City v Stoke Post Match Thread

[CatMan]

Stoke were absolutely brilliant today and I've got no complaints. They defended as a team and attacked as a team and played as if they were high on crack from minute one to minute 94.

They came with a game plan and executed it perfectly so credit where credit’s due to Hughes. The bloke I was sat next to kept making mindless comments like 'Oh come on City, its Stoke FFS’ as if we had a god given right for them to just bend over whilst we stiffed them up the crease which just sounded Raggish to me. At one point I asked him what he'd do differently if he were Pellegrini but all he could keep saying was its Stoke FFS. During one of our attacks I counted 9 Stoke players in their area and when they broke from our attack I counted 6 of their players in or around our area. This wasn't a team who just turned up to fulfill the fixture, they came for a result and got it make no mistake about that.

What was strange for me was for the first time this season we looked fit and ready to start the season proper, but we ran into a Stoke team possessed. I spoke to a Rag earlier who was expecting me to make excuses like he was about Burnley saying Stoke only came to defend. I told him straight, Stoke looked us in the eye and took us on and thoroughly deserved their win and I don't think we had an off day either. When we raised the tempo, they matched us and although we were generally better in possession, when they had the ball it was evident that the days of Pulis's Stoke had been consigned to history because Stoke attacked us in an controlled fashion and with pace as if they knew what they were doing.

There wasn't one of our players who played that didn't deserve to be on the pitch and which ever team won today would have deserved it imo. Perhap Hart could have done better for the goal and Kolorov got left dead for pace wben trying to catch Diouf, but Diouf has been tearing it up in Germany recently with a 1 in 2 goal average and is no slouch either. IIRC Ferndinho had already been booked and was the last man, so he couldn't touch Diouf or we'd have been down to 10 men.

The only thing I would have done differently today is I'd have probably brought on Navas earlier because the middle was so congested we needed the ability to change tactics in game. We were also too slow on the break. Time after time I noticed that we seemed to lack the blistering pace to get beyond them on the break and we kept holding up our own play waiting for players to join in which gave Stoke the opportunity to get back into position.

On the left they kept doubling up on Kolorov to ensure he rarely got near the by-line so he had to keep slinging in crosses from long range which was never gonna help with those column like defenders Stoke had. Perhaps an out and out left winger would have been advantageous to us today, who knows, all I say is we played well and were beaten fair and square. We just need to wipe our mouths and move on to the next match and start preparing for other teams using this Stoke template to combat us with.

First game missed for some considerable time yesterday. Had to listen to Radio 5 for commentary as I was at work. Their assessment, much like yours I must add, is of a focussed Stoke who operated as a team unit.

What never ceases to amaze me, and why I opperate a complete media blackout after any negative result is all the post match psychics, who it would appear knew from the team being released that the wrong team had been selected.

To steal a phrase from Mancini 'this is football' and sometime you have to accept other teams are better on the day and you lose. In fact in the last 2 seasons of football we had only previously lost a league game to Chelsea. In that same period Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool and United have lost on multiple occasions to mid table sides at home.

Accept it, Analyse it and Improve on it.

 

[tonea2003]

not read the rest of the thread but i hope there is no kneejerk reactions and a more philosophical approach to yesterdays result

this kind of result wont happen very often, certainly not at home

when we come up against a packed back 8 in the future navas should be a certain starter to stretch the play from the beginning.

too much eye of the needle stuff,

don't forget class is permanent

 

[blue b4 the moon]

So we lost.

Too slow with the ball it was a bit like watching us under Bobby at times. We really need to utilise the FB positions in games where teams sit back. If we must rotate then Zaba should have played today rather than the dipper game as stretching the defense is the only way to break through in games like these unless we get avworldy.

Too many players not on their game. 3 points are 3 points but its better to blow them now rather than April.

Mason also had a massive effect on the game with his constant breaking up of play giving soft fouls and soft yellows against us resulting in Ferny not being able to tackle for the goal.

Oh an I noticed the Chinley Blues flag was missing. That's always bad news and results in us not winning games.

Big week after the break with Arse, Munich and Chelsea we need a good 3 games or like the rags our season could turn to rat shit.

 

[stonerblue]

Stoke deserve some recognition of a fantastic team performance.

 

[Tbilisi]

Its our reminder to get our shit together........trust we will do what we did after the Wigan Cup Final and push on.......with the same Manager.

