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ricardo

Ricardo's report v Spurs

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I set out for CR tonight with a renewed confidence after our January window splurge and at the very least was hoping to see a tightening of our porous defence. I don''t know if there was illness in the camp but once again it looked as if Alex Neil had thrown all the names into a Tombola machine and told them to play where they liked.The game was barely a minute old when City were dreadfully exposed down the left. They survived at the expense of a corner but couldn''t clear properly and when Erickson''s angled drive was parried out by Rudd, there was Ali to sweep home from close range. A diabolical start but it didn''t get much better as City looked far too narrow with Spurs having the freedom of the park on both wings.With a bit more patience Spurs could have been quickly out of sight but a couple of rushed shots went just over or just wide. City finally got a shot on target near the quarter hour mark but Mbokani''s low effort barely trouble Lloris. Referee, Kevin Friend, earned the wrath of the crowd for some one eyed decisions but none more so than the one that gave Spurs a penalty after 30 minutes. Rudd again couldn''t hold a low shot and as Bassong and Ali tussled for the loose ball the ref pointed to the spot. There was disbelief all around as Bassong was eventually shown a yellow. If it was a foul and had prevented Ali having a tap in then surely it should have been a red. Needless to say, Kane made no mistake from 12 yards. Minutes later the same player hit the foot of a post from a narrow angle and then Ali headed wide when it looked easier to score.Spurs were certainly worth their lead without the help of the ref and the crowd got more irate as every call seemed to go against the home team.  A minute before the break Naismith was bundled over from behind as he raced into the box but this time Mr Friend turned a blind eye.At the half my son prophesied that we would win four two with Mark Robins getting a couple. Oh dear, what happy days they were. I was expecting to see a change for the second period with at least Redmond given a run but it was the same eleven that took the field. They must have gotten a rocket because they certainly gave it more of a go and pushed Spurs back for a while. Naismith almost got on the scoresheet with a flicked header from a Jarvis cross after 51 minutes and a couple of minutes later Bassong netted from close range in a goalmouth melee but the flag was raised for offside.Despite a fair amount of City pressure, a couple of corners was all they had to show for it and the  breakthrough just wouldn''t come.In to the last twenty minutes Mbokani went down in the box when a Spurs defender clearly backed into him. You guessed it, free kick to Spurs but the final injustice was saved to the last when Olsson facing his own goal was shoved over from behind and goal hanging Harry Kane had a simple run through to net number three. Dear oh deary me, Spurs were clearly the better side and would have won without your help but you certainly gave them every possible chance.There were boo''s at half time and again at the end but I think they were aimed at the man in black and not the team. Mbokani, Naismith and Klose were decent, the rest not so much although I thought both Tetty and Mulumbu had a much better second half than first.No doubt this will be controversial but it looked to me like the wrong team and the wrong formation from the start and if Hoolahan is a luxury in this sort of game then so is Jarvis. I can''t help saying it but it would have looked a better balanced team if Bradley Johnson had been available on the left. Sadly missed when it comes down to fighting in the trenches IMO.

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Really good balanced Summary, Ricardo.

Can we turn it around?

Was the crowd sullen from the start and anticipating the inevitable or was that just the circumstances of the game?

All the money we have spent looks like a gamble half way through a season. I wonder why Bowkett really left; our approach off the pitch seems to have radically changed. If we do go down will we suffer more financially this time?

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We''d have looked even better than Brady and not Bradley.

Johnson had his moments but for every crunching tackle there were many more times when the opposition moved past him with ease.

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Well summarised as always Ricardo, don''t agree about Bradley, he looked out of place for Derby the other night, so don''t think he would have been the answer tonight, agree with Jarvis comment though.

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Yup. Derby fans are increasingly of the opinion he''s not too great.

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Given there has been sickness in the squad, you can''t really know for sure what line-up we''d have otherwise played, who was fit and who wasn''t.

Being beaten by a better side is something we are all well used to at times, and you can put your hands up and admit it - but there''s always a sour taste left when you feel they''ve had a helping hand that they little needed, seeing a series of decisions all going against: so many ''soft'' penalties have been given against us in our last few PL seasons, yet I have trouble recalling more than one being given for us. ...

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