Herman 9,756 Posted January 9, 2016 TEAM: Ruddy; Bennett, Martin (c), Bassong; Wisdom, Dorrans, Mulumbu, Olsson; Howson, Odjidja, Jerome.SUBS: Rudd (GK), Whittaker, Mbokani, Lafferty, Andreu, Redmond, O''Neil. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Herman 9,756 Posted January 9, 2016 Strong line-up with a 5-4-1. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lappinitup 629 Posted January 9, 2016 No Grabban - obviously don''t want him cup-tied. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tetteys Jig 830 Posted January 9, 2016 Pretty strong really! No grabban at all is a surprise. Nice to see Ruddy back in goal given a chance and Andreu on the bench. Hope he gets on for half an hour. He''s been in blistering form the last couple of weeks at Rotherham, tore Bolton to bits. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Herman 9,756 Posted January 9, 2016 Aguero playing.Man City XI: Caballero, Zabaleta, Demichelis, Otamendi, Kolarov, Fernando, Delph, Navas, Sterling, Iheanacho, AgueroSubs: Hart, Sagna, Clichy, Humphreys, Horsfield, Celina, De Bruyne Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tetteys Jig 830 Posted January 9, 2016 Strong Man City line up! Hope we don''t injure Aguero. The league is more fun to watch when he is in full flight Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Branston Pickle 3,656 Posted January 9, 2016 Hardly a massively weak Citeh side, is it - even with a few omissions there''s plenty of first teamers/''names'' in there. Interesting we''ve given Wes and Brady the full day off. Grabban is j retesting, does his omission/Laffs inclusion suggest that he''s more likely to leave? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Branston Pickle 3,656 Posted January 9, 2016 *interesting (not j retesting, whatever the hell that is, stupid spellcheck) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
grefstad 0 Posted January 9, 2016 Struggle to see us scoring, bar perhaps a set piece, with that lineup.Conceding possession in a 5-4-1 but little/no pace on the counter. Shame, as Demichelis is playing.Going to be goal-shy, likely.Predict 0-0, 0-1, 0-2, 1-2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mr Jenkins 0 Posted January 9, 2016 Upper Barclay today for a change, you''d love it Gref, just like looking at a big TV screen 😄 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
grefstad 0 Posted January 9, 2016 [quote user="Mr Jenkins"]Upper Barclay today for a change, you''d love it Gref, just like looking at a big TV screen 😄[/quote]Ah, no farting in the couch with Mrs Jenkins then.. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mr Jenkins 0 Posted January 9, 2016 Hope you''re getting the big picture mate😄 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ca 1 Posted January 9, 2016 So thats 7 changes from our last league game, Mbokani, Wessie, Tettey, Brady, Rudd, Redmond, Oneil Wasn''t expecting such a strong Man City team, is it just those 3 who aren''t regular first team starters or have I missed some??13 Caballero ............ plays cup games ( Hart on bench)05 Zabaleta30 Otamendi26 Demichelis11 Kolarov15 Jesús Navas............. normally on bench06 Fernando18 Delph07 Sterling10 Agüero72 Iheanacho.............. youngster not a regular Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tetteys Jig 830 Posted January 9, 2016 Demichellis is not normally a starter but Kompany and Mangala are injured/unfit i think.They are probably De Bruyne, Yaya Toure and Hart away from playing their strongest available lineup. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
grefstad 0 Posted January 9, 2016 As expected, no goal threat from us today. Did not expect ys to ship 3 goals though. Anyway, poor setup and tactics from AN today. I don''t believe he believed this team could beat ManC today. They had a walk in the park.All about the league for us, though. As for Ruddy in, and Martin as CB...well, it may be a coincidence (and strong opposition), but we always seem to ship rather easy goals with these two in the side. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hogesar 9,658 Posted January 9, 2016 There wasn''t a stream today greffy so you can''t pass too much judgement on AN tactics etc Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
havemyhowsonit 0 Posted January 9, 2016 In this case. He''s right Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Thirsty Lizard 3,162 Posted January 9, 2016 Four punts at the correct score Grefstad and all wrong........... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The ghost of Michael Theoklitos 0 Posted January 9, 2016 I think it''s clear Neil was using this game as a free pass to try something different. It didn''t come off, and we''re out of the cup.No harm, no fowl. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
grefstad 0 Posted January 9, 2016 [quote user="Thirsty Lizard"]Four punts at the correct score Grefstad and all wrong...........[/quote]Correct about our goals though. Missed a goal for Man C, but forgot Ruddy was in goal.. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Thirsty Lizard 3,162 Posted January 9, 2016 "Correct about our goals" - apart from the prediction where you said we''d score that is..... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
grefstad 0 Posted January 9, 2016 [quote user="The ghost of Michael Theoklitos"]I think it''s clear Neil was using this game as a free pass to try something different. It didn''t come off, and we''re out of the cup.No harm, no fowl.[/quote]Different? To me it looked like a lazy copy of the setup used at the Etihad. Going a goal down with that setup will always make it a mountain to climb as you need subs to alter formation.At Man C in tve league we got a lucky goal and hung on, until Ruddy messed it all up with his clumsyness.Today, we never had a chance, as we had no pace bar Jerome in midfield and forward areas, so playing a defensive "suck-up-pressure" formation did not give is any attacking threat on the counter either.Most dissappointing for me is our constant problems: too easy to pass, to easy to rin and dribble past our players.This is also shown clearly on the Opta stats (Whoscored.com too), and Aguero proved evidence today with the first two goals, just walking past our players. Poor. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Katie Borkins 1 Posted January 9, 2016 But did they run enough? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
grefstad 0 Posted January 9, 2016 [quote user="Thirsty Lizard"]"Correct about our goals" - apart from the prediction where you said we''d score that is.....[/quote]Had 4 score picks. Us not to score in 3 of those 4. I guess you want to brand it bad picks..0-0, 0-1, 0-2, 1-2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Thirsty Lizard 3,162 Posted January 9, 2016 Nope - don''t want to brand them bad picks - just wrong picks. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The ghost of Michael Theoklitos 0 Posted January 9, 2016 [quote user="grefstad"] Aguero proved evidence today with the first two goals, just walking past our players. Poor.[/quote]You clearly haven''t seen anything from the game yet. If you have, to describe Aguero as ''walking'' is the only thing that is poor. The guy is world class.Here are 2 other takes on it from other people who know more about football than you.[img]http://s8.postimg.org/dhm10rzol/ncfc1.png[/img][img]http://s8.postimg.org/4l6nj3jol/ncfc2.png[/img] Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The ghost of Michael Theoklitos 0 Posted January 9, 2016 [quote user="grefstad"][quote user="Thirsty Lizard"]Four punts at the correct score Grefstad and all wrong...........[/quote]Correct about our goals though. Missed a goal for Man C, but forgot Ruddy was in goal..[/quote]I''m sure if you just explain that to the bookmakers, they''ll probably pay out, and you''ll be quids in.Congratulations. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
grefstad 0 Posted January 9, 2016 Have seen both the first two goals. Both conceded through poor defending. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
grefstad 0 Posted January 9, 2016 Nope, I never bet on scorelines. Only losers do. But then again, I have nothing to learn about betting from the likes of a thirsty lizard and the ghost of a very poor Australian goalkeeper Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Herman 9,756 Posted January 9, 2016 [quote user="hogesar"]There wasn''t a stream today greffy so you can''t pass too much judgement on AN tactics etc[/quote]Grefstad, Norway''s answer to Canary Call."I didn''t see the game today, but........" Share this post Link to post Share on other sites