Nottingham Forest (H) | PL | Post Match Thread

I looked around the ground today during those slow turgid pass-pass-tap-tap-pass-pass periods of play that eventually lead to fuck all and thought do I really want to watch this shit anymore ?

And judging by the crowds, I'm guessing a lot of others thought the same. I know the transport today was shocking but I'm up in EL3 and the gaps around the ground were really noticeable. Add to that there were hundreds of schoolkids on free tickets and I thought in a years time, when we have an additional 6k seats to fill, this sort of 7.30 midweek kickoff will be awash with empty seats.

Anyway, Foden, it's either an underlying medical issue, drink or he's out knobbing away, but he is Dogshit and has been since the new year. In fact only had a good 6 week period in the last 2 years

Haarland, just speechless, let's neuter the most potent attack threat with our style of side to side, tap around the box, Wengers Arsenal stylee.

Pep, sorry mate, it's been great, but you can't manage a game anymore and react to changes in the game, or how football is played nowadays and your subbing is apalling. Time to go, thanks for 10 years of amazing heights, but we now need a proper reboot and a new direction.
 
Not as bad a performance as many would make out.

That MGW goal doesn't happen more than once if you play that game over 100 times. Similar story with the Anderson goal.

Aside from the goals we conceded we were good and the narrative would be a lot different. We could of had ourselves a 3rd quite easily with the missed tap in. Haaland probably should have scored off the ball from Foden.

It's a disappointing result (especially with Arsenal winning a game they probably deserved to draw) but hey shit happens. It's not a performance to cry over. These things happen and it matters here because of other past performances. Not this one.
 
ysmsa said:
Our game hugely disappointing, but getting in the car and hearing how Arse have shithoused to 3 points, then Rags playing against 10 (again) as a Newcastle player was sent off for simulation (second yellow), YCMIU
(Simulation when playing the biggest bunch of diving cheats, piss take).

Tonight just seems like a night where everything went against us and went for Arse.

Arse were desperately lucky to win that, have you seen their shit goal.

We dominated but had a few terrible individual performances yet draw to 2 ridiculously good goals, and missed a couple of fucking sitters of our own.

Not over yet but Foden and Nunes can not be allowed to play that badly again, and Savinho should be nowhere near a crucial game.
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Yeah but they were playing Brighton away, we had a shite Forest team at home.
 
Cigs&Alc said:
Not as bad a performance as many would make out.

That MGW goal doesn't happen more than once if you play that game over 100 times. Similar story with the Anderson goal.

Aside from the goals we conceded we were good and the narrative would be a lot different. We could of had ourselves a 3rd quite easily with the missed tap in. Haaland probably should have scored off the ball from Foden.

It's a disappointing result (especially with Arsenal winning a game they probably deserved to draw) but hey shit happens. It's not a performance to cry over. These things happen and it matters here because of other past performances. Not this one.
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Rubbish. We gave 50% of what we had playing well within ourselves. I watched MOTD and watched some brilliant play from Chelsea and Newcastle with 10 men. You have to be brave to win anything in football. We were trying to be clever and win conserving energy and it hurt us.
 
title is gone but try to finish as close as we can.

we cannot control games, if opponent shit enough to miss their chances we win otherwise we dont.
we couldnt hold onto first half leads vs Chelsea, Brighton, Spurs, Forest and that just since January. 4 points instead of 12. Arse won all of these specific fixtures of course with 11-3 GD with 4 wins. we had 5-5 GD with 4 draws.

how you react to a bad result is crucial.
we had a kind of acceptable Sunderland 0-0 result (unbeaten at home and kind of surprise side by that point), we reacted with a draw vs Chelsea letting them back in 93rd min. to that we reacted with a home draw vs Brighton. and then we reacted to that with that derby loss that could have been like 5-0 loss due to tiny offsides, hitting the post twice and some Donnarumma huge saves kept it 2-0 only vs a side was on track to finish 9th at that point Carrick just jumping in and washing the floor with Pep, how the fuck...

