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Match Thread Manchester City(1) Vs Everton(2) - Capital One Cup - Semi Final 2nd Leg - Weds 27th Jan - 19:45 KO

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davek said:
Now we've got that meaningless Swansea game out of the way (not before it gave us two casualties we can ill afford like) we arrive at the big meaningful game.

Drop Stones. He's more Duckandcover than Beckenbauer. Mori + Jagielka at CB.

Toss up between Cleverely and Kone wide left. McCarthy has to play, fully fit or not.

I'm backing Lukaku and Barkley to take us to victory.


Roberto is the history man. The man with the plan. A legend in the making.

Everton v Liverpool final.
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No league game is meaningless.
If it was meaningless why did Martinez play a strong side, hence risking injuries before this "meaningful" game?
 
Yorkie said:
No league game is meaningless.
If it was meaningless why did Martinez play a strong side, hence risking injuries before this "meaningful" game?
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It might have been meaningful to him, it wasn't to me. The cup SF is THE biggest game of this season and any other since the SF against Liverpool 4 years ago.
 

davek said:
It might have been meaningful to him, it wasn't to me. The cup SF is THE biggest game of this season and any other since the SF against Liverpool 4 years ago.
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If that is the case (which I agree it should be) why is Roberto playing what he considers to be our second choice keeper? Why did he risk key first team players for a meaningless league game (in the context of our midtable position). Why in the first leg (although we won) did he play Robles Besic Cleverley and Osman over Howard Kone and McCarthy/Cleverley who had all been first team. Either he suddenly had an epiphany and realised what his strongest team was, or he put out fringe players in our biggest game of the season. Which is it?
 
Now is not the time to experiment with 3 at the back, Stones as CDM, Wingbacks, or any other craziness. The team needs to play in the shape its used to and with the best available players in each position. This will be a tough slog but the deciding factor will be the effort of the players on the day not some strategic change.
 
Saint Domingo said:
If that is the case (which I agree it should be) why is Roberto playing what he considers to be our second choice keeper? Why did he risk key first team players for a meaningless league game (in the context of our midtable position). Why in the first leg (although we won) did he play Robles Besic Cleverley and Osman over Howard Kone and McCarthy/Cleverley who had all been first team. Either he suddenly had an epiphany and realised what his strongest team was, or he put out fringe players in our biggest game of the season. Which is it?
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McCarthy was injured. Robles IS our number 1 GK. He had his priorities right for that SF 1st leg.

I said before the Swansea game we had the resources to rest up the likes of Besic. He's a big loss. That was a massive error. Although McCarthy should be in for City.
 
davek said:
It might have been meaningful to him, it wasn't to me. The cup SF is THE biggest game of this season and any other since the SF against Liverpool 4 years ago.
Click to expand...

I agree.

I think this game is the biggest in Martinez's career also.

Because of the league he has kind of backed himself into a corner.
 
davek said:
McCarthy was injured. Robles IS our number 1 GK. He had his priorities right for that SF 1st leg.

I said before the Swansea game we had the resources to rest up the likes of Besic. He's a big loss. That was a massive error. Although McCarthy should be in for City.
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I'm not arguing that Robles isn't better than Howard, but surely you can't believe Martinez sees him as number 1, every utterance he has made would contradict that. It would also beg the question why has he played all our league games if he's not our number 1? Warping logic to suit the Martinez infallibility myth. Martinez struck lucky in that his fringe players in the first leg performed better than the first team. A good manager would learn from that, but instead Howard et al were back on league duty.
 


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