Hugely Encouraging

[salfordtrueblue]

Have to agree with OP, the glass is certainly half full. Great Post !

 

[spacecadet]

I'm logging on for a few minutes so apologies for any repetition, I haven't read the rest of the board.

I'm hugely encouraged by today's performance. First of all, well played Mark Hughes for dropping Tevez and going 4-3-3/4-5-1. I felt we contained them completely in the first half. It was almost like we had a game plan that they were going to batter us, but they didn't really. If we had hit Ireland a bit more when we broke up their attacks I thought we could have gone in ahead at half time.

Second half I thought we dominated the game. We were already on top when they scored. I'll tell you what...Adebayor cannot mark. He's done that 3 or 4 times this season, let his man get away from him. He did it in the first half and we got away with it.

Then we took the game by the scruff of the neck and dominated. Ireland bossed the midfield, De Jong won everything. Lescott again, looked fantastic. Then, on 60 minutes, the substitution.

I've got to be honest, I thought Hughes was making a big mistake. Barry was awful again, fine, but the sustitution made us go 4-4-2 when Ireland was finding loads of room in "the hole". I was angry. I thought Hughes had fucked up.

But he hadn't. We carried on dominating. Tevez found space in that "hole" and was outstanding. Any Bluemoon regular will know that I have been vociferous in my critisism of Tevez but, my goodness, he was excellent.

And we deservedly went 2-1 up. The game was over, we looked like getting more.

Their equaliser was bad luck. Bagatelle. Yes, we should have cleared our lines but for Liverppol to get a richochet goal like that was damn lucky, especially after they had created virtually nothing all game.

I'm hugely encouraged by that performance. I think we were the better side by some distance and should have won the game. But we now go into a crucial period in our season and, I'll tell you what, I feel confident of some big results.

For large spells of today's game we played our best football of the season. I feel really positive all of a sudden, just when it matters. Well played City. It should have been 3 points of course, but overall it's a big step in the right direction.

Totally agree- The media on the other hand seem to be missing the fact that we murdered them in the second half, after a pretty even first half.

 

[Dyed Petya]

Have to agree with OP, the glass is certainly half full. Great Post !

I normally agree with the OP on pretty well everything, and do see where he's coming from here. Some of the negativity on here after the Liverpool game has been ridiculous. However, to say that yesterday was 'hugely encouraging' in my opinion vastly overstates the case.

Overall, it was a decent performance, and a decent result. The 20 or 25 minutes between our going 1-0 down and taking the lead were hugely encouraging, but I was very disappointed with our defending to allow them back into the game straight after Ireland's goal. To dismiss the Liverpool equaliser as a fluke when we were so complicit in our own downfall is simply misguided. It was NOT bad luck, it was bad defending.

Though our policy in the opening period was based on containment, we failed completely to put a single meaningful move together when we did get the ball, and we ceded a free header six yards out to a Liverpool player in the last minute of added time which could easily have resulted in our going away empty handed. Plenty still to work on, then.

And, while I'm basically happy with the draw and would certainly have taken a point if offered before kick off, I can't help but feeling that we missed a good opportunity to take all three. This was a Liverpool side with no Torres, a half fit Gerrard and having to make two forced changes in the first fifteen minutes, and they were pretty poor (indeed, the way they, as a potential rival for the top four, played was one of the most heartening things for me of the whole day). I don't think it unreasonable to suggest that they were there for the taking.

It was a decent result and certainly a performance that was an improvement on recent games. While I've suggested that there are aspects of our play we need to improve, equally there are positives that offer us a good base to move forward. Some of the 'foaming at the mouth' negative analysis on here failing to recognise those points is idiotic, sometimes laughably so.

But let's not go too far the other way. Yesterday was mildly encouraging. No more, no less.

 

[Project]

Agree on the whole. The frustration lies with seeing us for that 25 minute spell where we played them off the park and why we don't play like that more often. Perhaps it was just belief? 1 win in 7 prior to yesterday would drain any sides confidence. But we have the players to keep the ball on the floor and rip most teams to shreds so it's crazy to see us play against our strengths with this long ball shite. It's still early days but i'd hope Hughes would take that 25 minutes and build on it, saying to the players that this is the benchmark from now on. We looked great. Ned and Lescott just played it between them if nothing was on, rather than surrendering possession. De Jong was coming short more often to pick the ball up off them. Then he was linking excellently with Stevie and Tevez which formed the basis of our attacks as they brought SWP and Bridge into play. So by the time Ade got the ball there was always 4 or 5 options for him. It was great stuff.

And for those who keep going on about it being the worst Liverpool side in years bear in mind this was pretty much the same personnel who came 2nd last season only losing twice all season. Teams generally don't dominate them in the way we did. Take their draw with Birmingham the other week. I think they had over 20 shots. You only need to take a look at RAWK (however painful it may be) to see their fans giving us our due, albeit using the money spent argument as a folly to explain why we were better.

 

[Rammy Blue]

Have to agree with OP, the glass is certainly half full. Great Post !

I normally agree with the OP on pretty well everything, and do see where he's coming from here. Some of the negativity on here after the Liverpool game has been ridiculous. However, to say that yesterday was 'hugely encouraging' in my opinion vastly overstates the case.

Overall, it was a decent performance, and a decent result. The 20 or 25 minutes between our going 1-0 down and taking the lead were hugely encouraging, but I was very disappointed with our defending to allow them back into the game straight after Ireland's goal. To dismiss the Liverpool equaliser as a fluke when we were so complicit in our own downfall is simply misguided. It was NOT bad luck, it was bad defending.

Though our policy in the opening period was based on containment, we failed completely to put a single meaningful move together when we did get the ball, and we ceded a free header six yards out to a Liverpool player in the last minute of added time which could easily have resulted in our going away empty handed. Plenty still to work on, then.

And, while I'm basically happy with the draw and would certainly have taken a point if offered before kick off, I can't help but feeling that we missed a good opportunity to take all three. This was a Liverpool side with no Torres, a half fit Gerrard and having to make two forced changes in the first fifteen minutes, and they were pretty poor (indeed, the way they, as a potential rival for the top four, played was one of the most heartening things for me of the whole day). I don't think it unreasonable to suggest that they were there for the taking.

It was a decent result and certainly a performance that was an improvement on recent games. While I've suggested that there are aspects of our play we need to improve, equally there are positives that offer us a good base to move forward. Some of the 'foaming at the mouth' negative analysis on here failing to recognise those points is idiotic, sometimes laughably so.

But let's not go too far the other way. Yesterday was mildly encouraging. No more, no less.

love it Dyed when someone saves me the trouble of writing my thoughts, absolutely spot on imo.

 

[Dave Ewing's Back 'eader]

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.

A full half-gallon, eh. Don't think we could afford to let 'Arry get half a gallon ahead of us before New Year.

 

[GaudinoMotors]

Mods - delete this well thought, optimistic and accurate thread - we only deal in pessimism, criticism and abject failure in here!

 

[Blue Dove]

Totally agree with you DD, great post.
And your admission about Tevez is also welcome, I had to do that over Superman!