Mancini - How weird are his mind games?

Has said today that the upcoming Norwich game will be trickier than the Man Utd derby clash

Even as a canary I am struggling to see this one

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/17702751

They are very poor away from home and playing against a team with a good home record.

He just comes out with crazy statements all the time mind.

He is taking the pressure off the United game and in some ways it can be true. It isnt difficult for a player to get motivated for a big game, but how many times do you see a team lose to a 'lesser team' because they havent taken the game seriously enough!

This weekend:

Man Utd 3-0 Aston Villa
Norwich 1-1 Man City

Derby Day:

Man City 1-1 Man Utd - Man Utd retain Title.

This kinda talk has been commonplace in football for as long as I can remember.

Mancini will EXPECT nothing but three points from the Norwich match regardless of what he is saying publicly. Highly paid professional footballers should be motivated to win every game period.

"Should be" are the key words. With the money they are earning winning or losing won't really bother them. They will still get to drive home to their mansion in their Bentley or whatever.

Mancini said that title race was still over after City thrashed Norwich. More mind games although poor ones. I doubt Fergie was at home celebrating saying "He's thrown in the towel, yipee"

Norwich really threw the towell in this weekend, so much for it being a tough game. This one's going to the wire without a doubt!

TopHat24/7 wrote:Norwich really threw the towell in this weekend, so much for it being a tough game. This one's going to the wire without a doubt!

City have a tricky one at Newcastle. If Utd can get a point at City then that will be enough, IMO.

I still feel that Utd will win easliy IMO. I feel that they will get 3 pts against Everton this weekend, as will Citeh against Wolves. Utd will get a point at Eastlands, but with the blues travelling to Newcastle, i think Utd have it in the bag. Been a good year though, but money can not buy experience.

d260005p wrote:I still feel that Utd will win easliy IMO. I feel that they will get 3 pts against Everton this weekend, as will Citeh against Wolves. Utd will get a point at Eastlands, but with the blues travelling to Newcastle, i think Utd have it in the bag. Been a good year though, but money can not buy experience.

City will be a lot closer next year and will be the team to beat IF they keep Mancini and most of the players.

Do you think Scholesy will stay on another year or is that a stupid question?

Won't matter which players they keep, if they keep getting favours like they have against Fulham, QPR and Villa.

Strangely ManU have been much better without Vidic than with him.

They need to sell Evra though who is clueless and a drama queen, and replace Welbeck.

Josiah Maiestas wrote:Won't matter which players they keep, if they keep getting favours like they have against Fulham, QPR and Villa.

Strangely ManU have been much better without Vidic than with him.

They need to sell Evra though who is clueless and a drama queen, and replace Welbeck.

Villa were totally out played and would have got beat anyway.

Yeah, Wellbeck is ok but has a poor first touch. Does have pace though. Wouldn't say Evra is clueless???

Wouldn't say Evra is clueless???

Sorry I meant Jones.
He cost way too much money for his actual ability.

TopHat24/7 wrote:Norwich really threw the towell in this weekend, so much for it being a tough game. This one's going to the wire without a doubt!

I wouldn't say we threw in the towel TopHat! It was 2-1 at 70 mins and we were really going for it! In the end money talks, our squad cost around £10 million to assemble where as theirs cost about £300 million.

I wouldn't say we threw in the towel TopHat! It was 2-1 at 70 mins and we were really going for it! In the end money talks, our squad cost around £10 million to assemble where as theirs cost about £300 million.

Little old Swansea were able to beat them though.

Big old Utd lost 6-1 as well.

Norwich got beat by a good side. Doesn't mean they threw the towel in.

Tophat

You obviously didnt see the goals by Aguero and Tevez in the match
if that is your opinion. Hit from range and flew in like Lampard's freekick
yesterday!!

Josiah Maiestas wrote:

I wouldn't say we threw in the towel TopHat! It was 2-1 at 70 mins and we were really going for it! In the end money talks, our squad cost around £10 million to assemble where as theirs cost about £300 million.

Little old Swansea were able to beat them though.

Well Swansea have a lot better defence than we do to be fair! We crumble like an apple pie!

Josiah Maiestas wrote:

Wouldn't say Evra is clueless???

Sorry I meant Jones.
He cost way too much money for his actual ability.

Nonesense either way.

Jones costing 10 million more than Cahill is nonsense.

Josiah Maiestas wrote:Jones costing 10 million more than Cahill is nonsense.

Jones is 6 years younger. Utd have bought potentially a player that may be there for 10-15 years. Cahil was a good buy, btw.

Josiah Maiestas wrote:Jones costing 10 million more than Cahill is nonsense.

Though personally I think Cahill was a good buy but he has faced quite a lot of criticism for a drop in form this season.

