Crystal Palace (H) - Post Match

[Paul1970]

Jesus and Mahrez have been our 2 best forwards this season - not surprising since they both came back this season from international cup triumphs. They must start against United and Madrid.

If we don’t get it sorted Utd will turn 2 goals around against us. Ferdy has not worked in defence all season yet here we are still using him . We all know Rodri as meant to eased into the team but straight away he has had a get on top of it straight away season which rarely works . I like cancelo but it doesn’t look like he is the answer . Stones is finished at city and rightly so but what are we gonna do when kun retires as our main goals are gone . Now that is a worry . As for yesterday’s result well these results happen every weekend and it’s not as if it’s cost us the title as that went during our he Brighton home game so I’m not to bothered about it . One last point Though. There is no point moaning about gundo as pep will continue to play him regardless of what we think Even though though he is shit .

 

[Gabriel]

Don’t understand why Walker wasn’t picked. Every time I’ve seen City v Palace in recent seasons. Walker has snuffed out any danger with Zaha.
Do you reckon Pep is trying different things out for the long term gain because he knows the league has gone ?

Fair play to Hodgson and Zaha. In previous games, Zaha has ended up going to the other side when Walker has contained him, but yesterday they knew that Cancelo and Stones could be got at and stuck to their plan. I was surprised that Walker was not brought on after we’d taken the lead, but sometimes you need such games and moments to find out more about your players.

 

[Tanzeylee]

Wasn't at the game yesterday decided to have acute kidney failure instead so my son went with son in law and took my grandson for his first City game, (we didn't lose so he's not banned from going) had the game on a dodgy stream on my tablet and it really wasn't good for my blood pressure.

 

[GornikDaze]

Wasn't at the game yesterday decided to have acute kidney failure instead so my son went with son in law and took my grandson for his first City game, (we didn't lose so he's not banned from going) had the game on a dodgy stream on my tablet and it really wasn't good for my blood pressure.

Don’t think you missed much... hope you’re fit and well soon

 

[Kenward Garg]

All about opinions... I may be in a small minority but I don’t think he’ll ever be good enough post injury... sadly

I know what you mean. For me, his technique is awful. Reminds me of the Aussie batsman, Steve Smith. An unorthodox technique and an aesthetes nightmare and yet he’s a prolific run scorer.

 

[Gabriel]

I think you'll find when Laporte comes bank suddenly the defenders around him will look good again.

The one player who I think City fans can justifiably be concerned with is Cancelo. Very disappointing buy. Danilo was better. I also have a bit of a concern about Rodri. I am more concerned about the defenisve midfield position at City than centre-back.

If you look at the Palace equaliser it stems not from Stones but Rodri and Cancelo. Rodri lost a midfield 50/50. In fact KDB also loses a 50/50 and then Cancelo i out of position. The only city player who even tries to do his job properly is Stones. But typically City fans follow the herd because Stones gets universal criticism. He is at most partly to blame for a collective failure.

Good analysis of that incident, in terms of the midfielders and Cancelo being poorly positioned and losing the ball, but Stones looked leaden-footed and not for the first time in the game, so it’s understandable that he faces such criticism.

We again have a problem that certain players have played too few games and now find themselves bereft of confidence. They can only regain trust if they are played consistently or used cleverly from the bench. Alas, most of our substitutions tend to involve attacking players, so Stones and Cancelo have even less of a chance of gaining meaningful game time when they’re on the bench.

 

[City Raider]

Does someone normally put highlight links on here? Boy was a mascot but BBC feed and city site has no footage. Cheers for any help as was his birthday too

 

[Kenward Garg]

Wasn't at the game yesterday decided to have acute kidney failure instead so my son went with son in law and took my grandson for his first City game, (we didn't lose so he's not banned from going) had the game on a dodgy stream on my tablet and it really wasn't good for my blood pressure.

I’ve been there before but not something like that. 2013 it happened. I met this fine gentleman at rehab. Said he’d never smoked or drank in his life and yet, he had suffered a double heart attack. I was barely listening or interested and then he said rhetorically “Do you know what the problem is?”. I said “No”. He pointed at his mind and said “There’s the problem”. Intuitively, I knew he was right and ever since I’ve been learning to control my mind and let go of anger. It was worth it. I’ve a bit of peace now. Good luck in the days ahead.

 

[lazza10]

Pep not good enough today

Seen that said so many times this season. Not a dig at what you’ve said by any means.

 

[cookster]

Calm down. We agree therefore that Pep's not above questioning so that's a start. I also wouldn't disagree that he has some credit in the bank for what he's done the last 3 seasons. But you don't judge managers solely on what they did in the past. Remember when Swales brought Malcolm Allison back?

I'm not one of those who believes that we should be grateful for what we have and not question things simply because we used to be shite. We should, as a club, be focused on what's best for us in the long-term. One of my criticisms of the club in City Matters is that we think too short term too often. Sometimes they fail to lift their heads up and look into the future, because what you want to achieve in the future shapes what you need to do in the short and medium term.

Pep's in his 4th season here and if he stays next season it'll be longer than he's stayed anywhere else. I've always been of the opinion that bar people like Wenger & Ferguson, managers have a shelf life at one club. They get stale, they run out of ideas and the players fail to respond to them. That's what happened with both our last two managers. We don't know yet if Pep is one of those managers.

In each of Pep's three full seasons here, we've moved forward but, for the first time we've gone backwards a little & he's seemingly not getting the best out of some players. The board has a difficult decision to make therefore. Is it a blip and some freshening up of the squad will get us over it, with Pep at the helm? Or is the problem that he's run his course here? Possibly Pep will answer the question himself. He may say he's getting stale and needs a new challenge or he may say he's up to the challenge. If the latter then he has to sign for another 3 years in my opinion as that's what will be needed.

It may be he says he's up for the challenge but Khaldoon, Ferran & Txiki don't think he is. In that case there's a difficult decision to be made. There may not be a better coach than Pep out there but we may have to face the fact that he may not be the best one for us going forward and that we need fresh blood. I really don't think that's being entitled.

I'm completely calm unlike many on here who after a set back completely overreact.

Stones does his job and its a masterstroke by Pep whose subs turn the game around, he doesn't and we need to replace the manager.

What does it say about elements of our fanbase when they want to replace a manager who is 2nd in the league, favourite to win one cup and deep into two others.

He is likely to win SIX domestic trophies on the trot, its fucking madness.

The team needs a slight rebuild, once that is done then Pep can be judged if he is the man to take us forward, not before.

For all the doubters I would be very interested who they think can do a better job, they probably want Mancini back...