Brentford (H) | Post-Match Thread

[nickwychen]

My pre match attempt at a joke backfired (they always do) as I spotted Toney and the referee pushing wheel barrows full of cash to their vehicles after the match!
Toney arranged / predicted a 1 - 2 with NO penalty to City, they cleaned up!

WTF was that today.

Laporte and Akanji, never again as a centre back partnership please.

Laporte only started to play well when he had the bandage on.

Gundogan, terrible game should've been crooked for JG

Foden, tried but wrong decisions all the time. The first one where Haaland gambled and launched himself! Just play it in Phil and let Erling decide how he finishes it!

Cancelo wtf, cost us the game. Couldn't be arsed tackling then gives away a needless foul in our half which is what they wanted, ball into the box and 0 - 1, he was fucking terrible!

Bernardo, wasted until moved inside but too late.

Alzarez, absolutely shit the bed with that chance! Broke his run far too early to shape up to pass instead of being direct, Haaland would've buried that opportunity.

Very disappointed with the game management, no attempt to change a fucking shit performance.
Wasn't only the Players who had knocked off early for the WC, looks like Pep was serving Club shop Klopps touchline ban today!

A cracking day ruined by a fucking shit match!

The officials though were fucking unbelievably bad. 10 minutes added, 10 minutes played despite half of that time being taken up with bullshit.

it was a great match.. the Toney second goal was without incident and you can't be blaming any cash/bribe nonsense for that. Wissa left de Bruyne for dust..

 

[nickwychen]

He is so annoying. What the hell was that dive! Pathetic

a hilarious yellow for sure, from a Ref loads of people here moaned about. funny

 

[Millwallawayveteran1988]

Agreed Tolms.

Having one myself. Brentford had only won 3 all season.

Incredible isn’t it. They had 8 attempts on target out of 10. That just sums up how shit we were defensively today. No bodies on the line or blocks, wimping out of tackles and headers. Terrible. The pathetic defending for both goals just summed it up.

 

[Damanino]

i think this was coming, even some of the games we ended up winning was like going through the motion, ha having 30-45 even 60 minutes periods during games where we were dog shit compared to our best/potential.

maybe WC took our player's mind off of the fight somewhat, and also we have 2x more players going for the WC than Liverpool

season is still long, but if we cannot finish above Arsenal end of season not even with Haaland, Alvarez being brought on, that would be a huge WTF.

they need to go through some shit patch hopefully after WC, but they look very formidable all of a sudden and grinding out results when its needed. when we lost to Pool I was sure we win the next 4 PL games and Arsenal will certainly drop enough for us to overtake them as they had Chelsea away, Wolves away but they got 6 points from those.
also they can throw the EL if they want and they already cleared their calendar on the Carabao schedule. Arteta will do throw the Fa cup same way imo, to have a real go at the title.

January will be moment of truth for us, Chelsea away, United away, Arsenal away, Spurs way in like within 2.5-3 weeks... we need 7-8 points maybe from these at least will be fucking hard...
these points lost vs Brentfrd needs to be earned back in those 6 pointer games away from home.

 

[City Raider]

And breath

 

[eyalluvitt]

I see some complaining about pushing for the win while drawing.

We did that against Fulham and turned 1 point into 3.
Today, we did it against their local neighbors and lost 1 point.

I’ll do the math for you…we ended up 1 point ahead of where we would have been by ”settling” for 2 draws!

If THIS TEAM isn’t pushing for a win, at home, against Brentford, then what’s it all mean?

They did us on the break…again! It’s what teams do to us. HOWEVER, that is a function of being the most attacking, high goals scoring, most successful team in the Premier League for the last decade!

What troubles me is the individual performances of some players, because Pep’s system relies on a cohesive unit, where one passenger can bring the whole thing crashing down, and Pep’s seeming reluctance to change what is clearly not working!

He left it waaay too late to bring Bernardo in off the wing! Who wastes one of the best midfielders IN THE WORLD as a touchline hugger, when he’s got Grealish and Mahrez on the bench?

Who chooses to push Gundogan forward when he brings Bernardo into midfield alongside Rodri, when you’ve got fresher legs on the bench?

Their game was ALL about long high balls for knock ons, and punts down the line for one of the rabbits to chase, which ANYONE should have known, yet of our THREE most aggressive Centre Backs ZERO were played at Centre Back!

indeed, their first goal was a result of first Akanji being beaten to a header by Mee, then Laporte being beaten to a header by Toney….and them all being played onside by Stones playing Right Back…while Ederson neither came nor stayed and got “lobbed” by the header!

It was a shitshow all around!!!

And, by the time they did actually score, if it hadn’t been for Ederson, it’d have ALREADY been 2-0 and that would have been 3-0 down INSIDE 16 MINS!!!

Is there ANY chance we can get a player who can play RIGHT WING AND COME INSIDE IF PLAYED ON THE LEFT WING??? ANYONE??

When Bernardo is your Right Winger and Stones is your supporting Right Back, crosses are not really on the agenda, are they?

