficult as most teams simply don't have the right personnel.

Must be the first weekend ever United, Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool, Spurs didn't win..far more significant to City in the long-term? It makes me laugh to see a manager spend so much then downplay expectations..difference between the teams is City have loads of back-up, whilst Chelsea missed Lampard and for most of the game Drogba.

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Mancini has said a while ago that once Boateng and Kolarov are fit we will be more attacking, and the last couple of games with Lescott at LB worked defensively but he didn't have a clue once over the halfway line. It is also nice having Silva and Johnson on rotation, both exciting players who can make something happen. With Balotelli to come back as well, things are looking good for us (without getting carried away.)

Like a lot of City fans, I don't care how we get the results, even if we have to grind out 1-0 wins all season it's still 3 points in the bag. Two goals conceded all season - one a 94th pen, the other an absurd incident you see once a season, and if you don't concede you can't lose!

If we had played open against Chelsea we would have got mullered!

Great to see over-zealous moderating by the BBC because I gave a reasoned opinion about their chief writer!

Phil, your blog gets a lot of stick every week, a lot of it probably not justified and from the same old moaners, but, comparing Tevez with Maradona? Was that your words or Mancini's?

Chelsea were better team yesterday but got caught on break and lost goal. Not sure Man City have pedigree to make it close. Maybe next year. Chelsea for title this year. Man Utd second. Arsenal 3rd. City 4th.

number 14 is obviously a very pathetic glory supporter
he doesnt even know the names of first teamers
by bassong i guess he means jerome boateng cos bassong actually plays for spurs
and by korav i guess thats his shortened way of saying kolarov
and batelli i suppose is balotelli
smarten up on your facts son before you jump on the city bandwagon and i stress before.

I am not at all sure what to make of the City result to be honest. I am however pleased that the strutting peacocks of west london were brought down to earth bith a bang! First " big test " of the season and they FAILED! The hitherto hype about " scoring for fun " is now consigned to the history folder along with any chance chelsea had of achieving the feat of Arsenals unbeaten season.

When it was 1st announced City had new owners I was quite pleased for them, considering for years they lived under the shadows of united, but now having again spent vast sums of money in pursuit of 4th spot? wow thats saying something for ambitions? 4th spot? with all that money thrown you would have thought they would at least be aiming for 1st Place, i know i would and anything less would just not do! and not only would the manager be flying out the door, so would have the assembled mercenarys. In fairness to Citys surporters this new wealth, as yet, has not gone to thier heads pity the same cannot be said for the plastics and others that continue to crow surport for the west london outfit, who in my opinion are an utter disgrace to football, and the sycophantic nonesense from all quarters about that team is nauseating.

would it be possible for any journalist? wether they be from the BBC or other quarter to at least stick to facts when either speaking or writing about the team who brought success, that fact being Anchelloti did NOT! " assemble " a great team! he, like his many predessors INHERITED A TEAM! and as BIG SAM said, any fool could win the title and challenge for other honours with such a collection of prima donnas.

From my perspective Chelsea are a team that will gain very little respect from any true surporter of this game, 50 years in the wilderness, and without all that money thrown at them they would have been in division two by now. Should City gain success from thier spending sprees i hope thier surporters do not adopt the attitude of the west london outfit, a shabby disgusting bunch or overpaid,overhyped egos as for thier surporters my views are not printable here.

Up the Gunners! Londons Truly Finest and Geatest Club.

City played in the way they needed to to win the game. Just like they did against Liverpool, a different way, but different opponents and a different game. Credit to them for beginning to get things right, and for getting tactics right.

And at last, a team that can play in different ways - isn't that what we all want England to be able to do?

