Bus parking for beginners

[Marvin]

a myriyad of reasons, very good

And the absence of Fernandinho does not explain the offensive problems. City had Spurs pinned in their penalty area for most of the game. We had them where we wanted. End product: nil. That's not new either.

We had three of the finest midfielders the world has seen:

Fernandinho: Masterful defensive midfielder
David Silva: Sniffed space or made it
de Bruyne: Assist king and dynamic surging midfield player.

2 all but gone, and KDB is physically in a bad place at present.

We seem to be too reliant on KDB at the moment. If he's not performing, don't play him or we go down with him. Pep needs to deal with this or we'll keep struggling

 

[Marvin]

its was close in the end hahahaha

the system pep plays in his book ? we have 4 forward playing and rotating the line
sterling torres juses aguero mahraz are forwards and the modern day striker is gone

who am i to question pep ? the system wins silverware and titles
but we don't have a plan B or C and having a big centre forward to hit you think in this team would bag a hat full of goals when KDB looks up.

football regenerates over the years and systems revolve ? new managers bring idea's and plans. BUT one thing never changes in football ? put the ball in the net more than the other team wins

basic ideas sometimes work better than a master plan worked on for months in training
get the right players for the right type of system ? but also have a plan B. good old fashion long ball and wingers that cross the ball into the box

I don't think it's the plan. I think it's the players. One or two are shot. Take them out, and replace them with Bernardo and Foden. I am told that Bernardo is not playing well either but I bet if you made him the fulcrum of the team he'd start to tick. We can but try otherwise this malaise continues.

 

[ancoats]

I don't think it's the plan. I think it's the players. One or two are shot. Take them out, and replace them with Bernardo and Foden. I am told that Bernardo is not playing well either but I bet if you made him the fulcrum of the team he'd start to tick. We can but try otherwise this malaise continues.

yep Bernardo should be in the starting like up every week. he is to good a player sitting on the bench when you see mahraz getting game time ? also foden must be a starter the lad got so much energy he would speed up the team by 50% on his own

its both players and system and burn out ? after 4 seasons of pushing the last bit out of the players
maybe pep was asking to much over the 3 season when city won back to back titles and silverware. also international football does not help when you have most of the squad on duty

for me anyway why not get a big striker type player like kane or haaland both are great on the ball and at their feet and the bonus is the air power they brings

 

[Exeter Blue I am here]

We've got a double whammy. Injury to both strikers and a mis-firing de Bruyne. KDB isn't performing so put Foden and Bernardo together infront of Rodri. Why haven't we done that? Alternatively put Bernardo on the right. There are options for Pep but to date he's kept plugging away with KDB when he's playing poorly.

You really think Kev’s playing that poorly? I’d argue that any perceived drop off on his part is due to the type of player he is - a box to box gliding machine with a fantastic range of long and well judged passes. Bus parking effectively negates his biggest strengths, that’s all IMO rather than him playing poorly. For the record I don’t think Foden will fare much better (unless he’s out on the wing), cos he’s a similar type of player, whose forte is slaloming downfield. Everyone thinks he’s the heir apparent to Dave. He isn’t. Peak Bernie might be a better idea certainly, and like you I think we’ve got nothing to lose by giving him a try, but if Kev’s out of form at the moment then Bernardo’s has fallen off a cliff!

 

[ZanteWeatherman]

We are already sending 5 attackers against a back 9. When we double pivot that makes it 4 against 9 and we look even worse while Gundogan and Rodri play square balls to each other

The thing is we ain't scoring many. We could send 9 attackers and still not score, however, the half decent opposing teams when they break do not seem to have issues scoring. I have no clue what the answer is, hopefully Pep can remedy it.