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| |  Posted 16/02/2008 13:00:12 | |
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| Interesting comparison by Barnes between the side he played in in 1978 and this side. I've seen both play and fondly remember the 78 team and it was an era when youth blended well with experience. Just hope there isn't a Big Mal to come along and dismantle this team.
Four-midable Sven
PETER Barnes was a member of the last City team to finish in the top four... and has backed Sven-Goran Eriksson's Class of 2008 to be the next.
Eriksson has shown over the last week he is capable of consigning 30-plus years of hurt to the history books.
Last Sunday, the Swede ended the Blues' 34-year wait for an Old Trafford derby win, and a 38-year wait for a league double over United.
While the 32-year run without a trophy cannot be ended this season, there is another three-decade itch that Eriksson can scratch before the summer by sealing City's first top-four finish in the top flight since Barnes and Co were electrifying the Maine Road fans in 1978.
"They can do it," Barnes said. "It will all come down to whether they can get that consistency going on the back of the derby victory. If they can, I believe they've got every chance of finishing in the top four."
Although English football has changed since the 1970s, it is possible to draw comparisons between Eriksson's 2008 side and the 1978 team led by Tony Book.
Both managers built a team which mixed young homegrown talent with experience.
Whereas Eriksson has Academy graduates such as Stephen Ireland, Micah Richards, Nedum Onuoha and Michael Johnson to call on, Book benefited from a youth policy which produced Barnes, Gary Owen, Paul Power and Kenny Clements.
And while Eriksson can blend those young stars in with the experience of Richard Dunne, Dietmar Hamann and new signing Benjani, Book had Joe Royle, Mick Channon, Brian Kidd and Joe Corrigan to form the basis of his team.
"There is a comparison there to be made," Barnes said. "But don't ask me if our team was as good as this one!
"With the youth policy, I think the philosophy today is the same as the one the club had in the 1970s. The important thing with kids is that you've got to give them the time and the opportunity to develop.
Enjoyed
"The clubs that have done that have been the ones that have enjoyed the most success with their youth policies.
"The blend of youth and experience played a major part in our success when I played, and I think it's playing a major part in the way things are going under Sven now.
"When I broke into the City team in 1974-75, it helped me that there was a wealth of experience around me.
"We won the League Cup in 1976, finished runners-up to Liverpool in the First Division the following year, and then had a run in the UEFA Cup when we beat AC Milan in 1978-79."
That success was made possible because Book, like Eriksson, showed a canny ability in the transfer market.
Like Eriksson, Book carried an authority that both inspired the players and left them in no doubt who was in charge.
And Barnes believes that if anyone can match the achievements of the Book era, then it is Eriksson.
He said: "Sven has done it all, and deserves respect for everything he has achieved. He's won trophies in Sweden, Portugal and Italy, and he had a great start to life as a club manager in England.
Off the boil
"It's been a bit of a topsy-turvy season, and we had gone off the boil a little from November onwards, but the derby victory will have lifted everyone.
"If I was going to nitpick, I would say that I'd like City to be a little more adventurous at home, because I don't think we've got anything to be frightened of."
For that reason, Barnes feels City should follow their dreams of a top-four finish.
In fact, with so much of the Premier League's cream concentrated among the top three clubs, and Liverpool stumbling from one week to the next, Barnes argues it is easier to finish fourth now than it was 30 years ago.
He said: "Back in the late 1970s, I would say there were nine or 10 teams who harboured realistic ambitions of winning the league. You had Liverpool and United, of course, but you also had Forest, Villa, City, Leeds, Everton, Chelsea and Arsenal.
"You only have to look at how often the league title was shared around in the 1970s to see how much more competitive it was then.
"Now, we have a situation where Everton are in fourth place, and I think City would argue they are at least on a par with them, if not better."
City's next league game is at home to Everton on February 25 - curiously, exactly the same date they played them on in 1978, when they last finished fourth.
"City have a good side now," Barnes said. "Joe Hart has come on in leaps and bounds. Micah Richards and Richard Dunne are solid, Martin Petrov and Elano can provide inspiration, as can Stephen Ireland.
"And now they've got Benjani, who can score a few goals."
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Fun-spoiling tart |
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| | | Posted 16/02/2008 14:38:37 | |
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| I like Peter Barnes. Went to a soccer school run by him when i was about 12. Nice bloke.
Cool Cool Coolio... |
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| | | Posted 19/02/2008 21:10:09 | |
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| | He's one of my favourite's from the glory days. |
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| | | Posted 19/02/2008 21:23:50 | |
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| I remember his Dad
you do not mess with Jack Reacher |
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| | | Posted 19/02/2008 21:40:54 | |
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| | Another one of my favourites. |
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| | | Posted 19/02/2008 22:29:37 | |
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| | i remember shooting and shouting "B-A-R-N-E-S" Never shouted futcher mind you...
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| | | Posted 19/02/2008 22:31:59 | |
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| SeánJansson (19/02/2008)
i remember shooting and shouting "B-A-R-N-E-S" Never shouted futcher mind you... Where you from Sean?
Yes, all right.. Christ Almighty! It's like walking down a corridor and answering the door in Nazi Germany! |
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| | | Posted 19/02/2008 22:35:35 | |
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Third Division Poster
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| save me Jeebus (19/02/2008)
SeánJansson (19/02/2008)
i remember shooting and shouting "B-A-R-N-E-S" Never shouted futcher mind you... Where you from Sean? Stockport, but live in Surrey now.
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| | | Posted 19/02/2008 22:55:59 | |
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Premiership Poster
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| SeánJansson (19/02/2008)
save me Jeebus (19/02/2008)
SeánJansson (19/02/2008)
i remember shooting and shouting "B-A-R-N-E-S" Never shouted futcher mind you... Where you from Sean? Stockport, but live in Surrey now. I just assumed you were a swede. Sorry.
Yes, all right.. Christ Almighty! It's like walking down a corridor and answering the door in Nazi Germany! |
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| | | Posted 19/02/2008 23:05:13 | |
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Third Division Poster
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Last Login: 08/05/2008 11:48:06
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| save me Jeebus (19/02/2008)
SeánJansson (19/02/2008)
save me Jeebus (19/02/2008)
SeánJansson (19/02/2008)
i remember shooting and shouting "B-A-R-N-E-S" Never shouted futcher mind you... Where you from Sean? Stockport, but live in Surrey now. I just assumed you were a swede. Sorry. nej, jag är engelsk, men jag kan prata lite svenska
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