It’s no wonder Haaland prowled around all day with a face like a slapped arse! Best forward in the world and you can’t even get him the ball???

Oh well, enough of that shit! I knew it was in the cards after about 5 minutes, when they were plastering us, and the Commentator said

- they haven’t won away from home all season,
- they hadn’t beaten us since 1935,
- A City win would break a century’s old record
- A goal for Haaland would have been his 200th goal for club and country in his 200th appearance

Same old story of Typical City rearing its ugly head at the wrong moment!

Your right, that first goal was a defensive disasterclass, it needed 4 players to not do the basics and boy did we not

 

[radcliffe1309]

A wake up call that's all .....we will be better for it

 

[eyalluvitt]

Frustrating game today. Kevs radar was a bit wide of the mark and with that goes a lot of the creativity. To many hopeful crosses, ridiculous shots including defenders shooting with their wrong foot from 25 yards.

For me the worst part was a few players were not necessarily out of form but were attempting half hearted challenges, tracking back, pressing. Regardless of the World Cup that is not acceptable.

The defence is poor, when dominating possession, suffocating the opposition the clean sheets only mask the failings of the back five. Once we reach the latter stages of the Champs lge it will be the usual 3 goals conceded each match and left with a mountain to climb.

When teams come to the Etihad and don’t go past the halfway line our defense looks great

 

[eyalluvitt]

Pisses me off that.

We missed players who gave a shit today.

They cared only about their place in the world cup and not about the club that pays their wages nor the fans who paid a lot to be there.

The irony is if Toney was picked we probably win the game

 

[uwerosler28]

And breath

If a football result impacts your interaction with your children, you need to re prioritise

 

[Metalartin]

Flat start, sloppy in possession, terrible defending positionally and otherwise in the first 30mins of the game. It had all the hallmarks of one of those early Saturday kick-off no-shows.

I think City could have won that game if Gundogan had taken a touch and buried that layoff from Haaland. I don't see them scoring if City were sitting on a lead because all they seemed to do was counter, outside few sloppy moments from City, mostly due to forcing things too much in attack and not being switched on defensively enough on the few occassions they did have to defend. Such as Foden gifting them the freekick, and again him and Laporte made it far too easy for Toney's chance that Ederson closed down. I would have been fuming if they scored from that, so half arsed from the pair of them.

We had them penned in for most of that second half though, then KDB did a Cancelo trying to pinch the ball and sold himself short, to gift the attacker a free run. It looked like we recovered with numbers back for a second but Haaland is not who we wanted as the first man(though Akanji should have blocked the cross before it came in). Brentford defended well against a sloppy City attack and took advantage of enough of the gifts City were giving up. Fair do's on that but it wasn't a great game from either side.

It's not the performance we wanted but it's a good time to reflect on how good we have it as City fans. There's been less of days like this one to put up with than any other team, for a good few years now.

 

[GoatersLeftShin]

My thoughts on all this, is everyone saying oh world Cup, well if the city players sat on a million a month are more bothered about playing for their country, rather than the club they sre getting paid handsomely to play for, then they need fucking off

I don't agree with this.

In England, a culture has developed where the national game has been sidelined to some extent and there's no pride in being selected for your country. Personally, I lay that blame firmly at Fergie and United's door. He didn't want his players playing, and potentially getting injured, for England/Wales etc. For example, Giggs got about 60-70 caps for Wales etc.

However, for many other nations, playing for country is the highest honour you can achieve. Normally the World Cup would be played in summer when they've had a rest and any niggly injuries have been recovered from. We can't blame them if they don't want to get injured a few days beforehand - especially when some of them might not play in a World Cup again. KdB, Gundogan, Laporte, Bernardo, Ederson, Cancelo, Akanji, Ake, Grealish will all be over 30 in the next World Cup. I'm not saying that they won't play another World Cup, but when you're over 30 it becomes more of a possibility.

I think our players do give it their all for City and their country and that's how it should be. If you play well for City, you will play for your country.

Our anger should be directed at those who've skimmed millions off in bribes for it to be hosted in Qatar and allowed the deaths of thousands of people in building the stadiums. It shouldn't be directed at any player, regardless of which country they play for.
I think this mess of a World Cup is the problem, not the players.

 

[BertTrautmann'sParachute]

Well done Brentford. We've been crap since after the Derby.

 

[threespires]

Right i'm done feeling pissed off and sore about today. I've decided we're not going to get any world cup injuries, our players will stay in the tournament long enough to play themselves into form where necessary but not long enough that they are knackered. Having not won any medals they'll come back hungry, during the break Pep will have decided what to do with the defence and we'll smash it out of the park post Christmas. I would say we'll terrify the rest of the league but no one wants to go full Malcolm.

