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Geo123 wrote:I am very confused, if the defensive and midfield all had 7's and 8's mainly, how did goalkeeper need to have such a great game, something doesnt add up, taking into account they had 8 shots on target

Most of the trouble came from the ensuing problems from Bale destroying Micah & putting in the kind if crosses our wide players are incapable of. Don't think you'll find Micah marked very highly by anyone. Also most of Hart's best saves were from shots from distance & scrambles/rebounds in the box.

So, there seems to be a general consensus that SWP was below par today. Why was he in the first XI though? Has anyone seen Mancini offer an explanation?

Hart - 9 - Excellent alround goalkeeping. The only negative were a couple of dodgy bits of distribution.

Richards - 5 - All at sea defensivly, couldnt be bothered to track back again, some poor dstribution.

Kolarov - 6 - Solid if unspectacular 45 mns, slowed by injury

Toure - 9 - Stood up to be counted and defended brilliantly.

Kompany - 8 - Played really well off Toure.

De Jong - 6 - Some good work in midfield but was annonymous for long periods. Off the pace.

Barry - 7 - Did well on the left and got around the midfield well.

Toure - 7 - Some excellent passes but like De Jong was often off the pace.

SWP - 6 - Missed a glarinf chance and most of his best work was done going backwards rather than forwards.

Silva - 7 - Some probing passes and kept the ball well. Settling in.

Tevez - 7 - Often found himself in the same areas as Silva which congested the midfield.

Subs

Zabs - 6 - Held his cornor up well.

Jonno - 6 - A couple of great runs but no end product. Will be in against Liverpool I think.

Ade - No time to shine

Thought Mancini was right to be cautious as the squad is a work in progress and behind spurs at the moment.

Would rather have seen Adebayor up to instead of Tevez or Silva. We lacked a frontman badly today.

think people are looking for a scape goat - SWP was far from superb, but none of our attacking players were any good - we hardly had the ball in their 3rd and I think we should of had Ade on from the start, as the ball never stuck up top for us.

luckily our defence held firm - lets just hope an extra weeks training and a game mid week helps us to come out firing on all cylinders at home against the scousers

Hart - 9
Richards - 5
Toure K - 9
Kompany - 8
Kolarov - 6
De Jong - 7
Toure Y - 7
Barry - 6
SWP - 6
Silva - 6
Tevez - 5

Zabaleta - 6
Johnson - 6
Ade - N/A

Hart - 10
Richards - 5
Toure K - 9
Kompany - 9
Kolarov - 6
De Jong - 7
Toure Y - 8
Barry - 6
SWP - 5
Silva - 6
Tevez - 6

Zabaleta - 6
Johnson - 7
Ade - N/A

what gets me with Richards is he thinks that he is better then he is. he likes going forward, but then just jogs back when he lose s the ball. and he rather be in the middle of the park instead of right back, where he should be

Hart- Superb
Richards- Taxi for Micah
Toure- Surprised me very sharp
Kompany- Brill
Kolarov- Lookin good

Barry- ploddin along to the beat of his own drum as usual
De Jong- hits opposition more than he hits passes- good shift
Yaya- Excellent
Wright- Phillips- lost his pace and full back gave him nothin

Tevez- busy and eager
Da Silva- predict he will be our pickpocket

Johnson- one fantastic run
Ade- everything bounced off him
Zab- is he mad or bad? mad, love his desire

Bobby- 10 for the Don Corleone voice impression apres match interview
Platt- 1 a rag through and through

Think people are being a bit harsh on Micah.Bale rips most defenders apart.

Hart - 9

Richards - 4
Kompany - 8
Toure - 9
Kolarov - 6

SWP - 5
Yaya - 5
De Jong 6
Barry - 8

Tevez - 7
Silva - 7

CITYSTEVEDON wrote:what gets me with Richards is he thinks that he is better then he is. he likes going forward, but then just jogs back when he lose s the ball. and he rather be in the middle of the park instead of right back, where he should be

it's not just that but he compromises the team when he goes forward. The reason why fullbacks are instructed to cross the ball rather than cut in is that even if it doesn't work out, they'll have time to get back to their position. However Micah always makes blind runs to box and usually falls on his face and loses the ball, meaning his position is wide open.

Today his problem was his positioning though. He left acres of space for Bale and couldn't follow him. Also he always sells himself cheap when going to challenges. When you fly in, you have to be sure either ball or the player stops.

Very basic stuff really.

Hart and Toures Y and K were good.
A lot were average
Barry and Silva were poor.