SWP's last start?

[Biamp]

It has to be said that he has been poor, but given him being back from an injury is another thing.

[Dubaimancityfan]

I thought he worked much harder than he has done in recent times & did a decent job, including keeping his head & setting up Tevez for what should have been the 1st goal. Got tackled a couple of times in bad positions but not as often as many others. His closing down was particularly valuable for a side containing Yaya & Vieira.

Have to agree with your sentiments.

He put a decent shift in, and though by no means MoM, he did more good than bad imo.

Same here. Can't see why it would be his last start when he offers as much, if not more, than any of the currently available replacements in his position.

Make that 4. I thought he had a decent game. Had 2 shot at goal and set up Tevez with a perfect cut back. In a bewlo average performance by the whole team, I would say he did OK.
In the absence of AJ, we have no decent alternative for his position ( I wouldn't put Milner there) and until AJ comes back, I had suggested in another post, to try Micah there with Zabba behind him ? I think a Micah/Zabba partnership on the right can do wonders.

[john@staustell]

He is trying to play the Manchini way of passing rather than running with the ball, it just does not suit him

Really? Who is he passing to? I see a man constantly running into the other team and giving the ball away.

Seems the Mourinho way didn't suit him either.

No good blaming the manager when someone is past their sell-by date. Mancini has to use him now to rest other players, I'm sure he'd rather not.

[mr_nool]

After having only seen the highlights SWP looked good and very involved. So was he actually crap for the 80 other minutes of the game?

[john@staustell]

After having only seen the highlights SWP looked good and very involved. So was he actually crap for the 80 other minutes of the game?

Yep. Slamming the ball across the keeper occasionally instead of into the side-netting would help though.

[Chinners]

People have been saying it's his last game for City everytime he's played this season. I don't think he's good enough for a start but off the bench with 20mins to go he's an asset to bring on ... as in the last derby match. I think he'll be gone in the summer mind unless he's content having even less playing time next season.

[dazby]

Sweep will either score or set up a very very very important goal for us. When this occurs the haters will be feeling very very very sheepish.

[13021J]

Sweep will either score or set up a very very very important goal for us. When this occurs the haters will be feeling very very very sheepish.

I hope you're right and I'm not a hater, but the old SWP would have made mincemeat out of that Reading defence but instead he was mostly ineffectual. Pace was his main weapon, passing and final ball were always ? marks.

I just think all the remaining games are too important to start with him. And hopefully AJ will be back before too long to slot back in. As someone has already said Micah and AJ could firm a dangerous partnership.

[SORTED]

I've always thought he looked decent when he played left back. Is it worth the coaches working on this with him?

[Ted Hughes]

Sorry dazby, when he did is round the corner flick and chase, the old sweep would have skipped away like the defender was in reverse, he didn't and was caught easily. This is not a match fitness thing, this is the pace no longer being there. As much as I hate to agree with anyone(cause I'm always right and people agree with me), Ruthless has it on the money here.

He didn't do a lot of that though did he?

Compare yesterday's performance to many of his others in recent times & there was a lot less 'flick round the corner' & a lot more laying the ball off to city players a lot more chasing back rather than ambling back & a lot more TRYING to do the right thing, even when he did get it wrong.

Yesterday he showed signs, at last, of a player who's realising he has to adapt his game & he did a fucking good job, not as a winger going past people as some are saying he should, but as a midfield player doing a job for the team. People suggesting Balotelli will ever do the job SWP did are off their fucking heads. Even if he's World Player of the Year for ten solid years, he won't do that job, ever.

Neglected to mention: this was one game. If he goes back to playing like a shit, headless winger in his next game, I'll be back on his case!

[Rag_hater]

Seems to be trendy to slag of SWP.
Yesterday he didn't do much wrong.
And if you compare him with AJ,I'd say there is no differece

[Ted Hughes]

Seems to be trendy to slag of SWP.
Yesterday he didn't do much wrong.
And if you compare him with AJ,I'd say there is no differece

I think SWP's biggest problem has been that he thought there was no difference either & has tried to play like AJ when he no longer can. He's older & needs to adapt like Giggs & Scholes have done.

[blues2win]

I still see the main reason for playing SWP is because we need someone who can get behind a defence and deliver a decent ball into the box. A wide midfielder, unless he's Beckham at his peak, has to be able to deliver a decent cross and needs pace and/ or trickery to get past his man at least occasionally. Just look at the stick Milner gets in that position precisely because he can't do that. Just playing SWP because he tracks back and defends isn't viable especially when we have two defensive midfielders playing virtually every match. How are we going to score goals on that basis? AJ is miles more of an attacking threat because he can beat men repeatedly and makes good runs onto through balls through the centre. As Doug says, though, he doesn't put in many good crosses either but there's still time for him to learn. When AJ's back SWP is bound to be pushed down the pecking order again.

