Manchester City. (away)

[Raccyboy]

sometimes it's great being proved wrong -- 2 goals, 1 off the bar and (as MikeO said) 1 blatant penalty denied.....

 

what a great result this would be!

Edited February 25, 2008 by Raccyboy

[chicagoblue]

Should be a good second half, they'll be pushing on and we'll catch them on the break. I imagine we'll see a couple subs but probably not until 60 minutes or so. I think Fernandes still just needs some games so I imagine we'll see him in it again, maybe for Cahill or Cars and Aj for the Yak

[LexKing]

Cant be happier atm. Excellent first half-time. One penalty against denied us by the ref and still we did 2 and got 1 bar. Same way next half and we would get soooo important 3p back to home. COYB

[MikeO]

Four more goals and our GD matches the Dark Side .

[Bill]

Four more goals and our GD matches the Dark Side .

 

Just the points will do me.

[LexKing]

Were definitely struggling now... We need to get back on track and soon. Elano has made them huge impact...just wish we would got 3rd from chance between yak and timmy. Didnt like a bit of sub of Pienaar, hopefully he didnt get some injury Come On . ANd now fernandez is coming off ,,,geez were out of players soon

 

Fernandez--> AJ

Edited February 25, 2008 by LexKing

[chicagoblue]

Well Pienaar off to protect him from the Yellow that Cars picked up. Hopefully Fernandes can start to dictate the game, because we really need someone to calm things down for us. No one really taking charge in the middle of the park and so Yakubu isn't doing much for us.

 

I can see maybe another sub coming. Fernandes off i think with that knock

[ToffeeFan]

What a fantastic performance, defence was top class, we outclassed city and made a tough game look like a relatively simple one. I felt Moyes' tactics were spot on even playing Neville and Carsley in mid . Jags was MoM for me another great game for him. 4m what a bargain.

[LexKing]

Wow. If those half times would been played different order, i wouldnt believed we would win this 1... but im so happy we did clean sheet. MOM today definitely JAGS, Ossie also good game and yak. No serious strugelers today, but second half might have been worse of the season. Gladly we could handle the pressure somehow and took those important 3p from a game u couldnt expect to be easy. GJ lads

[xsaint]

Good hard game.....Good result...League doubles over them.....Did anyone noticed Moyes was shaking hands with only 2 Man City players..guess who?....Dunn and M.Ball ! Former Everton players deserve a handshake it seems! lol....Or did Moyes shook hand with more shitty players but i failed to take notice? ...lol

Edited February 25, 2008 by xsaint

[barryj]

I'm over the blue moon! Great result and sets up a really exciting run in, and we could have had a couple of pens another day. I guess we will still get no media coverage.

[herefordblue]

Delighted, Huge Win. would have taken a draw before kick off, however that is a Great Three Points.

 

COYB!!!

[Romey 1878]

Howard - Made a couple of very good saves towards the end. He scares the shit out of me coming for crosses though.

Hibbert - Had Petrov in his pocket apart from once or twice. Pretty much faultless apart from his distribution.

Jagielka - This boy is going from strength to strength. MOTM for me. Stopped absolutely everything and threw himself infront of the ball a few times. At one point he'd made 16 defensive clearances!!!!

Yobo - The same as Jags really, didnt let anything get past him. Thumbs up.

Lescott - Not his usual attacking self but a great goal and he was faultless defensively.

Osman - Ran himself into the ground, didn't do much creatively but what he did do he did well.

Carsley - He's looking like the player he can be again, he mopped everything up for us. Nice assist for Joley's goal too. Well done.

Neville - Not as good as Carsley tonight but he covered our defence very well. Crap distribution again though.

Cahill - Looking like he's getting back up to speed now. Not as good as he can be but he provided excellent support for the Yak, and he got an assist.

Pienaar - Another 60mins under his belt, he's looking better every game. Did well going forward and tracking back.

Yak - What can you say about this lad? He tracks back now, he holds the ball up, he rips the piss out of defenders and he knows where the back of the net is. Keep it up Yak.

 

 

All in all a very professional performance. Not the prettiest of games but it was very methodical and we got the job done. That's 6 points we've taken from City now, I reckon our only challengers for fourth spot are Villa and the shite now.

