City v Chievo Verona - my tuppence worth

Hard to say whether it was the strongest Chievo line-up but beating the 12th best team in Series A is a good result. They were all comfortable in possession but became disrupted by multiple substitutions in the second half.
It's not often you find players with the squad numbers  93, 77 and 56 ( the latter 2 being among their most impressive in my view).

I suspect the City team that starts v West Ham will be somewhat different to this....

4-5-1

GK Marshall - 8 - not much to do really, a couple of good saves though

LB John - 8 - impressive display from the youngster, didn't do much wrong at all

RB Brayford  - 6- disappointing, gave the ball away cheaply on several occasions

CB Hudson - 7- steady performance but beaten in the air a couple of times

CB Turner - 8- under pressure from  Caulker's arrival but didn't do much wrong

LM Noone - 7- some positive runs with the ball but end product lacking

CM Whittingham - 7.5 - one cracking shot against the post suggested his Mojo may be returning

CM Kimbo -8 - burst into the box to finish after a half clearance by Chievo, some quality touches throughout

CM Cowie - 7 - workmanlike but unspectacular as usual

RM Smith - 6 - not up to the job sadly, one paced

ST Campbell - 8 - thankless task as the lone man upfront but kept going

Subs
Caulker looked assured when he came on

Ralls showed some good touches and forced their keeper to make a decent save

Gestede won a few headers but did nothing else really

Taylor out of position in midfield role

That's your lot - took feckin ages to type on my IPad. 

Flair yourself up for your efforts Sir!  

G-ster wrote:Hard to say whether it was the strongest Chievo line-up but beating the 12th best team in Series A is a good result. They were all comfortable in possession but became disrupted by multiple substitutions in the second half.
It's not often you find players with the squad numbers  93, 77 and 56 ( the latter 2 being among their most impressive in my view).

I suspect the City team that starts v West Ham will be somewhat different to this....

4-5-1

GK Marshall - 8 - not much to do really, a couple of good saves though

LB John - 8 - impressive display from the youngster, didn't do much wrong at all

RB Brayford  - 6- disappointing, gave the ball away cheaply on several occasions

CB Hudson - 7- steady performance but beaten in the air a couple of times

CB Turner - 8- under pressure from  Caulker's arrival but didn't do much wrong

LM Noone - 7- some positive runs with the ball but end product lacking

CM Whittingham - 7.5 - one cracking shot against the post suggested his Mojo may be returning

CM Kimbo -8 - burst into the box to finish after a half clearance by Chievo, some quality touches throughout

CM Cowie - 7 - workmanlike but unspectacular as usual

RM Smith - 6 - not up to the job sadly, one paced

ST Campbell - 8 - thankless task as the lone man upfront but kept going

Subs
Caulker looked assured when he came on

Ralls showed some good touches and forced their keeper to make a decent save

Gestede won a few headers but did nothing else really

Taylor out of position in midfield role

That's your lot - took feckin ages to type on my IPad. 

Eight of that 11 will start against West Ham IMO

g-ster, i reckon we think alike

*** G L O V E S *** wrote:
Eight of that 11 will start against West Ham IMO

I hope it's no more than 6 of them.
Assuming they are fit, Bellamy, Caulker, Cornelius, Mutch plus hopefully one or two new recruits would give me more cause for optimism.

Double flair!

Terry Phillips is adamant new players are almost here...and Stéphane Mbia didn't play for QPR yesterday  

G-ster wrote:Hard to say whether it was the strongest Chievo line-up but beating the 12th best team in Series A is a good result. They were all comfortable in possession but became disrupted by multiple substitutions in the second half.
It's not often you find players with the squad numbers  93, 77 and 56 ( the latter 2 being among their most impressive in my view).

I suspect the City team that starts v West Ham will be somewhat different to this....

