Arsenal - Post match thread

I stayed yesterday, and was pleased that everyone who stayed was very respectful. As said by others, not everyone has deliberately under performed, and so they deserve our support, and many will be gone next year. I respect how people feel a protest is needed, but a new manager is on his way, the club are striving to improve. Onwards to a new era.
 
As bad as the first goal was to concede yesterday, the second was worse in my eyes. The amount of times that has happened, mainly this season, where one of the oppositions prime danger men picks up the ball in our half and there is absolutely nobody around putting any sort of pressure on him. Sanchez is given so much time to get his head up and make his next move. when he first gets the ball there is no one within about 10 yards of him. Mangala at fault again for basically mauling Giroud (who in fairness did very well to but that back in to Sanchez's path so perfectly), and not being anywhere near the ball... standard erratic behavior. It's so simple for them in the end. It was almost a carbon copy of the route Mahrez took to goal when he basically walked it in in the 1-3. I agree that Kelechi should have been off for Delph at that point to sure up the midfield and that goal may not have happened but to be honest, I think it probably still would have. No pressure on the ball, no urgency, no nothing when we aren't in possession, which I'm sure is the main thing that is going to change next season. Iheanacho should have been off after he went through, had that golden chance to slide it to Navas and fluffed it... Although Navas probably wouldn't have scored ha. His head wasn't in the game and we NEEDED to hold on to that 2-1 lead, another howler from MP. I didn't celebrate De Bruyne's goal that much as I saw how much time was left on the clock and I just knew it was too good to be true that we would hold out against a team in the top 6. When we beat Chelsea recently, that was my favorite day of this season I was on cloud 9 after that. I thought this is it now, KDB is back and we will finish the season really strongly, CL qualification no problem... 3 days later we go to Newcastle and put in one of the worst, most lacklustre performances of the season and we were straight back down to earth. It's irrelevant to me that they were fighting to stay up, the same performance as 3 days earlier and we would have walked it. Some serious dressing room issues and I'm so glad this is coming to an end. Pellegrini is a great man, but not a great manager. He has gotten away with too much this season just because people have 'felt sorry' for him.
 
Bellamy's Caddy said:
but at the same time I never want us to forget where we came from. It defines who we are and it separates us from other clubs and their misplaced sense of entitlement. At one time it took character, a tough skin and a good sense of humour to be a city fan. I don’t expect anyone to mark this season down as our best, but it certainly isn’t our worst.
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You are right on some aspects but its not always been claps all around and well done players whatever league we were in. There have been plenty of toxic atmospheres in the past involving our games where the fans haven't liked what they have been seeing.

Blackburn away in the cup in 07 was one such match when I have never heard so much abuse towards players at the end. Barton, who actually was one of the only ones putting a shift in that day almost got lynched when he came over and there are plenty of other examples.

Yesterday was a culmination of a season and a half of watching the same mistakes happen over and over again and the manager not doing anything to rectify it over and over again.

He gambled at Southampton which was not universally accepted and his gamble backfired on him yesterday.
 
Celeste said:
I stayed yesterday, and was pleased that everyone who stayed was very respectful. As said by others, not everyone has deliberately under performed, and so they deserve our support, and many will be gone next year. I respect how people feel a protest is needed, but a new manager is on his way, the club are striving to improve. Onwards to a new era.
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I also stayed yesterday, for the players that I admire (Hart, Aguero, De Bruyne, Fernandinho), but I completely understand why others didn't. We are all entitled to our (different) opinions. I have been more than disappointed this year with the Manager, his failure to get tactics right, repeating the same mistakes and too many players not performing to their capabilities. By staying, I was saying thank you (in my own way) to the above guys.
 
Bellamy's Caddy said:
First chance to post since the game yesterday.

I know we still have one match left to go, but to me it feels like the season has already ended. It was a strange season in many ways... we won a cup, something all of us would have been delighted with ten years ago. We got to the Semi-Finals of the Champions League, something very few would have ever imagined possible ten years ago... Yet the overall feeling is disappointment, it shows how far we have come as a club in this time!

I stayed for the end of season speeches yesterday, not out of any particular loyalty to Pellegrini, in the past I have always stayed for these things so to me it just felt like the right thing to do.

The fact that the majority did not stick around yesterday doesn't sit well with me though. I understand the reasons for it, but the club isn't just about the manager, which is just as well given the amount I've seen come and go ( and I'm only 30!). The club isn't just about mercenary squad players - again, I've seen plenty of those too (Steve McManaman etc). We criticise the players when they don't turn up for matches, or put in enough effort. What about us though? What about when we don't turn up for them?