Arsenal now had a kind of OK draw away to Brentford who picked up great form, and then the real shit Wolves draw result, perfect fixtures after that for them to fucking bottle it.
Spurs away
Chelsea home
Brighton away

how they reacted? 9 points. if Arteta looks back on the season this set of 9 points is what made them coupled with our awful Forest result which was a must win.

their hardest fixtures are now out of the picture. one more left at Etihad. if they get a draw which is not rocket science this season for sides as we seen it, then they win it by 8-9 points rather 6-7. wont matter too much.
 
btw look at the MGW goal and Solanke 2nd goal recently. very tricky finish both. something they dont do in another 37 round of PL. but our defence does allow these.
fucking Solanke even if his first was a foul with kicking through Guehi, he was awarded the goal and btw how many goals he has in PL so far this season? well was injured mostly, but his total goals:
2

yes, he scored two vs City and thats his total. says it all.
 
dadnlad said:
lets blame savinho who showed more in last ten than rest all fucking game
go back watch again and tell me different
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Savings has been fuckin dog shit for us & im up their with his biggest critics, but at least he tried something different tonight when he came on & offered a threat so fair play to him
 
Rivaldo.

The same thing MIGHT be happening to some of our lads.

I remember when that duplicitous **** was utterly wank for Barca, even faking injuries, and they lost the title to the fascists, iirc. Few weeks later a WC was on, suddenly he was playing brilliantly, being instrumental on winning it.

Country over club.
 
Norbiton said:
We’re not going to be allowed to win it, are we? Three good penalty shouts turned down with barely a second glance
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The team has problems, well known and recorded. Management decisions (or non decisions) bound to define a team's (any team's) campaign: Huge drop in terms of individual quality, size of the squad. Which determine a) how competitive our game is, and b) our energy levels. It's going on for 6 years, we got away with it the first 4 because of the Guardiola factor and the sactifice of our boys, now history and nature are taking their revenge. Lessons have not been learnt, as simple as that...

What you are saying is yesterday's news. This club has been operating in a hostile environment for years, on - off the pitch. We have accepted that situation as something natural, watching Pep building teams able to beat rivals as well as referees. It's not natural, I'm sorry but it's not. And it cannot continue under the circumstances, exactly because of the reasons I have mentioned above. We keep playing football in slow motion, controlling proceedings as much as we can, exactly because we cannot run. But we are not a) as creative (and cynical) offensively, and b) as solid defensively, as we used to be. Inevitably, we are bound to a) struggle against opponents who are always fitter, fresher and sharper than us, and b) appear fragile against scums such as England...

Our performance tonight is anything but a surprise, it's the level I expected. We have a serious problem in midfield -and I'm not blaming the boys, they're doing their best. A problem that WILL NOT be solved this season, by the way. Still a problem that defines balances (as well as creativity, as well as rhythm) all over the pitch. A problem that influences Pep's decisions in terms of line up, set-up, formation, game plan. A problem that leads to CONCESSIONS. Phil? He's struggling to get back in form, well he needs minutes for that, so I understand why he was used (and I agree). But there is a player for whom we spent good money in the summer, experienced and relatively fresh, yet once again he was not trusted to start (or even participate as a sub). He stayed on the bench. Any comment on that? So did Nico G, by the way. Would it be the same if we had somebody like Guimaraes, for example? Or Rice perhaps? Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot. The club tried but could not buy any of them...

As I said, all the above (as well as others), are well known. Do they mean that we deserved to be punished by that ****? Had we scored our chances, we could (and should) have won. We didn't, so England decided to act. The same Darren England who was operating as VAR at OT a few years ago, refusing to give that penalty to G. Jesus in the end. But it didn't matter because we won (0-2), right? Yeah, well in days like tonight it does matter. People who do not understand this (or pretend they don't) are naive. You see, in football victories are not always the outcome of remarkable performances, about 150 years of official football history provide enough proof for that. Despite our problems, City should have won tonight. Darren England is the reason City didn't. Period...

The way City have been treated by officials all these years is a fucking disgrace. The difference? Our team is not strong enough at the moment to beat the Englands of this world. Which is down to managerial decisions (or non decisions), as I've already said. But let's be clear: The club is fully aware of the problem, yet has decided to remain silent. Make of that whatever you wish. Pep kept his mouth shut for 10 years, before mentioning that Newcastle parody the other day. In the process Rodrigo followed, and as we know, it did not go unnoticed. I've said it numerous times: Everybody in that dressing room knows exactly what's going on for years, they were simply complying with the club's policy. In my eyes, the CEO as well as the Chairman are equally responsible for tolerating this shit...

