International Break: How are we doing?

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Marvin

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9 Jan 2006
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8 games in, League Cup and Champions League underway, first major managerial changes and we have a break to gather ourselves and go again. How are we doing? What were our expectations at the start of the season? How is it going to pan out, and who are going to be our rivals?

League as a whole

The surprise has been the form of Chelsea. I thought they might dip a bit, but to be on 8 points having lost 4 games no one could have foreseen. What a nightmare for them. Hard to understand. Ivanovic and Terry look like they are really struggling, and Fabregas and Hazard are anonymous. Mourinho's dramatics make it worse surely. I wouldn't rule them out yet, although we're getting very close to being able to do so. They are capable of winning 8 games back to back.

Liverpool were never contenders, but must feel that a top 4 place is within their reach if they can land Klopp - particularly as Chelsea have fallen away.

City

Fantastic start to the season driven by Kompany who was back to his best, but now once again his calf injury has recurred and this is a major issue for us. Mangala looks a lot better this season, and Otamendi has looked good so far, but we need Kompany to win trophies. I look at the league table and are very pleased to see City there but slightly disappointed that after 5 straight wins we are not a little further clear.

The sole negative for me are the injuries. However they may just be about to clear up. None are long term providing Kompany can get over this niggling calf injury.

The highlights: De Bruyne. Has been way better than I thought he would be, although I do think his best position is running with the ball from midfield. And the icing on the cake is that Aguero is back. It took Sanchez a month to get up and running and it's taken Aguero a little longer. But his season has started now. 5 goals in an hour. Unbelievable and almost what has become expected from him.

Champions League

It was a difficult draw, and we were very unlucky to get beat against Juve. The plus side was the performance. We played one of the top sides in a game that mattered for both and matched them. I think we will qualify in 2nd place if we can beat Sevilla at home (who have just beaten Barca)

Rivals

Arsenal. Thought they would be at the start of the season. Sanchez is the best footballer in the Premiership. He destroyed Utd and plays even better in the big games. Amazing footballer, and the rest of the Arsenal really played at a very high level against Utd. That was very impressive. And they maybe stronger if they get knocked out of Europe. They are however inconsistent. What do we make of Utd? Martial has proved to be a lot better than I expected. But Depay worse. Schweinsteiger is struggling as we thought he would, and yet they are just 2 points behind us. Rooney's game has slipped another notch too. They have not played well, and yet they have picked up points. I don't know if they are real contenders or flattering to deceive. I don't think they know what to expect either. Still in transition.

Prediction

Qualify 2nd from Champions League group which very likely means a very difficult last 16 draw

A very tight run with Arsenal for the title. If Kompany gets fit, I think we might have something to spare. Arsenal are very reliant on Sanchez.
 
I think, if we're being honest, we have no excuse for not stomping our mark on this league now. Both our recent title wins have been a little marred with criticism of not winning it by more, or sooner - We won't have a better chance of having it wrapped up with games to spare than now. Chelsea are a mess, the rags are shite, and Arsenal haven't gone the distance in over a decade.

I know blues like to play down our chances, typical City and all that, but come on. We've got the best squad in the league, we have the most experience of mounting a title challenge, we've got so many players in their prime and far and away the best striker in the league. If we don't win it this year forget about sacking, someone would need shooting.
 
Overall I think we're in pretty good shape going into the international break. For me the key thing in this early part of the season outside of the obvious (results) was bedding in new players. What we're seen so far from De Bruyne, Otamendi, and Sterling is that this process is happening in a timely and productive manner. KDB already looks like someone who's been playing with this side for years. Sterling will have ups and downs like any 20 year old, but overall what's apparent is that he has both the technical quality and the intelligence to play in our side. If anything I think he's been a little too inhibited in recent weeks. He needs to stop deferring to other players whenever they come close to him, and to actually force situations in the way KDB has done. It will come with time though. Otamendi is going to be the perfect replacement for Demichelis. Surprised at some of the criticism I've read of him. He is a very rash defender, but in a way that's what I like about him. He reminds me a little of Mascherano when he's playing centre half for Barca.

When you look at the league things couldn't really have gone any better in terms of both results and performances. 2nd half at Spurs aside, we have shown a real defensive organisation, balance in our attacking play, and a hunger which seemed to be missing at points during last season. For me the interesting thing is that we were a ticking clock running without the battery power of Kun until the 2nd half at Newcastle, and still we have been largely dominant in our attacking play.

The Champions League is still far too early to call anything or even to really draw any conclusions. I thought we were largely excellent against Juventus in a game we lost and shite against Borussia in a game we won. The most important thing is to get out of the group - how we get there is irrelevant in terms of performances. I don't really buy into the idea that there's some malaise attached to City which means we can't do well in the champions league. We've gone out to Barcelona two years running, and as Pellegrini has been at pains to point out they are arguably the best side in the world, and certainly were last season. I think as a squad we are better equipped to go go toe to toe with Barca/Bayern/Real with the additions of Otamendi, Sterling, and KDB - because all three players give us characteristics we lacked from a playing squad point of view last season.

