Club America vs CITY

[Ted Hughes]

Not taken long for the world at large to realise that Yaya Toure IS NOT JUST A DEFENSIVE MIDFIELDER has it? 45 mins with barely any time spent defending seems to have cracked it.


Some right tripe been spoken about him on here. He's a quality footballer who can help our attacking game enormously OR sit back if we want him to. Gives us a lot of scope for variation although we don't have much time to sort it out.

Incidentally whether intended or not, I recon that one of the formations was more of a 4-1-4-1 with Vinny in the holding role. That's how it looked to me anyhow. Imo that formation needs someone better suited than Adebayor up front. Tevez would be better actually, even though he's not a target man.

[avoidconfusion]

WTF happened to Jo? He actually looks decent...

[johnny crossan]

short clips from SSN

[BobKowalski]

Not taken long for the world at large to realise that Yaya Toure IS NOT JUST A DEFENSIVE MIDFIELDER has it? 45 mins with barely any time spent defending seems to have cracked it.

Some right tripe been spoken about him on here. He's a quality footballer who can help our attacking game enormously OR sit back if we want him to. Gives us a lot of scope for variation although we don't have much time to sort it out.

Spot on. Again its back to this versatility we seem to be looking for. Yaya can do the DM job but there is far more to his game than just this and people need to realise what we are doing with our recent acquisitions/targets.

[Ted Hughes]

WTF happened to Jo? He actually looks decent...

If Mancini's being honest about players showing him they're worth a place in the 25, Jo is so far making a better stab at it than many others & deserves at least the chance to get a run out alongside the strongest players when they're available. We don't lose anything by giving him that. He often played a deeper role in Russia rather than right up front & Mancini tried it last night with some success.

[IanBishopsHaircut]

Couldn't watch tonight due to it being late and me in work the next day...was Yaya quality then?

[Blue Blood]

Couldn't watch tonight due to it being late and me in work the next day...was Yaya quality then?

Mate, he was like a big black xavi, i was massively impressed by him.

Really not what you'd expect from a 6ft 2" unit of a guy, he has a football brain and a range of passing i don't think i've seen from a midfielder at city.. um.. ever.

Absolute fan favourite in the making. And absolutely not a Nigel De Jong esk DM, he is the midfield general we have lacked for years!

[Ted Hughes]

Couldn't watch tonight due to it being late and me in work the next day...was Yaya quality then?

Spraying the ball around with a calmness & Intelligence typical of a Barca midfield player. Not up to full fitness yet but showed one little glimpse of the kind of forward attacking runs he used to make in his pre Barca days.

[brite blu sky]

it would be crazy to read too much into this game as the previous ones. America gave us a lot of time on the ball imo, but that said it made a big difference to have a player like Yaya who basically is comfortable on the ball and gains time for the whole team. That in itself conveys to the others and the whole team has that half yard to make better decisions and passes. The test will come in the prem when the game plan of oppos will just be to break up City play and close down space. On that 1st half showing though at least it looks like we are going in the right direction. I'd like to see Yaya, Ireland and Silva have a crack together as on paper they should be the best passers and one touch players we have.

[avoidconfusion]

WTF happened to Jo? He actually looks decent...

If Mancini's being honest about players showing him they're worth a place in the 25, Jo is so far making a better stab at it than many others & deserves at least the chance to get a run out alongside the strongest players when they're available. We don't lose anything by giving him that. He often played a deeper role in Russia rather than right up front & Mancini tried it last night with some success.

Would be funny if Ireland doesn't make it into the 25 men squad but Jo does... converted to an Attacking Midfielder perhaps? :)

[brite blu sky]

BlueBlood your on the OS fans comments... well done

[Ted Hughes]

BlueBlood your on the OS fans comments... well done

I thought we'd been excommunicated from there.

[Blue Blood]

BlueBlood your on the OS fans comments... well done

Way hey been up on there a couple of times now :D :D

Cheers for putting me up on there city big wigs, nice to see you guys are read our little old forum :D and cheers brite for letting me know :D

[brite blu sky]

BlueBlood your on the OS fans comments... well done

I thought we'd been excommunicated from there.

i think nqdp went personally to say he didnt mean all the things he had said on here..

they must've believed him!

