MAN CITY 2 – 2 Burnley – PLAYER RATINGS
29 Dec
This is a guest post from the excellent Matt Jones. You can follow him on Twitter here!
Hart – Got his angles all mixed up for the first goal which then gave the away side momentum to feed off. Unlucky for the second goal though, an unstoppable shot out of the blue. It still worries me when he hesitates on the ball. More often than not there is a simple ball out to a full back or a winger but he delays and delays until the very last moment when under pressure – I just wish he would get rid of the ball quicker when we have the outlet of Navas. I must admit his handling at corners, however, was much improved and his throwing good – 5.5
Zabaleta – Solid defensively even when pressured by Ings and Barnes. Like the true warrior he is, he battled on after the clash of heads and burst forward at every opportunity. His link up play with Navas in the first-half was some of the best I have seen for that duo but this was not to be repeated in the second 45 minutes. Harshly booked for a full-blooded 50/50 challenge – 6.5
Demichelis – Calmness personified in the first-half but he looked rattled in the second-half. Still commanding in the air and calm, cool and collected on the ball which is nice to see from a centre-back. Some nice interceptions showed how well he reads the game, but he wasn’t helped by the disappearance of our midfield in the second period – 6
Mangala – I think he enjoyed the physical, speedy battle with Ings and Barnes at the start of the match when we were dominating. He was quick along the ground and read the game well in the first half. It seemed, however, as with most of the team, that he lost confidence when we were under pressure in the second-half and there were many shaky passes out from the back and a few communication issues with Kolarov – 5.5
Kolarov – One of the worst performances I have seen from Kolarov in recent months. Needlessly gave the ball away on countless occasions and looked completely out of depth against a pacey, full-blooded Burnley attack. He often played us into trouble rather than out of it. Even his throw-ins went straight to the opposition. This was not the confident display we have been so used to seeing from Clichy. Without playing a minute today I think Clichy established his position as number one left-back – 3.5
Fernando – Carried on his recent good form during the first-half and his link up play with Fernandinho was excellent. However, after a silly booking his head dropped and his performance suffered. He looked a couple of yards off the pace when Burnley launched attack after attack and he should have been withdrawn for Lampard/Jovetic rather than Nasri/Milner as he looked frightened to make a tackle. He looked as lost as Javi Garcia in the second period – 5.5
Fernandinho – Just pips Silva to my man of the match today purely because of the work he put in over 90 minutes rather than one mesmeric 45 minutes as was the case with Silva. He is slowly, but surely, regaining confidence on the ball, driving forward at every occasion, linking defence with attack. In Yaya’s absence he always looked hungry for the ball and once he got it he purposefully distributed. He capped off his performance with a quite brilliant goal of his own – he came to Manchester with a reputation of enjoying a long-range shot and let’s hope he has more in his locker. A bright spark – 8
Navas – During the first half he was our main attacking threat, as he was at The Hawthorns. He was lively and had more end-product too. Great vision to see Silva for the first goal and he was a constant threat for Ben Mee in the opening 45 minutes. Quiet in the second half, lacked penetration and certainly isn’t a physical threat when the going gets tough. I did, however, see him win a header which I was impressed with – 6.5
Nasri – Some delicious touches in and around the box and his link up play with Silva gets better each week. When a team is camped in their own box he is the sort of player who you want on your side, and he played a big part in both of the goals. Like many though, he faded badly in the second-half. I also wish he would shoot more – 6.5
Silva – In a real rich vein of form at the moment and at times he is simply unstoppable. Capped another very good performance with a nicely taken goal, a smart turn and a good finish. For someone who doesn’t like shooting then 4 goals in 3 games is not a bad return. He brings others into play effortlessly and he dictated that first half on his own. Needlessly picked up a late booking and only narrowly misses out on my man of the match because in the second-half his touch deserted him, he was hassled more and even misplaced a few passes - 8
Milner – Worked tirelessly today but it just didn’t come off for him. Had a couple of chances and perhaps should have done better when he shot tamely at the keeper. Looked a little isolated and lost. 90 minutes at The Hawthorns must have taken it out of him. First to be sacrificed, and personally I think it was a mistake. I would have brought Jovetic on for Fernando who was on a yellow, and then played Milner in his more effective position out wide, or even in the centre of midfield to sure things up – 6
Subs
Jovetic – Fitted in upfront in place of Milner, always looks busy but rarely looks effective. Tried hard to make things happen but he either drops too deep for the ball, or ends up on the wing – 6
Lampard – Never stands still, always wants the ball but bar one ball through to Jovetic he couldn’t really get into the game – 6
Sinclair – Another forced cameo as the game turned on its head, but didn’t have much time to do anything – No time to mark
This is a guest post from the excellent Matt Jones. You can follow him on Twitter here!
