Bus Parking...

[Rolee]

Yep. We are an infinitely better team than them, no doubt, but it would be madness to assume we will go there and smash them. There is the potential for us hammering them but they have some decent players and whatever anyone thinks of mourinho, he knows how to set up teams to get results against superior opposition. Anything could happen, we just have to hope we play somewhere near our potential, in which case we will almost certainly win. The players on four yellows worry me a bit and how we will handle that tonight and Sunday. I'd be quite happy for all of them to get yellows late on tonight and take our chances on Sunday without them because all 3 of them are players we need at the swamp.

It's just Fernandinho and Sane on 4 yellows, isn't it?

 

[Lancet Fluke]

It's just Fernandinho and Sane on 4 yellows, isn't it?

Not KDB as well? Apologies if I had that wrong and caused undue alarm.

 

[CityInWashingtonState]

So as this will be the defacto base formation method of defence against us from here on in is there anything else we can do to break it than we already are?

WIth our current squad? - probably not.

We'd need different personnel to do something else - e.g., tall attacker to enable long ball knockdowns (won't happen under Pep though as this loses possession much too often) and much better return from aerial crosses.

To reword your question - is Pep overlooking a mode of attack that we currently do not employ that will yield better results? For me, no, with the caveat that Pep probably won't ever play lump-ball. At times, that mode of attack can be very effective.

Pep is obsessive with game preparation - if there's anything we can do to play more effectively, he'll spot it, unless it goes 100% counter to his philosophy.

 

[Rolee]

Not KDB as well? Apologies if I had that wrong and caused undue alarm.

He's suspended for the Shaktar game. Hasn't picked up a domestic booking yet this season as far as I know.

 

[Lancet Fluke]

He's suspended for the Shaktar game. Hasn't picked up a domestic booking yet this season as far as I know.

Well that's good. Thanks, you've made my day. :)

 

[Franny 1234]

Bus parking is a complete pain in the neck, you can't walk through away bus park any more before the game starts.

I thought this thread was about where to park our minibus at the etihad.
C.T.I.D

 

[Rolee]

When was the first time you heard this phrase in football?

My memory may be playing tricks but as far as I can recall the first time I heard it was, rather ironically, Mourinho bemoaning the tactics we deployed when we beat his Chelsea side back in 2004.

 

[tolmie's hairdoo]

They do say play the game, rather than the occasion.

It would appear plenty of our fans are still more concerned with the possibility of losing to United, than actually losing a one-off football match?

Come the derby, and we are hopefully 43 points from a possible 45, there isn't a single one of us who would not have snapped your arm off for it, not experience any type of defeat until early December.

Let United play the occasion, if that's what they need.

Bus or no bus, every team so far as attempted to make it an occasion when City are in town.

We've just played our game.

 

[CityInWashingtonState]

As for the magic parked bus...

Too much, magic bus!

 

[domalino]

So as this will be the defacto base formation method of defence against us from here on in is there anything else we can do to break it than we already are?

I appreciate I'm slightly late to this thread...but where have you been all season?

Was Huddersfield the first game you watched? They didn't do anything differently to Brighton, Bournmouth, Watford, Palace, Chelsea, Stoke, Burnley, Wolves, Leicester or West Brom.

And just like all of the others, they lost.

So why start a thread about breaking down the parked bus now? We've already been doing it all season. We'll continue to do it until someone manages to stop us, and then we'll continue doing it again.