[drs08]

Honest to God u negative loonies!!!

 

That was a fuckin excellent result the whole team played well, Cars & Neville were awesome in the middle & that free kick form Cars (if that was henry everyone would've been wanking over it).

 

Moyes got it SPOT ON!! Please, stop getting so nervous & twitchy before hand and start believing in Moyes & the team whoever we put out!! Our supporters really do worry me sometimes!! It was more or less the team that beat the site 3-0 last season so they must be shit eh!?!?!? Fair enough its your opinions but FFS!!!

 

4th place is getting closer 11 more games like that & we won't lose a game, someone said worst 2nd half ever, can I remind U we were AWAY & winning 2 0 what do you expect of course they were gonna come at us large stylee but our defence was solid as fuck!!! 7 hrs of clean sheets says it all!!

 

BELIEVE WILL YA!!!!!!?

 

Come on the Blueboys!!!!

Edited February 25, 2008 by drs08

[Blue 250]

Well played David Moyes!.....You out thought City.

 

Well played Everton you out played City!

 

Could have had 6 goals easy tonight.....and that's with 451.Nice one Lee Carsley, chased everything, probably man of the match bar Jagielka.

Defence were excellent, Ref was crap!

 

Thought Howard was great as well.

[jamiemaher85]

Wow, can't believe the result tonight. Especially after a shaky first 20 mins. Jags is just getting better and better which i can't believe. If you told me in October that Jags was giving regular MOTM performances i would just think that we were playing crap and he was one of few shining lights, fair play. An inspired signing.

 

6 points against city this season is fantastic. Good to get a winning start at city of manchester stadium ready for the eufa final

[ToffeeFan]

Im feeling confident about this game, I don't think City will be able to score against us and with Pienaar back and Yak and Johnson in form I think we will win this game 2-0 with Yak and Pienaar scoring.

 

I wasn't too far off with my prediction, got the right score and one of the scorers right

[J*A*C*K*E*L*Z]

jesus! at times that was like a game of basketball

 

brilliant result and good performance could have been a few more to be fair!

 

well played everyone but jagz and the yak deserve a special mention imo

[Blue4Ever]

Howard - Made a couple of very good saves towards the end. He scares the shit out of me coming for crosses though.

Hibbert - Had Petrov in his pocket apart from once or twice. Pretty much faultless apart from his distribution.

Jagielka - This boy is going from strength to strength. MOTM for me. Stopped absolutely everything and threw himself infront of the ball a few times. At one point he'd made 16 defensive clearances!!!!

Yobo - The same as Jags really, didnt let anything get past him. Thumbs up.

Lescott - Not his usual attacking self but a great goal and he was faultless defensively.

Osman - Ran himself into the ground, didn't do much creatively but what he did do he did well.

Carsley - He's looking like the player he can be again, he mopped everything up for us. Nice assist for Joley's goal too. Well done.

Neville - Not as good as Carsley tonight but he covered our defence very well. Crap distribution again though.

Cahill - Looking like he's getting back up to speed now. Not as good as he can be but he provided excellent support for the Yak, and he got an assist.

Pienaar - Another 60mins under his belt, he's looking better every game. Did well going forward and tracking back.

Yak - What can you say about this lad? He tracks back now, he holds the ball up, he rips the piss out of defenders and he knows where the back of the net is. Keep it up Yak.

All in all a very professional performance. Not the prettiest of games but it was very methodical and we got the job done. That's 6 points we've taken from City now, I reckon our only challengers for fourth spot are Villa and the shite now.

Agreed with the lot

 

Would have taken a draw but great result, Jagielka looks a totally differant player to when we got him, Yak is in suberb form aswell KIU!!

[Guest Reg Reagan]

we will win this and win it with pride!

 

2-0 to us with Cahill and Osman scoring the goals for us

 

right scoreline but dam about the goalscorers though.

 

[Bill]

Great result with a really professional performance, i'm sure 80% of us would have taken a draw before the game.

 

Stroke of luck maybe that Arteta didnt play (unfit or rested) ? cos i'm not sure that Neville would have played Petrov as well as Hibbo did, and for once Carsley and Neville together in midfield actually looked ok.

