City look to return of key duo

November 02, 2009

Emmanuel Adebayor

MANCHESTER City boss Mark Hughes is hopeful that skipper Kolo Toure and striker Emmanuel Adebayor will be back to face Burnley at Eastlands on Saturday.

The Blues laboured to a 0-0 draw at Birmingham on Sunday and had Shay Given to thank for saving James McFadden's penalty.

Hughes said: "We are missing a couple of players and we have got players coming back from injury as well so that's got to have an impact.

"Adebayor and Toure haven't trained a great deal in the last two or three weeks so they need a good week of training and hopefully they will be an option next weekend."

How important are Toure and Adebayor to City? Have your say.

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Goatman, Bolton (02/11/2009 at 15:29)

Important to have Adebayor back and on the form he was in before his ban. More important though, especially against teams like Burnley AND BIRMINGHAM is not to play with two 'holding midfielders' but to start with Steven Ireland, the most talented player at the club. Remeber how well we started the season with him and Barry? De Jong may be a good player, but unless we are battling for a point awat to a good side he is unnecessary.

SDS (02/11/2009 at 15:38)

against Burnley not to concerned about who plays in defence, but the four in the middle need to be attack minded creative players, sweep for first 45 mins replace with weiss, ireland, johnson, bellers, up top ade and tevez, give barry and de jong a break from the first eleven. Burnley cannot score or even win away so there is absolutely no reason for us to play a defensive midfielder for this match. Niether barry or de jong after the brum game can moan to much if they miss out on this one.

sheik rattle and roll, stroud (02/11/2009 at 15:38)

4th place isn't bad at all. After all, if drawing against poor opposition is Citis "bad spell" which inevitably all teams will have during the season, it's not that bad.
Santa Cruz and Barry did however look really awful. No spring, no will, nothing. Overall a bad performance but as said, if this is the bad spell.......
I'd say Liverpool game will be turning point. Burnley feels a bit dodgy based on recent performances but come pool game and I have a feeling the lads will step up a gear. Also, will have Ade and Kolo back by then.

bluemoon exiled to the toon, Whitley Bay (02/11/2009 at 15:41)

"We are missing a couple of players and we have got players coming back from injury as well so that's got to have an impact."
Pardon me for reading it, Mark, but weren't you saying last week how great it was to be able to choose from an almost complete set of options??

I can understand the fact that both were amiss for their valuable contributions, but are we already writing off the rest of out £250 million worth of talent?

Very questionable midfield choices: 2 defensive centre-mids against "newly promoted...goals are a problem..." Birmingham. And the continual misuse of both Bellamy (Petrov left - Bellamy centre) and Tevez (behind the striker!!??) is all starting to concern me a little because it all smacks a little of under-expectation. I would sooner we'd gone for it and lost.

SDS (02/11/2009 at 15:49)

dukinfield blue, i disagree with you , as far as city are concerned your glass is always half full or empty, and you appear to have little knowledge in what other teams do, if hughes has to go for drawing with wigan and brum then i guess you would sack fergie lost to burnley 1-0, sack ancelotti lost 3-1 to wigan, guess you would shoot rafa with one win in eight, suppose you would also sack oniel with villa loosing at home to wigan, wenger would have to go having lost to both manc clubs, and sack all the mangers in the bottom half as they all loose regularly. Yes you have a point that city have spent a fortune, but even then it cannot guarentee us winning every game, anyway sack hughes you say, may i ask who you would replace him with, surely none of the above, i am struggling to think of a manager who never looses, if you are negative and you certainly are it would help if you could follow this up with being a little constructive, WHO ARE YOU GOING TO REPLACE HUGHES WITH, and when thinking about this just be mindful many of the teams around us above us and below us have in the last few years spent much more cash than us. If you are a blue please try to be a little proactive it will actually make you feel better, the pressure you are putting on your self is silly, city will not win every game, will not win every trophy, will loose ocassionally to inferior sides, that is what happens in football.

tony mac manus (02/11/2009 at 15:51)

Get the tactics right first ,Hughes has to start Ireland this week. No creativity in the team without him. Terrible to watch yesterday, no more slip ups please.

tonybookoverlapping, on the wing (02/11/2009 at 15:56)

good

Prestwich Blue (02/11/2009 at 15:57)

We need the Adebayor of pre-ban. I thought Kompany would be good for Lescott but central defence still dodgy so maybe Toure is more important than I thought. I actually think we need Robinho back now, to give us something different up front - at least for home games. Am really disappointed that Santa Cruz is taking so long to regain the form he had at Blackburn, if he ever does.

tony mac manus (02/11/2009 at 15:57)

Get the tactics right first, Ireland has to return. Terrible performance yesterday no creativity at all in the midfield. No more slip ups please. Some big games coming up in November.

tommybatess, Langley (02/11/2009 at 16:03)

Toure and Adebayour have had a dip in form recently,I hope it's a fitness issue,at the same time Vince and Santa need to have match time to bring them up to speed when the Africans are away.