Shit happens,no excuses,congrats to Stoke.Lets take defeat with the dignity they did at Wembley.

 

[Exeter Blue I am here]

I am hugely pissed off and there is no denying that we totally lacked magic and sparkle but the facts show that we dominated possession, had a reasonable pass completion (88%) , had 11 corners, 16 shots....

It's the fact that we don't learn that wicks me off. Every time we face a Pulis or Hughes side, full of 6ft 4' giants, determined to park a dirty great bus, we always end up making an almighty ordeal of it. Pellegrini got it totally wrong for me today, much as Mancini always did in these circs. You have to have some pace out wide when you play these bastards, you can't chip the ball hopefully in to a 5ft 8' centre forward surrounded by enormous defenders, and you have to move the ball quickly from side to side. Nasri and Ya Ya killed our tempo today, and the latter of those is playing in such a half arsed fashion generally, I suspect he will not be here next season.
Every time I watched Sagna play for Arsenal, he bombed forward and whipped in some evil crosses. First game or not today he was a pile of shit. Poor distribution out of defence and never once got beyond his opposite number.
Kompany was the only one who earned his corn today and even he fucked up for the goal. Only after Navas and Dzeko, who has been our go to guy against the bus parkers, came on did we start to get in behind Stoke.
As to Joe Hart, beaten again by a piss weak shot at the left hand near post, I suspect his days are numbered.
Even allowing for that utter c**t Lee Mason, that was an absolute shitbag performance today from all concerned. This season will be tighter than ever and we can't afford a repetition.

Why the f**k is everyone blaming Komps for the goal? Kolorov should have hauled Diouf down and took a yellow for the team and the last man was FERNANDINHO. Kompany was still on the edge of their box as the ball crossed the line as a result from a p**s poor corner/cross by Silva.

Sorry mate, I was at the other end of the ground and wrote the above without having seen any replays. Yes, it was defo Fernandinho. My apologies

 

[Tbilisi]

So we lost.

Too slow with the ball it was a bit like watching us under Bobby at times. We really need to utilise the FB positions in games where teams sit back. If we must rotate then Zaba should have played today rather than the dipper game as stretching the defense is the only way to break through in games like these unless we get avworldy.

Too many players not on their game. 3 points are 3 points but its better to blow them now rather than April.

Mason also had a massive effect on the game with his constant breaking up of play giving soft fouls and soft yellows against us resulting in Ferny not being able to tackle for the goal.

Oh an I noticed the Chinley Blues flag was missing. That's always bad news and results in us not winning games.

Big week after the break with Arse, Munich and Chelsea we need a good 3 games or like the rags our season could turn to rat shit.

I believe there were problems at Passport Control ;)

 

[Blue Mooner]

Manuel said in his post match interview that he had told the players they needed to be 'patient' I obviously understand the rationale for this advice being that he new Stoke would 'park the bus'. However, I think the problem with playing a patient game is that the players mistake this for calm and collected play, which simply results in the slow, deliberate play that we saw.

Contrary he should be telling them to go at them from the first whistle with 'urgency' to get the first goal, that will get the crowd going and build momentum. The first goal in these games is critical. Clearly if a goal doesn't come we should not panic but this idea of 'patience' instills the wrong mentality imo.

That said it's only one game and there will be plenty more ups and downs in the season, but have to retain confidence in the team.

 

[bluevengence]

And to make things worse them raggy red cunts are top of the league after their easy start

 

[ZZmaestro]

So many flappers here, it's unbelievable.
It was a freak result, yes, and a very poor goal to concede, but that's it.
Some here have also a very selective memory, because it seems to me that every team from mid-table to relegation fodder pack
used to play us like this since 2K11.
We have the Barca problem : team will park the bus and let us have possession - ala Mourninho - and will hit us on the break if we are not quick enough to close them.
No matter what, we usually eventually break the lock with our millimetered passes and creative play.
Sometime, nothing will come off, and we will have to resort to individual magic moments, that was one of those days.

I thought David had a very bad game by his standard, but this could be said for the whole team.
But when Merlin has not one of his A-game, we usualy have Nasri/Yaya to help light the spark,
yet they looked still rusty and not a hundred percent fit.
The team's overall fitness is still very rough, and we are not looking like hitting full potential before a few weeks.

Anyway, plan A is to get the core of the team to full fitness by the end of September, by then,
we will be again a rampant powerhouse.