Good article, firstly credit to Mancini i was not convinced that he was going to be capable of achieveing the results required after all Cities spending and hype but it seems this is a rather big step in the right direction, i know it wasnt pretty but three points against Chelsea is what he needed. Concequently Ancelotti, first real test this season.. failed! Is it me or dos anyone else think the guy struggles with a plan B when his usually successful plan A fails? Drogba off when your looking for an equaliser? Even if he's not playing to his full ability surely leave him on, im not a fan of Chelsea or of Drogba but he is a brilliant striker and only needs a split second to change a game. I still think the title still wont be won till late April and like every year will still be between United and Chelsea however i think City look a good bet for a comfortable top four finish.

4. At 10:51pm on 25 Sep 2010, yottskry wrote:

yeh ok mate. football is not to entertain. good one (deluded joker)

17. At 01:52am on 26 Sep 2010, Carior wrote:

the game was a joke mate. what you on about when you say who cares if it was too defensive. whats the point in us fans watching it. again another deluded man city joker. what do you fans turn up to watch then if you dont wana be entertained???
try watching man utd arsenal. both teams going at it from the start. it doesnt help when the home team is playing with 9 defenders, one up front.

34. At 11:40am on 26 Sep 2010, toolpwn wrote:

not really jealous that man city beat us LOL. but atleast come out to play properly. dont just put ten defenders on the line. game was boring as a spectacle. anyone who says otherwise deluded. if any other team played that defensive, you would come running on here saying the game was too boring. hypocrites.

51. At 08:15am on 27 Sep 2010, HAHA CharadeYouAre wrote:

LOL. why are you spitting bile about chelsea.

is it because we end up steam rolling you season after season.
dont hate on chelsea because of that.

im just pleased everyone knows how to beat arsenal. west brom played you off the park mate.

i bet you were one of the ones who came running on here as soon as chelsea beat west brom 6-0 and said, "that was an easy game, easy fixture for chelsea"

wasnt too easy for you was it.

i bet none of the other big clubs will score 6 against wigan, 4 against blackpool, 6 against west brom. atleast then you wont be saying its easy fixtures.

LOL @ 3-2 at home to west brom.

51. At 08:15am on 27 Sep 2010, HAHA CharadeYouAre wrote:

I am not at all sure what to make of the City result to be honest. I am however pleased that the strutting peacocks of west london were brought down to earth bith a bang! First " big test " of the season and they FAILED! The hitherto hype about " scoring for fun " is now consigned to the history folder along with any chance chelsea had of achieving the feat of Arsenals unbeaten season.

When it was 1st announced City had new owners I was quite pleased for them, considering for years they lived under the shadows of united, but now having again spent vast sums of money in pursuit of 4th spot? wow thats saying something for ambitions? 4th spot? with all that money thrown you would have thought they would at least be aiming for 1st Place, i know i would and anything less would just not do! and not only would the manager be flying out the door, so would have the assembled mercenarys. In fairness to Citys surporters this new wealth, as yet, has not gone to thier heads pity the same cannot be said for the plastics and others that continue to crow surport for the west london outfit, who in my opinion are an utter disgrace to football, and the sycophantic nonesense from all quarters about that team is nauseating.

would it be possible for any journalist? wether they be from the BBC or other quarter to at least stick to facts when either speaking or writing about the team who brought success, that fact being Anchelloti did NOT! " assemble " a great team! he, like his many predessors INHERITED A TEAM! and as BIG SAM said, any fool could win the title and challenge for other honours with such a collection of prima donnas.

From my perspective Chelsea are a team that will gain very little respect from any true surporter of this game, 50 years in the wilderness, and without all that money thrown at them they would have been in division two by now. Should City gain success from thier spending sprees i hope thier surporters do not adopt the attitude of the west london outfit, a shabby disgusting bunch or overpaid,overhyped egos as for thier surporters my views are not printable here.

-----------------------------------------

Hear, hear. I for one am fed up with BBC and Sky latching onto a club that has bought success or been bankrolled by a rich foreign owner and claiming that the manager has done brilliant in assembling a team.

im a bit mystified too when ancelotti took off drogba


the one man who can score you a goal out of nowhere is drogba. he can play bad all match and still end up with a hat trick.

im getting fed up of nicolas anelka. slowing down our attacks, losing the ball nearly every teams. thinking he can run past defenders as if they're not even there. argh its frustrating to watch anelka on the ball. id rather play sturridge or kalou instead of him.