Bert is my hero, Cheshire! (02/11/2009 at 16:10)

To be frank we should beat Burnley if they don't play. This is a game we must win handsomely.

BlueSkies Warrington, warrington (02/11/2009 at 16:19)

We urgently need to get some creativity back into the side - they were amazingly uninspired yesterday Birmingham. Having said that we know they can play well and gel as a team - the first half performance against West Ham was as good as I can recall. I think we occasionally need to abandon 4-4-2. I think Mark Hughes has got himself into a bit of a straightjacket here in his attempts to accomodate Tevez come what may. The side product of 4-4-2 is that he cannot play Stephen Ireland which is a shame. Tevez is ok but we have to get more creativity. I'd play Ireland against Burnley at the expense of De Jong. Also - we need Robinho as an option - he brings the unexpected to the party - whereas yesterday everything was very predictable indeed. But - hey! - it was another point we wouldn't have picked up last year and only one defeat all season so the glass is very much half full. And - as everyone says - we are not the finished product and there will be disappoinments along the way - but top four in early November plus quarter finalists in the Carling Cup is surely the best we could have wished for back in August

Allen & Knott's Lovechild (02/11/2009 at 16:38)

So it seems that Van Persie is looking forward to the up and coming Cup Tie. Should be a push-over according to him. Lets hope that we still allow the pre-match songs to be chosen by the fans....SQUEALER by AC/DC must be amongst the songs chosen..Come on Blues Learn the words!!.

Munkey Boy, Audenshaw (02/11/2009 at 16:39)

Prestwich Blue: "Am really disappointed that Santa Cruz is taking so long to regain the form he had at Blackburn, if he ever does."

Yeah, I mean he's had at least 3 half games now. Are you serious?

johnson6 - ireland7 (02/11/2009 at 16:53)

Certainly, Barry and DeJong in central midfield lack creativity and threat to goal. City seem to need Stevie Ireland.

As Goatman says, he started with the season well alongside Barry. But his performance went worse after his injury at Portsmouth even though they had played at 4-3-3 formation...

I guess it made a very bad impression on Hughes. He named DeJong a captain last two game and he highly rates the Dutch midfielder.

So he will keep Barry and DeJong in the midfield while he will bring Ade, Toure and Petrov back to the starting lineup.

Bert Trautmann's FG42 , The Eastern Front of Manchester (02/11/2009 at 17:04)

Question...

What would fans have preferred over these last four games - the four draws we got; or two wins, two losses?

Love to hear, 'cos I can't decide. Suppose the latter as long as we learnt from the defeats.

Bugs, Co Meath Ireland (02/11/2009 at 17:18)

BlueSkies Warrington
I disagree that it is De Jong that should be sacrificed, my opinion for what it is worth is that Gareth Barry has been woeful since the Villa game. I would play De Jong as a holding midfielder or even freshen it up some more by playing Vincent Kompany there if Toure is fit My team would then be Given Zab Toure Onuoha Bridge, Bellamy Ireland Kompany Petrov, Tevez and Ade. More attacking I think you would agree and also give some of our misguided stars a kick up the pants....

Yashin, Manchester (02/11/2009 at 17:20)

Off Topic

Just had a call from Sky doing a survey on supporters...

They asked who I followed? and I replied Manchester City.....

Wait for it ...He asked if I would be interested in taking MUTV at a reduced monthly fee of £2.99 ...I neerly choked on my coffee...

How desperate is that????????????

Edwardo'(Gerry Craney's love child), sale (02/11/2009 at 17:31)

I think Hughes needs to get over his over cautious/negative approach and stop being too pre-occupied with NOT losing and go for it more god know's he has the talent at his disposal.

1) Stop playing 2 defensive/holding midfielders against lower oposition or in home games,Ireland must start in these if availble.If he has to play defensive midfieleders,play VK as one as his passing is far better than DJ or Barry and does not go sideways as much.

