Crystal Palace (H) - Post Match

[OB1]

I think it is a major rebuild . - not in numbers but in the improtance and quality of players/people we are going to have to replace

Kompany - no replacement as of yet - one of the best centre halves the prem has ever seen and added to that the leadership quality he had - that in itself is very hard to duplicate

David Silva - Foden is seen as the replacement and there is nothing to suggest he can't do this - BUT he has a lot to prove and there is a long way to go. Pep has come out and said we ARE NOT going to replace silva - and we have Foden and Bernardo Silva as his replacements - but again, like Kompany, replacing Silva's technical ability is one thing - replacing his ability to dictate a game even without the ball is another almost impossible task

Kun - the biggest task of all - maybe impossible? GJ is a fine striker BUT he aint and never will be a Kun replacement. He wont go onto score the important goals in tight games (think the Kun goal in the 2-1 vs the scousers last year) - GJ never scores that ever. Its those goals that Kun has consistently scored that make him irreplaceable not just the numbers he posts. We are going to have to break our transfer record by a long way to get anyone near the calibre and we may still not get close.....

Ferna - his influence and ability is underrated - he may go another 12 months but we need to replace him - another huge task as not only is he an expert in his main position, his ability as a utility player is beyond anything Ive ever seen - he may not be the greatest centre half the prem has ever seen or will see but he still outshines most who call it their day job - he would do that as a fullback as well (Peps comments about him in the past tell you everything you need to know) - finding a player with such qualities is extremely hard

And in the middle of all that you have the Pep question -Id love him to stay forever and as you clearly say I dont think we will ever have a better manager - but the only way this rebuild works for the club is that we are rebuilding with a new manager in mind (unless we somehow manage to persuade Pep to stay for another 2-3 . years after his contract runs out - Id love this to happen but the man clearly has ambitions and some of them may be outside of football back in his home country).


Added to that you then have the general squad rebuild that you say needs to happen every few years.....I guess this is why Txixi and Ferran are paid so much - where do you even start?!?!?!!?

Not going to labour semantics but by major rebuild, I mean numbers of players.

We absolutely have to be buying top quality players. I don't think we should get hung up about the irreplaceability of individuals. The way we play has to be more important than individuals and that includes the manager. The next manager has to be able to play the City way, which does not mean having to the a positional play guy, but does mean high defensive line, pressing, attractive attacking football and a passing game.

I think Kun and Fern will still be with us next season so it's not essential to replace them this summer. A brilliant CB is key for me as is a Sane replacement if he goes.

We never replaced Yaya with a like for like but went on to greater success. It's a team game and it has to be about the team.

 

[hgblue]

Defensively his philosophy of dominating possession high up the pitch leaves us exposed on numerous occasions. Teams score against regularly from limited attempts on goal. Why because they get gilt edged chances.

Sorry mate, I can’t help but chuckle at some random City fan on a football forum pointing out the shortcomings of arguably the greatest manager there’s ever been. Please don’t take this the wrong way, but I have to point out that Pep has forgotten more about football than you’ll ever know. I’m not saying you shouldn’t have an opinion but you should maybe bear this n mind. The idea that Pep doesn’t understand the tactical drawbacks of different systems when his tactics have transformed the way football is played is truly laughable.

 

[warringtonblue]

Defensively his philosophy of dominating possession high up the pitch leaves us exposed on numerous occasions. Teams score against regularly from limited attempts on goal. Why because they get gilt edged chances.

I’ve been saying this for a while, the chances to goals scored against us is phenomenal. It must be running at 90%. Now compare that to our conversion rate up front

 

[Gorton_Tubster]

Ederson
Walker
Laporte
Ferny
Mendy
Foden
KDB
Silva
Gundog
Mahrez
Aguero
Jesus

We got all that and we need a major rebuild? wtf

1 or 2 players required to complete us.

 

[OB1]

That’s not a blind spot. It’s his game, basically a risk/reward strategy that requires us to not make mistakes in possession high up the pitch.
Sometimes it doesn’t work.
He won’t be changing it anytime soon seeing as it’s a philosophy that has made him one of the most successful managers in history.

