Stoke reax

Ian Herbert, The Independent

On the plus side, Adebayor, whom Mancini seems resigned to being without for at least three games, foraged well for possession in the first half and saw a sublime 35-yard strike clawed away; substitute Shaun Wright-Phillips showed energy; and City's defence repelled Stoke's aerial threat fairly well for 80 minutes or so. But Stoke are not as invincible as their unbeaten run this year and their fourth-round defeat of Arsenal would suggest.

James Ducker, The Times

City started much the brighter and should have been in front inside 20 minutes, but with Bellamy spurning the opportunity, Stoke heeded the wake-up call and gradually began to gain a foothold.

Unbeaten in their previous ten matches since the turn of the year, Stoke are awkward opponents to face, particularly at the Britannia Stadium, and as the first half wore on, it was clear they would take some shifting.

Joe Lovejoy, The Guardian

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 [actually under Hughes - J] and Everton. They will be even more disgruntled now.

Graham Chase, Daily Telegraph

City enjoyed the best of the opening quarter of the match and should have taken the lead when Adebayor fooled Dean Whitehead on half way and broke through on his own only to square to Bellamy and the Welshman to waste the opportunity with a heavy first touch.

Ian Ladyman, Daily Mail

The country's richest club have now won just two games in eight. But they showed plenty of fight last night. They have become rather dull to watch under the rather pragmatic Mancini but they certainly defend better. It was against this background that they battled and scrapped.

Stoke, though, are feisty opposition. To concede an equaliser so soon after taking the lead could have crushed teams with lesser spirit but Tony Pulis sides tend to be of the sleeves-rolled-up variety and this saw the home team through last night.

Stoke player ratings

Given Had a good game up until Shawcross' goal - made some sharp saves from headers close in. But then he charged out for a long throw, missed it, and we were 2-1 down. 5

Richards Restored at right back, and continued his steady improvement. It's hard to think of a defensive mistake, and when on possession he looks slightly more composed than he used to be. 7

Onuoha One outstanding tackle on Ricardo Fuller was the standout moment in an otherwise quiet game. 6

Lescott Had a difficult job tracking Fuller across the pitch. Generally he coped well with Stoke's barrage. 6

Bridge Influential down the flank in the first half, but more cautious as Stoke improved later on. Withdrawn just before ninety minutes. 6

Zabaleta Played most of the game wide on the right. If he was just a little bit quicker he'd be very effective - he tackles hard, passes the ball well enough and makes intelligent runs. When SWP came on he moved inside, and continued to work hard. 7

Ireland For the first thirty minutes it was his best performance in months, drifting between Adebayor and the midfield, finding space and linking play. But then when he had a decent goalscoring opportunity stolen by a Shawcross tackle the confidence seemed to leak out of him, and he stopped any productive involvement in the game. Taken off after an hour. 5

Kompany Moved into his preferred defensive midfield role, he was excellent. Preferred over Nigel de Jong for the extra 19cm of height he brings, he was dominant in the air, and against the 'robust' Salif Diao in midfield. Passing ability underrated, too. 7

Barry Like Ireland he started very brightly, controlling the tempo of the game, but was not able to maintain this throughout. Missed a good headed chance and was moved to left-back. 6

Bellamy Our main outlet down the left, he repeatedly beat the Stoke defence for pace. If he'd been as sharp as he was a few months ago he would have put us ahead before half time. But he continued to work hard and took his goal well. 6

Adebayor Another improved performance, dropping deep, running with the ball, and all the rest of it, before his red card. The card was probably harsh but I don't think he can have too many complaints when he swings his arm like that so close to the referee. 6

Subs:

SWP Lively down the right when he came on. Very useful against tired legs in games like this. 7

RSC Not fit. Missed a good chance but the game was probably gone by then. 5

Sylvinho Too late to mark. n/a

Stoke 3 - 1 City

• It wasn't our worst away performance of the season. But it wasn't enough for this most difficult of away games. And this is a game that we should never have been played: if we hadn't been so insipid at Eastlands eleven days ago we would have been relaxing this evening, planning for consecutive trips to Stamford Bridge. Tonight, though, like last Saturday, we failed to turn early chances into a comfortable lead, we stood off, allowed Stoke back into the game and then failed to mark from a long throw. I know Stoke are a good side, and Tony Pulis has done very well with his resources, but what exactly is the point of spending £200m on players if after 210 minutes of FA Cup football against Stoke you've scored two goals and conceded four?

