Post Match: City vs United Friendly | ICC

[Dribble]

Can you tell me who were the big/tall lads in the mid/forward line of the Barca team that Pep created and is widely considered the greatest football team in the history of the planet?

You sound like Mike Bassett

Bwahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!! Mike Bassett! PMSL :-)

 

[Bluekiwi]

He definitely carded Blind because the PA at the stadium announced all the cards and pronounced his name as in "no eyesight" rather than the Dutch pronunciation. That came over clearly on my youtube stream and seemed to amuse the two piss-heads Robson and Crerand who were doing the ragtv co-commentary.

Perhaps I'll put off the SpecSavers visit for a couple more weeks then --- thanks!

 

[Bluekiwi]

Your eyes are ok Blue......

Manchester United (4-2-3-1): De Gea (Romero, ht); Valencia (Fosu-Mensah, 78) , Smalling, Lindelof (Jones, ht), Blind (Darmian, ht); Ander Herrera (Fellaini, 62), Pogba; Lingard (Pereira, 78), Mkhitaryan (Carrick, 62), Rashford (Martial, 62); Lukaku

Manchester City (4-3-3): Ederson; Walker, Kompany (Stones, ht), Adarabioyo (Otamendi, ht), Fernandinho (Mangala, ht); Toure, De Bruyne (Nasri, ht), Foden (Zinchenko, 76); Roberts (Brahim, ht), Aguero (Jesus, ht), Sterling (Sane, ht)

Yellow: Toure (42), Blind (44), Mangala (55)

Referee: Ismail Elfath

Thanks - so it was just the ESPN stats page once again showing its blinkered view of the game.

 

[ChicagoBlue]

It's not American Football mate, height doesn't matter if the ball is on the floor. If you're ManUre and play long ball rugby football, then your point stands.

You're missing 75% of the game if you think the ball is stuck to the floor all the time. And, size has some corollary with strength. I understand your point, but you are missing the subtlety of mine, apparently.

How would we fare with a team of players Foden's size?

And, don't dismiss Utd out of hand this season. Let's watch and see what City can do and hope it is far more than the other top teams, as I think this season is going to be a tight one!

 

[BuryBlue1977]

Ok. This is a nation of sport fans that insists on calling a sport that revolves around carrying and throwing a ball "football".

Interesting fact for you. American "football " is so called as a result of the ball being a foot long(12 inches) rather than anything to do with the anatomical foot.
And yes, I'll get my coat....

 

[Dribble]

You're missing 75% of the game if you think the ball is stuck to the floor all the time. And, size has some corollary with strength. I understand your point, but you are missing the subtlety of mine, apparently.

How would we fare with a team of players Foden's size?

And, don't dismiss Utd out of hand this season. Let's watch and see what City can do and hope it is far more than the other top teams, as I think this season is going to be a tight one!

The days that City picked players because they were big has long gone. Our selection process is based on footballers who are good players & can control & pass a ball and have a quick thought process too.

This is what's been wrong with British football for far too long. Even at youth level, we tend to go for the larger boys to get a size advantage over the opposition, but in the process we overlook the smaller and sometimes more talented players. As far as I'm aware, when we buy players we don't take out the measuring tape to say 'If you're over 5 11" you're too big for City.... Not unless you know something I don't?

 

[ChicagoBlue]

The days that City picked players because they were big has long gone. Our selection process is based on footballers who are good players & can control & pass a ball and have a quick thought process too.

This is what's been wrong with British football for far too long. Even at youth level, we tend to go for the larger boys to get a size advantage over the opposition, but in the process we overlook the smaller and sometimes more talented players. As far as I'm aware, when we buy players we don't take out the measuring tape to say 'If you're over 5 11" you're too big for City.... Not unless you know something I don't?

Not directed solely at you, but from the outset, guys have been missing the point. I'm absolutely not opposed to City buying the best players possible for every position, but there comes a time when you need horses for courses, and in the course of the Premier League, as well as in teams all across the top of Europe, there is a need for some size and strength. Not necessarily in your silky, creative players, but elsewhere on the field. I'm absolutely not suggesting that, because of their stature, Silva and Aguero are not world class players who could walk into any team in the world. What I am suggesting is that a team full of players of that stature is in for a difficult time in the Premier League and the CL.

