City v Arsenal post match thread

[simon23]

Sane will surprise a few i believe.

yes he may....but he is a young lad and it wouldn't be surprising if he took a while to find his feet..he has said so himself

 

[simon23]

I think like any player still thirsty for success, he can improve. If Guardiola can instil that mentality in players, half the battle is won. They're great players, but they can be better - IF they want to be. For some of them, they will need to improve just to keep their place. If they're not up for that challenge, they probably shouldn't be with us.

some will but the likes of delph, fernando and kolorov are extremely limited footballers in comparison to most pro's....delph has an amazing engine on him but that is about it

 

[Bobbymanc]

If Pep is as good as we all think then he should be able to adjust his tactics to the ability of his players until he can get his own team. At the moment we look like rabbits in headlights.

 

[Paul_Powers_Tash]

From what I've read on here, his euro form has definitely become a factor in him being doubted to being city's number one.

Hart's inability with the ball at his feet is the major reason people are struggling to understand how he can possibly fit into a Pep team. Surely you can see this?

 

[Le Havre Oswald]

Don't be bloody pathetic.
The point is, most people at the very top of football aren't there because they're a genius, they were ex-players who got a foot in the door at a top club.
There's plenty of people in the game who are just as knowledgeable, they just aren't at the top clubs and may never be.
Some of the so called 'top managers' make some truly crazy decisions sometimes and yes the fans CAN see those lousy decisions being made.
Nobody's saying Guardiola isn't any good, but he's not a God, and if Manchester City is the toughest task he's faced, that should tell you something.

seriously anyone who thinks they could do just as good as pep this is what you should do.

1) apply for your level 1 coaching badge. It's piss easy and should only take you a few hours.

2)Go for your level 2. Harder than level one obviously but still easy imo. (I have level 2) :)

3) go your level 3(uefaB) Costs a fair bit and is fucking well hard. If you pass this congratulations you can now work at most center of excellence's not so so sure about football academies.

4) try and get your level 4(uefa A) if you get this .wow. Quit your day job as you'll be able to walk into any Academy, hell its probably the highest qualification most managers outside the prem have got.

5) try and get your level 5 (uefa pro license) get this and you've made it. Even pep himself hasn't got Better than this (because you can't) you now have the qualification needed to manage in the prem.

6) sell kolarov etc....

 

[The-Dogs-Pollocks]

You think we should adapt our tactics just to suit Joe? Have I read that right?

Sometimes you have to work with the players you have. Pep has said this himself in many interviews. I am not talking about changing his philosphy of playing football, just adapting it to take account of players strengths and weaknesses.

I think buying another keeper (especially at a reported 67 mil) would be crazy when we have one of europes best already in place.

 

[kippax91]

Impressed today with nolito and delph hard to get excited about friendlys tho

 

[daztrueblue91]

You have to take that performance for what it was, a pre-season friendly.

Some of the players looked very good whereas others struggled. I wouldn't worry about that defence either because we will never see Fernando and Kolarov as CBs in a game that matters.

The only downside for me was Hart. He already seems to be under pressure because of a bad Euro's and him not being a 'Pep type' keeper. Conceding the goals he did today will not have helped him one bit.

It's a tough one with Joe because he is without a doubt a club legend and fan favourite. Yet he is struggling big time at the moment. People may disagree and think I'm being overly critical of Hart, but if you're honestly going to solely blame Tosin for Arsenal's 3rd goal then it pretty sums up how much Hart's stock has fallen. The guy got two solid hands on the ball and still couldn't keep it. We also all know that he has a weakness down to his left.

We either accept that Joe is still one of the top keepers in the PL, if not the world, and judge him by such standards or accept that he is no longer the player he once was.

Ask yourselves this question; does Joe still fill you with confidence as the last line of defence?

 

[come-on-barney]

Hugely encouraging signs-yes lots to work on and Stones needed-but pressing was very impressive until a disjointed second half. Tactically fascinating how the fullbacks tuck in as deep midfielders when the central defenders have the ball-never seen an English team do that. When this clicks we will overwhelm many many teams.

Yes Arsenal had a few chances first half, but you could definitely see what Pep is trying to introduce here. To say there was no difference to last season is not seeing the bigger picture in the first half. The second half was disjointed with subs etc, but I was encouraged by the performance. You can see why Stones is such an important piece to the jigsaw, and no wonder Stones fancies playing in this system which plays to his strengths. I think the goalkeeper issue is getting too personalised. Pep wants a keeper who is confident to start the play. I watched Cech in the first half kick it long every time and Arsenal lost possession most times. When it did work from Willy in the first half (which was not too many times) we had some nice passages of play and possession. Not sure why Joe kicked it long every time whether this was instruction or something a little more 'political' going on. I also think Joe is a very good keeper but it is interesting that 2 previous managers have had some reservations as does the third. However, the amount of times Joe has saved us over the years has been incredible.

Although it may take a little time I am confident that once the system beds in we are going to be great to watch.

 

[Paul_Powers_Tash]

Sometimes you have to work with the players you have. Pep has said this himself in many interviews. I am not talking about changing his philosphy of playing football, just adapting it to take account of players strengths and weaknesses.

I think buying another keeper (especially at a reported 67 mil) would be crazy when we have one of europes best already in place.

Pep's whole style of play requires a keeper who can double as a sweeper in order to compress the midfield. Are you suggesting Pep throws away everything he believes in order to accommodate the deficiencies of one player?

 

[bert38]

Our EDS team were doing that under Vieira for ages. It created a kind box midfield thing - was fascinating to watch and its no coincidence that Angelino/Maffeo are so comfortable with it.

