Palace (A) | PL | Post-Match Thread

[dickie davies]

This is so astonishing I just had to post it again. When people like Joey Barton slag off female pundits he should be shown this clip over and over.

At least Merson has fessed up to his error, unlike big nose and the monkey hanger

 

[manimanc]

Only 35 pages?

Seeing as it's Sunday morning and I got a bit of time to kill I might go on a reccy of post match threads when we didn't win and it was 200 pages long and see if I can spot the nobheads spouting shite and invite them into this thread.

 

[paulchapo]

At least Merson has fessed up to his error, unlike big nose and the monkey hanger

They must have never watched Kev play. Anybody with a modicum of football knowledge could see he was an exceptional talent who would only get better.

 

[wattle]

Only 35 pages?

Seeing as it's Sunday morning and I got a bit of time to kill I might go on a reccy of post match threads when we didn't win and it was 200 pages long and see if I can spot the nobheads spouting shite and invite them into this thread.

Exactly. We’ve a weird bunch of fans on here. Only happy when we’ve got something to moan about. Brilliant yesterday - if Grealish stays fit and plays like that we really have a chance of at least two of the three remaining pots.

 

[west didsblue]

View attachment 113088

Watching Ederson digging out the inner-most part of his nostril cavity, is the reason I taught my kids to always carry a handkerchief. At least he didn't eat the contents (I hope)... It was good to see him back from injury.

View attachment 113089

It was also great to see a reaction from KDB after being dropped for Villa. Evidently it hurt him & he raised his game accordingly to show the world he was still the boss of The Etihad.

It was interesting to hear him tell the interviewer that Foden isn't seen as a kid any longer & that Phil's now a competitor for his place in the starting eleven.

Haaland was Haaland, but even though there was the usual lack of game involvement we've become accustomed to, at least he buried the chance he got like he would've last season. Worryingly, he's been missing far far easier chances too regularly.

Since we've been using the inverted defender system more often than not, teams have reverted to sitting deep & relying on hitting the vacated defensive spaces at speed.

Walker & Akanji mostly have the pace to recover, but we've been caught out by blistering counters too many times this season to our cost. It's making us look shaky & vulnerable, when in previous seasons our rock solid defence has been the reliable foundation for everything else.

According to TNT, long before kick off, Pep was sat in the dugout on his own & deep in contemplation for some time. With seven games to go, we're now relying on the Dippers & ArseAnal to wobble & drop points, when they're showing few signs of doing so.

The Premier League isn't decided over 7 games, so there's a distinct possibility we could finish third the season after winning a dream treble.

Regardless of what happens in the league, hopefully this'll be the kick up the arse we need to ditch some of the deadwood in the squad, & bring in the quality additions we failed to do last summer.

Which deadwood are you talking about. Can’t think of a single player in the first team squad that could be considered deadwood.

 

[manimanc]

@Gorbachev
Still think this team is shite?

You went in on Haaland and he scores.

Piss funny.

 

[Blue Steel]

So why doesn't he?

He does. And he did yesterday. Keep up.

 

[Gone for a Burton]

Which deadwood are you talking about. Can’t think of a single player in the first team squad that could be considered deadwood.

Philips......and Nunes has a lot to prove.

 

[Manc Born & Bred]

Just watched us on match of the day.Didn't realise Palace dominated us in the first half.
Also,Pierce is a shit commentator.

They didn’t really, just MOTD showing all their attacks. They had four shots on target all game, 2 of which were goals, one which was more like a pass back and I can’t remember the other one. They had 24% possession all game, it’s just clever editing to make it look a close game.

 

[Dribble]

Which deadwood are you talking about. Can’t think of a single player in the first team squad that could be considered deadwood.

Those filling squad places & not pushing for a first team place or out on loan, & for whom we can improve upon.

Philips, Cancelo, Nunes, Gomez, & several academy products like McAtee, the Doyles, Harwood-Bellis etc, who it maybe best if we sell with a buyback/sell on clauses.

 

[OB1]

I find it baffling. Our defence has been so good up to this year, then suddenly poof! We have conceded many more than our two rivals this season.
There have been injuries and individual loss of form, but it feels like something amiss with the set up, as sides can slide through us. We need a decent coach to sort it out!

We have conceded 3 more than Liverpool and played one more game so that is not a big difference.

Arsenal are further ahead defensively as they have conceded 7 fewer.

You mention injuries and they have been significant this season. I’m sure if we still had Gundo and Grealish had played more, we would have conceded less, because we would not have given away cheap possession as often.

City are currently 25 games unbeaten so not too much is wrong. I think the key factor for City will now be concentration levels and keeping them extremely high. To have achieved what they did last year and to be where they are right now is an incredible achievement, regardless of how things pan out for the rest of the season. To have done what they have so far must have been mentally (as well as physically) sapping. The competition in the league has been so tough and City are trying to maintain standards in a way no one has done before.

 

[west didsblue]

Those filling squad places & not pushing for a first team place or out on loan, & for whom we can improve upon.

Philips, Cancelo, Nunes, Gomez, & several academy products like McAtee, the Doyles, Harwood-Bellis etc, who it maybe best if we sell with a buyback/sell on clauses.

Phillips and Cancelo are effectively gone and won’t be coming back. Far too early to write off Nunes. The academy products aren’t in the first team squad. That just leaves Gomez who, although not first choice, is a reasonable stand in player in a position where we don’t have lots of options.
We’re far from having any deadwood in our squad.

 

[KS55]

We have conceded 3 more than Liverpool and played one more game so that is not a big difference.