Final comment, a bit personal: A few years ago I wrote: "I live my life through City now". That's where I still am. Pep's City is way more than a team in my eyes, it's an ideal -and I love the club. All these years I have been trying to prepare myself for the worst, exactly because I was aware of our limitations. Leaving aside the refs, Pep's work has always been a struggle to deal with / control all kinds of limitations, in terms of personel, energy levels, you name it. He delivered, exactly because he is the best manager in the history of the sport, hands down. Also because his boys followed him, I mean they nearly died on the pitch. But it didn't have to be like this, it didn't have to be so fucking difficult. Yet the club keeps treating him as a magician, not a football manager. As a guy who will find solutions to all kinds of problems. That's the culture already developed in our hierarchy: With Pep we can save money (or should I say, make money), keep the net spend respectable, and still win. Well that's not exactly how they handled Mancini and Pelegrini, is it? Fortunes on players (and wages) who hardly made any difference, some of them hardly ever played. They both had more than enough resources at their disposal, which means sometimes more than "2 equals in each position". Why? Insecurity apparently...

As for Guardiola? I will never forget the match at the Emirates, which gives you a clear measure of our situation these days. 3rd match in a week with the same lineup! With the team a moving hospital, Pep giving his best Helenio Herrera impression, and players who could hardly walk, never mind run. Yet the manager had to wait until 87' so as to introduce Savio, apparently he could not trust the boy for more minutes in such a game -and he was right. On the other hand, Arteta brought people like Saka, Eze (who was considered surplus for City, I assume), even Martinelli, from the bench! And guess what, it was the latter who scored in 90' + 2, saving Arsenal. How can that be possible for a club expected to compete at the highest possible level? What exactly are we debating here? Let's not pretend we do not understand what's going on. And let's not forget that this shit would never happen (and it did not happen) at City under Mancini or Pelegrini. Period...

I am not giving up, I don't think anybody in that dressing room is, either. But I have to prepare myself for the clear possibility of watching that **** celebrating in London at the end of the season. That man and his vanity. A man with such a ... noble vision about football. There is no way I am ever going to recover if we come to that, I know it. And I blame nobody but myself. I have failed completely to distance myself from the City reality, it's on me. Nevertheless I am not going to accuse the manager. And I'm not going to put the blame on any player. Young players like Savio need time. Jeremy? Arrived with a history of injury problems, has shown impressive progress under Pep, yet has scored 1 single goal in the PL. NOR? Again, impressive progress, I love the kid, I'm not going to point the finger on him for the 2 points dropped vs Chelsea, I'm sorry but inexperience (and fatigue) costs. And so on. You have seniors who have given their very soul for this team, struggling out there for a variety of issues. And you have new players (some of whom with a question mark over their ceiling) who have not yet met expectations...

Last season it was a gift to Slot and Liverpool. Is it Arteta's and Arsenal's time? Maybe City are not that greedy. Maybe City are too generous. Or maybe, just maybe, making a player out of Rico Lewis or Oscar Bob (who is no longer with us, by the way, but we did rely on him for half a season...), for example, is more important than winning the league. I apologize for mentioning their names, it's not their fault. It's on the club. Clearly on people who are getting paid serious money to make decisions that will support the team. Speaking for myself, I am not going to forget. And I am not going to forgive...
 
Laid in bed and can't sleep. Really upset and shivery by tonight's game upon a bit of reflection. We've done so well a few times to almost catch arsenal and let it slip again and again. Really frustrating.

I fear this may be the start of our downfall. In English football it's always been the case that teams have a period of dominance and then fall off to the point of not really being contenders. We were the most dominant team since United under Ferguson and they were the most dominant since the Liverpool team that won a lot. History shows that once they fall off, there's a long period of not winning leagues.

The rags biggest downfall was poor recruitment. The players they brought in were nowhere near the players that were in the era before.

I don't think our recruitment has been as bad , there's some good players there but I think the overall quality is not the same. All the signs of a team whose era of dominance is over.

I've always said this up coming summer is going to be a crossroads moment for the club. If we don't go into next season with a real quality squad, we're only going to go further on the slide like the rags did. We can't be too arrogant and think it can't happen. The rags were a bigger global force than us and it happened to them.

With that said, the title race isn't over. It's doable but right now we haven't shown we can really assert any dominance and take it away from Arsenal. It's been they way for a full two seasons now, so is it realistic it's going to change over the next 9 league games? Let's see.

Up to the lads now. If they want it bad enough, they can take this to the wire. If not, then they've thrown the towel in. The last 9 games are going to tell us exactly what this group are about and if they have the stomach for it. Regardless of results, I want to see a desperation to win.
 
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Nelinho said:
The team has problems, well known and recorded. Management decisions (or non decisions) bound to define a team's (any team's) campaign: Huge drop in terms of individual quality, size of the squad. Which determine a) how competitive our game is, and b) our energy levels. It's going on for 6 years, we got away with it the first 4 because of the Guardiola factor and the sactifice of our boys, now history and nature are taking their revenge. Lessons have not been learnt, as simple as that...