[Florida Blue]

WTF happened to Jo? He actually looks decent...

If Mancini's being honest about players showing him they're worth a place in the 25, Jo is so far making a better stab at it than many others & deserves at least the chance to get a run out alongside the strongest players when they're available. We don't lose anything by giving him that. He often played a deeper role in Russia rather than right up front & Mancini tried it last night with some success.

Fair play. I think Mancini likes him a lot. Ted, my original comment about him and scoring a big goal and catching fire was based on the confidence with which he took the penalty shot in the shootout. Also, to be fair to him, I think on the ball that Ochoa saved with his leg, it was more a result of the defender bothering Jo than the fact it was a pure sitter. I am not convinced the defender did not get the ball or at least a bit of Jo to cause the miss. The chance he whiffed on late was a very improbable pass, especially considering it came from Cunningham. Greg made a tremendous pass to cut it back, I would say it surprised everyone but him, and it looked on replay like the ball jumped up a bit. Lastly his give and gos with Ade let to both a crossbar being hit, and a corner. I think you are right, he is impressive coming up from the deeper role. For sure will be useful in Cup matches.

And for sure I would rather have him over RSC.

[Florida Blue]

What was Vuoso like?????

Ant, he seemed a bit invisible at times, but his touch was very solid and he clearly demands attention at all times. That said though Sanchez and Marquez were much more threatening going forward.

[bleedBlue]

bleedBlue - completely agree with your assessment of Weiss. Because he's got 'academy' stamped on him many have the blinkered view that he's the saviour of the club, like Stephen Eliot, Ched Evans, Stephen Jordan, Tyrone Mears, Dickson Etuhu and many others before him.

Nearly 21 but apparently 'will develop' if given 83 loan moves.

Maybe when he's 40 or so?

Sure thing John - i really like the kid, but its time for him to grow up and stop behaving like a BRAT.
He needs to focus on developing a complete game rather than that dribbling thing he does. If he can only gain some strength and learn to bend it like Beckham(crosses), we'll have ourselves a fine player. but for now LOAN him ,Loan Him ,Loan him out...

[Grob]

What was Vuoso like?????

Workmanlike, did nothing out of the ordinary. Great tattoo on his arm. They had a fella upfront called Montenegro who I thought was excellent.

[Grob]

Not taken long for the world at large to realise that Yaya Toure IS NOT JUST A DEFENSIVE MIDFIELDER has it? 45 mins with barely any time spent defending seems to have cracked it.


Some right tripe been spoken about him on here. He's a quality footballer who can help our attacking game enormously OR sit back if we want him to. Gives us a lot of scope for variation although we don't have much time to sort it out.

Incidentally whether intended or not, I recon that one of the formations was more of a 4-1-4-1 with Vinny in the holding role. That's how it looked to me anyhow. Imo that formation needs someone better suited than Adebayor up front. Tevez would be better actually, even though he's not a target man.

I dont like Vince in the holding role full time. He has a good touch and ability on the ball for a central defender but only average for a central midfielder. When he doesnt have time in there, he loses control of what he's doing. Vince should be our first choice central defender. De Jong may struggle to pass forwards but his touch and mobility are much better so he does a good job.

As I said earlier in the thread, i expect that to be our formation for perceived difficult away matches. I hope so anyway. Adebayor will apply himself much more when the competition begins im sure.

Yaya did ok for a defensive midfielder;)

[bleedBlue]

Good stuff Bleedblue.

Chuffed you got your first game under your belt ;0)

Yes sir.... and i enjoyed every minute of it..

It was great seeing the boys train on Tuesday.

One thing that keeps BOTHERING me is Vieira...What are we doing with this guy?
He's an old man, he has bad knees; when he is playing, i noticed that he takes 2 to 3 steps to balance his legs to make a simple pass.
He limped around throughout. He clearly should not be playing anymore.

I say get rid of him and and split his weekly wages among SWP, Bellamy, and our soon to be new boy Balotelli(keep everone happy). hahah

[Grob]

WTF happened to Jo? He actually looks decent...

Up untill the air shot he was doing alright. Looked better having a little bit of space to work in but then again dont they all. He wont get that sort of time in the Prem.

