The Guardian:
That cruel Stretford End banner flaunting the number of years since Manchester City won the league championship may be ticking over for a year or two yet, but Mark Hughes left Ewood Park on Saturday night looking like a man who knows that, at last, he has a proper football team on his hands.
The Independent:
There was a moment after Emmanuel Adebayor had sat down for his first interview as a Manchester City player in South Africa this summer when you wondered why on earth Mark Hughes, with his work ethic and his messianic drive for a “winning mentality”, had wound up with a forward quite like him.
The Times:
This was not the cymbal crash of Arsenal’s 6-1 evisceration of Everton but there was a persuasive percussion to Manchester City’s display. The first few notes were not loud but it sounds as if a powerful rhythm will emerge.
The Telegraph:
As the Manchester City coach weaved through the traffic, inching past thousands and thousands of fans in their sky blue shirts, some clutching inflatable bananas, all with a song on their lips, Robinho, Stephen Ireland and company realised how big this season could be.
Manchester Evening News:
Nine years ago, City fans descended on Blackburn in their hordes, determined to see a new Blue moon rising above the moors.
Stephen Ireland:
“The difference between this season and the last is the team spirit.
“From the moment we arrived back for preseason the manager has been drumming it in to us about how we had to be mentally stronger this season. He said we had to have a better attitude and he was right.
“There were some bad habits in this squad last season. The manager and coaches were trying to get us out of them but because we were in Europe and had so many games and so much travelling, I always felt as though we just didn’t have enough time on the training field and away from match situations to sort it out and put things right.
“What he has done this time is get players who have the right attitude. They are quality players of high calibre but they are also winners and that’s the difference. These guys are inspirational. There is a hunger there and a desire and they have the right approach to everything.”
Mark Hughes:
“Everybody has a view on Ade [but] until you work with him, you can’t shape that view yourself. I have not seen anything like that,” he said after a performance which confounded popular theories
“There will be opposition where we will have to have a real physical presence.
“Roque can play with the lone striker all day long. Ade can play off people and drop into deeper areas and then go beyond people as well, because he has the pace to do that. Maybe people thought that I was looking for two combinations of a big guy and a small guy, but actually they can all play together because they are all quality players.”
Emmanual Adebayor:
“In my three years there [Arsenal] I learned a lot, but now I am a City player, and that is where my focus lies.
“When I have the fans behind me I will always give 100 per cent.
“I am injury-free now, and I hope God will put his hand on me and keep me that way for the rest of the season. If that happens, I will keep working hard.
“This team can achieve things,” he said. “At Blackburn we showed character and we showed personality.
“We showed on Saturday that in difficult moments we can fight together to achieve things.”
Given – Stunning save from a Samba header in the first half. Had to be at the top of his game to keep a clean sheet. 9
Richards – His physical presence justified his selection. Showed good concentration and application. 8
Dunne – Who needs Lescott? The kind of physical game that suits him down to the ground. 8
Toure – A stern test on his debut. Came through with flying colours. 8
Bridge – Looking fitter and stronger than last season. Great to have a full-back who’s happy running with the ball. 8
Wright-Phillips – Off to a flier, turning inside Warnock and setting up the first goal. From then on worked intelligently for the cause. 7
Ireland – The high balls from Blackburn were bypassing him, but his own passing was excellent. Capped off a decent performance with supremely cool goal. 8
Barry – Excellent debut, using all his experience to shield the defence and keep possession. 8
Robinho – Struggled to get into the game, but looked dangerous when he did. 6
Adebayor – Stunning opening goal, followed up with a hard working performance and lots of good touches. 8
Bellamy – His movement and work for the team made him a constant menace to the Blackburn back line. 8
Subs:
Tevez – Great to see the Argentine, but he needs another week of training to get on the same wavelength as his new teammates. 6
Not used: Taylor, Onuoha, Zabaleta, Petrov, De Jong, Weiss.
Man of the match: Given.
Goals: Adebayor 3, Ireland 92 for City.
City came through a strong test at Blackburn with a great pair of goals at the beginning and end of the game from Adebayor and Ireland. In between there was grit, determination and character in defence to keep an Allardyce bombardment at bay.
Hughes surprised me with his starting eleven by leaving De Jong on the bench and going 4-4-2 with both Adebayor and Bellamy playing up front. For a difficult away game, this was a bold selection from the manager.
It paid off immediately with Adebayor’s stunning goal. I don’t think any City fan could have dreamt for a better start. There were several qualities to note about this goal:
- It started with a clearance off the line from the much maligned Richard Dunne and continued the full length of the pitch with great pass and move football.
- After setting Wright-Phillips away on the wing, Adebayor headed for the penalty area to get on the end of the return. This was something he hadn’t been doing pre-season, when he was happy to link up play and pull out wide. On numerous times here he looked to get on the end of things which is exactly what we’ve needed from a striker.
- It was the first of two assists from Wright-Phillips, who also set up a good chance for Tevez. To often last season his final ball let him down, so hopefully this is a sign of better things to come.
As the first half wore on, Blackburn put us under increased pressure with Hughes decision to go with the taller defenders in Richards and Dunne, ahead of Zabaleta and Onuoha, being vindicated. Errant finishing and Shay Given prevented the home side going in level at the break with the pick of the Irishman’s saves coming when he clawed out a Samba header that was heading for the bottom corner.
It was good to see the team come out stronger after a half-time team talk. It’s not always been clear how effective Hughes’ in-game influence is (and that’s putting it politely). In the first half we were looking to get the ball forward early and it was coming back far to regularly. This had resulted in a steady stream of throws and corners into our penalty area.
