Manchester City 2-1 Newcastle – The final inquest.
Posted on October 3rd, 2010 | 175 Comments |
Few fans this week actually expected anything other than a defeat at the hands of the blue limitless overdraft that calls itself Manchester City.
For me this week was all about seeing how we performed more than anything else. Going down fighting is one thing, while lying down and taking a beating is something else altogether. For the most part, I think our lads played a good game. A performance of this sort would have, I feel, ensured three points last week. But enough of the history lesson. Here is an analysis of the individual performances as I saw them.
Tim Krul – Just seems to keep improving week after week. He does panic a little in a scramble and needs to work a little on his positioning (especially for the second goal), but he’s getting better at dealing with crosses all the time, and I believe he’s already better at decision making and shot-stopping than Harper.
James Perch – I think he was overwhelmed by the opposition. Showed a little bit of indecision and that was evident to the City attack. Definitely needs work on his positional play as he left gaping holes a couple of times. Put in some neat tackles though.
Mike Williamson – Though there were people slating him after the penalty, I believe his game was exemplary. Take into consideration the opposition he was up against, and the fact that he got the ball when the penalty was given, and there really is nothing more to be said.
Fabricio Coloccini – Sturdy defensively. Can’t really complain much about his performance, and who can forget that cracker of a volley?
Sol Campbell – Seems to have a bit of pace that made him look far younger than he is. Helped keep up with City’s attacking style. Great exponent of the theory ‘when in doubt, put it out’. Can see him being extremely valuable to us this season. Should be given an extension beyond this season if he continues in this form.
Jose Enrique – Another fairly impressive performance by the Spaniard yet again. Though he does make the odd defensive blunder which on the day may cost us. Seemed to relish the opportunity to link up with Jonas yet again and they did exceptionally well in my opinion.
Hatem Ben Arfa – The poor lads chance to shine was cut drastically short by the ‘butcher-in-blue’, Nigel De Jong.
Wayne Routledge – Good bursts of pace, which is his forte, but wonder if his lack of end product ever gets addressed in training. There doesn’t seem to be any improvement in that area. One particular misplaced pass on the halfway-line a little into the second half stands out in my minds eye.
Cheick Tiote – The lad seems to be one of those consistent performers in the best possible way. Does whatever he does well and as often as required.
Joey Barton – Terrible passing for someone like him with an eye for a pass. Terrible at set pieces. Chipped in with a few good tackles at the start of the second half though.
Jonas Gutierrez – Played his socks off. Caused them quite a few problems at times with little bits of flair. Good positional sense to get the goal in as well. Invaluable all round.
Kevin Nolan – Missing in action for large spells of the game.
Shola Ameobi – Hit and miss really. And that’s about the most spot on description I can afford him, with no pun intended. A few nice tricky passes aimed at unlocking their defense but otherwise kept out all afternoon.
Andy Carroll – Seemed to find himself at the end of half chances at best. Seems to have lost a bit of confidence to be honest, but had a sort of uplifting and galvanizing effect when he came on, though that may well have been the product of my imagination.
Between a bad decision for the penalty, De Jongs horror tackle, and a few missed chances, the result could well have gone our way, so like I said last week, onward and upward, and roll on every other team that sees us as the underdog. It’s what brings out the best in us.
HWTL.
NUFCBlog Author: fernando666
fernando666 has written 8 articles on this blog.
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