Time for the Cityzens to Rise to the Occasion

Manchester City’s struggles this season have been rather unexpected. City made history for the wrong reasons by falling to a 3-2 defeat to Wolves at the Molineux. The Wanderers completed a first league double over City since 1961. Nuno Espirito Santo’s men also became only the second team to do a league double over Pep Guardiola since Antonio Conte achieved the feat with his title-winning Chelsea side in the 2016/17 campaign.

The Sky Blues were expected to make it three in three this season, as far as winning the Premier League is concerned. But things don’t always go according to plan in life, do they? Yet the team’s struggles must be seen by the Cityzens as an unfortunate break. It happens. Such is life. But if there was ever a time to back the team, this is it.

A few immortal words in Stevie Wonder’s song “That’s What Friends are for” lays the point out even better:

“… for good times

And bad times

I’ll be on your side forever more

That’s what friends are for…”

Watching manager Pep Guardiola frantically and repeatedly motion to the fans to back the team in the home game against Leicester City was quite a sight. Ideally, that shouldn’t be the case. The fans are supposed to back the team fully, especially when playing at home. This is what has made some stadiums around the world fortresses for the home team. Barcelona went the whole of 2019 unbeaten at Camp Nou in all competitions. The same team fell like a pack of cards at Anfield in last season’s Champions League. With Lionel Messi and all, the Catalan side was a shadow of itself in the face of the boisterous Liverpool home crowd.

Speaking of which, the home crowd played a key role in Liverpool’s success last season. Anfield has become a slaughter ground for away teams. When push comes to shove, Jurgen Klopp uses the Anfield advantage to get to the next level. Manchester City must not be left behind. The Cityzens must rise to the occasion and support their team in good and bad times. The players are human. And we all need that extra motivation to go the extra mile and achieve the seemingly impossible.

Whoever thought Liverpool will beat Barcelona 4-0 to advance to the final of the Champions League? Not even Klopp believed it would happen. But the supporters backed the team all the way and that accomplishment has turned the Reds into a monster. They now believe anything is possible - that they can always win, even in the most difficult of circumstances.

And in most cases, they do.

City fans must pull together and stand firmly behind the team and the manager in this difficult period. The league title may be gone already. But there‘s still a lot to play for. The League Cup, FA Cup and the Champions League are all up for grasp. There’s no room for giving up. And even if the team failed to win any trophies, the support should be unwavering. There’s always the next season to go again and fight for everything.

Again, there’s still a lot these players can accomplish moving forward. Therefore, we must back the manager and the team 100%. It’s the recipe for success.