W.B.A v Manchester City: The Verdict

Jon1983uk · Joined: 12 Oct 2004 Posts: 4423

West Bromich Albion 2 Manchester City 0

Those of a nervous disposition look away now, those that are City fans, look away after the kick off..
Yes, the evening was set for another game involving my beloved City tonight. The opponents? The team at the bottom of the league, a team that hadn't won in 15 games and that win was their first all season. But then why did I have one of those bad feelings footie fans get before certain games? Oh yeah, Oldham! :D But I hoped we could finally put that aside and carry on regardless against perhaps the best team on paper to play after such a devistating defeat. Oh how I was wrong.. :P

It took barely 4 minutes for City to go crashing behind after a combination of a good cross, a good finish and a less-than-good defensive mark-up. I knew from that moment things would be difficult, it was amazing just how much that jolted W.B.A. into action.

Now I don't think I'm being biased when I say City are the better of the two sides, but I will hold my hands up and say W.B.A. still deserved the points tonight for their sheer level of effort (which the WBA fans showed appreciation for at the final whistle). They were (sadly for me!) hampered on that acolade though by a pretty horrible City display overall. City seem to have a knack for winning 12-0 one win against a team like Real Madrid and then losing 6-2 the following week to Darlington! :lol:

Both teams mainly alternated between defensive men behind the ball and long ball, fast counter attacking throughout the game, which turned out to be quite entertaining, considering the result. :)

WBA had some fine chances early on following the Kevin Campbell's first goal for the club in over 7 hours of home ground football. I'd always penciled in Earnshaw to be the main threat and he indeep proved his attacking pedigree once again with some truly awe-inspiring team-splitting runs. Sadly for WBA fans and staff though, he wasn't able to convert.

City had the good (SWP for some great passing), the bad (midfield pairing of Sibierski and Bosvelt) and the ugly (how does Stephen Jordan see with that hair!? :lol:) on show. Good passing movement followed frequent occassions of losing the ball and vice versa. As a fan watching it was truly frustrating! To watch an excellent passing movement (95% of the time by Fowler or 'SWP') being squandered by the same poor shot done over and over again (99.9% of the time done by Sibierski) was just heart breaking.

In the end City weren't able to make their possession pay (I estimate City had a good 55% of it overall) and were punished again towards the end by former United one-time hot prospect Ronnie Wallwork (who also had a great game), to truly end a sad day for City fans everywhere.

The controversy of the game (where would football be without controversy these days? :)) came after Dunne made it 2-1 with just under 10 minutes to go, but the referee apparently hadn't blown his whistle (even though from what I know you can still take set pieces without the ref's say-so..)

PLAYER RATINGS:

GK - David James - Another average performance. I felt he could've done better with the first goal certainly, but a spectacular stop earlier on gives him some bonus points but still too little, too late. - 6

DEFENCE:
LB - Stephen Jordan - Ben Thatcher may be gone but we still have the (much better IMO) young terrier. He's got more determination and guts than any player I've seen in quite a while, a must for a defender. Still inexperienced enough to make some mistakes, but had a good game overall. Out with the old... - 7
CB - Sylvin Distin - A fairly quiet game for the big Frenchman. Is great in the air, but I always wonder if he has the determination and strength to truly get involved in matches - 6
CB - Richard Dunne - His slight lack of pace was shown up against the likes of Earnshaw, but he did exceptionally well regardless, making some great challenges and decisions - 8 (Man Of The Match)*
RB - Danny Mills - A real fighting performance and made up for some atrocious play by the midfielders when he came up the field with the ball himself. - 8

MIDFIELD:
LM - Antoine Sibierski - Remember me saying City's performances are varied like a rollercoaster track? Well, the same can be said about ol' 'Sib'. He has a blinding game one day and woeful the next. It seemed *everything* he did (even his patented headers) went miles away from the intedended result. Tragic. - 5
CM - Paul Bosvelt - I said at the start of the game that I wish 'Bozzy' was on the transfer list, after seeing him today that view is definitely not changing. While he made a couple of good tackles, the rest of his game was as appauling as Sibierski's. - 5
CM - Joey Barton - Provided a good amount of gritty tackles that helped the side's morale, but mostly had a quiet time - 7
RM - Shaun Wright-Phillips - Quiet by his monumentous standards, the 9 men behind the ball insanity of WBA for most of the game kept the 4 foot 10 wonder winger from using his usual trickery, but he was still able to produce most of the creative power in the team

ATTACK:
CF - Robbie Fowler - Had slow start but soon picked up. Wasn't in the right positions for attacks alot of the time and had trouble with the vast numbers of WBA men that were back, but still gave it his all and created some excellent chances. His speed and fitness showed signs of definite improvement too. - 8
CF - John Macken - I always worry when Macken's name apperars on the lineup, since 90% of the time he has a horrible game. Instead his workrate elevated his performance above his usual low standard (I'm not much of a fan of his in case you hadn't guessed :lol:), but still simply an average performance until his substitution. - 7

SUBS:
McManaman (Sibierski) - Didn't make much of an impact on the game, in fact I only ever saw him near the ball and really trying twice. - 6

Bradley Wright-Phillips - Whether 'BWP' will ever be as good as his older half brother I'm not sure, but he certainly showed some promise with his charging runs across the field, hounding the WBA defence and Russel Hoult in goal. - 7

TACTICAL NOTES:
Sibierski on left wing again!? 'Nuff said.. :lol:

REF RATING: 5
Not many fans like Graham Poll. After this game I think even more don't now.
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ukevents · Joined: 15 Dec 2003 Posts: 1941

Nice review Jon... keep them coming

Jon1983uk · Joined: 12 Oct 2004 Posts: 4423

Thank ya kindly sir :D More will be on the way in the next week or two.

Mullin · Joined: 16 Aug 2004 Posts: 20062 Location: Ivybridge

Oooh get you and your posh footy review! Nice one Jonny boy! :D

Jon1983uk · Joined: 12 Oct 2004 Posts: 4423

lol Yes, I'll be writing for the Guardian before ya know it! :lol: Spank ya, spank ya! :D

Mullin · Joined: 16 Aug 2004 Posts: 20062 Location: Ivybridge

I bet you will!

Jon1983uk · Joined: 12 Oct 2004 Posts: 4423

I wish! :lol:

Mullin · Joined: 16 Aug 2004 Posts: 20062 Location: Ivybridge

You never know!!

Jon1983uk · Joined: 12 Oct 2004 Posts: 4423

Argh, I appricate your optimism. :D Don't even know what job I wanna do yet though! Journalist, copper, hosuing officer, who knows? :lol:

Mullin · Joined: 16 Aug 2004 Posts: 20062 Location: Ivybridge

Hosuing officer...whats one of them?

Jon1983uk · Joined: 12 Oct 2004 Posts: 4423

Works for council, give out and check on council houses basically. Do a load of clerk and phone work though too, bliss! :D

Mullin · Joined: 16 Aug 2004 Posts: 20062 Location: Ivybridge

Yeah I know that! I was pointing out your typo! :lol:

Jon1983uk · Joined: 12 Oct 2004 Posts: 4423

:o Ya cheeky mere! You have that chav insulting humour! :P :lol:

Mullin · Joined: 16 Aug 2004 Posts: 20062 Location: Ivybridge

Oi watch it! :lol:

Jon1983uk · Joined: 12 Oct 2004 Posts: 4423

Arf! :D Your clerk job's getting to ya with these spelling mistakes. :P :lol: