Monday 22 April 2013

Tottenham 3 - 1 Manchester City: Thoughts and Ratings

By Aaron Leggott

My thoughts

It was probably a good idea to leave this post to today because I was extremely frustrated at some individuals yesterday following the defeat.

I shall not name anybody but I was extremely disappointed to see some of the overreactions from Manchester City fans. Of course, everybody is allowed their opinion but when I am seeing people who are supposedly willing to create "hate societies" for certain members of our squad then I am incredibly bemused.

One person who was targetted specifically yesterday was a certain Bosnian named Edin Dzeko. Now, let me get this straight - I am not his biggest fan at all. In fact, I have been one of his biggest critics this season for his inability to win headers consistently.

Carlos Tevez was my City MoTM, click "Read More" underneath to see why
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However, you can't deny the ability that he brings to this squad and he is an asset to Manchester City. He remains our top scorer this season and is the joint 7th leading goalscorer in the Premier League - not bad for someone who is "the worst player to play for us" (Yes, people were actually saying that...) 

He had an awful game yesterday, but I am positive that some City fans are getting extremely selfish and seemingly unaware that we don't have a divine right to win every game that we play. 

I'm not a fan of people always saying "Look where we have come from" because this is a totally different team, but I think a bit of realism is still needed. We're on course to finish second in the league and we are strong favourites to win our second FA Cup in three years, along with a Premier League trophy in the middle of that. Not exactly that bad, is it?

I will agree with those who point to Roberto Mancini's failings in the Champions League and I am certainly thinking that next season will be his last chance to prove himself on the continental stage. However, with our two group qualifiers set to fight it out to be a Champions League finalist - I think we once again need to be honest with ourselves in that it was an unbelievably tough group.

With regards to yesterday's game, I think we played extremely well for 60 minutes - but AVB's substitutions ultimately turned the game around. Tom Huddlestone probably played better than he has done for years and they well and truly tore us apart in just seven minutes to put the game beyond us. Sometimes you just have to hold you hands up and congratulate your opponents.


Player ratings


HART: I would say that Hart had a mixed game. He did brilliantly to prevent Kyle Walker in the first half and in fairness he can't be to blame for either of Tottenham's goals. 

TSBV rating: 7/10



ZABALETA: Arguably to blame for Tottenham's second goal when he was out of position but he dealt well with Gareth Bale throughout the game and the Welshman only became more influential when moved to the right wing. 

TSBV rating: 6/10



KOMPANY: Probably not his best game in a City shirt as he left Dempsey clear for the first goal. He also has a tendency to also be attracted to the ball at times - a minor thing which he needs to work on. 

TSBV rating: 6/10



NASTASIC: There was a lot of pundits and journalists expressing their shock at Matija's exclusion from the PFA Young Player of the Year shortlist earlier last week and perhaps the pressure got to him as this wasn't his best game in a City shirt - left Bale far too easily for the third goal, for example. 

TSBV rating: 6/10



CLICHY: Struggled to deal with Bale throughout the second half and was often finding himself in a two on one situation with Walker bombing down the wing and Nasri not tracking back. A tough game for the full back. 

TSBV rating: 6/10



BARRY: I thought Barry was very sloppy yesterday and struggled to keep possession throughout the game, not his best performance in a blue shirt. 

TSBV rating: 6/10




YAYA TOURE: Yaya came in for a lot of criticism yesterday and I was actually quite surprised as I thought he played okay. Granted, it was not his best performance but he did well to support the front men on occasion. 

TSBV rating: 7/10




MILNER: Probably one of the best players on the pitch before he was taken off at half time. His cross for the first goal was brilliant and as per usual he provided a threat going forward whilst also protecting Pablo Zabaleta. 

TSBV rating: 8/10




NASRI: He is proving why Mancini brought him in last summer with some brilliant performances recently and I thought he did well in the first half yesterday despite drifting off towards the end of the game.  

TSBV rating: 7/10







DZEKO: Probably his worst performance since our last defeat at Goodison Park but that doesn't mean I'm going to brand him as an awful player as his stats prove otherwise. Unfortunately I think he's completely lost the majority of our fans' support and will be on his way out of the club this summer. 

TSBV rating: 4/10



TEVEZ: I would have given the City MoTM award to Tevez yesterday. He provided a threat throughout the whole game on Sunday and never gave Jan Vertonghen and Michael Dawson a moment's peace. People presume that due to his size he is not strong but he has consistently proved his doubters wrong throughout his career.

TSBV rating: 9/10






Substitutes 

KOLAROV: Never really got into the game and once again put in a poor performance for us. Not only was he incapable of supporting the attack whilst playing as a left winger, he also seemed unable to support Clichy when Gareth Bale switched to Tottenham's right wing.

TSBV rating: 5/10



SINCLAIR: The game was all but over when he came on in the 83rd minute. 

No rating





LESCOTT: Replaced Clichy in the last minute to play up front but like Sinclair he didn't have time to influence proceedings. 

No rating






Note: All pictures above from MCFC Official Facebook page




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(c) The Sky Blue View 2013

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