Everton Vs Manchester City official match thread

[StrikeAnywhere]

well that was fucking fun...

completely outplayed for 90 minutes. lets just hope the lads can learn from this shit and make us proud tuesday because if we dont show up again we will get fucking murdered by the scum.

[bluej]

We started pretty well as well - closing them down quickly and putting ourselves about (even Robbie was making an effort) but then we just seemed to go to shit and never looked like coming back when they scored.

[Fidel Castro]

My biggest worry is Mancini. Did he make a tactical error bringing on Robinho for Crocky?

Yes that was clearly a mistake. He should have brought on Benji who IMO shud have started. It was the obvious decision, a like for like. I wonder what was Bobby thinking.

what did Benjani do?

He actually tried to do his job as best he could, unlike most of the others out there. He held the ball up reasonably and we actually looked a better team with him on.

[mr_nool]

My biggest worry is Mancini. Did he make a tactical error bringing on Robinho for Crocky?

Yes that was clearly a mistake. He should have brought on Benji who IMO shud have started. It was the obvious decision, a like for like. I wonder what was Bobby thinking.

what did Benjani do?

He actually tried to do his job as best he could, unlike most of the others out there. He held the ball up reasonably and we actually looked a better team with him on.

I agree witht that. Good pass to an offside standing Robinho as well.

[Dubaimancityfan]

Oh well, if we win our next game, we're still better off than we were during the fall. 3 points is better than 2.

Be nice if we could buy a whole new defence before the next match though

it was midfield not defense that let us down the most today.

cheers

Agree, for all Everton's attacking play, they could only score from 2 set pieces, one from a soft foul and one from a soft penalty. Everything considered our defence didn't do too badly.
It was our midfield which was missing apart from a couple of runs by SWP and Bellers in the 2nd half. Tevez didn't get any service and he was clearly not 100%.
I cannot believe the number of unforced errors our players made today. It was just not our day.

[StrikeAnywhere]

and that commentary was 90 odd minutes of city bashing fucking cunts.

i also thought benji should of come on for RSC

[BlueMoonAwoken]

It wasnt all robinhos fault but The guy is a total joke , Look at tevez he didnt play well but he worked his ass off managed to get a few tackles in win the ball back etc he trys to lift his team mates. Robinho is only good when the rest of the team are good and put chances on a plate for him.

Ive been saying about De jong and barry all season. De jong is a great player but to control the middle of the park you need someone 6 feet or over in the premier league. Thats why ive been wishing for hughes/macini to put kompany in the middle. He may make the odd mistake but wins more headers and has alot more power in his game than de jong does. Obviously mancini noticed this and got Vieira. I dont think Vieira was bought for a bit part i think he was bought for first team till the end of the season.

Mancini now knows how we play when a team gives us no space and what players we need to overcome that maybe we will see some new players coming in after the united game.

Please dont make excuses for city by calling everton dirty they played with heart and energy and showed they wanted to win more than us. I would of loved us to have the same heart that everton played with fellaini was immense just shows what a big presence in the middle of the park can do for ya.

Edit ***

There was nothing wrong wih the zonal marking as we never conceeded a goal from a set piece apart from a direct free kick which was the fault of the wall. Second in my opinion was not a penalty but still richards shouldnt of had his hands alll over saha.

[Grob]

Hughes out

[carolina-blue]

My biggest worry is Mancini. Did he make a tactical error bringing on Robinho for Crocky?

Yes that was clearly a mistake. He should have brought on Benji who IMO shud have started. It was the obvious decision, a like for like. I wonder what was Bobby thinking.

I'm wondering which pisshead passed RSC as fir for the game?
That guy is a total joke, he got injured doing nothing, that is a talent in itself.
Benji didn't deserve to be dropped anyway after his performance against Blackburn

Totally agree with both of the above Benji should have started he had done enough the last few games to warrent that , However he deffo should have come straight on for Rockie , We needed someone to fight and hold the ball up "Felacio" just walked through our Mid today . We had no outlet when things got rough and to many dodging tackles IMO of course

[Fidel Castro]

There was something wrong with the marking cos if it wasn't for Given, the post and the bar it could well have been 5 or 6-0.

