Sunderland 1 City 1: Player ratings

Stuart Brennan

March 14, 2010

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FRUSTRATION: Carlos Tevez at Sunderland

GIVEN: No chance with the goal and did not have a shot to save after that 6

RICHARDS: City’s best attacking option in the first half, but odd defensive wobble 5

KOMPANY: Lost Jones for the Sunderland goal; probably his least impressive game of the season 6

LESCOTT: A big, solid and reassuring presence at the heart of a team 7

BRIDGE: Had one left flank gallop before he was forced off with a knee problem 5

ZABALETA: Again asked to play in three different positions and did a job in each 6

DE JONG: No shortage of physical effort but the quality could have been much better 5

BARRY: Tried to get things shifting in the second half but infected by malaise in first half 6

WRIGHT-PHILLIPS: Will have to do an awful lot better than this if he wants a new improved contract 5

BELLAMY: Big improvement in second half, but still missed chances 5

TEVEZ: His worst game for a long, long time, perhaps affect ted by what was happening around him 5

Substitutes

SANTA CRUZ (for Bridge 33): Missed the best chance of the lot 5

VIEIRA (for Richards 64): Brought a semblance of order to the shambles 6

JOHNSON (for Wright-Phillips 73): came up with a stunning equaliser 7

Not used: Taylor, Toure, Sylvinho, Ireland,

SUNDERLAND: Gordon, Hutton, Turner, Mensah, Ferdinand, Campbell (Bardsley 84), Meyler, Malbranque (Zenden 77), Richardson, Bent, Jones (Henderson ht).

Battle of the bosses: The Italian tactician was outfoxed by an old-fashioned English manager

Referee: Chris Foy 5

Attendance: 41,398

Agree with the ratings? Have your say.

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Showing comments 1 to 25 and replies | View All

StretfordBLUE in America, Born a BLUE and Forever (14/03/2010 at 19:03)

MOTM was Lescott. He had a solid game keeping the back 4 together.

Real Mancs Are Blue, Manchester (14/03/2010 at 19:06)

Lescott and Johnson were both superb, Richards, SWP and Barry were poor.

Shaun is rapidly losing the confidence of the manager AND the fans, he can thanks his dads big gob when he's playing for Hull for £2k a week.

luke moore (14/03/2010 at 19:09)

GIVEN: didnt have anything to save and his long balls were frustrating 5

RICHARDS: looks good going forward 6

KOMPANY: he always seems to make one big mistake every game 5

LESCOTT: great performance 8

BRIDGE: did noting right or wrong 6

ZABALETA: for his hard work 6

DE JONG: seems to be one of the only players that wants top 4 finish 7

BARRY: looks fed up but had a good second half 6

WRIGHT-PHILLIPS: not his day 4

BELLAMY: always trys but didnt work out 6

TEVEZ: tryed hard but didnt help when ball kept being punted towards him 6

Substitutes

SANTA CRUZ won a few headers and had a shot saved but looks awful and not not fit 3

VIEIRA best game for city maybe should have scored 7

JOHNSON best player going forward 8

Bring back Bradbury (14/03/2010 at 19:12)

Richards is just lazy, every time he attacks he makes no effort to get back, santa crud is quite simply awful.

Lavinda Past, Sunny Norfolk (14/03/2010 at 19:30)

Wright-Phillips 5!!!

Worst player on the pitch... AGAIN.

Lavinda Past, Sunny Norfolk (14/03/2010 at 19:32)

Vieira 6... for not getting booked, I presume

adders, Co.Cavan ex Manchester (14/03/2010 at 19:32)

I don`t usually submit ratings as I think it`s boring but today, I will, just for once: here1s mine then:-
GIVEN: 5 (Usual poor panicky clearances)...RICHARDS: 3..I would never play this liability at right-back again...KOMPANY: 5...LESCOTT: 8...BRIDGE: 5 (may have been higher if he`d stayed on)...ZABALETA: 6...DE JONG: 6...BARRY:5 (should have scored and generally looked out of form)...SWP:3 (I`m a fan of yours Shaun but you really need to shut up and put up)...BELLAMY:5 (tried hard but oh so poor today)...TEVEZ: 4 (maybe your love life is getting to you Carlos)...RSC: 2 (one of the most inept players I have ever seen in a City shirt...please someone take him off our hands)...VIERA: 5...JOHNSON: 8 (should have been on from the kick-off, Roberto !!!)

