Dzeko

[Ted Hughes]

He could cost us the league all on his own. It wouldn't matter so much that Aguero and Balotelli drift in and out of games if we had a big up-and-at-'em striker in the Shearer mold, who could brush aside all the self indulgent mincing about and just get on with banging in a few goals when needed. It's meat and potatoes stuff.

Instead, we have Dzeko who joins in with the general aimlessness, and contributes nothing in the process. If ever a striker's goalscoring record this season was misleading, it's Dzeko's.

So, it's his fault he's being shoehorned into a role he quite obviously can't fill? Why don't people expect Balotelli to be the lump upfront? He's just as tall.

Balotelli doesn't do a targetman job either but the difference in the way he brought down the hump upfield v Spurs & headed into the box for the pen was obvious when compared to Dzeko. Either Edin starts to play a more solid game or we replace him with someone who can do it next season imo. He's too airy fairy at the moment. He wasn't alone in shiteness tonight & no worse than the others but he should have been outstanding against two shortarse non entity CB's. It was ideal for him to dominate & demand the ball. He did neither. Tonight should have been his night. We needed him.

[Grob]

To sum him up, he's basically a more mobile Corradi.

Corradi, whilst hopeless, at least tried his best.

Dzeko has produced some of the most half hearted displays Ive seen from a City player this season since Samaras and if I had my way he would have been sold this winter and replaced by someone who fits our style of play and who has some bottle.

Dzeko is an embarrasment.

[phips]

Get rid of all the Eastern euros in our squad

[guv111]

Darren Bent would be perfect in Dzeko's role, but I doubt anyone at City is interested.

[getdressedmctavish]

Agree with Ted and Grob, a feckin wimp. But more worrying for me is that Aguero is bringing so little to the party at the moment. He hasn't struck the ball cleanly for weeks. And tonight, David Silva barely made a decent pass.Personally when we are out of form I believe we should go 4 5 1 and try and penetrate from the back with late runs, because our front two are giving us nothing at the moment.

[Ted Hughes]

Agree with Ted and Grob, a feckin wimp. But more worrying for me is that Aguero is bringing so little to the party at the moment. He hasn't struck the ball cleanly for weeks. And tonight, David Silva barely made a decent pass.Personally when we are out of form I believe we should go 4 5 1 and try and penetrate from the back with late runs, because our front two are giving us nothing at the moment.

I totally agree. We should dominate the midfield & pass these fuckers to death if the front two aren't working.

[kinkylola]

think the problem with dzeko, which i mentioned in the match thread, is that too often, he is just on the same channel as the rest of our team. He doesn't play well with any of our other strikers, and doesn't move the way that dave and nasri need him to when they need him to do it. Aguero and Balotelli are both much better in this regard. As for holding the ball up and bringing other players into play, guidetti seems to do that well, then he busts his ass to get back up top and make a commotion.

Sometimes it seems to me that dzeko doesn't try hard enough to occupy a defender. I didn't see him given a defender trouble once last night, when IMO, we should have been hassling them all game.

In the future, if we are going to rotate aguero (not recommended unless he is injured or overly tired) I would play dzeko up top, with dave directly behind him, nasri on the right and AJ on the left ... then we might see him able to play the game he likes to play. This is also assuming that balo is handed the lifetime ban that the FA would like to impose.

[Tokyo Blue]

He could cost us the league all on his own. It wouldn't matter so much that Aguero and Balotelli drift in and out of games if we had a big up-and-at-'em striker in the Shearer mold, who could brush aside all the self indulgent mincing about and just get on with banging in a few goals when needed. It's meat and potatoes stuff.

Instead, we have Dzeko who joins in with the general aimlessness, and contributes nothing in the process. If ever a striker's goalscoring record this season was misleading, it's Dzeko's.

So, it's his fault he's being shoehorned into a role he quite obviously can't fill? Why don't people expect Balotelli to be the lump upfront? He's just as tall.

Balotelli doesn't do a targetman job either but the difference in the way he brought down the hump upfield v Spurs & headed into the box for the pen was obvious when compared to Dzeko. Either Edin starts to play a more solid game or we replace him with someone who can do it next season imo. He's too airy fairy at the moment. He wasn't alone in shiteness tonight & no worse than the others but he should have been outstanding against two shortarse non entity CB's. It was ideal for him to dominate & demand the ball. He did neither. Tonight should have been his night. We needed him.

Really? Heitinga played in the World Cup final.