Unless you're a clueless idiot living in the 1980's, paying £16m for one of the finest looking prospects in English football is a snip. Cheaper than Downing, Henderson, Young, G Johnson, half what was paid for Carroll and he can hold his own in 3 positions having been as successful if not more so than Cahill this season despite it being only his first full season of senior football.

paying £16m for one of the finest looking prospects in English football is a snip.

Mesut Ozil £10 million Phil Jones 16 million!!

Btw Jones was fantastic in Europe this season, completely kept Bilbao and Basel at bay he did!!

Ozil was £12m I thought and undoubtedly a brilliant buy. Would'nt cost that little now though would he?

Plus, I'm not talking foreign purchasers. I'm talking English ones. Got any examples there to back up your baloney?

English players are overpriced compared to some foreigners. £16m is about right I reckon. Plenty of potential and can play RB/CB. Not a midfielder IMO but could forge a good CB partnership with Smalling.

Jones is going to be a CB, no doubt about it. He looks a bit clumsy but he will get there, Johnny Evans has taken a while to bed in (he was brilliant at Sunderland for a season and has struggled a bit since) but in all honesty he has probably been Uniteds best defender this year and I think Jones is a similar type of player.
Nobody used to expect centre backs to be good young, I remember howlers from the likes of Lawrenson, Hansen, Pallister and Adams who all went on to be become great players. Its a position you mature into and its also all about a settled partnership.

Josiah Maiestas wrote:

paying £16m for one of the finest looking prospects in English football is a snip.

Mesut Ozil £10 million Phil Jones 16 million!!

Btw Jones was fantastic in Europe this season, completely kept Bilbao and Basel at bay he did!!

Maybe slightly misleading - Ozil had a year left on his contract and it became clear a transfer was always likely so Werder Bremen cashed in when they could.

English players are undoubtedly overpriced though, one only has to look at Liverpool's transfer strategy to see that much.

32 million combined for Young and Jones is pretty awful when you consider Cahill and Coates were 6 million each.

Cahill may turn out to be a good buy but he has still only played about 5 decent games this season, he has had some absoloute shockers and Chelsea bought him on the back of some really poor form. Jones was bought on the back of great form and is a lot younger, bit of a difference really.

Josiah Maiestas wrote:32 million combined for Young and Jones is pretty awful when you consider Cahill and Coates were 6 million each.

But these two and Young in particular will help Utd win the league whereas Chelsea are struggling to get a CL place. If Chelsea don't win the CL then they will be playing in the europa league next season. Something that will not please big spending Roman.

It's not all about winning the league though, Europe has always been Chelsea's aim. Missing one or two seasons of CL is not that bad,
Chelsea will then be able to experiment with the team and the old guard will start to drop off.

They also have some of the best youngsters as they proved by beating ManU in the FAYC.

So, Chelsea are banking on wining the CL to gain entry next season? Odd tactics.

They may do (Liverpool did) but I won't be putting any money on it. Point is, Fergie bought a pacy winger who has scored and created a few this season. And if the do win the EPL then it will be money well spent.

Josiah Maiestas wrote:It's not all about winning the league though, Europe has always been Chelsea's aim. Missing one or two seasons of CL is not that bad,
Chelsea will then be able to experiment with the team and the old guard will start to drop off.

They also have some of the best youngsters as they proved by beating ManU in the FAYC.

Was switching managers midway through the season all part of the European master plan as well ? Utter genius if it works.

i think chelsea have more chance finishing top 4 than winning the cl.

however i think they will finish top 4

Josiah Maiestas wrote:It's not all about winning the league though, Europe has always been Chelsea's aim. Missing one or two seasons of CL is not that bad,
Chelsea will then be able to experiment with the team and the old guard will start to drop off.

They also have some of the best youngsters as they proved by beating ManU in the FAYC.

That makes no sense at all. Europe is Chelsea's aim so they look to achieve that goal by not even fighting to get in it next season?! And when you're a club as big and well financed as Chelsea, I'm sorry, but it is about winning the league. Of the big 3 (League, FA Cup, Champs) you're in it to win it. Anything less than semis/top-4 is failure. United failed on 2 fronts this season, Chelsea on 1, but to suggest the league wasn't Abramovich's concern is nonesense.

Plus domestic and European football are so different, hence why despite domestic dominance United have only won it twice in SAF's fruitful past 20 years and Chelsea and Arsenal, despite their domestic successes and dominance have barely had a sniff (2 finals between them in something like 20 years?). Therefore you can't 'opt out' for a couple of years, tinker and rebuild your side, then come back as a European powerhouse. You have to do all that WHILST competing for European honours so that new team pick up European experience and can learn from it.

PS: ManU spanked Chelsea in the FAYC last season. And.........?