Forget for a moment this week’s off-field rumours, the first burblings of supporter dissent with manager and chairman, puzzlement at the new choice of captain, the league table. Leave it all to one side. Just think “City two Wigan one” – and remember just how GOOD it feels to leave the Circle with that funny glow of warm pleasure that comes from watching the Tigers win a game of football.
Sounds silly, doesn’t it? Back when dinosaurs roamed the earth and City were in the lower leagues – for it really does feel like an eternity ago – we used to win quite a bit. I refer not to the thrilling series of promotions, but to ordinary seasons. We’d win some, lose some, draw the rest. Err, obviously. But the key was that we’d win some. For months, we’ve lost or drawn, with barely a victory to break up that gruelling pattern. It’s wearying. I’d almost forgotten how it felt to leave the stadium with a smile – to take not positives, but points.
But this morning, as we peruse the morning papers and get the rare treat of not skipping the football pages, the simple happiness of a Home Win is still ours to enjoy. It’ll keep us going through the international break.
But, briefly, let us consider Phil Brown’s new choice of captain, oddly trailed on the club’s official website and announced with artificial excitement. The enduring absence of Ian Ashbee has seen a bewildering array of skippers selected this season, but the manager’s decision to nominate Nick Barmby raised plenty of eyebrows, mostly in a quizzical fashion. It’s not entirely without logic and sense. The local boy’s natural affinity with the fans, his leading-by-example attitude as the club’s most immaculate senior pro, his significant dressing room influence, all are credible reasons. But he won’t play in every game, and those he does start are unlikely to witness a ninety-minute contribution. It’s a peculiar decision.
But decisions are judged good or bad on outcomes. Captain Barmby has a 100% winning record, so Brown’s decision should not be contested for now. Who knows, in a few months we may be hailing it as a masterstroke. His debut as the Hull City armband-wearer saw him line up in a 4-5-1 formation populated thus: Myhill; McShane, Kilbane, Sonko, Dawson; Barmby (c), Zayatte, Marney, Geovanni, Hunt; Vennegoor of Hesselink.
Some ventured that Liam Cooper was harshly treated by being left out entirely following our 6-1 gubbing at Anfield last week, as though a tender youth was being scapegoated. I wonder if Brown had already made it clear to the player that his Liverpool outing was always intended as a one-off. Certainly, his dealings with Cooper this week will have to have been deftly handled. It wasn’t all bad news for City’s crop of promising youngsters, however. Tom Cairney was rewarded for his recent efforts with a place on the bench, and he was accompanied by Matt Duke, Péter Halmosi, Steven Mouyokolo, Seyi Olofinjana, Kamel Ghilas and Jozy Altidore.
Wigan came into the match on the back of a stunning victory over Chelsea last week, and their well-spoken manager Roberto Martinez was able to field an XI close to full strength. It meant former City loanee Marlon King was on the bench, where one presumes he elected not to swap pleasantries with Phil Brown.
The major feature of the conditions was the wind – broadly from the west but swirling venomously, it marginally benefited the side attacking the North Stand but was so unpredictable as to make long passes treacherously difficult. It meant that in the opening exchanges both sides were ostentatiously passing the ball short…and City should have led in fewer than two minutes.
Hunt sent a cross over that Chris Kirkland hesitantly pawed away to Barmby, who immediately shot at goal from an acute angle on the right hand side of the area. The ball was stopped on what looked a goalward path by the right arm of a defender – the East Stand howled furiously for a penalty, and it seemed an extremely convincing claim, but referee Mark Clattenburg waved it away. He may have been unsighted, but one of his linesmen had no such excuse.
This early controversy meant the first ten minutes were played at a fairly hot tempo, the City fans in good voice and the team trying to do the right things in possession, even if the execution was erratic. Marney stung the palms of Kirkland with a well-struck effort from the edge of the area, while a superb diagonal ball from Hunt found Barmby (looking suspiciously offside) in the area, but the City captain’s first time volley was on the stretch and it bobbled wide.
The game eventually settled as the visitors came into it, though there were still openings for both sides. Mohamed Diame tested Myhill, while City replied with a rasping drive from Geovanni that flew a yard over. Wigan’s reply was nearly deadly, when Jason Scotland wriggled away from his marker and sent a low shot very narrowly wide. A real let-off for the Tigers.
The game drifted a little, its earlier pace having sublimed into a stolid, stodgy state of torpor. The wind wasn’t helping, but the fear of losing briefly held the upper hand, a shame after both sides had shown pleasingly positive intentions at the outset. The Tigers had the next chance when Geovanni sent over a sumptuous cross that found Vennegoor of Hesselink – his header went narrowly wide, when it really ought to have been directed on target.
