Why has Hart not been outed for his terrible 'no mans land position' for the goal last night?  Everyone keeps saying 'there was nothing he could do about it blah blah blah'.  Correct given how bad a position he took up and how he was so desperate to moan for offside after he realised  he was totally out of position for this so called 'non stoppable' header.  Didn't look too unstoppable to me if he was positioned correctly.

I don't think his position was terrible. To save it, he would've had to have been on his line, and that would have been terrible positioning in itself.

I'm sure Butland would have kept it out, and then saved the 2 follow up attempts.

Enjoyed the 1st half enormously last night and we should have had the game won by half-time.

Lots of criticism on here (and bile in many other places) about Sterling. I actually thought he was very good in the 1st half but very disappointing from some promising positions in the 2nd half. Definitely a tale of 2 halves for him and I understand the frustration but to mark his overall performance as “awful” is ridiculous.

Thought Hodgson should have pulled him at about 60 mins. In fact very difficult to understand why Hodgson didn’t change it in the 2nd half particularly when you consider the options on the bench. Kane had a poor match and no one has mentioned Lallana who had good moments in the 1st half but was totally anonymous in the 2nd.

I’ve watched a recording of the game again this morning. More to the point it wasn’t really “watching” but more of a crude analysis breaking down the game into segments and looking at specific things. It is something I do relatively regularly for big City games when I’ve seen the game live. One specific “thing” I looked at it this morning was Sterling and to test if my perception that he had a very good 1st first half was over influenced by my City bias. It wasn’t. He was pretty much faultless for the 1st 30 minutes and involved in so much that was good about England’s domination of the early stages.

If anyone has kept a recording, is as sad as me and has the time or inclination, have a look at:

2.36
8.27
11.47
16.39
20.19
23.30  (running through on goal and great defending – would Vardy have done better there?)
30.29  (his 1st mistake when he scuffed an easy ball that would have released Kane)
35.44
39.55


I can also post the times from the 2nd half which didn’t end too well :)

Did you log the times when Hart kicked for touch? His distribution of the ball is poor considering he is England's No1.

No I didn't log his long ball distribution because it is something that can be quickly looked up on a "match stat" site.  All his short passes were ok and he misplaced 11 long balls. On the face of it that sounds lots doesn't it? It is, however, pretty standard for Hart because he averaged 10 inaccurate long balls per game in the PL last season.

I would have thought there must be room for improvement there and you certainly won't catch me, or for that matter probably any City fan,  shouting from the rooftops suggesting Hart has great distribution.

As you are a United fan, how do you feel about De Gea's distribution?
Are you in the same camp as BorntoBubble who said last night  "maybe I'm blessed watching DDG every week who is immense at distribution"?
Are you aware, as great a goalkeeper as DDG is, that he averaged nearly 11 inaccurate long balls per game in the PL last season? Coincidentally the same number as Hart last night....

Game set and match Archer.

Sterling was like various England players, good in the first half but faded in the 2nd. His end product is frustrating, no getting away from that. His best work is sometimes off the ball, dragging people out of position and out of their comfort zones, and this ultimately frees up space for others to exploit.

It does look sometimes that the price tag weighs on his shoulders, which as pointed out is silly as it was nothing to do with him.

Why the fuck does Kane take corners? Does anyone actually know the reasoning or logic behind it?

[Hart probably more consistent that Forster, I might concede that]

I don't think Leics would swap Schmeichel for Hart. Organises his defence better, better on corners and distributes better. Cech is a better keeper, Lloris would be picked ahead of Hart every time, De Gea best keeper in the prem. Cortois better and younger. Burland younger, equally good at shot stopping, possibly not quite as confident but higher upside.

Hart probably more consistent that Forster, I might concede that. Better than Mignolet and Adrian.

How gracious.

It's amusing that a keeper who has won 4 of the last 6 golden glove awards, often playing in front of a much maligned defence, is way behind the ability of many other keepers in the league.

If it's any consolation to you, we'd take him at Brentford.

Golden glove this year Cech? When was the last time an Arsenal keeper won it before him? I don't think it really has much relevance to be fair.

In the NHL there is an award for the goalie who's team let in the least but no one pays any attention, what matters is the award for the best keeper as voted for by his peers. Hart's not been in since 2012 indicating his stalled in his development and hasn't kicked on. Cortois, Lloris, Butland all
joined the league since.

I like you - your whoppers are getting bigger and bigger   The "correllation" between inclusion or not in the PFA Team of the Year as a measure of stalled development is pretty good.  Well done.

 It says a lot for the award that matters that  Aguero  has not made 1 of the 2 striker positions in the PFA team of the year in any of his 5 years in the PL.  Does that mean he is really average as well?  At least Hart can take some consolation that he has made it as best keeper twice which is the same number as Cech. However Cech has played more PL seasons than Hart therefore Hart's achievement is better than Cech but Hart is average and Cech is good. I'm confused now.

Don't think there is a single whooper there, just honest opinion.

Does appear to be a City bias being shown by the blue mooners though. Interesting that not one non-city fan has come out and said that they feel Hart is signif ahead as English number one and most have said quite the opposite.

Pretty sure that if City had anyone else between the sticks you'd also be raving about them and be equally as successful. If they had De Gea in nets they'd probably be signif more successful. Hart's is serviceable as a good prem goalie but I don't think he's 'worth as many points' (to coin a phrase) as the other keepers prev mentioned. Certainly not world class.

Sample size; there are 2 City fans sticking up for Hart, a Stoke fan wanting Butland as No.1 and a couple of others questioning Joe. Not sure what opinion you can really form from that.

