Chairman's Interview

[Centurions]

He was above me at the brighton title game , so close

And yet so far?

;)

 

[applecentral]

I have been really close to him and he is so handsome in the flesh

Thank you x

 

[Saddleworth2]

1 in 60 games it’s been him as DM and not Rodri or Dinho. And it was the CL final.

Recently, true. Couple of seasons ago he played there for quite a spell and was lauded for his performances. It’s not like Pep playing Mendy at CF for heavens sake. Comments like Pep threw it away and the team were stunned by his selection is just way over the top. We got beaten by the better team on the night. Some find that hard to come to grips with.

 

[KS55]

Good to see us recruiting Keith Curle back to the club

We already have plenty of CBs

 

[Maly]

Recently, true. Couple of seasons ago he played there for quite a spell and was lauded for his performances. It’s not like Pep playing Mendy at CF for heavens sake. Comments like Pep threw it away and the team were stunned by his selection is just way over the top. We got beaten by the better team on the night. Some find that hard to come to grips with.

I’m not disagreeing with anything you’ve said there, but it was definitely a strange selection. I’ve got a mate who’s a Liverpool fan who messaged me before the game asking why no Rodders or Fernandinho & I work with a Chelsea fan who said exactly the same. I’ve not spoken to a single City fan that didn’t think it was a strange selection.

The biggest head scratcher for me was Foden not playing on the left as he’s been murdering teams all season playing there.

But totally agree, just beaten by the better team

 

[ChicagoBlue]

Excellent observations Columbo;)

I noticed that myself, not sure if we should read too much into it. If the owners are not pissed off by that abject performance then they are in the wrong sport. Privately I would expect a robust review but publicly it will be calm and supportive imo.

That sounds about right.

 

[manc_macca]

Remarkable to think that Khaldoon's been our Chairman since he was 32 years old. Thirty-two! Christ that's how old I am and I still feel half like a kid.

Could easily be at the helm for at least another 20 years.

man, I'm 31 and your post has managed to make me feel like a failure. :(

 

[Saddleworth2]

I’m not disagreeing with anything you’ve said there, but it was definitely a strange selection. I’ve got a mate who’s a Liverpool fan who messaged me before the game asking why no Rodders or Fernandinho & I work with a Chelsea fan who said exactly the same. I’ve not spoken to a single City fan that didn’t think it was a strange selection.

The biggest head scratcher for me was Foden not playing on the left as he’s been murdering teams all season playing there.

But totally agree, just beaten by the better team

I also wish to hell he had just played our best team. Then at least folk wouldn’t look for excuses. Mentally they were more focused, they had some outstanding performances and to me, it’s a case of well done fair play. We need to be better next time When at least they will have experienced the pressure.

 

[ChicagoBlue]

Recently, true. Couple of seasons ago he played there for quite a spell and was lauded for his performances. It’s not like Pep playing Mendy at CF for heavens sake. Comments like Pep threw it away and the team were stunned by his selection is just way over the top. We got beaten by the better team on the night. Some find that hard to come to grips with.

You are missing the “WHY were they the better team?” question.

The answer: We were not able to nullify their dominance in the middle of the park, while they nullified our normal dominance out wide.

This brings the second question:

“Why were we so easily dominated in the middle of the park?”

And this is where the obvious point arises.

It is one thing to be go Mano a Mano, best against best, and lose. It is a completely different thing to feel like we were vested because we didn’t put out our best, and thus list many Mano a Mano battles on the park.

Also of note is the fact that with time slipping away, Pep went back to the players and formation that had achieved so much of our success, and we dominated the closing stages of the game, putting their box under siege.

It’s fine to feel like you want to make a pedantic point about Ferna or Rodri as a DM, but ignores the reality that most Blues (and many in the media) recognize: The Starting XI and formation was a BIG SHOCK that quickly proved to be a mistake. It was not corrected quickly enough and Pep’s emphasis on attack harmed our defence in ways that SHOULD have been clear from the outset.

I believe these are ALL FACTS NOT IN QUESTION.

You may believe otherwise, but you’re swimming upstream against a very strong tidal wave of opinion.

 

[Gorton_Tubster]

Opinions are facts nowadays