Arsenal are further ahead defensively as they have conceded 7 fewer.

You mention injuries and they have been significant this season. I’m sure if we still had Gundo and Grealish had played more, we would have conceded less, because we would not have given away cheap possession as often.

City are currently 25 games unbeaten so not too much is wrong. I think the key factor for City will now be concentration levels and keeping them extremely high. To have achieved what they did last year and to be where they are right now is an incredible achievement, regardless of how things pan out for the rest of the season. To have done what they have so far must have been mentally (as well as physically) sapping. The competition in the league has been so tough and City are trying to maintain standards in a way no one has done before.

I agree strongly about the mental and emotional tiredness. It was apparent at the end of the CL final as several simply fell to the ground overcome by relief as well as joy.
If we win nowt this season, you will hear no complaint from me; we have had more than a decade showered with silverware, seen some really great players wearing the sky blue shirt, and witnessed some breathtaking football.

 

[Hes the left back remember]

This is so astonishing I just had to post it again. When people like Joey Barton slag off female pundits he should be shown this clip over and over.

Wonder why these guys were ever relevantly? Was it Merson who said Charlie Adams was a better signing than Aguero!!!

 

[OB1]

Phillips and Cancelo are effectively gone and won’t be coming back. Far too early to write off Nunes. The academy products aren’t in the first team squad. That just leaves Gomez who, although not first choice, is a reasonable stand in player in a position where we don’t have lots of options.
We’re far from having any deadwood in our squad.

My issue with the squad is that it has not really improved in a significant way for a few years and, at the moment, you would be hard pressed to argue it isn’t weaker than last season.

Gundo, Riyad and Laporte were experienced top quality players. The first two though were on the older side and City have invested mostly in much younger players whose full potential will only be realised in the future. City also let Cole Palmer go, his choice, which doesn’t have great optics at the moment but I don’t think he gets into City’s best XI I can’t say City were wrong to grant his wish to move.

After several seasons, I have hoped City would go into the transfer market and make the moves that would pull us even further ahead of our opponents but, generally, it seems like we let them close the gap. Although, I do believe that signing 3 or 4 players that would instantly give the team a quantum leap forward is almost impossible.

I think this summer will be particularly difficult because we may need to replace both Bernardo and KDB and how the heck you improve on those two players is beyond me but we’ve seen Yaya, Sergio, Sane and Merlin to name but a few go and have still gone on to greater prosperity.

I think City have at least been laying the foundations for another successful team (we have plenty of talent that is under 25) but I would like to see Pep move to a slightly bigger squad and City to flex their muscles in the next transfer window.

 

[OB1]

I agree strongly about the mental and emotional tiredness. It was apparent at the end of the CL final as several simply fell to the ground overcome by relief as well as joy.
If we win nowt this season, you will hear no complaint from me; we have had more than a decade showered with silverware, seen some really great players wearing the sky blue shirt, and witnessed some breathtaking football.

Just watched Pep’s post match press conference and he put a lot of emphasis on the mental strain on the players.

 

[KS55]

My issue with the squad is that it has not really improved in a significant way for a few years and, at the moment, you would be hard pressed to argue it isn’t weaker than last season.

Gundo, Riyad and Laporte were experienced top quality players. The first two though were on the older side and City have invested mostly in much younger players whose full potential will only be realised in the future. City also let Cole Palmer go, his choice, which doesn’t have great optics at the moment but I don’t think he gets into City’s best XI I can’t say City were wrong to grant his wish to move.

After several seasons, I have hoped City would go into the transfer market and make the moves that would pull us even further ahead of our opponents but, generally, it seems like we let them close the gap. Although, I do believe that signing 3 or 4 players that would instantly give the team a quantum leap forward is almost impossible.

I think this summer will be particularly difficult because we may need to replace both Bernardo and KDB and how the heck you improve on those two players is beyond me but we’ve seen Yaya, Sergio, Sane and Merlin to name but a few go and have still gone on to greater prosperity.

I think City have at least been laying the foundations for another successful team (we have plenty of talent that is under 25) but I would like to see Pep move to a slightly bigger squad and City to flex their muscles in the next transfer window.

Not easy to keep up our stunning brilliance but Bobb and Lewis both look eminently capable of growing into top players.

 

[Alan Harper's Tash]

 

[KS55]

Just watched Pep’s post match press conference and he put a lot of emphasis on the mental strain on the players.

Those last few weeks tough enough for us supporters, never mind the players.

 

[Dribble]

Phillips and Cancelo are effectively gone and won’t be coming back. Far too early to write off Nunes. The academy products aren’t in the first team squad. That just leaves Gomez who, although not first choice, is a reasonable stand in player in a position where we don’t have lots of options.
We’re far from having any deadwood in our squad.

I'd agree with Gomez, as he's always been decent when allowed to perform. But if Pep doesn't think he's quite got what it takes, it's better for Sergio & City that he rebuilds his career elsewhere.

Philips & Cancelo are City players who'll return this summer unless we can sell them, loan them out or cancel their contracts. Personally I just want us to cut our losses & move on.

I never thought Nunes was at the required level, & I've seen nothing since his arrival to change my view. In any case, he was a panic buy because of Paqueta's move collapsing.

Other teams have closed the gap on us this season, & we need a squad refresh imo. Making these changes will give the fans, playing & coaching staff a boost too, because right now we just seem to be missing that squad X Factor that we've become used to.

Many times this season it's seemed like we're wading through treacle & unable to step up a level beyond everyone else when needed. I sense now is the time to make these squad changes, & judging by the reports & rumours, it seems Pep & Txiki agree too.