4-5-1

GK Marshall - 8 - not much to do really, a couple of good saves though

LB John - 8 - impressive display from the youngster, didn't do much wrong at all

RB Brayford  - 6- disappointing, gave the ball away cheaply on several occasions

CB Hudson - 7- steady performance but beaten in the air a couple of times

CB Turner - 8- under pressure from  Caulker's arrival but didn't do much wrong

LM Noone - 7- some positive runs with the ball but end product lacking

CM Whittingham - 7.5 - one cracking shot against the post suggested his Mojo may be returning

CM Kimbo -8 - burst into the box to finish after a half clearance by Chievo, some quality touches throughout

CM Cowie - 7 - workmanlike but unspectacular as usual

RM Smith - 6 - not up to the job sadly, one paced

ST Campbell - 8 - thankless task as the lone man upfront but kept going

Subs
Caulker looked assured when he came on

Ralls showed some good touches and forced their keeper to make a decent save

Gestede won a few headers but did nothing else really

Taylor out of position in midfield role

That's your lot - took feckin ages to type on my IPad. 

Thanks G-Ster love these esp as I'm in Glasgow

I'm wondering if Declan John will be part of the first team very soon. And if he continues to perform like he did yesterday he could be our first choice left back by the seasons end! It would certainly explain the lack of interest in bolstering LB, as Taylor worries me defensively and I'm still not convinced by Lappin...

Slumdog's Son™ wrote:I'm wondering if Declan John will be part of the first team very soon. And if he continues to perform like he did yesterday he could be our first choice left back by the seasons end! It would certainly explain the lack of interest in bolstering LB, as Taylor worries me defensively and I'm still not convinced by Lappin...

In the bits & pieces I have seen from DVP games, Declan John looks like a star in the making.

TDA wrote:

Slumdog's Son™ wrote:I'm wondering if Declan John will be part of the first team very soon. And if he continues to perform like he did yesterday he could be our first choice left back by the seasons end! It would certainly explain the lack of interest in bolstering LB, as Taylor worries me defensively and I'm still not convinced by Lappin...

In the bits & pieces I have seen from DVP games, Declan John looks like a star in the making.

At least he's Welsh!

Slumdog's Son wrote:

TDA wrote:

Slumdog's Son wrote:I'm wondering if Declan John will be part of the first team very soon. And if he continues to perform like he did yesterday he could be our first choice left back by the seasons end! It would certainly explain the lack of interest in bolstering LB, as Taylor worries me defensively and I'm still not convinced by Lappin...

In the bits & pieces I have seen from DVP games, Declan John looks like a star in the making.

At least he's Welsh!

.....at this rate the Welsh team will be full of quality left-backs and b*gger all else........the two lads at the Jacks, Bale (where he started) and now Declan John......... 

I thought it was a pretty good performance against a cultured side. Kim was immense. Marshall pulled off a couple of excellent saves and his distribution was better than usual although Cievo probably stood off more than most PL teams will, allowing him to use his defenders more. Turner was outstanding and Caulker looked like he was brimming with confidence when he came on - a good signing. Although Hudson barely put a foot wrong in the first half, his starting place could be in jeopardy. What about playing him at right back, where Brayford was less than impressive and might take some time to settle? John certainly staked his claim and should be given another run-out at left back next Saturday. The way Cievo played made Whitts looked more comfortable than usual in front of the back four although he's not the man for me in that position and if Gunnar isn't going to be fit we need to sign someone sharpish. Noone, Cowie and Smith all put in lots of effort but I still can't see any of them being more than bit-part players this season. Campbell did all that was asked of him up front whilst lacking quality support. None of the subs made any real impact (the best was Ralls) so all in all the way would be appear to be open for the return of Bellamy, Mutch and Gunnar with Cornelius partnering Campbell up front. My starting line-up for West Ham (at the moment): Marshall, Brayford/Hudson, Caulker, Turner, John/Taylor (or new signing), Gunnarson (or new signing), Kim, Mutch, Bellamy, Campbell, Cornelius.

i would give brayford another workout against athletico seville, if he equips well then pick him
marshall
brayford turner caulker john
whittingham
bellamy kim mutch
cornelius
campbell