Perhaps the main disappointment of yesterday - up there will the profligate finishing - was the failure to dominate possession in the second half. The best teams can close out narrow but comfortable wins in home games but yesterday we failed to control the game after the break. Wolves moved to 4-4-2, pressed us hard, and we ended up under real pressure, and only really threatening Wolves on the break.
You can see this on a Guardian chalkboard of yesterday's game. In blue are our successful passes made in open play: look at the volume of them in the first half, as Gareth Barry and Ireland knocked the ball around quite freely. But see how few passes there are, relatively, in the second half.
by Guardian Chalkboards
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Shaun Wright-Phillips and Robinho mustered four crosses between them.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2009/aug/24/chalkboards-manchestercity
As with Blackburn Ireland played far deeper than last season - compare to Bolton and Blackburn home games last season where he played in front of DeJong.
Prefer formation with DeJong with width from Barry/Bridge/Robinho; Ireland/Richards/Adebayor or SWP.
SWP gets to play when Ireland not available or instead of Tevez or Adebayor.
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