Blue Days

Goals: Altidore 30, Boateng 54 for Hull. Adebayor 59 for City.

City crashed horribly on Humberside, paying the price for a weak first half performance and allowing a competitive Hull to go two goals ahead before Adebayor gave City a lifeline. It wasn’t enough as the third defeat of Mancini’s reign was undoubtedly the worst.

The side sent out by Mancini didn’t contain any major surprises. Wayne Bridge returned at left-back, while Dedryck Boyata returned to partner Kolo Toure in the centre of defence. Craig Bellamy was also back, playing on the left while Stephen Ireland continued on the right hand side.

It wasn’t so much the selection, as the lack of application that did for City. The warning signs for this fixture were evident in Hull’s draw with Chelsea on Tuesday, yet City completely failed to heed them with a lacklustre opening. First Toure and then Boyata were caught out at the back when they should have expected the harrying that the Hull forwards gave them.

The central defensive pairing of Toure and Boyata never convinced. Vincent Kompany was badly missed at the back, as we never looked comfortable in the physical battle against Jozy Altidore and Jan Venegoor of Hesselink. Boyata appeared to miss Kompany’s guidance and Onuouha might have been a better bet in retrospect.

Once again the midfield pairing of de Jong and Barry were to deep. Whilst in previous games we’ve looked comfortable containing the opposition in this way before striking on the break, that wasn’t the case here. We struggled to move the ball forward with any method or conviction in the first half.

Hull were creating chances prior to scoring, and it was no surprise when the first goal came from Venegoor of Hesselink holding the ball up before laying it off for an unchallenged Altidore to pass it into the bottom corner from twenty yards out.

In previous games under Mancini, the defence has looked noticeably better than it did under Hughes. However the attacking side of our play has been less fluid and effective, with Tevez’s hot streak carrying us through.

Here the defence was back to it’s old ways, while the lack of positional movement and subtlety in attack remained. It was a dispiriting combination.

There were to many hopeful balls aimed at Adebayor, who doesn’t do enough to hold them up. The superior technique of our players should give us an advantage in passing and movement. That was how chances were finally created at the end of the first half, notably one that resulted in a driven shot by Wayne Bridge from a tight angle.

It was a misplaced hope that the final few minutes of the first half hinted at better things to come. The game was more even at the beginning of the second period, but we still weren’t convincing. Disaster struck in the 54th minute when a Hull corner was headed partially clear by Toure. The ball came to Boateng who fired it straight back into the net before he could be closed down.

Johnson was coming on for Ireland in any case, and the debutant played a full part in getting us back into a game that had appeared a lost cause. The former Boro man started on the right and immediately gave us a threat with his direct running and crosses, both from open play and set pieces.

A Barry corner resulted in a goalmouth scramble that was eventually crashed home by Adebayor. There was a sense of City in the ascendancy and Hull, with the worst defensive record in the division, were finally being put under pressure at the back.

Vieira came on for Bellamy, which strengthened us in the middle of the park. Johnson now had a free role behind Tevez and Adebayor. Initially this looked promising but it soon became apparent that we’d lost our width and Hull were able to regroup.

Vieira certainly had a presence, though not a decisive one. It’s to soon to tell the extent of his value, although we may well have benefitted from having him on from the start. We certainly couldn’t have been any worse.

For the final few minutes Hull were hanging on as nerves got the better of them. Let’s not forget this was a side that hadn’t won for ten games.

City could have snatched an equaliser with the best chance falling to Tevez from a neat Barry cross. It summed up the Argentine’s day when he poked the ball straight at Myhill. A point would have been something, but even that would have constituted a disappointment.

Roberto Mancini:

“It is the same size pitch at home as it is away but we do not start with the same aggression this is something that we have to learn to do.

“We moved too slowly and we passed too slowly and we didn’t challenge quickly enough either.”

City went into the weekend as favourites for fourth place. With this defeat combined with Liverpool’s victory in the Merseyside derby, our position looks a lot less favourable. Once Liverpool are through their next two games (away to Arsenal and ourselves), their run-in looks a lot easier than ours.

Despite our games in hand, we’ll probably need to beat them and avoid any more results like this if we’re to reach our target of a Champions League place.

