Sunderland 1 - 0 Man City - Not good enough!

Our manager and team should be ashamed of themselves, poor team selection and poor performance saw us defeated away from home, again!

Now I don't want to rain on Sunderland's parade because they did thoroughly deserve to win today, they wanted it more than we did, they worked harder than we did and they defended better than we did, but they are not a side that should come close to beating us, we allowed it to happen.

Our problems started with the team selection today, the pretender that is Kolarov was preferred to Clichy, although lacking game time Richards was picked before Zabaleta and Garcia was played before a number of better players most notably Navas, but why?

There was absolutely no reason why Clichy and Zabaleta in particular shouldn't have played today. Kolarov was awful, at one point I heard someone say that he should be taken down the tunnel and shot, that was how bad he was.
Richards was to say the least rusty, he wasn't his usual self going forward and didn't look ready to start a football match.
Then there was Garcia, he isn't quick enough for premier league football and instead of playing Milner out wide he should of started Navas and put Milner in the middle from the get go.
Most annoyingly about Pellegrini's selection today was the fact that when Zabaleta and Navas came on today they made a difference, we had some energy and width all of a sudden and began to pile the pressure on Sunderland, unfortunately they didn't get enough time to make a difference to the result.

We were poor in the first half today, we were arrogant and looked like a team that had won before the game had started, Sunderland were not doing anything special but they were doing the basics very well, they were working hard and defending well, for me they deserved their lead at the break regardless if it was partly down to our lack of competing.

In the second half we were much better following the introduction of Navas and then Zabaleta, we took control and put Sunderland under immense pressure, they didn't buckle though and when they had to they threw everyone behind the ball and stopped us from making a breakthrough.
Some would say we did deserve something from the game based on our second half performance, not me though, I think Sunderland were worth the win in the end.
If Pellegrini hadn't put a weak team out thinking they were good enough to win and had the team not approached the start of the game to cockily then maybe I would feel differently, but considering Sunderland's persistent hard work and determination, I think we got what we deserved for our poor approach.

I don't normally do a team assessment but after today's game it is the best way to give a run down on the players and I think it is needed because there were players that did try today and others that did not.

Pantilimon - Didn't have anything to do apart from when they scored, some are saying he should of done better and some are blaming the defence, I would say both could have done better.

Richards - Was clearly not ready to start a game, without that reason/excuse backing him up though, he was poor and didn't have any kind of effect on the game.

Demichelis - Not 100% convinced by him yet, he did work hard today though and his experience did show through when keeping calm at the back.

Lescott - Can't fault his commitment and never have, I can only remember thinking 'oh Joleon' once today and he recovered from that mistake straight away, another player clearly affected by a lack of game time.

Kolarov - Terrible defending, terrible going forward, lazy and an all round waste of space, he had looked decent at times earlier in the season but seems to have reverted to form, he never plays badly for his country which suggests to me his heart isn't in it at City, needs to go.

Milner - I'm a big fan of Jimmy's but in the first half today he let me down as he was very poor, he did redeem himself in the second half and was pulling the strings when moved in field.

Garcia - Feel a bit sorry for Garcia, he isn't a bad player, I just think the tempo of the prem is too quick for him and maybe the way we play football is to, perhaps a player to save for European football.

Toure - Yet another poor performance by Toure today, he was poor earlier in the season but when Fernandinho started to get better Toure seemed to do the same, I have pointed out in the past how much work Ferna puts in to help Toure and without him there to hold his hand today he didn't perform.

Nasri - Nasri has been in good form lately and he played well today, he was trying his best to get the play flowing but he was constantly having to go and help Kolarov defend, which he did well, good hard working performance overall.

Negredo - Not his best performance today but he didn't have a lot to work with either, there wasn't a great deal of supply to the forwards.

Aguero - His usual self buzzing around up front trying his best to create or score a goal, just didn't come off for him today.

Subs.
Navas - Got 45 minutes and made a real difference, he was direct and was only interested in getting the ball into the box, he made a few good deliveries that someone should have been on the end of.

Zabaleta - Only brought on in the 71st minute but made a noticeable contribution, he was going forward well and supporting Navas, having an attacking full back gave Sunderland something to think about, something that Richards didn't pull of before being replaced.

Dzeko - Dzeko was also brought on with just 19 minutes to go, had a decent shot at goal and that was about it, wasn't given enough time to make a decent impact to give him a bit of leeway.

To sum up, I am just glad there is a break before our next game, Pellegrini needs to sort out a range of things, some of them are big things like players that earn so much money not pulling their weight for him and some are little things like maybe practising in swinging corners instead of ineffective out swinging ones, whatever the problems may be they all need ironing out and quickly.

Today's goals *Video*

Considering tonight's events at the club I have decided against doing a post match report, seems as we are about to start a new period at the club I think that what we seen today may be irrelevant now. In fact it would be pretty easy to sum up today's performance anyway, poor!

Videos may need time to buffer, sorry for the inconvenience but it was all I could get at the moment.

Goals.

Man City 1 - 0 Sunderland (McCartney s/o 15', Richards 56')

It took a rare Micah Richards goal to secure all three points against Sunderland, we made hard work of what should have been an easy victory.

