Hugely Encouraging

[mcfcmatt]

This is a step in the right direction.
We just need to give Hull a battering next week and move on from there.

 

[Didsbury Dave]

I agree. Tevez was the inspiration for us today. He gave us that extra bit of thrust and energy that we were lacking with Ade up top on his own, who i thought looked really lathargic yet again today. Really concerned about him now. All the rags who said Tevez is not really good enough to start, but is very effective as an impact sub when you're not winning were 100% spot on. We should use him as an impact sub for the foreseeable future. He plays his best stuff in this role. If he gets unhappy, i don't care. The team comes first, and the formation we played today is clearly the best one for us. I was delighted to see Stevie score a great goal. He was really unlucky today. He could have had about 4 assists. There were times when he chose the wrong ball, and times when he chose the right ball but his intended target wasn't on his wavelength. On another day, they'd have resulted in more goals. I adore the guy. Great player. I hope Hughes continues with 4-3-3, and we'll see Ireland continue to develop into a superstar. The team should be built around him.

Great post Trev. stevie Ireland was outstanding today, it was fantastic to see.

He deserved to have got the winner, such a pity it wasnt.

It's going to be very interesting to see whether Tevez starts the nest game, and whether we play 4-3-3.

 

[shaunthegoat]

Sense at last!

Yes. Logged on after the game and the reaction was very different.

Watched it on MOTD and the quality of our play in the 2nd half looked good.

The game seemed to be played with a very high intensity with City closing down all over the pitch in contrast to teams like Everton and Wolves who just rolled over and died.

Good performance and a good point. I think we'll be 4 pints off the top 4 after Spurs play, but this was a key game today which we have come through.

After the match it seemed like we had lost 4-0 to Accrington at home. If I was anywhere near as articulate as DD I would have written something similar myself. Unfortunately, I'm not, so I had to wait for someone else to do it. Shame on me.

 

[Holcombe bloo]

A fair appraisal dave. Both sides nothing special 1st half but 2nd half i think we shaded it. I'm not big fanof hughes buthe got it right today.

 

[bodak]

Absolutely spot on and refreshing given the negativity of some members, we are definately going the right way. What is now essential is that we put Hull to the sword and set off the way we finished against the mickeys, the stats will then change to 'unbeaten in 7' which is quality but more importantly put us in good stead for Chelsea, which is an absolute check on progress.

 

[FletcherMoss]

On one level I agree - when we stepped up a gear we were clearly the better side.

On another level i feel it was another wasted opportunity. They were there for the taking but we were not adventerous enough to turn 1 point into 3.

This is becoming a recurring theme. I think Hughes is focussing too much on not losing. When we are level we are to cautious. As soon as we go a goal down we look like world beaters. But as soon as we get level again we go back to cautious mode. This is why we are drawing all these games. We have a drawing mentality. We are not ruthless enough. We need to take more risks. Yes we'll lose more but not many. We'll certainly get more points.

 

[Timperleyblue]

Totally agree with the OP

 

[Didsbury Dave]

On one level I agree - when we stepped up a gear we were clearly the better side.

On another level i feel it was another wasted opportunity. They were there for the taking but we were not adventerous enough to turn 1 point into 3.

This is becoming a recurring theme. I think Hughes is focussing too much on not losing. When we are level we are to cautious. As soon as we go a goal down we look like world beaters. But as soon as we get level again we go back to cautious mode. This is why we are drawing all these games. We have a drawing mentality. We are not ruthless enough. We need to take more risks. Yes we'll lose more but not many. We'll certainly get more points.

I think the first half game plan was to contain Liverpool. I think the players were as surprised as us fans that they really didn't have much to offer. As soon as we came out 2nd half you could see what Hughes had said: "Win the game". And we stated dominating. They scored through an Adebayor mistake but we just carried on going at them and won the game.

Then they got that flukey equaliser.

I do take your point, FM. We could easily be 6 points better off this season with more of a cutting edge.

But after 3 poor performances this was a good one, a really good one.

 

[bluechippie]

Im I the only one that thinks that viese ? should have come on for swp?

 

[Dhenry]

it's like you read my mind Didsbury Dave. Luck was all we needed. But as it, luck is often on the home teams side. Still, an ok result and a good performance to build upon.