Carling Cup Semi-Final 1st Leg City vs Utd (19.01.2010)

nullzero

City were decent last night, the penalty was laughable and had it been given the other way there would be City fans calling for video referee's.
Tevez's second goal was well taken, although it was handed to him by a terrible piece of defending.
United could and should have equalised and or won the game. Given was both amazing and lucky, kind of reminiscant of Hugo Lloris for France against Ireland.
Overall, a draw probably would have been the fairest result, even if saying that attracts abuse from delerious City fans.
The second leg should be a cracker and it could go either way. If United perform in the same way they should win, as long as Given is just brilliant instead of brilliant and lucky that is. It's hard to see where City would get a goal from in open play, Bellamy is probably integral to any chance they have of extending their lead, set pieces aside.

As for Tevez, he yet again showed what a childish little man he really is, as did Gary Neville, who as United captain should know better.
Tevez left United and decided to show complete contempt for a club that had enjoyed a mutually benifitial relationship with a loan player.
Given the choice of having Rooney or Tevez at United, Ferguson made the right choice. Even with limited game time at United, Tevez's form and goal tally was poor, especially last season, the fact that he's having a good spell now has no affect on the fact that he was poor last season, the reason 25m wasn't forthcoming from United, who lest we forget were paying a hefty sum for him during his loan spell.
As like most United fan's, I was fond of Tevez, but it would have been nice for him to have the class to just leave and not start taking pot shots at United on his way out the door.

Mitch Connor

SlickRic wrote: »

obviously.

but no need to be pedantic.

they won a 90 minute football football match.



i didn't say it made them a 'great' team.

but to win any match against the Champions, when you don't play well and they do, must mean you have something about you, no matter how bad the official was.

Apart from the last 25 minutes, I though United played a very average game last night. I wouldn't say it was a good performance.

We kept possession decently enough in the first half especially but we didn't do anything with it. Not sure how it can be said that United played well when neither CB had a good game, Carrick and Anderson were rubbish, Rooney was isolated and I would question the overall performances of Giggs and Raf too.

Evra and Fletcher were the only players I thought really did have good games last night, for the most part. We looked a lot better in the last 25minutes, but I don't think it is enough to say we played really well.

The possession stats are good, but you can get that high with a game of keep ball.

Xavi6

Boggles wrote: »

Ref handed them the first goal, gave City every 50/50. Bellamy and Tevez should not have been on the pitch for a finish.

Seeing as we're all being pedantic this morning, Tevez wasn't on the pitch for the finish

# 32 Tevez (Mwaruwari 79)

The Muppet

SlickRic wrote: »

but to win any match against the Champions, when you don't play well and they do, must mean you have something about you, no matter how bad the official was.

Yeah It means Given played very well. City were pretty ordinary apart from him. United will be well up for the second leg, I expect them to go through, City are far from impressive of late.

Re Tevez, I had no problem with his Celebrations.

kryogen

Mitch are you ever positive about anything?!!?:D

i feel i have to ask, has anyone ever told you it might be better for your mental health if you didnt follow the game?

kryogen

and while i do enjoy the love of Tevez atm by all non united fans i must ask

Tevez scored 15 goals in 50 apps last season

if we had signed him and he had another season where he scored 15 goals in 50 apps would you be saying lol omg how stupid can you be to sign a goal scorer for 35 million when he cant score more then 20 a season!?

cause obviously the highest alleged loan fee would then be included in the total fee

Mitch Connor

kryogen wrote: »

Mitch are you ever positive about anything?!!?:D

i feel i have to ask, has anyone ever told you it might be better for your mental health if you didnt follow the game?

Yeah, and yes they have!

Honestly though, it is my honest assesment of last nights game.

Brown and Evans gave away far too much space - neither player is a leader (Evans could be in time, Brown should be but isn't).

Defensively the second goal was a poor one to give away. I don't think a CB pairing involving either, or both, of Vidic or Rio would have given it away.

In midfield Anderon and Carrick were rubbish. Carrick because he didn't try anything and was slow and boring. Anderson because he could see what to do, and tried to do it, but consistently failed in execution.

Rooney was isolated for much of the game, and when we did get the ball to him we didn't support him quick enough.

When we switched to 442 we did look a lot better though. Don't know if that is cause it is a more familiar formation, the extra attacking support Owen provided, City dropping off as teams in the lead tend to do towards the end of games, or a combination of all of that (most likely the combination).

I think United need to improve a lot for the next game if they are to beat City.

I desperately hope Berbatov is fit and available for that game.

SlickRic

Boggles wrote: »

You have admitted not seeing the match.

There was nothing about them.

Ref handed them the first goal, gave City every 50/50. Bellamy and Tevez should not have been on the pitch for a finish.