It wasn't just Pellegrini that was snubbed yesterday it was Hart, Fernandinho, Kevin De Bruyne, Aguero (who may still end the season as top scorer). Did those players in particular not deserve a show of appreciation for their efforts this season? If Real Madrid or Barca come calling for Aguero in the summer, we would hope that even after a disappointing season as a club he would show us some loyalty and stay. Maybe Aguero would have expected some loyalty from us yesterday…

Following the takeover and the success we have experienced and money spent, expectations have increased, not just from City fans but from neutrals and in particular the media. I don't like the way City are viewed by neutrals, certain journalists and many pundits, but at the same time I don't care. They are not associated with Manchester City, they don't get it the way we do. I do care what our fans think though and I’m sure our owners care when negatives are associated with City as a club and our fans.

It concerns me that yesterday might not be a one off. What happens if Guardiola doesn't get to grips with the league straight away, or it takes a while for a few new signings to gel? We are getting the most sought after manager in world football. The man who could get any job has chosen to work for Manchester City - that is how highly our club is now rated! Who knows what Guardiola will have made of the post-match scenes yesterday, but he can’t have been impressed. We bemoan the media coverage that the club and even our fans receive, yet yesterday we gave them the opportunity to justify everything they have ever said about us. Spoilt, plastic fans, Emptyhad, every cliché they trot out we lived up to.

I appreciate that survival in the premier league isn’t the first thing on everyone’s minds any more (even if I’m secretly pleased when we hit the 40 point mark), I appreciate that no longer are we just happy to be there... but at the same time I never want us to forget where we came from. It defines who we are and it separates us from other clubs and their misplaced sense of entitlement. At one time it took character, a tough skin and a good sense of humour to be a city fan. I don’t expect anyone to mark this season down as our best, but it certainly isn’t our worst.

Regardless of Champions League football, a new era starts at City next season, we all hope it will be a successful one. I just hope we play our part too, that yesterday was a one off show of apathy, a reflection of a weird season on and off the pitch. Personally I will be glad when this season is officially over, I'm excited to see the type of football we will play under Guardiola and which players he recruits. Bring on next season!
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Great post. Maybe that's how I should of worded it instead of winding up some of the toss pot city fans on here
 
levets said:
Very simple... Chelsea is the worst defence of the premier league...

The worst defence EVER of the league championship is US...
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But it's not the worst defence if the Premier League. That honour belongs to Blackburn.
 
Should City have managed the situation differently by letting Pellers say bye to the fans, show the league cup in centre circle, make speech, u18s parade round pitch, before game to full house, bit like Leicester did before the match where they then beat Everton?
 
Millwallawayveteran1988 said:
You are right on some aspects but its not always been claps all around and well done players whatever league we were in. There have been plenty of toxic atmospheres in the past involving our games where the fans haven't liked what they have been seeing.

Blackburn away in the cup in 07 was one such match when I have never heard so much abuse towards players at the end. Barton, who actually was one of the only ones putting a shift in that day almost got lynched when he came over and there are plenty of other examples.

Yesterday was a culmination of a season and a half of watching the same mistakes happen over and over again and the manager not doing anything to rectify it over and over again.

He gambled at Southampton which was not universally accepted and his gamble backfired on him yesterday.
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Didn't Goater say that at one point the team warmed up away from the stadium such was the level of abuse.
 
I really enjoyed yesterday's game. A microcosm of the Pellegrini era (with all the good, the bad and the ugly bits thrown-in) but, nevertheless, I thought it was a quality premier league match.
 
Bill said:
The toss pot city fans you talk about are dedicated match going blues. Did I mention that you're a prick by the way.? Just asking.
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you did pal, just because you go to a game doesnt mean you arnt a bellend.
 
Put this in a different thread, but think it's relevant in here too -

Im in two minds about yesterday. I get those that felt passionate about it enough to leave, but I do feel slightly for Pellegrini too.

Ultimately, I think a lot comes down to a disconnect between what the board wanted from him and the fanbase did. They were clearly keen on someone willing to toe the party line in public after the Mancini era, which is why all we have really heard is the repetitive mantra of being unlucky or reinforcing the (incorrect) mindset that we stick to attacking football. We as fans want to see a manager that will acknowledge substandard performances as then we have the confidence they might do something about it. Instead, he's been sticking rigidly to the party line throughout. I refuse to believe for a second that he didn't see a lot of the issues that we did as for all of his faults, he isn't that stupid.

From the lineups chosen against Southampton and Chelsea, it was clear that Pellegrini was prioritising the CL over everything else, something that would have been a direction from the board as well give the messages of thanks yesterday. Again, there was a disconnect as the league will always be the priority for the fanbase. Not for the board focussed on international profile though.

For all the tactical incompetence, he has also been dealt a bad set of cards at times too, which the poor squad building has magnified even more. There's not been that many games where a 433 was even a viable option given our lack of available players in certain positions.

He's had some players decline at a greater rate than I think him or Begiristain thought would and a transfer policy that hasn't seemed to have taken into account any other way of playing apart from the generic 4411 set up he has utilised. Couple thatwith injuries (the Madrid game for example, losing Silva and Kompany in either leg - we are still massively reliant on our spine and that's immediately us impacted, as it would be for most teams).

