[Archived] Manchester City 1-1 Post Match Stuff

[colin]

Anyone who attended the game, I'd be interested to know what flanks Reid and Emerton played and whether they were any good.

Looks like I'm first (second now) back, so you'll have to do with me for now until someone more lucid posts a report.

It was another of those games that we have played undr MH where the result doesn't quite match the performance. We played some good football in defence , midfield & attack but never quite did enough to grab the three points. A draw was a fair result to be honest.

City's goal came from a SW-P's low & hard cross from the by-line which was one of those which is really hard to defend against. Sibersky (sp?) stormed in and was at the right place at the right time to smash it past Brad.

The long awaited penalty with 10 minutes to go was just about a good a shout as you can expect. Dickov turned Mills in the area and was about to shoot when Mills pulled a baseball bat out of his back pocket (that's Mill's not Dickov's) and hit Dickov with it. He also pulled down his shorts (Mills on Dickov again) and tied his bootlaces together (thats Mills doing it to himself)

Dickov sent James the wrong way, or at least he scored. I think I was all far too exited with the prospect of a penalty to properly register.

General observations:

Todd & Nissa looked very good at the back. I think that they may be there for some time.

Jay Mc was OK at LB, a couple of misplaced passes but his tackling was spot on. On a couple of occasions he saved us from some very dangerous situations.

Reid and Emerton (I've got there at last Rovers 6) swapped wings on a regular basis but also seemed to swap being good. "Here Steve, have the lucky "being good" rabbit's foot." "Thanks Brett, I'll let you have it back in about 10 minutes."

I can't really comment on Steadinho as he was subbed at half time after playing at the other end. Matty certainly looked bright enough.

Edited November 13, 2004 by colin

[krislu]

Just seen the first 45min:

- Very poor passing I must say, and we dont seem to attack as an unit. The movement is poor, and there is no patience in our build up play.

- Whats wrong with Ferguson? He is taking way too much time on the ball, poor passing as well. Tugay the better of those two the first 45min.

- 8 out of 10 Friedel tries to hit the ball as hard and long as he can, why?

Edited November 13, 2004 by krislu

[Ewood Dream]

Despite the recent determination to earn a draw and the fact we got one of those penalty-things we've heard about at other clubs, the fact is we have to be beating sides like Norwich and Man.City. Once again Paul Dickov seems to be the only forward proving himself and getting goals but we desperately need a victory and to stop going a goal behind and giving ourselves more work to do.

Some may not like Rodney Marsh but he did actually hit upon a few things. We may have been fighting and earning a few draws here and there but we are still a very dissapointing side and we need victories.

[greggyk]

Despite the recent determination to earn a draw and the fact we got one of those penalty-things we've heard about at other clubs, the fact is we have to be beating sides like Norwich and Man.City. Once again Paul Dickov seems to be the only forward proving himself and getting goals but we desperately need a victory and to stop going a goal behind and giving ourselves more work to do.

Some may not like Rodney Marsh but he did actually hit upon a few things. We may have been fighting and earning a few draws here and there but we are still a very dissapointing side and we need victories.

We're not friggin Chelsea, we cant expect to win every time we play.

You say we are a 'dissapointing side' whatever the hell that means, then you should know that anything we get away from ewood is a bonus.

You also have to remember the likes of Norwich and Man City are expecting to beat us and we are probably considered the worst team in the pemiership to other fans.

[mjs]

I think we have to look at the positives. Three games unbeaten, including two away from home, is a drastic improvement.

The fact is that we were in a very bad way when Souness left us and it was never going to be an overnight transformation. It is all about picking up as many points as possible between now and the transfer window, and then hopefully the manager can bring in one or two players of his own to bolster the squad.

All is far from lost and a win or two is just around the corner - keep the faith!!

[waggy]

did mills give away the last penalty we had at elland road

[skip24]

we need to support sparky hes done a good job at the moment we've had a good run of three games and now its our aim to start gaining three points starting with everton next week at home. I know they are on fire at the moment but their luck will end and I have a right good feeling we can turn things around next week and I think the lads will scrap for three points to get us out of the danger zone. previously we've got a good record against everton and if we played like we did against them last year when they were on a good run at the time we are certainly capable of turning it around.

[colin]

we've got a good record against everton and if we played like we did against them last year when they were on a good run at the time we are certainly capable of turning it around.

was that a typo old bean, or did you mean Birmingham?

