A Bit of Positive Thinking...

We have played better in the last five games than we did in our worst ever performance under Pep.

People might be thinking back to his first season or maybe something in the early parts of the 2019-20 or 2020-21 seasons…

But our worst performance under Pep came just 12 months ago away at Villa. I have not seen City so utterly twatted by any team like that night for a very long time.

People think we were bad on Saturday but we created 23 shooting opportunities… against Villa we created just 2 and none after the 8th minute. It was a truly terrible performance!
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If Villa had beaten us 5-0, I don’t think anyone would have said it flattered them. The xG for Saturday’s game against Spurs was actually very close (about 2.8 v 2.9), we just couldn’t finish and defended terribly for the few times Spurs had chances.
 
M23 Citizen said:
We have played better in the last five games than we did in our worst ever performance under Pep.

People might be thinking back to his first season or maybe something in the early parts of the 2019-20 or 2020-21 seasons…

But our worst performance under Pep came just 12 months ago away at Villa. I have not seen City so utterly twatted by any team like that night for a very long time.

People think we were bad on Saturday but we created 23 shooting opportunities… against Villa we created just 2 and none after the 8th minute. It was a truly terrible performance!
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If Villa had beaten us 5-0, I don’t think anyone would have said it flattered them. The xG for Saturday’s game against Spurs was actually very close (about 2.8 v 2.9), we just couldn’t finish and defended terribly for the few times Spurs had chances.
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in addition, our pass accuracy stats against Spurs were 91.3% iirc according to bbc figures.
Getting a settled and injury free back four is the way forward.
Kdb Foden and Grealish will all step up over the next few weeks ,I'm sure of that. Haaland will rise to the challenge, never a more dangerous forward than when he is going through a bad patch, the man has an internal resilience which is frightening.
This resolve is mirrored by the manager.
I think we will dust our selves down,and I expect a few players who have underperformed recently ,will be looking to step up their performances, knowing that the jan transfer window will bring competition for places.....these are elite players,who imo.have pride and an understanding that this really is their time to dig in, and step up to the cause.

We will see.
 
ShedDweller said:
Even the very fact that opposition teams will think that they've worked us out will start working in our favour.
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I particularly agree with this bit - teams will set up against us on the assumption that we're going to do what we have done for 8 years.

If we try something completely new - which Pep definitely has in him - then we'll catch teams off guard!
 
I'm not as doom and gloom as a lot of people.

But I wouldn't expect Pep to change much. It's not being stubborn, it's logic. Why change what has been successful for so long? We're having a bad run of form which has been caused by a combination of injuries and a general decline in individual performances. Could have happened a lot sooner than it did.

Pep's not going to abandon his approach and do something drastically different because of it. He'll find a way to reinvigorate the squad, to boost their morale and performances and stick to what we've done in previous seasons. Might not lead to outstanding results, but long term it means everyone is still playing the style he wants.

I look at our squad and I really don't know how we can fix things. The press is awful, that needs to sharpen up. But the lack of intensity in midfield, I can only see us using Nunes in that position as he's got pace. But he's not strong on the ball so he doesn't solve all the problems.

Akanji at RB, inverting if required would also help.

It's going to be subtle tweaks, not drastic changes and we won't suddenly see a much larger squad. This has been a particularly rough time for injuries, but it's rare you suffer so many and you aren't going to have a squad of players kept happy if a lot are waiting around for 5-6 injuries to occur.
 
A590 blues said:
Nice to see positive post.
We have had a great run over the past 10 years.
I can take were in a minor slump but write up off at your peril.
COC
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The Aguerrrooooo moment was the thing which really kicked it all off for
me.
If we hadn't won another trophy since I would still remember that with satisfaction for the rest of my days.
Everything else we have achieved since has been beyond my wildest imagination and it ain't over yet - not by a long way!
COME ON CITY!!
 
ShedDweller said:
It occurred to me earlier today that although the recent sequence of results has been very disappointing for everyone, it may yet become a positive moment...

For some time now I've felt that we were becoming quite predictable and easy to play against. A lot of times we got away with due to the sheer quality of the players but there were signs even in the run in last season that the gap was closing.

This of course culminated in us losing the FA Cup Final to the tossers down the road.

Now... when the new season started and we were decimated by injuries I think it revealed a fact that maybe was hidden, maybe even from the staff. That reality is that we simply don't have replacements of sufficient quality and depth in key positions.

We've been getting away with it for a while. We also have a habit of rinsing players to the end of their physical (sporting) lifespan, e.g Yaya, Dave, etc.

I think that there's been a feeling that the young players coming in were going to plug the gaps as the squad ages.

This has now been clearly revealed as a false hope. However good an academy is, its a simple fact that almost no academy player makes that transition smoothly, even Phil Foden had a long period of bedding in the first team football.

Anyway, my theory is this...

This run of results will cause Pep to re assess both his tactics and hopefully the makeup of the squad.

I think this period we are going through will be a positive catalyst for a change and we will come out of it maybe more quickly than people think.

Even the very fact that opposition teams will think that they've worked us out will start working in our favour.

I think a couple of tactical tweaks will improve the situation in the immediate term, and a couple of quality signings in Jan will re invigorate the squad... they have to be top top class players though... not squad fillers... some ego's might get put out but so be it.

We have the greatest manager in world football, the idea that he's not going to come up with something is ridiculous. We also have some very pissed off players now with a point to prove and maybe for the first time there will be a sense that places could be lost and replacements may be brought in.

I think the Liverpool game is actually a perfect opportunity to respond, everyone now thinks they will roll us over.

We might well get a stuffing but I'm thinking something good might happen!
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Spot on. The treble was the peak of the cycle and we have been in decline since. Last year's title masked the weakness in our team. Let's face it Arsenal collapsed and made it easy for us. We have looked tired and out of ideas since that Cup Final defeat. It might take several months but Pep will sort it and we will be fired up by a 115 court victory. Pep loves adversity. That's why he stayed on. We can still win a trophy this season (not the PL in my view) if we can come strong at the end of the season. Even the CL or the World Cup is possible.
 
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