City’s Republic of Ireland goalkeeper was welcomed back with hugs and commiserations when he returned from Paris and the devastation of missing out on a World Cup finals ticket.
Striker Adey was immediately made to feel at home when he arrived from Arsenal this summer, and the bonds that hold the Blues together helped Given produce a typical performance at Anfield.
Manu said: “We’re all together - when I saw Shay back in the dressing room I gave him a hug and some encouragement, as did everybody. It was great to see, and we needed everybody to be at 100 per cent for Saturday’s game.
“We are a family and we take on teams together. No player can be as good as he wants to be if everyone is not there to help him, so we’re all there together to help us achieve things together.
At the beginning of the season we talked in the squad about how we would fight in the good moments or the bad moments, that we would have to fight for each other
Emmanuel Adebayor
“We showed Shay when he came back that we are all behind him, and that in this bad time for him we would support him. Last week was very, very difficult for him, but he came back and showed just how good he is.”
Adebayor is also backing Carlos Tevez to hit scoring form again after the Argentina striker came off the bench to transform the game at Anfield.
He said: “We all know how good Carlos is - he was 100 per cent professional when he came on, fighting for the team in defence, keeping the ball and making it easier for me.
“People may be asking why he has not scored a lot of goals, but he’s one of the best around. He’s got the desire and we know what a talented player he is, he just needs a bit more confidence to start scoring goals.”
Tevez changed the game when he came on! Great passing, vision and he wins and holds the ball up like no other!
...Nick Faulkner on the MCFC Facebook page...
