City host Villa this weekend, and it’s safe to say I’m feeling more confident than I would have been a couple of weeks ago, after the derby loss at Old Trafford which came as a shock to our system.
With The Villans sat in 15th, it feels weird to be saying that City have had a bad season – most teams would much rather be where we are than where they are – but the fact of the matter is that this season is poor and somewhere in the region of unacceptable, which is something that other teams have been able to exploit and something that Villa will need to exploit if they want to come away from Eastlands with anything.
The last few months especially have been difficult to watch, with an unpredictable run of form that’s seen great wins mixed in with some really poor results, like the losses at Crystal Palace and Burnley, neither of which would have happened last season. However, in recent weeks we have looked slightly better, and beat West Ham easily last weekend, which gives me more confidence going into Saturday.
However, when we have had poor performances in the last few weeks, it has come hand-in-hand with pedestrian football which looks nothing like what City fans have come to expect from the team that’s given us so much in the last five years. My fear is that we’ll play that pedestrian football on Saturday, and if we do then it poses very little threat to Villa, even if they come and just try and defend – which, after last weekend, I can’t see them doing.
The main thing that makes me feel we’ll at least put effort into playing football on Saturday is that a lot of people at the club – both players and backroom staff – are in quite a precarious position after this season, and need a strong finish to the season in order to prove that they deserve to still be at the club next season. Whilst certain players – for example, Joe Hart and Vincent Kompany – have their places in the squad for next season all but assured, there are certain others such as Clichy who don’t, and games like Saturday provide an ample opportunity for those players to show they still have what it takes to be a part of this squad.
Like I said, I am feeling quite confident going into the game, purely due to the fact we need to win. I’m hoping we go in with a good mentality, aren’t bothered by the absentees from the squad through injury, and are able to control the game like I know we still can. I’m also hoping this isn’t a repeat of some of the games I’ve seen since January.
