Sunday 1 November 2009, Birmingham 0-0 Manchester City player ratings as described by you.
The following ratings were taken from our forums.
Buzz Lightyear
Given – 7 – great penalty save and a couple of others that kept us in the game.
Zabaleta – 6 – played well linked down the right, in the right place at the right time, when it mattered.
Kompany – 5 – not the answer to the CB problem.
Lescott – 7 – played well, best game yet.
BRIDGE – 8 – had to work hard and ran his heart out.
SWP – 7 – coming back to form and with a bit more luck may have won it for us.
Barry – 5 – not his bets game, booed by the brummy fans and a lot of passes went astray.
De Jong – 4 – says it all really
Bellamy – 7 – always gives 100% and apart from Tevez and Bridge, no real support.
Tevez – 6 – full of running as usual, too well marshalled to do any good and when free tended to hit row z at the back of the stand.
RSC – 5 – still way short of match fitness as his first touches were not always the best.
Ireland (for De Jong) – 5 – never in the game.
Petrov – 7 – showed us why he should have started.
Mike Dean – 8 – No mistakes for me. The Tevez shout for a pen, dubious at best, let the game flow.
Crowd – 3 – disappointing, might well have been sitting in a morgue had it not been for the City fans.
Kevinho
Given – 9 – was our only bright spot with the penalty save and was always there when we needed him.
Zabaleta – 6 – defended well at set pieces and from crosses. I lost count of how many times he lost possession going forward through poor control.
Kompany – 6 – he did ok but is evidently rusty after a long time out and it was his 2nd full 90 minutes in 5 days. Will get better but needs to get stuck in a bit more.
Lescott – 6 – I must say that he is starting to worry me a bit – What on earth was he doing sliding in to keep the ball alive in our box in the 2nd half and he lets the ball bounce a bit too much for my liking. Needs to improve.
Bridge – 7 – our best defender this season and it was apparent again today. He at least showed some energy going forward at times.
SWP – 6 – he runs about well and with plenty of energy which was rare in our team today but I’d like to see some quality with the final ball.
Barry – 4 – had an absolute nightmare and some managers would have dragged him off during the first half yet he played the full 90 minutes looking slow and lethargic throughout. The experience at Aston Villa a few weeks back seems to have shaken him up badly and he hasn’t recovered properly since.
De Jong – 5 – he did alright at times but conceded a penalty and hit one of the worst crossfield passes that I have ever seen. Not one of his better days in amongst his recent fine form.
Tevez – 6 – showed plenty of energy and played a superb defence splitting pass during the first half which deserved better. He does need to improve his wasteful, wayward shooting though.
Bellamy – 6 – another one to show some energy but wasn’t one of his most influential games.
Santa Cruz – 4 – ineffective although I don’t think that he should have been asked to start a 2nd match in 5 days after a long layoff. Will get better than this as his fitness improves.
Subs
Ireland – 5 – largely ineffective when introduced during the 2nd half, probably not entirely his fault as we were very poor today.
Petrov – 5 – ran about well although not too much in the way of quality today.
snowleopard
Given – 9
Zabaleta – 6
Kompany – 5
Lescott – 5
Bridge – 8
SWP – 6
Barry – 4
De Jong – 4
Bellamy – 6
Tevez – 6
RSC – 5
Subs
Ireland – 5
Petrov – 6
Scragg
Given – my man of the Match. The best player on the park but he shouldn`t have been. He made a brilliant save off Benitez early on to push it onto the post, he made a great double save off Ferguson after about 30 minutes and he saved the penalty. Just Awesome – 9
Zabaleta – very up and down. He was caught out far too often at the back which is unlike him. He made some promising surges forward but his final ball wasn`t great. His decision making wasn’t the best today – 6
Kompany – a decent performance. Didn’t get caught out at the back but he don’t look all that comfortable – I would probably put that down to his fitness. His covering and clearances were good though – 6.5
Lescott – a better performance than his previous. I hope he is beginning to settle in now. He has some moments of uncertainty but his decision making was better on a whole. Was better at defending set-pieces today – 6.5
Bridge – another good show from the ever improving Bridge. His reading of the game is improving. He covered for the centre halves when they were forward and he dealt with the impressive Larsson well. Again, he got forward with a meaning – 7
De Jong (c) – was handed the captain’s armband for the second game in a row. He was at fault for the penalty. Broke up attacks well and kept things minimal and simple. Shouldn’t have been subbed – 6.5
Barry – his worst performance to date, he was getting in possession far too many times. I don’t know why, but he looked out of his depth. His passing radar was way-off and he was lumping the ball up far too many times – 5
Wright-Phillips – a very active first half and a slightly quieter second half. He made three or four very good runs in behind. His movement and feet were very good but like Zabaleta, his final ball wasn’t good enough. Nevertheless, he was impressive – 7
Tevez – a good first half but a careless second half. He threaded through 3 brilliant passes whilst playing in the Ireland role. He is industrious and works so hard but his shooting boots weren’t on today. We need that goal threat – 6.5
Bellamy – lively. He made some brilliant runs down the left. He was City’s biggest attacking threat. He cut inside and got involved with some decent shots. It was good to see him play up top but he didn’t get the service he needed – 7
Santa Cruz – poor, but that is because he is no way near full fitness. He looked bored and un-interested. He was pushed off the ball too often and he wasn’t the aerial threat I expected – 5
Subs:
Ireland – (for De Jong, 60 mins) – wasn’t involved to begin with but got his foot on the ball and took control – 6
Petrov – (for Santa Cruz, 66 mins) – attacked the defenders but didn’t make that bigger impact – 5
MY MAN OF THE MATCH: Shay Given
Referee: 7.5/10 
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