As a Chelsea fan who was at the came, all I can say is SPOT ON, Phil. City were excellent - they are definite contenders and three clean sheets v Liverpool, Spurs and Chelsea shows how strong they are defensively. I have little doubt thgat they will finish the seaon with best defensive record - question is is whether they will be able to score enough goals against sides who will go there looking for a draw. But they are a very, very good side and it is now time to take them seriously.

51. At 08:15am on 27 Sep 2010, HAHA CharadeYouAre wrote:
I am not at all sure what to make of the City result to be honest. I am however pleased that the strutting peacocks of west london were brought down to earth bith a bang! First " big test " of the season and they FAILED! The hitherto hype about " scoring for fun " is now consigned to the history folder along with any chance chelsea had of achieving the feat of Arsenals unbeaten season.

Failed to beat City away, yes your right, but we did manage to beat West Brom at home though. 6-0 I think was the final score...we didn't fail there.

44. At 3:58pm on 26 Sep 2010, uptoeleven wrote:
Interesting game yesterday. There was a touch of the Everton-style anti-football which made them hard to beat
.......................................................
Do I detect a touch of sour grapes because we beat you on your own ground last season playing the kind of game you did yesterday against Chelsea, which you rightly go on to praise? You don't go your last 24 games being beaten only twice by playing "anti-football" as I'm sure you know.
City played very well yesterday and thoroughly desserved their win. Credit where credit's due from other fans never goes amiss!

At 10:07am on 27 Sep 2010, PulpGrape wrote:

Thank You.

as for those saying i hate or spit bile sorry about that but the truth has to be told and faced at sometime, your team if it should be Chelsea, will never have my respect as i say you spend years in a wilderness, with a small fan base, along comes a sugar daddy and throws money at you like confetti! you go through managers more than some go through underwear! there is very little to like about your Club, and the players who wear your colours.

and to reaffirm, its so so so tedious to hear and read some of the utter ninsence written about chelseas various managers! all of whom apparently have " assembled a great team " Your Russian billinaire assemlbed your TEAM! and all you have are puppets and front men to look as though they are running it. Your club has tarnished Football in many respects, its a pity the FA and others do not act quicker to stop these flash harrys buying football teams and thus success that goes with such an easy strategy, even i could win the PL with so much wealth . enjoy what success you might have, but as i say you will get no respect from me and many others look upon you with considerbale disdain! YOU ARE NOT AS GOOD or as POPULAR as you think you are in the grand order of things.

61. At 10:34am on 27 Sep 2010, HAHA CharadeYouAre wrote:

we'll see you back on here after the 3-0 thumping on sunday

oh we wont get any respect from you:( what a shame. i guess we might go pack our bags then and go home because mr arsenal fan who thinks his team are the barcelona of english football isnt gna respect you :(

mate. west brom beat you in your own backyard. thats shameful. i wouldnt even come on here for a good while. westbrom played you off the park mate. arent you a tiny bit embarassed at that.

i dont mind arsenal actually. they're a good team but fans like you who think ur the english version of barcelona. you do my head in.

year on year you get steamrolled by man utd and chelsea. YEAR on YEAR.

lol @ arsenal announcing £56million profit but still you got almunia in goal.

that is a joke. dont you think? your fat shareholders are filling up thier pockets while you got calamity number one in goal and calamity number 2 waiting on the bench.

haha

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@49 SpyIII

To be fair to Phil, his article does say "the man Mancini believes" so it is probably Phil quoting or paraphrasing Mancini.

Additionally, he doesn't compare Tevez to Maradona as footballers, just that Tevez could be a similar influence to the club (i.e. on-pitch focus/outlet/target, off-pitch support, etc.).

