*****Official****** Dortmund game

[Goaters 103]

Friendlies? Monkey tennis

[DoomMerchant]

I am not looking forward to playing Spurs to be honest....

i fucking am.

cheers

[Douglas Higginbottom]

Ted made the comment a page or so back that it was performances like that we saw last year.Not really under pressure or often a threat of goals against us but we concede 3 and it should have been 4. I wouldnt agree with those who say it was shambolic team defending etc etc but it was all about individual mistakes. You can have the best organised defence in the world but if a defender at a key moment cocks up it can easily lead to a goal.

The penalty Barry gave away was shocking. Barry was at fault I thought for number 2 with a very weak attempt at a tackle ( I wonder if Joe would have saved it )and god knows what Toure was doing for the 3rd. Individual mistakes rather than bad organisation. I don't see how it would be different with Mancini actually there or are we saying defenders don't make mistakes when he is around.

Kolarov did look very good going forward and his free kicks and crosses must provide goals but beyond that it wasn't great.But I thought it was better than we have seen so far. A little worrying that Adam Johnson was so anonymous , Ade poor. Jo scored but didn't contribute much else , SWP had some good moments but was ...SWP as we know him. Zaba I thought had a mare.

[kinkylola]

I agree with dougie, zab had a bad game ... he looked like he was fucking angry and he played that way, no skill at all and filled aggression.

There were a couple of times last night were we had some really neat passing sequences and it led to us taking up some dangerous positions in the box, but there was this odd silva shaped whole in the attacking middle every time we seemed to go forward, especially in the second half. I would have thought Ireland would take up some of this space, he used to make such intelligent runs into space and he just isn't doing that anymore, and I think that is the major difference in his play.

I thought Kompany looked alright, he had some nice dribbles going forward ... unfortunately our entire team seemed to switch off defensively at the most inopportune times, and he seemed to suffer from this as well.

Lescott for me did not look 10 days away from being ready for the start of the season ... give him another month. Like someone said before, very stiff.

Kolo was alright, again there are concentration issues, and it doesn't help that he is playing next to a mannequin.

Kolorav was impressive, I think he will be a great LB in the future, and he can also fill in at left midfield ... great technique when striking the ball, which is the biggest advantage of bringing in players from spain and italy I think. their technique looks so much better than the normal english technique ... my opinion obviously.

Jo has looked above average in every game he's played for us ... but it becomes obvious that a lot of that is because he links up so well with adebayor. When ade isn't there, and he has to work with someone like RSC ... he's back to old Jo. RSC ... jesus he just looks bad. He's obviously trying hard to play this poorly and probably because he wants to play for sparky in a team of wingers again. I'd take 6m to be honest.

Ade looked good to me, but his spurts of activity aren't coming often enough, I hope that's something that works itself out in the coming weeks ... we will definitely improve with the workrate of tevez added in.

Johnson was mostly annonymous ... it probably felt weird for him playing on his preferred side! but I think it's more a case of if he doesn't do something outstanding then he gets some stick. he did look dangerous with the ball at times and I think a little more match sharpness will bring some more consistency.

SWP was ... SWP. looked dangerous and frustrating in equal measure. He didn't look all that concerned about taking players on and there was one move from our team that totally broke down because he just farted out ... yaya had made a bustling run to be in a good position and swp just ignored him and gave the ball away. get used to it yaya.

Have I missed anyone? Nothing remarkable to say about given or hart..

Oh Barry ... slow as shit ... you can tell when he's sprinting only by the speed at which he pumps his arms and how bothered he looked with the effort. The thing is, he must know he's slow, he has no business going in like that for a tackle in the box. He cannot have actually thought he would get to it. baffling.

Micah ... for me he looked very good in the early stages. He is starting to make those marauding runs down the flank and I really like that aspect of his game. He even got back fairly well and showed some good speed to close down some defenders. He needs to work on his concentration and position a bit. But I think he is finally making it back from that slump he got into with us. Very happy about that, hope he continues improving

I can't be assed to look if i've missed any of the subs ... none stood out that much so they couldn't have been great.

[cityPinoy_fc]

Missed the game last night how was the game and kolarov's performance?

[Niall Quinns Discopants]

Didn't see the game last night but I read few posts and it's safe to say I'm happy I didn't see it. I'd just end up repeating what I said before.

[craigmcfc]

I am not looking forward to playing Spurs to be honest....

To be fair I don't think you'll make the first XI

[mcfc1632]

Thought Kolarov's delivery and burst of pace were first class all night, he didn't deliver one poor set piece. Ireland sprayed some nice passes around when he came on and Shaun looked menacing at times in the first half. Bellamy did too when he came on, and Jo showed determination that he never did first time round.

Otherwise, we were a bit of a shambles. Richards and Zabaleta after him were lackadaisical in key positions, neither Kolo nor Yaya looked particularly strong, Yaya's pass to set out SWP off for our goal was top class but otherwise no contribution of note, Kompany got the run-around a good few times. Barry was totally anonymous most of the time, and when he did get a foot on the ball, seemed determined to make as complicated a pass as possible when there were three or four easier options. Can't remember Santa Cruz doing anything, literally.