Ultimately, yesterday was for me more an indication of the disconnect from the fanbase to the board and a difference in prioritisation. Pellegrini has been, to us, the public mouthpiece for the board and as a consequence taken the lions share of the accountability despite it actually bring deeper than that.

The upshot is we have a situation where fans feel passionate enough to walk out rather than acknowledge someone that has won us a league and by all indications, stuck to what was asked of him by his employers. In that regard, I do feel sorry for him as it can't have been a nice experience.

My anger is more at the board for allowing this to happen, both in terms of the complacency and the disconnect to the fans, and ultimately Pellegrini has taken the hit for them. If anyone owes anyone an apology for yesterday, then it's the board to him.
 
meltonblue said:
Put this in a different thread, but think it's relevant in here too -

Im in two minds about yesterday. I get those that felt passionate about it enough to leave, but I do feel slightly for Pellegrini too.

Ultimately, I think a lot comes down to a disconnect between what the board wanted from him and the fanbase did. They were clearly keen on someone willing to toe the party line in public after the Mancini era, which is why all we have really heard is the repetitive mantra of being unlucky or reinforcing the (incorrect) mindset that we stick to attacking football. We as fans want to see a manager that will acknowledge substandard performances as then we have the confidence they might do something about it. Instead, he's been sticking rigidly to the party line throughout. I refuse to believe for a second that he didn't see a lot of the issues that we did as for all of his faults, he isn't that stupid.

From the lineups chosen against Southampton and Chelsea, it was clear that Pellegrini was prioritising the CL over everything else, something that would have been a direction from the board as well give the messages of thanks yesterday. Again, there was a disconnect as the league will always be the priority for the fanbase. Not for the board focussed on international profile though.

For all the tactical incompetence, he has also been dealt a bad set of cards at times too, which the poor squad building has magnified even more. There's not been that many games where a 433 was even a viable option given our lack of available players in certain positions.

He's had some players decline at a greater rate than I think him or Begiristain thought would and a transfer policy that hasn't seemed to have taken into account any other way of playing apart from the generic 4411 set up he has utilised. Couple thatwith injuries (the Madrid game for example, losing Silva and Kompany in either leg - we are still massively reliant on our spine and that's immediately us impacted, as it would be for most teams).

Ultimately, yesterday was for me more an indication of the disconnect from the fanbase to the board and a difference in prioritisation. Pellegrini has been, to us, the public mouthpiece for the board and as a consequence taken the lions share of the accountability despite it actually bring deeper than that.

The upshot is we have a situation where fans feel passionate enough to walk out rather than acknowledge someone that has won us a league and by all indications, stuck to what was asked of him by his employers. In that regard, I do feel sorry for him as it can't have been a nice experience.

My anger is more at the board for allowing this to happen, both in terms of the complacency and the disconnect to the fans, and ultimately Pellegrini has taken the hit for them. If anyone owes anyone an apology for yesterday, then it's the board to him.
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I didn't know the board trained the players and also set the team and tactics up .
 
Dribble said:
What makes it all the more galling is that one poster insinuated today that many of us have been waiting 3 years for this to happen just to prove ourselves right about Pellegrini!

I have NEVER wanted City to lose under Pellegrini to prove any fuckin point! What has taken place was a disaster waiting to happen and I take no pleasure in City possibly being relegated from the Champions League next season and finishing probably 15 points behind Leicester City in the league because of Pellegrini's lack of tactical acumen.

You didn't need a crystal ball to be able to see what was coming, just a rudimentary knowledge of football. Look back at the matches from Pellegrini's first season and it will tell you all you need to know as to why we are where we are now.
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Like you I have never wanted City to lose a game. But the truth is that the team has been in decline for 18 months. Why MP was not replaced last summer I will never know. When the decision was made to get rid of Mancini we should have expected an upgrade. The truth is despite significant money being spent we went down hill.

Yesterday epitomised the Pellegrini reign perfectly:

- a good first half from the team before we died on our arse as we have done many other times this season. A number of players are clearly not fit enough.
- 2 comical goals conceded. The first one was poor enough from Clichy before the lack of defending from the corner. How many times have we seen that! And then the second goal when a flagging Fernandinho couldn't keep up with Sanchez and our defence parted like the Red Sea.
- as soon as we scored the second goal every single fan in that ground would have replaced a struggling Iheanacho with Delph. Instead MP waits and waits and makes a change too late.
- and don't even get me started on the introductions of Bony and Yaya. Our most dangerous attacking player KDB was stuck on the wing for most of the game rather than being given the chance to play off aguero.

I could go on but we have been cheated by a manager well and truly out of his depth. This will be evidenced by his next job. In no way will he get a chance at a top club again.
 
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