RicardoGotta be 4-3-3 with this player list!
Robinho & Tevez running of Adebayor.
Barry/Wright-Phillps providing crosses and edge of box goal threats along with Ireland who continues to impress.
Bridge and Richards to gun forward, giving attacking support.
Toure/Lescott to provide stability at the back.
If they can stay fit & committed to the club (I'm running a book on how long Robinho stays) then this could be City's year to impress! Or it's off with Hughes' head...
Discuss!
15.09.2009
CaptainGerardI am not really sure if Tevez and Wright-Phillips will be best utilized on the same flank.
Well now that Adebayor is out for a bit, Hughes will need to work something different. And maybe this is blessing in disguise for him as his biggest challange is to keep all these big names happy. Adebayor's absence will mean playing time for others and ease the pressure a bit.
15.09.2009
RicardoYeh I can't believe he stomped his old striking buddy in the face. What a dick...
15.09.2009
ZolaSanta Cruz will probably be good enough to cover up for Adebayor. Attacking players' absence is not really a big problem for them.
OTOH, if they lose one defender, which they deffo will during ACN, they'll drop points like there's no tomorrow.
16.09.2009
FeriAtsAdebayor got 3 matches for stomping. City have declared that they are not going to challange the decision. Which is a bit stupid actually, because the FA fast tracked the case. City could at least have him available for the United game.
A ban for his goal celebration is still on sight.
@Zola
I suppose you'll find yourself wrong about abundance of striking options at City. Santa Cruz is injured.
17.09.2009
nvrI don't want to sound bitter against an ex-player, but he should have banned for longer. How's this different than punching an opponent?
17.09.2009
RicardoNo different, and as a City supporter I'd be happy for him to be banned a while longer, 3 weeks isn't much.
As Feri says, we're pretty much down to Bellamy & Benjani for strikers! Santa Cruz, Tevez, Robinho and of course Ade are all out, although Tevez is a maybe for this weekend depending on who you listen to.
Maybe we'll go 4-5-1 with Petrov on the left and Barry deeper with De Jong defensive mid, who knows.
This was bound to happen, who's idea was it to pair a Brazillian with an Argie anyway! Hehe...
18.09.2009
Robert O'Carlos200 million on a team and United beat them with a player signed on a free with a pay to play contract!
:-)
20.09.2009
CaptainGerardYou don't even pay the ref to keep the game going till you score. That's priceless.
21.09.2009
Robert O'CarlosSpoken like a true Rafa-esque conspiracy theorist.
:-D
21.09.2009
CaptainGerardNumbers also speak Rafa-esque obviously:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009/sep/22/manchester-united-goals-stoppage-time
22.09.2009
RicardoI thought something fishy was going on. 6 minutes stoppage after it was signalled 4 ... SAF trickery again.
Bellamy looked good ... & here I was thinking he was a whining Welsh tool, who would have thought!? Looked quite good with Tevez too, something to build on for sure.
22.09.2009
Robert O'CarlosI must admit I'm not a fan of Bellamy but he did put on a marvellously busy display.
:-)
And for those that didn't see any of the coverage after the added time (where have you been?), a MINIMUM of 4 minutes of added time was put up, then Bellamy scores and celebrates for 56 seconds, and United make a substitution which the referee is obliged to add 30 seconds on for. The total time comes to a MINIMUM of 5 minutes 26 - United scored on 5 minutes 27 seconds.
I can only suppose Hughes just instructed his players to stop playing after 94 minutes.
:-)
22.09.2009
jmancubsfanHow have there not been any comments on the formation? There would be space in the middle big enough to drive a truck through. This lineup would extremely vulnerable to an ambush of a counter-attack right through the middle.
30.09.2009
FeriAtsTrue that. Stacking wing forwards, midfielders and full backs to flank is not such a good idea.
30.09.2009
Robert O'CarlosNot sure there are too many comments you could make about this formation really. With Man City, it's more about motivation than tactics. They've played 4-3-3 quite a few times already this season and are reaping the benefits of their attacking options. It's the old Real Madrid mentality that counts with this club: "however many you score, we'll score one more".
:-)
The only change I would make would be to play de Jong in the middle with Ireland out wide.
01.10.2009
SpaceGhostYeah, de Jong central and deeper, let the other two mids cut into the space in front of him.
02.10.2009
RicardoHehe yeh, the formation is a bit of a dream :)
I do like De Jong as a central mid, then Barry left and SWP right, meaning Ireland misses out or we have to make do with only 2 strikers and do the diamond/4-1-3-2 thing? I suppose it's depending on who's fit/not suspended for kicking people's heads in.
Tonight might reveal all ...
03.10.2009