[LeChuck]

Think Colin summed it up pretty well there, we never looked threatening down the left, the cross was either poor or just not attempted and played back to McEveley. Tugay's passing was shocking, can't fault his commitment though, he put in some good tackles but none in telling areas, just mainly around the half way line after he'd lost it in the first place. In regards to Rover6's question about the left side, in the first half we seemed to have developed a new tactic of player two right wingers whenever the ball was over there, that stopped in the second and Reid spent the majority of the time out on the left.

Does anyone know if Stead picked up an injury? I thought he was looking very good, held the ball up well and went on a couple of runs that deserved better. Jansen looked very good when he came on though, didn't recieve the ball as much as he would like but when he did he showed he's still a class player, his first touch has improved greatly and it was fantastic to see him leaping for headers against Distin and Dunne...and occasionally winning...not something I thought we'd ever see again. Thommo looked sharp when he came in the centre of midfield, he has to start there ahead of Tugay now, we have absolutely nothing to lose and everything to gain if their respective performances today are anything to go by. Just add a quick mention to Todd and especially Nissa, those two should be the first names on the team-sheet at the moment irrespective of Short's fitness.

Might as well do a player rating...

Friedel - 6 - Not much to do, few kicks that could have gone further but otherwise solid.

Neill - 6 - Looked solid defensively for a change, couple of wayward passes but an improvement on recent showings.

McEveley - 6 - Couple of uneasy moments but made some good challenges and supported the random wide man quite well although his final ball was poor at times. Needs to stay in the team though.

Todd - 7 - Calm, composed and distributed the ball well.

Nissa - 8 - Excellent in the air, made some great tackles on the ground and appears to have stopped lumping the ball forward. Has the potential to be a very good player for us I feel.

Reid - 6 - Very willing, contested well in the air but his first touch and crossing let him down, this probably wasn't helped by position swapping though.

Tugay - 5 - Still trying and you can see he still has the desire to do well but it's just not there anymore. Seems to have decided to pass the ball through people rather than round them...

Ferguson - 6 - Nice and tidy but frustrating today, a few times he sent the ball backwards when we should have been looking to be more aggressive, although the few through balls he tried never came off so maybe it was for the best...

Emerton - 5 - I'm a big fan of his but he was poor today, like Reid probably not helped by switching positions but even in his more familiar right side role he rarely threatened.

Stead - 7 - Was involved quite a lot from the start, some nice touches and some mazy runs troubled the city defence, he's still a wonderful talent and I'm positive once he gets one goal they'll start flowing again.

Dickov - 8 (MOM) - I've criticised him in the past but he was great today, kept hold of the ball well and was a general nuisance to the City defence...really looked determined to put in a good performance against his old club.

Jansen - 7 - Some neat touches and close control almost unlocked the defence, moved well and was looking for balls in behind...set up a late chance for Dickov by beating Dunne to a header.

Edited November 13, 2004 by LeChuck

[RevidgeBlue]

Three points from three games doesn't look well on paper but the improved nature of the performances give reason for optimism.

Two or three wins and a five or six game unbeaaten run suddenly looks hugely impressive.

[1864roverite]

Now then boys and girls, a different perspective from todays game at the COMS, a view from a Man City point of view.

Today I travelled to the game with a host of City fans along with Den and a couple of other Rovers supporters. Lets me say that Not one of them was expecting a massive City win along the lines that we have seen on websites such as bbc etc. The were as apprehensive as me and the other Rovers supporters but I can honestly say that it US who appeared to be the more confident !

Having had a few drinks in Euxton and then onto a pre match pub opposite the stadium (Nelly B's) we set off to the ground, Den was with the allocated Rovers fans whilst I was sat above them in amongst the City faithful.

Listening to the mongs behind me I had to correct one or two of them that sheepshaggers actually eminate from Yorkshire and that BRFC was actually a team from the sunny climes of Lancashire. But lo and behold I was well received being an outsider to that part of the ground.

The first half was in the main a non event HOWEVER Rovers were clearly the better organised team and cut off the supply to SRW hence little goal action in the Rovers goal area. City were poorer as they're approach play was awful, their defence was pulled all over and they frittened to death of mssrs Dickov and Stead. I have never seen Dunne or Distain so frightened of a player of the ilk of Dickov, who was making a real nuisance of himself. approaching half time and Rovers press the self destruct button, one mistake, SRW down the flank and a sweepong effort by the ineffective sibierski puts City one up, let me just say that the pass by Mcmanaman to set up the chance was either the best pass I have ever seen in my time following football or it was a complete fluke, watch tonight and make your own mind up. So half time City lead 1-0. the fans behind and around me are not happy with their lot, they score against the run of play IMO, the atmosphere is worse than a morgue and Big Old City are playing second fiddle to the bottom of the league.

