We are staying up, we are staying up. That was the good news at the KC Stadium today, perhaps the only good news. That we did it in a manor akin to winning an Olympic gold medal because all the other competitors failed drug tests was a major disappointment. The pre-match atmosphere at the ground was fantastic. Some aspects may have been artificial but not all of it. The people of Hull turned out in a wonderful array of amber and black and sung their hearts out. What happened on the pitch didn't match the passion in the stands. We made it though, we fell over the line and we'll be a Premier League team again next year. That does sound good, whatever the circumstances.
The team selection was puzzling in some areas. Last week's flexi-4-4-2 worked quite well and against a very small United back line, surely Folan or Cousin for Manucho was a must have selection. Instead we went with Geovanni and Fagan up front and Marney came into midfield, a selection that didn't work on any level. Kevin Kilbane also kept his place at centre-back ahead of Kamil Zayatte. Kilbane did OK at Bolton but he's still Kevin Kilbane, while Zayatte is powerful and quick enough to challenge a youthful and energetic United front line. It was obvious from a very early stage that we might struggle as the United side moved the ball around quickly and showed great urgency when they didn't have the ball. Their side had some really good talent. Gary Neville and Wes Brown at centre-half, both possessing more know how in their little fingers than most of our team put together. Darren Fletcher, cruelly ruled out of the European Cup final, babysat the midfield in tremendous fashion. Darron Gibson strolled around the midfield like an emerging Michael Carrick, Rafael impressed at full back again, while Danny Wellbeck showed great touch, pace and skill up front. Could I have been the only person to wish we'd got him instead of Manucho? They had some disappointments; Nani is like Ronaldo minus everything, while Macheda, heralded as a wonderboy after scoring against Villa last month, is not very good at all. Tidy footwork and ability to get a shot off but a total lack of awareness and useless outside the penalty area. He's young though, he might improve. That's hard to say about some of ours.
United were in the ascendancy in the early stages but looked nervous and misplaced passes. They lacked cohesion. That was when the Tigers should have got into their boots, put them under pressure and got forward quickly. Instead, we gave them time to play, time to gel and let them break away time and again by gifting them possession. The entire game was littered with mistakes; we'd do something good and immediately follow up with something bad. Take the ball down nicely and then cross to no-one. Beat a man and then cross poorly. Make a good pass, then under-hit the next one. We didn't have anyone who looked capable of passing consistently and as a result and as the game went on, we started to shy away form the ball, happy to let someone else have it. Like the first half of the season, we still seriously lack someone in the midfield who can pass the ball. What's become obvious too is that we also lack legs in the middle. Boateng looked well out of his depth while Marney has the energy but not the nous to play as a holding midfielder. When United broke, they were running at our back line, who coped well in those circumstances. We generally relied on set pieces throughout the half, most delivered poorly by Dawson. From open play, our only too chance game from neat play down the left that released Geovanni. His first cross was a beauty, evading Neville (and Fagan) at the front post before De Laet cleared under pressure. The ball was worked out to Geo again and his second cross was swatted away by Kuszczak. They took the lead soon after, Gibson finding acres and acres of space on their left before hitting an unstoppable right foot shot across Myhill and in to the far corner. There was no response from City at all and we continued to play like the game didn't matter. Just before half time, Dawson hitting a fizzing shot that stung the hands of Kuszczak. Our only decent effort of the half. I'm not counting another awful free-kick attempt from Geovanni.
I expected changes at half time both in attitude and personnel but we got neither. Obviously, the management team were confident that Newcastle wouldn't retrieve their half time deficit. We finally found a bit of life ten minutes into the half when we won a few corners and throw-ins on the right and started to pt some pressure on. The introduction of Folan for Geovanni helped as the big man gave us a bit of presence up fornt, won a few headers, held the ball up better than anyone had all day and forced some free-kick's. Like most in the game, he undermined some great work by underhitting a couple of passes. Garcia did the same to him when Garc had run from midfield and Folan took defenders away to the right. Gacia needed to slide him in or have a shot but did neither. Turner connected with the first decent corner of the afternoon but headed straight at Kuszczak, Turner was just beaten to an inswinging free-kick and then Dawson's tame free-kick was easily saved. Mendy came on for Barmby and immediately looked threatening before disappearing altogether and then Cousin replaced Garcia but didn't get involved at all.
We spent the last 10 minutes watching united playing keep-ball while making no attempt to close them down despite Browny's incessant attempts to get us to put pressure on the ball. Failure to follow such simple commands should be a sackable offence. United ran the clock down, the news came through that Newcastle had lost and we watched the most muted pitch invasion in the history of football. The post match was nice as most of the ground stayed to applaud the efforts of the whole squad, the seniors and juniors, the fit and the lame, the good and the bad, the old and the young. Some will improve, some were saying goodbye but all have played a part at some point. Like a schoolkid, I got all excited at shaking hands with Micheal Turner. I did want to grab him and hold him tight, just in case it was goodbye. Would a kiss have been inappropriate?
