The mancityfans.net football forum

So far so good but we are only 1 mile into this year's marathon.It fascinates me reading the opinions after matches and seeing the different views of the half full or half empty folks on here. Some seemed to see all the positives from yesterday , believe we could and should have won by 5 so give good marks out of 10 for virtually all the team. Others seem to see more of the negatives think we might easily have lost 2 points and mark down quite a few players.

Did Micah Richards really get the run around all game as I think somebody said? I don't think so but there was one occasion where he got wrong sided late on and it could have led to a goal but overall he seemed pretty decent to me. Was Dunne really worth 4 or 5 out of 10. Some blame him for the 2 main chances Wolves got but others would say it was Toure who was the culprit on both occasions. Opinions on football are amazingly diverse and doubly so when relating to one single match.

Was Gareth Barry poor as somebody said or was he MoM as others feel? Is Stevie Ireland really off form? Does missing a fantastic chance mean he is off form? Is Dunne proving he has to go or has he been closer to MoM in the last 3 games?

One thing there will be full agreement on is isn't it great to have the football season back again. My question would be are City playing well yet?

Definitely not for me. Certainly some good football but that's bound to happen with so many quality players but as yet the overall control isn't there and the decision making is not great yet.Yesterday I feel sure we tired visibly and the Barca trip will have contributed big time to that.The last moments where WW got the throw in and were allowed to throw it short and get a cross in with nobody even trying to close down was evidence but WE WON. It's great to not play that great and win. Twice in a row now with a little Barca bonus thrown in.

It was a great performance Doug, lacking a bit of finishing.

Barry was excellent, and the only 2 who still stand out for me as not going to get us to the CL are Dunnie and Richards.

As for opinions, one or two swore violently that we shouldn't be signing Shay Given (as well as other signings btw) as it would 'upset Joe Hart'. LOL. You have to respect all opinions, but at the same time realise we are not all on planet Earth!

john@staustell wrote:As for opinions, one or two swore violently that we shouldn't be signing Shay Given (as well as other signings btw) as it would 'upset Joe Hart'. LOL. You have to respect all opinions, but at the same time realise we are not all on planet Earth!

I must confess that I didn't really see the need to sign Shay when we did so. I wasn't bothered about upsetting Joe, more about losing a player who I think will be England's international goalkeeper of choice in the future.

With hindsight it was a very smart move.

I don't actually think there is a huge difference in their shotstopping abilities (Shay shades that for me) but the massive difference is the decision making AND, most importantly, the influence Shay exercises over the defensive unit. We still look a bit frightening but I think Jolene will help eliminate steady. Kolo/Nedum and Lescott fills me with much more confidence than Dunne Lescott.

I thought it was a good performance in the first half, capped by some woeful finishing. The second half, we stopped chasing the game, and wolves could easily of scored.

I thought all the players played well, but Im struggling to see an impact from Tevez, who I think affects the natural play of Ireland, SWP and Robbie. I know he had a hand in the goal, but I couldnt really see a lot else that he did, apart from run around a lot.

Dunne played well in C/D, but he has a new partner, and it will take time for them to gel, Toure, is a a good ball player, and seems to break down play well.

But I think Given will prove to be the best signing by a country mile. He instills a lot of respecty in the goal, not seen since TC.

[quote="john@staustell"]It was a great performance Doug, lacking a bit of finishing.

Barry was excellent, and the only 2 who still stand out for me as not going to get us to the CL are Dunnie and Richards.

As for opinions, one or two swore violently that we shouldn't be signing Shay Given (as well as other signings btw) as it would 'upset Joe Hart'. LOL. You have to respect all opinions, but at the same time realise we are not all on planet Earth![/quote]

Is THAT where I am? LOL
agree tho' that's why I like this forum, there are so many varied opinions, everyone has a view and most express them in logical argument.
Long may it continue

In my opinion Micah had a good game yesterday. In the first half he got involved in our attacks where he could and wasn't troubled in defence. In the second half it was clear to see that after the changes were made I don't think anyone knew who was playing on the right because there were several times when Richards was left with two running at him and no one helping him out. It was on the side of the pitch we sit so was easy to spot. I was surprised he didn't bring Zab on to help Richards out on the right.

Walking back to the car after the match I had the opinion that we were very lucky Wolves didn't sneak a draw, but after watching the match again we had chance after chance but failed to finish. I think that will come eventually as the team gels.