What you are saying is yesterday's news. This club has been operating in a hostile environment for years, on - off the pitch. We have accepted that situation as something natural, watching Pep building teams able to beat rivals as well as referees. It's not natural, I'm sorry but it's not. And it cannot continue under the circumstances, exactly because of the reasons I have mentioned above. We keep playing football in slow motion, controlling proceedings as much as we can, exactly because we cannot run. But we are not a) as creative (and cynical) offensively, and b) as solid defensively, as we used to be. Inevitably, we are bound to a) struggle against opponents who are always fitter, fresher and sharper than us, and b) appear fragile against scums such as England...

Our performance tonight is anything but a surprise, it's the level I expected. We have a serious problem in midfield -and I'm not blaming the boys, they're doing their best. A problem that WILL NOT be solved this season, by the way. Still a problem that defines balances (as well as creativity, as well as rhythm) all over the pitch. A problem that influences Pep's decisions in terms of line up, set-up, formation, game plan. A problem that leads to CONCESSIONS. Phil? He's struggling to get back in form, well he needs minutes for that, so I understand why he was used (and I agree). But there is a player for whom we spent good money in the summer, experienced and relatively fresh, yet once again he was not trusted to start (or even participate as a sub). He stayed on the bench. Any comment on that? So did Nico G, by the way. Would it be the same if we had somebody like Guimaraes, for example? Or Rice perhaps? Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot. The club tried but could not buy any of them...

As I said, all the above (as well as others), are well known. Do they mean that we deserved to be punished by that ****? Had we scored our chances, we could (and should) have won. We didn't, so England decided to act. The same Darren England who was operating as VAR at OT a few years ago, refusing to give that penalty to G. Jesus in the end. But it didn't matter because we won (0-2), right? Yeah, well in days like tonight it does matter. People who do not understand this (or pretend they don't) are naive. You see, in football victories are not always the outcome of remarkable performances, about 150 years of official football history provide enough proof for that. Despite our problems, City should have won tonight. Darren England is the reason City didn't. Period...

The way City have been treated by officials all these years is a fucking disgrace. The difference? Our team is not strong enough at the moment to beat the Englands of this world. Which is down to managerial decisions (or non decisions), as I've already said. But let's be clear: The club is fully aware of the problem, yet has decided to remain silent. Make of that whatever you wish. Pep kept his mouth shut for 10 years, before mentioning that Newcastle parody the other day. In the process Rodrigo followed, and as we know, it did not go unnoticed. I've said it numerous times: Everybody in that dressing room knows exactly what's going on for years, they were simply complying with the club's policy. In my eyes, the CEO as well as the Chairman are equally responsible for tolerating this shit...

Final comment, a bit personal: A few years ago I wrote: "I live my life through City now". That's where I still am. Pep's City is way more than a team in my eyes, it's an ideal -and I love the club. All these years I have been trying to prepare myself for the worst, exactly because I was aware of our limitations. Leaving aside the refs, Pep's work has always been a struggle to deal with / control all kinds of limitations, in terms of personel, energy levels, you name it. He delivered, exactly because he is the best manager in the history of the sport, hands down. Also because his boys followed him, I mean they nearly died on the pitch. But it didn't have to be like this, it didn't have to be so fucking difficult. Yet the club keeps treating him as a magician, not a football manager. As a guy who will find solutions to all kinds of problems. That's the culture already developed in our hierarchy: With Pep we can save money (or should I say, make money), keep the net spend respectable, and still win. Well that's not exactly how they handled Mancini and Pelegrini, is it? Fortunes on players (and wages) who hardly made any difference, some of them hardly ever played. They both had more than enough resources at their disposal, which means sometimes more than "2 equals in each position". Why? Insecurity apparently...

As for Guardiola? I will never forget the match at the Emirates, which gives you a clear measure of our situation these days. 3rd match in a week with the same lineup! With the team a moving hospital, Pep giving his best Helenio Herrera impression, and players who could hardly walk, never mind run. Yet the manager had to wait until 87' so as to introduce Savio, apparently he could not trust the boy for more minutes in such a game -and he was right. On the other hand, Arteta brought people like Saka, Eze (who was considered surplus for City, I assume), even Martinelli, from the bench! And guess what, it was the latter who scored in 90' + 2, saving Arsenal. How can that be possible for a club expected to compete at the highest possible level? What exactly are we debating here? Let's not pretend we do not understand what's going on. And let's not forget that this shit would never happen (and it did not happen) at City under Mancini or Pelegrini. Period...