I think :)

Jeez, the way people are talking you would've thought Chelsea were demolished! It was a tight game, and if the ref had given Drogba the penalty he should have, we'd be talking about a dull draw (which was all Mancini was playing for). All this lame chat about City claiming a major scalp treats them as if they were West Brom (which was a proper shock result). It's a £400million team and yet everyone seems surprised when they get any kind of result. Drogba wasn't at his best, but was getting fed up with being man-handled on a continual basis. Yes, he's a dramatic old git, but City's right-back would've been sent off in another game. And then what would the result have been.
In the whole scheme of a season, it's no biggie.

I think this season is shaping up very well. Nice and unpredictable... We draw with Bolton, Arsenal lose to West Brom at the library. I think a certain goalkeeper needs to go back to Hotel Fawlty. Chelsea are left feeling blue (mooned), Liverpool remain struggling and are trying to elbow there way up the league and West Ham won.

Well, its all great for the neutrals, and lets face it, football is boring when you look at the results and you considered all of them likely before the game.

Chelsea won't have gone thru' the season unbeaten but Man city did well, it remains to be seen if they can build on the victory. Its only 6 games you know? But funnily Phil, I think people on here love Manchester United blogs or how do we explain over 48hrs of the blog and we have less than 100 comments.

Phil -Good blog. I think this is the first game under Manchini that Man City actually looked 'the part' of a top 4 side in the PL and where Manchini had the tactical superiority over the opposing manager (albeit a fellow countryman).
Man City supporters should be delighted, but I suspect a number will worrying about the 'entertainment value' being very low. Of course if Manchini delivers them a 'top 4 spot' (or better) this year and/or a Cup win (will have to be FA/Europa now!) then all will be forgotten and he will be hailed as a City legend -if he doesn't then it will "Arrivederci Bobby".
No wonder Manchini wants to find way of lowering the tension building around his position - therefore his prematch comments about Chelsea may signal a greater understanding from the City Manager, about what it takes to win an English PL title

Chelsea won't have gone thru' the season unbeaten but Man city did well, it remains to be seen if they can build on the victory. Its only 6 games you know?

But funnily Phil, I think people on here love Manchester United blogs or how do we explain over 48hrs of the blog and we have less than 100 comments.

The difference between City and Chelsea in terms of "buying" success is they came from different starting positions: In terms of the EPL there was a top 2 Man U and Arsenal to challenge (possibily to a lesser degree Livepool) City however have to challenge in a league with a top 4 (maybe 6 with Villa and Spurs) In europe Chelsea were in the champs league and could therefore attract superior players, had City attained top 4 last year then this campaign would have seen a different buying strategy and almost certainly a different playing style.

In Mancini City have a manager who is bought into the programme, he is building a solid base where City can get enough wins at home and draws against the top sides away to get into the top 4. When that happens they will move onto the next phase which will be assembling a squad which can hold its own and better in the champions league and solidify their position in the EPL.

The following year, It'll be all out assault on the titles, whether its Mancini who continues to this point, I doubt it but its a step by step approach to this point.

Any City fan not bought into this I think will be a little disgruntled for the forseeable future.

Well done Man City a tactical deserved victory, what City need to do now is follow that up with a consistent run of performances especially against lesser opposition, if they can do that they won't be far away from success and i for one hope Mancini gets away from the negativity that seems to surround most İtalian managers he does'nt need it with the players he's got.İ've noticed on this blog somebody saying De Jong is the best midfielder in the league what rubbish the guys a spoiler and a clogger nothing else i suggest they look back at the world cup.As for Chelsea one defeat against opposition that has beaten them in their last 3 meetings is hardly a disaster but has dispelled in one fell swoop the euphoria of their last 5 victories against poor opposition.İt will be very interesting to see if Arsenals soft underbelly surfaces next Sunday and Chelsea overpower them as in the past i for one hope it does'nt then we will have a real title battle to look forward to.

Is that the verdict, that Chelsea have been outmuscled and that, combined with Italian-style defensive systems, is the way to beat them ?


