Stoke FA Cup player ratings

[Wooders]

Out of 10

Given - 7
A fairly steady performance from Shay - couple of great stops, but the criticism that he doesn't communicate well with his defenders seems to be increasingly displayed
Zabba - 2
Worst performance I have seen from Zabs in a city shirt - struggled with tuncay, gave the ball away constantly - all in all a terrible game
Toure - 6
Not a terrible performance but not brilliant either - a couple of good moments in a backdrop of clangers
Lescott - 8
Good performance I thought, pacey and steady at the back - did anyone know I want Kompany and Lescott to be our CB pairing??
Bridge - 8
Cappello was there which I am sure didn't hurt, but a decent performance from Wayne, especially given all thats been going on recently.
SWP - 8
Some good fortune for our first goal, but overall his usual committed, decent performance
De Jong - 7
Did the CDM duties ok, but needs to get forward more - he has the pace and skill, I don't know what is holding him back
Barry - 7
Not a bad game from Gary, Cappello being present may have been a factor again, but certainly a better performance than his usual of late
Petrov - 6
Reluctantly gave him a 6 because of his insistence on taking free kicks when he shouldn't be allowed anywhere near them, couple of lazyish passes combined with some decent efforts
Ireland - 5
Played in his best position but failed to impress me despite the assist early in the game. Didn't play with any of the industry and desire that made him such a hit last season, seemed like a literal walk in the park for him today
Ade - 7
Some good effort put in, perhaps was a victim of the long ball game, despite his size, he wouldn't have ever experienced this at Arsenal and it really doesn't play to his strengths

Subs
Roque
Quite liked his little cameo but wasn't really effective enough for me
Vieira
As above

Overall team performance 5/10
Stoke were woeful today and were definately there for the taking, we took a relaxed longball approach once the goal went in, and it cost us in the end.

[Niall Quinns Discopants]

Apart from Bridge and SWP, I wouldn't give anyone more than 6.

[Wooders]

Apart from Bridge and SWP, I wouldn't give anyone more than 6.

may have been somewhat generous, but trying not to get into that apres-game disappointment rant

[Original Dub]

Apart from Bridge and SWP, I wouldn't give anyone more than 6.

Snap.

[Douglas Higginbottom]

Apart from Bridge and SWP, I wouldn't give anyone more than 6.

I would agree with that except for Lescott .I don't recall him doing anything wrong.

[ayrshireblue]

Shockingly cheap throw in from Given which led to Stokes goal. Absolutely no need to kick it out when they've got that Delap thing to launch the ball in.

[ryanmjo]

Given 6
Zabaleta 5
Toure 6
Lescott 6
Bridge 7
SWP 7
de Jong 5
Barry 6
Petrov 4
Ireland 5
Adebayor 5

I thought Petrov was incredibly selfish with the way he took the free kick that SWP won. I'm a massive supporter of de Jong, but thought he was only averge today. Barry didn't make me as upset as he usually does.

[trout man]

I would say if we asked the players what they were told to do today by the manager then it would be easier to rate them as I believe they have been shackled, not sure why and are making a fist of playing Italian style football....badly. The only person that needs a rating today is the manager our scarf wearing master tactician.....0.5 (for the scarf) out of ten.

ps It should be player/manager ratings, Id give Tony Pulis an 8

[paulmclaren]

Out of 10

Given - 6-not much to do.
Zabba - 6-wasn't our worse player by any means, no one was good tonight other then swp.
Toure - 5-like a rabbit in the headlights, clanger after clanger, how is this guy our captain?
Should be dropped, the sooner komps back the better, he is crap.
Lescott - 7-our best defender, nothing great, done his job.
Bridge - 7-behind Lesscot, our other decent defender, played well, passed well.
SWP - 7-At least he looked up for it.
De Jong - 7-If it wasn't for De Jong in our midfield, we would be no way near 5th in the league.
Barry - 5-stop start, left right, never forward, needs a rest, not good enough.
Petrov - 6-one lazy mother fucker, expects the ball to come to him, very good on the ball, but whimped out in the second half, half hearted.
Ireland - 4-citys worst player, has been virtually all season, should be dropped from the squad totally imo.
Ade - 7-when on the ball, he's very good, doesn't work at all when not in possession, lazy.
Subs
Roque -5-one run, couple of touches.
Hardly an 18 million pound player, what a joke.
I said from the start he is hardly a top striker.
Once in his whole career has he scored double figures, and the was with Blackburn.
Viera-7-we defiantly improved when he come on for superwoman.

