Rating City v Blackburn

[JB]

Given - 6 - Worst game for us? Stayed when he should have come, came when he should have stayed. Kicking average and the flick pass to Vinnie was ridiculous. Shot stopping is fine, the rest of the goalkeeping package has been below par for a while. Keeps getting away with it though.

Zabs - 7 - Classic good form Zabs performance.

Richards - 8 - Not tested too much defensivly but gets extra for the goal.

Kompany - 8 - Stitched up by Shay for the goal. Has a dicey touch at the best of times. Didnt notice him otherwise, good sign.

Garrido - 7 - Looks great when hes not tested defensivly often.

De Jong - 7 - Got around the pitch well and used the ball well.

Barry - 7 - Solid, did what was needed.

Petrov - 7 - Not much doing but threatened when given the rock. Best workrate ive seen from him too.

Bellemy - 7 - Has had better days but played for the team.

Benjani - 7 - 3 assists somehow came from him although i doubt he meant any of them. Loveable but not good enough,

Subs

Robinho - 7 - Lively cameo. More please. Even won a header

Santa Cruz - 6 - Had a pair of Benjanis shooting boots on by the looks of things

Boyata - Nice touch to put him on after his great debut at Boro.

and finally

Tevez - 10 - Perfect.

I would agree with all of that apart from Zabs at RB - again a stupid challenge resulting in a yellow which put himself and the team under unnecessary pressure. My preference is to play Zabs in midfield, though not ahead of Barry or de Jong.

[the_georgian_genius]

Given (6) - had fuck all to do.
Zabaleta (7) - hesitated a few times but made up for it with a good performance.
Richards (7) - great run for the goal but was never troubled
Kompany (7) - ditto expect he didn't make a good run
Garrido (8) - every tackle he made he won, every pass he made, was never left stranding, won some headers, great performance.
Petrov (5) - very quiet and sloppy, allthough he needs to play on the left
Barry (7) - faultless
De Jong (7) - faultless
Bellamy (3) - terrible, with swp and robinho coming back he needs to up his game
Benjani (6) - Was like hesky for England, shite but effective.
Tevez (9) - Can't say anything more.

Robinho (7.5) - looked classy when he came on
Santa Cruz (7) - impressed me yet again
Boyata - no time to mark

[Nick]

Given - 6 - Worst game for us? Stayed when he should have come, came when he should have stayed. Kicking average and the flick pass to Vinnie was ridiculous. Shot stopping is fine, the rest of the goalkeeping package has been below par for a while. Keeps getting away with it though.

Zabs - 7 - Classic good form Zabs performance.

Richards - 8 - Not tested too much defensivly but gets extra for the goal.

Kompany - 8 - Stitched up by Shay for the goal. Has a dicey touch at the best of times. Didnt notice him otherwise, good sign.

Garrido - 7 - Looks great when hes not tested defensivly often.

De Jong - 7 - Got around the pitch well and used the ball well.

Barry - 7 - Solid, did what was needed.

Petrov - 7 - Not much doing but threatened when given the rock. Best workrate ive seen from him too.

Bellemy - 7 - Has had better days but played for the team.

Benjani - 7 - 3 assists somehow came from him although i doubt he meant any of them. Loveable but not good enough,

Subs

Robinho - 7 - Lively cameo. More please. Even won a header

Santa Cruz - 6 - Had a pair of Benjanis shooting boots on by the looks of things

Boyata - Nice touch to put him on after his great debut at Boro.

and finally

Tevez - 10 - Perfect.

I would agree with all of that apart from Zabs at RB - again a stupid challenge resulting in a yellow which put himself and the team under unnecessary pressure. My preference is to play Zabs in midfield, though not ahead of Barry or de Jong.

Agree, too many people slag zab off and say he is a second rate right back and leave it as that. I think hes quality in form at right back, but hes much much better donning the midfield. I think hes been great every time hes played in midfield e.g. the wigan home win last year.

[Martinez]

From where i sit it looked like given but Kompany in the shit with a terrible pass to lead to his mistake for their goal. Not had benefit of replay yet though. Quite a solid performance, fair play to benjani, put in a good shift and richards seem to win everything.