[john68]

@ Beeks,
I accept the stats mate but I think that they miss the point.
A goal takes seconds to score and in any game, a player only had possession of the ball for just over 2 mins.

That leaves another 88 mins of the game where a player has to contribute to the total of the team and that is where our Edin just hasn't coped. Silva doesn't have as much of the ball as people may believe but his constant moving into spaces, looking for openings, dragging opponents about and creating space for others has a direct influence on the game and adds to our total.

Dzeko's contribution when he hasn't got the ball is poor. Never forget that when a player is having a rough time on the ball or when his confidence is low, he can still do much to assist the team by putting effort in.

He is a huge unit but consistantly gets knocked about by players nowhere near his build. He goes down far too easily and recovers far too slowly. He may come to terms with the Prem at some point and become a hero but he has a lot still to learn and a lot of effort to make yet.

[Dubciteh]

Smiling with Fellaini after the 90th minute.. fuck off kid.

In fairness to Dzeko i dont think it was a happy smile, it was a smile after he had fouled Fellaini and fellaini got wound up, i think the smile was intended to wind him up more, it was more of a "how do you like that you cnut" smile, thats the way i seen it as one of the Everton polayers then tried to calm fellaini down after it, why would he need calming down if its a jolly good laugh smile?

I think Aguero was as poor as Dzeko last night, there was one time he got one on one with the defender in the 1st half and knew he was going nowhere and just blasted the ball against the defender half heartedly in an attempt to shoot, the old Aguero would of jinked,created a bit of space and hit the target.

[s1ty m]

No, but he's not the bloke to lead City up front over the next 5 years. Decent 3rd or 4th option but he doesn't have the personality or the power for the job we ask him to do. a journeyman like Zamora or even Kevin Davies would have beasted both their Cb's tonight & left Aguero with nobody marking him.

nonsense, absolute nonsense

Nonsense? The only bit I disagree with is that he's a 3rd or 4th starter. I don't want him at all on the basis that he is utter shite. It is so plainly obvious, I can't understand anyone not seeing.

[Mase]

Say what you like about Edin

50th game tonight..21 goals..not a bad return

No, but he's not the bloke to lead City up front over the next 5 years. Decent 3rd or 4th option but he doesn't have the personality or the power for the job we ask him to do. a journeyman like Zamora or even Kevin Davies would have beasted both their Cb's tonight & left Aguero with nobody marking him.

You might be right..you might not..you're speculating Ruxpin

Is there ever going to be a post where you don't refer to him as Ruxpin out of interest?

Are we getting Puma next season?

[Mase]

I think Aguero was as poor as Dzeko last night,

At least the Argie twat was chasing balls down. I counted two occasions where he chased down the last Everton defender and blocked a clearance, while Dzeko was sat on his arse while Gibson was putting the ball in the back of our net.

Even when the fella was handcuffed to the post and Bob was chatting to Sergio and Edin, Sergio was animated and talking a lot with Bobby. Edin just looked like he wasn't interested in what was being said and more bothered about whether to have his shirt tucked in ro hanging out.

[Crossie]

Its always nice to find a whipping boy when times go bad, but in this case Dzeko may well be causing our problems, if the players around him lose confidence in his abilities then they stop trusting him, stop expecting the right ball from him, and it fucks up.

Hate to say it, but Adebayor would definitely have helped us get a different result last night.

We need a hard nutcase bully man mountain upfront who wont fall down when he has 2 men on his back.

Dzeko huffs and puffs and his head drops, he doesnt jump, he doesnt command. Needs to be reminded that he is playing for the best club in England.

[Piccsnumberoneblue]

I used to have a mate in a football team I played for who's rallying cry was always, "Come on Maroons, Let's WANNIT". And that is it with Dzeko, he just doesn't seem to want it. Played last night, with no heart, no passion, no guts, no belief.
As Ted says, there are average players who would have beasted that defence.
Incidentally, their Argentinian forward would have done it. Limited ability but hard work and effort.
Dzeko is not the answer.

[Mase]

I used to have a mate in a football team I played for who's rallying cry was always, "Come on Maroons, Let's WANNIT". And that is it with Dzeko, he just doesn't seem to want it. Played last night, with no heart, no passion, no guts, no belief.
As Ted says, there are average players who would have beasted that defence.
Incidentally, their Argentinian forward would have done it. Limited ability but hard work and effort.
Dzeko is not the answer.

When he lost a header to Jay fucking Spearing against Liverpool at home I knew then that he'd never 'want it'.