I am very happy to see a few big lads being brought in in Walker and Mendy, and Danilo is not a titch, either. We need those kinds of players, a bit of size, strength and steel, to help both at set plays and to win those 45-55 balls we give up too frequently when we are without the ball.

I completely agree that Pep's teams are designed around possession, control and often the skill to find the tiniest of openings for world class players to operate in and score. We see it time and again with Silva's reverse passes, and even Nasri produced an outside of the right foot ball over the top for Gabriel Jesus against United that might have been the pass of the night. However, we do not control the game, or the ball, for 100% of the time and when fighting for the ball, be it on the ground or in the air, size and strength matter.

I'm not talking about needing a team of cloggers or long ball specialists for the Toshack/Keegan type game of yesteryear, but a need to have a team that is filled out with balance, with graft and finesse, with size and mobility, with skill and determination, with a bit of guile as well as guts. That balance is what we have been missing, both from back to front and especially in the middle of the park. Yaya is a behemoth, yet it is Fernandinho who is the one that normally gets stuck in. Both players need a replacement...or two! Danilo may well be one of them, and KDB played extensively in that position late last season, which I found very interesting.

Again, this is about finding a balance within the onfield XI that allows the magicians to do their thing, while stopping the opposition from doing theirs. That takes more than one kind of player, and, IMHO, more than one size of player. There is nothing that says small players are the most skillful or best players. Ronaldo is over 6', Zidane and Veira were masters of their time, yet all of the, were considerably bigger than the kinds of players we are attracting to our front six positions. I'm simply advocating for City to find a player or two that are technically top class, but also big and strong. Sadly, Pogba would have fit that mold perfectly for us, but that didn't happen. So, where is the next U-21 big, strong, technically proficient midfielder who Pep can turn into a world class DM? And, is there anything wrong with having someone with size upfront as a Plan B, or even Plan A for some games? I think Unal might be that kind of player, but we are going to have to wait for him, if he turns into that player as he matures.

Listen, given the talent at his disposal now, Pep will struggle for any sympathy if things go pear-shaped this season. We will be at about £500M since he got here by kick off at Brighton. From here, his job is to manage the talent and bring through a young player or three this season, so that next season isn't another £300M summer of bending over for Levy or Monaco. There is no reason that the last 20 minutes of at least half our games should not be "reserved" for a younger player, and that the Cup competitions should not be starting at least two of them. This is the future. However, even looking at that future, where is the size? Foden? Sancho? I'll grant you, the young keeper is a fucking giant, but with Ederson and Bravo(?) will he get a look in?

The future is Blue, and I am happy...I'd just like to see us bring through, or find, a six footer with some top technical ability every now and then! There's not many out there, but they are gold dust when you find them!

 

[calum down]

Kompany was superb for 45 minutes , not sure which match you watched , its a bit early in the season for windups , but ive bitten , well done

forgive my slow reply, been away with no internet access.

i wasn't on the wind up, mate, just not worded very well.
i was saying that it appears as if he has lost all his worries of injury, both physical and mental.
which is a very good thing.

it was a complement saying he has no fear of injury?

twas indeed.

 

[Dribble]

Not directed solely at you, but from the outset, guys have been missing the point. I'm absolutely not opposed to City buying the best players possible for every position, but there comes a time when you need horses for courses, and in the course of the Premier League, as well as in teams all across the top of Europe, there is a need for some size and strength. Not necessarily in your silky, creative players, but elsewhere on the field. I'm absolutely not suggesting that, because of their stature, Silva and Aguero are not world class players who could walk into any team in the world. What I am suggesting is that a team full of players of that stature is in for a difficult time in the Premier League and the CL.

I am very happy to see a few big lads being brought in in Walker and Mendy, and Danilo is not a titch, either. We need those kinds of players, a bit of size, strength and steel, to help both at set plays and to win those 45-55 balls we give up too frequently when we are without the ball.

I completely agree that Pep's teams are designed around possession, control and often the skill to find the tiniest of openings for world class players to operate in and score. We see it time and again with Silva's reverse passes, and even Nasri produced an outside of the right foot ball over the top for Gabriel Jesus against United that might have been the pass of the night. However, we do not control the game, or the ball, for 100% of the time and when fighting for the ball, be it on the ground or in the air, size and strength matter.