 

[Blue and true]

I love Pep to bits, and will always be thankful for what he's achieved here. But he's a stubborn bastard, and it can sometimes be a detriment to the team. Substitutions have always been his blindspot; Jack played one of his best games in a City shirt on Wednesday night and didn't get a single minute today: that's an insult, not just to him as a player but to our collective intelligence. It was obvious the attack needed a fresh injection of impetus, (we'd still be out there now looking for a second goal) from the 60th minute onwards. It just wasn't working. And he completely ignored the one obvious change that would have livened up the attack. The one change he did make was made too late. His obstinacy got the better of him. The players were garbage, but he had several options to change the dynamic that, bewilderingly, he overlooked.

He chops and changes for too much for my liking. When we get our squad back from the World Cup, he needs to settle on a definitive, best 11. We need a settled team. Pick a formula, stick to it, and fuck off the experimenting. Those who don't make the cut can play the domestic cups, until one of the regulars plays themselves out of contention, shit bust. The reason Arsenal are where they are is not because they are head and shoulders above us, but because Arteta knows his best 11 and has been playing it since the season started. It's hard for us to build any rhythm when the team changes on a regular basis. And I don't buy into this bullshit that we don't have a best 11 and our squad needs to spread the appearances. We do have a best 11, and it's up to Pep to decide upon it; that's why he's paid the big bucks.

I'm still confident we'll win the League, but Christ we're making it difficult for ourselves. Onwards and upwards. CTID.

 

[BertTrautmann'sParachute]

The problem at the moment is that Pep is playing chess and our opponents are playing draughts. There is something to be said for keeping things simple.

 

[Mariosfireworks]

I don't agree with this.

In England, a culture has developed where the national game has been sidelined to some extent and there's no pride in being selected for your country. Personally, I lay that blame firmly at Fergie and United's door. He didn't want his players playing, and potentially getting injured, for England/Wales etc. For example, Giggs got about 60-70 caps for Wales etc.

However, for many other nations, playing for country is the highest honour you can achieve. Normally the World Cup would be played in summer when they've had a rest and any niggly injuries have been recovered from. We can't blame them if they don't want to get injured a few days beforehand - especially when some of them might not play in a World Cup again. KdB, Gundogan, Laporte, Bernardo, Ederson, Cancelo, Akanji, Ake, Grealish will all be over 30 in the next World Cup. I'm not saying that they won't play another World Cup, but when you're over 30 it becomes more of a possibility.

I think our players do give it their all for City and their country and that's how it should be. If you play well for City, you will play for your country.

Our anger should be directed at those who've skimmed millions off in bribes for it to be hosted in Qatar and allowed the deaths of thousands of people in building the stadiums. It shouldn't be directed at any player, regardless of which country they play for.
I think this mess of a World Cup is the problem, not the players.

I massively beg to differ Phillips played how many minutes for us? Yet going to the world Cup lol

 

[2infinity&beyond]

Right i'm done feeling pissed off and sore about today. I've decided we're not going to get any world cup injuries, our players will stay in the tournament long enough to play themselves into form where necessary but not long enough that they are knackered. Having not won any medals they'll come back hungry, during the break Pep will have decided what to do with the defence and we'll smash it out of the park post Christmas. I would say we'll terrify the rest of the league but no one wants to go full Malcolm.

I really hope your ideal world comes true.

 

[The perfect fumble]

I don't agree with this.

In England, a culture has developed where the national game has been sidelined to some extent and there's no pride in being selected for your country. Personally, I lay that blame firmly at Fergie and United's door. He didn't want his players playing, and potentially getting injured, for England/Wales etc. For example, Giggs got about 60-70 caps for Wales etc.

However, for many other nations, playing for country is the highest honour you can achieve. Normally the World Cup would be played in summer when they've had a rest and any niggly injuries have been recovered from. We can't blame them if they don't want to get injured a few days beforehand - especially when some of them might not play in a World Cup again. KdB, Gundogan, Laporte, Bernardo, Ederson, Cancelo, Akanji, Ake, Grealish will all be over 30 in the next World Cup. I'm not saying that they won't play another World Cup, but when you're over 30 it becomes more of a possibility.

I think our players do give it their all for City and their country and that's how it should be. If you play well for City, you will play for your country.

Our anger should be directed at those who've skimmed millions off in bribes for it to be hosted in Qatar and allowed the deaths of thousands of people in building the stadiums. It shouldn't be directed at any player, regardless of which country they play for.
I think this mess of a World Cup is the problem, not the players.

Why shouldn't a Middle Eastern country host the world Cup? And if it's to be hosted there it has to be in our winter.

As for corruption, It wasn't unique to this world cup or unique to Qatar's bid.

And as for those deaths (a number that rises higher with every denouncement) did you know construction work fatalities are higher in the country of origin of all those Asian workers?

Asians, I hasten to add, who continue to flock in their millions to work in the Gulf. You would do well to ask yourself why.

 

[HolisticJim]

We've been poor for a few weeks.

Feels like we're are missing a play maker and a box to box midfielder. May e its the world cup, maybe gungo has seen his day. We've not had a traditional playmaker since D Silva left but then again Pep would only stick them out wide anyway.