Competition Time...

Your chance to win the legendary Gillingham shirt, or another of your choice...

By Archie Barnett

The Sky Blue View and Campo Retro have come together to offer all Manchester City fans around the world a fantastic opportunity to win a Man City retro shirt with any name & number on the back.

Campo Retro has a wide range of Manchester City retro shirts available. With classic shirts and track jackets ranging back from 1969 to 1999, not only that, but Campo Retro will also print any name and number that you want on the back of the shirt to make it extra special.

The famous 1999 Wembley shirt

 
This competition is open to entrances from all over the world, so whether you live in Moss Side or Melbourne, you still have a great chance to win this fantastic prize. It couldn’t be simpler to enter this competition, all you have to do is answer the simple question below and email the answer to competitions@camposports.com

‘Who is Manchester City’s current club captain?’

It’s that Simple. The competition closes on 7th April 2014 and the winner will be announced soon after. The winner will receive an email from Campo Retro to request information on shirt size, personalization and delivery address. All entries will also receive an exclusive discount to use at www.camporetro.com
 

This could be yours!

GOOD LUCK!

The Myth of Javi García

The myth that surrounds Spanish midfielder...

By Archie Barnett

So, I may have developed this thing for Javi García. Maybe because he was so underrated, it frustrates me. The same thing happened with the likes of Pablo Zabaleta and Gareth Barry, however they eventually got the recognition they deserved.

I think García is just about getting there, however there is still an apparent “shock” when people notice he has a “good game”.

In my opinion, García doesn’t have the occasional good game, in fact the majority of games he plays are in fact “good games”. Sure, he had a slow start when he came to Manchester City in 2012, seen by many as a panic buy. He lacked pace, gave the ball away quite a few times, and appeared to the lack the ability that you now need to be a stand out Manchester City player, but the main thing he lacked was the thing the fans also did not have, patience (towards his performances) and confidence in his ability.

I can’t be certain, but maybe the fans at the Etihad expect a midfielder to be talented going forward, be able to provide exquisite balls, get great shots away and if this isn’t the player’s style of play then he certainly isn’t good enough.

So, García might not produce those balls, he might not get shots away, but what exactly does he do?

He sits back, he allows players to go forward. Time and time again, he comes on and allows Yaya Touré to progress up the pitch – changing the game.

His role is to hold the back and midfield to allow others to attack. Attacking isn’t his forte, so he excels in an area that seems to be a blind spot for many football fans.

I think he is starting to get the recognition he deserves for the role he does, just about. But what exactly does he need to do in order to become that midfielder that is recognised every time he plays?

I would say keep playing how he is. He needed time, he’s had it. Many will disagree with me probably, but I feel that García is not that far behind the big performers in the Capital One Cup champion’s side.

Adapting to a new league takes time sometimes, Manchester City fans are patient the majority of time – I know I did say they lacked the patience. I say they lack patience, because they are quick to get on a players back. Especially García, on Twitter, whenever he was mentioned in the starting line-up people started to say “that’s us losing then”, “García starting, great...”, even the #AskGarcia trend that Manchester City started ended up in abuse towards the player for his ability.

But like I said, he’s now finally getting a bit of recognition from the City fans, but even that gets on my nerves a little.

“Wow Javi García actually played well” etc.

Have a bit of faith in his ability, who knows, maybe now you will actually start noticing the job he does at the club rather than being shocked when you notice he has a stand out game.

Please note – this is the first post I have written in a long time, I just wanted to show my thoughts on that matter – I appreciate that you may not find it any good at all.

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(c) The Sky Blue View 2014