A victory over Hull is vital for Mark Hughes’ side for numerous reasons. First among these is the desire to come out of the demoralising run of six league draws with a victory.
Second is the need to stop Tottenham and others pulling away from us in the pursuit of a Champions League place.
Third is the confidence boost required at the beginning of a tough week of home fixtures. The Carling Cup fixture against Arsenal gives City their chance of a …
Given – Pulled off an acrobatic one-handed save after 5 minutes to demonstrate no ill effects from the disappointnment of Paris. 7
Zabaleta – A generally solid game defensively, though he was slightly culpable for both goals. A trademark needless foul for the first, and not tight enough on Benayoun for the second. 6
Toure – The captain seemed to be struggling early on and it was no surprise to see him absent after half-time. To his credit he didn’t let the …
City and Liverpool were forced to settle for a draw after neither side proved capable of holding onto a lead in a game that left everyone disappointed.
After the match both managers sought to put a positive spin on the affair. Mark Hughes claimed City sides in the past would have been happy with a point, while Benitez remained sure of a top four finish. Tottenham and Villa probably felt like the real winners as they now have the opportunity to move ahead in the race for a Champions League place.
In a battle of the under-performers, City go to Liverpool with both sides knowing that a victory is required to kickstart their League campaign. A draw would normally be a decent result for us, but having just witnessed five increasingly demoralising stalemates, a victory is now required to lift us back into top-four contention.
The failure of the officials to spot Thierry Henry’s handball has condemned Shay Given and his teammates to miss out on the World Cup Finals in South Africa. Will this high profile case finally provoke FIFA and UEFA into using video replays? We probably shouldn’t hold our breath.
While the tidal wave of blame has engulfed Thierry Henry and the match officials, shouldn’t it also be falling on the game’s governors for their failure to embrace technology years ago. Rugby did it with video replays of tries. Cricket did it with Hawkeye. Why can’t football let match officials have access to the same technology as a SKY pundit?
Where has Mark Hughes and the best part of a couple of hundred million in transfers got us? Currently we have 20 points after 11 matches. At the same stage two seasons ago under Sven we had 22 points. Ouch!
oncerns about Mark Hughes:
Man management – One thing we quickly learnt last year was Hughes didn’t have the samba style to win over our Brazilian contingent. A pre-season boot camp (which was noticably less rigorously enforced this year) is his preferred method for bonding. In fairness, he does inspire loyalty from some, notably Ireland and Bellamy, and respect from others. Bellamy in particular has always played his best football under his fellow Welshman.
Taylor – Nightmare. Needless concession of a penalty when failing to deal with a backpass; followed in the second-half by gifting another chance when failing to hold a cross. An excellent stoppage time save was a crumb of comfort. 3
Trippier – The former youth team skipper showed plenty of endeavour, but to many long balls failed to reach a target. 5
With Sheikh Mansour picking up the tab for a seven star hotel in a way that Darius Vassell could do with right now, City repaid this generous hospitality by allowing the host nation victory via a first-half penalty calamitously conceded by Stuart Taylor.
In many ways it was what we’ve come to expect under Mark Hughes’ tenure. Plenty of professionalism and organisation in the build-up to the game, followed by a disjointed performance once we go out on the pitch.
