Everton v Man C

sefton wrote:

Goodison_Gringo wrote:Everyone had a good game and there were a lot of plaudits for Tom Davies, quite rightly so, but as well as him and Barkley, I though Mirrallas was outstanding. Full of energy and intelligent running. I always feel he's a player who needs the confidence of the manager. Hopefully we can get a sustained spell like this out of him.

Like, I said, everyone was good but I'd also give a big mention to Baines, Barry, Lukaku and Holgate.

Don't forget Robles running the length pitch to celebrate Alookman's goal .pure brilliance.

What I like about Robles is how big he makes himself charging down shots, especially from Silva in first half. Bravo however is hopeless in this aspect and looks really small in goal. Time and time again I've seen goals scored against him this season like Mirallas' where he is caught out with shots going across him into bottom corner. He doesn't make the goal look big at all. I get you don't have to be a 7ft keeper to be good but he just doesn't command his goal with any authority.

KoelJagz wrote:

sefton wrote:

Goodison_Gringo wrote:Everyone had a good game and there were a lot of plaudits for Tom Davies, quite rightly so, but as well as him and Barkley, I though Mirrallas was outstanding. Full of energy and intelligent running. I always feel he's a player who needs the confidence of the manager. Hopefully we can get a sustained spell like this out of him.

Like, I said, everyone was good but I'd also give a big mention to Baines, Barry, Lukaku and Holgate.

Don't forget Robles running the length pitch to celebrate Alookman's goal .pure brilliance.

What I like about Robles is how big he makes himself charging down shots, especially from Silva in first half. Bravo however is hopeless in this aspect and looks really small in goal. Time and time again I've seen goals scored against him this season like Mirallas' where he is caught out with shots going across him into bottom corner. He doesn't make the goal look big at all. I get you don't have to be a 7ft keeper to be good but he just doesn't command his goal with any authority.

I like Robles.. he makes some good saves & as you say is a real presence... I think he's better than Stek and really has been treated a bit unfairly... he should be our no1 with what we currently have.

ok here's my take on the match.

Our defence was awful.  

Sterling should have had a hattrick in the first half, but because he is shit he missed two (one right at Robles and one just wide - although Robles might have had that one covered?) and dived for one (which could have been a penalty if the ref had seen it differently).  If he was a decent finisher he would have scored all of them.

Villa was initially tracked back by Barkley, but Barkley then decided to move towards the ball and leave Villa to ghost in behind the defence who were looking the other way.  Luckily Robles was out quickly and closed him down after he controlled it, could have been a really embarrassing goal for us, and would normally have been so we got out of jail on that one also.  

And that was all before we'd scored.  It could have been a very different game.

Even after we scored Aguero should have got one back after he got away with pulling Mori down, he was free inside the box and the pass was inches too far away from him.

On another day, or even against a less arrogant team, we could have been 4 or 5 goals down in the first half.

Also all our goals were down to a combination of poor defending and a seriously dodgy keeper.  I'm not sure what it was, whether Bravo doesn't instil confidence into the back four or whether he really is just a crap shot stopper, but he was awful - four shots on target and four goals, he didn't stop one shot.  

Admittedly their defence and midfield was equally as bad for letting us get that close so easily.

Also their failure to be able to score, despite their many chances probably gave us confidence to go out and try to get a few more in the second half.

Having said that..... the pass from Tom Davies for the first goal was perfect, as was Mirallas's diagonal run, and his dink back to Lukaku, who was unmarked and finished brilliantly past a second division keeper.  Stones had been left way out of position by offering himself for the pass as they were playing it out, but they still should have covered both Mirallas and Lukaku better.

Our second goal was lovely, lots of sharp passing and movement going foward, but again Mirallas was left with far too much space in front of goal, its like the the City defence is expecting Stones to cover everything (even though Stones cut out the first pass to Mirallas and was on the floor, he still got up, got back and almost blocked Mirallas shot while the others were looking on).  Keeper should have saved it, but great ball from Ross to set him up.

Davies's goal was a thing of beauty, from picking it up by his own penalty area to jinking it through the two City players with his outside foot, to the finish, absolutely loved it (I think Lukaku was just shielding it from any defenders rather than trying to poach it).  But again, Davies was left completely unmarked after Stones knocked him down, no-one picked him up and he allowed to ghost in similarly to Villa in the first half against us, but Davies showed City how to finish properly. Another great choice by Ross to pick him out rather than try for Lukaku who was marked.

