City v Arsenal post match thread

[Phil1]

It did to me mate.

As you say, it looked like a situation where even Hart could have passed it without too much trouble, but chose not to. It could be though that Pep has just told him to do as he lokes for now, whilst they work on it in training. But Hamman's comments concern me.

I didn't hang about for the after match pearls of wisdom. What was said?

 

[Neville Kneville]

Hamann reckoned he saw some poor body language between Hart and Pep, but it's easy to read too much into things if a player is disappointed in a loss, or doesn't happen to be glancing at the manager when the manager is looking. It's chicken and the egg though, if you think the manager's looking to replace you, you're not likely to be brimming with confidence, or you're going to be trying too hard and not playing your natural game.
I think the British media have their sights set of Joe too. Every little mistake this season will be highlighted.

if it was for example, Pep going ape when Joe kicked the ball long though, that would potentially be a sign of big trouble. Hopefully it's nothing.

 

[FanchesterCity]

I didn't hang about for the after match pearls of wisdom. What was said?

He reckoned he saw some bad body language / tension between Joe and Pep.
We'll soon see it for ourselves at the Etihad if it's there. Until then, I'll take Hamann's interpretations with a pinch of salt.

 

[Mr Ed (The Stables)]

"I didn't hang about for the after match pearls of wisdom. What was said?"

Something about Pep making the players go over to the City fans to applaud them, and Hamman thought the body language between Pep and Hart wasn't great. No footage/pics though just Hammans observations.

 

[FanchesterCity]

if it was for example, Pep going ape when Joe kicked the ball long though, that would potentially be a sign of big trouble. Hopefully it's nothing.

I got the impression it was after the game, but I could be wrong. I don't have it recorded and only remember the comment in passing - suggesting there was tension there.

 

[Neville Kneville]

I didn't hang about for the after match pearls of wisdom. What was said?

He just said something about the body language of Hart & Guardiola. For him to mention that just when we are all debating Joes actions re kicking, is a bit of a concern to me.

 

[Phil1]

He reckoned he saw some bad body language / tension between Joe and Pep.
We'll soon see it for ourselves at the Etihad if it's there. Until then, I'll take Hamann's interpretations with a pinch of salt.

Cheers. Yeah shit like that I'll judge for myself at the games.
I didn't spend much time looking over at the bench over the last 3 years but think I might be making an effort this season.

 

[Phil1]

He just said something about the body language of Hart & Guardiola. For him to mention that just when we are all debating Joes actions re kicking, is a bit of a concern to me.

Ta

 

[FanchesterCity]

I don't think we're singling Joe out - just discussing one area where many fans think he's weak.
We could just as easily be discussing YaYa's tracking back / stamina, or Silva's reluctance to shoot, or Sergio's sometimes greedy nature etc. Not so much 'all that is bad', just 'what could be better'.

 

[Neville Kneville]

I agree with this. But I think Joe's only 50% of that problem. Certainly the number of kicks to the wings that go into touch is disappointing / frustrating - it's an area he could improve on, but when he's kicking to midfield, there's a huge onus on our midfield to win the ball in the air! If we can't win it in the air (when the other team has a taller more determined midfield, then we might as well play it out from the back and have a much higher percentage of success of still being in possession by the time it reaches midfield.

Kicking it in the air is basically the last resort in a Pep team though & a failure to find a decent option, unless it's onto the chest of a player.

If you watch the academy teams, they are tought to pass to the point of danger of giving a goal away. They are never discouraged even when they fuck it up. Pep actually applauded Caballero at one point tonight when he fucked up a pass to the wing, because he had tried a few passes previously.