City Vs Roma Post Match Thread

[kevodevo]

Tempo was off yesterday and the big miss was Fernando last night - he would have made areal difference as the middle was where we struggled.
Bear in mind we should have had another penalty - handball from the Greek guy.
Joe slipped when coming for the ball with Totti
We have a 21 man squad and spent little compared to other crews due to Ffp
All to play for - not easy but time to roll up the sleeves .
Dzecko played well last night should have got a couple of shots away but that was a positive at least!
If Fernando is fit for the next four games we can definitely do it!

 

[chisnall_blue]

Ok slept on it and feeling slightly more positive though also slightly more confused (could be the hangover though)
Bleedin obvious that the strengths of Roma are clinical pass and move through a packed and technical midfield. Why didn't we set up to counter this???
Saying that once again the only solace is that had the ref done his job we'd have played 10 men (and maicon played well after he wasn't sent off) and had at least another pen. A cruising victory would have ensued and we'd be proclaiming the engineer a master tactician again who knows more than us in the crowd. Fine margins.

 

[Jack Wills]

It's all about applying pressure. We need to be closing opposition players down faster, we need to get an extra body in midfield to put theirs under more pressure, and we really need to develop a nasty win at any cost attitude.

That clear handball in the box, all that happened was a few of our lads held their arms out - remember the old rag and Arse teams that won stuff over and over again, they had 4 or 5 players screaming in the ref's face. It might not get the first decision but it sure as hell made the ref feel almost obliged to give the next one. We get fuck all marginal decisions because we're too nice.

We need a winners' attitude, get in everyone's fucking face and believe in our right to be winning at this level. The English Champions should be walking onto that pitch knowing we own it and whilst respecting the opposition just know we'll beat them. With more belief, aggression and a faster tempo we'd beat any team with the players we have.

 

[nobody can eat fifty eggs]

<a class="postlink" href="http://m.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/29437526" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://m.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/29437526</a>

Excellent piece by Phil McNulty chief football writer for the bbc, bang on the money.

 

[tolmie's hairdoo]

One clean sheet in something like 16 Champions League games tells its own story, and that was against the whipping boys that were Villarreal.

The manager again got his tactics wrong with regards the midfield, and playing two strikers.

I'll say it again, everything in this team is geared towards Toure being in it. Pieces of the jigsaw are shoved around, but the puzzle remains the same.

Even the purchase of Fernando (a correct identification IMO) was to accommodate Toure.

Teams who show discipline and concentration, are the same ones who have got results against us in both league and Europe.

The word was out on us long ago, we can be controlled.

What is unforgiveable, is a lack of tactical reaction, coupled with a lack of real fitness and genuine pace.

Roma were nothing special, but what they did have was the prior knowledge their game plan, properly implemented, would leave us scratching our heads for a plan B, when we don't have one.

Both Mancini and Pellegrini are two very different characters, but one thing they share is stubbornness. They believe their way is the right way, regardless of the consequences.

 

[robbieh]

One clean sheet in something like 16 Champions League games tells its own story, and that was against the whipping boys that were Villarreal.

The manager again got his tactics wrong with regards the midfield, and playing two strikers.

I'll say it again, everything in this team is geared towards Toure being in it. Pieces of the jigsaw are shoved around, but the puzzle remains the same.

Even the purchase of Fernando (a correct identification IMO) was to accommodate Toure.

Teams who show discipline and concentration, are the same ones who have got results against us in both league and Europe.

The word was out on us long ago, we can be controlled.

What is unforgiveable, is a lack of tactical reaction, coupled with a lack of real fitness and genuine pace.

Roma were nothing special, but what they did have was the prior knowledge their game plan, properly implemented, would leave us scratching our heads for a plan B, when we don't have one.

Both Mancini and Pellegrini are two very different characters, but one thing they share is stubbornness. They believe their way is the right way, regardless of the consequences.

Last season after the Chelsea game I was very critical of Pellegrini, and the guys on here who didn't like Mancini sprang to Manuels defence. It now seems that even they are becoming critical.

In my view both Mancini and Pellegrini are some way off the best managers of the moment. We have a top squad surely it is time to give them a category A manager.

 

[mosssideblue]

Poor again in the Champion's League.