The last goal was just joyous, felt great for the lad, first game on and he scores.  I don't think it was a defensive error by Stones, it was just a deflection off Coleman that could have gone anywhere, and it fell straight to Lookman's feet, who was completely unmarked, reacted faster and he finished brilliantly through Bravo's legs.  The only bad mark against him was falling over after a perfect 20 yard knee slide.

So overall I enjoyed the game, but I'm not getting too carried away with it.  The most positive points for me were Davies and Lookman, both look to work hard and they have vision, let's hope they keep it up.

Sack the Juggler wrote:ok here's my take on the match.

Our defence was awful.  

Sterling should have had a hattrick in the first half, but because he is shit he missed two (one right at Robles and one just wide - although Robles might have had it covered?) and dived for one (which could have been a penalty if the ref had seen it differently).  

Villa was initially tracked back by Barkley, but Barkley then decided to move towards the ball and leave Villa to ghost in behind the defence who were looking the other way.  Luckily Robles was out quickly and closed him down after he controlled it, could have been a really embarrassing goal for us, and would normally have been so we got out of jail on that one also.

And that was all before we'd scored.  It could have been a very different game.

Even after we scored Aguero should have got one back after he got away with pulling Mori down, he was free inside the box and the pass was inches too far away from him.

On another day, or even against a less arrogant team, we could have been 4 or 5 goals down in the first half.

Also all our goals we down to a combination of poor defending and a seriously dodgy keeper.  I'm not sure what it was, whether Bravo doesn't instil confidence into the back four or whether he really is just a crap shot stopper, but he was awful - four shots on target and four goals, he didn't stop one shot.  

Admittedly their defence and midfield was equally as bad for letting us get that close so easily.

Also their failure to be able to score, despite their many chances probably gave us confidence to go out and try to get a few more in the second half.

Having said that..... the pass from Tom Davies was perfect, as was Mirallas's diagonal run, and his dink back to Lukaku, who was unmarked and finished brilliantly past a second division keeper.  Stones had been left way out of position by offering himself for the pass as they were playing it out, but they still should have covered both Mirallas and Lukaku better.

Out second goal was lovely, lots of sharp passing and movement going foward, but again Mirallas was left with far too much space in front of goal, its like the the City defence is expecting Stones to cover everything (even though Stones cut out the first pass to Mirallas and was on the floor, he still got up, got back and almost blocked Mirallas shot while the others were looking on).  Keeper should have saved it, but great ball from Ross to set him up.

Davies's goal was a thing of beauty, from picking it up by his own penalty area to jinking it through the two City players with his outside foot, to the finish, absolutely loved it (I think Lukaku was just shielding it from any defenders rather than trying to poach it).  But again, Davies was left completely unmarked after Stones knocked him down, no-one picked him up and he allowed to ghost in similarly to Villa in the first half against us, but Davies showed City how to finish properly.

The last goal was just joyous, felt great for the lad, first game on and he scores.  I don't think it was a defensive error by Stones, it was just a deflection off Coleman that could have gone anywhere, and it fell straight to Lookman's feet, who was completely unmarked, reacted faster and he finished brilliantly through Bravo's legs.  The only bad mark against him was falling over after a perfect 20 yard knee slide.

So overall I enjoyed the game, but I'm not getting too carried away with it.  The most positive points for me were Davies and Lookman, both look to work hard and they have vision, let's hope they keep it up.

Sorry Jugs, I have to take you to task , firstly Sterling was never gonna score a hattrick , never in a month of Sundays, Secondly your report of Yesterdays game is based on a lot of IFS, the fact Is City have been very poor defensively best part the season ,yet, It was tactics and clinical finishing that won the game. goals win matches not possession.

Try have a bit of belief In what koeman Is trying to do, some times Its not money that breathes success. the answer is never far away, ie youth players.
Germany have done this for years.

sefton wrote:

Sack the Juggler wrote:ok here's my take on the match.

Our defence was awful.