Overall team performance 5/10
Simply effortless.
The sooner wages in football are restricted and by alot, the better football will get.
These players are on millions a season.
No wonder half of them don't give a shit.
Pathetic.

[Mr Miyagi]

Mostly I agree with Wooders scores.
SWP, Bridge had a good game. I thought Barry also played better than some people give credit for. Barry was far better than De Jong who still seems ineffectual for me. The man in front of the back four must boss the midfield but the game passes him by IMO.
Toure was dodgy a few times.
And I agree that Zabba played the worst game I've ever seen him play for us.

[joey]

I'm sorry i just don't see what the fuck Barry contributed. Whenever he was on the ball he took much too long on it - too long for anyone to make a run and i feel much more comfortable with De Jong defensively. Think Vieira should have started instead of Barry and should do in future and Barry should have come off today because with superman there is at least a chance he'll pull something out of the bag and i thought Ireland was decent today, whereas i doubt Barry would even get in my Sunday team who lost 12-0 last week.

[Mr Miyagi]

I'm sorry i just don't see what the fuck Barry contributed. Whenever he was on the ball he took much too long on it - too long for anyone to make a run and i feel much more comfortable with De Jong defensively. Think Vieira should have started instead of Barry and should do in future and Barry should have come off today because with superman there is at least a chance he'll pull something out of the bag and i thought Ireland was decent today, whereas i doubt Barry would even get in my Sunday team who lost 12-0 last week.

Our only significant attempt on goal, besides the goal itself, was the header from Barry in the second half.

[Colin the King]

Given 6- Not thoroughly tested and can't really be held accountable for their goal. He's started to make me nervous recently though with these 'clever' chipped clearances. I just get the feeling it'll backfire on him one day.

Zabaleta 4- One of his poorest appearances for City. Actually, he sums us up as a team- fantastic one week, shocking the next. Such an unpredictable player. Today he was meandering all over the place, gave the ball away cheaply so often, was outmuscled and outpaced by Fuller and Tuncay more often than not, and just looked really uncomfortable. Even his delivery going forward which is usually a strong point of his was dire. Just a night to forget for Zabs.

Touré 5- At times he looks too calm and I got that impression a lot today. When receiving the ball at pace, he seemed to always underestimate it and ended up losing control of the ball and having to scramble it clear. Torres or Anelka would've had a field day with that kind of uncertainty. His forays forward offered nothing only for us to concede possession. Having said that, from a purely defensive point of view he played quite well, insofar as when defenders were running at him and balls (with one notable exception) were whipped in he looked strong and assured.

Lescott 7- Disciplined positionally (or so it looked playing next to Johnny Walkabout) and looked commanding in the air. Not great in possession but that's never been his strength. He didn't allow Fuller or Sidibe to outmuscle him though which was crucial. Stood his ground very well against both of them. As things stand, I'd like to see him and Kompany together in defence- a 'brain and brawn' partnership if ever there was one.

Bridge 8- Fantastic both defensively and in supporting the attack. Actually, he and Shaun looked our only threats going forward. Maybe he was conscious of Capello sitting in the stands, but if he can keep up that level of performance throughout the season we're in for a treat. He blocked shots well, positional sense was excellent and the forays forward speak for themselves- he was like Ronaldinho at times. Pity the others weren't bothered making the most of it. Man of the Match.

SWP 8- A close second to Bridge for MOTM. He terrorised Wilkinson in the first half so much so that Pulis had him switched across to the right. Looked full of energy and an enthusiasm that was so lacking in the rest of them. Even his crossing was superb for a change. One criticism is that he seemed hesitant to shoot around the box- if anyone can hit a ball, Shauny can so it would have been nice to see him try.

de Jong 6- Did the simple things well in terms of retaining possession, covering spaces and so on. It's not his fault that he's not an influential, forward thinking midfielder and really I'd have to question him being deployed in any of our last three home games- it seems a really negative approach. He's at his most effective when bombarded by attacking sides- see the Chelsea home game. When the onus is on City to attack and score goals, how necessary is he?

Barry 6- Decent but not outstanding. He seemed to spray the ball around the pitch with a little more confidence than in recent weeks but there's no cutting edge to his play at all. Makes very occasional surges forward that lead nowhere. Personally in games like these I'd much prefer to see Barry cushioned in front of the back four, mopping things up and keeping us ticking over- water carrying. When you're one apiece at home against Stoke and he's the attack minded of your three midfielders...well.