Clinical finishing in front of goal from the Yak and Jolean. Osman, Cahill and Pienaar working their socks off, but most of all the back four seem unbeatable at the moment, One goal against in the last 6 games and that was an own goal by Jags.

Got to say that this was a really good win by a side that is right on form at present but just have to mention Fernandes ........

Does anybody think we have a problem with Fernandes ?, I'm a bit concerned that he's not the same player we had last season, loses the ball too often has shown none of the silky footwork, and last night he just looked like a fish out of water, it seemed as tho he didnt even want to be there. Davey wont put up with that if he doesnt start pulling his weight.

 

But great all round team performance well done Blues.

 

PS............. Jagielka MOTM, what another great game he had, and turning out to be a bargain at the price.

[Heather_6]

I just cannot believe that Richards did not get sent off for the handball deliberatly! I know we got a free kick but..

he should have been dismissed!

 

Osman's set pieces looked better than Arteta's normal ones last night!

[Everton_Worshiper]

Very impressed with Pienaar again oh and Jags, what a centre back he is turning out to be!

Another goal from the Yak and a good performance....no room for Vaughan on the bench.

 

Things are looking up for the blues......all together now, "were looking down on the red shite, down on the red shite..."

[Everton_Worshiper]

Howard - Made a couple of very good saves towards the end. He scares the shit out of me coming for crosses though.

Hibbert - Had Petrov in his pocket apart from once or twice. Pretty much faultless apart from his distribution.

Jagielka - This boy is going from strength to strength. MOTM for me. Stopped absolutely everything and threw himself infront of the ball a few times. At one point he'd made 16 defensive clearances!!!!

Yobo - The same as Jags really, didnt let anything get past him. Thumbs up.

Lescott - Not his usual attacking self but a great goal and he was faultless defensively.

Osman - Ran himself into the ground, didn't do much creatively but what he did do he did well.

Carsley - He's looking like the player he can be again, he mopped everything up for us. Nice assist for Joley's goal too. Well done.

Neville - Not as good as Carsley tonight but he covered our defence very well. Crap distribution again though.

Cahill - Looking like he's getting back up to speed now. Not as good as he can be but he provided excellent support for the Yak, and he got an assist.

Pienaar - Another 60mins under his belt, he's looking better every game. Did well going forward and tracking back.

Yak - What can you say about this lad? He tracks back now, he holds the ball up, he rips the piss out of defenders and he knows where the back of the net is. Keep it up Yak.

All in all a very professional performance. Not the prettiest of games but it was very methodical and we got the job done. That's 6 points we've taken from City now, I reckon our only challengers for fourth spot are Villa and the shite now.

 

Good post, sums the performance up nicely.

[carlmc25]

Great result with a really professional performance, i'm sure 80% of us would have taken a draw before the game.

 

Stroke of luck maybe that Arteta didnt play (unfit or rested) ? cos i'm not sure that Neville would have played Petrov as well as Hibbo did, and for once Carsley and Neville together in midfield actually looked ok.

Clinical finishing in front of goal from the Yak and Jolean. Osman, Cahill and Pienaar working their socks off, but most of all the back four seem unbeatable at the moment, One goal against in the last 6 games and that was an own goal by Jags.

Got to say that this was a really good win by a side that is right on form at present but just have to mention Fernandes ........

Does anybody think we have a problem with Fernandes ?, I'm a bit concerned that he's not the same player we had last season, loses the ball too often has shown none of the silky footwork, and last night he just looked like a fish out of water, it seemed as tho he didnt even want to be there. Davey wont put up with that if he doesnt start pulling his weight.

 

But great all round team performance well done Blues.

 

PS............. Jagielka MOTM, what another great game he had, and turning out to be a bargain at the price.

Think I agree with all that Licker, except I'd give Yakubu motm personally. Fernandez is a liability, he looked like the best chance City had for getting back into the match, he even got injured trying something stupid on the edge of our area which nearly cost us a goal, absolutely criminal play when 2-0 up in the second half to mess about like that. He's been a massive disappointment, no excuses, he should be match sharp by now and I think getting injured last night was about the best thing that could have happened as if he carries on in his current form it's only a matter of time before he starts giving goals away. Jags is sensational at the moment, he looks like the new Dave Watson, although I'd again like to mention Yobo who is less spectacular (ie no flying blocks etc etc) but only because his positioning and pace is so good that he usually just mops up anything that comes his way without having to do anything spectacular.

