Gary Owen column
29/ 2/2008
THERE is no doubt that Monday night's match against Everton was a case of 'After the Lord Mayor's Show' following the heroics in the derby at Old Trafford.
But the performance was not a reason for doom and gloom.
Everton deserved the points, but City played some decent football without managing to create the chances they would have hoped for.
There is still a long, long way to go in the race for European qualification and there are 33 points to play for. There will be plenty of ups and downs between now and the trip to Middlesbrough on the final day of the season.
If we are going to claim one of the remaining two Uefa Cup slots - Spurs did us no favours in that respect by winning the Carling Cup - then Elano is going to have to recapture his early season form and Martin Petrov is going to have to put all his energy into scoring and making goals not petty disputes with opponents.
Elano has not been at the top of his game for a couple of months and without his eye for a pass and his goals the Blues do not look the same side.
Saturday would be the perfect time for him to end that sequence, because we will be facing a Wigan side fighting for their Premier League lives, even though there has been a great improvement since Steve Bruce took over.
City have never beaten the Latics in the top flight and Bruce will have watched how Everton squeezed and harried the life out of City and will no doubt demand something similar from his side. We just have to be more creative.
Goals do not seem to have been a problem for the kids who have scored 16 of them on the way to the FA Youth Cup semi-finals and I must salute their efforts and those of everyone at the Academy.
To keep winning on the road as they have done at Reading, Bristol City and Plymouth and to average four goals per game in the competition is a fabulous effort.
And though Jim Cassell will tell anyone who listens that his job is to produce first-team players, there is no doubt that he and everyone at the club would like to top off all their achievements by winning the trophy.
Obviously, having Danny Sturridge in the side is a massive help but it would be wrong to suggest that the boy Blues are a one-man team.
Gary Owen is at gtcmanagement.co.uk - for business energy savings.
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