Sterling should have had a hattrick in the first half, but because he is shit he missed two (one right at Robles and one just wide - although Robles might have had that one covered?) and dived for one (which could have been a penalty if the ref had seen it differently). If he was a decent finisher he would have scored all of them.

Villa was initially tracked back by Barkley, but Barkley then decided to move towards the ball and leave Villa to ghost in behind the defence who were looking the other way. Luckily Robles was out quickly and closed him down after he controlled it, could have been a really embarrassing goal for us, and would normally have been so we got out of jail on that one also.

And that was all before we'd scored. It could have been a very different game.

Even after we scored Aguero should have got one back after he got away with pulling Mori down, he was free inside the box and the pass was inches too far away from him.

On another day, or even against a less arrogant team, we could have been 4 or 5 goals down in the first half.

Also all our goals were down to a combination of poor defending and a seriously dodgy keeper. I'm not sure what it was, whether Bravo doesn't instil confidence into the back four or whether he really is just a crap shot stopper, but he was awful - four shots on target and four goals, he didn't stop one shot.

Admittedly their defence and midfield was equally as bad for letting us get that close so easily.

Also their failure to be able to score, despite their many chances probably gave us confidence to go out and try to get a few more in the second half.

Having said that..... the pass from Tom Davies for the first goal was perfect, as was Mirallas's diagonal run, and his dink back to Lukaku, who was unmarked and finished brilliantly past a second division keeper. Stones had been left way out of position by offering himself for the pass as they were playing it out, but they still should have covered both Mirallas and Lukaku better.

Our second goal was lovely, lots of sharp passing and movement going foward, but again Mirallas was left with far too much space in front of goal, its like the the City defence is expecting Stones to cover everything (even though Stones cut out the first pass to Mirallas and was on the floor, he still got up, got back and almost blocked Mirallas shot while the others were looking on). Keeper should have saved it, but great ball from Ross to set him up.

Davies's goal was a thing of beauty, from picking it up by his own penalty area to jinking it through the two City players with his outside foot, to the finish, absolutely loved it (I think Lukaku was just shielding it from any defenders rather than trying to poach it). But again, Davies was left completely unmarked after Stones knocked him down, no-one picked him up and he allowed to ghost in similarly to Villa in the first half against us, but Davies showed City how to finish properly. Another great choice by Ross to pick him out rather than try for Lukaku who was marked.

The last goal was just joyous, felt great for the lad, first game on and he scores. I don't think it was a defensive error by Stones, it was just a deflection off Coleman that could have gone anywhere, and it fell straight to Lookman's feet, who was completely unmarked, reacted faster and he finished brilliantly through Bravo's legs. The only bad mark against him was falling over after a perfect 20 yard knee slide.

So overall I enjoyed the game, but I'm not getting too carried away with it. The most positive points for me were Davies and Lookman, both look to work hard and they have vision, let's hope they keep it up.

Sorry Jugs, I have to take you to task , firstly Sterling was never gonna score a hattrick , never in a month of Sundays, Secondly your report of Yesterdays game is based on a lot of IFS, the fact Is City have been very poor defensively best part the season ,yet, It was tactics and clinical finishing that won the game. goals win matches not possession.

Try have a bit of belief In what koeman Is trying to do, some times Its not money that breathes success. the answer is never far away, ie youth players.
Germany have done this for years.

Sef, my point was our defence is awful. yes Sterling is a shit goalscorer, but any other striker would have put at least one of those chances in. It wasn't just our goals and tactics that won us that game, it was also shit finishing by City and shit defending by City. Let's see how we do against Palace who are having a mare of a season, even West Ham beat them, so by rights we should "hammer" them too!

Sack the Juggler wrote:

sefton wrote:

Sack the Juggler wrote:ok here's my take on the match.

Our defence was awful.  

Sterling should have had a hattrick in the first half, but because he is shit he missed two (one right at Robles and one just wide - although Robles might have had that one covered?) and dived for one (which could have been a penalty if the ref had seen it differently).  If he was a decent finisher he would have scored all of them.

Villa was initially tracked back by Barkley, but Barkley then decided to move towards the ball and leave Villa to ghost in behind the defence who were looking the other way.  Luckily Robles was out quickly and closed him down after he controlled it, could have been a really embarrassing goal for us, and would normally have been so we got out of jail on that one also.  