Nope, Kompany did it all on his own. Keepers give passes like that several times a game, he just fucked up, but had a very good game besides.

Shite first touch from Kompany but Given should've just blasted the ball upfield in that position. It was Kompany who gave a shit backpass to Given in the first place though so I do agree Kompany is mostly to blame.

Given shits me up though with some of his balls that put us under pressure when theres no need.

If we were, let's say 2-1 up against Chelski or any decent opposition, I would expect either Given or Kompany to clog that ball and not risk anything. However, in this game we were so comfortable at the back, I can sort of forgive Vinnie for trying to control the ball, it's confidence in the backline we've been missing, though not at the cost of complascency.

All in all I think Kompany was excellent, very composed on the ball and superb deliveries from deep on many occasions. Anyone else think it was a strange move to give the armband to Shay? I don't question his status in the team, just find it a bit strange to have the keeper as you captain when there are other options. At one point in the first half the Blackburn players tried to take our defenders heads of with elbows flying in a couple of times, I was screaming for Vinnie or NdJ to put some pressure on Foy before someone got hurt bad. In the end N'zonzi only managed to hurt his own player

Oh, and the officials were crap, utter crap!

[mr_nool]

Given - 6 - Worst game for us? Stayed when he should have come, came when he should have stayed. Kicking average and the flick pass to Vinnie was ridiculous. Shot stopping is fine, the rest of the goalkeeping package has been below par for a while. Keeps getting away with it though.

Zabs - 7 - Classic good form Zabs performance.

Richards - 8 - Not tested too much defensivly but gets extra for the goal.

Kompany - 8 - Stitched up by Shay for the goal. Has a dicey touch at the best of times. Didnt notice him otherwise, good sign.

Garrido - 7 - Looks great when hes not tested defensivly often.

De Jong - 7 - Got around the pitch well and used the ball well.

Barry - 7 - Solid, did what was needed.

Petrov - 7 - Not much doing but threatened when given the rock. Best workrate ive seen from him too.

Bellemy - 7 - Has had better days but played for the team.

Benjani - 7 - 3 assists somehow came from him although i doubt he meant any of them. Loveable but not good enough,

Subs

Robinho - 7 - Lively cameo. More please. Even won a header

Santa Cruz - 6 - Had a pair of Benjanis shooting boots on by the looks of things

Boyata - Nice touch to put him on after his great debut at Boro.

and finally

Tevez - 10 - Perfect.

I would agree with all of that apart from Zabs at RB - again a stupid challenge resulting in a yellow which put himself and the team under unnecessary pressure. My preference is to play Zabs in midfield, though not ahead of Barry or de Jong.

Agree, too many people slag zab off and say he is a second rate right back and leave it as that. I think hes quality in form at right back, but hes much much better donning the midfield. I think hes been great every time hes played in midfield e.g. the wigan home win last year.

I love Zabba, but thought he had a bad day at the office yesterday, especially first half. But I seem to be the only one. Amd maybe I shoulöd be glad that his decision making was so poor, cause if he hadn't done that dodgy back pass to MIcah, we'd never gotten to see that great goal.

[13021J]

GIven 6 - Couple of decent saves but some dodgy kicking and lack of communication with Garrido I seem to remember cost us a corner when we were under pressure. He does seem to have the ball played to him more recently, nothing to worry about, and I don't blame him for the Blackburn goal.

Zabba 6 - Bizzarely missed a couple of headers that could have cost us, but generally comfortable on the ball and supported attacks well. His obligatory yellow card was a really bad challenge when he should have just stood up. We can't afford him to be suspended at the moment.

Micah 8 - It was like a time warp back to the early Sven days when he won everything in the air and used his extreme pace to demoralise opposing strikers. Maybe CB is his best position? Needs to work on distribution though. His goal was all about determination, shame it was overshadowed by Tevez's display.

Kompany 7 - If we ply Micah CB then Kompany is the perfect foil for him, aerially superb and very good on the ball (most of the time!). He made some key one-on-one tackles also. Yes, the goal was his fault but if he's going to make a clanger like that it should be when you are 3-0 up at home! Good display I can't see him being replaced by Lescott if this form continues.