Serious Football

I enjoyed the game despite it not being an end to end classic. Mainly because, for the most part, the ref was letting the two teams get on with it despite some crunching tackles.
Was very impressed with Man City's workrate. But at the end of the day Chelsea, despite never threatening that much, should have walked away with a point courtesy of Alex.
Loved Boyata's two blantant fouls on Drogba, especially the body check. Good lad.

This business of Chelsea having an 'easy start' to the season is getting old, we took 15 points from opposition we should beat and scored 20 goals doing so, is that not what is supposed to happen - United and arsenal drop points to WBA, fulham, Everton, Bolton, Sunderland all games they should win and every one complains that we win games we should win?? So it has been a kind schedule but every one needs to stop complaining because your sides are not winning games they should and we are.

Fair play to CITY they shut us down completely, mancini did well, we didnt have the answers.

Sorry to be pedantic, but I'd hardly say Mancini handed them the league, nor did Man City prove him wrong. The league will not decided on this one result, and this kind of sensationalist journalism is turning the BBC into an online red-top.

You know the one I mean.

Any time anybody can get 3 points against Chelsea is a good day, but especially with all the changes forced by injury. Carlos Tevel scored great goal and played his heart out all day. Playing Tevez as lone striker is a risky game, what if he gets injured or hits a bad patch. Vincent Kompany and Nigel De Jong were brilliant and dominant. City have signed some better plaers recently, and they are starting to gel into a good team.
We all saw last season how United lost the league title race after Rooney was overworked and got injured and lost form. I am sure most fans prefer to see the championship go down to the wire with a tight finish to the season, so Chelsea with such a big lead in September wasn't a good thing. Hoping for a good close race.

I’ve been through the ups & downs of the last so many blue years. I was on the terraces at St James Park in 1968 when City beat Newcastle to win the old first div championship, and it would be great to experience that great feeling again. Part of being a true-blue is trying to be an optimist but learning to be a realist, learning to live with the disappointments, but experience teaches you to beware of false dawns. In the 24 years that SAF has been at OT, City had 17 managers (14 excluding caretaker-managers). Why are so many City owners so poor at hiring managers, and so poor at picking players paying too much for signing & wages?
I was not one of those calling for Sven’s head. He wasn’t my choice, with his nomadic suitcase lifestyle and his history of buying success not building success. His team played a possession game that was tough to beat, and I cheered for the team. IMHO he was poorly treated by Thaksin at the end. I would rate SGE a 5 out of 10 overall.
I was not one of those calling for Hughes' head. He wasn’t my choice, as playing success does not guarantee managerial success. His team of overpaid under-achievers took too long to gel, and he made poor tactical use of substitutions. He paid too much for ordinary players, and all they could deliver was all those dreadful draws, but I cheered for the team. IMHO he was poorly treated by Cook at the end. I would rate MH a 4 out of 10 overall.
I was not one of those calling for Mancini's head. He wasn’t my choice, with only limited experience with the English game. It was obvious to me (and to many I suspect at the time) that he was only a caretaker in a short-term role with a short-term objective (top four finish or win one of the cups), He missed out on the cups with tactical errors, and let fourth place slip from his grasp at the end of last season. I am still not convinced he is the best man for the job, with his strange tactical formations and not playing to some of the natural strengths of individual players, the EPL is not Serie A. In business and in sports, when you recruit your old buddies, you surround yourself with people who tell you what you want to hear (not what you need to hear). Now Roberto recruited his Mafia of Mediocrity coaches, all old buddies, he surrounded himself with people who tell him what he wants to hear. But still I cheer for the team.and I would rate RM a 3 out of 10 overall. Todays ownership with todays players (when all are fully fit) have a great chance to win it all, now if only we had a good manager.

