If there is a good time to hit form then it is now and City are doing it in style. It can be argued that Burnley made it easy for us, but Birmingham are a different proposition. Birmingham have made their place in the Premier League this season by virtue of a stout defence, so to score a comfortable five is quite a statement to make in the on-going battle for fourth place.
Before the penalty, Birmingham proved to be that team - very organised, a lot of men behind the ball - but with City probing, it would only take one goal to open things up. With Birmingham forced to come out of their shell a bit more, the speed with which City's attack flew at the Birmingham defence was quite devastating. The supposedly defensive Mancini's forward four rival any attack in the league for quality and it is perhaps the first time this season that they have all been firing at the same time. With so many attacking options, it is impossible for a defence to focus on stopping them all and Adebayor's return to form has been key to this potency.
However, the story of the game was Nedum Onuoha. Very unlucky not to have scored twice (or three times if Bowyer hadn't turned him upside down on the six yard box), Nedum is perhaps the man City fans most want to succeed. A lifelong City fan himself, he has always stayed loyal in the face of other clubs' interest, countless injuries, and managers who don't seem to regard him as part of their plans. So when he played a pass that was so miscued it tricked everyone and put him through on goal to finish with an improbably precise left-foot placement, the delight on everyone around me's faces was clear to see.
With fourteen goals in the past three games and eleven in the last two, City should now have the confidence to go into a potentially tricky final spell of five games. Equally important though will be our home advantage, and I got the feeling on Sunday that there is a lot more optimism amongst the fans and, dare I say it, that we have started to enjoy ourselves again. There no longer seems to be any justifiable argument against Mancini, the goals are going in, a great achievement is within sight - all of which undoubtedly helps - and the old "12th man" theory could well be the difference for us in the remaining games.
On the back of City's attacking display, returning to the car to hear Portsmouth beat Tottenham in the FA Cup really makes you appreciate what a beautiful game it is!
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