EB/Streymur 0 - 2 City

• The first question: should more have been scored? The answer is probably yes, but the scoreline does not reflect the superiority that City showed. It is perhaps true that a few more oppurtunities could have been created, but in truth it would have been naive to expect too much with Jo making his debut and Vassell playing alongside him. Although we perhaps could have created more, it's hard to make complaints - we kept the ball well and Vassell and Evans spurned two easy chances.
• Bianchi and Garrido's omission casted doubt over their future careers at the club. The fact that Gelson, Elano, Corluka and Benjani were all placed on the bench when they have played internationally this Summer and were said to be used only if necessary means that the first two lie some way down the pecking order.
• I thought Hamann had a decent game, but he tired and was replaced by Gelson late on. He may well have gone up in Hughes' estimations (and the example of Tugay suggests there is a place for his type of player under Hughes), but could he play with Johnson in a 4-4-2? Hughes' has employed Tugay in the middle of the middle over the years, but less so as he has aged. If Hamann does play, a player of Essein-like levels of fitness is required - the second midfield berth may come down to a matter of running power, and Gelson would win this hands down. Johnson is a great prospect regardless and if we don't sign a midfield enforcer expect these three to be rotated, perhaps along with Ireland, depending on the context of the game.
• The play was quite heavily concentrated, especially in the first half, down the left flank as the initial tactics seemed to be "get it to Petrov". Ireland, who played on the right, is not this type of player and he often drifted inside. One gets the impression Hughes feels he can only get the best out of his 4-4-2 with a right-sided Petrov, and Ireland, like Elano, is most definitely a square peg in this round hole. One advantage Ireland has over Elano is his ability to be considered for a role in central midfield - if he wants to stay at the club, he may have to reinvent himself there.