Garrido 7 - Nice display, although he wasn't unduly troubled. Seemed to drift towards the centre at times in the first half, not sure if this was tactical but it worried me. Technically superb, his lack of pace wasn't exposed on this occasion. Well played lad.

Petrov 5 - Really didn't add anything offensively or defensively. Was screaming at him in the second half when he refused to track back and help the overworked Zabba. Refused so many tackles/headers I lost count. I know he was played out of position and had to cut in on his left foot everytime but it really stunted our attacks. Did at least hold his postion to stretch the opposition.

NDJ 7 - Great display from one of the two at threat from Vieira, did they raise their game accordingly? They both seemed to rarely cross the half way line, leaving the four attacking players free reign up front and blunting any counter attacks which seemed to work well. Passing was good and dominated the centre of the park. I think NDJ is most at threat of VIeira unfortunately, but lets face it VIeiera will pick up a knock almost immediately.

Barry 7 - Played well to control the midfield, passing was generally ok, he has been accused of only passing backwards/sideways but his was opening up the game by spreading it wide to Garrido/Zabba for christ's sake! I saw him hit Tevez's feet a number of times. Chucks his weight around nicely and never shirks a challenge. Classy.

Bellamy 7 - Everyone seems to have marked him down, but his willingness to run into space and stretch the opposition is priceless in relieving pressure on our defence. Yes, he lacked the end product today but if he hadn't been running his arse off Tevez may not have had the space to operate in. Scares defenders no end.

Tevez 9 - Unplayable tonight, power, pace, vision and touch. Wow. Could have had 4 with that header to make it 10/10 but was simply superb.

Benjani 7 - Was devastated to see him in the starting line up but held the ball up ok, really muscled in and contributed three (accidental) assists. Well done Benji ,but please have a rest against Everton?!

Subs
Robbie - Looks good off the bench doesn't he?
RSC - Went for goal against his old club when he should have squared it but should start against Everton (fingers crossed!)
Boyata - Good for him to get his home debut

[Wonderwall]

GIven 6 - Couple of decent saves but some dodgy kicking and lack of communication with Garrido I seem to remember cost us a corner when we were under pressure. He does seem to have the ball played to him more recently, nothing to worry about, and I don't blame him for the Blackburn goal.

Zabba 6 - Bizzarely missed a couple of headers that could have cost us, but generally comfortable on the ball and supported attacks well. His obligatory yellow card was a really bad challenge when he should have just stood up. We can't afford him to be suspended at the moment.

Micah 8 - It was like a time warp back to the early Sven days when he won everything in the air and used his extreme pace to demoralise opposing strikers. Maybe CB is his best position? Needs to work on distribution though. His goal was all about determination, shame it was overshadowed by Tevez's display.

Kompany 7 - If we ply Micah CB then Kompany is the perfect foil for him, aerially superb and very good on the ball (most of the time!). He made some key one-on-one tackles also. Yes, the goal was his fault but if he's going to make a clanger like that it should be when you are 3-0 up at home! Good display I can't see him being replaced by Lescott if this form continues.

Garrido 7 - Nice display, although he wasn't unduly troubled. Seemed to drift towards the centre at times in the first half, not sure if this was tactical but it worried me. Technically superb, his lack of pace wasn't exposed on this occasion. Well played lad.

Petrov 5 - Really didn't add anything offensively or defensively. Was screaming at him in the second half when he refused to track back and help the overworked Zabba. Refused so many tackles/headers I lost count. I know he was played out of position and had to cut in on his left foot everytime but it really stunted our attacks. Did at least hold his postion to stretch the opposition.

NDJ 7 - Great display from one of the two at threat from Vieira, did they raise their game accordingly? They both seemed to rarely cross the half way line, leaving the four attacking players free reign up front and blunting any counter attacks which seemed to work well. Passing was good and dominated the centre of the park. I think NDJ is most at threat of VIeira unfortunately, but lets face it VIeiera will pick up a knock almost immediately.

Barry 7 - Played well to control the midfield, passing was generally ok, he has been accused of only passing backwards/sideways but his was opening up the game by spreading it wide to Garrido/Zabba for christ's sake! I saw him hit Tevez's feet a number of times. Chucks his weight around nicely and never shirks a challenge. Classy.