External reports:

• BBC
• The Express
• The Guardian
• The Independent
• Official site
• The Telegraph
• The Times

Blog reports:

• We’ve Got Robinho

Video:

Given – No chance with the goals and the Irishman looked rightly furious with what was going on in front of him. 6

Bridge – Not the return we were hoping for. Wayne wasn’t up to speed aside from a shot at the end of the first half. 5

Zabaleta – Competitive in defence, but didn’t offer enough when he had the ball. 5

Toure – Getting forward well in the final quarter didn’t disguise a poor display at the back where he failed to marshall the defence. 5

Boyata – Looked to be missing his compatriot Kompany. Coped better in the second half. 6

Ireland – A few nice passes, but not enough. We needed more from Stevie when he had the ball. 5

Barry – His leisurely pace seemed to spread through the team in the first half. In fairness it was an improvement on the Portsmouth game, and he got forward to slide a nice cross to Tevez in the last minute. 6

De Jong – Competitive, but not able to dominate the midfield as we sat way to deep. Wasn’t able to play the passes needed to move us up the field. 6

Adebayor – He needs to stay onside and hold the ball up better. Scored a sharply taken goal to get us back into it, but we need more from the Togolese. 6

Tevez – Not able to link up with his team-mates sufficiently. When chances came along he fluffed them. 6

Bellamy – Worked hard to help ease Bridge back into the action, but we need more from him offensively. Not getting into scoring positions, nor supplying the passes to his fellow strikers. 5

Subs:

Johnson – Made an immediate difference with good control and some sharp deliveries. The one bright spot. 7

Vieira – When he came on, his presence seemed to lift us, but it wasn’t sustained. Maybe if he’d been on from the start we would have been spared the shocking opening. 6

Petrov – Not on long enough to exert an influence. 5

Man of the match: None of the starting eleven distinguished themselves so it goes to Adam Johnson.

Roberto Mancini’s side take on a Hull City team buoyed from their midweek draw against Chelsea. The Tigers have been named as one of the ‘easy’ teams that Mancini is facing on his introduction to English football, but it’s worth bearing in mind that United are the only visiting team to have won at the KC Stadium since September.

Following the jaded performance against Portsmouth, Mancini will be pleased to welcome some old and new faces. Wayne Bridge, Patrick Vieira, Joleon Lescott and Adam Johnson will all be in a Mancini squad for the first time.

While news of Wayne Bridge’s return to the side is providing plenty of copy for those more interested in the private lives of footballers, it’s hopefully good news for City on the pitch. The full-back enjoyed some decent performances earlier in the season, but criticism was never far away from a poorly organised defence.

It will be fascinating to see how he performs under Mancini. Given the improvements in Micah Richards and Kolo Toure, the portents are good. The arrival of Mancini could be good news for the World Cup prospects of both Bridge and Lescott.

Bridge may not be the greatest defensively, but he is still the best left-back at the club. With Garrido and Sylvinho there seemed to be a reluctance to play either Petrov or Robinho on the left flank for fear of us being to light-weight. Hopefully the return of Bridge will see Petrov restored to his best position.

Further changes to the defence will be required with both Vincent Kompany and Micah Richards absent. Pablo Zabaleta is set to wear a mask over his broken nose in order to play. In the centre, it would be a surprise if Lescott’s fit enough to start. Boyata seems to have moved ahead of Onuoha in the pecking order, and his additional strength in the air would be useful alongside the shorter Toure.

Mancini on Captain Kolo:

“Kolo is the captain of the team and he was the captain before I arrived and I don’t intend to change anything.

“Having said that, I want my team to have many captains out on the pitch, but only one player can wear the captain’s armband – and that is Kolo.”

Midfield was the area of most problems against Portsmouth, and it will be interesting to see if Vieira gets a game. With City due to play Bolton on Tuesday, Vieira may be another Bellamy in not being risked twice a week.  In which case it may make sense to go with Barry against Hull, and save Vieira for the Bolton game.

It was a surprise not to see Shaun Wright-Phillips against Portsmouth, and it could be any two from Petrov, Bellamy, Johnson, Wright-Phillips and Ireland on the flanks. With a two man attack in the form of Adebayor and Tevez, it’s looking increasingly difficult for Ireland to break into the starting eleven.

