Player Ratings.

[Dr Golfball]

Given - 8 ; Already mention with the two great saves to his left hand post, and those two are alone worthy of the 8.
Richards - 8 ; Didn't see Micah play this well for a long time. Welcome back son.
Toure - 6 ; Ran around a lot, didn't do anything wrong, nor outstanding. PAR.
Dunne - 7 ; Reasonable comfortable on the ball, although i always feel shakey when his the last man. Lucky with the penalty shout.
Bridge - 7 ; Played well for most parts of the game, however was sometimes caught short on the left.
SWP - *9* ; Played extremely well in spite of the new comers, and was thoroughly impressed. MoTM
Barry - 8 ; Seemed comfortable all game, and has the experience and quality we lacked last season. It showed today.
Ireland - 7 ; The goal topped a quiet game today for Superman however no one topped his athleticism today. Real champ.
Robinho - 7 ; Familiar muted performance today from Robson, when he ran at defenders it just didn't have the edge today that we knew he had.
Adebayor - 8 ; Took his goal very well and held the ball up today almost to perfection. Very well played and linked well with the forwards.
Bellamy - 8 ; Looked like he could have ran all day, and seemed as though that extra 'umph' is in his stride, wonderful asset.
Tevez - n/a
Hughes - 9 ; Didn't juggle the team too much with silly subs late on, and kept it cool. Great start to the campaign.

COME ON CITY!!!!!!!!!!

Toure our worst player? Give over.

SWP our best player?
You're having a laugh!

Don't be silly now.

[Slim]

Agree with most of this.

Only comments are -

I think some are underestimating Bellamy today, he was excellent especially when we dont have the ball.
SWP played well of course, but he did give the ball away a huge amount first half by trying to beat a man. Think someone had a word at half time.
Dunne - man of contrasts!

Altogether bloody excellent.

Dunne is a tower when the ball is in the air, there are rarely any players who can match him there. He didn't get pushed around as much against Roberts as I had expected, even gave him a nice shirtfront right before he was subbed, a little payback from previous years. However, he lunges too much and all the time looks like he is "last ditch" defending when the ball is on the ground. Almost like he is scared out of his wits of making a mistake that he rushes and denies himself time and patience. And of course, my pet peeve is him being Mr Hoof, even when it is not needed.

[21Forsberg]

[

Spot on, except maybe 8 for Toure.

Quotes are a bitch arn't they mate ;)

No kidding...

[21Forsberg]

Finally...

[Colin the King]

Given 7- A couple of excellent saves, which we've come to expect from Shay. Distribution not as good as usual though I felt.

Richards 7- Vastly improved on last season, he seems to have lost some of the excess weight which is great and the timing of his tackling overall was superb. I still think he'll eventually become a top central defender though. He just doesn't have the attacking pedigree to build a successful longterm career at right-back.

Toure 8- Physically strong, composed in possession and communicated well with the others. Fantastic debut.

Dunne 7- Somewhere near his best. He was up against a potentially tricky Roberts and dealt with him superbly. Still awkward in possession of the ball though which is why I think Ned will eventually overtake him.

Bridge 7- He's looked excellent in preseason and carried it through to the real thing. Like Micah, a vast improvement on last season and he handled Diouf really well. So classy going forward as well.

SWP 8- Quality performance from Shaun, long overdue. His link-up with Ade for the first was exceptional, he looks quicker and stronger than last season and gave the usual 100% effort.

Barry 9- My Man of the Match. Simply outstanding, he makes everything look so easy. Effortlessly tackled, tracked, passed and moved and looked as though he'd been in the side for years. If it's a sign of things to come we're going to do even better than I thought we could this season.

Ireland 6- Much quieter than usual but stepped up at the end to seal the three points with a lovely finish. Thought his passing was a bit below par (by his standards) but can't fault him for endeavour.

Robinho 6- Much like Ireland, off colour. He seems to have upped his workrate and tried to help Bridge out but he looked a bit uncomfortable in truth. Having said that, Ewood Park is not where you'd expect Robbie to flourish- it's just not his kind of game. He'll be back to his best on Saturday though, I'm sure of it.

Adebayor 8- We've been waiting for a proper centre forward since Anelka left and it looks like we've found one. Fantastic hold up play, strength and movement and he linked with SWP and Bellamy as though he's been playing with them his whole career. Quality finish too. If he plays like that every week, £25million will be a snip.

Bellamy 7- Endless running. I'm not quite sure how he keeps going right until the last but his efforts played a big part in securing the win. A fantastic weapon to have this season and I'm sure he'll bag his fair share of goals too.

Tevez 7- Only 20 minutes or so but he worked hard during that time. A couple of decent efforts on goal and some nice touches. Hopefully he'll get a start at the weekend.

Hughes 9- Tactically spot on, pity about the footwork at the end.

[miss-mancity]

What I did see from my dads TV...
Given - 8
Richards - 7
Toure - 6
Dunne - 6
Bridge - 6
SWP - 9:
Barry - 7
Ireland - 7
Robinho - 6
Adebayor - 8
Bellamy - 7

Tevez - 6

Hughes -6
:-).