Bellamy 7 - Everyone seems to have marked him down, but his willingness to run into space and stretch the opposition is priceless in relieving pressure on our defence. Yes, he lacked the end product today but if he hadn't been running his arse off Tevez may not have had the space to operate in. Scares defenders no end.

Tevez 9 - Unplayable tonight, power, pace, vision and touch. Wow. Could have had 4 with that header to make it 10/10 but was simply superb.

Benjani 7 - Was devastated to see him in the starting line up but held the ball up ok, really muscled in and contributed three (accidental) assists. Well done Benji ,but please have a rest against Everton?!

Subs
Robbie - Looks good off the bench doesn't he?
RSC - Went for goal against his old club when he should have squared it but should start against Everton (fingers crossed!)
Boyata - Good for him to get his home debut

I thought De Jong was fantastic against their hard working physical midfield 5, what did you think ;-)

[Blue in North London]

Given – poor distribution and his positioning was suspect on a couple of occasions (5)

Zabba – poor positioning on more than one occasion but made a couple of good interceptions. His passing ranged from the sublime to the ridiculous. The yellow he received was for a poor challenge. It just wasn’t necessary. Now he is banned for the Everton game (5)

Kompany – Imperious with the exception of the lead-up to their goal. His positioning and reading of the game was excellent. Whether Given should have passed him the football or not, a top flight footballer should have a better touch (7)

Richards – Was very good defensively. Did well in the air and made some important interceptions and challenges. The goal was excellent – pace, strength, skill and determination. Arguably my favourite moment of the season (9)

Garrido – solid. Didn’t have to do much defending. Held his position well when Blackburn were playing in front of us and he always made himself available (6)

Barry – slowed the game down and kept position when he needed to. Tidy and efficient in a game where he and De Jong were outnumbered (6.5)

De Jong – snapped at the heels of the opposition all game. Did well considering the fact that Blackburn outnumbered us in midfield. I think he and Barry are building a decent understanding – something De Jong couldn’t do with Kompany as a midfield partner (6.5)

Bellamy – two or three good forays deep in to the Blackburn defence in the first half. He also worked hard defensively. However, it was one of those days when things didn’t quite go for him (5)

Petrov – Worked hard defensively but could have done more to help out the defence. Would sometimes be guilty of ball watching. However, he was always willing to take the ball forward with pace and purpose (6)

Tevez – A menace. The defence didn’t know where he was going to pop-up next. Elusive, kept the ball well and three quality finishes. The third goal was excellent. To curl the ball with pace, from a standing position with a huge defender stood in front of him, takes some doing. Would have got a ‘10’ if he had buried the header (9)


RSC – looks fighting fit to me (5)

Robinho – very encouraging. He looked to attack with pace and purpose as soon as he got the ball. Dare I say it, but he actually looked confident. A confident Robinho is a top player (6)

Boyata – only on for a few minutes

[Dubaimancityfan]

From where i sit it looked like given but Kompany in the shit with a terrible pass to lead to his mistake for their goal. Not had benefit of replay yet though. Quite a solid performance, fair play to benjani, put in a good shift and richards seem to win everything.

Nope, Kompany did it all on his own. Keepers give passes like that several times a game, he just fucked up, but had a very good game besides.

I agree that Komp should have controlled the ball better but it happens. Given should not have put him in that position and should've
just kicked the ball up field or out of play. If anything, they share the blame for the 1st goal scored against Bobby Manc.

[13021J]

From where i sit it looked like given but Kompany in the shit with a terrible pass to lead to his mistake for their goal. Not had benefit of replay yet though. Quite a solid performance, fair play to benjani, put in a good shift and richards seem to win everything.

Nope, Kompany did it all on his own. Keepers give passes like that several times a game, he just fucked up, but had a very good game besides.

I agree that Komp should have controlled the ball better but it happens. Given should not have put him in that position and should've
just kicked the ball up field or out of play. If anything, they share the blame for the 1st goal scored against Bobby Manc.

LIstening to the interviews after the match Mancio is not at all happy about that goal - great to see!