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Chelsea 2 Manchester City 4
Bridge over troubled water
Saturday 27th February 2010 : Bill Harper for
GYKO at Stamford Bridge
The joke doing the rounds in
Manchester in the aftermath of the latest twist to a scarcely
believable saga involved a text message sent by Wayne Bridge to John
Terry: "Now that's how you're supposed to play away from home."
Bridge could exhale and bask in glorious relief after his return to
Chelsea to face his personal tormentor went just about as perfectly
as he could have imagined. The nonchalantly choreographed pre-match
routine, when the Manchester City left-back ducked Terry's
handshake, made its point without too great a fuss while his
78th-minute substitution spared him any unwanted post-match
showdowns.
It ought to be noted that many Chelsea supporters had applauded
Bridge, their one-time favourite, and much of the booing directed at
him was distinctly of the pantomime variety.
City's victory, their first at Stamford Bridge in 17 years, was
hailed for its potential to rejuvenate. For Terry, however, the
anguish goes on. Since he was stripped of the England captaincy, for
his part in the alleged affair with Bridge's former girlfriend
Vanessa Perroncel, he has looked strangely hesitant on the pitch.
The Chelsea defender's defining characteristic has long been his
decisiveness, the manner in which he assumes control of a situation
with a no-holds-barred sureness. Doubts, though, have seemingly
crept in.
Terry did not appreciate Craig Bellamy's take on his problems. "I
know John Terry and nothing surprises me about him," said the City
striker. "Everyone in football knows what the guy is like off the
field." It has to be considered a low point when Bellamy starts to
moralise about you. "People in glasshouses shouldn't throw stones,"
Terry retorted.
Terry rarely allows emotion to get the better of him on the field.
With his new crew cut, he has come to radiate a cold-hearted focus.
Yet, while Bridge played the match, Terry and Chelsea appeared to
play the occasion, which had been built up around the feud between
the former best friends. "That's right," said the City midfielder
Gareth Barry. "We tried not to think about all the speculation
because we knew it was a big game for us and it could turn our
season. I don't really want to speak about Chelsea too much.
"I think the Wayne Bridge story has galvanised the club. A lot of
people have felt sorry for Wayne and, as a club, we've all supported
him. This result can help us turn the corner. It has set us up to
finish strongly. Our target is to finish in the top four. If we
don't, the season will have been a disappointment."
There was rich irony in that, for 44 minutes City had resembled a
bunch of fumbling schoolboys and it was difficult to see them
leaving west London with anything other than a dispiriting defeat,
one that might have ratcheted up further the pressure on the
manager, Roberto Mancini. But on the stroke of half-time came the
latest Chelsea defensive calamity and City had their lifeline. Mikel
John Obi appeared the favourite to deal with Bridge's high punt
forward but, having twice glanced over his shoulder at Terry, he
erred with his header. Carlos Tevez's first touch was true, he
bundled past Terry and scampered through on goal. Terry could not
get back and, after Tevez had pulled Ricardo Carvalho, who failed to
get tight enough, one way and then the other, the City striker
dribbled a shot past the hapless Henrique Hilário.
The significance of Terry's error may have been watered down by
those of his team-mates but it continued a trend. He had been guilty
of basic misjudgments in each of his previous three fixtures,
against Everton, Wolves and Internazionale, and some of them were
punished by goals.
Terry could not be held responsible for Saturday's defeat; he merely
featured on the list of the culpable headed by Hilário, who was
beaten too easily for the first and second goals, and supplemented
by Juliano Belletti, the substitute, and Michael Ballack, who were
both sent off.
Belletti conceded a penalty into the bargain as Chelsea imploded in
the second half. Yet it was impossible to ignore Terry's wobbles.
Fabio Capello, the watching England manager, certainly would not
have done. Terry was booked for a lunge at Adam Johnson, which was
not the only time that he went to ground unconvincingly, and he
could not stifle the outstanding Tevez. He appeared a yard off the
pace at times.
City had entered the game against a backdrop of poor form and talk
of a bust-up between Mancini and Bellamy. "If Craig is arguing with
someone around the club, it's normal," said Barry, with a smile. But
they departed having staged the most eye-catching of smash-and-grab
raids. Their first, second and fourth goals came on the
counter-attack.
