Manchester City vs West Ham Review: View from the Citizens fans

West Ham almost gained a valiant point against the Champions in midweek, falling to a refereeing decision. Did the City fans view it the same way? Or are we being bias. A city fan (@crookdpc) gives their view.

West Ham and Manchester City seem to have a bond between the two clubs. Despite this was there any title-race animosity that fueled some match rivalry before the match started at the Etihad?

I didn’t see or hear any issues between the fans. Everyone mingled in City Square. Low police presence. Even spoke to some West Ham fans who were in the City store browsing. During the game there was not much banter between the fans and lots of respect. We even let you finish one whole bubbles song before singing over it

Declan Rice and Manchester City have been linked since his coming out party over the last year. How did you think he performed in this midfield and do you think he’s atually a target for City in the near future?

I have said before Rice is looking like a good player and I could see us being interested in him as he is home grown. But he needs to develop a lot before he would be stepping into our side. I think he can improve but the question is would we pay £70 million for a player who might be good enough or £70million for a player who is good enough? We may need cover for Fernandinho sooner…. We have a young Brazilian player on loan at Girona called Douglas Luiz who is playing DM in La Liga. I think We may be more likely to try for a work permit for him than buy Rice but who knows?

What in the world is wrong with Riyad Mahrez? At Leicester Mahrez was always a show-in to score against the Hammers, but he seems half the player he used to be. What’s up with your big off-season purchase?

Mahrez was a strange purchase for us. He was always going to struggle to adapt. From a counter attacking team where he is used to seeing the ball infrequently to a side that holds it and works the opportunities. It took Sane and Bernardo a year to adapt. Looks like the same for Mahrez. At the minute he is not making enough of a contribution and there is frustration with his predictability. But if he works hard and stays then I am sure he will earn a spot but right now he is not working hard enough.

How much respect do Manchester City fans have for Pellegrini and Zabaleta returning for this game? What is the legacy of both players to the fanbase?

Pellegrini had a bad press from many fans. We should have won more under him and many blamed him for the 2015/16 season where team motivation was a problem. I remember him fondly for the blistering 2013/14 title season. Zaba is different. Everyone loves Zaba because he gave everything and that’s all we can ask as fans isn’t it? Zaba will be back at this club in some capacity. Watch the videos of him with little Zaba , the poorly kid, on City Tv if you don’t believe me. A gent.

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City needed a questionable (at best) penalty call to crack the deadlock after West Ham decided to play for a draw. Do you feel the scoreline accruately describes the match?

No I don’t feel the scoreline reflected the match. We missed our last pass and were wayward in front of goal. On another day we would have sunk 4. Overall we deserved the win and I was happy with the 3 points. Best of luck against Newcastle!

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City vs West Ham Review: View from the Citizens

By Scott Johnson | Mar 1, 2019