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What a fucking game!

I'm still breathless after that - ranks as one of the best City performances I've ever seen. NP was literally jumping: deafening perma-noise drowning everything else out.

Barely a peep could be heard from the Brummies all afternoon. I screamed myself hoarse - the chants of 'We are top of the league, we are top of the league' were particularly satisfying as well as novel.

What blew me away was not only the organisation and tactical nouse of the team on the pitch but also the way that every player out there fought for one another - they were a 'team' in every sense of the word.

Thought that Johnson, who was brought in for the suspended Purse was immense, as was Loovens, and McNaughton seemed to be everywhere, tracking back, making the tackles, getting the headers in.



It's also a joy to see City playing with effective full backs after the (thankfully defunct) Weston years. Gilbert and McNaughton are both capable of beating their man and finding their man on the wings, and time and time again they turned defence into attack at the flick of a switch.

Special mention to Paul Parry also, who seems to have rediscovered himself in the right wing position. He caused problems to the Brums all day with his strength and pace, and always seemed to want to beat his man.

Chopra is another type of striker altogether to Earnie or Jerome: while he may not have such a predatory instinct in front of goal he makes up for it with his all round vision, awareness and workrate; always looking to bring people into play, dinking little lay offs into the path of oncoming players, looking for the wide man rather than run into a brick wall down route 1, etc.



Finally, poor Cameron Jerome. The shit he got from our 'twelfth player' was probably unjustified, but he looked unsettled and ill-at-ease on his return to NP, missing a one on one opportunity and generally failing to keep hold of the ball.

So many times before we've come to that crucial match - the one that will bring the crowds back if we were to win - and meekly surrendered, losing both the match and the interest of the less hardcore supporters in the process.

Not this time. We delivered like never before, and I genuinely believe that we're going to bring numbers through the turnstiles on a weekly basis.

If so, NP is going to be a fixture that NO visiting team is going to relish. Bring on the Prem!

Bendeus (posting on the urban75 footie forum

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