Manchester City Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours

ntlbell

Xavi6 wrote: »

Well spotted



Yes, same as the last few games. Barry and De Jong are a good partnership.



Why would there be?

because good players don't like being left out, especially when it turns into a run of games when the team can't beat fullham at home?

i don't know, that's why i'm putting a question mark there? it's a question?

Instant Karma

ntlbell wrote: »

because good players don't like being left out, especially when it turns into a run of games when the team can't beat fullham at home?

i don't know, that's why i'm putting a question mark there? it's a question?

Don't you have cornflakes to cry into somewhere?

flahavaj

Instant Karma wrote: »

Don't you have cornflakes to cry into somewhere?

Why into his cornflakes specifically?

KittyeeTrix

ntlbell wrote: »

so a home draw against the mighty fullham

was ireland really on the bench from the off?

trouble in the camp?

I think he was on the bench about the same length of time Owen was:D

And yeah losing 2 points was bloody disappointing but I suppose losing 3 would've been worse!!!!!!!!!!

Instant Karma

flahavaj wrote: »

Why into his cornflakes specifically?

it's a common enough expression, at least locally.

I will admit to being very disappointed, I would have liked the team to close up shop at 2 goals up but we seem to be susceptible to goals from set pieces. I would have liked MH to have showed a little more ambition from the get go especially at home.

flahavaj

Instant Karma wrote: »

it's a common enough expression, at least locally.

LOL, ah yeah, just always struck me as a bit of a stupid catchphrase.

Green Hornet

City's defence doesn't seem to have improved since the new acquisitions. I reckon MON did a great bit of business getting Dunne. No doubt that he needed a change as he had a poor last season with City.

flahavaj

Green Hornet wrote: »

City's defence doesn't seem to have improved since the new acquisitions. I reckon MON did a great bit of business getting Dunne. No doubt that he needed a change as he had a poor last season with City.

Still shocking at defending set-pieces, you'e expect more for a 45 million quid central defensive partnership.

Green Hornet

flahavaj wrote: »

Still shocking at defending set-pieces, you'e expect more for a 45 million quid central defensive partnership.

Yeah. I'm an Arsenal fan and Toure had not really performed well for the last couple of years. Hughes spent a lot of money on him and Lescott and to me it looks like money down the tubes, although I guess they may gel with time.

whatawaster

isn't Ireland coming back from injury/illness?

Still, against big teams, with everyone fit i can't imagine city's best front 6 being something like:

---

De Jong

---

Barry

---

---

Ireland

---

----W-Phillips/Tevez

---

Robinho/Bellamy

---

Adebayor/Santa Cruz

---

flahavaj

whatawaster wrote: »

isn't Ireland coming back from injury/illness?

Still, against big teams, with everyone fit i can't imagine city's best front 6 being something like:

---

De Jong

---

Barry

---

---

Ireland

---

----W-Phillips/Tevez

---

Robinho/Bellamy

---

Adebayor/Santa Cruz

---

It must be getting pretty hard to drop Petrov at this stage. Great player.

whatawaster

Green Hornet wrote: »

Yeah. I'm an Arsenal fan and Toure had not really performed well for the last couple of years. Hughes spent a lot of money on him and Lescott and to me it looks like money down the tubes, although I guess they may gel with time.

they are both good defenders, but i think both could do with a big strong centre half like Vidic, Terry, Skrtel or dare i say Dunne beside them

whatawaster

flahavaj wrote: »

It must be getting pretty hard to drop Petrov at this stage. Great player.

forgot about him. Scary depth really.
I wonder once everyone's fit, and with no European football to allow rotation, Hughes will keep them all happy?

Instant Karma

A poster on another forum made an excellent point. Basically saying that the team selection today was too attack heavy, with Bellamy, Tevez & Adebayor but no one in midfield creating anything. More or less they played a 4 - 2 - 4 formation which is not what worked so well for us last year.

whatawaster

Instant Karma wrote: »

A poster on another forum made an excellent point. Basically saying that the team selection today was too attack heavy, with Bellamy, Tevez & Adebayor but no one in midfield creating anything. More or less they played a 4 - 2 - 4 formation which is not what worked so well for us last year.

perhaps, but
i think when you have a two goal lead and throw it away, you have to point fingers at the defense rather than creative players

Instant Karma

whatawaster wrote: »

perhaps, but
i think when you have a two goal lead and throw it away, you have to point fingers at the defense rather than creative players

I agree, but why then was the formation not changed at that point? Apparently even at 2 up our full backs still pushed up the pitch which left the defence exposed to a counter.

monkey9

In my opinion, Martin Petrov is an absolutely brilliant player. That is all!!