And that was all before we'd scored.  It could have been a very different game.

Even after we scored Aguero should have got one back after he got away with pulling Mori down, he was free inside the box and the pass was inches too far away from him.

On another day, or even against a less arrogant team, we could have been 4 or 5 goals down in the first half.

Also all our goals were down to a combination of poor defending and a seriously dodgy keeper.  I'm not sure what it was, whether Bravo doesn't instil confidence into the back four or whether he really is just a crap shot stopper, but he was awful - four shots on target and four goals, he didn't stop one shot.  

Admittedly their defence and midfield was equally as bad for letting us get that close so easily.

Also their failure to be able to score, despite their many chances probably gave us confidence to go out and try to get a few more in the second half.

Having said that..... the pass from Tom Davies for the first goal was perfect, as was Mirallas's diagonal run, and his dink back to Lukaku, who was unmarked and finished brilliantly past a second division keeper.  Stones had been left way out of position by offering himself for the pass as they were playing it out, but they still should have covered both Mirallas and Lukaku better.

Our second goal was lovely, lots of sharp passing and movement going foward, but again Mirallas was left with far too much space in front of goal, its like the the City defence is expecting Stones to cover everything (even though Stones cut out the first pass to Mirallas and was on the floor, he still got up, got back and almost blocked Mirallas shot while the others were looking on).  Keeper should have saved it, but great ball from Ross to set him up.

Davies's goal was a thing of beauty, from picking it up by his own penalty area to jinking it through the two City players with his outside foot, to the finish, absolutely loved it (I think Lukaku was just shielding it from any defenders rather than trying to poach it).  But again, Davies was left completely unmarked after Stones knocked him down, no-one picked him up and he allowed to ghost in similarly to Villa in the first half against us, but Davies showed City how to finish properly. Another great choice by Ross to pick him out rather than try for Lukaku who was marked.

The last goal was just joyous, felt great for the lad, first game on and he scores.  I don't think it was a defensive error by Stones, it was just a deflection off Coleman that could have gone anywhere, and it fell straight to Lookman's feet, who was completely unmarked, reacted faster and he finished brilliantly through Bravo's legs.  The only bad mark against him was falling over after a perfect 20 yard knee slide.

So overall I enjoyed the game, but I'm not getting too carried away with it.  The most positive points for me were Davies and Lookman, both look to work hard and they have vision, let's hope they keep it up.

Sorry Jugs, I have to take you to task , firstly Sterling was never gonna score a hattrick , never in a month of Sundays, Secondly your report of Yesterdays game is based on a lot of IFS, the fact Is City have been very poor defensively best part the season ,yet, It was tactics and clinical finishing that won the game. goals win matches not possession.

Try have a bit of belief In what koeman Is trying to do, some times Its not money that breathes success. the answer is never far away, ie youth players.
Germany have done this for years.

Sef, my point was our defence is awful.  yes Sterling is a shit goalscorer, but any other striker would have put at least one of those chances in.  It wasn't just our goals and tactics that won us that game, it was also shit finishing by City and shit defending by City.  Let's see how we do against Palace who are having a mare of a season, even West Ham beat them, so by rights we should "hammer" them too!

I pretty much agree with your assessment Jay - although I do think that against Citteh yesterday our luck started to change. Against Leicester and particularly against the Shoite, passes were perhaps inches away from being brilliant and deflections just did not work for us (poor rub of the green you could say). Stones made one poor error yesterday (his miscued clearance in the second half) Apart from that he was doing the defending for five.

Toure could not get back... Silva and De Bruyne and Sterling do not track back and that leaves a huge load for the defence to manage and if they are poor then the decent defender is going to be incredibly bruised and abused by it... because he has the talent and the price tag in bright lights....

I have no problem with players getting whatever they can because clubs will pay what they think he is worth. We got a great deal for Stones... and we should be thankful, I was greatly disappointed by our fans boo treatment on Sunday. Sterling was an absolute shit as was Otamendi... they deserved some opprobrium John S did not. Had he gone to Chelsea perhaps booing was due... but he put in his demand (as he is entitled to) and told to stay which he did - he then generally performed competently for the rest of the season. We parted on decent terms and we did get top dollar that has facilitated our transfer moves. Why boo?