[Douglas Higginbottom]

I would say I am a supporter of Dzeko but I am worried about his recent form and perhaps even attitude. I know he got a bit of an inury against Liverpool when he got a nasty elbow from Agger which did affect him for a while but I do agree that he doesnt seem to want it enough.

When he is really at it ,and he can be physical, he is a quality player and he certainly knows how to score goals but just now he seems to have stopped moving and he also makes decisions which seem to be almost always wrong.Running with the ball or shooting when a pass is clearly the right option and passing when he shouldnt. All symptomatic of a man out of form and lacking confidence.It cries out for him to be rested which is where Mario's indiscretions really let us down or for the inclusion of AJ.

[Goaters 103]

Dzeko's body language is awful and for a big guy he shows all the toughness of Emile Heskey at his finest.

That said Im sure he'd prefer us to sling over a decent cross once in a while, maybe even (shock horror) an early cross. Instead what he finds is that we pass sideways across the half-way line 15 times, then go back to Joe, back to Vinny, forward to Gareth, back to Vinny, to Gareth, to David, to Samir, to David, to James, to David, to Samir, to Gareth, to Samir, to David, to Samir (we are now about 40 yards from goal and 2 mins have passed), sideways to David who dribbles forward then sideways then back, over to Samir, back to Gareth, to James, to over-lapping Micah (now only 30 yards from goal), inside to Samir, to David, to James, to Samir (now near the edge of the oppositions box and 4 minutes of possession have gone by), to David who tries to thread it through to Sergio who loses it and Everton/WBA/Sunderland then charge forward on the break.

Repeat this over and over for 90 mins in every away game for 3 months and you get the picture.

Dzeko barely sees a cross into the danger area, especially an early one. When he does, eg Kolarov at Anfield, he can be effective. At the moment he and Aguero spend their time tryin to stay onside whilst we pass the ball to death 45 yards from the oppositions goal who sit there and watch us with 10 behind the ball.

[CityGer]

I would say I am a supporter of Dzeko but I am worried about his recent form and perhaps even attitude. I know he got a bit of an inury against Liverpool when he got a nasty elbow from Agger which did affect him for a while but I do agree that he doesnt seem to want it enough.

When he is really at it ,and he can be physical, he is a quality player and he certainly knows how to score goals but just now he seems to have stopped moving and he also makes decisions which seem to be almost always wrong.Running with the ball or shooting when a pass is clearly the right option and passing when he shouldnt. All symptomatic of a man out of form and lacking confidence.It cries out for him to be rested which is where Mario's indiscretions really let us down or for the inclusion of AJ.

I agree Doug, I think that is a good summary.

Desire seems to be his biggest issue. He's never going to have the touch of Silva or the power of Drogba in his prime but he has a blend of various attributes which make him a very good player when he wants it. At the moment he seems to be lacking hunger and generally just looks as though he's got the arse over something. Maybe he's the type who needs some love and perhaps he's not getting it. Thing is, it's not just Dzeko who is affected by it. Aguero needs a partner and the two just don't seem compatible. I have to say that I hold Dzeko responsible for this so it's a double whammy.

I also agree with your comments on Mario. He got off easy, again, due to how it panned out with the retrospective action. I'm absolutely lived with him as we really need him at the moment. When you factor in the ban Bobby imposed on him at the start of the season (see recent Martin Samuel interview) and the two suspensions, then it's ten games he's missed due to stupidity and ill discipline. You never know but that could equate to 3 or 4 points and a cup final. Despite all this it seems there are plenty more in the queue ahead of Mario when it comes to scapegoats.

One thing is for sure with Mario and Dzeko as part of our group of forwards, that group has to be bigger than three. It's not just a fourth chose striker we need either. We need a proper partner for Aguero. There's a lad at Napoli who would fit the bill for me.

[Ted Hughes]

We often talk about the lack of quality in our crossing, & that was there for all to see last night. We mention that this is not playing to Dzeko's strengths, which is fair comment.

If you played exactly the same game, took the bloke in the Sky studio into a time machine back 30 years then swapped him for Dzeko, Joe Royle would have managed to win about 35 headers, some of which would have been from shite balls into the box which he had no right to get near, yet he did. The two Everton CB's would have had bruises on their faces, not from elbows, but from Joe's arse & thighs as he jumped over their heads to get on the end of shite crosses, not to score, just to keep the ball in play so somebody else may get a toe to it. They would have bruises on their chests from where he landed on them afterwards. It would be one of their most uncomfortable nights in football, & they would tell their mates about it afterwards.

City would have 3 points.