On Thursday if it's a choice between SWP and Balotelli, the Italian would get my vote every time because there's always a chance he'll score. We are 2 behind remember!

[Ted Hughes]

I still see the main reason for playing SWP is because we need someone who can get behind a defence and deliver a decent ball into the box. A wide midfielder, unless he's Beckham at his peak, has to be able to deliver a decent cross and needs pace and/ or trickery to get past his man at least occasionally. Just look at the stick Milner gets in that position precisely because he can't do that. Just playing SWP because he tracks back and defends isn't viable especially when we have two defensive midfielders playing virtually every match. How are we going to score goals on that basis? AJ is miles more of an attacking threat because he can beat men repeatedly and makes good runs onto through balls through the centre. As Doug says, though, he doesn't put in many good crosses either but there's still time for him to learn. When AJ's back SWP is bound to be pushed down the pecking order again.

On Thursday if it's a choice between SWP and Balotelli, the Italian would get my vote every time because there's always a chance he'll score. We are 2 behind remember!

If what you're saying is true, why do we play AJ on the wrong side so if he does get behind the defence, he's crossing with his wrong foot? Surely he would play on the other side if the priority is getting in crosses? How many goals have we we scored from AJ going past his man & putting a cross in, compared to him coming inside on his other foot & shooting? Manci likes AJ to come inside & sometimes make runs through the middle.

Of course the biggest question is; who would SWP have been crossing to, if he'd succeeded & how many crosses would it take before he landed one on 4ft Tevez, 10, 20? Imo either SWP was playing as a wide player, not a winger, or Bob is a dickhead.

[blues2win]

Crosses don't have to be onto Tevez's head. They can be fizzed low across the box like the one Kolarov put in which the defender sliced over the bar. Dare I say it Yaya could just occasionally get into the box and put his nut on one! That's me being optimistic! As for AJ playing on the wrong side there's no reason why he can't cut in and chip one with his left. There again is it too much to expect highly paid players to play with both feet FFS. I guess so.

Aren't you concerned at all that we play everything in front of the Opposition? It makes it so much easier for teams to defend against us with relative comfort. We're crying out for players to get behind teams but it rarely seems to happen.

[Ted Hughes]

Crosses don't have to be onto Tevez's head. They can be fizzed low across the box like the one Kolarov put in which the defender sliced over the bar. Dare I say it Yaya could just occasionally get into the box and put his nut on one! That's me being optimistic! As for AJ playing on the wrong side there's no reason why he can't cut in and chip one with his left. There again is it too much to expect highly paid players to play with both feet FFS. I guess so.

Aren't you concerned at all that we play everything in front of the Opposition? It makes it so much easier for teams to defend against us with relative comfort. We're crying out for players to get behind teams but it rarely seems to happen.

I'd like us to be brilliant at it. I'm not saying what my plan is, I'm saying whe THE plan is & without Balotelli or Tevez I don't think traditional wingplay is a priority. We've tried crosses recently when Dzeko has been in the team & so far, I can't remember one single occasion when we've had a move which involves a wide player going past his man & successfully putting a ball on Dzeko's head in conventional 'winger' style. A couple of diagonals maybe. At least we've tried though. I can think of an occasion when Micah did it along the ground but he's a fullback of course. How many times did a wide player plant one on Ade's head or RSC or Balotelli 2 or 3 in the season? How many times along the ground from out wide; more success admitteldly but compare the output of our whole squad from wide positions & will it amount to as much final ball as Gareth Bale on his own?

It's not something we're good at but that's not just SWP's fault. He had a solid game playing as a wide player imo, not trying to be a tearawy winger, which he isn't anymore & neither is anyone else at our club.

[blues2win]

Whilst I don't think Dzeko is one dimensional I find it hard to believe that he was bought without considering his aerial threat. I think Doug mentioned that Mancini does want crosses coming in but the players aren't delivering. That means, the way we usually set up, Kolarov and Richards or whoever else plays at full back aren't doing what he wants. It's strange because Kolarov clearly can put in a good cross and so can Boateng. Micah also put in a couple of peaches against Notts County.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not in favour of a one dimensional attack. I'm looking for goal threat from corners, free kicks, one twos through the middle, balls over the top, low crosses, high crosses etc.

[nick (duki blues)]

Not so long ago on here people were having a go at lescott for not performing but now he's had a good run in the side and he's starting to show us what he is capable of I'm sure some of those same people are praising him maybe it's just what SWP needs is a good run in the side to get back to his old self I for one would like to see him given the chance

[Chinners]

As has been said already, he's lost his most effective asset ... his pace. All the games in the world ain't going to get that back. He's an ideal sub for me

[sweeneymcfc]

really like shauny but he was not great yesterday and has not been for a long time
a shadow of the player we sold