Incidentally looking at Tom's goal, I did notice that Rom tripped a defender in the 6 yard box to interfere and prevent a defender getting to the goal-line... and you're right Jay - Rom was guarding to ensure that the ball was going in....

Sack the Juggler wrote:ok here's my take on the match.

Our defence was awful.  

Sterling should have had a hattrick in the first half, but because he is shit he missed two (one right at Robles and one just wide - although Robles might have had that one covered?) and dived for one (which could have been a penalty if the ref had seen it differently).  If he was a decent finisher he would have scored all of them.

Villa was initially tracked back by Barkley, but Barkley then decided to move towards the ball and leave Villa to ghost in behind the defence who were looking the other way.  Luckily Robles was out quickly and closed him down after he controlled it, could have been a really embarrassing goal for us, and would normally have been so we got out of jail on that one also.  

And that was all before we'd scored.  It could have been a very different game.

Even after we scored Aguero should have got one back after he got away with pulling Mori down, he was free inside the box and the pass was inches too far away from him.

On another day, or even against a less arrogant team, we could have been 4 or 5 goals down in the first half.

Also all our goals were down to a combination of poor defending and a seriously dodgy keeper.  I'm not sure what it was, whether Bravo doesn't instil confidence into the back four or whether he really is just a crap shot stopper, but he was awful - four shots on target and four goals, he didn't stop one shot.  

Admittedly their defence and midfield was equally as bad for letting us get that close so easily.

Also their failure to be able to score, despite their many chances probably gave us confidence to go out and try to get a few more in the second half.

Having said that..... the pass from Tom Davies for the first goal was perfect, as was Mirallas's diagonal run, and his dink back to Lukaku, who was unmarked and finished brilliantly past a second division keeper.  Stones had been left way out of position by offering himself for the pass as they were playing it out, but they still should have covered both Mirallas and Lukaku better.

Our second goal was lovely, lots of sharp passing and movement going foward, but again Mirallas was left with far too much space in front of goal, its like the the City defence is expecting Stones to cover everything (even though Stones cut out the first pass to Mirallas and was on the floor, he still got up, got back and almost blocked Mirallas shot while the others were looking on).  Keeper should have saved it, but great ball from Ross to set him up.

Davies's goal was a thing of beauty, from picking it up by his own penalty area to jinking it through the two City players with his outside foot, to the finish, absolutely loved it (I think Lukaku was just shielding it from any defenders rather than trying to poach it).  But again, Davies was left completely unmarked after Stones knocked him down, no-one picked him up and he allowed to ghost in similarly to Villa in the first half against us, but Davies showed City how to finish properly.  Another great choice by Ross to pick him out rather than try for Lukaku who was marked.

The last goal was just joyous, felt great for the lad, first game on and he scores.  I don't think it was a defensive error by Stones, it was just a deflection off Coleman that could have gone anywhere, and it fell straight to Lookman's feet, who was completely unmarked, reacted faster and he finished brilliantly through Bravo's legs.  The only bad mark against him was falling over after a perfect 20 yard knee slide.

So overall I enjoyed the game, but I'm not getting too carried away with it.  The most positive points for me were Davies and Lookman, both look to work hard and they have vision, let's hope they keep it up.

It wasn't perfect but let's enjoy it.

Statman wrote:

Sack the Juggler wrote:ok here's my take on the match.

Our defence was awful.  

Sterling should have had a hattrick in the first half, but because he is shit he missed two (one right at Robles and one just wide - although Robles might have had that one covered?) and dived for one (which could have been a penalty if the ref had seen it differently).  If he was a decent finisher he would have scored all of them.

Villa was initially tracked back by Barkley, but Barkley then decided to move towards the ball and leave Villa to ghost in behind the defence who were looking the other way.  Luckily Robles was out quickly and closed him down after he controlled it, could have been a really embarrassing goal for us, and would normally have been so we got out of jail on that one also.  

And that was all before we'd scored.  It could have been a very different game.

Even after we scored Aguero should have got one back after he got away with pulling Mori down, he was free inside the box and the pass was inches too far away from him.

On another day, or even against a less arrogant team, we could have been 4 or 5 goals down in the first half.

