If these current City players are going to achieve immortality and gain promotion to the Premier League, posterity may well look back very fondly on that Jordan Rhodes goal on Saturday afternoon.
In the face of adversity and Albion’s sustained high press, Daniel Farke’s heroes rallied, once again demonstrating their unwavering defiance and sending the Y’Army back down the M6 to Norfolk in jubilant spirits.
‘The wheels are falling off you lot’, chirped my Manchester City-supporting boss as I turned up to work in the North West on a murky Monday morning.
‘Rubbish’, I retorted. If three hard-earned draws and a loss while in the depths of an injury crisis constitutes the wheels becoming detached from our efficiently-driven German vehicle, this really is a blip that I don’t mind having.
While the Farkeball we’ve become so accustomed to after those brilliant away wins at Hillsbrough, the Liberty and Ewood Park may have been largely absent in the West Midlands, Saturday’s point once again represented the triumph of this team’s character and psychological resolve. City were far from their fluent, enterprising best at the Hawthorns, but, once again, Farke’s great escapologists somehow found a way.
Amid the Jordan-inspired joy on the concourse as I exited the ground, several observations concerning the dire nature of City’s performance became audible. The general perception among the away end was that City were lucky to escape with a point, particularly given their inability to control the game in the first half and regularly having to resort to long balls.
In my mind, such a scathing analysis of our team’s performance was unwarranted. Although City did struggle to find their quintessentially aesthetic style throughout the first period – largely the product of Darren Moore’s side effectively executing an intelligent gameplay – the display we saw in the second was much improved, dominating large parts of the latter stages as they attacked towards their fans in the Smethwick End.
That City successfully managed to control the second half against what is essentially an experienced Premier League squad is testament to their growing precocity as a unit. Faced with the challenge of thwarting the likes of Dwight Gayle, Jay Rodriguez and Hal Robson-Kanu, the ever-improving defensive quartet of Max Aarons, Christoph Zimmerman, Ben Godfrey and Jamal Lewis stood strong.
Zimmerman resembled not so much a centre-back as he did what parliament currently represents for Theresa May, an intransigent obstacle that refuses to succumb to relentless attempts to wear it down. And then there was Tim Krul, a goalkeeper whose heroic late saves are beginning to rival his teammates’ late goals in terms of their significance.
Despite peppering those sat in the lower rows of the Hawthorns’ East Stand following a period of – let’s be honest – abysmal distribution during the first half, Krul’s importance to City cannot be overstated. He provides both visible dexterity on the field as well as less tangible leadership off it. Indeed, as I saw one observer state on social media, a goalkeeper’s job is, fundamentally, to keep the ball out of the net.
Many onlookers – my boss at the DIY shop where I’m currently working included – may perceive no wins in the last four league outings for City to be something of a decline in form. However, what a less cursory glance at our results will reveal is that these games have come without the likes of Moritz Leitner, Emi Buendia, Marco Stiepermann and Jamal Lewis, albeit not necessarily all at the same time.
This, viewed in conjunction with the quality of opposition we have come up against since the end of December, is surely insufficient to warrant any major form of concern.
City now have two home games ahead of them that are important yet nevertheless winnable. Friday evening’s televised clash against Birmingham City – whisper it quietly, but Farke has still never lost a game in front of the Sky cameras – will hopefully witness the return of the dynamic Stiepermann, a player who more than compensates for what he lacks in grace with his continual sense of directness and physicality.
The following week’s game against those deplorable ‘#TwitterBlades’ is an even bigger contest, hopefully providing City with the opportunity to leapfrog their rivals and depose them in the top two.
My expectations for the remainder of this season have in no way deviated from what they were at the beginning of December. Yes, Farke’s team have endured a difficult period, but let’s not forget that that period has been characterised by a series of tough opponents and the considerable burden of injuries. Win on Friday night, and all will be forgotten.
The imminent return of Leitner to our midfield will almost inevitably give this team an immediate boost, hopefully witnessing the return of those strikingly fluent performances that we saw so regularly throughout the autumn.
The return to the raucous Carrow Road on Friday will see our opponents confronted with a cauldron of noise and colour, with Farke’s side being roared on by a sea of yellow and green livery. A win will not only see both confidence and momentum restored but also heap the pressure on Leeds, Sheffield United and West Brom over the following couple of days.
So yes, we’ve encountered what can best be described as a minor stumbling block. Wheels coming off, however? Not a chance.
OTBC
Very Good read. many football followers see things in Black and White and often overlook the grey areas, Winning game after game and things are going excellently (white), lose one or two and it is the end of the run or the world in some cases.(Black) What many fail to do is really weigh the circumstances, surrounding the games (Grey) with the result painting over the other things
We have had a rough time with injuries, an injury to one or two players does disrupt, as seen so far.
. We are without doubt an inexperienced championship squad, playing teams who have dropped from the higher level, while the rest of teams are full of players with seasons of experience.
Many of our lads haven’t even got a full season in yet, coming from an academy or lower leagues of a foreign country. Krul, Hanley, Rhodes, Tettey and Klose making up our most experienced English league players
Saturday’s game was a classic example of a team made up of more experience with a wily old ex-player as manager who again outweighs our own coach in terms of experience of the English game. Yet we would not roll over or succumb to their methods, got our reward with an almost copy goal. It was a truly awesome result, at the home of a more experienced team, a promotion favourite and rival.
I know who should have been the happiest leaving the Hawthorns, really with no need to be finding fault. Picking up a point on the road while not performing at our best is the sign of a damn good side
Well made point and great original article. To be honest I think WBA are probably the best team we’ve played this season with a side packed full of Premier League quality….and it showed. Their slow start to the season in my mind owes much to their evolution to the more expansive playing style they’ve adopted under Darren Moore. They will take some stopping this season although as we have seen they have proven vulnerable at times.
For Norwich a fantastic and valuable point to add to the growing collection. The point made about the depth of Championship experience in the squad is a very relevant one. It also goes to show how a well organised system with clearly-defined roles can go along way to compensating for perceived weaknesses in individual players (i.e. more than the sum of its parts).
It has always be quoted that to be successful in the championship you need to have a physically strong team and WBA have that in abundance and are willing to use that strength to their advantage.
They are not afraid to tackle hard and hope the Ref’s decision goes in their favour and in this game the luck was on their side they are definitely takin after their manager of no quater given but also play the drama queen to get a free kick or some one booked.
WBA style of play is miles from what was expected when Moore got the job most anticipated a Pulis style no an open style.
A good point for city as any away point is and I will hope WBA have a great season but finish 1 place or 1 point below city