Discuss Pellegrini (Pt 4)

[jollylescott]

If we play the Chelsea formation in the tougher games away, I think the results will improve and we're still more than capable of playing attractive football.

I wasnt too downhearted after that game as I thought we'd showed a bit of flexibility and pragmatism.

Its a pretty obvious solution for me, I'd actually play it against Arsenal next week.

I was thinking about that for the arsenal game to counter Ozil, Ramsey, Wilshire etc. but it seems more likely we will stick to the 4-4-2. Overall I agree it could be risky against them.

 

[Marvin]

Thank you.

I think our problem away from home stems from trying to impose a game plan that we don't have the personnel for against certain teams (Southampton, Liverpool, Everton, Swansea etc). If you're gonna set yourselves up to press you need players who are mobile, quick and technically adroit enough to make it work, and ditto when the opposition tries it on you. Ya Ya, magnificent player though he is, just isn't built for shuttle running, and Milner, though fit as a butcher's dog, is very one paced. Chuck Kolarov and Di Michelis into the mix, and we were little better off yesterday than we were last season when Barry, Garcia, Lescott and Dzeko wilted in the face of the same onslaught. The player I felt sorry for yesterday was Fernandinho, who resembled the boy with his fingers in the dike.

Contrast with Lallana and Shaw, both of whom I'd happily buy like a shot, who had the pace, skill and athleticism to go past our players like they weren't there.

I suspect Pellegrini will want to make changes next summer. My hope, with away trips to Goodison, Klanfield, WHL, Swansea and the Emirates still to come, is that we will gather enough points at home to ensure CL qualification in the meantime

Strange conclusions. We beat Swansea, and Everton and were comfortable at Southampton (maybe we struggled after a good opening to create but so did they, and that's a tough a place to go). We will be challenging Arsenal, and are improving

You clearly weren't there yesterday if you think we were comfortable! I mentioned Swansea and Everton as they are teams who will press you, and grounds where we have struggled in the recent past. I don't expect this season will be any different, irrespective of whether we beat them at our place

No I didn't go. But I watched it live and I have seen highlights. Southampton did not create more than we did.

I don't see any reason after what I have seen this week why we can't go to Swansea or Everton and win. The truth is if you don't take your chances when you are on top, especially at a difficult away ground like Southampton, you will end up in trouble and that's what happened. Not saying we didn't have a difficult game, but there were positives such as the point and the string defence which has been missing from nearly all City's away games to date

 

[OB1]

City have not been dominating the midfield in many games this season eg Swansea and Spurs at home so why should we at Southampton?

The objective is to do something with that possession rather than make it the objective in of itself. Last season we dominated every game possession wise but it became an end in itself, and we rarely threatened teams. This season.....look at the goals scored.

It was significant for me that we defended very well at Southampton. That was an improvement. It took a special goal to beat us.

We should be growing in confidence because we looked very solid at the back, and it wont be very often that we fail to click going forward.

I like to have lots of possession and I believe that MP does but you do need to do somehting with it. We were a threat all through the game, when we did have possession in their half, and always looked capable of pinching it before they took control. We also should have done better with some very presentable opportunities. Maybe away from home the players tense up just a little or snatch at things?

Pants only made one save of real note yesterday and a couple of Saints best opportunities should have been called back for offside. A measure, I think, of how we defended reasonably well.

 

[Marvin]

We have to go back to 4-2-3-1, the 4-4-2 isn't working. We are overrun by teams that pack the midfield and have no answer to it. We can play 4-2-3-1 a couple of different ways. Aguero can be the lone striker of if Negredo plays then Aguero can sit behind him in a Rooney kind of role or he can go wide left and let Nasri/Silva/Yaya play in the hole. If Yaya plays in the hole let Milner play alongside Fernandinho. Milner wasn't playing well yesterday but I didn't understand the way he made the subs. He should have brought Navas on for Negredo and put Milner in the middle. There was no need for Garcia to come on because on immobility in the middle remains the same.

The cost of moving players out of midfield - which is correct, that's what we have done - is that for the most part of this season we are packed with goals.

This team has goals in it. No issue there?

And now the defence is coming up to scratch.

What's the problem? Arsenal are ahead, but it's December not April.