In the second half we were more patient and sought to keep the ball with our superior passing. Initially we weren’t creating many chances but more importantly the intensity of pressure had been relieved at the back.
As the game wore on and the intensity of both teams pressing game subsided we started to find gaps in the home side’s defence. Ireland spurned one good chance before sealing the game with an almost comically good goal. After initially trying to go round Robinson, his chance seemed to have gone, but after seeing he couldn’t make the pass to Adebayor, Superman turned again and passed the ball into the net. Adebayor still looked to be thinking he should have received the pass!
The TV cameras showed a hug between Hughes and Richards as they celebrated the goal, which was good to see after the reports last season that they haven’t always seen eye to eye. Picking the England U-21 international ahead of Zabaleta shows the management still have faith in Micah and he responded with a committed display.
The new signings all had excellent games. Adebayor’s goal and level of involvement gathered plenty of praise, while Barry continued his excellent pre-season form. My doubts over Toure’s lack of height for this fixture proved unfounded as he competed for everything. His ability to spot danger and make clean interceptions showed great defensive qualities, while his ability on the ball gives a new dimension to our build up play.
It’s not surprising to see players give their all on a debut and it will be interesting to see if Adebayor and Toure can maintain this level of performance. Today though, everyone was just delighted to have got the win, no-one more so than the manager.
Hughes:
“We are delighted to make a statement.”
“Ade was excellent. The goal settled him down and his attitude was first class.”
“I thought his general play and attitude to team-mates was excellent. If you’ve got front men who will chase and harry and try to rectify mistakes, those are great qualities. Everyone was bouncing off everyone else.”
Adebayor:
“It’s a fantastic start for me and the team. I am happy to be at a club where the fans are 100 per cent behind me.”
It was fabulous to come away with a clean sheet after our defensive frailties and, despite the excellent performances of the new signings, I’d make Shay Given the man of the match for a couple of outstanding saves and giving that sense he wouldn’t be beaten.
There should also be a special mention for Richard Dunne. All the speculation about Lescott and his own future could easily have unsettled the skipper, but this was an outstanding performance in his unfavoured left centre-back position.
One final point that’s worth noting is the players we had on the bench. Over the past couple of years we’ve been blessed with seeing top quality players in the starting eleven, but surely no City teamsheet has ever had this depth of quality.
External reports:
Daily Mail
The Guardian
The Independent
Manchester Evening News
The Telegraph
The Times
Blog reports:
Norfstander
Bitter and Blue
Video:
Match highlights
Our injury crisis may not be as bad as some are fearing. Obviously Santa Cruz and Michael ‘couple of weeks away’ Johnson are out, along with Vincent Kompany. Of the rest, Given, Toure, Bellamy, Tevez and Adebayor could all be fit enough to play.
The midfield has looked strongest in pre-season with De Jong alongside Barry and Ireland playing in front. For a tricky away game, this would provide a solid platform even if it allows for only one striker. Bellamy is probably fittest despite being AWOL for Wales and could well be the man if Adebayor has a problem with his groin.
If Adebayor is fit, then he may get his first competitive start, with his extra height being useful in defending Blackburn’s set pieces. Robinho and Wright-Phillips could play the flanks, though Petrov and Tevez could both make an appearance from the bench.
If Tevez has been flying in training, Hughes could spring a surprise, which may mean a place on the bench for Wright-Phillips.
With Toure likely to be fit, he could be partnered by Dunne with the Irishman’s strength in the air getting him the nod over Onuoha. The fear is Dunne having to play on the left side of central defence.
I have reservations about Toure’s lack of inches, making his selection a bit of a gamble for this game, but I think Hughes will want to play his new signing. Personally I’d go for Dunne and Onuoha against an Allardyce team with Onuoha taking the left hand side.
With the aerial threat of Blackburn, Richards could get the nod ahead of Zabaleta despite an excellent performance by the Argentinian against Celtic.
Hughes:
“We are just looking forward to the first game of the season,”
“That is the challenge for everyone. We are really chomping at the bit. We are six weeks or so into our pre-season and we just want to get on with it.”
Sam Allardyce:
“For us it’s about trying to spoil their party, being that they think that they can come to a place like Blackburn Rovers and beat us comfortably with that kind of spending.
“We’re certainly going to go all out to make sure that’s not the case.”
David Dunn:
“It’s important we do our best and kick lumps out of them – fairly, of course.”
To say this match and this season are hotly anticipated seems an understatement with every man and his dog currently expressing an opinion. With that in mind, I’ve spared the punditry and focused on the possible team. Here’s just a few of the views from elsewhere:
BBC preview
BBC City assessment
The Independent
Manchester Evening News preview
Manchester Evening News – Hughes views
Teamtalk – Sam Allardyce
The Telegraph
Rather than Hughes sticking the words of David Dunn on our dressing room door for motivation, maybe he should put them on the referee’s. It’s up to the officials to make sure any foul play is properly punished and we can get on with playing football. That’s what wins respect for the men in black.
Possible team:
Given, Richards, Toure, Dunne, Bridge, De Jong, Barry, Ireland, Robinho, Wright-Phillips, Bellamy.
Subs: Taylor, Zabaleta, Adebayor, Petrov, Tevez, Onuoha, Ben Haim.
Prediction: We’ve only won once at Ewood Park in the Premier League, and that was in 2003 (cracking winner by Anelka incidentally), so let’s go for a 3-1 win!