that game was great we played very good. nice passing some went funny but passing was fast a good most the time. we still trying to walk the ball in the net shooot out the box when you have a chance. all said holt scored great build up to goal. serious now we need to get rid of ward and barnet. Whitaker went off injured but most think its nothing as he walked off with no limp or anything and he looked fine just took off for precursion he will be fine. come on city can't wait untill season now
I only saw latter stages of second half but I agree - we looked eager to keep/win back the ball & passed OK. Jackson had a good shot from outside the area but yes, we do need to chance our arm a bit more. Clean sheet as well and Holty off the mark. All in all, very promising.
Ironically I thought Barnett was excellent second half. We all know that he is more than capable of some horrific defending but he read the play well and his distribution was really good tonight. Several times he pinged thirty or forty yard passes into the feet or chest of our strikers. When he wasn't doing that he just kept it simple and gave it to one of our midfielders instead. He is a monster in the air and can still serve a purpose being brought on late in a game to clear our lines when it is squeaky bum syndrome time with five minutes to go and teams like Stoke are launching it long into the box in search of an equaliser.
ward and barnett weren't troubled whatsoever during that match. i just don't know what you're watching if you think we should get rid based on that!
Re. Ward and Barnett, people seem to forget that coaching can make a huge difference. We now have probably our most experienced management team, defensively speaking, for many years. So much of good defending is to do with positioning, discipline and awareness. Barnett in particular, who has all the necessary physical attributes, will almost certainly benefit.
i said on a different thread, neither player is exactly my favourite, but neither have been horrendous and neither have let the team down very often at all. they are both capable players, especially ward, but when they get dragged out of position they struggle to deal with it. this was because they would be dragged out wide - and as robbie says, under hughton we might be a little differently set up and they may benefit from that. having said that, i'd still like to see another centre half added!
I once heard Lee Dixon explaining how that Arsenal back four of Dixon, Adams, Bould and Winterburn came to be so good. They spent the majority of their time on the training pitch with George Graham running about in front of them pretending to be the ball. When George moved from A to B, they adjusted their positioning accordingly. This went on year after year; the result was that not only did they each know where they should be themselves relative to the ball, they knew exactly where the other three would be as well. Tony Adams wasn't exactly blessed with great pace, or great ball control or passing ability for that matter. But those four were the best back line you could ever wish for.
its called good coaching. good positioning is something which can be coached. some have it naturally - ryan bennett certainly has it - but most don't and need help.
i heard barnett played well last night, playing quite a lot of balls out of defence on the deck. might get a chance with the new manager you never know also howson played well in a DMF role that boy is good.
he didn't really get tested to be fair but he looked composed on the ball (unusual for him) and won all his headers. ward looked very comfortable in the first half too, hence why i can't really understand all the criticism from last night. if anything, i thought russell martin looked the weak link - when he came on celtic had their best spell and he was beaten by his man twice in a short space of time. whittaker looked excellent going forward until injury struck (from winning the ball in a dangerous area). bennett was his usual classy self, reading the game perfectly on every occasion he was called upon. lappin was hardly threatened. we looked very comfortable at the back bar one or two chances but most of celtic's chances came from long range. ruddy barely made a save. howson oozes class but i'd still prefer to see him playing further up the pitch. he's clearly one of those players who can play anywhere you ask but i think attacking midfield is his best position
Agree about the way the CB's distributed the ball pretty well last night. Apart from the obvious capability of doing it, they did look very composed on the ball as well. Against that, I thought Celtics strikers were very lazy whereas ours looked to be putting in some effort, particularly Vaughan. Was it me or did the Celtic pitch look huge last night? There seemed to be plenty of spaces to run into.
vaughan looked really sharp. i know many of us keep saying it but if we can just keep the lad fit, i think we've got a superb centre forward on our books. but that little word 'if' should be spelt more like this... IF
For someone with a history of long term injuries, it worried me a bit to see Vaughan flying into challenges with such tenacity. No one else was doing so - and it was only a 'friendly'. At least stay fit until the action starts "proper", Vaughany
that's what he does. its a big part of his game - holt was doing likewise when he came on. he is just playing his natural, tenacious game, which is probably why he gets in so many scrapes
I thought much the same. But the boy is probably desperate to show what he can do AND that he is now fully fit and unafraid to mix it. He must have got the all clear from the physios, so as long as an opponent doesn't come along and break more of his bones I think it's looking good for him.
yes, that was ridiculous. they claimed he led with an elbow, showed the replay where in fact he caught the keeper with a hand, then said it was still an elbow! can't really blame the commentators for being biased though - it was on celtic tv!
