Twente with nothing but net in front of them blow it over the bar. Huge break for us. 90th minute, just hold on boys.
Haha likewise CB. It was pulsating .. That Robinho goal though. I was almost like "****, no wonder they are getting all their chances now, karma is trying to get us back for that one". Amazing. Benjani played really, really well on his comeback. I would almost pair him and Jo at times, different styles yet same kind of player .. Jo more skillful and Benjani more bullocking .. but so effective tonight. Robinho could of had a hat-trick, Hughes must of light a fire underneath him at half-time because that half he was on FIRE. Garrido was very good and Zabaleta did ok on a very, very good player. Dunne had a better game .. but Sweep and Ireland. Is Ireland the same man ? We sure he hasn't been taken over by an alien life form that has caused him to explode ... He is not the same player as last year .. He has gone from a static player that loses the ball, to an assured runner with sublime skill and touch overnight .. and Sweep .. Fantastic. It's like he has never left, with that goal he has scored more this season, than his whole career at Chelsea.
watched bits of the game live during work on stream. I thought the offense we generated was fantastic. Robinho's 2 shots to the posts were very dissapointing. It really should have been 5-2. In a way, it all balances out because FC Twente missed a few chances as well. We did very poorly on defense.
Elia was fantastic, i agree. Don't believe for a second that any other RB would of controlled him tonight, he was fantastic all night and 90% of Twente's attacks came through him .. That i remember anyhow
I watched this on TiVO in 20 minutes or so, so maybe I missed some things but here goes: Zab is not a good defender -- in injury time you can't let a guy get behind you like that. He has been pretty average all year, and cost at least a point vs. 'Pool. We need another RB. Why do we concede all the time right after we score? Twice last night, we also did it against Chelsea, against Villa... Still though, pulsating match, Benjani wonderful -- I get excited when he scores because I love his celebration - "You, you, and you. All of you!"
Completely agree about Zabaleta, didn't look good last night at all. I second loving the Benjani celebration, glad he scored last night. I would love to see him get some time in upcoming matches.
Agreed. I didn't have a chance to watch it till now(work and family comits yesterday), but I was very impressed the two big stars scored great goals. Very happy with the result, If we lay that well, we should have no problem besting Spurs at home
Hi everyone I was watching the game, and didn't come on to post my thoughts/comments. It was a hard won fight, I'm just so pleased we came out victorious. It could so easily have been a drawn game, or even a defeat. The scores could've been double for both teams. We gave away two easy goals, not so Twente. Our three goals were magic. I was so pleased for Benji and I was willing the City fans to sign his song to tell him we'd missed him. They finally did. After our 1st goal, we let Twente come at us, hence their goal. Zabaleta was really disappointing throughout, he almost needs someone there to cover for him - most attackers are getting past him. Sometimes he was too far off the player and unable to breakdown the attack. His passing also left a lot to be desired for most of the match. Richards back in his comfortable defensive position, thank goodness - the 'experiment' with him as LB didn't work. Garrido played well (with Richards and Garrido on the pitch, we win the matches!*!), saving us from having a drawn match (I think Zabaleta did that once too, so not all bad for him, but he's either to step up his game or step down). What position does Berti play? If he's able to take this spot from Zabaleta, then I'd give him the chance (but Ball will be making an appearance soon, back from injury). SWP's goal, such confidence and it shows. His work ethic is fantastic, always there for the team and he too saved us a few times from attacks that could've resulted in goals. Ireland was a bulldog. Always at their players either to get the ball or stop passes, he's really showing his true colours and maturing under MH's guidance. Being around top class players can only be of benefit to him. Benji, out for all that time and as far as I know, only played one match for the reserves, comes on as a sub, gets involved straight-away. No feeling his way into the game. Someone else that's on fire and wanting to show that he has a right to a consistent place in the team. Then he scores, again a player showing great confidence and a natural attacker, first game in the first team and wham! the ball's in the net. He, the team and MH must be thrilled. Vassell