 

[OB1]

I tend to think we created better chances than they did. Most of their so called chances were lucky bounces of a second ball after a clash between two/three players. Their real moment of magic they scored from. Otherwise defensively we were relatively comfortable no matter how much of the ball they had.

Was a bit typical of our luck away from home that Southampton scored their individual goal of the season. What can you do about that.

However Kompany's return coincided (and probably caused) with a solid defensive display, and that's the cornerstone for winning games away. Mourinho and Chelsea would kill for that. They've just conceded 6 in 2 games at Sunderland and Stoke

Let's not go overboard. It was a Southampton team missing a few players and Kompany didn't have the best of games, nor did Demichellis or Zabaleta. They didn't cut us open but they had enough of the ball in the right areas to win the game. Yes we missed a few chances but I'm not going to take that performance as some kind of victory. It was a hard earned point at a fairly difficult place to go whilst not playing at our best. Still not nearly good enough though when you look at the contrast to our home form.

And they were not missing anyone of the class of Silva or even, perhaps, Jovetic. Maybe if those two were available, MP would be more inclined to flex his formation. Jovetic in for Negredo but positioned out wide or deeper.

 

[moomba]

The cost of moving players out of midfield - which is correct, that's what we have done - is that for the most part of this season we are packed with goals.

This team has goals in it. No issue there?

Thats not really been the case away from home though. 12 from 8 games, I think the rags have 14 from 7.

 

[OB1]

If we play the Chelsea formation in the tougher games away, I think the results will improve and we're still more than capable of playing attractive football.

I wasnt too downhearted after that game as I thought we'd showed a bit of flexibility and pragmatism.

Its a pretty obvious solution for me, I'd actually play it against Arsenal next week.

I was unhappy walking away from the ground because I felt that we really needed to win that one but we may be able to look back at the end of the season and say it was a very good point for us. Anyway, it won't be the Saints game that costs us the title, if we do not win it, it will likely have been the stupid losses we have already suffered.<br /><br />-- Sun Dec 08, 2013 11:08 am --<br /><br />

Bullshit!

He played 4-2-3-1 at Malaga and i'm convinced it'll be more beneficial for us to play this system?

Ok clam down ;) why isn't he playing it then?

The makeup of squad coming into the season included 3 frontline strikers with Jovetic as the 4th. If the intention was to play with a lone striker then we would not have made provision for 4 strikers. Logically the only answer is that we intended to play this season with 2 strikers in a 442 system. The fact that bar 1 game we have played with 2 strikers in a 442 system (or 4222 or whatever) does rather bear this out.

I do recall that prior to the season started those that knew everything there was to know about Pellers were confident that it would be a lone striker job and possibly in a 433 formation which only goes to show there is nothing certain in life except death, taxes and at some point looking like a total tit on Bluemoon.

I'm not sure that anyone who was really familiar with Pellegrini thought he was going to play 4-3-3. Although he did use it so some effect against AC Milan, IIRC, in preseason. Pellegrini was well known to be fond of 4-2-2-2 and there's that video on youtube of him talking tactics to back that view up.

Txiki may well want 4-3-3 to be the default setting throughout the club as we go forward.

 

[simon23]

will the return of silvs sldo help????

gk

back four

navas silva ferd yya nasri

kun

not in that formation and you could swap navas for milner or nasri (though he has been playing very well and doesnt deserve dropping...plus when jovetic is fit he can play in the hole behind the main striker....maybe this would allow amore solid formation in midfiedl without stopping our attacking flow????

 

[Anonymous]

will the return of silvs sldo help????

gk

back four

navas silva ferd yya nasri

kun

not in that formation and you could swap navas for milner or nasri (though he has been playing very well and doesnt deserve dropping...plus when jovetic is fit he can play in the hole behind the main striker....maybe this would allow amore solid formation in midfiedl without stopping our attacking flow????

I think that's the best lineup/formation for tougher games. I'd play Nasri central and Silva from the left and Navas from the right.

 

[hgblue]

will the return of silvs sldo help????

gk

back four

navas silva ferd yya nasri

kun

not in that formation and you could swap navas for milner or nasri (though he has been playing very well and doesnt deserve dropping...plus when jovetic is fit he can play in the hole behind the main striker....maybe this would allow amore solid formation in midfiedl without stopping our attacking flow????

I think that's the best lineup/formation for tougher games. I'd play Nasri central and Silva from the left and Navas from the right.

Finally something we agree on ;).