Bournemouth v City post match

[Exeter Blue I am here]

EB, I disagree about our passing out from the back and am with Billy on this one
At times it looked like we had boxed ourselves into a corner, yet almost every time we played our way out with a one two, or the ball going back to Willy to chip over the top. I was very impressed with the way we worked the ball out from back to front but really disappointed that we never actually scored from any of these passages of play.
Fernandihno made a huge difference to the way we moved the ball out on the left hand side. Always making himself available and his midfield passing ability working wonders. Even as Quinn commented on "the defense splitting throw in"
That 20 minute spell in the second half came from Bournemouth not allowing Toure time on the ball. We got through that spell though totally unscathed and without the opposition causing any real problems
Winning 2-0 away from home with the opposition only having one serious attempt on goal which was a twenty yard effort, is a great result

Yeh, I should have clarified. I was talking about that period when there were frequently a dozen or so players inside our area and we kept half clearing it to just outside the box and then promptly turned over possession again, not when we were deliberately working the ball back to Willy to draw them on to us. As regards the latter we've gotten far better at it as the season progressed. The difference between Spurs away and last night was vast. Still not for the feint-hearted though, and it still makes me shit myself about 3 or 4 times per match!

 

[Blue Mist]

For me last night ended the Hart v Bravo debate. Cabby was brillaint, he pinged balls all over the park and all but a couple went to a Blue shirt. He dealt with crosses easily and when called upon he made 2 very good saves. he has grown enormously and gives the back 4 confidence. He has fully taken on Peps philosophy and I think he deserves his starting place ahead of either of the other two.

Oh and the rest also played well

 

[tolmie's hairdoo]

That game could have gone either way and Bournemouth really put in the effort.

I really do think Yaya is running on empty and needs a rest now.

For the first 25 minutes, I thought we looked very uncomfortable under their press and that limited our options with the out ball because they did a good job of stopping Yaya dropping in to collect and turn with the ball.

Stones looked very shaky during that time, but thankfully Silva carried the team and the responsibility of trying to get us further upfield.

This new deeper position really has given him a new lease of life. De Bruyne continues to be on the fringes for me, and needs to provide more of a meaningful impact over the course of games, not just looking for that moment when his incredible technique will catch the eye.

The last ten minutes was a joy to watch and will continue to go over the heads of most pundits in this country, who have never come across a team in England who can retain possession and yet work the ball with a real method.

Aguero looked like a fish out of water, trying to run his heart out, but it just doesn't look right and it reduced the numbers we could actually have in the box when we attacked from wide.

 

[Chippy_boy]

The passing out of defence is outstanding.

I'd say it needs work. We got away with it last night, with some needless shaky moments. The reason I say "needless" is because too often there's a simple pass on, to a City player in acres of space, but for whatever reason - lack of confidence, lack of practice, unfamiliarity with the system, whatever it may be - the player on the ball dicks about and allows time for the opposition players to press, and then ends up making a hurried pass to a City player under pressure, who makes another hurried pass under pressure. All of that could be avoided if we passed it sooner. I've lost count of how many times we've done this, but it's many times per game where we invite pressure when there should have been none.

 

[East Level 2]

Not read all the thread as I got back about ten to four, had a kip and I'm off to work soon, but I thought we were well worth the three points and really should have won by a greater margin. Sergio's blast over in the first half was criminal and perhaps Sane should have done better when he hit the bar.
Willy make a couple of good saves at 1-0, Sane was excellent, and that bit of trickery from Silva in the first half was unbelievable.
I'm a bit bothered about Vinnie staying on the bench as he's still our best defender.
Hard to pick an MOTM for City but overall it has to be Jordan Ibe as he's much better than Sterling according to the self-proclaimed "most knowledgeable supporters in the land".
And the chicken and mushroom pie in the ground was good.
And Sky are a set of ****s for giving us a midweek game when Wet spam and Chavs were already scheduled for midweek.
As are the clowns involved in a crash on the M3 which meant we had to go through Winchester in the rush hour. Unless they were Blues in which case I hope they and their vehicles are OK.

 

[Tugay One Cup]

De Bruyne continues to be on the fringes for me, and needs to provide more of a meaningful impact over the course of games, not just looking for that moment when his incredible technique will catch the eye.

His workrate has gone through the roof this season and he was still busting a gut heading into injury time. Our best players this season (Silva, Sterling and Fernandinho, for me) have all upped their effort massively since the summer and their consistency has been due to the fact that they're contributing to the team even in those games when they're wasteful or uninspired on the ball.

 

[BillyShears]

Most of our problems have come being caught short handed with opposition players running at us in oceans of space, but I guess that's the trade off for having a front 6, who are all natural attacking players rather than natural destroyers.

For me that was about the players, especially the midfield three, understanding their responsibilities in a positional system like the one Pep employs. It's very noticeable that that's becoming less prevalent and we're becoming more and more solid as the midfield begins to understand their roles. Defending as Pep keeps saying, starts from the front. If that front six do their work then we give up very few chances as per the last few games.

 

[waspish]

Yaya did ok last night but he needs to have a rest to refresh him. At times he looked like he was running in treacle.

 

[Neville Kneville]

That game could have gone either way and Bournemouth really put in the effort.

I really do think Yaya is running on empty and needs a rest now.

For the first 25 minutes, I thought we looked very uncomfortable under their press and that limited our options with the out ball because they did a good job of stopping Yaya dropping in to collect and turn with the ball.

Stones looked very shaky during that time, but thankfully Silva carried the team and the responsibility of trying to get us further upfield.

This new deeper position really has given him a new lease of life. De Bruyne continues to be on the fringes for me, and needs to provide more of a meaningful impact over the course of games, not just looking for that moment when his incredible technique will catch the eye.

The last ten minutes was a joy to watch and will continue to go over the heads of most pundits in this country, who have never come across a team in England who can retain possession and yet work the ball with a real method.

Aguero looked like a fish out of water, trying to run his heart out, but it just doesn't look right and it reduced the numbers we could actually have in the box when we attacked from wide.

Aguero looked startlingly inferior to GJ by comparison imo, & strangely, less physically strong, very strange when you consider it's something he's known for.

But he was doing ok once he settled down & was getting into scoring positions rather than sitting in a deck chair on the edge of the box.

DeBruyne, imo, has turned from Frank Lampard to Neil Macnab, in front of goal. No composure or accuracy. If he gets that back, we could run up cricket scores.

 

[FCBarca]

Yaya did ok last night but he needs to have a rest to refresh him. At times he looked like he was running in treacle.

I saw something last night I hadn't before with Yaya being easily dispossessed playing it out of defense. Age catches up to all of us eventually