The only positive I can take as a Chelsea supporter is Josh McEachran.
It wouldn't be the end of the world if we maintain our top 4 status without winning the league but coming close if Ancelotti were to play the youths week in and out like he's doing now.

no matter how much money man city spend on world class players, i dont think they'll ever be succesful in the champions league. They can buy all the quality players they want, they won't be able to play like barca. Plus, when the owners get bored of them and want to sell, nobody else would be rich enough to pay the players wages. The players will then leave the club and it will fall into disrepair

The only fool is this story is the media who unlike Alumina latch on to everything thrown their way. Chelsea will drop points there is not doubt. City probably won't win the league this season but if he can get a performance like that out of them against the top 6 or 7 teams then there is no reason why next year when they are settled they are not top contenders........
Cake and eat it? City? Naw, I still go for United to sort out their defensive problems before Chelsea run away with it, and the Rooney story is just a smoke screen. United are scoring not a will, but not far from it.

#79, I was stood at Wembley when Denis Tueart overhead kicked the winner against Newcastle, the last time we were winners. I went to the cup finals in 1981 against Spurs. I have seen the good, the bad, the very bad and the downright ugly. I disagree with your assessment of Mancini, he inherited a team, it was not his team. We tightened up but we made mental mistakes. "Mentality" change the mentality, take a team surrounded by failure and bring success, we are on the right track. I like the way we play, we hit teams at pace on the break, put them on the back foot and I believe we have the strongest midfield in the division. Players still need to come in, we will get stronger.

I honestly believe CITY are in contention, UTD do not have the Rooney goals tis year and their back four is not very good. Chelsea can be beaten, its up for grabs.

"In Mancini We Trust.

*Chelsea barely had room to breathe let alone play as aggression was the order of the day and tackles piled in. Robbed of the midfield drive of the injured Frank Lampard, Chelsea were impotent and new arrival Ramires spent large portions of the game looking like he had just seen a ghost.*.........Great blog by all standards and he{Drogba} could not prove himself again against city and had to be substituted because obviously there was no chance for them to score six and think everything is right with a certain Ivanovic who found Milner[and at times Silva ]difficult to handle.If you should play a match with all your strikers and still cannot score to even land a point then you really need to consider the ages of your too good forwards cos MANUTD STILL LIVES ONNNN!!!!!!!!!

Perceptive as ever, Phil, but without hyperbole or provocation. I disagree, however, with your assertion that the game wasn't entertaining and I waited till I had read the Sundays to check if I was off the pace. I found the game really absorbing and entertaining: so many personal duels, so much at stake psychologically and, in fact, not without goalmouth incidents; from City's point of view alone, recall Yaya's storm in the box, Silva's shot, Ade's call in the box etc. The stats show this is the case too. This seemed to be the general view of the papers. Ancelotti was full of praise for City, using the epithet 'fantastic' twice of the midfield. As for the creative style, we must wait until the injured players return.
City fans enjoy every game - how could we not, given the unique compbination of suffering and absolute devotion that characterises the supporters. It is not easy being a fan of the most despised club after three and a half decades of being everyone's second team, treated with affection and patronising smiles by one and all. Still, I can live with envy and the vicissitudes of life with dark humour and crazy celebrations: clapping good football from our opponents as well as inflatable bananas and teatowels are the norm for us. Have you noticed the despair that United and Liverpool fans are showing, as if they have a divine right to win? So humourless, so tetchy, so arrogant - not to mention embarrassing!
It was a wonderful victory on Saturday but City fans know that, come Sunday next, Newcastle will be totally outplayed but concede just one of twenty five shots on goal, then equalise when an offside attacker falls in the box in the 97th minute and the consequent penalty goes under Hart's body or in off the post and the bar. It's a funny game, football!

How can anyone complain about how defensive both teams were and how 'title contenders' shouldnt adapt this approach? not just on here but i have heard people saying MCFC should have attacked more being at home??? how stupid is that comment, we dug in and won the game....if we had of attacked more because we were at home, we may have lost...? i mean its nice to see silky football but hey, when your a city fan playing against an on-form chelsea, i'd rather get the win how we did than play fancy and lsoe....were not in the cinema or theatre?