West Brom’s manager admitted he got his team selection unsuitable against Manchester City and his players will respect him for it – even if José Mourinho and Sir Alex Ferguson probably think he has scored an own goalFirst domestic game of the season,optimism in the air, a potential upset on the cards. Why not throw caution to the wind? Where is the harm in letting your hair down and starting with two strikers against Manchester City? Tony Pulis has a reputation for uncompromising caution, and but on Monday West Bromwich Albion were going to attack,their confidence buoyed by the memory of beating Chelsea 3-0 at The Hawthorns in May.
It was not long before reality took hold. Reality was David Silva. There is diminutive that teams of West Brom’s stature can do to stop City when Silva is in the mood and Yaya Touré ended the game as a contest with a 20-yard rocket to originate it 2-0 after 24 minutes, but Pulis’s tactics hardly helped his players. West Brom were too open and Silva revelled in the freedom that they afforded him. Giving the diminutive Spaniard time and space on a football pitch is like you or me telling Mike Tyson to win his best shot.
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Source: theguardian.com