City vs. Chelsea Pre-Match Discussion Thread

[Jumanji]

If Mancini watches the game against Sporting again, and his decision for starters is based partly on that, there just is no way Pizarro wouldn't start.

Were you watching the same Pizarro as everybody else? He was average to say the least. He, Johnson and Savic should be consigned to the bench (at best) for the rest of the season in my view.

Let me throw some facts at you. Seeing as you like many probably didn't bother to go watch the match 4 times. I did :)

Hollywood balls: i.e the supposed wasteful balls Pizzaro was pinging all over the place
Pizzaro: 6 completed, 3 misplaced:
Yaya Toure: 5 completed, 7 misplaced
Silva: 2 completed, 3 misplaced
Kolarov: 1 completed, 2 misplaced
De Jong: O completed, 1 misplaced: 36/39

Possession By midfielders:
Yaya Toure: 85/97 (Full game)
Silva: 32/38(65 min)
Pizzaro: 51 of 58 (55 min)
De Jong; 36/39 ( 50 Mins)
Johnson: 10/12 (45 min)
Nasri: 9/10 (40 mins)

So in terms of who played well, Pizzaro was simply better than most on a day in which we played an average game for the most part. Pizzaro was simply the best link up player on the field. Simply put, SIlva, and Johnson just weren't involved enough. Sadly when SIlva was subbed was when he had finally begun to pick his game up.

De Jong was often credited with our improved play, but this actually is a fallacy. Our improved play was a function of SIlva, Kolarov and especially Aguero having a fantastically better 2nd halves than they did the first half.
Sure Johnson being uninvolved offensively and being replaced by Nigel who was more involved helped. But it was the least of the reasons why we improved. De Jong had a good tackle when he came in on the right, did a Panna move on the left corner to get out (that was sweet) and was quicker (on most occassions with his passing than usual) which was decent.

Funny enough, the exact same mistake Savic made against Spurs that led to thatthe Bale breakaway, De Jong made the exact mistake but luckily Capel did not put Van Winkle thru for what would have definitely been a goal. But no one will remember.

Pizzaro was NOT average, unless the argument goes: Everyone except 1 or 2 were poor, with Pizarro being one of the 2 (him and Yaya) that were average while every one else sucked in the first half. I say this because he and Yaya were simply the 2 best players in the first half. No one was close. In the Second, Aguero was the best player, then Kolarov, then Yaya, then Dzeko everyone else was pretty average in terms of contributions.

Oh, just before I go, let me dispel another fallacy about the game. The 'supposed' Pissaro was leaving gaps in the middle malarky. This is another bullshit claim. By and large Sporting attacked down the wings Capel and Insua on the left, and Perreiraha and Ismailov on the right. Centrally, they pretty much conceeded possession and let Yaya and Pizarro dominate midfield. Carrico and Stinjs sat deep and helped double Balo, SIlva and Aguero. Defensively Micah and Kola were always often caught out of position. Especially Micah, while Kola was often doubled and didn't get early help from Silva/Balo when they were wide left.

Anyway, the above gives you an insight into how much I have dissected the game. And I am telling you without an iota of doubt, that Pizzaro will start if that game is any indicator.

People always think they remember better until you show them the numbers.

 

[johnny crossan]

confident of a win but a point will do - we'll still have the title in our own hands

 

[MadchesterCity]

Because of De Jong

Ge Jong had nothing to do wit Aguero running at 3 to 4 players. Attacking the goal and making better runs.

De Jong had nothing to do with Kolarov whipping more balls into the box as opposed to sky high. Or his dribbling moves actually becoming successful on the left.

It is silly to contend De Jong made players do individual acts like pass, dribble, cross or run at defenders better.