Charles N’Zogbia was cautioned for an untidy lunge on Andy Dawson that severely riled the south-west corner – some urged red, but on balance Mr Clattenburg was right to resist these entreaties. Dawson hobbled off for a short time but was eventually fit to return to the fray. A couple of additional minutes saw us into the break with the game worsening all the time. At this stage, nil-nil seemed a decent bet.
A few minutes into the second half it’d have seemed a result worth grabbing hold of, too. Wigan kept possession calmly, starving City of the ball and briefly knocking the home fans from their previously positive disposition. Sadly for them, they failed to do much with it, and after a tepid quarter of an hour, City punished them for it.
A corner was forced in the south-east corner, and the ball was swung in by Dean Marney. Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink stole a yard on his marker at the near post and angled a downward header past Kirkland. A superb finish given that he was some four yards beyond the near post itself, and to achieve such direction on the ball was an impressive feat. City celebrated with huge relief, as did we.
His name was sung endlessly in the post-goal din, to a tune of exotically foreign extraction – it’ll be an ace one for a spot of scarf-waving in the winter months. Captain Barmby was inevitably replaced soon after, rather surreally handing the armband to Geovanni. Seriously. Ghilas was his replacement as Phil Brown hoped to take advantage of tiring Wigan legs with his pace and annoying habit of hassling defenders.
City scored again on 68 minutes, and a fine goal it was. Kamil Zayatte nipped in to pinch possession from a dithering Wigan midfielder close to halfway, and rampaged forwards to the area. He showed a turn of pace to reach the goal-line before chipping over a cross that found Geovanni in space at the far post – his first time volley was beautifully executed, and it was 2-0. Delight washed over the Circle; surely three points were ours now?
Marney had another effort from distance after being teed up twenty yards from goal – he did well to keep his effort low and on target, but Kirkland comfortably pouched the ball. With under ten minutes to go Seyi Olofinjana was brought on for Zayatte, who’d impressed in a midfield role.
City being City, this wasn’t going to be a comfortable, enjoyable saunter to the points: Wigan pulled a goal back on 87 minutes when Jordi Gomez found space in the area to flash a shot at Myhill. The City keeper couldn’t keep hold of the ball, and Scott Sinclair stole into nod home the rebound.
Diame sent an effort from distance over the bar with something to spare, before Mr Clattenburg sent us from alarmed to panic-stricken by inexplicably summoning up five extra minutes. However he redeemed himself somewhat during them when Gomez tumbled theatrically in the area. From this observer’s perspective in the East Stand it looked a penalty – subsequent replays showed it to be an act of cheating, and as we criticized the referee for not awarding us a penalty, so we must acknowledge it was an excellent piece of officiating not to fall for it. The sullen Gomez was booked in disgrace.
City negotiated the remainder of these five minutes without any further incident save for the introduction of Marlon King heralding a bawdy reminder of allegations regarding distasteful antics of yesteryear, and at full time a bellow of relief pealed into the Yorkshire air. For this was as big a win as any. Defeat, or a poor draw, and we’d have endured sixteen days stewing on it, wondering about the manager’s ability to stir his troops into action.
Instead, we can luxuriate during the international break with our most recent memories of City being happy ones. Not so much the football, which was gritty at best. Much of the game can safely be forgotten, but the result and character are causes for cautious optimism.
The defence was broadly secure, though Sonko is yet to convince. That alone is something to celebrate after the trauma of recent hidings. In midfield, Zayatte was an imposing presence, Cap’n Barmby rallied his charges well, Geovanni was both inspiration and perspiration in a man of the match effort, while Marney was, well, Marneyesque – thunderous effort with frustrating final outcomes.
What of Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink? His epic name will never stop being ace, but he looks slow and ponderous at times, while at other possessing a nimble touch and the capacity to win a prodigious number of headers. Perhaps his problem is simply inexperience in the Premier League – this was undoubtedly his most impressive outing in amber and black, and we can look forward to him causing difficulties to opposing defenders on a regular basis.
And so, the world looks rosier than a week ago. We desperately want Phil Brown to succeed – it’d seem almost indecent to turn on the greatest manager in our history, even if circumstances ever did compel it. For now, he’s cut a slightly more humble and thoughtful figure this week in some of his less widely reported media utterances.
He’s spoken of focusing more on the joy that comes with football, and being less intense. Rightly so. Our early endeavours in the Premier League were all about having fun. If we can get back to that mentality, if the rapprochement between manager and dressing room that this wholesome effort indicates is underway, if Bullard can live up to expectations and our glut of new boys can begin to gel…well, football’s about hope, isn’t it?