Teams:
Chelsea Hilario, Ivanovic, Carvalho (Kalou 69), Terry, Malouda,
Ballack, Mikel (Belletti 60), Lampard, Anelka, Drogba,Joe Cole (Sturridge
60).
Subs Not Used: Turnbull, Paulo Ferreira, Matic, Alex.
Sent Off: Belletti (75), Ballack (81).
Booked: Terry, Ivanovic, Ballack.
Goals: Lampard 42, 90 pen.
Man City Given, Richards, Kompany, Lescott, Bridge (Santa Cruz 78),
Zabaleta, De Jong, Barry, Bellamy,Tevez (Sylvinho 90), Adam Johnson
(Wright-Phillips 60).
Subs Not Used: Taylor, Onuoha, Toure, Ibrahim.
Booked: Zabaleta.
Goals: Tevez 45, Bellamy 51, Tevez 76 pen, Bellamy 87.
Att: 41,814
Ref: Mike Dean (Wirral).
Stoke City 3 Manchester City 1
Cup Dream Over
Wednesday 24th February 2010 : Gary Jones for
GYKO at the Britannia Stadium
The Britannia crowd, when their
blood is up, can resemble the mob of Madame Guillotine, and Roberto
Mancini left the Potteries with choruses of "You're getting sacked
in the morning" ringing in those so-sophisticated ears. The tumbrel
beaters were doubtless premature but the richest club in the country
will not have enjoyed going out of the FA Cup to homespun Stoke and
after barely two months in charge the Italian is already deemed to
be "under pressure".
Mancini had called on his players to match their opponents' fighting
spirit but it was Stoke who scored twice in extra-time to book a
quarter-final trip to Chelsea on 7 March and Mancini's claims after
the game that his team had "played very well and dictated for 80
minutes" will cut no ice with demanding employers who had so little
patience with Mark Hughes.
The Mancunians had Emmanuel Adebayor sent off after 82 minutes for
lashing out with an arm and catching Ryan Shawcross in the throat
but that was no excuse for an embarrassing defeat which leaves them
with only a top-four finish in the Premier League to play for in a
season which began with such stratospheric hopes.
Stoke were second-best for an hour but opened the scoring through
the substitute Dave Kitson after 79 minutes, then shrugged off Craig
Bellamy's quick equaliser to settle the issue in the extra
half-hour, with a headed goal from Shawcross and a coruscating gem
from Tuncay.
The two sides came to the replay in contrasting form. Stoke's
attritional football is not to everybody's taste but Tony Pulis has
found a method that makes optimum use of limited resources and his
team are unbeaten in 2010 - a run that stretches back 11 league and
cup matches.
For Mancini, on the other hand, the honeymoon may not be over but it
is certainly drawing to a close. After replacing Hughes in December
he got off to a flying start, with six wins in his first seven
games, but the next eight have produced only two victories and
already there are murmurs of discontent with his training methods
emanating from the dressing room. The fans were less than chuffed
when English football's nouveau riche managed one point from two
league fixtures against the paupers of Hull and were well beaten by
two of their rivals for a top-four finish, Tottenham and Everton.
They will be even more disgruntled now.
Mancini's team began well enough. The home crowd were still
launching into their first rendition of "Delilah" when Adebayor had
them gasping with a high-velocity 30-yarder which forced Thomas
Sorensen to fly to his right to save. They held their breath again
when a clever turn and sprint through the middle by Togo's favourite
son unhinged their defence. Fortunately for Stoke, Adebayor's
intelligent transference of the ball to Bellamy on his left was
wasted by the Welshman's poor first touch. Stoke had their moments,
too, but similar shortcomings in the penalty area caused a stalemate
which was not broken until the 79th minute.
Then, like overdue buses, the goals came two together. First Kitson
exchanged passes with Tuncay before driving past Shay Given,
left-footed, from right to left. Then Bellamy beat Sorensen from 12
yards after Adebayor had knocked down Wayne Bridge's left-wing
cross.
Into extra-time Stoke were ahead again within five minutes when Rory
Delap's trademark long throw from the left was met at the near post
by Shawcross, whose header flew past Given and in at the far side.
Four minutes later Tuncay made the game safe with an outstanding
piece of skill, swaying one way and then the other in a slalom past
defenders before scoring with a crisp left-footed finish.