2)Have the courage to drop non-performing be signing like most top managers do if their not performing,think most Blues would have sooner seen a hungry youth accademy products like Weiss, Ball,Vidal instead of the woeful and unfit RSC and out of form SWP and Zableta.

3) Get over his infatuaton with RSC!

watty1976, Manchester (02/11/2009 at 18:25)

10 Games In, 1 Defeat, Top 4, Game In Hand, Guess there's no pleasing us Blues !!

timmyboy, North India (02/11/2009 at 18:29)

I think we've been lining up a bit too offensively away from home, with SWP, Tevez and Bellamy playing behind RSC - I'd replace one of those for a solid midfielder like Ireland or Johnson and look to strangle play for the first 30 minutes to quieten the crowd. Then in the second half we can always replace a steady midfielder or two with someone more offensive. With our attacking line up we keep giving the opposition a sniff and that gets the crowd excited which in turn gets the opposition playing out of their skin. Lets bore them for the first half at least and then turn up the heat!

George Graham
Cheadle

Pivo, Manchester (02/11/2009 at 18:30)

Both are obviously very important in their different ways. Kompany proved yesterday that he's better suited to midfield than CB so Kolo's presence is a must until Ned returns. Clearly RSC is unfit and added nothing yesterday aside from nuisance value, therefore the Ade that played up to and including the Arsenal game is needed back sharpish. Under Capello's watchful eye none of the England hopefuls did themselves any favours yesterday. I swear Bridge wouldn't be able to function if he lost the use of his left leg - for somebody on his money not to be able to use his "other" foot is a disgrace, plus he can't defend. I'm not interested in what he can offer going forward (that's a bonus), as a fullback I want him to be able to defend. Lest anyone forgets, under different Chelsea managers he couldn't displace Ashley Cole, who also isn't a great defender. Barry had a rare off day but worked hard as he always does. SWP had some good moments and at least has the ability to go past people, but too often lately the final pass is poor or he runs into a blind alley and gets dispossessed. Lescott did ok but he still has the odd moment where he switches off and a player gets on the wrong side (from his point of view) of him. Aside from Given no one really played to their potential yesterday, which means they can only get better. My one worry is that, as a team, they appear to have gone backwards performance-wise in the last couple of weeks.

Timperley Blue, Timperley (02/11/2009 at 18:47)

I agree with many posts, that is, Hughes needs to use the 2 defensive midfielder ploy of De Jong and Barry only when it's absolutely necessary. That means NEVER at home and only in away games that top 4 sides are happy with a point (ie Not Birmingham). Also, this 2 defensive midfielder ploy is also totally under utilising the 'Top 4' talent of Stephen Ireland. The only player we have that drives us forward and gets past the forwards into threatening, goalscoring positions. Mark my words, if Hughes doesn't play Stephen, he will go and be very successful somewhere else because the lad has got the lot you need from an attacking midfielder, and in today's game they are like gold dust.

BristolStevefromOldham, bristol (02/11/2009 at 18:53)

It is hard to accept that our performance depends on these two. We are supposed to have a structure which accommodates injuries. But SC was wofeul agst Brum. I agree with Blue Skies Warrington that Ireland (and the team) are suffering from a perceived need to involve Tevez. Hughes has to come up with a shape that includes Stephen. He is far and away our most creative player - and he also tackles, tracks etc. A midfield of De Jong and Barry looked awful on Sunday. But I have praised De Jong before because he does protect the back four (and apparently they still need it). Is there a shape that has De Jong and Barry AND Stephen in it?
Could it be: Given: Onouha (when fit) Kolo Lescott Bridge: Stephen, De Jong Barry: Tevez Bellamy: Ade

HAYMAN BACK IN BOLTON, WESTHOUGHTON (02/11/2009 at 19:16)

No matter who is ready to return and no matter who Hughes signs in January the problem we have ia a manager that is incapable of motivating and organising such a high quality of players and setting up tactics to consistently win games against all opposition and realise our dream of gaining trophies.Again yesterday,as he did against Fulham,he stood on the touchline,like a rabbit caught in headlights,clueless about how to change things.Added to this players go backwards with Hughes as we are seeing once again this season with several of his signings.Unless he starts to deliver as a manager we will see us steadily continue to lose points and the cry from Hughes lovers that we give him time wear thin ... time to do what ???

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