What most ascribed to De Jong, was in reality a function of a tactical decision on the part of Sporting. Being ahead 0-2 and 0-3 on aggregate, they simply fell back and defended in their own half, even deeper than they did in the first half, and Insua and Pereirha practically stopped trying to get forward. Something they did more often in the first. It seemed clear instructions to close ranks and keep the lead must have been given. Fortunately this meant we simply played in their half for most of the 2nd. I wouldn't ascribe this to De Jong's introduction. But feel free to.

-- Mon Mar 19, 2012 9:00 am --

Are you crazy Pizarro had a terrible perfrormance that match

His performance was average rather than terrible but, despite the strange statistics produced from God knows where by Dax777, Pizarro will start on the bench, possibly alongside Tevez, against Chelsea on Wednesday.

The stats are from watching the game over a lot. If you want I can give you the instances for every one of the claims with time stamps on them. The pass completion percentage you can get from the City site. Frankly it is a delusional claim that Pizzaro was terrible. And while milder, to claim he was average will suggest others were better, while in fact, few were when he was on the field. Simply put he and Yaya had the best first halves among City players. No one was close. And he left 10 minutes into the second so we could add more offensive power.
So if being the 2nd best player at worst in the 1st half was the mark for being average, then sure! I guess Pizzaro was average. But simply put, you couldn't name 2 players with a better 1st 45 minutes.

-- Mon Mar 19, 2012 9:01 am --

Were you watching the same Pizarro as everybody else? He was average to say the least. He, Johnson and Savic should be consigned to the bench (at best) for the rest of the season in my view.

Are you crazy Pizarro had a terrible perfrormance that match

Please explain with facts, not emotion. How did you come to the conclusion he had a terrible game.

I guess the stats don't bring into account the pass difficulty and I am shocked that he only gave the ball away 7 times.

I recall him giving away possession and getting us caught out in dangerous positions. I'm not one to knock our players and normally I agree with most of your analysis but I thought he was poor, I'd have to admit to being sober yet emotionally charged so my opinion could have been skewed. I have been very impressed with him so far but felt this was his work performance
for us in amongst many poor performances, we did play better when he left the pitch and scored all 3 after this point which must be taken into consideration.

I would love you to show me a video of all his touches and loss of possession as I am a geek like that and happy to be proved wrong.

 

[pudge]

After the first 15 minutes Pizarro was poop, simples. I'm still laughing about 'that' corner lol

Denial is more than just a big reservoir in Africa you know, Dax777. As for your claim about watching the game over a lot? You need to get out more

 

[Dax777]

I guess the stats don't bring into account the pass difficulty and I am shocked that he only gave the ball away 7 times.

I recall him giving away possession and getting us caught out in dangerous positions. I'm not one to knock our players and normally I agree with most of your analysis but I thought he was poor, I'd have to admit to being sober yet emotionally charged so my opinion could have been skewed. I have been very impressed with him so far but felt this was his work performance
for us in amongst many poor performances, we did play better when he left the pitch and scored all 3 after this point which must be taken into consideration.

I would love you to show me a video of all his touches and loss of possession as I am a geek like that and happy to be proved wrong.

Sorry, I'd have to recruit Jumanji for that.I am not that knowledgable about making Youtubes and Player touches e;t;c; But if Jumanji can help it would be great :D

As for the passes he gave away.
Minute 4:57 long ball to Adam Johnson headed out by Insua
Minute 13:17 Thru ball to a cutting Silva, last defender stretched to cut it out. Would have been a world class pass.
Minute 20:37 Cornerkick he passed to the defender (causing Kola to pick a Yellow) Worst play in the game for him. And one everyone remembered.
Minute 25:30 a crossfield pass that to AJ That was beatifully read by Insua and cut out. This led to the counter in which Marti Fenerdez dove and got a yellow.
Minutes28:14 A slide pass Adam Johnson failed to get to. This also led to pressure on us, coz Micah was already up, hoping to get a connect but A.J let the pass slip under his foot
Minute 38:40 .A chipped ball over Insua that AJ didn't read and run onto. Led to a goal kick.
Last one was in the second half. He tried giving yaya a cheeky pass and Stinj read it and intercepted.

