After the game I interviewed Manchester City blogger Pete from Over The Blue Moon, to find out how he and other City fans are feeling, the day after the night before.
Pete, welcome to TottenhamBlog. The media has been making out that it would be a disaster for City to not finish in the top four, but how do the fans feel at having missed out?
To be honest, I think the majority of blues expected it. You always get the usual die hards who will still be crying at the start of next season and while it’s disappointing, it’s not the disaster the media have made it out to be.
What did you make of the game last night? Were you happy with the City performance?
Whenever we play a team like Spurs it’s important to get the first goal. When we don’t do it, there’s only ever one outcome and that was demonstrated last night. We played okay but didn’t deserve to win.
There’s bound to be speculation now that Mancini will be replaced. Would you like him to stay?
Yes I think Mancini has a lot to offer the club but sometimes you have to question his cautious approach to big games. In addition, if we start chopping and changing the manager again, it will only create more unrest in the squad. Give Mancini three years at least to bring us some silverware.
Did City make the wrong decision in bringing Mancini in to replace Hughes?
I don’t think Hughes had the managerial skills to manage the big egos but he did seem to have the respect of the players which Mancini doesn’t seem to have.
Had you qualified for the Champions League you could have signed anyone, but now there’s bound to be some limitations. What type of players do City need to sign in the summer?
Without a doubt, someone creative in the middle. We sorely missed that against Spurs. We also need someone strong in defence, a proper leader and a big striker like Edin Dzenko.
There’s been speculation about both Micah Richards and Craig Bellamy possibly ending up at Spurs next season. Do you think they’ll be sold?
Yes and I think they’ll both end up at Spurs. I think Bellamy knows his time is up at Eastlands and will be sold at the first available opportunity. Richards has been out of sorts and a change of club will be just what he needs.
For different reasons, there’s been talk of Carlos Tevez wanting a move if you didn’t qualify for the Champions League. Can you keep hold of him?
I think that is just paper talk at the moment. The thing is, Tevez knew what he was getting himself involved with by joining us. If he wanted Champions League football he should have stayed at United or moved to Barcelona.
He also knew the scale of the project and Champions League qualification would be difficult. But if he wants out, let him go. The days of City being held to ransom by a player are over.
Before the game there was a lot of scrutiny regarding your goalkeeper situation. Should you have been allowed to make the loan? Would you like to see Joe Hart back at City next season?
If we had nothing to play for then it would have been an ideal situation to blood one of the youngsters but the big problem surrounding that was the fact we had no understudy.
The ‘nine professional keepers’ story was bounded about but in all honesty, would anyone throw kids in at the deep end for such a vital run-in?
The loan deal was unusual but not unheard of. What people need to remember is that City just asked the question and the request was granted by the FA. If it was outside the rules it wouldn’t have been granted.
Although Given is a class keeper, some have questioned his ability this season and with Hart tipped to be England’s number one, the time might be right for Hart to re-establish himself.
I know that I would have probably been more excited about winning the FA Cup than finishing fourth, had we not lost to Portsmouth. Is there a part of you that would rather win a trophy rather than just finish in some arbitrary league position?
I know many call it the Mickey Mouse cup, but we would have loved to have won the League Cup. Not only would it have meant silverware but we would have also knocked United out and considering how that’s the only thing they’ve won this season (come on Chelsea), the would have been left trophy-less.
A lot of people have said that even if City didn’t finish fourth this season, they couldn’t fail to do it in the future. Do you expect to go one step further next season?
The standard has been raised at Eastlands and any finish outside the top six now will be classed as failure. I think we will break the top four but we do need to step up a level next season. This season was a big adventure for us. Next season will be a huge test of our credentials.
I think we will break into the top four but I hope it’s not at the expense of Spurs. I also hope Villa and Everton can get up there as well.
What a humble fan this pete is and what a refreshing change from some of the usual tripe hounds from old trafford or the emirates who either whinge or give it the big un
i aggree with col. a nice fan.. great to hear less hatred in the game
I gotta say i respect him, i read his article after the game and was surprised that it wasnt a cry fest. Rare to have fans like him say things like this. I have respect for man city, and only because of pete.