Great Peno too.

[brite blu sky]

Good stuff Bleedblue.

Chuffed you got your first game under your belt ;0)

Yes sir.... and i enjoyed every minute of it..

It was great seeing the boys train on Tuesday.

One thing that keeps BOTHERING me is Vieira...What are we doing with this guy?
He's an old man, he has bad knees; when he is playing, i noticed that he takes 2 to 3 steps to balance his legs to make a simple pass.
He limped around throughout. He clearly should not be playing anymore.

I say get rid of him and and split his weekly wages among SWP, Bellamy, and our soon to be new boy Balotelli(keep everone happy). hahah

congrats on your first game..

i am also getting very worried that Vieira is going to be included at the expense of someone else. If it wasn't for the 25 man thing i wouldn't be bothered, but now it means that someone who could actually be of use missing out and possibly leaving the club.. that is just not right imo.

[BobKowalski]

Good stuff Bleedblue.

Chuffed you got your first game under your belt ;0)

Yes sir.... and i enjoyed every minute of it..

It was great seeing the boys train on Tuesday.

One thing that keeps BOTHERING me is Vieira...What are we doing with this guy?
He's an old man, he has bad knees; when he is playing, i noticed that he takes 2 to 3 steps to balance his legs to make a simple pass.
He limped around throughout. He clearly should not be playing anymore.

I say get rid of him and and split his weekly wages among SWP, Bellamy, and our soon to be new boy Balotelli(keep everone happy). hahah

congrats on your first game..

i am also getting very worried that Vieira is going to be included at the expense of someone else. If it wasn't for the 25 man thing i wouldn't be bothered, but now it means that someone who could actually be of use missing out and possibly leaving the club.. that is just not right imo.

Assuming he makes the 25

[brite blu sky]

Good stuff Bleedblue.

Chuffed you got your first game under your belt ;0)

Yes sir.... and i enjoyed every minute of it..

It was great seeing the boys train on Tuesday.

One thing that keeps BOTHERING me is Vieira...What are we doing with this guy?
He's an old man, he has bad knees; when he is playing, i noticed that he takes 2 to 3 steps to balance his legs to make a simple pass.
He limped around throughout. He clearly should not be playing anymore.

I say get rid of him and and split his weekly wages among SWP, Bellamy, and our soon to be new boy Balotelli(keep everone happy). hahah

congrats on your first game..

i am also getting very worried that Vieira is going to be included at the expense of someone else. If it wasn't for the 25 man thing i wouldn't be bothered, but now it means that someone who could actually be of use missing out and possibly leaving the club.. that is just not right imo.

Assuming he makes the 25

well exactly.. i am trying to tell myself that Mancini is not going to be that daft and he wont make the Prem 25 at least.

[Ted Hughes]

Not taken long for the world at large to realise that Yaya Toure IS NOT JUST A DEFENSIVE MIDFIELDER has it? 45 mins with barely any time spent defending seems to have cracked it.


Some right tripe been spoken about him on here. He's a quality footballer who can help our attacking game enormously OR sit back if we want him to. Gives us a lot of scope for variation although we don't have much time to sort it out.

Incidentally whether intended or not, I recon that one of the formations was more of a 4-1-4-1 with Vinny in the holding role. That's how it looked to me anyhow. Imo that formation needs someone better suited than Adebayor up front. Tevez would be better actually, even though he's not a target man.

I dont like Vince in the holding role full time. He has a good touch and ability on the ball for a central defender but only average for a central midfielder. When he doesnt have time in there, he loses control of what he's doing. Vince should be our first choice central defender. De Jong may struggle to pass forwards but his touch and mobility are much better so he does a good job.

As I said earlier in the thread, i expect that to be our formation for perceived difficult away matches. I hope so anyway. Adebayor will apply himself much more when the competition begins im sure.

Yaya did ok for a defensive midfielder;)

You're probably right about DeJong & that Ade would perform much better in a real game but if we are using that formation in some tough away games then it means either Tevez plays in place of Ade or as a midfielder or is left out. Not sure about leaving out Tevez in tough games so I'm not sure where he'd go in that formation in midfield, be better to change it to accomodate him imo. Milner would fit into that perfectly however.