Notts County 1 – 1 MAN CITY – PLAYER RATINGS
31 Jan
Hart - It was his quick thinking in rushing out of his area to head the ball to Boateng which helped to set up our equaliser, but there were other moments when his haste was too much, notably in throwing the bakk straight out of play. Couldn’t have done much for the goal though - 6
Richards - Attacked with such verve and pace, he would have been a handful for any team. Bustling with power, he was our main source of attacking inspiration. Great cross for Džeko’s goal and solid defensively - 8.5
Boateng - Deployed in his favoured position and let no-one down. Very comfortable on the ball, he won virtually everything in the air and read the game well. Hughes is a tricky customer but he didn’t cause Boateng too many problems. In my view, worth a go instead of Kolo to partner Kompany - 7
Lescott - Handled the considerable threat of Hughes relatively comfortably but still had one or two jittery moments. Always conveys the impression that a blooper is not far away - 6
Zabaleta - Got into a verbal and physical tussle with Hughes after the Notts County man blocked Pablo from taking a throw-in. Tried to get forward as often as possible but not at ease crossing with his left foot. One of only a few who really wanted it – 7
Vieira - Imposing frame and knows what he wants to do with the ball but doesn’t have the legs to accomplish it any more. Worked as hard as anyone in midfield and tried to drive us forward but relies on others (Milner, Barry) to do his running - 6.5
Barry - Captain for the day, but on a difficult pitch, he couldn’t impose his passing game. Was very busy, as you would expect, but needed to take the game by the scruff of the neck. One good shot from just outside the area - 6
Y. Touré - An absolute disgrace. Mancini needs to have the guts to drop him. No workrate and always moaning at his teammates when they don’t give him the ball, despite him just passing it straight back to them when they do. One good run in the first half, but if that pleases you in 90 minutes, then you need to re-adjust your ambitions - 3
Milner - Impressed in the first half with his workrate but drifted out after that. One delightful early cross but couldn’t provide ammunition for Džeko with any continuity - 6
Jo - If Yaya was a disgrace, then Jo was at least as poor as that. Offers absolutely nothing and was booed off when substituted. Why Mancini perseveres with him, I don’t know - 2
Džeko - Still adapting to the English game but has made a positive start to his City career. He wins the majority of aerial contest and his hold-up play brings others into the game. Finishing was wayward at times, but should be confident now after netting his first City goal - 7
Subs
Silva - Gave us more impetus as we chased the game. Not his type of pitch at all but coped well and looked sharp - 7
Kolarov - Soon after he came on, we scored, so didn’t have much chance to display his attacking ability - No time to mark
Kompany - Late sub for Richards - No time to mark
As well as persisting with Jo and Bobby must be the only person on Earth who know,s why but Vieira is in the same boat. Well past his sell by date, bring’s nothing to the team on the pitch, surely there must be someone in the
reserves who can get up and down and drive forward.
Or put Milner in the middle and bring SWP back on the
wing.
Richards is clearly our best Right Back and now that he has returned from injury he will cement his place as the best Right Back in England. Soon enough he will be called back to the England squad and I would not be surprised if he was the captain by the time the next World Cup rolls around. He will be 26 and the core of the squad will be the kids who he has played with and captained for throughout the English youth levels. Richards is the real deal
Zabaleta is our best right back, no qualms about it…
You pose a good question about Jo…
“Why Mancini perseveres with him, I don’t know”
It is because Mancini saw him play against his Inter Milan side back in those days and Jo scored two against them for CSKA and had a phenomenal game. Since then, Mancini has always seen Jo’s potential and will always give him a chance. He has publically stated that.
Also, anothet thing I want to pick up on is the fact that you were a little harsh on Barry. I thought he ran City’s midfield without a doubt. I am shocked you give Vieira 6.5, but Barry only 6. I was really impressed with Barry, he was always in control, put passes to the wide men, getting stuck in. I though he ran the show, and indeed I told him that after the game!
I completely agree with your take on Yaya. The only thing he brings to the squad is a few runs a game and a decent through ball every few games. I think this little experiment needs to be thrown out and bring up Assulin to play alongside Silva or at least put Milner in that role.
There are some frighteningly recurring themes in your player reviews and i agree with you. YaYa’s lethargy, Jo in general and Hart rushing decisions and not being culpable for a goal conceded? This is not the kind of form we want to be in with the derby approaching.
I have defended Yaya in recent posts on this website and will continue to do so, but his performance on Sunday made me realise where the author and some of the people who frequent this website are coming from. In a game where we needed a bustling yet considered effort from him, we got a laboured and positionally naive showing. I am still in no doubt that he will get used to life in the premier league and will turn out to be a major asset, I really do. Time will tell, but I have seen him play quite a few times before he came to City to know he has not shown his best form. Another one with that problem but special mention must go to Micah Richards, who was easily the man of the match for City. Without him I really do think we would be out of the cup in yet another seriously embarassing upset.