I thought we played well in the first half and should`ve been 3 up. I don`t think we reacted quick enough to their half time substitutions and for 20 mins lost midfield. I think Sweep got caught in possession too many times and him Robbie and tevez looked jaded after an hour. Micah takes too long to get back in position after going forward and that`s his main fault. Dunnie was turned by Jarvis which was good play by the forward and Stevie was trying to be too smart with the chance he had. Somebody needs to tell Robbie that sometimes the easier ball is the one to play. Overall if we play like we did in the second half and still win in the early part of the season I will take it, JUST. However a good team will kill us. Time to gel gentlemen.

well, i have a glass of cold water to pour over this. sorry.

i thought city we poor. and robinho should not draw his wage he was that bad. an unacceptable performance by him. that miss from ireland was scandalous.

richards, barry, toure and given should take some praise for decent showings, adebayor in patches.

a funny game where if it had clicked around the 30 minute mark, it might have gone on to be a battering. but it didn't and city progressively got worse, imho.

new team, etc and a win, so i am not concerned. they are going to be very good, i am sure of that. i also thought the atmospohere was crap. fucking library most of the time, how the piss can this be?

I agree with Doug. I don't think we're playing well yet but it's a fine line in that; had players who are usually good finishers taken their chances, we would've been talking about a performance as good or better than the Portsmouth one.

Defensively as a team, we're nowhere near it in that attacking formation, however we've shown at Barca & Blackburn that we can be a lot more solid if we choose so there's definitely potential there too.

A lot of positives for a new team but a lot to work on in the months to come. If we're not too far behind by the last quarter of the season though, who would back against us beating most teams in the run in?

One player who generally gets negative reviews is Micah and the key issues seem to be his play on the ball which show limitations. He can make some great runs but doesn't have the compsure , vision or touch to make it really pay when he gets in those good positions. He sometimes , not always , takes too long getting back into position but for me it's his decision making which is his weakest point.
When to close down tight , when to take a touch or not take a touch , when to be tight with the central defenders or closer to his wide man , when to tackle or just stand up. Somehow he doesn't get enough of those decisions right but overall yesterday he wasn't bad at all. Some opinions say he doesn't look fit but I think he looks fine. We should never forget that so often a mistake in defence can be a disaster and a goal and that lives in the memory more than a bad pass in attack or a missed chance.

I assume he is getting preference over Zabba because of his extra physical presence and heading ability against 2 teams so far whose main attacking threat is with crosses. Time will tell.

Douglas Higginbottom wrote:One player who generally gets negative reviews is Micah and the key issues seem to be his play on the ball which show limitations. He can make some great runs but doesn't have the compsure , vision or touch to make it really pay when he gets in those good positions. He sometimes , not always , takes too long getting back into position but for me it's his decision making which is his weakest point.
When to close down tight , when to take a touch or not take a touch , when to be tight with the central defenders or closer to his wide man , when to tackle or just stand up. Somehow he doesn't get enough of those decisions right but overall yesterday he wasn't bad at all. Some opinions say he doesn't look fit but I think he looks fine. We should never forget that so often a mistake in defence can be a disaster and a goal and that lives in the memory more than a bad pass in attack or a missed chance.

I assume he is getting preference over Zabba because of his extra physical presence and heading ability against 2 teams so far whose main attacking threat is with crosses. Time will tell.

I think you're correct on all counts but re positioning; it's good to see Toure & Given pointing it out to him rather than the casual wave of the arm he's been getting from the captain for the last 4 seasons.

Also, which may have gone unnoticed by many, both they & SWP had to do the same with Zabba in the Celtic game.

Micah was correctly slated for his diabolical efforts last season & is being unfairly criticised by some so far this season when he's been mostly ok.

I like to try (usually) to see the positives and whilst it is obvious that at the moment we have a number of talented individuals rather than a talented team out there its still another step on the ladder from last season - a huge step up

But I dread the fact that sooner or later - (and could have been yesterday if WW had had more luck) we are going to lose a game we should have won. Having played a lot of team sport - rugby & football mainly - I know shit happens from time to time and no matter what you try and do sometimes you play either individually or as a team - like a complete bunch of wanklers.

Burnley beating scum doesnt actually mean burnley are a better team than the rags, City beating Barcelona also doesnt unfortunately mean we are the new European Champs.

Football cannot be judged on a single game or a single mistake and it pisses me off enormously when our own fans will knee jerk react, either because they havent really got a clue or because it suits their own agenda.

Expectations are much too high for us this season - mine included - and we are going to get ripped to shreds by the press when the inevitable happens - i hate to see our own join in. We should be able to take criticism - and we need to be able to see clearly the challenges that lie ahead, but i hope we can balance amongst our own ranks criticism with reality - and actually stay positive during the next few years of undoubted growth.

we cannot deny the facts gentlemen, we have a very new team that will take time to learn about each other, no matter how good they are. We are looking at the second half of the season before they will truly know each other well enough.

However:

We have 100% home record
We have 100% away record
Our main striker has scored in every game this season
We are yet to concede a goal this season
COMS sold out
We have everyone talking about us
We didnt fall flat on our arse like everyone wanted

AND

We look to be buying a fantastic defender this week to combat the frailties we all know about.

