Still 15 points adrift of Premier League leaders Manchester United, it remains to be seen whether Manchester City can stage a comeback for the ages this season, but Saturday’s 4-0 drubbing of Newcastle United certainly didn’t do those hopes any harm.
Both Roberto Mancini and Alan Pardew will have a lot to take away from their Etihad encounter—the Magpies manager’s lessons undoubtedly far more demotivating than that of his Manchester City counterpart.
As we enter this final stretch of the campaign, it’s perhaps more crucial than ever to learn from one’s mistakes, and with neither side where they would have wanted to be at this stage of the season six months ago, Saturday certainly provided its share of reading material.
Manchester City Title Bid Clinging to Life
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While Roberto Mancini recently conceded that the Premier League title is now out of his side’s reach (via Telegraph ), the chance to retain their most precious silverware remains mathematically possible and can’t quite be ruled out until otherwise.
After suffering such a disappointing loss to Everton a fortnight ago, the Citizens responded in the best possible fashion and did a service to their goal difference as a result of the 4-0 hammering, too.
With a Manchester derby around the corner, Mancini’s men have the ideal opportunity to reduce the deficit at the top of the table even further next week, and the smallest glimmer of hope can remain in any City fan’s vision as a result.
Newcastle Late Candidates to See the Drop?
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Competing against the demands of a Europa League campaign, this season has seen Newcastle suffer as so many sides do after making their way into European competition.
Although one may not have seen it coming based on the club’s remarkable 2011-12 term, the Magpies are now edging closer to the bottom of the table and, based on the coming results of those around them, can perhaps expect a relegation scrap to reach their doorstep in the coming weeks.
Some fixtures in the Magpies’ calendar that were already pivotal are quickly becoming even more so, and games against QPR, Fulham and an even tighter-looking clash with Sunderland are now becoming more akin to six-pointers.
On 33 points, Alan Pardew’s side are just three points away from the relegation zone and a 4-0 battering has heaped woe upon the side’s goal difference, always an important aspect for a side fighting to stay in the top flight.
In the end, even one more win might be enough for the northeast outfit to earn their survival, but it’s anyone’s guess as to when that will come after going their last two league games without a point.
Yaya Toure Must Remain at the Etihad
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Many a Manchester City supporter will already have been able to attest to this very statement, but Yaya Toure is quite possibly the club’s most consistent and impactful player, attributes helped largely by his display against the Magpies.
Although the playmaker denies any such talk, it recently emerged that the Ivorian wonder might not be a Citizen come September after a contract dispute as well as interest from clubs such as Paris Saint-Germain (via Manchester Evening News ) may look to spoil City’s hopes of retaining their midfielder’s services.
In the sense of the term, Toure is perhaps one of the most rounded midfielders in the English top flight, if not Europe as a whole, capable of flourishing in an anchorman role or when pushed further up the pitch.
Against Newcastle, the former Barcelona utility managed to get his name on the scoresheet but was also a lynchpin in crafting scoring opportunities for others, as well as tracking back in defence and preventing the opposition from developing chances of their own.
After slipping off the grade attained last season, this summer will be a vital one for Manchester City in keeping hold of their most prized assets, some of whom will have become disillusioned with the club’s chances of ongoing success.
The younger Toure brother would definitely count amongst those prized assets, and although the strikeforce at the Etihad is fearsome, the 29-year-old proved against Newcastle just how important a tool he is in his club’s immediate future.
Magpies Lacking in Squad Depth
Dan Gosling: Small fish against the likes of Tevez?
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At this stage of the season, injuries can often begin to take their toll on a squad, and at the moment, there are few who know the pain of a player’s absence more than Alan Pardew.
In total, the Magpies now have 10 first-team players currently seeing time on the sidelines through injury, helpless but to watch as their club continue a steady decline in opposite fashion to last season.
Unfortunately for the club, elite football is as cutthroat a business as any, and in the Premier League, perhaps the sternest of any division, the reaction will be little more than “Unlucky for you.”
Injuries are a by-product of any season and it’s up to a club to ensure that the assets coming off the bench are capable of playing to as high a standard as those starting, something Newcastle can’t currently boast.
Although the club have assuredly brought in numerous marvels in the likes of Papiss Demba Cisse, Moussa Sissoko and Yohan Cabaye, the same can’t quite be said for Dan Gosling, Gael Bigirimana or James Perch.
Unfortunate though it is, a Europa League campaign has also done its share of damage to the side’s ranks, and a light first-team squad might be the club’s ultimate downfall this season.
Citizens Enter Manchester Derby on a High
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What better way is there to go into what might be the club’s most important game of the season than with the wind in your sails and a 4-0 propelling the side’s mood?
15 points behind their bitter rivals, next week’s clash with Manchester United holds no less value than any other encounter of its kind, and though the league would still be Sir Alex Ferguson’s to lose should the Red Devils succumb to City, bragging rights will remain at the Etihad.
A star-studded clash as big as any other the Premier League has to offer, the Old Trafford meeting between these two sides may not be the last this season given the pair’s FA Cup standings, but will be looked upon as a league decider nonetheless.
With United only beating Sunderland 1-0 over the weekend, it’s undoubtedly Mancini that enters the fray with a bigger grin on his face, regardless of how the league might appear.
Pardew’s Attack in Need of Refreshment
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In the first five minutes of the second half against Manchester City, a Newcastle United side that went in at the break 2-0 down created more scoring chances than they did in the whole of the first period, showing that the Magpies are capable of creating good opportunities on their day.
However, a lack of ingenuity in the final third saw the northeast outfit rejected in their advances, and a lack of attacking options was perhaps to blame.
Although Papiss Demba Cisse is indeed a talented weapon up front, Newcastle seem rather one-dimensional in their approach and with Demba Ba no longer at the club, are in desperate need of a new face or two.
With Shola Ameobi and Yoan Gouffran the only other senior strikers to call upon, Alan Pardew’s squad could use a close inspection, and a shift in tactic might not go astray.
At Newcastle, Ba and Cisse proved that they weren’t really capable of flourishing as an attacking pair, but that doesn’t mean the one forward who remained of those two wouldn’t succeed more with another at his side.
Since Ba’s departure, a 4-3-3 variation has been the strategy of choice for Pardew, but with four losses in their last six games, it could be time for another approach.
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