Petrov 6- I thought Petrov posed a decent enough threat until he was taken off. Seemed more fired up than usual and looked quick with the ball at his feet. Delivered some exquisite balls into the box that we didn't take advantage of and then when the heading specialist Santa Cruz came on, it was he who made way. If he's injured, my mistake but if it was a tactical change that's a bit baffling.

Ireland- I've just read that he was injured today- didn't catch onto that at the game but if so it explains an awful lot.

Adebayor 5- Not much better than Ireland where hunger is concerned although he did at least run after lost causes for a while. His first touch was unusually poor tonight and Stoke's defenders didn't give him much room to maneuver. In fairness to him he looked isolated. Ireland didn't stay close enough really and the wingers were involved at both ends so he spent a lot of time on his own until Santa Cruz came on.

Santa Cruz 6- Some impressive touches and showed a desire that few others were but it came to nothing. If Petrov had been on the pitch with him whipping crosses in, it might have been a different story.

Vieira 6- Didn't look as sluggish as on Tuesday and actually forayed forward with some degree of purpose. Was so reluctant to shoot though- what was there to lose Patrick?

[irblinx]

I would say if we asked the players what they were told to do today by the manager then it would be easier to rate them as I believe they have been shackled, not sure why and are making a fist of playing Italian style football....badly. The only person that needs a rating today is the manager our scarf wearing master tactician.....0.5 (for the scarf) out of ten.

ps It should be player/manager ratings, Id give Tony Pulis an 8

Hilarious, Mancini 0.5 on the strength of you guessing what the problem is and Pulis an 8 on the strength that his team of cloggers managed to get a goal using their one god awful anti football tactic. Not bad especially when you consider that Delap was only on the pitch due to the injury of one of their starters

[Niall Quinns Discopants]

Given 6- Not thoroughly tested and can't really be held accountable for their goal. He's started to make me nervous recently though with these 'clever' chipped clearances. I just get the feeling it'll backfire on him one day.

Zabaleta 4- One of his poorest appearances for City. Actually, he sums us up as a team- fantastic one week, shocking the next. Such an unpredictable player. Today he was meandering all over the place, gave the ball away cheaply so often, was outmuscled and outpaced by Fuller and Tuncay more often than not, and just looked really uncomfortable. Even his delivery going forward which is usually a strong point of his was dire. Just a night to forget for Zabs.

Touré 5- At times he looks too calm and I got that impression a lot today. When receiving the ball at pace, he seemed to always underestimate it and ended up losing control of the ball and having to scramble it clear. Torres or Anelka would've had a field day with that kind of uncertainty. His forays forward offered nothing only for us to concede possession. Having said that, from a purely defensive point of view he played quite well, insofar as when defenders were running at him and balls (with one notable exception) were whipped in he looked strong and assured.

Lescott 7- Disciplined positionally (or so it looked playing next to Johnny Walkabout) and looked commanding in the air. Not great in possession but that's never been his strength. He didn't allow Fuller or Sidibe to outmuscle him though which was crucial. Stood his ground very well against both of them. As things stand, I'd like to see him and Kompany together in defence- a 'brain and brawn' partnership if ever there was one.

Bridge 8- Fantastic both defensively and in supporting the attack. Actually, he and Shaun looked our only threats going forward. Maybe he was conscious of Capello sitting in the stands, but if he can keep up that level of performance throughout the season we're in for a treat. He blocked shots well, positional sense was excellent and the forays forward speak for themselves- he was like Ronaldinho at times. Pity the others weren't bothered making the most of it. Man of the Match.

SWP 8- A close second to Bridge for MOTM. He terrorised Wilkinson in the first half so much so that Pulis had him switched across to the right. Looked full of energy and an enthusiasm that was so lacking in the rest of them. Even his crossing was superb for a change. One criticism is that he seemed hesitant to shoot around the box- if anyone can hit a ball, Shauny can so it would have been nice to see him try.

de Jong 6- Did the simple things well in terms of retaining possession, covering spaces and so on. It's not his fault that he's not an influential, forward thinking midfielder and really I'd have to question him being deployed in any of our last three home games- it seems a really negative approach. He's at his most effective when bombarded by attacking sides- see the Chelsea home game. When the onus is on City to attack and score goals, how necessary is he?