WE ARE CITY,
WE ARE CITY,
SUPER CITY,
FROM MAINE ROAD
WE ARE CITY,
SUPER CITY,
WE ARE CITY,
and we have cash in lorry loads

talking opinions.....love this of Noel from MOTD when asked if there's anything he missed from the old days of being a city fan (ie. Maine Road, being crap....etc)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/footbal ... 216332.stm

Patrick wrote:I like to try (usually) to see the positives and whilst it is obvious that at the moment we have a number of talented individuals rather than a talented team out there its still another step on the ladder from last season - a huge step up

But I dread the fact that sooner or later - (and could have been yesterday if WW had had more luck) we are going to lose a game we should have won. Having played a lot of team sport - rugby & football mainly - I know shit happens from time to time and no matter what you try and do sometimes you play either individually or as a team - like a complete bunch of wanklers.

Burnley beating scum doesnt actually mean burnley are a better team than the rags, City beating Barcelona also doesnt unfortunately mean we are the new European Champs.

Football cannot be judged on a single game or a single mistake and it pisses me off enormously when our own fans will knee jerk react, either because they havent really got a clue or because it suits their own agenda.

Expectations are much too high for us this season - mine included - and we are going to get ripped to shreds by the press when the inevitable happens - i hate to see our own join in. We should be able to take criticism - and we need to be able to see clearly the challenges that lie ahead, but i hope we can balance amongst our own ranks criticism with reality - and actually stay positive during the next few years of undoubted growth.

We've signed quite a few players who know how to deal with that kind of thing but it may actually be harder for some of the fans. It's something we all have to learn to live with. The bigger you are; the harder you fall & we're becoming one of the world's biggest clubs without yet having the real-deal team to back it up. It'll hurt when it sometimes goes badly wrong, which it will.

It's all part of the learning curve of becoming a genuine challenging club. When we do lose such a game, a percentage of the fans will crack up & the media will feed them & our enemies to try & create a crisis. It's how we stand up to it that will determine our immediate future.

If we can withstand the negative effects of the doom-mongers in the ranks we'll grow a thick skin like the rags have done & learn to just win the following game & carry on.

Micah is the weak link in this team IMO

He looked tired the second half and was constantly out of position leaving gaping holes

Mark Hughes needs to put Zabba in his position and drop him

I think Micah has played ok tbf.Do i think hes better right back than Zabba..No.
Its goin to be very interesting next week when Lescott is in the team.Will Dunney lose his place and will we have a new captain? Major decisions for the boss and i can expect some big debates on here.
Id go for Toure or Barry as our future captain if and when it happens.

Doug - nice reading your post - don't they say the mark of a good team is the ability to win when not playing well.....

Whilst agreeing with most of the posts on here... Richards slow getting back, Robbie too tricksy, Ireland looked knackered in second half my biggest gripe is with the fans.
Sitting high in the Gods of the Bell end and looking down the only noise I could hear half the time kept coming from a thin slither of orange to my right.
As someone esle has mentioned the atmosphere was non existent for most of the second half. It was cathedral quiet with grim faces all around me. The team needs support. It can only HEAR support.
Come on lads ffs

SSSSSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHHHHOOOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT!!!!

Douglas Higginbottom wrote:One player who generally gets negative reviews is Micah and the key issues seem to be his play on the ball which show limitations. He can make some great runs but doesn't have the compsure , vision or touch to make it really pay when he gets in those good positions. He sometimes , not always , takes too long getting back into position but for me it's his decision making which is his weakest point.
When to close down tight , when to take a touch or not take a touch , when to be tight with the central defenders or closer to his wide man , when to tackle or just stand up. Somehow he doesn't get enough of those decisions right but overall yesterday he wasn't bad at all. Some opinions say he doesn't look fit but I think he looks fine. We should never forget that so often a mistake in defence can be a disaster and a goal and that lives in the memory more than a bad pass in attack or a missed chance.

I assume he is getting preference over Zabba because of his extra physical presence and heading ability against 2 teams so far whose main attacking threat is with crosses. Time will tell.

My "opinion" on Micah is that he is a central defender masquerading as a right back. He came through youth levels playing that position. He only played there because Pearce had a right back problem at the time and also didn't want to risk such a young player with the burden of central defence. The problem was Micah made a good job of it, mainly due to his physique, and even got in the England team. When Sven first switched him back to central defence he looked like a world beater.... then something went wrong.... perhaps being switched back and forth...

Micah can't cross, has poor ball control, and overall can't support the midfield out wide, which is part of the full back's job. He just can't do those things.

I know some people have talked about Micah being picked because he is more physical than Zabba etc.... but does Wenger worry about the size of Clichy or Sagna ?? Full backs are never big players, they are always built more like midfielders...