Stuart Booth (14/03/2010 at 19:33)

SWB offered very little to the team. He should listen to good advice and snap City's hand off - a half-a-million-pound per year pay raise and he rejects it? I have not seen anything for a long time that even hints that he is worth what he gets already. CIty... take the offer of the table, a you are throwing money away. Johnson is five times the player and it is simply outrageous that he is being kept out of the team by someone who is so ineffective.

Regarding Tevez: I don't think it fair to say he had a poor game. I would agree more if you said he had poor service and therefore wasn't able to contribute much. It was much like Robinho's way performances. Few people seem able to see that he has nothing to work with. The midfield is completely incompetent as an attack-support group. Where is the person who gets the ball and runs with it before delivering an incisive pass?

Howlin Wolf, Withington (14/03/2010 at 19:36)

Battle of the Bosses: Meat head English football won the battle over Italian tactics (which incidentally saved us a point) - Bruce languishes in the relegation zone while Mancini has a shot at champions league - seems to me we may have lost the battle but won the war.

The Chief (14/03/2010 at 19:36)

I'm not using this as an excuse but once again the referee was poor. I can just about accept bad decisions being made... as long it's consistent for both teams. It seems to me though that the majority of officials this year have given more protection to our opponents, with most of the 50-50 decisions also going against us.

Parity and consistency; surely professional, highly-paid referees can manage that?

BristolStevefromOldham, bristol (14/03/2010 at 19:43)

"Bruce won the battle of managers" That's a bit rich. These type of teams don't have tactics or a game plan other than chase, tackle, harry, and throw weight around. I think City are a bit like Arsenal were a year ago. I imagine that opposing managers say to their boys "they don't like it up-em - let em know you are there' or some such euphemism. We need to progress to the stage where we respond a lot better to bullying. Take Carlos - he was battered from the start. It needed someone to get close to Carlos and protect him by getting even.

GJ (14/03/2010 at 19:52)

Yes SWP was very poor.BUT play him on the wing for Christ's sake!

subahu (14/03/2010 at 19:52)

I think that we as fans and the manager have to realise that it is not worth investing much more time in waiting for the old SWP to show his former form. Johnson is definitely getting better and we should use Adam as first choice by default and just fill in with SWP when Adam is tired or injured.

I think that if SWP does radically improve himself then Mancini is not going to accept any more rubbish from him.

I think that the reason why SWP wants a long term improved deal is because all the battering that he has taken and his age is starting to taking it's toll on his performances he knows that he is not going to get a mega deal elsewhere. I think that we have to smarter about who we offer massive pay rises to and I don't think that he is worth a pay-rise and we are better off just waiting to see if he can reclaim his old form because signing him up for more time at the COMS.

Rick, Glos (14/03/2010 at 20:14)

Lescott really is looking the part, as is Johnson.

Tipperary Blue (14/03/2010 at 20:24)

I only saw the second half,- fortunately, from what I heard of the first half, - but De Jong, along with Lescott, was probably our best performer in the second half.

To be fair to our forward players, Sunderland's hardworking team defensive effort, Gordon's outstanding, and partly lucky goalkeeping performance, and RSC's obvious ring-rustiness denied us what would have been a deserved three point.

Now if only Bobby Manc can be persuaded to encourage the team to play like that from the getgo!

fowler, wythenshawe (14/03/2010 at 20:35)

with 3 games away before we can get at wigan i thought if we could get 4/5 points from chelsea/sunderland/fulham we will be in with a shout!!!
spuds have city,arsenal,united,chelsea in a row plus extra games fulham and a semi hopefully. swp very poor maybe his dad can tell Ian to shut up...

