Manchester City face AS Roma in a crucial Champions League group match at the Etihad tonight. Having lost to Bayern Munich in their first game and with the side from the Italian capital in impressive form, all eyes will be on the returning Joe Hart who needs a solid performance to remain as City's no. 1 choice between the sticks.
D. Ray Morton, 30th September 2014.
Joe Hart has found himself on the bench for Manchester City of late and must channel any frustration into a positive performance given another chance to prove his ability tonight
I wonder what a man like Manuel Pellegrini thinks of Joe Hart. The Chilean manager, who you cannot imagine to be a believer of English hype, must surely have his reservations about the bleach-headed stopper evidenced by the fact that he has openly dropped him for the second time since taking over as Manchester City's boss. Hart is a media-friendly and hard-working, all-round nice guy. This alone cannot cut the mustard with the expectations City have set themselves. If they want to become a true continental and global power, they need the best as their last line of defence.
When not dancing on nightclub tables or shooting Head & Shoulders ads, Hart is certainly an above average goalkeeper with a good aerial ability and quick reflexes. The weakness in his game is his propensity to do something crazy when City are in command of games. Perhaps he becomes over-eager to prove himself in matches where he has very little to do. He has been dropped for the last two games, Pellegrini favouring Willy Caballero - a goalkeeper he trusts from his time in La Liga. Caballero may not be as imposing a figure as Hart but he has a tendency to pick up a lot of man of the match awards thanks to his ability to pull off impossible-looking saves. It is actually something of a puzzler why he was not selected for Argentina's World Cup squad after having a great season with Málaga before making his move to the Premier League.
Willy Caballero is proving to be the real competition in the City squad which Hart did not really have last season
The match against Roma tonight is absolutely crucial to City's hopes of making an impact in this season's Champions League. Though they are favourites, defeat would mean staring down the barrel of very possible elimination at the group stage, something this team has been familiar with during the Roberto Mancini era. The time for excuses is over. City have one of the most expensively-assembled squads of all-time and stating that they lack experience in the competition would simply be a fallacy now. Were they to lose, there would be no more second chances after that. They would probably need to win their remaining four matches barring an unlikely capitulation from either Roma or Bayern. Keep in mind that Roma have won all of their matches so far this season.
The pressure would hit Pellegrini were they not able to put the Italians away. Even a draw would hurt. With Chelsea looking strong in the league, elimination from Europe's greatest club competition could spell major trouble. A bad performance from Hart tonight, a nervous moment or an error, would surely end any remaining trust of his manager. There would be an escape plan for Hart, possibly offered by Liverpool who are sniffing around as they are not entirely satisfied with Simon Mignolet's performances at Anfield. If Roma give City a game tonight, this could be Joe Hart's D-Day.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Let us know what you think