Goal keeper had a blinder.

i don't care that i haven't seen the match.

i've seen matches where Liverpool, Utd, Chelsea, Arsenal have had nothing really about them, yet win, and matches where keepers, bad finishing and refereeing decisions have favoured all of them.

i don't need to see this match to speculate as to their fortitude and the fact they have individuals, like Given, Tevez or Bellamy for instance, who can make a difference, despite how ordinary their general play can be.

teams don't generally beat Utd when Utd play well if there wasn't something about them as a team.

Boggles

SlickRic wrote: »

i don't care that i haven't seen the match.

Forget it.

SlickRic

Boggles wrote: »

Forget it.

awesome.

well at least others of your Utd compatriots have given credit to the likes of Given, Bellamy, de Jong and even Tevez himself.

so i think you're one of the few who seems to think they had 'nothing' about them last night at all.

kryogen

SlickRic wrote: »

i don't care that i haven't seen the match.

i've seen matches where Liverpool, Utd, Chelsea, Arsenal have had nothing really about them, yet win, and matches where keepers, bad finishing and refereeing decisions have favoured all of them.

i don't need to see this match to speculate as to their fortitude and the fact they have individuals, like Given, Tevez or Bellamy for instance, who can make a difference, despite how ordinary their general play can be.

teams don't generally beat Utd when Utd play well if there wasn't something about them as a team.

just in case you are misunderstanding though

we didnt play that well

we were pretty good up till the penalty, i thought we dropped off in the second half till they scored, then they sat back alot so it was all united attacking, but we lacked cutting edge

i still think we will batter them next week

Tevez and Bellamy were pretty annonymous throughout tbh, may sound weird, especially about Tevez, but its true!

Given was outstanding however

SlickRic

thanks Mitch and Kryogen in particular, for some unbiased assessments of the match.

although Mitch, i agree with some, you probably need to have a bit more positivity, if only for your own health.

things aren't as bleak as you fear; on the playing side of things anyway.

patmac

Just as well it is 2 legs as I would have been very annoyed. Second leg should be interesting although Given will be hard to beat again. As for Tevez and Neville well things are starting to get really ugly.;)

folan

Best individual moment of the match was Rooney in the box walking past City defenders in the last 10 mins only to get the shot right at Given to parry it over! That itself was one of the reasons I love soccer!

He is a massive player. One of the reasons I think England will do well in the world cup.

ROCKMAN

Honestly think a draw would have been a fair result,

Up till the peno ,Utd were it control and in fact were finding it very easy , Although this control and possession was not reflected in goal scoring changes.(cannot rem Given save) The peno changed that (well taken) and got City right back in the game . And from then till half time they where on top. City had the better start to the second half and where rewarded with the Goal . Very sloppy defending by Utd but just reward for City's efforts at the time .Because of Utd's change to 442 and City sitting back Utd finished the game the stronger team and well on top . And created enough chances to get something from the game.


Nicely balanced for the second leg ,

Tevez's goal celebrations p**sed me off
but
if Owen does the same against Liverpool i'm sure my tint glasses will see that different .

kryogen

anyone know what action will taken against City as to the behaviour of their fans?

Boggles

SlickRic wrote: »

awesome.

well at least others of your Utd compatriots have given credit to the likes of Given, Bellamy, de Jong and even Tevez himself.

so i think you're one of the few who seems to think they had 'nothing' about them last night at all.

Hang on a second, you come here given your "general opinion" about football and try to apply to a match you havn't seen.

You then have a go at me about been biased while congratulating 2 other posters who said the exact same thing as me.

FFS!!! :rolleyes:

Ush1

Fuhrer wrote: »

Are you high?

You said that might points werent valid because Boggles said a player simply moves for big money.


Thats what my examples showed.

I never said your points weren't valid, I said that's your definition of a mercenary, not his. No I am not high.

Ush1

Boggles wrote: »

58% position away from home, double the amount of shots on target.

I know you didn't see the match, but you could have at least looked at the stats. It would have saved you alot of embarrassment here.

A flurry of pressure in the last 10 isn't dominating. There was certainly no battering to be had.

Boggles

Ush1 wrote: »

A flurry of pressure in the last 10 isn't dominating. There was certainly no battering to be had.

According to you Given only made one decent save, so to be honest lad your opinion is null and void, as I said I doubt you watched the match.

CCCP^

kryogen wrote: »

anyone know what action will taken against City as to the behaviour of their fans?

No more lighters sold at Eastlands. Now it's just matches.

folan

Ush1 wrote: »

A flurry of pressure in the last 10 isn't dominating. There was certainly no battering to be had.

To be fair though, Utd dominated the first 30 mins as well, but didnt make enough chances.