Ashley Hallows, Manchester (14/03/2010 at 20:40)

City played awful and deserved to be booed at Half time ,
we don't want any more of these embarrassing mishaps if we want to finish 4th,
and we have to win every game from now on!

Ashley Hallows, Manchester (14/03/2010 at 20:48)

Mancini has lost the plot putting Viera on for Kompany , replacing Bridge for Santa Cruz
you haven't got a clue about management. You should have replaced Bridge with Sylvinho,
replace Barry for Ireland
played Johnson from the start instead of Zabelata and replace SWP for Petrov.
Even I can manage better than you MANCINI OUT enough said!

forevblu, Bury (14/03/2010 at 20:48)

GIVEN 5 DISTRIBUTION WOEFUL.RICHARDS 4 ON TO LONG.BARRY 4 SLOW NO IMPACT TOTALLY ONE FOOTED , SWP 4 SHOULD BE OFFERED A NEW DEAL ASAP (YEAR OFF CONTRACT AND 40000 A WEEK PAY CUT BACK DATED )SANTA CRUZ 4 SHOWED HES WORTH EVERY PENNY WE PAID FOR HIM (YEA) AS FOR OUR WAY OF PLAYING 4( WE WILL TERRORISE EUROPE ?) .

Lambo (14/03/2010 at 20:54)

Do shut up Ashley.... what a fool. What a goal by Johnson..worth the admission fee alone :-) All our away games are like this and its touch. Sunderland like putting the foot in and we arent great at reacting. One thing to take from this (and the Chelsea game) Mancini isnt afraid of changing things and usually for the good. It appears it takes a half to suss out the opposition and then a half to affect changes.

I am the one and only, Tameside (14/03/2010 at 20:57)

I don`t usually submit ratings as I think it`s boring but today, I will, just for once: here1s mine then:- GIVEN: 5 (Usual poor panicky clearances)...RICHARDS: 3..I would never play this liability at right-back again...KOMPANY: 5...LESCOTT: 8...BRIDGE: 5 (may have been higher if he`d stayed on)...ZABALETA: 6...DE JONG: 6...BARRY:5 (should have scored and generally looked out of form)...SWP:3 (I`m a fan of yours Shaun but you really need to shut up and put up)...BELLAMY:5 (tried hard but oh so poor today)...TEVEZ: 4 (maybe your love life is getting to you Carlos)...RSC: 2 (one of the most inept players I have ever seen in a City shirt...please someone take him off our hands)...VIERA: 5...JOHNSON: 8 (should have been on from the kick-off, Roberto !!!)
adders, Co.Cavan ex Manchester
14/03/2010 at 19:32

Adders - You are a honest and constructive senior member of this forum and I have respect for you and am not surprised with your comments. Things are bad and 4th spot must now be in jeopardy unless Mancini can do what he is paid to do and deliver 4th position in The EPL.

I am the one and only, Tameside (14/03/2010 at 21:01)

TEVEZ: His worst game for a long, long time, perhaps affect ted by what was happening around him 5.

Ted Knott you are very good. Read affect ted by what was not happening! Manchini out Ted in!!

Ashley Hallows, Manchester (14/03/2010 at 21:15)

SLAVEN BILIC for manager of MCFC

MrHj , Cheshire (14/03/2010 at 21:16)

perspective fellas - I thought that we did really well to get back in this game. Our second half performance was great, remember we were the away team playing on a cabbage patch of a pitch. We were unlucky not to score a couple. 4 pts in two away games is ok. Have the faith, there are enough doom merchants in the media who want us to fail so dont let them, with a fair wind we can grab 4th.

Mabalsa Ricci, Manchester (14/03/2010 at 21:37)

Roque Santa Cruz......the only footballer that makes Corradi look like a City legend.

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