It was a terrible result and performance. They are few and far between these days in fairness but we really need our home form to be almost impeccable if we want to retain the title,and that's 3pts gone already. With the games in the next few weeks it could be a long season of catch up with never actually catching them. Them being Chelsea.
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City v Stoke Post Match Thread
- Thread starter Champions2012!
- Start date
Chippy_boy
Well-Known Member
dubblue said:It was a terrible result and performance. They are few and far between these days in fairness but we really need our home form to be almost impeccable if we want to retain the title,and that's 3pts gone already. With the games in the next few weeks it could be a long season of catch up with never actually catching them. Them being Chelsea.
And apart from anything else, don't you just hate playing catch up? I do. Every season we seem to be X points behind, and have to look at the table for 35+ weeks with 1 or 2 teams above us. Wouldn't it be nice to go top and stay top for a bleedin change.
I think we'll have to wait for next season for that.
Bluemanc100
Well-Known Member
bluegoal said:Just watched it back on MOTD and it was worse than i remembered from watching it live...
Sagna, Kolarov and Joe Hart gave awful level of performance and lost concentration at the vital moment.
Can Sagna even run he looks a right lazy player strolling forward and his crossing is woeful is he really a upgrade on Richards?
All in all a real bad day at the office and a real worry with the next 3 games Arsenal, Munich and Chelsea.
I saw a different Sagna than you did, calm, collected, a better player than Micah ever will be
He has played with some decent players and simply needs to grow into our side
I was impressed with Sagna in particular, Kolarov not so
I was at the game yesterday and i had a feeling it was going to be one of those days after about 15 minutes in.We were sleepwalking to a 0-0 or a sucker punch which is what happened.I was urging them to move the ball faster,run at players instead of all the slow probing,turning back and going sideways looking for a way through a massed defence.I got a bit of stick and a comment of,''Have you not watched us lately this is how we play these days'' as if i wasn't aware of that,but by the second half they had all changed their tune and had joined me in wanting more speed and urgency.
Pellegrini should have made the changes earlier,when Navas came on we started to get behind them and cause them more problems.One of those days,as others have said you need to score early in these games and if you don't it is a grinding horrible struggle.We weren't helped by our favourite referee the bulldog chewing a wasp features Mason,who aside from Liverpool at home last season has given us fuck all everytime he has reffed us.
The game reminded me of the title winning game against QPR,a horrible game which we bossed but never looked like scoring and got hit with a sucker punch only yesterday we didn't find the goals to go on and win it.
Pellegrini should have made the changes earlier,when Navas came on we started to get behind them and cause them more problems.One of those days,as others have said you need to score early in these games and if you don't it is a grinding horrible struggle.We weren't helped by our favourite referee the bulldog chewing a wasp features Mason,who aside from Liverpool at home last season has given us fuck all everytime he has reffed us.
The game reminded me of the title winning game against QPR,a horrible game which we bossed but never looked like scoring and got hit with a sucker punch only yesterday we didn't find the goals to go on and win it.
SJC
Well-Known Member
The worse thing about the result is obviously the timing. It comes right before 3 horrible fixtures. Win the next 3 and it'll just go down as a bad day at the office (hopefully). We've got a great team and squad , just have to take this on the chin and move on.
Jonny Boy
Well-Known Member
I think its time we let teams like stoke have the ball and draw them out of their two walls of 5 or what ever system their playing - clearly shunting the ball from one wing to the other and playing intricate tippy tap doesn't work.
On the training ground all week before the game I'd work on allowing the opposition the ball and hitting them on the counter with lightning fast movement - It seems we're obsessed with just possession football but surely we need a plan b
And if you think that sounds daft,....well, isn't that exactly what Stoke did to us - and many other teams over the past few years
And one other observation - I don't get how having the ball all time wears the other team down - if anything it makes us tired - commentators often say, "Oh, they won't be able to keep up this level of defending" ...but teams do cause they just stand their ground whereas we have to keep pushing and pushing and then the crowd gets anxious and it gets a bit deja vu
On the training ground all week before the game I'd work on allowing the opposition the ball and hitting them on the counter with lightning fast movement - It seems we're obsessed with just possession football but surely we need a plan b
And if you think that sounds daft,....well, isn't that exactly what Stoke did to us - and many other teams over the past few years
And one other observation - I don't get how having the ball all time wears the other team down - if anything it makes us tired - commentators often say, "Oh, they won't be able to keep up this level of defending" ...but teams do cause they just stand their ground whereas we have to keep pushing and pushing and then the crowd gets anxious and it gets a bit deja vu
nellyonthewing
Well-Known Member
It should be a wake up call but I doubt it..... Charity Shield levels of effort and interest will end up in defeat. Having watched the other lesser teams this weekend there are plenty more spirited sides who will take points from us if we turn up with a complacent ,lazy approach.
Of course this 3 pts was thrown away and will have to be taken back from much tougher opponents.
No doubt we will again bulldozer our way to the title at the end & be reliant on our challengers cocking up at the death..
Of course this 3 pts was thrown away and will have to be taken back from much tougher opponents.
No doubt we will again bulldozer our way to the title at the end & be reliant on our challengers cocking up at the death..
These things happen. The other sides will have iffy results that are a bit unexpected too, it's just football, and all the better for it. City were poor yesterday, Stoke excellent. It's always hard to break down well organised defences, and getting hit by a sucker punch happens too.
All in all, it's annoying, but it's not the end of the world.
All in all, it's annoying, but it's not the end of the world.
Pubteam Lomas
Well-Known Member
Pellegrini talked about hunger and humility before the Newcastle game, neither were evident yesterday.
As mentioned above, there were worrying signs early on that the game was drifting along.
We seemed to be waiting for it to happen rather than making it happen.
That'a the arrogance, and too many players were hoping someone else would sort it out.
Once we went behind it was always going to get harder. because Stoke were just going to spoil and were allowed to by a weak referee.
Hopefully humility and hunger are the buzz words (with the players and not just the manager) when they return from international duty!
As mentioned above, there were worrying signs early on that the game was drifting along.
We seemed to be waiting for it to happen rather than making it happen.
That'a the arrogance, and too many players were hoping someone else would sort it out.
Once we went behind it was always going to get harder. because Stoke were just going to spoil and were allowed to by a weak referee.
Hopefully humility and hunger are the buzz words (with the players and not just the manager) when they return from international duty!
stonerblue
Well-Known Member
Henkeman said:These things happen. The other sides will have iffy results that are a bit unexpected too, it's just football, and all the better for it. City were poor yesterday, Stoke excellent. It's always hard to break down well organised defences, and getting hit by a sucker punch happens too.
All in all, it's annoying, but it's not the end of the world.
Spot on.