JPA

Instant Karma wrote: »

I agree, but why then was the formation not changed at that point? Apparently even at 2 up our full backs still pushed up the pitch which left the defence exposed to a counter.

Petrov got injured and Hughes brought on SWP instead of Ireland, when he could have shored things up, with the score at 2-1, and gone to a 4-3-3.
Seemed an obvious thing to do.

Xavi6

Good night at the office.

Roque got his first goal, Benjani returned from injury, Weiss was apparently class, and most importantly, Jonno chipped in with a beauty of a goal.

Manchester City:

Given, Zabaleta, Lescott, Kompany, Sylvinho, de Jong (c), Barry (Johnson 71), Wright-Phillips, Ireland (Weiss 58), Tevez (Benjani 79), Santa Cruz.

Unused subs:
Taylor, Bridge, Richards, Bellamy.

flahavaj

Xavi6 wrote: »

Good night at the office.

Roque got his first goal, Benjani returned from injury, Weiss was apparently class, and most importantly, Jonno chipped in with a beauty of a goal.

Manchester City:

Given, Zabaleta, Lescott, Kompany, Sylvinho, de Jong (c), Barry (Johnson 71), Wright-Phillips, Ireland (Weiss 58), Tevez (Benjani 79), Santa Cruz.

Unused subs:
Taylor, Bridge, Richards, Bellamy.

I heard he likes those alright.:pac:

How was the waistline looking?

Xavi6

I didn't see the game but in recent pics he looks good. I think it was Ade who said he thinks Jonno is the most talented midfielder at the club.

flahavaj

Xavi6 wrote: »

I didn't see the game but in recent pics he looks good. I think it was Ade who said he thinks Jonno is the most talented midfielder at the club.

I always thought he had bags of potential when he first emerged a couple of years back. But then he disappeared off the face of the earth and next time I saw him was over the Summer in those pictures looking fat as a fool. What happened him at all, injuries? Realistically if Ireland isn't guaranteed a starting place, I'd imagine Johnson will be forced to look elsewhere for first team football. Hes not getting any younger.

JPA

flahavaj wrote: »

I always thought he had bags of potential when he first emerged a couple of years back. But then he disappeared off the face of the earth and next time I saw him was over the Summer in those pictures looking fat as a fool. What happened him at all, injuries? Realistically if Ireland isn't guaranteed a starting place, I'd imagine Johnson will be forced to look elsewhere for first team football. Hes not getting any younger.

It's a squad game, Ireland will get his place back and Johnson has his part to play, he's only 21 and has had some weird injury. Jeez, I'm not even a City fan.

flahavaj

JPA wrote: »

It's a squad game, Ireland will get his place back and Johnson has his part to play, he's only 21 and has had some weird injury. Jeez, I'm not even a City fan.

Just saw his goal there, great hit.

Still looks fairly tubby though.

I'd be be shocked if he makes it at City with all the players they have/will sign in the next while.

everdead.ie

Ireland looked good again should of had a second lovely footballer
It would be nice to think that with all the players city have bought that the city grown players can still command a place in the first team

Xavi6

everdead.ie wrote: »

Ireland looked good again should of had a second lovely footballer
It would be nice to think that with all the players city have bought that the city grown players can still command a place in the first team

I don't really see any reason why they can't. Ireland, Johnson and Onuoha are all good enough for a first team spot, Richards needs to sort himself out but is a good squad player, and the young lad Weiss is really special. There's a few more promising players to come through as well. I think we'll see a mix of young talent and big buys, and I'd be happy with that.

everdead.ie

Joe hart is great one for the future too, i hope some don't see there chances limited at city and look for moves

flahavaj

Xavi6 wrote: »

I don't really see any reason why they can't. Ireland, Johnson and Onuoha are all good enough for a first team spot, Richards needs to sort himself out but is a good squad player, and the young lad Weiss is really special. There's a few more promising players to come through as well. I think we'll see a mix of young talent and big buys, and I'd be happy with that.

If I was Onouha I'd be well p*ssed off to be honest.

Best defender at the club last year, hasn't had a sniff this season. Even though Dunne was sold, still behind Toure, Lescott and Kompany in the pecking order and not even given a run in the Carling Cup.

With the money thats been spent, fans and the owners are going to demand an instant return, which means Hughes doesn't have the luxury of blooding youngsters and letting them develop.

There'll be some really talented players available from City in the next few years methinks, mid table managers will be watching with interest.

Xavi6

flahavaj wrote: »

If I was Onouha I'd be well p*ssed off to be honest.