Also all our goals were down to a combination of poor defending and a seriously dodgy keeper.  I'm not sure what it was, whether Bravo doesn't instil confidence into the back four or whether he really is just a crap shot stopper, but he was awful - four shots on target and four goals, he didn't stop one shot.  

Admittedly their defence and midfield was equally as bad for letting us get that close so easily.

Also their failure to be able to score, despite their many chances probably gave us confidence to go out and try to get a few more in the second half.

Having said that..... the pass from Tom Davies for the first goal was perfect, as was Mirallas's diagonal run, and his dink back to Lukaku, who was unmarked and finished brilliantly past a second division keeper.  Stones had been left way out of position by offering himself for the pass as they were playing it out, but they still should have covered both Mirallas and Lukaku better.

Our second goal was lovely, lots of sharp passing and movement going foward, but again Mirallas was left with far too much space in front of goal, its like the the City defence is expecting Stones to cover everything (even though Stones cut out the first pass to Mirallas and was on the floor, he still got up, got back and almost blocked Mirallas shot while the others were looking on).  Keeper should have saved it, but great ball from Ross to set him up.

Davies's goal was a thing of beauty, from picking it up by his own penalty area to jinking it through the two City players with his outside foot, to the finish, absolutely loved it (I think Lukaku was just shielding it from any defenders rather than trying to poach it).  But again, Davies was left completely unmarked after Stones knocked him down, no-one picked him up and he allowed to ghost in similarly to Villa in the first half against us, but Davies showed City how to finish properly.  Another great choice by Ross to pick him out rather than try for Lukaku who was marked.

The last goal was just joyous, felt great for the lad, first game on and he scores.  I don't think it was a defensive error by Stones, it was just a deflection off Coleman that could have gone anywhere, and it fell straight to Lookman's feet, who was completely unmarked, reacted faster and he finished brilliantly through Bravo's legs.  The only bad mark against him was falling over after a perfect 20 yard knee slide.

So overall I enjoyed the game, but I'm not getting too carried away with it.  The most positive points for me were Davies and Lookman, both look to work hard and they have vision, let's hope they keep it up.

It wasn't perfect but let's enjoy it.

I did

Sack the Juggler wrote:

Statman wrote:

Sack the Juggler wrote:ok here's my take on the match.

Our defence was awful.  

Sterling should have had a hattrick in the first half, but because he is shit he missed two (one right at Robles and one just wide - although Robles might have had that one covered?) and dived for one (which could have been a penalty if the ref had seen it differently).  If he was a decent finisher he would have scored all of them.

Villa was initially tracked back by Barkley, but Barkley then decided to move towards the ball and leave Villa to ghost in behind the defence who were looking the other way.  Luckily Robles was out quickly and closed him down after he controlled it, could have been a really embarrassing goal for us, and would normally have been so we got out of jail on that one also.  

And that was all before we'd scored.  It could have been a very different game.

Even after we scored Aguero should have got one back after he got away with pulling Mori down, he was free inside the box and the pass was inches too far away from him.

On another day, or even against a less arrogant team, we could have been 4 or 5 goals down in the first half.

Also all our goals were down to a combination of poor defending and a seriously dodgy keeper.  I'm not sure what it was, whether Bravo doesn't instil confidence into the back four or whether he really is just a crap shot stopper, but he was awful - four shots on target and four goals, he didn't stop one shot.  

Admittedly their defence and midfield was equally as bad for letting us get that close so easily.

Also their failure to be able to score, despite their many chances probably gave us confidence to go out and try to get a few more in the second half.

Having said that..... the pass from Tom Davies for the first goal was perfect, as was Mirallas's diagonal run, and his dink back to Lukaku, who was unmarked and finished brilliantly past a second division keeper.  Stones had been left way out of position by offering himself for the pass as they were playing it out, but they still should have covered both Mirallas and Lukaku better.

Our second goal was lovely, lots of sharp passing and movement going foward, but again Mirallas was left with far too much space in front of goal, its like the the City defence is expecting Stones to cover everything (even though Stones cut out the first pass to Mirallas and was on the floor, he still got up, got back and almost blocked Mirallas shot while the others were looking on).  Keeper should have saved it, but great ball from Ross to set him up.

