Are we Simply Unfit?

VOOMER said:
There's no improvement just regression. There are several traitor's in key off field roles who should be replaced with immediate effect.
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If you are on about the CEO and DoF we have to agree to disagree on whether they are traitors.
 
A keeper who gives everybody the jitters, a defence that hasn't got a clue, an un-combative midfield, a shot shy attack of midgets with only one goal scorer in the true sense, no on-field General and a complete lack of pace throughout the team.

Been like this for the best part of three seasons and made worse with the absence of Kompany and the inexplicable decision with the keeper.

Yes of cause it is not as bad as the good old days but with the money we have spent since SM arrived it is just not good enough.
 
Uncle Wally One Ball said:
True enough. But we as a club have clearly been in a void, because of the extra year Guardiola wanted at Bayern. We gave Pellegrini another year, and was a wasted year for us. We needed refreshing during that time, but instead everything went on hold, at the worst time. When we should have kicked on from winning the league the last time, we went stale and predictable and time waits for no man. Our lads just got older. I get that we waited for Guardiola to be available and that he was coming, but when he was ready, and I get that the club wanted to wait for that to come about. But the timing of it was all thrown out given what we had. If Pep couldnt come then, we should have found someone else because its cyclical and he didnt fit in with then turning of our wheel.
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That was the time to refresh things and move on the likes of Yaya and Kolarov buying a top left back and centre mid in their early 20s. Even Fernandinho who was a rare good buy was pushing 30 when he was signed so it's added to the ageing team problem.

We have the young talent. De bruyne, Sterling, Sane, Jesus, Maffeo, Stones, Garcia, Iheneacho. 2017 needs to be about adding to that and moving on some of the older players.

We've got the best youth set up and youth teams in the country as well. This season is the start of what could be a long transition.
 
Too many players past their best, Zabba, Kolarov, Yaya, Silva and maybe even Augero.

Big summer coming up, lots of changes, lets hope Txixi and Pep make the right calls
 
City health warning said:
Put it this we we didn't get battered as we normally do at Anfield. We see how the rest of the season pans out. It is only glimmers at this present time but there is small signs of improvement.
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It wasn't the drubbing that a few expected, but I can't remember the Dippers being so open to a defeat and we just didn't have the wherewithal to concoct a moment where I thought we would turn them over. Our top-scoring striker didn't have one touch inside the Dipper area, and if we continue to concede in the manner we do then it will need something more substantial than a slight improvement on the scoreline. We shall see how things pan out in the return but I can't think that the Dippers will be as vulnerable again as they were yesterday.
 
I think yesterday was a case of Klopp getting his tactics exactly right.

Liverpool scored the early goal, then defended very well.
 
mosssideblue said:
I think mentality, rather than fitness is an issue needing to be addressed.
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For me it boils down to hunger. I just don't see any desire to win. Talent, fitness, tactics will only get you so far. Without that hunger a good team that has it will always beat you. Even a mediocre team will stand a good chance and poor teams will win sometimes.

In Chelsea, Liverpool and the rags, I see teams that aren't great but have the hunger and desire. I don't see it in Arsenal possibly because the club itself has pronounced itself satisfied with top 4.

I think that Sergio, David Silva, Yaya and Clichy have lost that desire. Players who have been bought for £40m+, in my view, very rarely have that hunger possibly because, once that sort of money has changed hands, they see themselves as having "made it". Certainly, for all his sublime skill, I'm not seeing it in KDB nor in Sterling, nor in Stones. You can point to Bale and Ronaldo and Suarez as examples of players who've moved for top dollar but that is why they ended up at the club's they did.
 
Wreckless Alec said:
For me it boils down to hunger. I just don't see any desire to win. Talent, fitness, tactics will only get you so far. Without that hunger a good team that has it will always beat you. Even a mediocre team will stand a good chance and poor teams will win sometimes.

In Chelsea, Liverpool and the rags, I see teams that aren't great but have the hunger and desire. I don't see it in Arsenal possibly because the club itself has pronounced itself satisfied with top 4.

I think that Sergio, David Silva, Yaya and Clichy have lost that desire. Players who have been bought for £40m+, in my view, very rarely have that hunger possibly because, once that sort of money has changed hands, they see themselves as having "made it". Certainly, for all his sublime skill, I'm not seeing it in KDB nor in Sterling, nor in Stones. You can point to Bale and Ronaldo and Suarez as examples of players who've moved for top dollar but that is why they ended up at the club's they did.
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Good point. As you say, once they have a contract that is so lucrative, then it comes down to motivation aand desire.
 
Vienna_70 said:
I think yesterday was a case of Klopp getting his tactics exactly right.

Liverpool scored the early goal, then defended very well.
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He didn't seem to think so, says they didn't play as he wanted them too, Milner said much the same, that they didn't play the way they intended.

Scoring the early goal was key, pretty much the first time in our half, and it allowed them to sit off, and watch us endlessly pass sideways. The difference was that they adapted to the circumstances of the game and we didn't, and carried very little threat. Aguero apparently didn't have a single touch in the Liverpool penalty area, and that says everything about how we played.

Nothing at all to do with physical fitness, but there's certainly a mental issue in some matches.
 
I've just seen the Chelsea goals from yesterday. The comparison between their dynamic play and our slow football is there for all to see.
 
Interesting point - I watched with glee at the early footage of our training sessions - the players looked hungry, enthusiastic and energised by the new methods - four months later and the training footage looks just like last year with the familiar drills and even the warmups before a game have reverted to the Pellegrini set up. Our lack of hunting the second ball is clear for all to see. It can't just be bad luck when most of defensive headers, throw ins, corners, free kicks land at the feet of the opposition. I hate to admit it but there appears to be a major problem at the club, one not addressed since the Mancini team was put together in 2010. I can only console myself on looking at Chelsea who last season looked as if they couldn't give shit and now as Mike N said look dynamic. Roll on the summer window a lot can change in a short space of time such is the power of motivated modern players.
 
I don't think fitness is the issue, attitude and application are the main problems

9 of the 11 downed tools last year and a pretty shit anyway. Add the usual fuck-up into the mix and we've got big problems

They looked like they were just fulfilling the fixture list commitments rather than looking to win
 
Sport is simply about ability, confidence and attitude. Optimise those qualities and you will succeed. If you lack it in one area make up for it in another.
Ability......lacking in a number of positions ie defence. Do we have the players capable of carrying out the manager`s instructions, or are they just thick?
Confidence.....acquired by winning, look at Chelsea.
Attitude.......and here you have the big problem. Our first half performances this season have been dire. The number of early goals conceded is not acceptable. Personal motivation here also appears to be a problem.
 
There aren't enough players in their prime years. We have six 25-29 year olds in the whole squad. Five years ago we had fourteen!

Nowhere near enough of our players are at their peak
 
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