I think DDG is the best keeper in the league but he's worth way more to them than he would be for us. Interested in how we'd be ''significantly more successful'' with DDG between the sticks instead of Hart. Maybe we'd have won the quadruple last season with De Gea?

It's pretty obv we're gonna stick up for a keeper we watch week in week out when you probably only see him on the MOTD highlight reel. I wish he would fucking catch the ball sometimes though, more than happy to concede that

Congrats on the goal minutes Dung.  You run good.  What an awesome free roll to have for the event now with 40 units profit banked on day 1!

Yeah - that was sweet and should guarantee him a starting berth for the tournament now!  Much for France to ponder defensively though in my opinion.  That game wouldn't have filled me with confidence.

Need Mangala......

I think they should be worried as favs.  Their defending of corners looked dreadful, and Evra looked like a weak link throughout (defensively).  Skinned a couple of times first half and then absurd challenge for penalty.  Kante and Pogba are awesome though.

As a side show minor irritation Greizmann did that slow snivelling sulky walk off when he got subbed when the team needed all the minutes it could get.  Pogba was a man and ran off!

Yeah I think better teams could punish France in the final 3rd. They look so good going forward and have bags of talent in that direction, but certainly defensively they could be found wanting.

Kante, Pogba and Payet all looked class. Gonna be an interesting tournament.

Congrats on the goal minutes Dung.  You run good.  What an awesome free roll to have for the event now with 40 units profit banked on day 1!

Yeah - that was sweet and should guarantee him a starting berth for the tournament now!  Much for France to ponder defensively though in my opinion.  That game wouldn't have filled me with confidence.

Need Mangala......

Hart would have stopped that

Agreed

That Romanian keeper is better than Hart

Got Giroud top scorer, few more please.

[Hart probably more consistent that Forster, I might concede that]

I don't think Leics would swap Schmeichel for Hart. Organises his defence better, better on corners and distributes better. Cech is a better keeper, Lloris would be picked ahead of Hart every time, De Gea best keeper in the prem. Cortois better and younger. Burland younger, equally good at shot stopping, possibly not quite as confident but higher upside.

Hart probably more consistent that Forster, I might concede that. Better than Mignolet and Adrian.

How gracious.

It's amusing that a keeper who has won 4 of the last 6 golden glove awards, often playing in front of a much maligned defence, is way behind the ability of many other keepers in the league.

If it's any consolation to you, we'd take him at Brentford.

Golden glove this year Cech? When was the last time an Arsenal keeper won it before him? I don't think it really has much relevance to be fair.

In the NHL there is an award for the goalie who's team let in the least but no one pays any attention, what matters is the award for the best keeper as voted for by his peers. Hart's not been in since 2012 indicating his stalled in his development and hasn't kicked on. Cortois, Lloris, Butland all
joined the league since.

We're obviously at different ends of the spectrum cos I think Hart is significantly better than he was 4 seasons ago. He's cut out most of the silly mistakes, is much more mature between the sticks, he's always been confident but I think the arrogance that was creeping into his game a couple of years ago was soon removed when MP dropped him.

I don't think he's the best keeper in the league although he's up there, but I think he's clearly England's best keeper. Genuinely amazed that people seem to think Butland or Forster are a better option than Joe.

Golden Glove just the least goals conceded in a season?  What are the actual rules?   

Yeah most clean sheets. As said, often playing behind a much maligned defence and midfield that offered little protection. I think it's his performances in Europe that really stick out, if you'd seen them you'd remember them. He was a one man machine vs Messi the other year.

[Hart probably more consistent that Forster, I might concede that]

I don't think Leics would swap Schmeichel for Hart. Organises his defence better, better on corners and distributes better. Cech is a better keeper, Lloris would be picked ahead of Hart every time, De Gea best keeper in the prem. Cortois better and younger. Burland younger, equally good at shot stopping, possibly not quite as confident but higher upside.

Hart probably more consistent that Forster, I might concede that. Better than Mignolet and Adrian.

How gracious.

It's amusing that a keeper who has won 4 of the last 6 golden glove awards, often playing in front of a much maligned defence, is way behind the ability of many other keepers in the league.

My buy of Payet tournament goal minutes at 42 could be epic if he holds down a starting place in a free scoring team.

Just stuck a quick e/w bet on him at 66/1 top scorer. I hope France are nice and theatrical just outside the box

I can assure you that Kolarov and Bony wouldn't possess any threat whatsoever to Leicester's starting XI or even their bench.

Hart is pretty average. No surprise that Pep is looking to replace him according to the media reports. Can judge a player alright.

Yes it was in The Sun and Mail so it must be true.

Since his wobble a couple of years ago when Pellers dropped him, he's been pretty much rock solid. Like every keeper, he does have the odd moment, but his crucial and often world class saves more than offset this.

Look at his performances in the Champions League. In the biggest games, against the best players, he is more than up to the task. England need big game players and that is exactly what Hart is. We are very lucky to have a keeper of that calibre at City.

Of the teams in the top 10 of them premier league table, he'd only get into West Ham and Liverpool as first choice keeper imo.

I'd say De Gea is the best keeper in the league when he's not arranging for U21 players to roast prostitutes.

It's pretty close between Hart, Lloris and Courtois in the next bracket. Those 4 are ahead of a good chasing pack that includes Cech, Forster, Schmeichel, Butland etc, IMO ofc.

Very surprised at the question marks that people seem to have over Joe. We watch him every week and see just how good he is so maybe that's it, I really don't know.

Humble pie being prepared in case he lets a Taibi in this month

After robbing donuts a few years ago this was inevitable.