The only people with a tougher gig than me were the 20,000 or so City fans forced to endure yesterday’s game at Carrow Road.
All I have to do is find some words to describe it
On the face of it, that’s an easy task. Read the QPR write-up. Delete the City equalizer.
If you are an eternal optimist, there were positives. At Middlesborough, it took City four minutes to concede a goal. In midweek, it was nine minutes. Yesterday it was 20 minutes.
If City continue to improve at that rate, they will concede just before halftime next weekend. By the final game of the season, they may keep a clean sheet.
The decline from the heady days of David Wagner’s first games in charge has been dramatic. Four goals in the first 20 minutes in his first two games in charge. The fans singing, ‘Dean Smith, it wasn’t our fault’.
So, what happened?
The post-mortem into this season can wait. Suffice it to say that in those early games, Wagner was able to select ‘square pegs into square holes’. The most recent team selections have been much more of the ‘I’ve only got 11 pegs to fit in these 11 holes’ variety.
One of the things to be answered at the end of the season is why the City squad was allowed to become so paper thin in key areas that injuries to three or four key players have effectively neutered the entire team.
I cannot have been the only one that saw the defensive midfield ‘shield’ of Gabriel Sara and Marcelino Nunez, both players known for their attacking intent, and feared for the City defence.
As in previous games, City started the game in reasonable spirits. They had the bulk of the possession, made some half-decent moves, and even produced a threat on goal.
Sam McCallum had a shot spilled by the keeper with Adam Idah waiting to pounce. Max Aarons put a cross straight across the goal with no one there to put it home. Nunez hit a free kick that was easily saved by the keeper.
For 15 minutes, City were in the ascendancy, before the two sides began to cancel each other out and the game entered a phase where neither side could get on top.
Then one corner. That’s all it took. It went long. Andrew Omobamidele failed to register a challenge. Latibaudiere headed home.
0-1.
City were, once again, rocked. Yet three minutes later, they had their own corner. Sara nicked it in midfield and put a through ball to Sargent, only for Cabango to tackle him. From the corner, City played a short bounce pass, before Sara had a shot blocked.
Twenty seconds later, Swansea were on the edge of the City box, winning a corner of their own.
From then on, the Swans took control. It was way too easy for them to play through, over or around the City midfield. For their part, City looked devoid of answers, being forced to play long balls to Sargent or Idah all too often, and even these were woeful in accuracy.
It was a small wonder that on 31 minutes, City fashioned their best chance of the game. A ball down the right, a quick interchange between Liam Gibbs and Idah before Gibbs drilled a cross into the box. Sargent beat his man, but could only manage a glancing header. Anything more was a surefire goal.
The game effectively ended a few minutes later. Swansea drilled a superb ball deep to their left. Manning somehow kept it in. The ball was recycled and for a minute they toyed with the City defence. Manning got free on the byline. His initial cross was blocked by Sara but he was able to dink the rebound across goal where the grateful Cullen easily beat Sam McCallum to head home the second.
It got worse.
Three minutes later, Sorensen rushed into midfield chasing a ball he was never going to get. Swansea played the ball into the yawning gap behind him. Cullen only had the onrushing Angus Gunn to beat when McCallum nudged him in the back. A clear red.
In response, Wagner brought Byram on for Idah, the Irishman punching the seats in the dugout in frustration.
The second half was all too predictable. City sat behind the ball and tried to stop Swansea from making it worse. They managed it for nearly 20 minutes before Ntcham danced between weak challenges to add the third.
48, 50, 51, 52, 61, 65, 67, 73, 75, 77, 81, 84, 85, 90+1.
These are the only minutes in the second half where City had possession. Within those fleeting moments, they at least managed a corner, a Nunez shot over, and an Aarons cross to no-one.
At the end of the game, the only reason that the boos, and cries of ‘We want Webber out’ were muted was that the ground was already less than half full.
And the most shocking thing of all?
City can STILL make the top six. Find me a City fan that thinks they can though.
A very honest report..