Teams:
Stoke Sorensen, Whitehead, Shawcross, Huth, Collins, Lawrence (Pugh
72), Whelan, Diao (Sanli 54), Delap, Sidibe (Kitson 74), Fuller.
Subs Not Used: Simonsen, Beattie, Amdy Faye, Davies.
Booked: Sidibe, Fuller, Shawcross, Huth, Pugh.
Goals: Kitson 79, Shawcross 95, Sanli 99.
Man City Given, Richards, Onuoha, Lescott, Bridge (Santa Cruz 86),
Zabaleta, Ireland (Wright-Phillips 61), Kompany, Barry (Sylvinho
108), Bellamy, Adebayor.
Subs Not Used: Taylor, Garrido, De Jong, Boyata.
Sent Off: Adebayor (83).
Booked: Richards, Zabaleta, Bellamy.
Goals: Bellamy 81.
After Extra Time
Att: 21,813
Ref: Steve Bennett (Kent).
Manchester City 0 Liverpool 0
Scousers Draw Blank
Sunday 21st february 2010 : GYKO at the
COMSTAD
g public had to be involved.
The efforts of these clubs to seize the last of the Champions League
places will surely be gripping eventually but the action mostly
argued that it would be in the interests of European football that
everyone implicated in this match should have their passports
confiscated. Such talk will mean little to anxious managers.
For Rafael Benítez this was a significant point on the road secured
against rivals. Roberto Mancini would have taken his satisfaction
from a clean sheet and the sight of Craig Bellamy coming back from
injury as a substitute. The attacker and the City manager apparently
had a disagreement last week but truces are always feasible when
there are ambitions to be pursued.
The sorriest aspect was the indifference to entertaining the
woebegone spectators, with the home support summoning up the energy
for a little light booing at the close. There was insufficient
volume for it to be considered a protest against Mancini or anyone
else. It may have been a yelp of annoyance over a perfectly good
afternoon totally wasted.
There was little to be discussed, unless anyone was engrossed by the
sight of a raking foul down the back of Gareth Barry's leg by Javier
Mascherano in the 86th minute. The offence was worthy of a red card,
yet no action was taken by the referee Peter Walton. He could enjoy
some sympathy if he argues that his senses had been stupefied long
before.
The controversies were of poor standard. Benítez could work up
little indignation that no penalty was awarded when Yossi Benayoun
absent-mindedly stayed on his feet as he was challenged by Vincent
Kompany. Realistically Liverpool took whatever satisfaction could be
scraped together. This, after all, was an away game and they
probably enjoyed the better of it. A neutral will take a deeper
pleasure in the knowledge that neither team is in fourth place
today, with Tottenham Hotspur occupying that berth for the time
being.
If there was excellence at all, it lay in the sort of recovery
tackle that Liverpool's Martin Skrtel pulled off when Emmanuel
Adebayor seemed to be clear on goal with 10 minutes left. Benítez
will be content, too, that a cameo from the bench by Fernando Torres
showed he is restored following his knee surgery. Impact, all the
same, would have to wait.
Similarly Craig Bellamy re-entered the fray from the bench. There
was a double benefit for City in the proof that one of the
outstanding performers this season is fit again and that any
disagreements with Mancini have not sent the Welshman into exile.
Depriving himself of Bellamy would, in any case, have been a
self-destructive policy from the manager.
There is a price of sorts to be paid by Liverpool. Five bookings
trigger a £25,000 fine and the visitors must have decided there was
no point in stinting themselves when already set to be out of
pocket. Torres picked up the sixth caution for his team. The action
was often appalling, as if both sides were paralysed by the notion
of the harm defeat might do them.
Prior to the interval onlookers had to wring as much excitement as
they could from a Maxi Rodríguez attempt for Liverpool that was
deflected behind or a header wide for the visitors by Skrtel from a
corner. It would be vastly overstating the case to suggest that
Benítez's side had been in charge. Too many footballers were
preoccupied in the fruitless search for their vanished form. Hints
of the high stakes kept on coming in the flickering of yellow cards,
with City shown a pair.
Mancini had been uneasy following the midweek draw at Stoke.
Following the reported unrest in the squad, he put Micah Richards on
the bench with Kolo Touré beside him, although the Ivorian was
reported to have a presumably minor knee problem.
City have to take on Chelsea, Tottenham, Manchester United, Arsenal
and Aston Villa in the weeks to come and meetings with those
struggling against relegation will be demanding in a different way.