• And it all started so well. We picked an interesting team, with Vincent Kompany and Pablo Zabaleta moved into midfield, and Micah Richards and Nedum Onuoha back in defence. Craig Bellamy came in on the left. We played with a bit more poise and control than we did in the Premier League game there last week. Kompany and Gareth Barry controlled the game, with a clear plan to have Bellamy hit the space in behind. Had Bellamy's touch been better we would have gone ahead, and there were other half chances too.

• But we didn't take our chances and let Stoke back into the game. They pressed and pushed and kicked and threw, and we just let them. Ireland faded, as did Barry, our defence were unsettled by Ricardo Fuller and eventually substitute Dave Kitson put Stoke ahead, quite inevitably. Strangely enough, we managed to equalise soon later. But when Adebayor was sent off for a raised arm on Ryan Shawcross Stoke recovered all momentum.

• Down to ten men, at the Brittania, and with our away form, there was only going to be one result. But it was still disappointing that it came from a long throw - Shay Given charged out, missed the ball, and Shawcross headed in. Then Tuncay Şanlı danced past our defence to make it 3-1. With bodies thrown forward this one was likely, but it killed the game. Defensively it wasn't a particularly bad performance overall but individual errors at key moments cost us yet again.

• We're out, though, and all we have left to focus on is fourth. This starts on Saturday. I'm not expecting much, but a decent performance - a score draw, even - could just give us the momentum we need. This season isn't over, but it is getting steadily worse each week.
  

Stoke preview

At least this is the last one. This is our third game against Stoke in eleven days, and our fourth in eleven weeks. It's some relief that we can't play them again until August at the very earliest. Because tonight is going to be bitingly difficult. Stoke away is one of the hardest fixtures there is, and we go there this evening low on confidence and with a real whiff of discord emanating from the club.

Craig Bellamy's training, Carlos Tévez's absence, Shaun Wright-Phillips' contract, and Stephen Ireland's form have combined to create the appearance of a club which is undergoing a difficult spell. This should not be too much of a surprise: managerial changes are always difficult, and ones as controversial, unpredicted and transformative as the Hughes/Mancini changeover will inevitably lead to real discord. Remember how Hughes spent the best part of 2008/09 trying to impose himself on the squad? These things take time.

Interestingly enough, Mancini has said that he might abandon some of his new methods and go for a direct approach tonight, matching Stoke at their own game:

"We must work on the high ball, on corners and free kicks, long balls and long passes. If we want to win this game, we must play like them."

This could well mean that we're going to play 4-4-2, as we did in our game in Stoke last week. This relies on Roque Santa Cruz's fitness, but we can't do it without him. Despite his size, Emmanuel Adebayor isn't that much of a target man, whereas Santa Cruz can do that job quite admirably:

The other option is to stick with the 4-5-1 from the Liverpool game. Craig Bellamy can come in for the cup-tied Adam Johnson, while Stephen Ireland could also drop out. We can move either Vincent Kompany or Pablo Zabaleta from defence into midfield, but here I prefer Zabaleta, with Micah Richards restored at right back:

Whatever we do it's going to be tough. This is a huge game, not even for the chance of progression into an even harder away game at Stamford Bridge, but for the opportunity to dispel the clouds of doubt that have gathered around Mancini and the club over the last few weeks. A brave performance, taking it to extra time, and I'd be content. Prediction? 2-2 and a Shay Given penalty masterclass.

Chelsea v Stoke

Probably.

I'm really not that confident about our replay at the Britannia.

At least we've got a dress rehearsal on Tuesday.