After the match against Brentford, City were set to face Barnsley next—and everyone expected it to be an easy win for Manchester City.
Unexpectedly, just like in the Brentford match, City struggled to break through Barnsley's defense in the first half.
In truth, this had become a recurring pattern.
Whether it was Van Bommel, Robbie Savage, Neil Lennon, Jackie McNamara, Jamie Pollock, Graham Fenton, Steve Lomas, or Theodoros Zagorakis—among all these midfielders, the only ones truly capable of carrying the ball forward were Neil Lennon and, to a lesser extent, Jackie McNamara. But even McNamara wasn't on the same level as Lennon.
So whenever Neil Lennon didn't play, the midfield relied purely on box-to-box efforts—charging forward, trying to deliver the ball to the two strikers, and then hoping for the best.
There was no real orchestration. No one to dictate the tempo or link defense to attack with real precision.