Here the most gruelling experience was endured by fans obliged to
watch.
These clubs have high expectations and Mancini has the added worry
of trying to retain his job. When minds clear, though, City and
Liverpool should ask themselves if this sort of wretched football
can serve the interests of either club.
Man City Given, Zabaleta,
Kompany, Lescott, Bridge,Wright-Phillips (Bellamy 68), Ireland
(Ibrahim 75), De Jong,Barry, Adam Johnson, Adebayor.
Subs Not Used: Taylor, Richards, Santa Cruz, Sylvinho, Toure.
Booked: Barry.
Liverpool Reina, Carragher, Skrtel, Agger, Insua, Mascherano,Lucas,
Maxi (Benayoun 63), Gerrard, Babel (Torres 75),Kuyt (Aquilani 86).
Subs Not Used: Cavalieri, Riera, Aurelio, Kelly.
Booked: Mascherano, Gerrard, Babel, Benayoun, Kuyt, Torres.
Att: 47,203
Ref: Peter Walton (Northamptonshire).
Stoke City 1 Manchester City 1
Battle Stations
Tuesday 16th February 2010 : Paul Robinson for
GYKO at the Britannia Stadium
Manchester City moved back into fourth place above Liverpool when a
late Gareth Barry equaliser salvaged a draw against the 10 men of
Stoke City, yet even though Roberto Mancini's side still have
another game in hand performances such as this will cause no loss of
sleep on Merseyside.
Even with Abdoulaye Faye dismissed with more than half an hour left
Stoke were deservedly winning until five minutes from the end, when
Barry showed determination to hook in a second effort after his
first shot had struck a post, and Liverpool themselves will be
putting City back in their place on Sunday unless Mancini can effect
a dramartic improvement. On this form Patrick Vieira looks as if he
might be the answer to Liverpool's prayers, not Mancini's, and on an
eventful night, Stoke were unlucky not to take all three points when
Ryan Shawcross had a goal disallowed from one final Rory Delap long
throw.
Stoke scored from one of only a handful of long throws at Eastlands
on Saturday, and clearly felt here it was worth eschewing the
element of surprise and peppering the City penalty area from the
off.
The opening 10 minutes contained half a dozen Delap specials, yet
the tactic was only a partial success. Robert Huth put a free header
over the bar from the first, though the more practice City were
given the better they became at defending the situations, and within
a few minutes the low-trajectory throws were being dealt with quite
calmly. When an agitated Mancini gesticulated from his technical
area after Delap had arrowed in his seventh in the 13th minute, it
was probably just to remind his players not to keep putting the ball
into touch.
The home side enjoyed better luck with Liam Lawrence's delivery of
free-kicks and corners in any case. Mamady Sidibe should have put
them in front in the fifth minute when a half-cleared free-kick
dropped at his feet, but he seemed as surprised as anyone else at
only having Shay Given to beat from six yards, and managed only the
tamest of shots straight at the goalkeeper.
Midway through the first half, after Vieira had reacted to Glenn
Whelan's niggling with a raised boot and received a warning from
Alan Wiley, Faye met Lawrence's corner with a firm goal-bound header
that Joleon Lescott diverted to safety from under his own bar.
Once they weathered Stoke's early storm Mancini's players managed a
few attacks of their own, without ever managing to hold on to the
ball for very long or pose Thomas Sorensen any problems. Once again
they missed the pace and movement of Carlos Tévez and Craig Bellamy,
and the problem was compounded by Emmanuel Adebayor and Roque Santa
Cruz playing like strangers up front with Vieira and Nigel de Jong
forming a creaking midfield shield in front of the defence.
Vieira in particular looked off the pace and gave the ball away
rather more than Arsenal fans would remember him doing. Booed by the
home fans following his argument with Whelan, he was booked just
before the interval for a foul on Sidibe, after Mancini appeared to
incense Tony Pulis by indicating to the referee that a foul on
Lescott was also worth a yellow card.
Another Huth header from another Delap throw was the closest the
first half came to a goal, and it was significant that the visitors'
only chance of any note also came from a set piece, though Santa
Cruz missed the target by a distance when Adam Johnson's free-kick
gave him a brief sight of goal.