Davies's goal was a thing of beauty, from picking it up by his own penalty area to jinking it through the two City players with his outside foot, to the finish, absolutely loved it (I think Lukaku was just shielding it from any defenders rather than trying to poach it).  But again, Davies was left completely unmarked after Stones knocked him down, no-one picked him up and he allowed to ghost in similarly to Villa in the first half against us, but Davies showed City how to finish properly.  Another great choice by Ross to pick him out rather than try for Lukaku who was marked.

The last goal was just joyous, felt great for the lad, first game on and he scores.  I don't think it was a defensive error by Stones, it was just a deflection off Coleman that could have gone anywhere, and it fell straight to Lookman's feet, who was completely unmarked, reacted faster and he finished brilliantly through Bravo's legs.  The only bad mark against him was falling over after a perfect 20 yard knee slide.

So overall I enjoyed the game, but I'm not getting too carried away with it.  The most positive points for me were Davies and Lookman, both look to work hard and they have vision, let's hope they keep it up.

It wasn't perfect but let's enjoy it.

I did

Me too

The President wrote:

Sack the Juggler wrote:

Statman wrote:

Sack the Juggler wrote:ok here's my take on the match.

Our defence was awful.  

Sterling should have had a hattrick in the first half, but because he is shit he missed two (one right at Robles and one just wide - although Robles might have had that one covered?) and dived for one (which could have been a penalty if the ref had seen it differently).  If he was a decent finisher he would have scored all of them.

Villa was initially tracked back by Barkley, but Barkley then decided to move towards the ball and leave Villa to ghost in behind the defence who were looking the other way.  Luckily Robles was out quickly and closed him down after he controlled it, could have been a really embarrassing goal for us, and would normally have been so we got out of jail on that one also.  

And that was all before we'd scored.  It could have been a very different game.

Even after we scored Aguero should have got one back after he got away with pulling Mori down, he was free inside the box and the pass was inches too far away from him.

On another day, or even against a less arrogant team, we could have been 4 or 5 goals down in the first half.

Also all our goals were down to a combination of poor defending and a seriously dodgy keeper.  I'm not sure what it was, whether Bravo doesn't instil confidence into the back four or whether he really is just a crap shot stopper, but he was awful - four shots on target and four goals, he didn't stop one shot.  

Admittedly their defence and midfield was equally as bad for letting us get that close so easily.

Also their failure to be able to score, despite their many chances probably gave us confidence to go out and try to get a few more in the second half.

Having said that..... the pass from Tom Davies for the first goal was perfect, as was Mirallas's diagonal run, and his dink back to Lukaku, who was unmarked and finished brilliantly past a second division keeper.  Stones had been left way out of position by offering himself for the pass as they were playing it out, but they still should have covered both Mirallas and Lukaku better.

Our second goal was lovely, lots of sharp passing and movement going foward, but again Mirallas was left with far too much space in front of goal, its like the the City defence is expecting Stones to cover everything (even though Stones cut out the first pass to Mirallas and was on the floor, he still got up, got back and almost blocked Mirallas shot while the others were looking on).  Keeper should have saved it, but great ball from Ross to set him up.

Davies's goal was a thing of beauty, from picking it up by his own penalty area to jinking it through the two City players with his outside foot, to the finish, absolutely loved it (I think Lukaku was just shielding it from any defenders rather than trying to poach it).  But again, Davies was left completely unmarked after Stones knocked him down, no-one picked him up and he allowed to ghost in similarly to Villa in the first half against us, but Davies showed City how to finish properly.  Another great choice by Ross to pick him out rather than try for Lukaku who was marked.

The last goal was just joyous, felt great for the lad, first game on and he scores.  I don't think it was a defensive error by Stones, it was just a deflection off Coleman that could have gone anywhere, and it fell straight to Lookman's feet, who was completely unmarked, reacted faster and he finished brilliantly through Bravo's legs.  The only bad mark against him was falling over after a perfect 20 yard knee slide.

So overall I enjoyed the game, but I'm not getting too carried away with it.  The most positive points for me were Davies and Lookman, both look to work hard and they have vision, let's hope they keep it up.

It wasn't perfect but let's enjoy it.

I did

Me too

I'm still enjoying it today. I park next to a City fan.