So beings the second half, Rovers change Stead and replace him with Jansen, he appeared to be injured just before the end of the first half. Again the game takes off as it finished, Rovers clearly having the better percentage of play, they silence even more the groans of the COMS crowd and begin to take the game by the scruff of the neck. Dickov is a nuisance and Jansen adds a different dimension winning balls in the air. Tugay then begins to play with his invisible friend and gives us one or two frights but still City cannot find their way into our area.

Then a MIRACLE happens. I was above the Rovers fans when a delightful through ball to Dickov sees him upended by that thug MILLS. P E N A L T Y I say again P E N A L T Y is awarded to the visitors and I am pretty sure that I witnessed Rovers fainting in disbelief at the outcome, but , WAIT, a players, the thug Mills is actually despatched from the field of play and is red carded ! Oh Happy days I cry, but wait, the P E N A L T Y has still to be taken. I notice that every Rovers player bar one is outside of the area, whether or not shirking or not wanting the responsibility of a phenomonen. Step forward Mr Dickov, a previous hero of the Maine Road faithful. A short run up and a majestic strike into the bottom left hand corner of the net, Keeper NOWHERE near it. oh what glee however I had to restrain myself, not only at the equaliser, not only at the P E NA L T Y but due to the fact that we had well and truly earned the right to be on level terms and that I clearly felt that I had to correct the muppet directly behind me that out @#/? was just as good as their @#/?. I calmy shook hands with him and swapped pleasantries, his own friends disgusted but not having any bottle to say anything, as due to my stature they clearly didnt find the possbile altercation factor on their side. I had to muffle the cries of delight as Rovers descended in numbers on the City goal and only a flying save by Calamity stopped Rovers claiming the second goal for which their enterprise deserved. a warning towards the end made me realise that Rovers still had work to do but then the final whistle, a chorus of boos from the City faithful and raised cheers from the Blackburn fans who were very happy at the result.

I turned to my fellow football supporter to offer my congratulations however he had clearly decided enough was enough and had disappeared, either that or he was scared Shi$less !

I finished my day meeting back up with Den at the pre match pub, we were both in agreement that Rovers were unlucky not to have claimed the win.

Overall the game was not a spectacular, but in our predicament its a very positive outcome, I mean how good will the club feel tonight knowing we are off the bottom of the league ?

I would say that Mark Hughes has every right to feel satisfied with the players tonight. the sight of Thommo unleashing shots from outside the area is a sight to behold. The defence clearly has had a major overhaul as both Todd and Johannson were very comfortable.

friedel - 7 one good save nothing else to do

neill - 7 good game

Johannson - 8 coped with Anelka very well

todd - 8 ditto

mceveley 7 one mistake in giving srw too much space allowed him to create the goal for city

tugay - 6 still gives too many balls away

emerton - 7 good solid game

reid - 7 won a lot of ball, good game

fergie - 7 solid and controlled the second half

DICKOV **9** star man. How can one so small cause so much mayhem ?

Stead 7 did okay and had chances but clearly got injured.

jansen 7 caused problems

Thommo 7 again caused a differing type of problem and its just great to see him back.

I have had a great day but feel a little sad that we didnt claim all 3 points.

It feels good to be a Rover tonight.

[frosty]

did mills give away the last penalty we had at elland road

Nah t'was Michael Dubbery.

[Blue blood]

Another historic event in the history of BRFC - the first penalty for over a year - I'll have to get to more away games! Even the novelty of actually getting a penalty (and scoring) however, doesn't paper over what was to me a disappointing game.

Until the penalty Rovers were poor to mediocre. The defence and midfield looked ok without being great, but up front we really looked poor. Stead had one half decent chance but there was little else created in a dour 45 minutes, capped off by letting in a fairly soft goal to City. The second half seemed equally stagnant until a beautiful through ball saw Dickov one on one with the keeper when Mills sent Dickov tumbling. With Mills sent off Rovers clearly looked a class above and started to show some decent attacking play. Passes were accutrately made, chances were created and Dickov should have got the winner from a Matt Jansen knock down. What fustrated me though was with City down to 10 men there was a lack of players running at City, especially down the left flank where neither Reid nor McEveley wanted to get forward despite acres of space. This was really fustrating as with another winger to terrorize a streched City we'd have definately won. As it was despite our reluctance to attack down the left in the last fifteen minutes we still should have won. But that's Rovers for you. We won't get many better chances to win away from home.

Brad - a couple of decent saves but didn't have that much to do.