I am not giving up, I don't think anybody in that dressing room is, either. But I have to prepare myself for the clear possibility of watching that **** celebrating in London at the end of the season. That man and his vanity. A man with such a ... noble vision about football. There is no way I am ever going to recover if we come to that, I know it. And I blame nobody but myself. I have failed completely to distance myself from the City reality, it's on me. Nevertheless I am not going to accuse the manager. And I'm not going to put the blame on any player. Young players like Savio need time. Jeremy? Arrived with a history of injury problems, has shown impressive progress under Pep, yet has scored 1 single goal in the PL. NOR? Again, impressive progress, I love the kid, I'm not going to point the finger on him for the 2 points dropped vs Chelsea, I'm sorry but inexperience (and fatigue) costs. And so on. You have seniors who have given their very soul for this team, struggling out there for a variety of issues. And you have new players (some of whom with a question mark over their ceiling) who have not yet met expectations...

Last season it was a gift to Slot and Liverpool. Is it Arteta's and Arsenal's time? Maybe City are not that greedy. Maybe City are too generous. Or maybe, just maybe, making a player out of Rico Lewis or Oscar Bob (who is no longer with us, by the way, but we did rely on him for half a season...), for example, is more important than winning the league. I apologize for mentioning their names, it's not their fault. It's on the club. Clearly on people who are getting paid serious money to make decisions that will support the team. Speaking for myself, I am not going to forget. And I am not going to forgive...
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I usually like your posts but this is Overdramatic to the extent it could be on at the West End. You’re right about the refs etc for sure but we have no divine right to win.
Clearly we are not the peak level we were but it’s quite possible we never will be. That 2023 season was the peak for our club and whist we have been rebuilding, others have got stronger.
I’ve said many times that top 4 should be the priority so the CL football and money keeps rolling in and we are well on course to do that.
There is only 1 other club like us with a chance of 4 trophies so just go with the ride
 
Marvin. said:
Rubbish. We gave 50% of what we had playing well within ourselves. I watched MOTD and watched some brilliant play from Chelsea and Newcastle with 10 men. You have to be brave to win anything in football. We were trying to be clever and win conserving energy and it hurt us.
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And yet we still dominated the game.
 
Damanino said:
title is gone but try to finish as close as we can.

we cannot control games, if opponent shit enough to miss their chances we win otherwise we dont.
we couldnt hold onto first half leads vs Chelsea, Brighton, Spurs, Forest and that just since January. 4 points instead of 12. Arse won all of these specific fixtures of course with 11-3 GD with 4 wins. we had 5-5 GD with 4 draws.

how you react to a bad result is crucial.
we had a kind of acceptable Sunderland 0-0 result (unbeaten at home and kind of surprise side by that point), we reacted with a draw vs Chelsea letting them back in 93rd min. to that we reacted with a home draw vs Brighton. and then we reacted to that with that derby loss that could have been like 5-0 loss due to tiny offsides, hitting the post twice and some Donnarumma huge saves kept it 2-0 only vs a side was on track to finish 9th at that point Carrick just jumping in and washing the floor with Pep, how the fuck...

Arsenal now had a kind of OK draw away to Brentford who picked up great form, and then the real shit Wolves draw result, perfect fixtures after that for them to fucking bottle it.
Spurs away
Chelsea home
Brighton away

how they reacted? 9 points. if Arteta looks back on the season this set of 9 points is what made them coupled with our awful Forest result which was a must win.

their hardest fixtures are now out of the picture. one more left at Etihad. if they get a draw which is not rocket science this season for sides as we seen it, then they win it by 8-9 points rather 6-7. wont matter too much.
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Posted similar in the Newcastle thread, we don't react.
In fact, our bad results usual come in clusters.
High probability we lose at Newcastle on Saturday and maybe Madrid midweek.
 
Blue tiger said:
Keep seeing this about Arsenal being bottlers, but we've got within a couple points twice now this season and fluffed our lines. Once in the New Year when we drew 3 in a row and tonight. Maybe its us who ain't got the minerals at the moment?
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That doesn’t make us bottlers. We are a team that is building but we are not there yet, we all knew that.
 
Phil Foden is the elephant in the room, a creative midfielder who doesn't create, doesn't take chances, devoid of confidence, takes the safe pass every time and not with any conviction, I don't see a place for him in his present form which has gone on for 2 season bar a little renaissance earlier this season, he was the extra body in midfield we didn't need which in turn left the front men short of bodies, an awful decision by Pep and an awful performance from Phil, hate to call him out but at the level we are at and our expectations it's nowhere near good enough
 
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