Monday 24 August 2009

More Wolves reax

Chris Wheeler, Daily Mail

While it is difficult to fault a return of six points from two games without conceding a goal, it cannot hide the fact that City have looked vulnerable at times against Blackburn and Wolves.

Portsmouth are next up in the Premier League but then come Arsenal and neighbours United at Old Trafford in what will be one of the most eagerly awaited Manchester derbies of recent years. Those games will provide a more accurate reading of City's progress.

Certainly the open, attacking football that Mark Hughes's side have played in their opening two games will leave them exposed at the back. Lescott will have to work for his bigger pay packet.

Tony Barrett, The Times

Digging in, withstanding pressure and dealing with momentum going against you are indeed the kind of qualities that have underpinned many a title challenge. But Sheikh Mansour probably did not expect to see them in evidence against a Wolves side who were put together for a fraction of the spending that marks him out for displays of public gratitude.

A combination of wasteful finishing and the pluck of a Wolves team, who, unlike their opponents, are more than the sum of their parts meant that the outcome remained in the balance long after Adebayor had given Carlos Tévez’s deft touch the finish it so richly deserved.

Joe Lovejoy, The Guardian

After two games against run-of-the-mill opposition it is much too early to venture conclusions about City's prospects of translating potential into real progress. They have had so many false dawns before, most recently under Sven-Goran Eriksson, who had them running third in October 2007, until the wheels came off spectacularly with a 6-0 drubbing at Chelsea. Hughes has cherry-picked better players than Eriksson had, but the product does not yet amount to the sum of their individual parts. A win is a win, as any manager will tell you, but against homespun Wolves they created nine acceptable chances yet scored only the one goal, from the admirable Adebayor.

Clive White, The Independent

Of course, one would be mad to suggest there are not enough goals in this side – there was enough even on the bench on Saturday – but it remains to be seen how well they gel because this is a team that is all about movement in the final third of the pitch rather than distinct formation. Neither Emmanuel Adebayor nor Tevez are target men, so headed goals will be out of the question unless they come from defenders at set-pieces.

Not that City threw in too many aimless crosses. Almost everything was gloriously to feet, like the goal for instance which, to be fair, Tevez played a major part in setting up. It started with Robinho, as most things did, wide on the left.

Phil Shaw, Daily Telegraph

City took only one of their many chances, however, which encouraged late pressure by Wolves in which Andy Keogh hit the bar. Which is where Hughes’s less flamboyant signings, Gareth Barry and Kolo Touré, came in. With so many attacking players, the risk of getting the balance wrong, as Ossie Ardiles did with his utopian team at Tottenham, is a real one. Barry’s diligence and Touré’s solidity, allied to Shay Given’s agility, enabled City to see out the game.

3 comments:

Unknown said...

run-of-the-mill opposition!!!

Yes maybe but ffs Burnley have beaten Manuuuu and Everton granted Everton are a bit crap at the minute but can we do anything right? We get slagged off for spending money yet Real Madrid are still brilliant blah blah blah Biasted journo's someone even said our good start is down to the computer that generates the fixtures LMAO Chelsea have played Hull (Shite) Sunderland and Fulham.
Then Manuuu have played Birmingham Burnley and Wigan yet we have had the easier start do me a favour you got nothing nice to say dont say it

Wigan Blue said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Mak said...

Bored of the uninformative platitudes and cliches spewing from Fleet Street? At http://whywasthatgoalscored.blogspot.com/ , we tell you exactly why goals were scored. Analysis of Adebayor's winner v Wolves is now available - find out exactly how Gareth Barry made a critical contribution without touching the ball.