MAN CITY 2 – 1 Tottenham – PLAYER RATINGS
12 Nov
Hart - Ought to have prevented the goal. Caulker’s header was powerful and from close range but Hart should have dealt with it with firmer hands - 5
Zabaleta - Virtually nullified the potentially dangerous threat of Bale by getting tight to the Welshman and pressing him high up the pitch. Offered an attacking threat himself throughout the game and could possibly have scored in the first half - 8
Kompany - Carried an air of authority about him. Looks to be gradually getting back to his best, and his intercepting yesterday and reading of the play was excellent - 7
Nastasic - Not afraid to bring the ball out of defence and always looked to be positive in possession which benefits the tempo at which we play. Not tested a great deal defensively - 6
Clichy – A terrific, all-energy display. Thwarted Lennon by deploying similar tactics as Zabaleta did to Bale, and managed to bomb forward with regularity. Moved seamlessly into the back three and covered well for those around him - 8
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Barry - Improved as the game wore on, operating well in midfield and managing to get forward as much as possible. Does the simple things well and provides the balance which enables our more creative players to flourish - 7
Y. Touré - A sluggish start in which he failed to impose himself but he was a key figure after the break, most notably when Maicon was introduced. Managed to stretch the Spurs defence by spreading play out wide to the right - 7
Silva - So pleasing to see him back and looking sharp. Oozes control and calm, and the team as a whole seem far happier when he plays. His passing wasn’t at its best but then produced his matchwinning assist for Dzeko. It was an edible, delicate chip that is the sign of a top quality player - 7.5
Kolarov - Didn’t offer anything in an attacking sense but helped Clichy to limit the dual threat of Lennon and Walker, so did part of his job in that regard - 6
Tévez - Plenty of willing and hard work but couldn’t find the breakthrough. Only had one real opportunity which he hit straight at Friedel. Needs a goal to boost his confidence - 6
Aguero - A tireless, effective performance. Played on the shoulder of the last defender which meant he was caught offside a few times but that always posed a problem for the visitors. Took his goal with elegant composure and just shades it from Clichy as my man of the match - 8
Subs
Maicon – His introduction and the change of formations altered the game. He provided real quality out on the right, his pace of delivery causing havoc for the Spurs backline - 7.5
Džeko - Took his goal superbly to secure the points and maintain his super-sub reputation - 7
Garcia - Brought on in injury time - No time to mark
Clichy was exceptional but the one that amazes me the most is Zabalata, he is a true warrior and with this level of performance, he should be kept as our first RB choice even when Richards is back
A deserved win and won despite the best efforts of the referee and one of the linesman to make it otherwise.
correct 100% verified by instant replay, amazing.
I thought there was a feel of last season’s City on Saturday. Not sure why…..was it because the sun was out or maybe because Silva was back? He hasn’t really played well since December last year and wasn’t anywhere near his best on Saturday but did seem to add a bit of a spark. If he does get back to his best then we may become unstoppable again. I am NOT looking fwd to Nasri coming back in though, I feel he slows us down too much.
Lets hope we sign Falcao in January, bin Mario and poss get De Rossi and Vinny can sort himself out, I think we can win the league again. C’mon City!
U musnt have seen silva against fulham or sunderland before he was injured
A bit harsh on Samir methinks. Nasri has had some very good performances in the absence of Silva when he was needed to step up. Sometimes a bit more responsibility is all a player needs. he has the ability in spades and if/when he gets a real tempo and understanding with Silva and Aguero and the defence gets back to the levels we came to expect at the end of last season, we could be unstoppable.
Delighted to see Silva back yesterday, I make no secret of the fact i think he is the genius in our team and when he ticks so do we. I have to say though that up until that point I was thinking how is final ball was off, I should have known better. Along with Silva, Zabaletta will be a player I will tell my grandkids about, you have to love a player of that commitment passion, reliability and quality
Fab Zab. Best player so far this season.
The defence were imperious apart from at the set piece where Caulker scored. Yes, we expect Hart to do better at close range (after all he is the best England keeper for many a year) but once again the midfielders in Roberto’s zonal marking tactic did not track the moves of the opposition. Did we learn anything from the Ajax games?