[Douglas Higginbottom]

No need to go negatively OTT even though it was a crap performance just as there was no reason to OTT when we won a few games against rubbish sides. This match and the next 2 in the CC will tell us a lot more.

Mancini should have learned a lot about the team and the league from tonight or at least I hope he has. Most games so far he has picked a side and changed it quite quite quickly because it wasn't working properly or at least that's what it seems like.Tonight he picked the wrong side and formation imo and this time it didn't matter much what he did as we were second best all night.

Most of that was because we met a decent team in good form and yes aggressive but nothing to aggressive.Just having 2 in midfield against a team like Everton was always going to be a risk and it didn't work. The " wide " players we had didn't get in the game much as the full backs squeezed up very tight and as a result we just never held onto the ball for any time at all.

Let's just hope we don't have too many injured and he really has learned lessons because for 100% certain the scum will have all the midfield battlers out there next week and we need to be ready for it.

[Goataldo]

Woeful display. Seemed like every touch was slightly off, every pass slightly behind the man, and every thought was too slow and negative. Amazing how quickly negativity and lack of confidence can spread through a team.

Robinho can't even flatter to decieve well. His idea of making an effort is surreally different to anyone I've ever met, and agree with all who say like-for-like would have been a better sub, i.e. Benjani. Odd that we shld be saying Benjani is a better option than Robi, but at least he has some body strength and holds the ball up.

Are there any plus points from that game? It's over is one. SWP looks fresh is another.

We're definitely gonna have to come flying out the blocks on Tuesday. Can;t come soon enough, bring it on.

[Grob]

Just having 2 in midfield against a team like Everton was always going to be a risk and it didn't work.

Bingo

[CityFanFromRome]

100% certain the scum will have all the midfield battlers out there next week and we need to be ready for it.

We need to be ready, but also to be as fired up as Everton was tonight. And if Vieira were fit it might not have been bad, but sadly he won't be, not for the first leg.

[Mr Miyagi]

No need to go negatively OTT even though it was a crap performance just as there was no reason to OTT when we won a few games against rubbish sides. This match and the next 2 in the CC will tell us a lot more.

Mancini should have learned a lot about the team and the league from tonight or at least I hope he has. Most games so far he has picked a side and changed it quite quite quickly because it wasn't working properly or at least that's what it seems like.Tonight he picked the wrong side and formation imo and this time it didn't matter much what he did as we were second best all night.

I agree with you about being OTT, both in victory and defeat.

On the formation side, because wide players like Robinho and Petrov can't be relied on, I wonder if we should go for the Italian-style 4-3-1-2 on such occasions. Make teams play around us instead of through us.

[Dubaimancityfan]

100% certain the scum will have all the midfield battlers out there next week and we need to be ready for it.

We need to be ready, but also to be as fired up as Everton was tonight. And if Vieira were fit it might not have been bad, but sadly he won't be, not for the first leg.

Funny that you brought up Vieira. Does anyone still think we don't need him ??

[CityFanFromRome]

I agree with you about being OTT, both in victory and defeat.

On the formation side, because wide players like Robinho and Petrov can't be relied on, I wonder if we should go for the Italian-style 4-3-1-2 on such occasions. Make teams play around us instead of through us.

If we do our full backs will need to be very focused and always at the top of their game especially against teams which are very strong on the wings, because there's only so much the midfield will be able to do to help them. But all in all it is a good idea, I just wonder who apart from Ireland could cover the position behind the strikers.

[KinkyKinkladze]

We were just awful weren't we? The lack of a performance from Barry and De Jong did it more than anything. How can Barry be so shit now? He was great up until he saw his arse at Villa Park, now he looks ready to be put down. De Jong, well maybe it was just one of them games. He's a battler, not a ball player, and with Barry not taking up that role today, you got the feeling De Jong had too much on his plate. Agree entirely with NQDP, Vieira looks like he's here to correct that situation. The amount of times we tried playing the ball out from the back, but our back four only had each other to play it to or hump it forward was ridiculous.