For all United's possession, Myhill was relatively untroubled again. A couple of efforts rolled just wide of goal and he made a comfortable stop in the second half. He couldn't do anything about the goal. Ricketts seemed loathe to commit himself to attack, wary of the threat of Wellbeck and it took a lot from our game. It was hard to blame him after the number of times he'd made runs in the first half, only to then race back when we gave away possession. Defensively, he's hit and miss, decent at dealing with balls into the box but struggles one on one (a strength of Paul McShane in the early part of the season). Dawson's use of the ball, in open play and from dead balls, was poor again but he did Ok in defense, especially when left exposed on the counter. Kilbane was OK, never really tested but over-ambitious with his distribution and as a result, very wasteful. Turner was awesome for the most part, made great interceptions, strolled out of Defence like a gangly Franco Baresi, headed everything and looked our biggest attacking threat. He made poor decisions in the penalty area a couple of times, going to ground in the second half and leaving himself out of the game and trying to make a tackle that was never on against Macheda in the first half, allowing wonderboy to give him the slip and get a shot in.
Boateng gave his all again but his all just isn't enough these days. In the last 20 when we looked ragged, he held the midfield together and made vital challenges. He'd spent the previous 70 racing around like a headless, tired chicken and got nowhere near them, while passing poorly at times. Marney might aswell not have played for all his efforts. He plays like a shadow in the midfield; he's always there but not having any effect. Garcia had another good game, he was about our best player first half, coming off the line to make things happen and working up and down the right. He got hauled off again when there were far worse players around him. He should've moved inside and let Marney take the walk. I just wish he had the confidence to have a go at goal when he gets a sight of it, he's good enough to do it. Barmby contributed plenty off the ball as usual but was on the periphery of the game in an attacking sense. His calm in possession helped create a couple of openings on the left in the first half but he never got into a position to deliver a killer ball. Mendy started well but faded far too quickly for a substitute and didn't work at all off the ball.
Fagan worked his socks off but to little effect again. Geovanni got into two good positions on the left but wasn't involved at all otherwise. Folan showed why he should've started with his cameo, while Cousin again looked unfit and incapable of affecting our play. He was a bit unlucky to come on when the rest of the team had given up the game though.
The first half of this season was like Christmas morning. Wherever we traveled, we unwrapped one delightful gift after another. Like those childhood memories of unwrapping the starship enterprise or a Sega mega drive (that's like a tangerine and a bag of cashews to older readers), some things will never be forgotten. Cousin's winner at the Emirates and equaliser at Old Trafford, McShane leaping at Anfield, destroying West Brom, outplaying Everton for 70 minutes, "Keegan, what's the score?", Folan sliding in the winner against Fulham, Turner heading in against West Ham and of course, Geovanni's wonder goals at Arsenal and Spurs. Unfortunately, since Christmas, we've been stuck in a groundhog boxing day. We've spent the last 150 days sat at home, bored witless, playing Trivial Pursuit: Medical Dictionary edition with the Auntie and Uncle we don't like and eating bone-dry Turkey sandwiches. On the whole though, it's still been wonderful. Seeing great players and nice grounds, being a part of one fantastic army of fans after another and watching City compete at the top level has been a wonderful experience. The frustration in the latter part of the season has been the inconsistency. We've done well against Chelsea, Fulham, Liverpool and Bolton, but being pathertic against Middlesbrough, Sunderland, Stoke and Man United. We need to find 5 or 6 players of real quality to avoid the same thing next season. We'll no doubt start of as favourites for the drop after our hideous form of late but we all know that Birmingham, Wolves, Bolton, Portsmouth, Sunderland, Blackburn and Stoke are no great shakes. There is plenty of scope for us to compete and that's what we've got to do. Browny has to be merciless in his approach to pre-season. We have too many players who just aren't good enough, it's time to thank them and send them on their way.
Ratings: Myhill 6, Ricketts 6, Dawson 6, Turner 8, Kilbane 6, Garcia 8 (Cousin), Barmby 7 (Mendy), Boateng 6, Marney 5, Fagan 6, Geovanni 6 (Folan).
Thank you to everyone for a great season. It's been wonderful; it's been woeful; it's been eventful, never dull. Thanks to the fans for supporting the team. Thanks to the players for playing for us. Thanks to Phil Brown for making the decisions, marginally more good than bad, just enough.
We are STILL Premier League. Bring on 2009/10. It can't come soon enough.