The defeat to Napoli on Tuesday was difficult to take initially. With City never really getting their game up to it’s free flowing peak, with Balotelli and Dzeko looking somewhat stranded up front (the latter looking next to useless at times) and with Mancini making a few slightly odd decisions in refusing to bring a chomping at the bit Sergio Aguero on until it was too late, the game in Naples was deeply frustrating. The result all but condemned City to the ignominy of dropping into the Europa league – a second tier competition with a farcical name. Although having said this I can actually se us beating Bayern at home. Also, Even though Villareal have looked pretty poor, it’s not beyond the realms of imagination that they may salvage a solitary consolation point from the group with a ‘backs to the wall’ display against the Italians – it’s not over until it’s over – #wishfulthinking).
But having a couple of days to reflect on our likely exit from Europe’s top table at the first hurdle, my disappointment has quickly waned. Firstly, watching Barcelona and Real Madrid over the course of this season, (thanks to the Spanish footy on Sky) I can’t see us beating either of them over two legs. Anybody else in the competition I think City would stand a decent chance against, but those two look streets ahead at this moment in time and I’d be extremely surprised if one of the two elite Spanish sides doesn’t win the competition outright.
So we we’re never going to with the thing anyway – that’s consolation number 1.
Consolation number 2 is that we don’t need the money that would come from advancing further and further through the competition. The millions and millions of Euros could be the making of some less fortunate clubs but we are lucky enough to have no current issues with cash reserves. It would be nice though with the financial fairplay regulations looming.
The third and final consolation is that without question we are the team that everyone in the Europa League is going to dread being drawn against. We have a very real chance of winning this competition and any silverware is welcome at a club so starved of trophies over the last 3 decades, even if it’s not quite the one that we wanted.
A Man City fan since the age of 14 and lover of both watching and playing football football since I can remember, I've spent a decade and a half watching City enthrall, excite and disappoint me in equal measures.
