Yes there's a lot more pace in the Komps/Mangala partnership so why persist with a high line when the entire back four lacks any real pace? It was magnified last night in the first half by the decision to start a half-fit Yaya as a def. midfielder. Raffael is a 30 year old Brazilian who's never won a full cap and has drifted around the European leagues. For 45 minutes we made him look like Neymar as he repeatedly got behind our back four.What is indisputable is that we had 5 straight clean sheets with a Kompany / Mangala CB pairing, a pairing that has taken time to gel and which has been disrupted by injury. I'd say there's a fair bit more pace in that pairing than MDM / NO and that is important, given the way we play.
Tactically we are quite a poor team. I think this has a lot to do with the manager. Manuel obviously drills it into the players to play their natural game and always look to attack, I see him as very Wenger-esque in his approach, but unless we are 2 or 3 goals ahead we really don't know how to kill off a tight game or hold a lead.
Last night his options were limited due to selection problems. However, and I don't mean to be pessimistic after a win, but while he's our manager I really can't see us doing anything of note in the champions league. Tactics and defensive organisation got atleti to the final last year. Very few teams get to the final by only playing their plan A these days, unless of course you're the barcas of the world and that's perhaps doing then a disservice because I think they are much more tactically astute than we are.
His options last night were almost nil with so many injured and silva and yaya not fit. Given that, the result was excellent. Not sure how he could set up the team different than he did. Well done manuel.
And probably Juventus this year too. You are right. If you are not Barca, Bayern or Madrid you cannot get away with being defensively naive. In fact even the big boys come unstuck sometimes. Bayern last year were in big trouble vs Porto, Madrid obviously lost to a well drilled Juve. We might get out of the group but unless we wise up, which we have shown little sign of, we won´t be going much further.
That's the point. This thread is full of "we should be tighter at the back" and all these cliches, when the truth is the team picked itself because of injuries, and Aguero is misfiring worse than at any point in his career, Silva and Yaya aren't fit and Sterling, Otamendi and DE Bruyne are new to the team. It was a mad game of football but it was also one we deserved to win comfortably on balance despite all this.
As OB1 says, we went 5 games with our first choice centre halves and didn't conceed a goal. As soon as we lost both of them we started conceeding silly goals. That is, of course, not a coincidence.
I am not seeing anything whatsoever to worry about because every one of those problems will sort itself, barring long term injury of course. We are not losing midfield battles or getting overrun.
I love the way you can't see the enormous hypocrisy in your first sentence.
That reserve back four were all we had available. If we'd have had some of our first choice defenders available we'd have won that game easily. Throw in the fact that most of our biggest names are half fit, and our new boys are still gelling, and we are missing an incredible amount of chances as a result, and that's a damn good result tonight.
We are fine. Mark my words. We will go up the gears as the big guns get fit and improve.
Of course you are right to a point, selection almost picks itself at the moment. However with Silva clearly not being fully fit he could have setup like this though to protect the defence a little more and bring on Silva against a tired side later in the game:
Hart
Sagna Otamendi Demi Kolarov
Fernadno Yaya Ferds
De Brunye Sterling
Aguero
However let's see the team and tactics he picks against Sevilla and Juve away. I'm predicting it won't change but I'm happy to be pleasantly surprised.
We are one dimensional. We have been for a while. Fortunately, because of the quality of players that you refer to that means it's a dimension that's good enough the majority of time domestically, not so much on our European adventures. We certainly rely on individual magic more often than not.It's quite funny isn't it mate. The manager's getting pelters for once again because he put out a makeshift back four and they struggled. Suddenly he's tactically naive, one dimensional, will only win the title because of the quality of players he has (who doesn't win the title because of that btw?).
Really do wish people would find a way to take half a step back from their own knee jerking and have a think before typing!
So the team he picked against Spurs? The one which after the Spurs game people were on here saying was the wrong team to pick and that it wasted Yaya pushing him forward when he should've been "dictating the game from deep" or some other wank cliche.
As I said after Spurs - Pellegrini cannot win with far too many posters who have become far too much like the media in terms of their analysis and critiques of him.
We are one dimensional. We have been for a while. Fortunately, because of the quality of players that you refer to that means it's a dimension that's good enough the majority of time domestically, not so much on our European adventures. We certainly rely on individual magic more often than not.
This will be his last season so I'm just gonna enjoy the ride.
Correct me if I'm wrong but while it was the same personnel the tactics were still 4-2-3-1. What I'm talking about is keeping all three midfielders central with the exception of Fernando obviously just sitting in front of the defence. Yaya was trying to play like a number 10 against Spurs which still left us over exposed in the middle. This has to come from the manager.
I don't know why you're surprised at posters giving analysis and critique of him on a forum. It's a forum. What are we supposed to do? Talk about the weather.
I agree, I don't mind our approach to games. The fact is once we get our first choice CB's playing and our preferred front 4 have a run of games, the lack of midfield protection will become less of an issue.Fundamentally, he is accused of being 'one dimensional' by people who simply prefer a different 'one dimensional' approach. He's no more 'one dimensional' than any other coach in the league. No amount of hand wringing about 'controlling' the midfield is going to change that.
2nd in the league, on course in the CL and through to the next round of the Carling Cup.
Some right fucking fannies on here and no doubt thoroughly disappointed they didn't get to shout "told you so" even louder than they already are after our great come back victory away last night in the CL at a side that no other British side has ever beaten at home ;-)
Well done Gaffer and well done the players.
I agree, I don't mind our approach to games. The fact is once we get our first choice CB's playing and our preferred front 4 have a run of games, the lack of midfield protection will become less of an issue.
Could be a fun filled year.
Oh right. So in tricky away games what you're advocating is that we pick the equivalent of Matic, Mikel, and Ramires, have them sit deep, tell the full backs to not cross the halfway line, and then hope to nick a goal on the break. No thanks.