De Jong and Whelan had joined Vieira in the book by the time the
game's moment of controversy arrived early in the second half, and
it came from another Delap long throw. This time Manchester City
cleared quickly and managed to catch Stoke with too many men in
forward positions. Adebayor made the most of an unsophisticated hoof
downfield by showing just enough pace and guile to get goalside of
Faye, and when the defender pulled him back by the shirt, Wiley
initially waved play on but produced a red card when appraised of
the facts by his assistant.
While the home crowd spent the rest of the game informing Wiley he
was not fit to referee, replays suggested the rule regarding the
last defender had been applied absolutely correctly. Wiley did not
go up in the Britannia's estimation when he refused a penalty after
Ricardo Fuller had been wrestled to the floor by Gareth Barry
either, though the defender did not appear to do a great deal to
encourage Fuller to fall over.
Playing against 10 men, Manchester City's attacking outlook improved
when Shaun Wright-Phillips was sent on for the last half hour, yet
after Adebayor had sent a shot narrowly over and Stoke had made a
defensive substitution the game dramatically swung the home side's
way.
Though a Stoke cross from the left had missed both of its intended
targets Manchester City still made a hash of clearing it, with
Johnson's final effort merely teeing up Whelan for a long range
shot. The midfielder duly fired in an effort that looked optimistic
until Shay Given dived over it, a rogue bounce possibly deceived the
goalkeeper at the last moment and allowing Whelan's low shot to
creep in to the bottom corner.
Overall probably the fairest
result but for all their non stop up and at 'em style of play, Stoke
are looking more like Wimbledon of old every time you see them play.
Man City must up the ante on Sunday - it's squeaky bum time as the
next four fixtures will make or break their season.
Teams
Stoke Sorensen, Huth, Shawcross, Abdoulaye Faye,Higginbotham
(Collins 46), Delap, Whitehead, Whelan,Lawrence (Diao 60), Sidibe,
Fuller (Beattie 80).
Subs Not Used: Begovic, Kitson, Pugh, Sanli.
Sent Off: Abdoulaye Faye (53).
Booked: Whelan, Fuller, Diao.
Goals: Whelan 72.
Man City Given, Richards (Zabaleta 81), Toure, Lescott,Garrido
(Wright-Phillips 60), Adam Johnson (Petrov 86), Vieira,De Jong,
Barry, Santa Cruz, Adebayor.
Subs Not Used: Taylor, Bridge, Onuoha, Ireland.
Booked: Vieira, De Jong, Barry.
Goals: Barry 85.
Att: 26,778
Ref: Alan Wiley (Staffordshire).
Manchester City 1 Stoke City 1
Clueless!!
Saturday 13th February 2010 : GYKO at the
COMSTAD
This was far from an FA Cup
thriller even if the result was a surprise, although at least the
three managers present all learned something useful. Fabio Capello
must have been pleased to note that Wayne Bridge played well; Tony
Pulis, with a trio of injury victims, will now understand why teams
often dilute their line-ups in this competition; and Roberto Mancini
now knows that Manchester City without Carlos Tevez and Craig
Bellamy are as clueless and ordinary as they were in the joke
years.
City were so poor without their two leading lights that it was hard
to take Mancini's claim of wanting to be in the last eight
seriously. It might be an idea at least to have them on the bench
for the replay. While Bellamy could be back for the league game at
the Britannia on Tuesday, Tevez is in Argentina for the birth of his
child.
Stoke were City's opponents in Mancini's first game in charge and
here, despite making three changes within an hour and giving away an
embarrassing early goal, the visitors gave a better account of
themselves. They came back at City and claimed a deserved equaliser,
something they never managed in December.
But the manner of it suggested all is not well at the heart of
Mancini's first- choice defence. Either that or City have never
heard of Rory Delap's long throws. Shay Given and both his centre-halfs
simply stood and watched as the ball arrowed in, leaving Ricardo
Fuller free to score unchallenged with a header from near the
penalty spot. "We know Stoke are dangerous from throw-ins, but still
we took up a bad position," Mancini said. "It wasn't Shay's fault."
Back in partnership with Joleon Lescott on the left of City's
defence, Bridge made a couple of good runs down the wing in the
opening minutes before comically sloppy Stoke defending allowed the
home side to take the lead. In fairness to Ryan Shawcross, when
Shaun Wright-Phillips got goalside of him from Stephen Ireland's
pass the former Chelsea player was probably offside, but once Thomas
Sorensen had stranded himself outside his area the defender had
another chance to clear off the line, only to miss his kick, fall to
the floor and nod the ball backwards to leave the winger an easy
tap-in.