We took it to them for 45 mins and made enough chances to go ahead by another goal, and we just couldnt break them. Then a 442 for Utd and they were far better in the last 15 mins. We defended as well as I expected, still not well enough and were lucky Given was on form).

It wasnt a battering, but it was close.

Its the kind of thing makes football worth watching.

Ush1

Boggles wrote: »

According to you Given only made one decent save, so to be honest lad your opinion is null and void, as I said I doubt you watched the match.

Re-read what I said, "lad".

Boggles

Ush1 wrote: »

Re-read what I said, "lad".

Why? it's not going to make it any less horséshít!

Ush1

Boggles wrote: »

Why? it's not going to make it any less horséshít!

LMAO, love your attention to detail so. You obviously didn't read the post so your opinion is null and void..lad.

Boggles

Ush1 wrote: »

LMAO, love your attention to detail so. You obviously didn't read the post so your opinion is null and void..lad.

Ush1 wrote: »

Given single handedly saving them from a battering is not true at all. If you call making a decent save, .

Your still sticking with the fact that you think Given only made one decent save in the entire match?

Ush1

Boggles wrote: »

Your still sticking with the fact that you think Given only made one decent save in the entire match?

No, that's not what I was saying at all. It was illustrating that both keepers made good saves, more than once. It also doesn't prove anything about a battering. Read the entire post, then look up context.

leninbenjamin

kryogen wrote: »

if we had signed him and he had another season where he scored 15 goals in 50 apps would you be saying lol omg how stupid can you be to sign a goal scorer for 35 million when he cant score more then 20 a season!?

no, we'd be saying you just bought a poor man's Nicklas Bendtner

Boggles

Ush1 wrote: »

No, that's not what I was saying at all. It was illustrating that both keepers made good saves, more than once. It also doesn't prove anything about a battering. Read the entire post, then look up context.

Ush1 wrote: »

Given single handedly saving them from a battering is not true at all. If you call making a decent save, .

this is singular.

Yes/No???

That_Guy

Ush1 wrote: »

A flurry of pressure in the last 10 isn't dominating. There was certainly no battering to be had.

Well United had more of the possesion but I agree, they didn't "batter" City that much before the 80th minute.

I thought United were hard done by last night by that ref. Out of 10 decisions I'd say 6 went to City.

United played the much better football by far whereas City, for the most part were content to sit back, let United come at them and if/when they gained possession would lump the ball up into United's half and hope that Bellamy or Tevez would chase.

As a collectiive unit, United looked like a team and read the game that bit better. At times it looked like City didn't know what to do.

Only when City equalised, did they eventually start closing down the ball with about 3 or 4 mins left in the first half.

City were lucky last night and I'm sure a lot of fans (well they should) know it. I don't think they bossed the game at all. They weren't allowed dictate the pace of the game at all and they were being bossed about by United for the opening 15/20 minutes.

Having said that in football, if you don't take your chances you won't score.
Possession and all those stats go out the window. The result stands but City looked weak last night and if they don't change something soon I think United will easily beat them next week.

Personally I'd love City to get to the final and win it but United are current holders and current champions of the league and they know what it takes to get to the final/win the league so City need to be careful next week I think.

Handsome Bob

It was a very entertaining game.

Man City's defence looks quite dodgy, the amount of times Rooney confounded them and left them in ragid shape was shocking.

That being said, Bellamy and Tevez were IMO excellent. They never stopped running and never stopped trying, I don't blame Tevez one bit for his actions as a lot of people have talked smack about him, the most recent one being Neville. De Jong was solid in midfield too, I haven't seen much of him but from judging on last night he is a great combative midfielder.

I think the second leg rests on who wants it more, last night I saw more desire in Man City than I did in Man U. If it's the same deal in the second leg I can see City reaching the final.

Ush1

Boggles wrote: »

this is singular.

Yes/No???

Yes its singular, but it's illustrative. In your words, "fail".

Dun laoire

What a great game last night, Shay given was outstanding keeping united at bay. Roll on the second leg, It's gonna be a thriller.

ROCKMAN

The way I see the second leg playing out , I think Bellamy's pace on the break could do some damage , Think he'll be the big danger for us in the second leg.

Boggles

Ush1 wrote: »

Yes its singular, but it's illustrative. In your words, "fail".

Sorry kiddo the only illustrative points coming from your posts are either you didn't see the match or you fell asleep.

Either way I'm just going to stop talking to you now, as I am just about to get into a discussion with bayviewclose which will require all my attention.

fullstop

Ace2007 wrote: »

well he's being england over 3 years and he could hardly string a sentance together so he's hardly the smartest :rolleyes:

Oh the irony :rolleyes:

So what's your excuse?

