How to tackle stoke...

[lastmanback]

Stoke, chelsea, united etc , it is quiet simple really. we have to match them for effort, commitment and the natural skill and ability of our players will win, but if we don't it's simple. We'll lose.

 

[lostgalaxy]

Tevez, Dzeko and Silva upfront.

Balotelli to come on and change things.

Milner instead of Barry.Vieira will come in if needed.

Richards, Boyata, Kompany, Lescott but is that a gamble?

 

[citymad]

We have to match them for effort its as simple as that becuase if not they will overpower us just like they did against Arsenal. Pulis will be very confident after tonights performance.

 

[MCFCinUSA]

I think you've got some good points up there, but Huth isn't certain for Saturday.

reckon Richards was thrown in tonight for the very reason you touched on, and I was curious about Tevez not getting much time and the apparent possible third man sub of Balotelli which might indicate he's a possible starter on Saturday... interesting to speculate on the team.

any of the betting people on here want to organise a sweepstakes on it?

;o)<br /><br />-- Wed May 11, 2011 1:06 am --<br /><br />

Tevez, Dzeko and Silva upfront.

Balotelli to come on and change things.

Milner instead of Barry.Vieira will come in if needed.

Richards, Boyata, Kompany, Lescott but is that a gamble?

I really like Boyata although I know he got caught out against Arsenal - which hopefully was a defining lesson for him.

I hope Zab is fit to play (got no idea about the extent of his nose) as he really deserves it - whether he's on the bench or available for a starting place.

 

[AdamManCity]

I think you've got some good points up there, but Huth isn't certain for Saturday.

reckon Richards was thrown in tonight for the very reason you touched on, and I was curious about Tevez not getting much time and the apparent possible third man sub of Balotelli which might indicate he's a possible starter on Saturday... interesting to speculate on the team.

any of the betting people on here want to organise a sweepstakes on it?

;o)

-- Wed May 11, 2011 1:06 am --

Tevez, Dzeko and Silva upfront.

Balotelli to come on and change things.

Milner instead of Barry.Vieira will come in if needed.

Richards, Boyata, Kompany, Lescott but is that a gamble?

I really like Boyata although I know he got caught out against Arsenal - which hopefully was a defining lesson for him.

I hope Zab is fit to play (got no idea about the extent of his nose) as he really deserves it - whether he's on the bench or available for a starting place.

zaba will play, no doubt in my mind!

 

[Bluemanc100]

Nothing wrong with that, Just badly timed that's all.

Nothing wrong with that...? He's jumping into nige's foot!

is this a caption comp??? he's surely saying "ooh get you"

sign him up bobby, he can become Nigel's best friend

 

[c.morales]

We really just need to attack and have length<br /><br />-- Wed May 11, 2011 3:05 am --<br /><br />

Tevez, Dzeko and Silva upfront.

Balotelli to come on and change things.

Milner instead of Barry.Vieira will come in if needed.

Richards, Boyata, Kompany, Lescott but is that a gamble?

this!

 

[Tricky_Trev]

The key for me is where we hold our defensive line. If we play as deep as we did against Spurs, we will lose. The long ball to the likes of Crouch and Kenwyne Jones is so easy to stop. All you have to do is play a high line - it completely nullifies the long ball, as Jones would be near the halfway line rather than near/in our box. The difficulty of doing that against Spurs would have been allowing space inbehind for Lennon to out-pace Zab, so i can appreciate that it was a fine balancing act against Spurs. But if Etherington is out, there is no excuse for not playing a high line. Pennant is not as quick as Etherington.

So that's the main thing for me. Play high up the pitch so that any long balls just go straight through to Joe Hart, and hence force Stoke to play with the ball on the ground. All things being equal, they cannot beat us at our own game.

 

[Stretford Born Blue]

Going off the thread title i was expecting this lol

What's with the girly arms and legs? Big girls blouse, it's only a who flung dung kick to the chest................

 

[MC ID]

I think Stoke highlights the diversity of the Premier league, which in turn shows why the PL is the best in the world as all styles of football are at play. Stoke mix things up, which is a problem for our team.

I honestly think we will need Tevez during this match, however with his injury a full 90 mins will end up having a more negative impact on the team than positive. I also think with stoke Man City should Strike fast and early to demoralise them, then hold it in high midfield away from the defense as much as possible.

I also doubt we will score with a lone striker, Stoke will just bully them out of the game so i'd suggest putting potentially our strikers combined best assest to use, their abilities to pass. i.e. play four four two, how often do you see great passing from our strikers but no one with the clinical finishing to put it away. Thats why my line up would be four four two with Tevez and Dzeko starting. Balotelli would come on the second Tevez looks injured or i'd say when one of them (preferably tevez) looks tired, not a 86th minute subsitute like Mancini seems to like but more like 60-70 min mark so their impact is felt.

At least, thats what I would do, the midfield and defense would be pretty much the same