Stoke's problems were compounded within seconds when Matthew Etherington
caught his studs in the turf while trying to turn with Bridge and
departed on a stretcher. Then Robert Huth beat Kolo Touré to a
header – practically everybody was beating the City captain to
headers – and as the ball ran to safety ended up knocking a
team-mate into the net instead. Mamady Sidibe did not look pleased
at being butted in the midriff by a 6ft 3in German, and took time to
get up.
The busy Bridge did well to block a shot by Liam Lawrence after
Tuncay had sent over a cross from the left, but the substitute
himself failed to last until the interval before damaging a
ligament. Then Andy Wilkinson turned his ankle early in the second
half. Delap might not even have been on the field but for all the
Stoke injuries, although once level from his throw the visitors grew
in confidence and the impressive Fuller and Glenn Whelan brought a
couple of saves from Given. Sorensen made the save of the game,
however, tipping over Gareth Barry's goalbound header from a
Wright-Phillips cross 12 minutes from time.
Roque Santa Cruz had a chance right at the end, but shot rather than
squared and Shawcross cleared on the line. Stoke had been abysmal in
the first half, yet by the end they did not deserve defeat. "A
replay is the last thing we wanted, but I'll take it," Pulis said.
"The only disappointment was the injuries we suffered. We haven't
got anything like the depth in our squad that Manchester City have
in theirs."Teams:
Man City Given, Zabaleta, Toure, Lescott, Bridge,Wright-Phillips,
Barry, De Jong, Petrov (Santa Cruz 62),Ireland (Vieira 72),
Adebayor.
Subs Not Used: Taylor, Onuoha, Garrido, Sylvinho, Boyata.
Goals: Wright-Phillips 11.
Stoke Sorensen, Wilkinson (Collins 55), Huth, Shawcross,Higginbotham,
Etherington (Lawrence 14), Diao, Whelan, Sanli,Sidibe, Fuller,
Lawrence (Delap 45).
Subs Not Used: Simonsen, Beattie, Kitson, Pugh.
Booked: Wilkinson.
Goals: Fuller 57.
Att: 28,019
Ref: Mark Clattenburg (Tyne & Wear).
Manchester City 2 Bolton 0
Points make Prizes
Tuesday 9th February 2010 : GYKO at the
COMSTAD
A new Manchester City star was
born in winger Adam Johnson as the Blues nudged up towards the top
four with victory over Bolton.
Strike duo Carlos Tevez and Emmanuel Adebayor might have scored the
goals that leave City trailing fourth-placed Liverpool on goal
difference, but there was no doubt Johnson was the real star.
Signed for £8million from Middlesbrough on deadline day, the
22-year-old left to a standing ovation six minutes from time after
providing most of the thrills on a chilly evening.
It was Johnson who won the penalty that Tevez converted to put City
ahead. And although fellow new-boy Patrick Vieira set up Adebayor to
seal victory, it was Johnson who kept Bolton on the back foot and
ensured there was no second away point of the season for Owen Coyle,
whose only other one came on this ground in November when he was
still at Burnley.
It is a run that must end quickly given Bolton could easily find
themselves in the drop zone after tomorrow night's games, and facing
Coyle with a massive job to prove it was not a mistake to bring him
in to replace Gary Megson.
While Vieira required no introduction on his home debut, Johnson
remained a bit of an unknown in these parts.
Not in his native north-east though, where he was rated good enough
to merit a place in the Middlesbrough line-up, aged just 20, even
though Stewart Downing occupied his favoured left-sided midfield
berth.
Those days on the right flank have served the England Under-21 star
well by the ease with which he swapped wings to unsettle the Bolton
defence.
City were probably glad they made their deadline-day purchase too.
Without Johnson's swift movement and nimble feet, Roberto Mancini's
men might have been in trouble against a Bolton side, trying to
metamorphosise into a passing team under Coyle while at the same
time desperately attempting to stave off relegation.
The arrival of Jack Wilshere should help. Arsene Wenger clearly
approves of Coyle's approach to the beautiful game and Wilshere
brings an element of silk to go with the steel Bolton will also need
if they are going to survive.
What the Trotters can certainly do without is the kind of rash
tackle Paul Robinson made to chop down Johnson, when the only place
he seemed to be heading was over the goal-line.
Referee Mike Jones had no doubt it was a penalty despite Robinson's
protests, TV replays indicating the Bolton full-back was engaging in
a cover-up exercise given the ridiculous nature of his challenge.
Not that Kolo Toure did any better when he scrambled across Johan
Elmander, sending the Swede tumbling to the deck as he was about to
reach a loose ball with his back to Shay Given's goal.
The protests were just as fierce but this time Jones said no,
denying Bolton a chance to level Carlos Tevez's 19th goal of the
campaign after Jussi Jaaskelainen had failed to keep the South
American's poor effort out.
Bolton could have done with getting Wilshere into more central
positions because with a bit more guile they could easily have
levelled, such was the impetus they gained at the start of the
second period.
As has been pointed out to Wenger repeatedly over the past few days,
possession and passes are all very well, but football's hard
currency will always remain goals and points.
Mancini was sufficiently disturbed to abandon his solid three-man
midfield line by bringing on Shaun Wright-Phillips for Wayne Bridge,
a move that involved a significant reshuffle given one is a
right-winger, the other a left-back; Gareth Barry's adaptability
allowing him to fill the latter role.
The move was unorthodox. But it worked a treat, unlike Bolton's
offside trap as the visitors failed to keep tabs on Adebayor as he
ran onto Vieira's elegant chipped through ball.
A chest control and crisp, volleyed finish came straight out of the
textbook and Adebayor raced away to celebrate.
Bolton continued to huff and puff until the final whistle, by which
time Johnson had departed to a standing ovation he is set to receive
plenty of on this evidence.
Teams
Man City Given, Zabaleta, Toure (Lescott 55), Kompany,Bridge
(Wright-Phillips 68), De Jong, Vieira, Barry,Adam Johnson (Sylvinho
84), Tevez, Adebayor.
Subs Not Used: Taylor, Onuoha, Ireland, Petrov.
Goals: Tevez 31 pen, Adebayor 73.
Bolton Jaaskelainen, Steinsson, Knight, Ricketts, Robinson,Kevin
Davies, Cohen (Mark Davies 74), Muamba,Wilshere (Taylor 78), Lee,
Elmander.
Subs Not Used: Al Habsi, Samuel, Gardner, Basham,
Andrew O'Brien.
Booked: Muamba, Robinson.
Att: 42,016
Ref: Michael Jones (Cheshire).
Hull City 2 Manchester City 1
Tigers chew up City
Saturday 6th February 2010 : Derek Bailey for
GYKO at the KC Stadium
The Manchester City debuts of
Patrick Vieira and Adam Johnson were overshadowed by the return to
the field of Wayne Bridge, which was, in turn, upstaged by a Hull
City victory that lifted them out of the relegation zone as
effectively as it shunted their monied visitors away from the
Champions League places.
Hull's first win in 10 league matches came courtesy of goals in
either half, from Jozy Altidore and George Boateng, as Phil Brown's
charges dominated the first hour and Manchester City, not for the
first time this season and to the bemusement of Roberto Mancini,
performed poorly away from Eastlands.
"The pitch is the same when we play at home or away and if we want
to succeed we must win away and we must fight always," said the
Manchester City manager, who was unimpressed with the treatment
doled out to Bridge on his first appearance since the 2-1 victory
over Chelsea at the beginning of December. While recuperating from a
knee injury, the full-back has been thrust into a media storm not of
his making and it was obvious that he would be targeted. "I think
that sometimes the crowd do not have respect for people and this is
not good. The people in the first half had no respect for him," said
Mancini.
For the first half-hour, Bridge cut a pretty lonely figure as Hull
focused on the visitors' right flank, with Stephen Hunt and, in
particular, Altidore giving Pablo Zabaleta and Dedryck Boyata a
torrid time. Mancini fielded arguably his strongest side, except for
Boyata, who deputised for the injured Joleon Lescott in the centre
of the defence, and his inexperience showed.
But the 20-year-old was not the only one to struggle to contain
Altidore. Kolo Touré was booked in the fourth minute after
obstructing the burly on-loan striker. Boyata followed him into the
book when he dragged the inspired American back after being skinned
again. Altidore worked well with Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink and the
Dutchman volleyed wide from inside the area after 21 minutes and
three minutes later nodded the ball down for his compatriot Boateng,
who shot just over from 20 yards.