Wouldn't be getting too wound up just yet, but defensively there's cause for concern. The only thing is, we played brilliant football in short bursts of 5 minutes at a time here and there, I'm hoping that's a glimpse of what's to come and that with more application and focus they'll play in that manner all the way through games.

Hopefully we'll get as close to a strongest XI as possible on Saturday, can't wait to see Silva in particular. But just like it'd be crazy to think we're heading for a title charge after winning 3-1, it's crazy to think it's the end of the world because we lost. Poor performance, yes, but we'll know on the 14th of August whether they're real concerns or not.

I'm absolutely buzzing about Kolarov. I can't remember the last time we had a player who can deliver the ball like that. If he keeps that up, the players will get used to where he's going to put it it & we'll score loads of goals from it. It could give us 10 more points at least. To me he looked better out wide than Johnson too, which is a worry for Johnson. Ade looks a waste of space so far to me; offside & wasteful in posession but by far the biggest problem is the defence. They got Hughes sacked by playing EXACTLY like they're doing now; seem to be having no problems at all then just fall apart. Lescott looks finished. Unless they suss it very fast, we'll have to put up a DeJong inspired barrier in front of them v Spurs. You wouldn't believe those blokes did all that defensive shape training. Hopeless.

My sentiments exactly re Kolarov - for me him, Ya Ya and Tevez are top top players - if Boateng and Silva can be also at that level that is half the team and then we also have a good pool of 'very good' players to make up the team

[Douglas Higginbottom]

Lescott seems a worry.I agree he doesnt look the player we saw just before the injury but last night I am not sure him do anything wrong at all apart from not looking quite right. Seems though we have found a player for the fans to get their teeth into.

[lets all have a disco]

Lescott seems a worry.I agree he doesnt look the player we saw just before the injury but last night I am not sure him do anything wrong at all apart from not looking quite right. Seems though we have found a player for the fans to get their teeth into.

It was SWP last year and he seems to be getting good reviews,you gots to have your boo boy.

[Wooders]

Something felt very strange about seeing our expensively assembled squad of top talent on the pitch and then the camera pans to Kidd and Plaat sat their looking like they genuinely didn't have a clue

[lets all have a disco]

Something felt very strange about seeing our expensively assembled squad of top talent on the pitch and then the camera pans to Kidd and Fat Pratt sat their looking like they genuinely didn't have a clue

Sat there looking like they didnt have a clue?

That's because they dont.

[Ted Hughes]

Lescott seems a worry.I agree he doesnt look the player we saw just before the injury but last night I am not sure him do anything wrong at all apart from not looking quite right. Seems though we have found a player for the fans to get their teeth into.

It was SWP last year and he seems to be getting good reviews,you gots to have your boo boy.

I recon he'll be yours as well if Mancini lets him anywhere near the 1st team in his current condition tbh.

[Wooders]

Something felt very strange about seeing our expensively assembled squad of top talent on the pitch and then the camera pans to Kidd and Fat Pratt sat their looking like they genuinely didn't have a clue

Sat there looking like they didnt have a clue?

That's because they dont.

oh I release that - I was pointing out the disparity between having world class players on the pitch - and donkeys for management staff

[Mase]

Thought Micah looked good again last night. Maybe Boateng coming in has given him the kick up the arse that he needed? Or maybe being handed the captains armband the other week has given him a bit of confidence? Who knows?

Thought Kolo was gash as usual and the sooner he's out of the club I love the better. I haven't hated a player like him since I first started supporting City.

Hart looked a bit more commanding, shouting to his team mates more than usual.

Jo, who I think is utter gash, actually showed some neat touches. And he's still scoring which is a bit weird.

[brite blu sky]

the WC has hit us where it hurts i think so we are off the pace in the key area of DM.
When it comes to Spurs im sure that players will be giving it everything.. all their reserves, but it is match sharpness that is going to be the missing element. DeJong would have made a difference in these pre-season games, but he has only returned this week so he is going to take a few weeks to return to full sharpness. Kolo, Barry, Yaya, Kolarov should be able to just about get up to speed. But then a first choice 11 if there is one will have had little time to play together. Got a feeling it is going to be a bit messy.

we should i imagine start against Valencia with what should be close to our best on paper. But fitness and teamwork is going to be way off the mark. If Mancini can put the best out for at least 45mins v Valencia, then we at least have some game time together and Bobby might be able to make some decisions for Spurs.
But then a load of players are all going to go off for internationals till Friday ffs so whatever the weather Mancini is going to have to wing it against Spurs and hope for the best. We are going to need good performances from the likes of Micah, Kompany, Zabba, AJ and Ade. The good thing is the quality of Yaya will help and Kolarov looks like even if he is not up to speed he will still be pretty useful.

cant help but get the feeling that the spurs opener is going to be like sticking your head in a pitch black box and have to fumble around for the button that de-activates the 4 shotguns that are pointed at your head.

[john@staustell]

Looked very like a pre-season friendly to me. People strolling around, passing like a training session etc. Defenders not wanting to challenge and hurt anybody.

Bring on the real stuff!

[Fidel Castro]

We were shite and it's starting to worry me now. Had a good night out in Dortmund though and atmosphere in the Irish pub before the game was top