Barry 6- Decent but not outstanding. He seemed to spray the ball around the pitch with a little more confidence than in recent weeks but there's no cutting edge to his play at all. Makes very occasional surges forward that lead nowhere. Personally in games like these I'd much prefer to see Barry cushioned in front of the back four, mopping things up and keeping us ticking over- water carrying. When you're one apiece at home against Stoke and he's the attack minded of your three midfielders...well.

Petrov 6- I thought Petrov posed a decent enough threat until he was taken off. Seemed more fired up than usual and looked quick with the ball at his feet. Delivered some exquisite balls into the box that we didn't take advantage of and then when the heading specialist Santa Cruz came on, it was he who made way. If he's injured, my mistake but if it was a tactical change that's a bit baffling.

Ireland- I've just read that he was injured today- didn't catch onto that at the game but if so it explains an awful lot.

Adebayor 5- Not much better than Ireland where hunger is concerned although he did at least run after lost causes for a while. His first touch was unusually poor tonight and Stoke's defenders didn't give him much room to maneuver. In fairness to him he looked isolated. Ireland didn't stay close enough really and the wingers were involved at both ends so he spent a lot of time on his own until Santa Cruz came on.

Santa Cruz 6- Some impressive touches and showed a desire that few others were but it came to nothing. If Petrov had been on the pitch with him whipping crosses in, it might have been a different story.

Vieira 6- Didn't look as sluggish as on Tuesday and actually forayed forward with some degree of purpose. Was so reluctant to shoot though- what was there to lose Patrick?

we were watching the same game without a question.

[ant london]

we were watching the same game without a question.

I should hope we all were mate? ;-)

But I agree with the sentiment. I rarely bother putting ratings up anymore....usually has a few silly posters posting a couple of ok overall ratings but with some daft marks for players they don't like which almost prompt me to post mine then Eoin does the job better than anyone.

I thought Santa looked pretty good yesterday, he does have lovely control...I didn't actually realise that side of his game was so good. If only we could get him a pair of transplant legs

[Dubaimancityfan]

Apart from Bridge and SWP, I wouldn't give anyone more than 6.

I would agree with that except for Lescott .I don't recall him doing anything wrong.

I agree he had a good game but can't help thinking that he (and also Toure) could have done something to prevent goal. Our best header of the ball should have been close enough to Fuller to at least put him off. As it turned out it was Ireland and Zabba marking Fuller and they both failed to stop him.
Of course we can also add Given to the list of offenders. Could have come off his line and punched the ball. I think he could have but we now know for sure that's not his style and this will cost us goals !!

[Niall Quinns Discopants]

we were watching the same game without a question.

I should hope we all were mate? ;-)

But I agree with the sentiment. I rarely bother putting ratings up anymore....usually has a few silly posters posting a couple of ok overall ratings but with some daft marks for players they don't like which almost prompt me to post mine then Eoin does the job better than anyone.

I thought Santa looked pretty good yesterday, he does have lovely control...I didn't actually realise that side of his game was so good. If only we could get him a pair of transplant legs

Some of the stuff I've read here in past two months has seriously got me worried about my mental health. Whether I was hallusinating and seeing City win games in some parallel universe whereas many other people were seeing us getting stuffed in real life.

[AFKAE]

Given 6- Not thoroughly tested and can't really be held accountable for their goal. He's started to make me nervous recently though with these 'clever' chipped clearances. I just get the feeling it'll backfire on him one day.

I really wish he would stop kicking it out full stop. It continually results in giving possession to the opposition. 20 seconds later the balls coming back at you as the opposition attack.

Toure, I don't think he won a single one of his 50/50 aerial challenges. Everyone beats him so easily in the air.

[Douglas Higginbottom]

Given 6- Not thoroughly tested and can't really be held accountable for their goal. He's started to make me nervous recently though with these 'clever' chipped clearances. I just get the feeling it'll backfire on him one day.

I really wish he would stop kicking it out full stop. It continually results in giving possession to the opposition. 20 seconds later the balls coming back at you as the opposition attack.

Toure, I don't think he won a single one of his 50/50 aerial challenges. Everyone beats him so easily in the air.

I do agree Toure had a mare but have you seen that guy Sidibe!. He is about 8 foot tall and why Toure was the guy competing with him in the air most of the time confused me. I would have expected the boss to switch Lescott and Toure for that one.At the throw in they scored from Lescott took Sidibe but not in open play!