 

Also, Yakubu has to be one of our best ever signings so far. 11m looks an absolute steal, not only is he clinical, his all round play is just fantastic - hold up play, vision, strength, pace - he was the complete striker last night. Now that he has added workrate to his undoubted talent he is one of the best strikers around and truly world class. I don't think it's any coincidence that Cahill had his best game for some time last night, not to get into another AJ bashing but AJ just doesn't hold the ball up, have the vision or brain of Yakubu and Cahill has suffered, now that Yak is back Cahill looked a different player, nearly scored twice and set up the first goal. Osman also had an excellent game and Carsley was an absolute BEAST! set up the second goal, tackled everything that moved and passed the ball well. Great save from Howard as well. All round superb performance and brilliant 3 points and win, totally showed City up for what they are, a team who can pass the ball square all day but just don't have the cutting edge up front - we do. We're a better team than City, we're a better team than all our rivals except possibly Liverpool and even that one is open to debate imo.

 

Lastly credit has to go to Moyes. I thought it would be very difficult to change the team after thrashing Brann, not many would have, but Moyes let his head rule his heart - he knew that we are MUCH stronger in a 451 and he took the tough decision to drop AJ and it paid rewards, that was the best we have played since before African nations. Moyes has really improved this season, his tactics are invariably spot on, his substitutions greatly improved and his signings have been inspired - I wouldn't swap him for anyone at the moment.

[Everton_Worshiper]

Deffo agree with Yak, £11m seems such a good deal now especially if he gets over the 20 goal mark...2 more to go! I just hope he keeps it going next season...

[CraccerC]

ah what a performance, first half was jsut quality. 2nd we faded with the ball and resorted to hitting it hard as possible, but the defence are like a wall, jags in particular. he's been unbelievable of late.

[Romey 1878]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/arti...in_page_id=1779

 

 

Good write up

[Bill]

Carl, I will repay the compliment and agree with you about Yobo, If you look at our MOTM statistics Yobo is nowhere to be seen, yet throughout the season he has been equally as good as Jags and Lescott but never seems to get rewarded for it.

 

Possibly because i have always thought that Joey does'nt impose himself enough in games, i think he should give the defenders a good clattering now and again, and try to be a bit nastier but he's such a gentle giant.

So i think this is the reason people overlook him when they hand out the MOTD votes. Just a thought.

[carlmc25]

Carl, I will repay the compliment and agree with you about Yobo, If you look at our MOTM statistics Yobo is nowhere to be seen, yet throughout the season he has been equally as good as Jags and Lescott but never seems to get rewarded for it.

 

Possibly because i have always thought that Joey does'nt impose himself enough in games, i think he should give the defenders a good clattering now and again, and try to be a bit nastier but he's such a gentle giant.

So i think this is the reason people overlook him when they hand out the MOTD votes. Just a thought.

quite possibly, I think it was something that has been said about him in the past (was it Nigel Martyn?) but I was VERY encouraged to see one clip last night where it was a set-piece and it cut to Yobo and he was screaming his head off dishing out orders, that's what we need. Lescott, as brilliant as he is, has been caught out a few times this season and made a few basic mistakes, Yobo (apart from a two or three game spell) has been consistently superb, not just this season but last as well. Another one who isn't featuring very highly in the motm count is Yakubu, yet I don't really see what more he can do, last night he didn't put a foot wrong and ran Man City's defence ragged almost single handedly sometimes, absolutely brilliant performance. Every week the media seem to say it was his best performance yet! Yet he still doesn't get many motm! It'll be interesting to see who wins our player of the season, it'll probably be Lescott again but I think Yakubu and Yobo have to be in the running and I'd possibly chuck in Carsley to that mix, possibly...

 

edit: whoops I misread you post, I thought you were saying he wasn't commanding enough! I don't know about the clattering thing, don't get me wrong I love it when people get stuck in, but it's not really his game and his game is pretty damn good as it is! But yes, maybe his lack meaty challenges and flying blocks counts against him as they are the big crowd pumping moments, when Yobo goes about his job quietly and unheralded. We must have one of the best defences in the league now, no question.

Edited February 26, 2008 by carlmc25