Hull can be an energetic side at home, typified by Stephen Hunt, with a physical presence up front in the form of Altidore and Vennegoor of Hesselink. Expect City to look to contain them, before hitting them on the counter-attack, in a similar vein to the Wolves match.

Their defence could be undone by the moments of skill which Tevez, Adebayor and Bellamy are capable of. At the back for us, Zabaleta versus Hunt should be a feisty battle, but one which the Argentine is capable of winning.

Despite Hull’s position in the bottom three, a win is far from a foregone conclusion, as Chelsea found out. Yet with Liverpool playing Everton, and Tottenham entertaining Villa, this could be an opportunity for City to move into the coveted fourth place.

Blue Days line-up: Given, Zabaleta, Bridge, Toure, Boyata, de Jong, Barry, Bellamy, Wright-Phillips, Tevez, Adebayor.

Prediction: 3-0 to City.

• Would Pablo Zabaleta be the first City player in a mask? Can anyone recall any others? There may have been a few who would have looked better in one.

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 first semi-final since 1981, while the following weekend sees a Chelsea side playing like potential champions come to town.

Anything less than a victory over Hull and the pressure will be on Mark Hughes. Failing to win any of these three games would see greater scrutiny placed on Hughes’ ability to turn us into a ‘top four’ side.

On the other hand, victory in all three would see the manager hailed by his supporters as a man making steady progress. (Currently Hughes has 21 points after 12 games compared to Sven’s 25 points)

With Toure fit, the back four is likely to be unchanged, meaning disappointment for Onuoha and Richards. Vincent Kompany is also unlikely to break into the midfield where de Jong, Barry and Ireland are the more likely contenders for a starting place.

Robinho is available, though I have a feeling Tevez is the more likely to return to the starting line-up in a game where we’re looking to attack the opposition. After such a long lay-off, the Brazilian is more likely to start on the bench.

If Tevez does start, it will be interesting to see who makes way in the centre of midfield. Barry and de Jong has been the preferred pair recently, but both lack dynamism in the opposing half. Barry and Ireland was the preferred duo at the start of the season, then de Jong showed his value and was star man last week. Could it be Barry’s turn for a rest?

With Petrov absent, Bellamy and Wright-Phillips are the most likely starters on the flanks. If Wright-Phillips is struggling to find an end product to his play, then it would be good to see Weiss given a chance on the right wing.

Ideally we would be a couple of goals to the good before bringing Robinho on, rather than needing him to make a breakthrough or worse, to salvage the game.

While Mark Hughes was happy that he got his tactics “spot on” prior to falling behind at Anfield last weekend, it’s to be hoped he has something more ambitious in store. Wayne Bridge was slaughtered for being upfield and out of position against Burnley, so Hughes kept him back and employed Craig Bellamy as a supplementary full-back against Liverpool.

Let’s hope the management find the right balance against a Hull side now being described as ‘resurgent’ following victory over Everton. That win gave them seven points from the last nine, so it could be argued they’re in better form than us.

The embattled Phil Brown is overseeing some see-saw games as he tries to hang on to his job. It’s certainly not dull either on or off the pitch for the Tigers. Their defence didn’t look convincing against West Ham last weekend and we should have enough firepower to cause them real problems.

The obvious dangermen are Jimmy Bullard and Geovanni, so it may be useful to have de Jong patrolling in their preferred area of the pitch. Expect a feisty duel if the competitive Stephen Hunt is up against Pablo Zabaleta.

On the road, Hull’s record is played six, won none, drawn one, lost five. Admittedly that is one draw better than Burnley had managed when they arrived at Eastlands, but still… For a side with Champions League aspirations we should be aiming for a convincing victory.

Last season we won handsomely and were treated to the sight of Phil Brown giving his half-time team talk on the pitch. Given his subsequent fall from grace, it’s unlikely we’ll be seeing a repeat on Saturday, though another 5-1 victory would be nice.

Blue Days line-up: Given, Zabaleta, Bridge, Toure, Lescott, de Jong, Ireland, Bellamy, Wright-Phillips, Adebayor, Tevez.

Prediction: 4-1 to Manchester City.