That said, we were far more omfortable on the ball and their we’re far fewer square and reverse balls – hence the large number of odd side balls. With better timed runs, we would have scored ‘a few more’. On both wings, the wing backs supported and both (or ather all) fullbacks played high up the dield giving the likes of Bale and Lennon no outlet. The centre of the defence looked composed for a change – even when we reverted to 3-5-2. Both Tevez and Sergio are lacking a little pace – their workrate is always first class and but for offsides we’d have off Spurs well before the last 10 minutes.
Now I like Dzeko and wonder what he’d be like with feeds from wide whther it be Maicon, Milner or Sinclair. His aerial power adds a different dimension to our play but he also needs at foil – not sure Tevez or Ballotelli are the ones who would surpass a scoring pass to him however!!
Doo we need De Rossi and Falcoa? I can make a arguement for De Rossi as a replacement for Silva and Yaya but we already have strikers who would make any other teams first X1.
The only question I have remaining is why, oh why did Bobby let Nigel De Jong go – and purchase Rodwell AND Garcia as his replacements NOTICE ‘….ments’. He would aways have been amongst my first half dozen = Hart, Kompany, Silva, Yaya, Zabeleta, Tevez………..Maybe we need to blood Razak and Giudetti when we get on top in a fixture before the transfer window opens. This pair are class.What a pity RVP chose the runners up!
We’ve had the De Jong debate many times in many blogs and the summary for me is this:
1.When Mancini changed from 433 to 4231 early last season Barry (better passing game) and YYT(midfield general) relegated DJ to third choice. Due to the singular nature of his contribution he was not deemed essential anymore and so the club were unwilling to lift his remuneration to those of YYT, Silva etc on review.
2. Nigel then dug his heels in and wanted out, he declined to sign a very decent contract offer (£5m+ pa).
3. It was deemed to make better sense to replace him last summer with player/s who have a more complete all round game in line with our future needs than to allow him to run down his contract and have to replace him when Barry is another year older.
4. Rodwell and Garcia are considered to be competition and ultimately potential replacements for Barry as well as being replacement for DJ.
Both need time to settle in, Garcia has a lot of ability but doesn’t look comfortable in the side yet, and by some way. When YYT goes to Africa in January we will need these two to be available.
Alph
>> When YYT goes to Africa in January we will need >>these two to be available.
I guess what you meant was
When YYT goes to Africa in January we will need these two to step up their game.
Not sure how Toure gets more than Tevez. Tevez worked his socks off without any luck. Toure as per strolled around ike a man in a trance and snowed more energy disputing decisions than actually playing, Slowed us down, doesn’t head for his height, can’t tackle and nearly conceded a second goal when falling over (again) in second half and asking for a free kick.
its so easy to come out of the woodwork when a player is off form, but I would question if you was saying all this when he was on fire towards the end of last season? If you wernt then i would suggest being a little less fickle with your opinion
That is fair comment, but, sadly, having been brought up on the likes of Colin Bell, Alan Oakes and quite a few befoe them, including Roy Paul, I have been consistant in my view of Yaya. Still nice to read that someone else at least accepts he is out of form. unlike Bobby Manc who will never play a minute without him!
Well at least you accept he is off form, unlike many others including Bobby Manc who will never allow him to miss a minute, but no, I can go back to Roy Paul, and through the like of Colin Bell and Oaksey and my opinion of 20 minute man Yaya has, sadly, been consistent.
Fair enough if you have consistantly disliked him, everyone is entitled to an opinion, but I personally feel he is a very important player for us. He has come good in some massive games and I would be suprised if we had done as well without him. I have to agree though that he does coast through games sometimes and defensively he doesnt always fulfill his duties
I myself have been a avid admirer of Yaya esp in his advanced role. He has been massive. Despite the fact that he is the only player who has almost played every single game for the past two years, he is doing great. You hardly find a player that can keep that up [Our Merlin has been off-form and anonymous due to number games he has played]. Maybe instead of looking at games he has played, we should look at games he has not played. One that comes to my mind is the QPR game last season when he limped off and not only we lost our lead but also almost lost the title [though one game is not a solid bench mark]. With all said, I believe Mancini should rest him for the good of team and the player once a while.