Our current team certainly like to go about things in a dramatic manner, they kept us biting our nails for ninety minutes yet again today. We started off quite well today and it looked like we were going to breeze through the game, it didn't quite pan out like that.

There was a few important flash points today that could have changed the game. There were two big misses today, from two players I said in my pre match need to do better. First Shaun Wright-Phillips missed a glorious chance after going through on goal, then after Micah Richards was brought down by Malbranque in the box, Robinho missed a penalty in horrible fashion. Something that went for us today was Sunderland going down to ten men after fifteen minutes, George McCartney was shown a red for tugging back Shaun Wright-Phillips.

After all the early drama a goal was scored and we could slightly calm our nerves. A rejuvenated Micah Richards headed home from inside the box after Elano whipped in a good free kick. Micah Richards really deserved his goal today, he played fantastic and was probably our best player. He hasn't played to the high standards we have come to expect from him for a lot of this season, but in the last few games it seems like he has got his confidence back and it is proving beneficial to the team.

Along with Richards we had another couple of players that played well today. Nedum Onuoha was great again and is becoming a major part of our team, after seeing some of the rubbish called into the England squad, I am surprised Nedum didn't get a look in considering how good he has been playing. I also thought Nigel De Jong was very good today, he is excellent at breaking up the play in the midfield, isn't scared of a tackle and very very rarely gives the ball away when he is in possession. Last but not least I thought Bojinov put in a good performance up front, his movement is very good, he is strong, he can find a pass, he can shoot and he works very hard. I just hope he can stay fit and continue to impress.

It was another frustrating performance today from City, we weren't particularly bad but we should have cruised through the game, Sunderland were a poor team. Main aim was completed though, an important three points in the bag and hopefully a catalyst to push for that 7Th place.

Man City vs Sunderland - Sun 22nd Mar 15:00 pm

Up next for City at Eastlands is Sunderland, after our tiresome midweek exploits hopefully we can get on with what we do best, winning home games.


After City left us all on the edge of our seats in the last game, against Sunderland I think we would all appreciate a nice and simple win. A win against Sunderland today would represent a good three points, we are in a strange position at the moment in the league. If we don't win today we could definitely be looking at getting dragged into a relegation battle, if we do win we will hopefully drag ourselves back into the battle for seventh place.

We will have to be prepared for a tough game today, Sunderland are only three points above the drop zone and will come out fighting. I am not worried about Sunderland to much though, they may show some fighting spirit but they lack in quality, we should be able to absorb any kind of pressure they put on us. We have more than enough quality going forward and against a poor defence I am hoping we can more or less win the game in the first half today. If we can wrap up the game early on it would also mean that we could take some of our senior players off, for what I am sure would be a welcome rest.

I am expecting better performances from a couple of our star players against Sunderland, Robinho and Wright-Phillips have been in erratic form since the beginning of the season. It is becoming rather frustrating especially Robinho, he has so much quality it is untrue, yet he is putting in either average or below average performances. Wright-phillips is a little less frustrating than Robinho, we at least get a few good games before we get a couple of bad ones out of him, but still its not good enough we need our better players to set an example of consistency to the rest of the team.

City team news:
Nigel De Jong should return to the starting eleven after being ineligible for the Uefa Cup, Bellamy may also make a return after being out with a knee injury. City are sweating on the fitness of Vincent Kompany, Stephen Ireland and Wayne Bridge, Kompany has been struggling with a toe injury for the past few weeks, whilst Ireland and Bridge picked up injuries against Aalborg.

Sunderland team news:
Anton Ferdinand and Nyron Nosworthy were back in full training this week and both may make a return to the Sunderland defence. Teemu Tainio is set to miss out with a knee injury, Kieran Richardson is suspended and Tal Ben-Haim is not eligible due to the terms of his loan from City.

Possible Man City line up: Given, Richards, Dunne, Onuoha, Garrido, Zabaleta, De Jong, Ireland, Wright-Phillips, Robinho, Bellamy.

Possible Sunderland line up: Gordon, Bardsley, Ferdinand, Collins, McCartney, Malbranque, Whitehead, Leadbitter, Reid, Jones, Cisse.

My prediction: Man City 3 - 0 Sunderland

Worth a bet: Robinho and Wright-Phillips score in a 3 - 0 City win.

Tal Ben Haim leaves on loan

Tal Ben Haim has joined Sunderland on loan until the end of the season, a shame I thought we had rid for good.

Tal Ben Haim leaves Man City?

Reports today suggested that our central defender Tal Ben Haim was in talks with Sunderland and it seems that is the case according to Sunderland manager Ricky Sbragia who says he is going to sign.

"The one we've done is Tal Ben Haim. I think he's going to be done some time today," the Black Cats boss revealed to Sky Sports News.

"We need a defender and he's a very good defender, and I've worked with him previously so I know exactly what I'm getting.

From what I have seen of Ben Haim whilst playing for City I would say Sunderland are getting a below average central defender who always seem to be in a panic and I am not bothered one bit he is going, the fee is likely to be in the 3 - 5 million pound bracket if the transfer is permanent although it is possible it will only be a loan deal.

Meanwhile we can expect another departure with Jo looking likely to sign for Everton on loan for thegh. rest of the season, more to follow if Jo's proposed transfer goes through.