MAN CITY 6 – 0 West Ham – PLAYER RATINGS
9 Jan
Pantilimon - After his mistake in the previous match to gift Blackburn an equaliser, he would have wanted a trouble-free night and he got just that. Made one effortlessly comfortable save, plucked a couple of crosses out of the air and, save for a moment of confusion with Kompany, that was that - 6
Zabaleta - With our attacking stars in such scintillating form, his overlapping bursts weren’t required and that turned it into a easy match for him. At the back, he dealt with Joe Cole’s minimal threat without fuss - 6
Kompany - Our dominance was such that his imposing presence at the back wasn’t needed. Won some headers and brought the ball out of defence with intent, but he’ll have a far tougher test against Newcastle at the weekend - 6
Lescott - As with Kompany, he wasn’t particularly tested at the back and was afforded plenty of time in possession - 6
Clichy - After a shaky start to the season, his improved form continues. The energy we associate with his game was evident, constantly surging forward, pressing with purpose and negating Downing’s efforts - 7
Garcia - Didn’t influence the game in either a positive or negative way. He coasted through the game due to West Ham’s lack of threat through the middle. Perhaps the biggest bonus is that his inclusion enabled Fernandinho to rest - 6
Y. Touré - His assist for Negredo’s first goal was sensational: the vision great and the execution sublime. His passing throughout was neat, at times destructive and at others teasing, and he capped off his performance with a clinical, powerful run and goal - 8
Nasri - No goals or assists but that shouldn’t diminish what was a hugely impressive display from the Frenchman. On the ball, he was meaningful and always looking to create, whilst his triangles in the middle with Silva and Yaya to retain possession and move West Ham around were delightful - 8
Silva – A couple of early passes went astray but he quickly found his delicate touch and along with our other creative hubs, he was a figure of ingenuity and fluent control - 8
Džeko - Two goals, the second of which was especially eye-catching, should boost his confidence but irrespective of his brace of strikes, this was a better all-round performance than he normally produces. He worked hard to take up promising positions and he showed a decent understanding with Negredo - 8
Negredo - Special. His first strike was the pick of the bunch, his co-ordination and balance outstanding, his second was a result of his pace and willing, and his third was a sublime, natural finish. Throw in his tireless workrate and you’re looking at a thoroughly deserved man of the match award - 9
Subs
Demichelis - Pellegrini clearly wanted to give him some playing time after his injury and that meant featuring an a somewhat unusual central midfield role. The game was over by the time he was introduced - 6
Lopes - His backheel led to the sixth and final goal in a breezy cameo - 6
Kolarov - A late assist for Dzeko from a typically powerful cross - No time to mark
Fair comments and marks. It’s a shame defenders can’t have better marks simply because they had little to do. Glichy made many forward surges usually without receiving the ball but fair play he kept on doing it. Garcia also I thought was very steady, especially impressive in the air. Demichelis looked very comfortable in midfield, or again, was that because of West Ham and their total lack of any ability or fight? Yaya – and I’m his greatest critic – was superb but what about Negrado? He has got to be the complete all round centre forward.
How much would we ask for Negredo now ??
Dare I suggest 60 mil ???
I know you don’t like Garcia mate. but come on a 6?
had a 97% pass rate made many tackles and interceptions and just kept the game ticking over. also thought Zaba was brill and deserved more than a 6.
I’m with luuuuukke here, I think Garcia is a bit of a Barry, much of his work goes unrecognised. 97% pass completion from over 75 passes, most tackles and interceptions by our midfield. He had a really, really steady game and did all that was asked of him.
Interesting to see if those who came across as if we were now a bad team after one poorish performance against Blackburn now feel we are the best team in history after last night
Blue Bullet – no one said we were a bad team from what I can recall. However, what I said (and possibly others) was that it was an absolute piss poor, gutless performance. Last night was great, superb, majestic, albeit against one of the worst sides I’ve seen in top flight football. Therefore, I don’t feel we are the best team in history after last night.
If I may, I would urge you to look over at espn soccer blog. There is an article which summises that you can’t withhold from criticising City just because we were in the third tier not long ago. You judge on what is available now and the standards they should be maintaining.
Blue Bullet
My comments will always be a true opinion of what I see.
Against Blackburn I thought it was the worst CITY performance for many a year and I said so ??
This performance was indeed superb and the marks given were about right for me
Anyway well done CITY and good luck to all true blues
Fair comments if im honest but I would say crispy i’m not a fan who believes we should never criticise because we have come a long way in recent years. However we are in the middle of a great run and I just felt some of the analysis after the Blackburn game was overly negative and went beyond that specific game.
Fair point. Easy to be melodramatic in the immediate aftermath (as I have been several times!).
PS: Did anyone notice the colour clash in our jersey with WHU? Methinks it was a tactic of Big Sam to make the game more difficult for us. Dunno why it was allowed. Just one of the worst colour clash i have seen. Glad we won with ease though.
Moving on, Dzeko dear, just hope he can keep up with this zeal and enthusiam, then we won’t be having problems, would we?
Garcia? Not a fan of him, though but i’d give him an 8. Hope he can learn to surge forward or drive attacks. Would be awesome.
And finally, we can bring in about 4 or 5 young uns to play WHu in a forthnight. And perhaps, give Wright some playing time.
Yaya impressed me most, unbelievable skill for a giant like him. There’s a very high bar that many fans set for him that he sometimes doesn’t play to, but regardless we are very lucky to have him,,scared the hell outta me when he went down.
…..And I bet many of those who slate him
Great offensive player; great all over the park in keeping the ball. Defensively – as Didi said – a liability. Partic against mid/top sides. Rid him of this job.
Hey Guys, unhappy Hammer here. If you make the final (hey its a cup game, anything can happen!), hope you win. Have to say, you have a great looking team. Maybe we could borrow some of your under-10′s; might help us. Seriously, sorry we didn’t give you a better game, but we’ll keep on dreaming that we’ll improve. Wish us luck! Would be interested to get your honest ratings on our guys
Good luck, John. For what it’s worth, I hope WHU avoids the drop and stays in the Premiership.
West Ham fans, as usual, class acts, always a pleasure to have you lot up here. Watching you all turn up en mass, stay to the end, and have a bit of a laugh while you’re getting beaten, makes us blues nostalgic for the bad ol’ days. Hope you stay up pal
Here , here well posted
Second that. And throw in a “Viva Bobby Moore” for good measure.