The more I hear Daniel Farke speak, the more I am drawn to his passion, inspirational messages and positivity,
He obviously addressed the media after Tuesday’s gut-wrenching late defeat at The Emirates with raw emotion.
City’s head coach had seen his gallant troops battle valiantly for so long, only to be undone by a combination of woefully inadequate refereeing, a couple of missed chances and a young sub who the vast majority of red fans in the North London library had never even heard of (before they went on to sing his name as if he’d been in a Gunners’ shirt since Pat Jennings was a lad).
Farke was armed with compelling evidence as he revealed that several Arsenal players had admitted it was a clear penalty when James Husband was floored in the box. It was a stonewall spotkick. We all saw that and Wenger’s men confirmed it.
City’s boss also spoke candidly about the clearest straight red card that never was. And he didn’t even get into the issue of the corner for the winner which shouldn’t have been awarded.
Andy Madley (West Yorks) you should be struck off from refereeing for good.
For me, though, there were four sentences from Farke which said more than anything about the exciting place we find ourselves in after an incredibly topsy turvy week.
Speaking about the late agony at The Emirates, Farke said: “We were so close to reaching something extraordinary. When you don’t get what you deserve immediately you just have to keep working and in the end we will get our benefits. That is what I told the lads after the game. With this togetherness and attitude we will be able to celebrate.”
After the final whistle on Tuesday, we stood and watched the players in the huddle on The Emirates pitch.
The sight was similar to that after the win at Middlesborough. On that night I’m sure Farke saluted the lads for their courage and desire to get that much-needed league win.
The theme on Tuesday was no doubt around that sense of building on what has been achieved and reaping the rewards in the future.
On August 26 there were pretty much no reasons to be positive for City fans. We had just been humbled 4-0 at Millwall and the team was all over the place. Defensively we were inept and there was little or no confidence.
Two months on and things couldn’t be more of a contrast.
The team have shot up from the relegation zone to the play-off places. We’ve seen four league away wins on the trot, with only one goal conceded.
The backline – while not perfect, especially from set-pieces – looks more organised and cohesive.
As confidence grows, we’re seeing more creativity and players who were under-performing are flourishing.
Those attributes of attitude and togetherness are priceless and have grown from the belief that great things can be achieved at Carrow Road.
Arsene Wenger was able to name a completely fresh squad from their game on Sunday, Farke, on the other hand, had to call on a good proportion of the troops who had fought through a high intensity derby win just 48 hours earlier.
Such is life in the Championship, there is little time to relax.
City will be put to the stern test both mentally and physically in the next nine days.
Derby will have been delighted to see the Canaries go into extra time ahead of Saturday’s match at Carrow Road.
Wolves then come to NR1 on Tuesday in buoyant mood as they sit top of the tree. They also have the best form on the road, with four wins and draw from their six matches – and just five goals conceded.
Bolton away on paper ought to be an easier task ahead of another international break. However, they are sure to be fighting for their lives.
The yellow and green army were truly magnificent at The Emirates on Tuesday, even after the two late sucker punches.
The players looked genuinely moved by the sheer volume of fans who had travelled down to London on a Tuesday night and the relentless backing given despite a defeat.
We have a big part to play in these two up coming home games to lift the lads.
Togetherness is the key word and that means everyone involved in the club, including the supporters.
It’s been an amazing week where we’ve had a taste of derby glory and then cup heartache.
Let’s now make sure the sense of anticipatation of great times ahead becomes a reality. OTBC.
Angus belongs here
I’ll devote more space to writing about Angus Gunn in a future column.
However, I can’t let this week pass without mentioning the brilliant young man - and making a plea to the Carrow Road top brass to do everything they can to get him here for good.
I know he’s a Manchester City player and it would be disrespectful for Stuart Webber or Daniel Farke to be too forward when he isn’t even halfway through his loan spell. However, I feel Gunn belongs here and would so love him to be our permanent number one. Obviously the link with his dad – such a magnificent servant to the club – has a real magnetism for fans. Yet it is so much more than that.
Angus is clearly a terrific prospect with a really bright future ahead of him. Will he make it at the very top at The Etihad? They are obviously one of the best clubs in Europe who you sense will always spend big to bring in the world’s finest. We seem made for each other. Here’s hoping....
Nice seat to stand on
Tuesday night was my first visit to The Emirates – and I was generally very impressed.
It is clearly a fabulous stadium with a great view from every vantage point.
There were issues around getting fans in, but I guess that was to do with the sheer volume of away supporters arriving in a pretty short space of time.
Afterwards was also somewhat chaotic getting back to the tube station. I assume it wasn’t deemed to be a high risk match in terms of potential trouble and City fans did themselves proud as usual.
Back to the inside and I was among the thousands up in the top deck behind the goal.
I had been told about the padded bottom rests – and wasn’t disappointed with what I found!
Last week I wrote that if we scored, I’d stand on my seats as I’d done when the late equaliser went in against Hull.
I’m happy to report that when Josh dinked the ball over the keeper to put us ahead I did just that! OTBC.
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