I'm not talking about needing a team of cloggers or long ball specialists for the Toshack/Keegan type game of yesteryear, but a need to have a team that is filled out with balance, with graft and finesse, with size and mobility, with skill and determination, with a bit of guile as well as guts. That balance is what we have been missing, both from back to front and especially in the middle of the park. Yaya is a behemoth, yet it is Fernandinho who is the one that normally gets stuck in. Both players need a replacement...or two! Danilo may well be one of them, and KDB played extensively in that position late last season, which I found very interesting.

Again, this is about finding a balance within the onfield XI that allows the magicians to do their thing, while stopping the opposition from doing theirs. That takes more than one kind of player, and, IMHO, more than one size of player. There is nothing that says small players are the most skillful or best players. Ronaldo is over 6', Zidane and Veira were masters of their time, yet all of the, were considerably bigger than the kinds of players we are attracting to our front six positions. I'm simply advocating for City to find a player or two that are technically top class, but also big and strong. Sadly, Pogba would have fit that mold perfectly for us, but that didn't happen. So, where is the next U-21 big, strong, technically proficient midfielder who Pep can turn into a world class DM? And, is there anything wrong with having someone with size upfront as a Plan B, or even Plan A for some games? I think Unal might be that kind of player, but we are going to have to wait for him, if he turns into that player as he matures.

Listen, given the talent at his disposal now, Pep will struggle for any sympathy if things go pear-shaped this season. We will be at about £500M since he got here by kick off at Brighton. From here, his job is to manage the talent and bring through a young player or three this season, so that next season isn't another £300M summer of bending over for Levy or Monaco. There is no reason that the last 20 minutes of at least half our games should not be "reserved" for a younger player, and that the Cup competitions should not be starting at least two of them. This is the future. However, even looking at that future, where is the size? Foden? Sancho? I'll grant you, the young keeper is a fucking giant, but with Ederson and Bravo(?) will he get a look in?

The future is Blue, and I am happy...I'd just like to see us bring through, or find, a six footer with some top technical ability every now and then! There's not many out there, but they are gold dust when you find them!

Mate, please don't get me wrong in that I prefer a team of skilfull midgets, I'm not advocating that at all, what I am saying though is the size of a player has nothing to do with the clout in a player. David Silva & Nigel De Jong are essentially the same size, did NDJ's size stop him from being a brutish midfield assassin? As they say, it's not the size of the man in the fight that ultimately matters, it's the size of the fight in the man and in that respect NDJ was a pitbull.

Pep knows even better what he's doing now than he did 12 months ago having now had the benefit of experiencing EXACTLY what the PL is about. Even he's admitted it was harder than he imagined as every team on its day truly is capable of beating any other team such is the quality.

Garcia and Rodwell were midfielders with height, but they were nowhere near the quality of Silva or Nasri. Football is ultimately decided by skill and rarely by brawn and just because a player is big or small doesn't mean they have either. Vieira was 6 4" and was rated about the same as Roy Keane who was 5 10". I understand the point you're trying to make, but I suppose we'll just have to agree to disagree. I want 'footballers' at my club primarily. If we're constantly losing the first ball in the air, knowing that gravity will take over at some point, we know we have to be in a position to fight for the 2nd ball which is what we currently do.

There are advantages & disadvantages in terms of size. Bigger players carry more weight and can generally hit a higher top speed, but smaller players are more nimble and have a quicker burst of speed. I remember at school this was demonstrated in a science lesson when our teacher measured our heights & weights & timed the whole class individually running up 2 flights of stairs. I was an accomplished sprinter so I thought I'd piss it.

One of my school football team mates was a full second faster, but when our heights & weight were taken into account my power ratio was well ahead, but that would have made little or no difference to us on a football field unless we had to run the full length of it. From a standing start, my team mate would have left me for dead over 20 metres and that's all that matters on a pitch. By the time I'd have caught him, he'd have long since passed the ball & repositioned himself. In Athletics, the advantage was mine, in football the advantage was his and the only way I coud diminish his advantage was by having a better starting position and a superior speed of thought.

Also, the main hatchet man in our school team was about 5 6" and built like a bull! He not only had the speed & skill, but when he hit an opponent, they stayed hit which was one of the many mercies I was happy for because thankfully, I never had to face him.

 

[bugsyblue]

I've only watched the highlights on the city site. My two pennies worth, Ederson looks a greta shot stopper! Walker is the pacy, energetic right full back we need. Foden is a special talent. Aguero and KDB look unfit. Mangala still can't defend. And Nasri still has it (despite his alleged arrogance).