The fixture pile up I described last week will not be as acute as it could have been, due to City missing out on the first UEFA Cup gameweek.
Instead there are two slightly smaller acute buildups in the next two months:
The first is one 5 games in 13 days period.
26/10 Stoke (h), 29/10 'Boro (a), 2/11 Bolton (a), 6/11 Twente (h), 9/11 Spurs (h).
Another such period follows a few weeks later: 5 games in 14 days.
22/11 Arsenal (h), 27/11 Schalke (a), 30/11 Man Utd (h), 3/12 PSG (h), 6/12 Fulham (a).
The second period is almost as difficult as the first is easy. We genuinely should win all five games of the first set. We almost certainly will not, but that's football. The November/December set of matches though, will be testing. Three days before the derby (and five days after Arsenal) is surely the worst possible time to travel to Gelsenkirchen. If we have to rest our best players for that trip, we could get owned. The last two games look a bit better though.
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2 comments:
Arsenal, Schalke and Utd in 8 days! Not the most ideal build up to the Derby.
I'm not yet carried away on a wave of optimism. The games in the first set are the most important.
They are against opponents we have to be beating and its not good for them to come in such a short timeframe. The second set of games I'm less worried about. Play the kids against Arsenal and full squad against Shalke and Utd.
Heresy it might be, but should we consider completely focussing on the Uefa and playing whoever is left fit and up for it against Utd? In fact, lets just play the kids against Utd and then have a rested full squad for the push for top 4. Hmm, I may burn in hell for suggesting that. Expect me to recant it on a later post.
Having just re-read that, it looks like I lack ambition - its just not true, but I've got to be practical, haven't I? I've seen so many false dawns...
But, on reflection....
September 23, 1989 5-1 (MR)
January 13, 2006 3-1 (COMS)
February 10, 2008 1-2 (OT)
Can I live without those days?
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