Yeah I was calling it a box to the old man-it created so many passing movements that augurs well when the players get more used to it.

 

[Phil1]

Sometimes you have to work with the players you have. Pep has said this himself in many interviews. I am not talking about changing his philosphy of playing football, just adapting it to take account of players strengths and weaknesses.

I think buying another keeper (especially at a reported 67 mil) would be crazy when we have one of europes best already in place.

If Hart is our keeper going forward then I doubt we've got any choice but to slightly adapt from Peps preferred ways. I've got to say I was looking forward to seeing what differences, however subtle they may have been that Joe was going to implement. That first minute though when he reverted back to what he did all last year dismayed me.
It's going to be a roller coaster of a season one way or another.

 

[Dazzle84]

Hoping they looked leggy cause they've been run ragged all week...

Anyway, whilst it was a bit disappointing and disjointed, it was absolutely fascinating looking at the shape and movement of the team- first half at least. Once that beds in and the right players are in the roles , we'll be incredible and lovely to watch to boot. Throw ins still shit though.

 

[FanchesterCity]

Hart's inability with the ball at his feet is the major reason people are struggling to understand how he can possibly fit into a Pep team. Surely you can see this?

I honestly can't imagine this is the reason he can't fit into a Guardiola team. You'd think Pep's teams have keepers doing some fancy footwork - they don't. Neuer made a bit of a habit of coming out of his box to sweep up sometimes, that's about it. Joe's perfectly capable of passing a ball out from the back - by foot or by hand. If the rumours of Guardiola not fancying him are accurate, it's probably for other reasons imo.

Could be his distribution / attitude / decision making or number of other reasons, but would Pep really ditch a keeper purely because of a lack of finesse with the ball at his feet?

 

[Neville Kneville]

Angelino has matured and looks a proper pep player-personally very excited to watch the way we are trying to play. People will need to be patient but there are so many positives from today-we hardly pressed like that at all last season, let alone pre-season.

I agree.

I'm absolutely delighted by what Pep is teaching the players to do, & I'm absolutely 100% convinced it's only a matter of time before we have a team which does it. No idea which players that will involve, nothing would really surprise me concerning players. But I don't see all it happening overnight & I don't think we'll get through the whole season without it going completely tits up from time to time. When Pep first started at Barca B, it took time for him to get his ideas accross.

But I expect us to be pretty good by the later stages of the season & thereabouts in the league.

 

[Len Rum]

Surprised that we haven't made more inroads with signings who can help us now, especially at the back. Whenever we have played a top European side I feel we have always been let down by the fact that we only probably have around 7 (of a general starting 11) players who are technically good enough and athletic enough to play at the best level. We've always looked a man short in the middle, a man short at centre back and two full backs short. I'm scratching my head as to why we haven't addressed that and I'm scratching it even more at the experiment of trying two of our slowest and technically worst players at centre back. It seems very un-pep like, although I suppose his options are somewhat limited. Perhaps they are shop window outings.

That said, I don't think we are ready to start the season. I felt the same way last season especially after Stuttgart smashed us. Even though we started the season well, the problems which were evident in pre season soon resurfaced. I just hope that's not the case this season.

As exciting as it is to sign prospects and youngsters, I'd much rather the money go on players who are ready to contribute at a world class level, because that's where we are short by a long shot.

QED

 

[leighton]

I think the pre season form after any Euros or World cup is always hard players are at differnt levels of fitness. Todays game for me was a great work out many players got game time. Sterling looked good at times and looked like he could well be good enough for the fight for places in the team and squad. Defending needs more work the shit being put at Hart is mad unlucky with the second goal his passing will get better with more game time. I think leaders are needed in the team and Hart gives this in bags. When the chips are dwon Hart isnt a player we need to move on just yet, I think Pep will give him a year to prove his worth while we find the right replacement if needed.

 

[FanchesterCity]

Hoping they looked leggy cause they've been run ragged all week...

Anyway, whilst it was a bit disappointing and disjointed, it was absolutely fascinating looking at the shape and movement of the team- first half at least. Once that beds in and the right players are in the roles , we'll be incredible and lovely to watch to boot. Throw ins still shit though.

Arsenal always pass very well, probably the best in the league for many years - and our passing today left a lot to be desired. We gifted the ball to them far too often which puts us on the back foot right away. Sure, it's great if we can win the ball back quickly, but it's better to avoid having to do that - especially against a team so good with the ball at their feet - winning it back from Arsenal is a lot harder than winning it back from Sunderland!

Throw-ins - it's been weird for a couple of seasons with us - like nobody wants the ball. We lost possession from throw-ins a lot!.

 

[dave_blue12]

What is it with some people and this p'ep is god and must never be questioned' attitude?

Obviously he needs time to mould his team. However some of the decisions the club and Pep have taken in pre season do seem worthy of debate on a football forum?

Just give the guy a chance without all this knee jerk shit.

You don't think Pep has enough credibility to deserve at least a few months to see how things are going.

All the fuckin world class internet football coaches on here give me the shits !

 

[Len Rum]

I agree.

I'm absolutely delighted by what Pep is teaching the players to do, & I'm absolutely 100% convinced it's only a matter of time before we have a team which does it. No idea which players that will involve, nothing would really surprise me concerning players. But I don't see all it happening overnight & I don't think we'll get through the whole season without it going completely tits up from time to time. When Pep first started at Barca B, it took time for him to get his ideas accross.

But I expect us to be pretty good by the later stages of the season & thereabouts in the league.

That's ok then for £100M spent so far.