This wasn't the fluent, emphatic football that we have come to expect from City this season but three points from a game in which we got nowhere near our best is a good sign and one of the main progressions of the club under Mancini. It is fair to say that none of the players hit top gear and the fact that Nigel De Jong was announced man of the match, in a home game against Blackpool, is a clear indication of that.
With no Mario Balotelli in the squad due to a knee injury and Adam Johnson's recent good form, it was down to the England international along with the fan's darling; David Silva, to provide the ammunition for the ever-determined Carlos Tevez. There was also returns in midfield for Gareth Barry and Yaya Toure while Alex Kolarov and Jerome Boateng took up the full back positions.
The game could not have started any brighter for City with Carlos Tevez seizing on a wayward back pass from Charlie Adam before narrowly shooting wide. Judging from the first 5 minutes of the game the City Faithful were appropriately optimistic.... duly becoming rather frustrated.
In terms of chance creation, (15 efforts on goal with 3 on target) we created enough chances to comfortably win the game, had Carlos Tevez found the form which has seen him score 12 premier league goals this season, he could have easily had a hat-trick and put the game far beyond Ian Holloway's men. A lot has been made of the chances our Argentinian talisman missed today (absurdly linked to him 'not wanting to be at the club') but I couldn't be any less worried and strongly back Carlos to go on to be our leading scorer once again.That coupled with a few chances that David Silva would also have put away on his day and an unfamiliar lack of quality in the final third, kept the game close and left City looking rather desperate leading into the final minutes.
The game was, in effect, decided in the 34th minute when the ball dropped to Adam Johnson on the edge of the box and his low drive was deflected in off a Blackpool defender.
Ahead of possibly the most important game so far this season, Arsenal away on Wednesday, there were a few worrying points from a City perspective. Primarily is the form of Alex Kolarov, he looked worryingly vulnerable against Matt Phillips when he came on in the second half which highlighted my main worry about him, that he is very susceptible to being attacked by direct running. With his attacking form not being what I still believe it could be then I would like to see Zabaleta play at left back against Arsenal. Despite lacking the same level of adventure going forward, we instantly looked more solid (although I believe much of this may be down to the introduction of Milner on the left who always provides protection through his astonishing work-rate.).
Another Major worry is the knock picked up by the little genius that is David Silva, from where I was sat the challenge looked quite innocuous but resulted in the Spaniard not being able to carry on. With flair and composure that is matched by none he would certainly be the biggest miss against Arsenal, where I imagine we will try and keep the ball as much as possible. Brian Kidd told GMR after the game that he twisted his knee and will need 48 hours for the inflammation to settle before they can assess the extent of the injury. however much I would like good news I can't see him being fit for Wednesday's massive game, which puts a lot more emphasis on the creation and central drive of Yaya Toure (which was ironically absent for the most part of today)
A smaller issue which I only really recognized in the Blackpool game is Jerome Boateng, I was initially very excited about signing him but similarly to Kolarov he hasn't quite showed what I expected of him. he seems to lack any sort of adventure what so ever and his crossing is far from effective. In a game like this without a predominant wide threat, I would have liked to see Richards getting forward overlapping and providing the space for Adam Johnson.
Obviously there are positives to take from the game, predominantly, and as previously mentioned; the ability for us to pick up points when we're not playing well, hopefully this will go some way to banish the 'typical City' tag. The form Adam Johnson is showing and his improvement under Mancini is very impressive, he looks stronger, fitter and certainly showing more desire to get back and help the team defend, his natural attacking talent is unquestionable and it if certainly refreshing to see him playing so well.
Reading back over this I may sound slightly negative considering our league position and recent results, I believe this however is just a reflection on how far we have come as a club and how that has influenced our expectations.
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