You're on fire today ;-)

This is the correct answer.

Pep knows exactly what he is doing, why he is doing it and what the risks are. He's also always trying to work out how concede less counter attacks and coach his players to do the things that minimise them.

We concede less shots at goal than any other team so Pep's philosophy has a lot of merit.

 

[simon23]

Not going to labour semantics but by major rebuild, I mean numbers of players.

We absolutely have to be buying top quality players. I don't think we should get hung up about the irreplaceability of individuals. The way we play has to be more important than individuals and that includes the manager. The next manager has to be able to play the City way, which does not mean having to the a positional play guy, but does mean high defensive line, pressing, attractive attacking football and a passing game.

I think Kun and Fern will still be with us next season so it's not essential to replace them this summer. A brilliant CB is key for me as is a Sane replacement if he goes.

We never replaced Yaya with a like for like but went on to greater success. It's a team game and it has to be about the team.

While i agree with all your points those players are not 4 individuals - they are the backbone of what has been a very successful team.

Finding another manager who wants to play in the way you describe (again completely agree with you it has to be that way) wont be hard - finding one who can do it as succesfully as Pep due to the way he thinks about positional play and how indivduals give certain things to certain positions could be a lot harder than you think.

And while Kun and Fern may well be with us next season - it would be poor planning to be at not least thinking and targeting those to replace them - look at what having no replacement for Kopany has done. it was foolish to think we could manage with two centre halves backed up by an ageing and quite frankly clearly not good enough Ottomendi

 

[St.Pauli support]

We've been bullied by Palace in numerous situations.
IN the build-up to the 2-2 Fern had at least 2 chances to go down
the way the Palace giant is working on him with his arms.

VVD would go down, goal VARed out.

 

[simon23]

That’s not a blind spot. It’s his game, basically a risk/reward strategy that requires us to not make mistakes in possession high up the pitch.
Sometimes it doesn’t work.
He won’t be changing it anytime soon seeing as it’s a philosophy that has made him one of the most successful managers in history.

agree - its a balance between the risks and the rewards with the way he sets up

but do you think he should adjust it slightly when he knows its going to be a much bigger issue than normal (or another way of putting it - the risks start to outweigh the rewards -ie playing the scousers who have 3 of the fastest forwards in the prem who are all technically gifted on one vs ones and with space to operate - who only need a half chance to score let alone the gilt edges chances Pep system does afford any team at times.

I wouldnt change it for the world (or Pep) but there are times I think he could just be a little different.

 

[stan bowles]

Got no mention, recognition, indeed wasn't shown at all on motd post match analysis whereas every other goal for every other team was. When Jesus put that ball across I expected it to go out for touch but Aguero, from nowhere like a flash was onto it and gobbled it up like the goal hungry monster he is. His second was a very neat header concluding his 250th and 251st goal for City but not deemed worthy of showing or mentioning in between repeating Palace's equalizer over and over again.

I wasn't just meaning credit from national media platforms - I meant from City fans as well. Jesus should be starting most games - he can play in any of the front 3 positions and is in better form atm than both Sterling and Bernardo and is more consistent that Mahrez. Jesus just doesn't get enough appreciation from City fans because "he will never be good enough" to replace their darling Aguero. Right now, our best starting XI would have both of them in it. The assist for Aguero's first was imo better than KDB's v Villa. Aguero took both goals really well it must be added.

 

[Phil1]

I wasn't just meaning credit from national media platforms - I meant from City fans as well. Jesus should be starting most games - he can play in any of the front 3 positions and is in better form atm than both Sterling and Bernardo and is more consistent that Mahrez. Jesus just doesn't get enough appreciation from City fans because "he will never be good enough" to replace their darling Aguero. Right now, our best starting XI would have both of them in it. The assist for Aguero's first was imo better than KDB's v Villa. Aguero took both goals really well it must be added.

There’s a reason why Aguero is our ‘darling’