On the half-hour, Altidore curled a right-foot shot around Shay
Given and into his bottom-left corner after Vennegoor of Hesselink
tapped a Boateng pass back to the American on the edge of the area.
It was only his second goal for the club he joined on loan from
Villarreal during the summer and his first in the Premier League.
The following few minutes were tough on Bridge, who was subject to
some chants from the emboldened home crowd, lost his boot and found
himself marking Hull's resident Tasmanian Dust Devil, Hunt, as the
Ireland international switched wings.
On the day after his former girlfriend Vanessa Perroncel took a vow
of omertà, Bridge almost silenced the terrace wags with a goal in
injury time, but after playing a smart one-two with Stephen Ireland
the full-back's left-foot shot was well-saved by Boaz Myhill at his
near post.
A second Hull goal was no surprise, but its sheer quality was
jarring. Hunt's corner was headed clear by Touré, only to be
returned with extraordinary venom by Boateng. The ball swerved
through a packed penalty area and past Given's despairing dive. Cue
the arrival of Manchester City. Emmanuel Adebayor and Carlos Tevez
had half-chances before the Togo international bundled the ball home
after a cleared corner from substitute Johnson was returned to the
six-yard box by Gareth Barry.
Vieira was reintroduced to English football as his team-mates
celebrated and the 33-year-old Frenchman was booked for a foul on
Hull midfielder Tom Cairney, one of a few players to be praised by
the Hull assistant manager, Brian Horton, who was sent to face the
press after vanquishing his former employers.
"It's always nice to play well against your old club," Horton said.
"I'm not bothered about whether they could have done more. We did
what we had to do today."
Bridge was replaced by Martin Petrov in the final five minutes to
another chorus of taunts. At least he has returned to the reality of
his day job – however unpleasant that may be when he plays away.
Teams:
Hull Myhill, McShane, Gardner, Mouyokolo, Dawson, Fagan,Boateng (Olofinjana
82), Cairney, Hunt, Altidore (Zaki 66),Vennegoor of Hesselink (Kilbane
83).
Subs Not Used: Duke, Barmby, Garcia, Zayatte.
Booked: Fagan, Dawson.
Goals: Altidore 31, Boateng 54.
Man City Given, Zabaleta, Toure, Boyata, Bridge (Petrov 85),Ireland
(Adam Johnson 55), De Jong, Barry, Bellamy (Vieira 60),Tevez,
Adebayor.
Subs Not Used: Taylor, Onuoha, Wright-Phillips, Sylvinho.
Booked: Toure, Boyata, Zabaleta, Vieira.
Goals: Adebayor 59.
Att: 24,959
Ref: Phil Dowd (Staffordshire).
|
Follow
the fortunes of Man City on their
roller coaster ride through thick and (mainly) thin. All the reports and results
from all the games plus a whole lot more besides.
What
a fantastic compilation of songs and styles,
normally football albums are cringe worthy but this
is superb, and has a variety of styles to suit all
age of fans. I particularly like The Invisible Man,
The Best Team in the Land, and Jon Christos' City
Till I die. A must for all City fans and well done -
by far the best of any club album released to
date.£3.00 only incl p&p
City's
finest hour - or hour and a half, whichever way you
look at it. Played in Vienna, Austria in the pouring
rain this match as far as I know was the only
European Final involving a British club not to be
shown live on TV, at least in England. I badly want
a copy of the programme so if anyone has one that
they wish to unload on me please get in touch.
The
DVD charts the success of the season so far,
following the arrival of new owner Dr Thaksin
Shinawatra and Manager Sven-Goran Eriksson back in
July. At that point, they were coming to a club that
only avoided relegation by four points the previous
season and had failed to score a league goal at home
since New Years Day. A few months later, City were a
club transformed, thanks in the main to the
spectacular impact of Eriksson and his management
style. New signings such as Brazilian star Elano and
Bulgarian flyer Martin Petrov have complemented
Academy Graduates like Micah Richards and Michael
Johnson. The Blues have made their best start to a
league campaign for years and put together an
incredible number of successive home wins that took
them to third in the Barclays Premier League. Much
more on here in the extras section - TOP DVD Quality