McEveley - to me he lacks the pace to be a full back. The number of times he got beaten was worrying - even taking into account he was against SWP - and didn't offer much going forward. Fairly solid when not being run at though but I don't think he's the answer to our left back problem.

Neil - the guy looked good in the air and strong in the tackle A couple of silly fouls but otherwise a commanding performance. Pity he can't pass the ball to a Rovers player.

Nissa - best defender of the lot. Will get better with age and a good partner, and showed plenty of talent today.

Todd - one moment when Anelka got the better of him and perhaps fortunate only to get booked for the subsequent foul. Otherwise coped with Anelka fialry well.

Tugay - tried, the odd nice pass but didn't boss the midfield.

Ferguson - slogged his guts out but again didn't dominate the middle of the pitch.

Emerton - fairly electric for most of game though much more effcent on the right then the left against Mills.

Reid - the guy isn't a winger. With Mills sent off and no one in the right back position still struggled to get forward. And cannot cross to save his life.

Dickov - worked tirelessly and deserved his goal though created little else.

Stead - not his best performance, doesn't work well with Dickov.

subs

Jansen - didn't really get stuck in but won a few headers, one of which Dickov should have converted. Our most promising partnership with Boothroyd out.

Tommo - added a bit of urgency to the midfiled and had a nice shot at goal.

Overall, City aren't a good team, they were no better than us. Afterwards felt disappointed to be coming away with a draw from a game we should have won. Having said that after an unispiring 60 - 70 minutes at any point before the penalty and sending off I'd have gladly taken a draw. Rovers however don't look to have enough in attack, but at least the rest of the team seems a bit more settled, especially the defence.

[vyeo]

5am here, and i've just finished watching the game, so hope my spelling and grammar's not too off.

anyway, right now i'm feeling disappointed about the result, much like the last 2 games - feeling that we should have won, but instead we drew the match instead. in a way, certainly feeling disappointed is good for now. at least we know we are not being run over and should have won. but in any case, it was a good result today considering our abysmal away form thus far. 2 away games unbeaten, so the on and up push is clearly on-going, although right now it really is point-by-point. but on today's performance, we should get a win soon. perhaps against yorke, dunn, tiny and johnson's birmingham?

observations: first, mceveley - raw but certainly has the potential. can't blame him for the first goal; bringing SWP down would have been a cert penalty and even henry might not have caught up with that burst of speed. other than that, thought he did pretty well, much like the last 2 matches. will hopefully continue improving.

nissa and todd - here's our first choice centrehalf pairing. steady, strong, pretty good at headers (won pretty much 80% of their headers at least), intercepted passes well. i feel much safer with them than any combination with matteo in it.

neill - wasn't a liability today, had a cracking 30yard half volley which didnt miss by far. made a few good interceptions, passed better than his usual game too. hope he keeps it up.

fergie - anonymous in the 1st half, but got into the game more in the 2nd. i know he dominated the game last week, but he needs to do it more often, week in week out.

tugay - one of his better games, covered well, passing was alright, didnt give the ball away too often.

emo - what in the world did the new training team do to him? is he on drugs? mom in the 1st half. just like SWP was driving city on, emo was driving us on. however, when he swapped wings with reid, back to his supposedly favoured right wing, emo looked lost... oh oh. but still, another good performance for him.

reid - unspectacular first half, but held his position and covered well on the right. thought he looked really uncomfortable on the left though. poor second half i thought, some poor touches but at least provides some shape to the team.

thommo - little dynamite. sparky might have him marked for the central mid slot like what alot of members on this board have proposed. cracking long shot forced james into a fine save, but his next shot should have been a pass instead. dickov and jansen were making good runs through.

stead - showed good touches dribbling, holding it up, but no finishing touch. i'm almost certain that bothroyd would have put one of stead's 2 reasonably good chances away.

dickov - usual irritating self, pulling defenders everywhere, chasing everything. very good penalty, i must admit i wasnt really happy when i saw him placing the ball. would have wanted fergie to take it but the way dickov found the corner was very impressive.

jansen - looked bright and willing. won a good header in the end against distin to knock ball down for dickov's volley which went agonisingly wide. lively performance, would have him in the team ahead of stead at the moment. looked more comfortable playing upfront today than when he last played against charlton out on the left.

realised i missed friedal out, so here goes. saved what he had to, claimed what he had to, cleared what he had to. almost fluffed mills' drive but i think that's down to the ball which swerved really viciously. kinda similar to thommo's drive. couldnt do much about the goal though and it wasnt his fault.

so in conclusion, another encouraging performance. we've got birmingham next week, so its really almost like a reunion of sorts with their blackburn links. the signs are there. come'on rovers, deliver the three points! on and up we go.