Watching our rivals so far has been pure comedy. Chelsea are finished for the season and will be lucky to finish in the top 4. Pretty fucking funny for the self proclaimed best manager in the world/league. United are United. They'll fighting a Jurgen Klopp led Liverpool for 4th place. Arsenal are going to be our nearest title rivals. Think they could do very well this season if they can keep their key players fit. Certainly I think they can challenge us more robustly than anyone else at present.

If Liverpool do appoint Klopp all bets are off for me as to where they can finish. The guy is a managerial genius and with the raw materials they have in that squad he could make anything happen. Especially if he's given a few quid to spend in January.
 
It's panning out pretty much as I expected. The title looks like it will develop into a straight fight between us and Arsenal. I think we'll edge it in the end unless injuries bring us down. I thought Chelsea would have a reaction after last season's successes but 4 defeats in 8 games is a lot worse than I expected. The rags are a bit better than I thought but are a top 4 team rather than a true title contender. I still think we are a way off doing anything in the CL and will remain so until we adequately replace Yaya with a younger world class midfielder. I think we're a last 16 team or maybe last 8 if the draw is kind (some chance!). I'm pleased we're still in the LC: it would be good for confidence to get some early silverware. I'm very pleased with KDB, he's the real deal. Sterling blows hot and cold like all 20 year olds but looks like he will prove to be a really good signing in years to come. Overall I'm quite happy: I'm relieved Kun is up and running but Vinny's injury problems are a big concern.
 
League as a whole
Top 4 is wide open due to the collapse of Chelsea and mediocrity of the usual candidates so far (Spuds, dipers, utd).
A big opportunity for the likes of, Palace, Southampton, West ham to have a great season and push for top 4.

City
Kompany – agreed he looks up for it this year.
Mangala is a beast and always looked good to me – just needs time to settle and stability of players around and in front of him.
Otamendi has looked good so far and would also benefit from stability – not sure he is going to get it though.
The challenge I think is finding a blend of players from a slightly attack heavy squad. Basically if we pick all the big guns we can be exposed in midfield. It will be interesting to see how many games Fernando and Delph play as they offer the positional discipline and graft but to get them in the starting 11 means dropping some classy players.

Champions League
Disappointing result at Juve and two games in which we looked like we could concede a lot of goals. I’d like to see a more cautious approach. Get some clean sheets and hopefully 1 nil wins.

Rivals
No consistency anywhere. Arsenal look the best when on form but consistency is a big problem form them. Same with UTD, they could easily turn into a team that specialise in grinding out 1-0 wins and could complete but you don’t know what you are going to get from week to week.
If the dippers get a strong manager and can get Sturridge fit they could go on a good run but I think they are too far back already to win it.
Chelsea = scale 10 melt down.

Prediction
We should have the blinkers on for the league title this year, won’t get a better chance.
Champions League will be tough again, Getting to a QF would be a good result given the start we have had.

Cups – I think we will win a domestic cup given the strength in depth we have.
 
BillyShears said:
If Liverpool do appoint Klopp all bets are off for me as to where they can finish. The guy is a managerial genius and with the raw materials they have in that squad he could make anything happen. Especially if he's given a few quid to spend in January.
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If Klopp beats us to the title with that Liverpool side he's not a managerial genius, he's god.
 
Fair assessment so far,but if Sanchez is best player in the Prem.............I stopped short of reacting really badly to that comment
 
Bluemanc100 said:
International breaks are a pain in the arse.... that is all
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This, I hate internationals and as far as I'm concerned watching Ingerland holds about as much interest as watching women's football. To quote Eric Cartman, international breaks can "suck my balls".
 
Bluemanc100 said:
International breaks are a pain in the arse.... that is all
Click to expand...
Normally i agree whole heartedly, but for once i think its come at just the right time. A chance to get those players back who aren't quite fit. I just hope we don't get any more injuries with players away.
 
adrianr said:
If Klopp beats us to the title with that Liverpool side he's not a managerial genius, he's god.
Click to expand...

I don't think they can win the title this season, however if they appoint Klopp I'd expect them to finish above United and Chelsea. Which in and of itself would be a phenomenal achievement given their squad and where they currently sit.
 
willipp said:
Normally i agree whole heartedly, but for once i think its come at just the right time. A chance to get those players back who aren't quite fit. I just hope we don't get any more injuries with players away.
Click to expand...

Yeah I agree.

Maybe we should be starting to pull players out with "injuries" like other clubs do
 
Paraphrasing Pellers, he said before the w/e that he was desperate for the break to sort out injuries.