For me, Micah and Garrido were very good today, let down by Kompany's indecision and Zabaleta playing like a Championship player. The way Zabs let Bilyeletdinov run past him and cross for Cahill's crossbar header reminded me of Micah's lacklustre performances at RB last year.

Today wasn't a game for Bellamy. We should've had Petrov on the left, just for balance. Before their first goal, Petrov had numerous chances to get past their left back, but because he's got no right foot, he was dragging it back inside and killing what little opportunities we had to get behind their defence. Bellamy worked hard, but when you're surrounded by Barry and Robinho doing fuck all, his impact was always going to be marginal. Still one of our brightest players though. Probably should've had Petrov and Bellamy on their natural flanks, or even just have Sweep on from the start. Maybe Mancini didn't want to rush him straight in after his knock.

Tevez worked tirelessly as usual but he couldn't do fucking anything with no midfield to supply him and Robinho being useless. Benjani was excellent for his cameo, he's earnt himself some brownie points with Mancini, surely. Shame for RSC. We shouldn't be having a go at him, whenever he has been able to play, his class has been obvious. And it should be noticable that we missed him dreadfully when he went off.

Which brings me on to Robinho. I know he wasn't playing in his natural position, but that really isn't an excuse. Mancini's reasoning was entirely right for me, with bringing him on instead of Benji. We know Benji will work hard no matter what. Robinho is supposed to be a big player, so get on their and fucking prove it. His skill and ability to unlock doors is reason enough to bring him on, hoping he could provide a link between midfield and Tevez. Unfortunately, he showed himself up to be a liability. I half think Mancini had that in mind all along - get on there and show me you're worth it otherwise you're out the door mate. And look what happened, the ignimony of subbing off a sub. Straight down the tunnel and not seen of again for the rest of the game. Mancini played his cards with Robbie and he played them fucking well.

Got to be honest, despite this evening's dissapointment, I fell in love with Mancini for doing that.

All in all, we were beaten by a better side and we got to see that there are one or two big name players who aren't up to it. Bizarrely, I saw positives from this game, in the shape of recognising our frailties and I think it'll stand Mancini and the team good for the future. We were put to the sword by a good Everton team and we were deservedly beaten.

Still shouldn't have been a penalty though. Foul no doubt, but it started outside the box. But that's a minor point really, we deserved what we got.

I don't feel nearly as depressed as I did after the Spuds game though.

[Mr Miyagi]

I agree with you about being OTT, both in victory and defeat.

On the formation side, because wide players like Robinho and Petrov can't be relied on, I wonder if we should go for the Italian-style 4-3-1-2 on such occasions. Make teams play around us instead of through us.

If we do our full backs will need to be very focused and always at the top of their game especially against teams which are very strong on the wings, because there's only so much the midfield will be able to do to help them. But all in all it is a good idea, I just wonder who apart from Ireland could cover the position behind the strikers.

Besides Ireland there is SWP. I know he sometimes runs with his head down, but I think he is capable of playing the role. Also (don't laugh) I think De Jong could do it as well. He played that role for Ajax in the past.

[CityFanFromRome]

I agree with you about being OTT, both in victory and defeat.

On the formation side, because wide players like Robinho and Petrov can't be relied on, I wonder if we should go for the Italian-style 4-3-1-2 on such occasions. Make teams play around us instead of through us.

If we do our full backs will need to be very focused and always at the top of their game especially against teams which are very strong on the wings, because there's only so much the midfield will be able to do to help them. But all in all it is a good idea, I just wonder who apart from Ireland could cover the position behind the strikers.

Besides Ireland there is SWP. I know he sometimes runs with his head down, but I think he is capable of playing the role. Also (don't laugh) I think De Jong could do it as well. He played that role for Ajax in the past.

Good shout SWP, I thought about it after posting, although I see him better on the flank. De Jong, will he remember how it is done? I was thinking more along the lines of Tevez, with a big man and Bellamy up front.