Welcome on board mr Jones there’s not much that you have written that I could disagree with. Its a shame we couldn’t see the game out especially with Chelsea drawing, it wasn’t to be for us Unfortunately – I wouldnt blame anybody in particular, it was just one of those games. I think we did well to get a draw in the end-we didn’t loose any ground & 9 from ten is not to Bad eh?, we did look very weary in the second half, I’d leave Jose with his paranoia etcetc, that’s all good news for us. Congrats to Burnley for a great second half showing, they played very well & caused us major problems. Their manager & the fans are a credit to Burnley, they play “proper” ball – that’s the premier league for you. I’ve no complaints – so Iets start again. Blue moon.
Typical City, a record to achieve and Chelsea to peg back and we blow it in the worst second half display I have seen in years. So, marks? Bit harsh on Joe I thought. If the first goal had have been ruled out as it should have been I think he then did little wrong. Trouble was we needed a captain and he aint it. Zabba had a great first half. Understandably did little in second half after his injury. Should have been taken off, that’s what subs are for Manuel!. Demichelis, “calmness”? If you mean he seems incapable of actually running then ok yes, and commanding in the air!!!! No way, both goals started with him being beaten. Sad but it showed at West Brom when they got behind him far too easily, he’s had his day. Very poor -4 Mangala looked very raw and messed about far too much by Barnes. We need a good centre half to play alongside Vinnie. Mangala has time on his side, but he’s not up to it yet – 4.5 Kolorov was back to his worst. So bad he should have been substituted at half time, that’s what substitutes are for Manuel!
No arguement about what you say about the Ferns, Nasri or Silva and Milner, although back to Manuel and there’s no way someone who can run forever like Milner should have been taken off if as MP says they were all tired after the snow. I knew he would bring Jovetic on for half an hour as he’s coming back from injury, and that’s what M.P. does, but he should have moved Milner out to the left to give Kolerov some cover. And finally Navas I have rarely seen a winger have so much wonderful service, against a poor opponent ( again at W.B.A. as well as Burnley) and yet hen is so consistently wasteful. Needs to improve over 90 minutes. Don’t think I need to add anything else about M.P.
My problem is not with the draw but the manner of it. It is totally unacceptable to give up a two goal lead in second half. There is no justification to it no matter from what angle you look at it. The argument of “it was one of those games” does not hold any water as City did the same against CSKA Moscow. Our defense has serious issues of caving in when under pressure. It is true we blew West Brom away, but the number of opportunities afforded to them should have raised some flag. Had they had a bit more quality upfront, the result could have been quite different. Pellers need to sort defense out much like what Murinho has done in Chelsea
Quote:
Fernando….”He looked as lost as Javi Garcia in the second period – 5.5″
Yawn!
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Quote:
Jovetic…..”Fitted in upfront in place of Milner, always looks busy but rarely looks effective.”
Give the boy Stevan a break, he’s easing back in after injury. OK, he has had too many injuries, but that’s a different matter, he’s a quality player and it often takes patience to manage a player into a side and for that player to become truly effective; the sort of patience that fans rarely have.
Witness the excellent contributions we have had from Yaya, Nasri, Kolarov, Demichelis, Clichy, Navas, all players who have had the knife into them earlier in their City careers and at a drop of a hat if their standards slip. How about a mention for Javi Garcia who wasn’t a great player for City by any stretch of the imagination, but whose contributions, along with those of Martin Demichelis, were highly important in the final run in to the title last season. Their calm assurance and near faultless performances lifted the area of the team that had fallen a bit short prior to this.
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So whether it is “justifiable” or not I am prepared to accept a bad half day at the office occasionally because even the very best have some of these. I know fans are apt to let rip and, bless ‘em, they’ve the right to do so if they’ve paid their dues, but the trashing of Demichelis and harsh words on various others by “Mr Angry” in the comments above is rather underwhelming IMV>
Anyway, 2014 was an excellent year for City (in case anyone has missed that) and I wish you all a happy and prosperous New Year and much joy following a beloved team that sometimes reminds us all they are human.
Alph
Alph, you won’t find many people who rate Demichelis higher than I do, (he’s been one of our best signings in recent years) but in the second half as I mentioned he was rattled and shakey. His first half performance was brilliant but he was let down by others hence his rather average score.
Jovetic is a waste of time and effort. Have bit my tongue on this site for a while but get real you f%€_ING dreamers. He is a no hoper in the premier league. Get rid 1st of Jan for a Mars bar and bring back valery bojinov on the account he is less injury prone.