That was pretty much all the incompletes for Pizzaro. 4 of the 7 involved Adam Johnson. This is what I mean, when I say some players make other players look worse The stats begin to show connection issuers. Also most of his missed passes were to the right<br /><br />-- Mon Mar 19, 2012 12:55 pm --<br /><br />

After the first 15 minutes Pizarro was poop, simples. I'm still laughing about 'that' corner lol

Denial is more than just a big reservoir in Africa you know, Dax777. As for your claim about watching the game over a lot? You need to get out more

Got it! When the facts don't match your imagination, attack the guy with the facts. Makes sense.

 

[MadchesterCity]

I guess the stats don't bring into account the pass difficulty and I am shocked that he only gave the ball away 7 times.

I recall him giving away possession and getting us caught out in dangerous positions. I'm not one to knock our players and normally I agree with most of your analysis but I thought he was poor, I'd have to admit to being sober yet emotionally charged so my opinion could have been skewed. I have been very impressed with him so far but felt this was his work performance
for us in amongst many poor performances, we did play better when he left the pitch and scored all 3 after this point which must be taken into consideration.

I would love you to show me a video of all his touches and loss of possession as I am a geek like that and happy to be proved wrong.

Sorry, I'd have to recruit Jumanji for that.I am not that knowledgable about making Youtubes and Player touches e;t;c; But if Jumanji can help it would be great :D

As for the passes he gave away.
Minute 4:57 long ball to Adam Johnson headed out by Insua
Minute 13:17 Thru ball to a cutting Silva, last defender stretched to cut it out. Would have been a world class pass.
Minute 20:37 Cornerkick he passed to the defender (causing Kola to pick a Yellow) Worst play in the game for him. And one everyone remembered.
Minute 25:30 a crossfield pass that to AJ That was beatifully read by Insua and cut out. This led to the counter in which Marti Fenerdez dove and got a yellow.
Minutes28:14 A slide pass Adam Johnson failed to get to. This also led to pressure on us, coz Micah was already up, hoping to get a connect but A.J let the pass slip under his foot
Minute 38:40 .A chipped ball over Insua that AJ didn't read and run onto. Led to a goal kick.
Last one was in the second half. He tried giving yaya a cheeky pass and Stinj read it and intercepted.

That was pretty much all the incompletes for Pizzaro. 4 of the 7 involved Adam Johnson. This is what I mean, when I say some players make other players look worse The stats begin to show connection issuers. Also most of his missed passes were to the right

-- Mon Mar 19, 2012 12:55 pm --

After the first 15 minutes Pizarro was poop, simples. I'm still laughing about 'that' corner lol

Denial is more than just a big reservoir in Africa you know, Dax777. As for your claim about watching the game over a lot? You need to get out more

Got it! When the facts don't match your imagination, attack the guy with the facts. Makes sense.

thanks for that so I was correct though that the mistakes he made were costly as they immediately put us on the back foot!

You could make 100 passes in a match and have a 98% pass completion but if 2 of those passes lead to opposition goals questions should be asked :)

 

[pudge]

I guess the stats don't bring into account the pass difficulty and I am shocked that he only gave the ball away 7 times.

I recall him giving away possession and getting us caught out in dangerous positions. I'm not one to knock our players and normally I agree with most of your analysis but I thought he was poor, I'd have to admit to being sober yet emotionally charged so my opinion could have been skewed. I have been very impressed with him so far but felt this was his work performance
for us in amongst many poor performances, we did play better when he left the pitch and scored all 3 after this point which must be taken into consideration.

I would love you to show me a video of all his touches and loss of possession as I am a geek like that and happy to be proved wrong.

