Champions League Final | Post-Match Thread

StillBluessinceHydeRoad said:
"we all know what our strongest lineup & formation was..." is the last refuge of those who don't like the result and decide to take it out on the manager. You aren't, and no-one on this thread is in any way qualified to sit in judgement on Pep. The sad fact is that it doesn't matter who had started on Saturday night would have made little difference, whether it had been Ferna or Rodri or both. I'm afraid that from the very first minutes it was evident that the occasion was simply too big and that the team were leaden legged and too slow in thought and execution so that basic ball control was missing, passes were misplaced and we hardly won a single second ball. Ferna actually made no difference when he came on and Chelsea continued to cause havoc with simple through balls straight down the middle. This was because Stones showed an uncertainty and nerviness not seen all season, Dias showed he is a long way from being Vinnie on the biggest of occasions and Zinchenko had a turbulent evening, most notably when failing to follow Havertz. Ferna is a great player and leader but he isn't a miracle worker. Nor does he solve the problem we had up front where we did have our "strongest line up". Jesus and Aguero made little impact basically because we had no idea what we were doing. Sterling got nothing out of James and his touch was heavy and passing poor and Mahrez was kept wide so that he never posed any problems for Chilwell. Rarely did we get into their area and even more rarely did we have anyone in there to take advantage if we had. The problem on Saturday night was that no-one on that field performed anything like up to standard, nowhere near, and the idea that Ferna or Rodri would have turned that onto a winning performance is quite frankly a massive delusion. In my opinion those lads were not ready to carry the weight of the almost Messianic belief that these were the lads who were going to lead City out of the desert after a ten year journey to the paradise of champions league glory and they choked. This is one we can put down to experience. And my consolation is that next year "our best line up" will be a little different but much more experienced and there'll be no mistake.
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You post some fantastic stuff, but this is a complete and utter load of drivel I’m afraid.

You say no one is qualified to question Pep’s starting lineup, but then considered yourself qualified to analyse what went wrong and the reasons behind it? Seems a rather contradictory position to take.

I completely disagree that the players were overwhelmed by the “occasion”. We were playing an average Chelsea team who finished 4th in a league we won comfortably, in front of about 16k fans.

All of the players on that pitch have played against better teams in bigger stadiums in front of far more fans.

A far more likely reason passes were going astray is the number of players playing in unfamiliar roles.

Foden has barely played as a number 8. Gundogan has barely played as a 6. Sterling has barely played a useful footballer for months.

That team has not played a single minute together all season. That’s a far more plausible explanation for passes going astray and players looking out of sorts than being “overwhelmed” playing Chelsea in front of 16k fans.
 
meeesh said:
They'll get a statue instead
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eric cantona never won in europe and he is seen as a legend at utd ???
all 3 kompany silva aguero have won more than cantona even phill foden is going to beat him before he is 22
 
wolviedinho said:
Some very good points and pep did get it wrong but he is not the only reason we lost the final. Far too much blame is placed at his feet. He can’t influence the game once the players cross the line. If peps mistake were so obvious why did none of the players stand up and be counted? Why did they not win more 50/50 tackles. Chelsea looked fitter and hungrier. It was men against boys and the players shrunk into their shells. The chavs did to us what we did to PSG.
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Mate, my concern started weeks before.

1. Not finishing off the league vs Chelsea.

2. We seemed to be on a premature victory parade after beating PSG.

3. I questioned our mentality back then, & was told by a few I was sucking the joy out of a potential treble, when all we'd won up to that point was the Carabao Cup.

4. ManUre handed us the title, which we deserved to win anyway. BUT in my opinion we should have gone out & won it.

5. I noticed how emotional & giddy Pep was becoming. If it was any other manager, I'd be publicly shitting it, but it was Pep, the manager who's been there & done it. Surely the occasion wasn't getting to him?

6. We beat Everton 5-0, & there was a celebratory mood as if the season was already over. Nothing highlighted this more than Pep swearing twice on TV. I'm no prude & couldn't give a fuck if he swore, but it immediately made me think Pep was getting giddy a week before one if the most important matches in our history.

7. Pep should have kept his game head on, & told the squad, club staff & fans to do the same until after Saturday. Perhaps if we'd have lost 5-0 to Everton, we'd have had a different mentality going into Saturday's final.

8. It's being reported in the media that the players were stunned when the team sheet was read out, as were most onlookers.

9. It's also being reported that several players are questioning Pep's approach & tactics & their futures at the club.

10. In this respect, anyone who doesn't want to be at the club can leave. However, just imagine being a starting player on Saturday & having it in the back of your mind that our defence had little or no protection against Chelsea's speedsters?

11. Yes, ultimately it was up to the players once they cross the chalk, but leading up to that moment it was on Pep to prepare us properly, pick the strongest team & the formation which best suits the tools we had at our disposal.

12. That team was Ederson, Walker, Stones, Dias, Zinchenko, Fernandinho/Rodri, Gundog, Silva, Mahrez, KDB & Foden playing a 4-3-3. It's not rocket science.

13. Pep chose the CL Final to play without either Fern or Rodri for the first time this season.

14. I've no issue with a Plan B, but I think our Plan A is better than Chelsea's & should have been trusted to prevail.

15. Our Plan B, should have been just that & used if Plan A was failing.

16. Pep has form for this, & in my mind the weight of this unnecessary defeat rests on his shoulders. Period.
 
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wolviedinho said:
Come on it’s not all down to the DM. We have played Chelsea 2 games before the final with a DM and still lost. The more time to reflect the more I blame the players. No matter the formation or tactics they did not do enough individually to win. The mental collapse is what worries me. Every now and again the players go missing.
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I agree , none of them turned up ,
JOGAMIGMOG said:
Not watched a single second of coverage from the final. Not one interview, nothing. It’s still too painful. Anybody else?
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never wanna see anything about it again tbh
 
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