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| Wilfried Bony has received criticism after poor showings against Man Utd and Norwich |
MANUEL PELLEGRINI has urged Manchester City fans to lay off Wilfried Bony.
The Etihad Stadium crowd vented their frustration on the Ivory Coast striker as City struggled to break down Norwich - six days after he received similar treatment in the Manchester derby.
Bony squandered several chances with some wayward shooting - only one of his seven attempts was on target - and fans were unhappy when Pellegrini substituted youngster Kelechi Iheanacho rather than Bony after an hour.
He has been dogged by injuries and a bout of malaria since his £28m move from Swansea in January but has scored three goals in five games since replacing injured crowd idol Sergio Aguero.
Pellegrini says criticism from supporters will not help the player's confidence.
"Unfortunately at this moment, as happens with a lot of strikers, he's not scoring the number of goals he can," said City manager Pellegrini. "He is missing some chances. The way he plays and the striker he is, he normally doesn't miss them.
"But the fans need to be patient and support him because he is an important player. He holds the ball up well and creates a lot of space for the other players.
"I think he needs trust. He is playing after many months of not being able to work normally, for different reasons. I have placed a lot of trust in him, now he must demonstrate why he's here. I am sure that in the future he will return to his normal performance."
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| Yaya Toure celebrates after putting Manchester City 2-1 up |
Even City legend and club ambassador Mike Summerbee voiced his dismay at Bony's treatment in his column in the match programme, reminding fans how another striker, Shaun Goater, went from zero to hero in the late 1990s.
Sumberbee wrote: "I am a bit concerned that some of our fans are on Wilfried's back so soon after his arrival from Swansea. I don't like it when our fans are too quick to judge and start picking on one player. We are better than that.
"I could reel off a very long list of names of players who started slowly at City and yet finished their time as genuine terrace heroes. Shaun Goater would be one of those.
"Bony is a top class striker - we know that from watching him play for Swansea - and I am sure he will find his feet and score very important goals for us as he has this month."
TV pundit Ruud Gullit echoed the thoughts of many observers by wondering why, with City leading 2-1, Bony was not allowed to take the last kick of the game penalty to build his confidence. Aleksandar Kolarov took it instead and shot wide.
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| Cameron Jerome drew Norwich level after Joe Hart's howler |
Mistakes by both goalkeepers, Joe Hart and John Ruddy, set up a thrilling end to a routine affair of attack against well-organised defence.
Nicolas Otamendi had finally made the breakthrough for City with his first goal for the club but Hart gifted Jerome Cameron an equaliser when he inexplicably dropped Robbie Brady's cross.
Ruddy then spared Hart's blushes with his own moment of madness. He flapped at Jesus Navas' cross leaving Russell Martin to handle Raheem Sterling's goal-bound shot to concede a penalty - and earn himself a red card.
Yaya Toure converted the spot kick before relieved Hart redeemed himself in added time with a save from Martin Olsson's deflected shot.
While City skipper Vincent Kompany spared Hart any criticism, Norwich boss Alex Neil pointed the finger at Ruddy.
"Joe hasn't set a foot wrong for us in a long, long time," said Kompany. "You won't find a better goalkeeper in England. He has been too perfect but we found out today he is human. In the end it was not a bad day to make a mistake because we won."
Neil was less sympathetic with his goalkeeper. "John knows he's made an error. We've chucked a point away," he said.
Striker Jerome was equally frustrated and said: "We've got to cut out the individual mistakes."
MAN CITY (4-4-2): Hart 6; Sagna 6, Kompany 7, Otamendi 8, Kolarov 6; Navas 6, Toure 7 (Demichelis 90), Fernandinho 7, De Bruyne 7 (Fernando 73, 6); Bony 5, Iheanacho 7 (Sterling 53, 6). Booked: De Bruyne, Fernando. Goals: Otamendi 67, Toure pen 89. NEXT UP: Sevilla (a), Tom CL.
NORWICH (5-4-1): Ruddy 6; Brady 7, Bennett 6, Martin 6, Bassong 6, Olsson 6; Howson 6, Tettey 6, Mulumbu 6 (O'Neil 69, 5), Jarvis 6 (Redmond 46, 6); Jerome 7 (Grabban 87). Booked: Jerome, Tettey. Sent off: Martin. Goal: Jerome 83. NEXT UP: Swansea (h), Sat PL.
Referee: R. Madley (West Yorkshire).
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