That_Guy

fullstop wrote: »

Oh the irony :rolleyes:

So what's your excuse?

Bit harsh don't you think?

Ush1

Boggles wrote: »

Sorry kiddo the only illustrative points coming from your posts are either you didn't see the match or you fell asleep.

Either way I'm just going to stop talking to you now, as I am just about to get into a discussion with bayviewclose which will require all my attention.

Yes, me being impartial, and United, the losing team, "battered them". Can I subscribe to your newsletter for a giggle please?

rgiller

That_Guy wrote: »

Bit harsh don't you think?

No - I think it's perfectly reasonable

That_Guy

rgiller wrote: »

No - I think it's perfectly reasonable

Could have dyslexia or something so I deem it harsh but meh whatever.

Going off topic anyway.

fullstop

That_Guy wrote: »

Bit harsh don't you think?

No. His reasoning for Tevez not being smart was that he could hardly string a 'sentance' together. People in glass houses and all that.

The Muppet

fullstop wrote: »

No. His reasoning for Tevez not being smart was that he could hardly string a 'sentance' together. People in glass houses and all that.

It's never clever to take that route imo, portrays one in bad light.

SlickRic

Boggles wrote: »

Hang on a second, you come here given your "general opinion" about football and try to apply to a match you havn't seen.

You then have a go at me about been biased while congratulating 2 other posters who said the exact same thing as me.

FFS!!! :rolleyes:

they didn't say City had nothing about them Boggles, which is all i doubted.

Mitch talked about United not playing that well; he didn't give any particular credit to City (i don't really expect any United fan to be too complimentary to them!), but he didn't say they had nothing.

kryogen talked about United being dominant, expecting to win next week (which i also expect they will), etc. he didn't belittle City's team.

many others in the thread, during and just after the match, complimented some of City's players also.

you said City brought nothing at all; that was what i doubted considering you seem to be one of the few who thinks this. but you're entitled to your opinion so that's fine. i can't have a definitive opinion on the match, because i didn't see it, so i didn't offer one. it doesn't mean i can't comment on what i've read, footage i've seen, and reports friends and posters here have put forward.

now, don't get yourself in a knot over a little difference of opinion, and because i felt the two posters i thanked seemed to give a good concise account of what happened, and seem to be quite consistent with the general consensus of opinion.

Boggles

SlickRic wrote: »

they didn't say City had nothing about them Boggles, which is all i doubted.

Mitch talked about United not playing that well; he didn't give any particular credit to City (i don't really expect any United fan to be too complimentary to them!), but he didn't say they had nothing.

kryogen talked about United being dominant, expecting to win next week (which i also expect they will), etc. he didn't belittle City's team.

many others in the thread, during and just after the match, complimented some of City's players also.

you said City brought nothing at all; that was what i doubted considering you seem to be one of the few who thinks this. but you're entitled to your opinion so that's fine. i can't have a definitive opinion on the match, because i didn't see it, so i didn't offer one. it doesn't mean i can't comment on what i've read, footage i've seen, and reports friends and posters here have put forward.

now, don't get yourself in a knot over a little difference of opinion, and because i felt the two posters i thanked seemed to give a good concise account of what happened, and seem to be quite consistent with the general consensus of opinion.

Not having a debate with someone in the match thread who hasn't seen the match.

Sorry, but it is a prerequisite for me.

SlickRic

Boggles wrote: »

Not having a debate with someone in the match thread who hasn't seen the match.

Sorry, but it is a prerequisite for me.

sweet.

sure, at least i'll know in future not to bother next time you reply to a comment of mine in a match thread that i've qualified with 'i've not seen the game'.

Boggles

SlickRic wrote: »

sweet.

sure, at least i'll know in future not to bother next time you reply to a comment of mine in a match thread that i've qualified with 'i've not seen the game'.

Good for you.

Do you review films you havn't seen either?

:rolleyes:

SlickRic

Boggles wrote: »

Good for you.

Do you review films you havn't seen either?

:rolleyes:

it will be good for me, thanks.

and for the 2nd or 3rd time, i didn't review the match.

i gave my opinion on the general consensus, which i made clear.

but nice try.

Prufrock

Fair play Man City.

Hopefully United can come back from this in the home leg.

K-9

jamegg wrote: »

Small club?! We just haven't cracked the asian market yet.

Are you not worried the way your club is going? Choked in some big games against your rivals Liverpool, Leeds and City and had to sell Ronaldo to come into profit. Glazer taking loans and his Tampa team up the shiits.

As for Neville, What a fool he is. He has the maturity of an angry teenager.

Sorry, it was a reply to somebody who called City a small club.

Btw, Liverpool aren't Liverpools rivals! Though the financial situation is similar. At least our debt and interest payments went down this year, though not by the owners choice.