Another Away wins equalling last season’s dismal record already! An obvious difficult tie today disregarding our previous Fratton park form, Pompey had strengthened their squad quickly before the game and was an unknown quantity.
City took the game in their stride and outcome somewhat mirrored the efforts Vs Wolves. Dominating the 1st half and scoring yet again from what i had come to regard as rare, set piece! Adebayor is looking the World class striker that we have desired, 3 goals in 3 has made him an instant hit!
Hughes made one change to the squad today, resting Robinho for a more workman like performance from Bellamy. Hughes was impressed with Bellamy i was less so, one decent cross in the game was about all he could muster, his final ball was generally poor and one dimensional in terms ability in taking on players (it’s simply pace), he also offered very little defensively. We didnt look more solid with him on, or a better attacking side. I was surprised (well maybe not!) either Petrov or Robinho didnt replace him to achieve that elusive 2nd goal!
Once again Steven Ireland failed to get to grips with his new role, started his passing game poorly but improved. Yet he is still not fulfilling the needs of the side in the middle, positional sense and effectiveness! We didnt even see him surge forward often today, something he is so good at, i find it really disappointing that we not getting the best out of him. If Elano had performed like that last season, he certainly would have been dropped and slated on fan sites and forums! It’s time to change things around and either use Steven to his best ability or swap with De Jong!
Portsmouth looked pretty toothless upfront today, arguably best attacking options were sat on the bench. In 90 mins they only really challenged Given once with a poor hit from ex-Preston striker David Nugent! Michael Brown claimed they deserved a draw, which i simply can’t agree with considering how limited they were in the final third. Brown was lucky to stay on the pitch, he must of committed of 7 fouls without getting booked, he perhaps should of been followed off the pitch by Richard Hughes who also seemed to deem this a chance to kick City stars off the park. The refereeing in general was very poor today, some really bizarre decision not least the Micah Richards goal which clearly wasn’t off side, with Barry in no way interfering with play. If only Fifa would allow the most effective form of refereeing with goal line technology. Goals are more valuable than ever in the modern game with the amount of cash available. Ignoring what essentially would make the game fairer simply doesn’t make sense to me!
But overall we looked pretty good, Lescott had an OK debut a couple or errors but looked decent along side the ever present Toure. Tevez worked extremely hard and will hopefully have more time to work with Robinho as they could prove very exciting. Barry was once again the midfield core and our season will revolve around him! The international break hopefully won’t upset our good start to the season as City now have Arsenal and then United, two really tough games that will give us a real good gage at the level of squad development into a top side! I thought both sides looked very beatable on Saturday and hopefully we will take full advantage!
2 comments:
As always you make some very astute comments but as far as Stevie Ireland is concerned, patience is the watchword. I certainly agree he is much less suited to a holding midfield role. Still if there is one city player who can adapt and overcome it is Ireland.
Perhaps part the problem is that we as City fans have become accustomed to his barnstorming runs from deep. The bottom line is that he still contributes with intelligent runs and incisive passing. In fact if I may be so bold, given time to adjust, I can see him being transformed into a Gerrard, Cesc, or Ballack.
Delusional thinking? Perhaps, but then again I am a City fan.
The likes of lampard ballack and gerrard have a physical presence that Ireland will never hard, he is very fit and works hard, but he can be easily brushed off the ball. We witness last season Vs chelsea how easy essien bypassed ireland!
Ireland is a gifted player and his work rate and effort is to his credit. My last match he didnt make many of his incisive runs , he rarely made a move towards the box.
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