played his part, giving the defence someone to watch and as a result allowing SWP, Jo and Robinho to do their thing. He was, without a doubt, the quietest of our front men. I hope MH can bring him along and give him the confidence he needs - we need him, a heavy fixture list and rotation. Dunnie had a reasonable game. He made a fantastic defensive header, which I thought was extremely brave of him as it could have gone anywhere! He must have had his fingers crossed as he headed the ball away. A defender's nightmare, to score an own goal and know that it could so easily happen again in other matches. We need to take control in our box, we were a bit lax in this game. Elano and Robinho teaming up well and that's really great to see. Hope they have that telepathic understanding. The ball play will be breathtaking! Can't wait. Fernandes, the jury is still out. Johnson will come back soon and I'd give him the place over Fernandes, unless they can pair up. (Kompany is still my prefered choice over Fernandes, he has a number of yellow cards and must be careful.) A nerve racking end to the match, phew! So pleased to hear the final whistle. Come on City
Elano and Robinho are best friends, and have played together before in Brazil (IIRC) which explains why they have a telepathic understanding. I think Zabaleta wasn't as bad as everyone made him out to be, 90% of the Twente attack was focused on Elia and how many goals came from that side of the pitch. 0. Only once or twice was there a cross where Zabaleta wasn't able to put pressure on him and Elia is a fantastic talent. You need to give Zabateta a chance, not crucify him .. Others make just as many mistakes but no-one lambasts them. If we listed all the players that have made a mistake that have lead to us dropping points then you would be listing the whole team. Richards was woeful. Have no clue what you guy's are talking about, he sold the defence short with positioning every couple of attacks, easily the worst player on the ground for mine (maybe equal with Vassel, but that was understandable). He was really found out against Twente. Garrido was fantastic though, goal saving tackle and i think he's filling the fans with more confidence with each outing. I no longer get nervous when he is defending.
yeah Robinho and Elano played together @ Santos . But if Elano was his best friend , then Diego was his brother. They used to do everything together and to see both of them together in the field... It was magical. It shouldn't be THAT hard to get Diego , City should try to get him in the next transfer window... Robinho also played together with Alex ( Now in Chelsea) and Renato (Sevilla) , our dream team of 2002 *-*
We need a good central midfielder as Elano is more of an AM, but from what i have seen i'm not sure that Diego is much more of a CM than Elano is. Very good player though. Wouldn't mind Alex at city TBH. Very good defender. The goals from the match if anyone hasn't seen the Robinho goal yet. (which is the one most worth watching, always i always love Benjani's celebration (You, you and YOU !!!) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=te_Lg...eature=related
I love that the British public gave a higher rating to Elia than to Robinho on the BBC player rating thing. We got Elia on a free (teehee)
From what I've seen, both this season, and last, is when City plays a diamond in the midfield, with Elano in the CAM, and Kompany (Hamann, last year) in the holding mid, Elano is far more effective, especially in supporting the strikers. With the players currently on the squad, a diamond 4-4-2, or a 4-1-3-2, would be far better formations. Plus, having Robinho out wide left is a waste of his talent. Without Petrov, we need another option at LW. What left footers do we have, that could play out wide?
Javier Garrido . The problem is that we have two very effective attacking wingmen in Robinho and SWP, why would we change a formation when they have turned us into an attacking force.
Robinho isn't a natural left footer, and is better suited as a SS. He's not a midfielder. While a good distributor, he's a better finisher. Look at how Brazil uses him, he's more centrally located, playing off a target CF. The Garrido comment was funny. Although, he is good on overlapping runs, and is good at getting crosses into the box.
He is more of a wingback anyway, and he scored that cracking goal against liverpool (freekick) and is a good crosser, so whilst said in jest it could work if needed for a match or two. The problem that Robinho has is that he does not have a "best position". He can play effectively as an attacking midfielder on any side or centrally or as a forward. Atm we need a left sided attacker with Petrov down. That said, it's a good problem to have with how good his form has been as of late.