Hart. A few good saves in the first half. Maybe could have met the cross for the first or third goals, and should have prevented Corluka giving away the corner for the second. 5
Corluka. I was delighted to see him in a City shirt today - having long ago prepared myself only to see him in white in future. Caught out of position for Villa's first, but he can't have expected Gelson would give Young the ball. Shouldn't have given the corner away for Agbonlahor's first, but this could equally have been Hart's fault. A few good moments going forward, including his first goal for City. I always hoped that when it came I would be able to celebrate it more though. 6
Richards. Our best player. One of the few defenders around able both to match Carew for strength and Agbonlahor for pace. Put in a few colossal challenges. Caught in between Agbonlahor and Carew for Villa's second, but ideally Ben Haim or Garrido would have also been in the box. Maybe not yet suited to captaincy: the poor marking and the 10 minute implosion suggest a lack of leadership and organisation from the back. 8
Ben Haim. Put in some good tackles but also caught out a few times. Hughes said he's vocal at the back but didn't see much evidence of that today. Questionable back header in the first half caused chaos in our box. Threatened to replicate Distin's great goal at Villa Park in 2006/07, but didn't quite have that burst of pace 25 yards from goal. 7
Garrido. The sour taste of having to take a Man United reserve will be nothing compared to the relief in having a good left back. Garrido (inexplicably called 'J-Dog' by someone sitting near me) tries hard, but just isn't quick or strong enough to play full back in the Premier League. Some nice overlaps and passes, but beaten too many times. Won a few headers in the second half. 5
Etuhu. Another really good effort from Kel. A wise choice from Hughes putting him (six foot four and fifteen stone?) against the much smaller Nicky Shorey, and Etuhu did well in holding up the ball and helping out Evans and Elano. Still clearly learning how to play right wing: frequently dithered or made the wrong decision in the final third. 6
Johnson. His best performance in a while. Up against a good opponent in Nigel Reo-Coker but tackled hard and kept the ball well. Increased in influence in that good period we had between the first two Villa goals, running the length of the pitch to win our penalty. The Hughes fitness and discipline regime should help him become the player he can be. He just needs to sign that contract. 7
Fernandes. Full of energy, and put in a few very good tackles on Barry and Stilian Petrov. But his lack of experience showed with two costly mistakes. Inexplicably giving Ashley Young the ball to set up Carew, and then failing to pick up Agbonlahor from the headed down corner. Unless we discover £8million lying around to spend on a midfield general, will be asked to shoulder a real burden this year. 6
Petrov. At the heart of our best attacks, as expected. Some good interplay with Garrido, Johnson and Elano in that almost fruitful second half spell. Almost scored a great goal in the first half. Unfortunate to have Evans rather than Bozhinov to aim for with his crosses. Until we have a top centre forward will need to carry the team going forward. 8
Elano. Back in his favoured position, the trequartista role given to him by Eriksson this time last year. Flashes of the subtlety and brilliance we saw last autumn: a pass over his shoulder to Etuhu in the first half, a few changes of pace to glide past Stilian Petrov in the second half. Should have helped Gelson and Johnson a bit more at times. Took his penalty very well. 7
Evans. Wasn't expecting to start but stuck to his task well. Lone striker isn't his best role - Laursen and Davies towered over him at time - but he worked very well and showed a few lovely touches. Will surely get more chances before we get Jo back/sign Milito/whatever. 7
Ireland and Sturridge. Both could easily have started, and played as if they were proving a point. Really lifted the tempo for the last ten minutes, which was nice to see when we could have surrendered. Sturridge continues to look ludicrously talented at times.
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6 comments:
Its amazing how highly you have rated that pile of sh*t from yesterday. Imagine if we actually won!
I travelled down yesterday and have to say we were outplayed by one of our so called closest rivals.
Jo needs to be some player to get anything out of this season.
i gotta agree with stuart, i was so dissapointed with that 'display'. with most of the team playing like retards for 70 or 80 minutes, i find it hard to rate any of them of over a 6. glimpses of magic are not enough when you get crushed. yeah, it's sad we've lost bojinov for another 6 months, but we can't just put the pressure on the strikers when we ship 4 goals and play like spastics. i only hope we can improve, otherwise we're fucked.
Yeah I see what you mean. I thing it's hard with numbers because there is no objective standard of what constitutes a 5/10 or a 7/10 or whatever.
What's more important is the numbers in relation to the other numbers.
I mean, the top level is Richards and Petrov. The next level has the 7/10 players, then the 6/10 players and so forth.
So I guess you can subtract one from each of my ratings if you want, and you'll get a slightly better picture.
I stick by the words though.
Fernandes is totally inept and out of his depth. He buzzes around the pitch like a headless chicken rushin' everythin' be it a simple 10 pass or a free kick. He has become a liability. He simply has no poise, presence and quality even though i do not doubt he tries his best. Giving a 100 per cent should be a given but it will only get you so far. Surely Hamann with his passing, experience and great knack of winning free kicks would have been a wiser choice even though he is 33 or whatever. Form is temporary, class is permanent.
BRING BACK DIDI - yes, i have to agree with that, gelson reminds me of mohammed sissoko; enthusiastic but a spastic. hamann needs to start every game, not only because of his wealth of talent and experience, but also because of the influence a level-headed and quality player has on the rest of the team. people liken him to a schoolteacher, and when you consider the age of the rest of our team, we NEED HIM.
the name 'j-dog' probably derives from a scene on the tv show 'flight of the conchords', where one of the main characters, jemaine, refers to himself as the j-dog in a misguided attempt to impress a girl he likes. I hope that's what it refers to anyway, because it's a hilarious programme.
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