Best defender at the club last year, hasn't had a sniff this season. Even though Dunne was sold, still behind Toure, Lescott and Kompany in the pecking order and not even given a run in the Carling Cup.

The fact that he's been out injured for the past 6 weeks might have something to do with it

flahavaj

Xavi6 wrote: »

The fact that he's been out injured for the past 6 weeks might have something to do with it

LOL. That'd be it so.

Regardless of injuries, I still think the current situation at City has made it much much harder for the young lads to establish themselves at the club. It would be a terrible shame if all the hard work that went into setting up that outstanding academy pre-Arabs all went to waste.

Xavi6

Great to have him back -

Nalz

Hughes out in Barcelona watching them play Osasuna

Robinho Toure swap on the cards?

eZe^

Trilla wrote: »

Hughes out in Barcelona watching them play Osasuna

Robinho Toure swap on the cards?

Toure? Haven't heard anything about Toure leaving for City. Why would City want him? They have millions of CMF...

Nalz

eZe^ wrote: »

Why would City want him? They have millions of CMF...

Why do they want 6+ strikers?

Dr Bolouswki

Trilla wrote: »

Why do they want 6+ strikers?

They don't.

City currently have Adebayor, Tevez, Bellamy, Santa Cruz and Robinho as first team strikers.

eZe^

Trilla wrote: »

Why do they want 6+ strikers?

But everyone they bought were essentially players who wanted out. Toure is happy at Barca, or at least was the last time I checked. It'll be pretty difficult to get him imo. I've heard rumours of a Henry/ Robinho swap deal. Don't think I'd like that little rat in my team though, despite his undoubted quality.

Nalz

Dr Bolouswki wrote: »

They don't.

City currently have Adebayor, Tevez, Bellamy, Santa Cruz and Robinho as first team strikers.

Benjani

and you can be mean if you want ,its hardly something to get worked up over!

Dr Bolouswki

Benjani isn't first team and the club have accepted bids for him in the last transfer window, so saying "why do they want 6+ strikers" is incorrect, as they obviously don't want Benjani - even still, that makes six, not six plus.

I find the lazy regurgitation of tabloid "facts"... as lazy and incorrect. Even of those 5, Bellamy and robinho play more regularly on the flanks, so if we are in the business of "spinning" to suit our arguments, City actually have 3 strikers.

I don't know how serious the interest in Toure is, but with De Jong, Barry, Ireland and now Micheal Johnson looking to fill the 2 or sometimes 3 central midfield berths, I can't really see him being a viable option. Other rumours link City with Robinho out and Henry and Puyol in, but sure who knows about any of these things - I do think it likely that Robinho will go.

brayblue24

Dr Bolouswki wrote: »

Other rumours link City with Robinho out and Henry and Puyol in, but sure who knows about any of these things - I do think it likely that Robinho will go.

I agree that Robinho will go and I won't miss him either. He's clearly engineering a move to the Nou Camp and if I had to put someone on the left flank then give me an honest Petrov ahead of him anytime. Anyway, Robinho's sparkle seemed to fade once Hughes broke up the Brazilian clique in the dressing room.

Puyol signed a new contract at the weekend to keep him at Barca till 2014 though to be fair he had a great game last night-would have been nice.:(

Still, making first trip of the season next Saturday to the Burnley match so hope to upload a few snaps here on Sunday.

brayblue24

Was at the match yesterday-great for the neutral I would think but in all fairness Bridge is dire. Zabaleta was rock solid and SWP had the usual endevour. Ade needs match practise. Toure was 50/50. Ireland was in cloud cuckoo land for the first half. Barry was named in the programme but I'm not sure he actually turned up. Poor performance against dog poor opposition and as for the referee-when you have the supporters from both sides singing "You don't know what you're doing" in unison it's not one of your better days at the office.

Rant over.

Quote of the day (from the row behind me):

Manc 1: "You're sh*t ref!"
Manc 2: "He's not that good, pal"

*I said I'd put some photos up here. Got a few but they're still on the phone so I'll check the quality first.

bigstar

was at the game too. massive disappointment. was in top tier, have to say the atmosphere is pretty crap up there, first and last time for me. why is it that when some team hasn't won/drawn/scored in ages we give them something.

the one thing i keep seeing when we play this season is that we dont play with enough urgency. first half no-one looked interested. second half we played for about 15 minutes and then let off the pace again. were doing just enough to get by, but its not enough. were still in a good position but we cant keep giving these performances. at least when we went 2-0 down there was a feeling that we could still win, which wouldnt have been the case before. but when we went 3-2 up you felt we could throw it away, which has always been the case.

mike65

Bye Bye Robinho
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009/nov/10/robinho-manchester-city-future

Xavi6

I'll wait til I see a quote but if it happens then it happens.