@Marvin Sanchez is not the best player in the Prem on a regular basis but Silva is. You could same the same about both teams. In the end, the squad will count and ours seems better than the rest of the league.

However, it appears correct to say that Aguero and Sanchez have taken a while to get over their Copa exertions. Upon reflection, it may have been better to have given Kun more time off but hey ho.

A domestic cup would be nice [if not risk taking with injuries/fatigue] and any progress in the CL just adds to the club's experience. Of course, winning the title should provide for a better draw next year [mass agenda and conspiracy theories aside].

Sadly, I said a while ago [maybe the summer] that Vinny's injuries were a concern. Mmm...
 
So far we've had:

Caballero is shit.
Mangala is shit.
Kolarov is shit.
Otamendi is shit.
Demichelis is finished.
Fernando is shit.
Yaya is shit.
Navas is shit.
Nasri is shit.
Sterling is shit.
Bony is shit.
Aguero is finished.

Combined with injuries to Silva, Vinny, Zaba, Clichy, Delph, Hart, Nacho, Aguero, Mangala, Bony, Nasri, Yaya and Fernando.

And we're top of the league, despite being handicapped by a clueless manager. Not too bad.
 
We are top. We have scored the most goals. We have the best goal difference.

We have achieved this despite having had a series of injuries to players who you would expect to start 8/9 games out of 10 - Silva, Yaya, Kompany, Aguero, Zabaleta, Hart. Not forgetting injuries to others like Bony, Nasri, Clichy etc.

We have achieved this without Sergio really hitting top form until Saturday (although signs that he was getting back to his best were there on Wednesday night).

Yaya and Kompany, before their injuries, both looked back to their best. Sagna and kolarov are 20% improved from last season. Mangala and Kompany seemed to have clicked as a defensive unit. We have not conceded a goal in the league while Kompany has been on the pitch.

We have conceded 6 goals in the league, of which at least three should have been disallowed for offside offences.

Crucially, we have not yet managed to field our strongest 11 in any competition.

I'd say, based on all the above, we have not actually hit top gear yet and yet we are still top.
 
the god Gerry Gow said:
Yeah I agree.

Maybe we should be starting to pull players out with "injuries" like other clubs do
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It is strange how none of our players seem to withdraw from squads with niggles where it seems all our rivals do this on a regular basis. For me Silva, Kompany, Aguero, Mangala, Zaba etc should all be having a 2 week break now. No doubt they won't and wouldn't suprise me seeing Kompany play 2 games for Belguim in the space of 4 days, aguero and zabs travelling 3 times round the world and Silva getting kicked all over the place.
 
BillyShears said:
I don't think they can win the title this season, however if they appoint Klopp I'd expect them to finish above United and Chelsea. Which in and of itself would be a phenomenal achievement given their squad and where they currently sit.
Click to expand...

I think Klopp is excellent but that squad really doesn't suit him at all. They've got the workrate but the technical ability just isn't there, he'd need lot's of cash which he won't get.
 
willipp said:
It is strange how none of our players seem to withdraw from squads with niggles where it seems all our rivals do this on a regular basis. For me Silva, Kompany, Aguero, Mangala, Zaba etc should all be having a 2 week break now. No doubt they won't and wouldn't suprise me seeing Kompany play 2 games for Belguim in the space of 4 days, aguero and zabs travelling 3 times round the world and Silva getting kicked all over the place.
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I thought that MP said last week that Vinny could travel with Belgium but not play. Suppose it's not his decision, though.
 
without a dream said:
I think Klopp is excellent but that squad really doesn't suit him at all. They've got the workrate but the technical ability just isn't there, he'd need lot's of cash which he won't get.
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Completely disagree. Klopp's great talent was in building a side which developed it's technical quality together. It wasn't about individuals more about the collective and how the collective worked together. What he had was a handful of very technical players at Dortmund and he'll get the same at Liverpool. Coutinho, Lallana, Firmino, Benteke, Henderson, even Can - are all players who IMO will flourish under a coach like Klopp.
 
aguero93:20 said:
So far we've had:

Caballero is shit.
Mangala is shit.
Kolarov is shit.
Otamendi is shit.
Demichelis is finished.
Fernando is shit.
Yaya is shit.
Navas is shit.
Nasri is shit.
Sterling is shit.
Bony is shit.
Aguero is finished.

Combined with injuries to Silva, Vinny, Zaba, Clichy, Delph, Hart, Nacho, Aguero, Mangala, Bony, Nasri, Yaya and Fernando.

And we're top of the league, despite being handicapped by a clueless manager. Not too bad.
Click to expand...

And a shit DoF. Please don't forget the shit DoF. In many ways he is the Dick Dastardly of the whole piece !
 
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