City v Arsenal post match thread

[The-Dogs-Pollocks]

Just give the guy a chance without all this knee jerk shit.

You don't think Pep has enough credibility to deserve at least a few months to see how things are going.

All the fuckin world class internet football coaches on here give me the shits !

Of course hes got credibility, I dont know a single city fan that isnt looking forward to watching us play under him.

I dont think anyone has been slagging him, just discussing the game and tactics etc.

 

[mancityscot]

I agree.

I'm absolutely delighted by what Pep is teaching the players to do, & I'm absolutely 100% convinced it's only a matter of time before we have a team which does it. No idea which players that will involve, nothing would really surprise me concerning players. But I don't see all it happening overnight & I don't think we'll get through the whole season without it going completely tits up from time to time. When Pep first started at Barca B, it took time for him to get his ideas accross.

But I expect us to be pretty good by the later stages of the season & thereabouts in the league.

agree there. i think anyone expecting instant fireworks and 4/5-0 thrashing of teams throughout the season is going to be sorely disappointed. its a work in progress and i think we're definitely making good progress, it just may take a bit of time for it all to click

 

[1961_vintage]

A sweeper keeper is a prerequisite if we want to see Guardiola football.

If this is the case, and if we assume that Pep has known for some time that he was taking over from Pellers, it seems surprising that he didn't make finding a more suitable ball-playing replacement for Joe Hart as his top priority.

 

[01cravend]

Couldnt of complained if we conceded 6 tonight. All well and good pressing and winning the ball back but counts for nothing/wasted effort when we are so sloppy in possession.
Plenty of work to do.

 

[FanchesterCity]

I think you underestimate the importance of the role he's expected to take. The keepers who are comfortable with the ball make it look easy giving the impression it is. Nothing could be further from the truth.
The whole system breaks down if his keeper isn't keeping the game flowing.

I think Neuer has made this more of a factor in recent years, but Victor Valdes wasn't particularly renowned for it, and I don't think the whole system breaks down as a result of a keeper not being great with the ball at his feet - as I say, Valdes wasn't passing the ball about like Neuer, and the Barca system didn't seem to suffer.

For most of out domestic games, our problem has been breaking teams down, and getting sucker punched far too often, so any 'ball at feet' weakness Joe might have isn't going to affect this.
In Europe or against the better PL teams, sure - it's a nice to have, but I'm not convinced it's a deal breaker - so long as he's keeping the ball out of the net. His general distribution could definitely improve (but so could the rest of the team's willingness to react quickly to his release of the ball). I'm often reminded of Schmeichel's throwing of the ball to wingers when United were a fast counter attacking team. If Joe and our FB/wingers could give us a bit more of that I'd be happy!

 

[Marvin]

Sweeper keeper? There is only one Manuel Neuer & I don't see any issues with Hart's distribution. Some times he takes longer than he's should, but nothing startling.

 

[Neville Kneville]

Arsenal always pass very well, probably the best in the league for many years - and our passing today left a lot to be desired. We gifted the ball to them far too often which puts us on the back foot right away. Sure, it's great if we can win the ball back quickly, but it's better to avoid having to do that - especially against a team so good with the ball at their feet - winning it back from Arsenal is a lot harder than winning it back from Sunderland!

Throw-ins - it's been weird for a couple of seasons with us - like nobody wants the ball. We lost possession from throw-ins a lot!.

Possession %
Arsenal 40.2 City 59.8

 

[FanchesterCity]

Why is a 'sweeper keeper' a prerequisite?
Valdes wasn't one at Barca.
This 'sweeper keeper' thing is most Neuer's doing and I don't believe it's a prerequisite.

 

[FanchesterCity]

Possession %
Arsenal 40.2 City 59.8

Possession isn't the same as passing ability.
If you're passing it sideways and backwards most of the time, your possession stats will look great, but the moment you try to pass forward and lose the ball - and the other team can pass very well, you can get cut open. Arsenal are more than capable of exploiting that.

Our possession stats are usually very impressive than they help us win most games, but we've struggled against all the top teams who can also pass very well.

 

[Phil1]

Sweeper keeper? There is only one Manuel Neuer & I don't see any issues with Hart's distribution. Some times he takes longer than he's should, but nothing startling.

If you don't see any issues I don't think I can take anything else you ever say seriously.