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No place like home

Fortress Eastlands proving impregnable

Posted: 09th February 2012 13:23

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No place like home

Etihad: leaving wth three points is a tall order!

In a season where the press are taking delight in reporting on our apparent 'blip' in form, perhaps more of a spotlight should be put on our frankly ridiculous run at home.

Man City FanZoner Tom Wilkins
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In 2006/07, Manchester City's free flowing, attacking brand of football under Stuart Pearce saw the goals flowing. Ten whole goals that is, scored at home, over an entire season. All of which came before Christmas. Let's just consider that again shall we? From January to May 2007, we failed to score a single goal at Eastlands. Truly staggering.

Nowadays occasionally on football websites, messageboards and blogs you will hear opposition fans claiming that our new-found success is hollow. That it can't mean as much because we've 'bought' it and not 'earned' it. Of course, the people making these statements will not have been stood in the City of Manchester stadium during those bleak months, bewildered and irritated as Pearce's 'lucky' mascot Beanie made yet another appearance on the sidelines.

These naysayers are now fully-fledged self-appointed experts on Manchester City football club. Despite having no connection with the club, they know how it feels to be a City fan. Their comments are by no means fuelled by envy, or that their club has been dropped down a peg or two, no - these fans simply know best. And who are we to argue? I for one would much rather watch the likes of Bernardo Corradi and Georgios Samaras than Sergio Aguero and David Silva.

delight

The transformation in fortunes over 5 seasons has been nothing short of remarkable. In this campaign it took a slightly more respectable four games to reach ten home goals in the League, and we have knocked in another 27 since for good measure. In a season where the press are taking delight in reporting on our apparent 'blip' in form, perhaps more of a spotlight should be put on our frankly ridiculous run at home.

You often hear of teams turning their home ground into a 'fortress' and this season City have taken this to the next level. Not only are we unbeaten at home in the league this season, we have won every single Premier League game at Eastlands in almost a full calendar year, since Fulham in late February 2011. Such a record instils as much confidence in the home team as it does trepidation in the away side. We simply expect to win our League home games now, and invariably do. Yes, it's a good time to be a season ticket holder.

The acid test now will be to see if we can rediscover our equally intimidating early season away form whilst maintaining home supremacy over the final stretch of the campaign. There are still several big teams due to come to Eastlands, but gone are the days they would arrive expecting a routine three points. City is an altogether different beast now, and a slightly scary one at that.

So if anyone is to tell you that any success that comes our way now is hollow and unwarranted, treat them with the contempt they deserve - we've paid our dues.

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