[Hasta]

Just returned home from the COMS and out of the plummeting temperatures in time to rewatch the game on Footy First. My main reaction is similar to everyone else who attended. In the first half although City had marginally more possesion they only had their goal as an attempt on target apart from 3 or 4 identically positioned free-kicks. We were unlucky to be behind at half time but the general feeling in my group was that given the scoreline we'd take a point at any costs.

Second half and we dominated. The only shot I can recall Brad dealing with was the once he nearly made a right mess of and luckily spawned it wide of his far post (thats how it looked from the other side of the ground). Apart from that it was all Rovers without creating too much. Their left back should have been second yellow carded about 10 mins into the second half for a late high tackle that stopped a good Rovers break but got let off.

The penalty had to be given but I think every Rovers fan waited with baited breath during the 0.5 seconds it took the ref to give it. The celebrations for the award of the kick itself were as loud and jubilant as for the subsequent kicks conversion. The next 10 mins I felt sure that 3 points were on the way back to Ewood and was disappointed this was not to be. At least we left the ground with the newly found optimism on the pitch still intact.

[Martin]

Good result after being 1 down. It is starting to look like we are getting harder to beat.

We are turning defeats into draws, now we just need to turn these draws into wins. The only thing is that requires a goalscorer something don't seem to have.

Things are getting a little brighter.

[tashor]

friedel - 7 one good save nothing else to do

neill - 7 good game

Johannson - 8 coped with Anelka very well

todd - 8 ditto

mceveley 7 one mistake in giving srw too much space allowed him to create the goal for city

tugay - 6 still gives too many balls away

emerton - 7 good solid game

reid - 7 won a lot of ball, good game

fergie - 7 solid and controlled the second half

DICKOV **9** star man. How can one so small cause so much mayhem ?

Stead 7 did okay and had chances but clearly got injured.

jansen 7 caused problems

Thommo 7 again caused a differing type of problem and its just great to see him back.

'Nuff said.....spot on ( apart from I would've given Emerton 8 )

[philipl]

Still disappointed because in our predicament we need wins. Draws are not of much use - remember when Kidd took over? The losses stopped and we started drawing a few matches but it didn't take us away from trouble.

Would be interested to know how we played though because it sounds like we could have won it late on. Especially want to know if Emerton and Reid on the wings is actually working.

Simple. Buy a ticket and go watch.

[USABlue]

Parkes is fired Rovers get a Penalty, what did Hughes know that we don't.

[roversWASmylife]

Couldn’t make the game today unfortunately.

From watching the highlights it looked as if we were in control for the majority of the game.

Looked like the centre of defence looked solid enough again, with Nissa becoming a better centre half game by game.

The midfield looked as if it was doing exactly the same style of play that they played against Liverpool at home. Not allowing City to pass it, but closing them down every time.

The passing play again, didn’t look as if we were a team at the bottom of the table. Although from what I’ve heard of mates who went to the game and what I saw from the tv, yet again Tugay at times was sloppy when in possession. Simple pass please.

What at times we lack is the final pass, the cutting edge, a good pass to rip a defence apart, or a clinical finish from any of the strikers.

Great to see Thompson back, with Thommo, Ferguson and Emerton, those particular players in that midfield looks promising in games to come.

Oh yes, we got a penalty, finally.

After the Boro game at home, I wasn’t sure what was going to happen to the team. However I’m confident enough now to think that from our last three games, we are making steps in the right direction. The next couple of games are going to be crucial, whether it will kick-start our season or we’ll struggle again.

Games against Birmingham, Fulham, Spurs and others, points are there for the taking if we play our football.

Man City 1-1 Blackburn

[Jordan]

Just got nback for,m the game and had far to manny to drunk. This i mighty gods to bed. BYYYE

[Jordan]

ones paul dickovc i love yor!!!!!!!!!! Come ones overs, till i dead

[bubblerrovers]

Very pleased we didn't lose, but getting so pi$$ed off that everyone seems to want to take a pop a rovers in the press. I know we're not great this year but we're not as far behind other teams as some make out. If we do stay up i think we should get cards printed and send them to all the anti rover wa&&ers on the telly. Sorry really drives me MAD!!!

come on rovers!!!!

[Shaddy]

ones paul dickovc i love yor!!!!!!!!!! Come ones overs, till i dead

Come on Rovers 'till I'm dead, I'm sure

[SouthAussieRover]

ones paul dickovc i love yor!!!!!!!!!! Come ones overs, till i dead

Glad to see you are alive and well