As one of the managers' biggest critics on this board I feel I should hold my hands up and say "Well done Chris Hughton" that first half performance was excellent, crisp, incisive passing in the oppositions half too and a well deserved lead at the break. Leroy Fer perversely was given MoTM by Alan Smith on Sky which I couldn't understand as I thought he was pretty average today, Alex Tettey however, was immense and totally justified his start and IMO should have won that accolade. RvW was incredibly poor with the ball bouncing off him on more than one occasion, bad day at the office for him IMO, also WTF is up with big John Ruddy? Very indecisive, poor handling and dreadful kicking. Second half was typical Hughton though and you could have put your mortgage on that 'let's hold on to what we've got' play, however it worked and City thoroughly deserved their win. Enough of the negatives though as the overall performance was brilliant. Well done one and all, keep it up <eatshumblepieemoticon> (for time being at least ) P.S. I was going to post this on the matchday thread but I thought my eating of humble pie might have got lost
Howson, Fer and Tettey all doing what they do best this afternoon. Sorry, Mr ever-present-last season Bradders Johnson, but you'll have to work really hard to earn your place back after today's performance
kio - I´d agree with you about Tettey, definitely motm in my opinion, but Pilks was also very bright and aggressive today, and he created a good deal - and yep, Ruddy was a bit flappy on a couple of occasions, but when it mattered he was safe as houses, and I liked his neat bit of footwork to outwit Kenwyn Jones, but pity he then kicked it into touch. But lots of positives to take from today.
Ruddy is not 100% fit. He has obviously taken a real confidence knock (not necessarily in his skill, but rather in his physicality). His injury was very unpleasant and will take time before he can fully relax - this is not a bang on the ankle or a niggly hamstring, this was a serious muscle tear and would probably have ruined an outfield player's career, or at least severely set it back for a couple of years. We are going to have to be patient with him while he gets back into it.
His kicking has been poor all season and he put a fair few straight out today. Not something to worry about, just something for him to work on, obviously the injury has effected that.
He flapped at a cross and only gathered on the second time of asking, although I think the whistle had gone for something else anyway, and then he didn't gather a through ball cleanly, and needed a second grab. Got lucky both times really, and his kicking wasn't the best as others have said. Still, it's a clean sheet away from home, and without Bassong, so I'm not going to lay into anyone after that.
Incidentally, no, but my parents are doctors and my dad explained about the injury. It's pretty obvious from how he moves though.
Most people will admit that Ruddy is not the same as he was prior to his injury,and looks to be "bigger" than he was. If his injury was "career threatening" as implied by Canary Rob its understandable that he will take time to get back to his best. His kicking is no worse than it was,it was always average at best,but I think his shot stopping and decision making have deteriorated. I know I will upset a few on here when IMO Bunn is the better all round keeper at the moment. Ducks down and awaits the barrage
Not too sure about that one, Bunn wasn't that great against Watford, could have done a lot better on several occasions.
if left = correct and right = wrong, you've just gone so far right that you've fallen off the edge of right and are now trying to figure out how to climb back up again one of the most bizarre posts i've read for years!
Yes yarco - I'll add to the barrage!!! Whilst Bunn is an excellent 'shot stopper' as he proved on several occasions against Watford, being 'vetically challenged' for a GK means he's not quite so good dealing with long range shots as was evident for the first Watford goal.
his kicking in the past has been a strong point. i don't understand the full extent of his injury - it was obviously very serious - but it would not be a surprise if he feels anxious as he's still only played a handful of games since his recovery. he's already kept two clean sheets this season and was unlucky not to get one against both hull and villa
Look what you have done Yarco - Dave is so angry with your post he was shaking and mis-spelled 'acceptable'