Sorry, I'd have to recruit Jumanji for that.I am not that knowledgable about making Youtubes and Player touches e;t;c; But if Jumanji can help it would be great :D

As for the passes he gave away.
Minute 4:57 long ball to Adam Johnson headed out by Insua
Minute 13:17 Thru ball to a cutting Silva, last defender stretched to cut it out. Would have been a world class pass.
Minute 20:37 Cornerkick he passed to the defender (causing Kola to pick a Yellow) Worst play in the game for him. And one everyone remembered.
Minute 25:30 a crossfield pass that to AJ That was beatifully read by Insua and cut out. This led to the counter in which Marti Fenerdez dove and got a yellow.
Minutes28:14 A slide pass Adam Johnson failed to get to. This also led to pressure on us, coz Micah was already up, hoping to get a connect but A.J let the pass slip under his foot
Minute 38:40 .A chipped ball over Insua that AJ didn't read and run onto. Led to a goal kick.
Last one was in the second half. He tried giving yaya a cheeky pass and Stinj read it and intercepted.

That was pretty much all the incompletes for Pizzaro. 4 of the 7 involved Adam Johnson. This is what I mean, when I say some players make other players look worse The stats begin to show connection issuers. Also most of his missed passes were to the right

-- Mon Mar 19, 2012 12:55 pm --

After the first 15 minutes Pizarro was poop, simples. I'm still laughing about 'that' corner lol

Denial is more than just a big reservoir in Africa you know, Dax777. As for your claim about watching the game over a lot? You need to get out more

Got it! When the facts don't match your imagination, attack the guy with the facts. Makes sense.

The FACT is that he was poor, as were a lot of players, for the majority of the game. (and that's not my imagination)

EDIT: Looking back and finding the exact times of all his misplaced passes? Are you that weird?

 

[samharris]

Horses for courses lads.. How we played against Swansea will have no bearing whatsoever on how we play Chelsea..

 

[Dax777]

thanks for that so I was correct though that the mistakes he made were costly as they immediately put us on the back foot!

You could make 100 passes in a match and have a 98% pass completion but if 2 of those passes lead to opposition goals questions should be asked :)

None of his mistakes were costly. No goals or actual chances got created from his mistakes. The difference being, anytime a ball was lost by anyone, and it went to the left wing, we were always under pressure coz Capel is as fast as Micah, and Micah was often out of position.

You could do a list of Yaya's misses that put us under pressure. Or Silva's or Aguero's. But the truth is when a ball is intercepted just outside the oppositions 18, ascribing the pressure that follows to the incomplete pass, is a bit of a stretch. An Insua interception at the top of his own 18, should not lead to pressure unless 1) Adam Johnson shows no effort, and Micah is grossly out of position. Thus in both cases, these two are more so or at least equally liable for the mini pressure. I say 'mini' coz these really were often Capel running down the wing all by himself with no support. At no real point in the game were we under any real threat. The best being fernandez Waltzing in our 18 and diving. Outside of their setpiece created goals. We had then mostly contained.

I keep telling folks to watch the game again, and you will realize you couldn't name 2 players with a better 1st half than Pizzaro. His movement, passes, connectivity with Yaya and Silva. Quick thinking, change of play direction were just superb. in spite of playing just 55 minutes he had more touches than anyone except the Toure brothers.<br /><br />-- Mon Mar 19, 2012 2:06 pm --<br /><br />

The FACT is that he was poor, as were a lot of players, for the majority of the game. (and that's not my imagination)

EDIT: Looking back and finding the exact times of all his misplaced passes? Are you that weird?

Yes! And it is that weirdness that makes me certain I am right about how poorly or well he played. You keep saying he was poor. So tell me, who was good or average? Better yet, name the players you thought played better?

 

[BlakeTheBlue]

Hi guys. Afew of my mates from London are coming up for this game and they've asked me where is the best place for away fans to have a drink near the ground before the game? I wouldn't know as i don't drink... Any ideas suggestions?

By the way... 3-1 City - Aguero, Yaya, Tevez - Drogba ;)