Silva and Yaya in a flat midfield 4? Oh dear.

Our midfield is the area we ened to look at, it's just so unbalanced in Europe.

I think we have a problem where Silva and Yaya's best position is the number 10 role. Yaya in a midfield 2 and Silva out wide doesn't work in the Champion's League - it's been proven the last 3 seasons.

The best we've played in the CL, after a poor start, we Bayern away last season. The last 60 minutes of that game we were brilliant and looked like we belonged at that level.

That night we played a 4-2-3-1 with two holding midfielders protecting the defence with pace out wide and Silva behind the lone striker. We need to go back to that.

When everybody is fully fit, in the Champion's League, I think we should try:

-------------------------Hart----------------------
Zabaleta--Kompany--Mangala--Kolarov
------------Fernando--Fernandinho-------
Milner--------------Silva------------Jovetic--
----------------------Aguero---------------------

I would drop Yaya and Nasri - they unbalance the team and haven't done enough in this competition the last 3 years.

That looks our best team with either Djeko or Kun up front alone

 

[mancity1]

One clean sheet in something like 16 Champions League games tells its own story, and that was against the whipping boys that were Villarreal.

The manager again got his tactics wrong with regards the midfield, and playing two strikers.

I'll say it again, everything in this team is geared towards Toure being in it. Pieces of the jigsaw are shoved around, but the puzzle remains the same.

Even the purchase of Fernando (a correct identification IMO) was to accommodate Toure.

Teams who show discipline and concentration, are the same ones who have got results against us in both league and Europe.

The word was out on us long ago, we can be controlled.

What is unforgiveable, is a lack of tactical reaction, coupled with a lack of real fitness and genuine pace.

Roma were nothing special, but what they did have was the prior knowledge their game plan, properly implemented, would leave us scratching our heads for a plan B, when we don't have one.

Both Mancini and Pellegrini are two very different characters, but one thing they share is stubbornness. They believe their way is the right way, regardless of the consequences.

Genuine pace on the ball and an unwillingness to close large gaps when the opposition have the ball is something that should be addressed during training sessions so it doesn't happen on match days.

IF MP cannot address that on the European stage he will be replaced by someone that can.

Roma had at least 4 players in the starting eleven over the age of 33 but they were quicker on the ball and exposed some glaring defensive frailties still painfully present in our set up.

The lack of conviction in our side when we didn't have the ball to press and get it back was alarming for much of the first half and the first half of the second half.

Its obvious the players had little confidence in their own game plan so they get caught out from a fear of getting getting caught out of position on the break when the passes go awry.

Stoke and now Roma have been able to stroll through school boy set ups with the right hand not knowing what the left hand is doing so to speak and in that regard we have gone backwards since the Mancini days.

Punishing turnovers is what CL is all about not dominating possession in areas that are non threatening.

We have yet to get the gist of this and until we do we will struggle against teams that match us for pace and conviction only coming out on top of teams that are inferior in quality and incapable of punishing our mistakes,

 

[B3nStr0ng]

Need a serious re-think of our style of play. I love watching city when we're at our free flowing best.
Unfortunately teams have sussed us out big time.

We get overwhelmed in midfield on a weekly basis, our build up play is far to slow and laboured. We have zero pace in our side, Navas is a waste of time against any half decent defender. There is no plan B.

I'm sorry but we're not as good as some people think. And we are carrying too many passengers at times. Namely Yaya!

We need pace and to quicken the tempo of our play! Reus would be a start, and YAYA replaced with Pogba, I love yaya but something is not right with the lad.

 

[Blue_Rossy]

Need a serious re-think of our style of play. I love watching city when we're at our free flowing best.
Unfortunately teams have sussed us out big time.

We get overwhelmed in midfield on a weekly basis, our build up play is far to slow and laboured. We have zero pace in our side, Navas is a waste of time against any half decent defender. There is no plan B.

I'm sorry but we're not as good as some people think. And we are carrying too many passengers at times. Namely Yaya!

We need pace and to quicken the tempo of our play! Reus would be a start, and YAYA replaced with Pogba, I love yaya but something is not right with the lad.

Agree with that, looks like he's depressed over his brother tbh.