Xavi6

A bit of support for Hughes from Stephen Ireland today -

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009/nov/11/manchester-city-abu-dhabi-cliques

Stephen Ireland remembers the dressing room as being "cliquey" in Hughes's first season in charge, and that the manager took "some time to get a grip of the club". Elano, who was so close to Robinho they have been described as "long-lost twins", was a key agitator. He, Jô and Robinho were all fined for various indiscretions.

"He [Hughes] had it tough," Ireland recalls. "Some players didn't want to be there. Some players just didn't want to buy into it. Elano and Jô, they didn't want to put in the extra effort and it wasn't like it was that hard. It wasn't like you were being run like a dog, just that it was more professional and more based on team spirit, and these players didn't want to get into that stuff."

Elano was subsequently sold to Galatasaray. "Under Sven, Elano got away with anything," Ireland continues. "It was Elano's world, to be honest. The gaffer came in and there were massive changes, and Elano couldn't adjust. He's a great guy, a nice guy, I got on great with him, and he's a very talented player, but he could have added a lot more to his game and been a lot better than what he is."

"It was a shame because I am sure they [Elano and Jô] will look back and regret it. Even with Elano, he didn't play too often last year but when he did play, he did improve. He might not say that himself, but he added an awful lot to his game, which I think was down to the gaffer – but I don't think Elano would admit that or even realise it."

Ireland fits very much into the pro-Hughes camp. "He had to come into a club that had been damaged down the years, with players not having a winning mentality, people accepting defeat, accepting losing away from home, accepting things that just weren't right. Mark Hughes came in with his own staff and worked to make that right. The first meeting the gaffer ever had was about what we [the management] are going to offer you [the players] and the advice was to get on board. They said: 'If you do, you won't have problems, but if you choose not to you will find it very tough'."

A recent training session began at 2pm but Ireland found himself arriving for work at 11.20am. "You feel you just want to be there. Sven was a lovely guy, a very good person, I got on great with him, but for where City are aiming to go, you definitely need a manager like Mark Hughes. With Sven, you would turn up at 9.25am, train at 9.30am and be gone back home at 11.30am; you just wanted to get back as quickly as possible."

flahavaj

Seeing as how Tevez discussion seems to be barred in the United thread (despite him being an ex player of that club) I might as well ask the question in here. Are ye happy with him so far? Worth the 40 odd million it cost to get a dig at United? Hes seemed VERY underwhelming the times I've seen him this year.

Xavi6

flahavaj wrote: »

Seeing as how Tevez discussion seems to be barred in the United thread (despite him being an ex player of that club) I might as well ask the question in here.

Nice little dig :rolleyes:

Are ye happy with him so far? Worth the 40 odd million it cost to get a dig at United? Hes seemed VERY underwhelming the times I've seen him this year.

He's done ok. 6 out of 10 for me but apparently he's only now hitting full fitness so we'll see between now and Christmas.

Was our best outfield player against Birmingham.

flahavaj

Xavi6 wrote: »

Nice little dig :rolleyes:

Not is much a dig as genuine puzzlement.:)

Mr Alan

i dont believe that he cost 40m.

Dr Bolouswki

I think we miss Ireland more than we benefit from tevez

I could see him in a 442, but not in our current 4231 or 4411 or 451 or whatever you want to call it - we lack central creativity I feel

KittyeeTrix

flahavaj wrote: »

Seeing as how Tevez discussion seems to be barred in the United thread (despite him being an ex player of that club) I might as well ask the question in here. Are ye happy with him so far? Worth the 40 odd million it cost to get a dig at United? Hes seemed VERY underwhelming the times I've seen him this year.

Don't ye people get it yet>>>>>>>>

MONEY is not an issue:eek:

You pose the question like we have been financially ruined in our quest to "get a dig at united".........NOT SO, we could buy the whole bloody team off Man Utd and still have some spare change!!!!!

Coming at it from a money angle won't get a reaction out of the city fans but it will of course get some other gobs going!!

Now, if you had posed the question "Are we happy with the work Tevez has done yet, we would say yes but obviously we would like to "get at" Utd with a few Tevez goals esp since some Utd fans on this forum seem obsessed with silly pics of himself and Owen and a goals tally which actually leads me onto something......

Doesn't everyone know that City are not in the Champions League and so Tevez seems a bit of an odd choice to put in a scoring tally for a competition he is not in.