Discuss Pellegrini (Pt 3)

[Cheesy]

Re: Clueless manager

No intelligent City fan could have predicted us getting more than a point at Stoke, Chelsea, West Ham and Sunderland.

Seriously? Have our expectations been lowered that much already that we should only have expected 4 points from 4 away games, three of which were against bottom half teams?

 

[flb]

Article by Herbert.Apologies if this has been by posted already.......

Somewhere near the Sea of Marmara, Roberto Mancini could afford himself a self-satisfied smile on Sunday. The new Galatasaray manager said after his Manchester City side lost for the second successive time at Sunderland’s Stadium of Light last Boxing Day that he never wanted to visit the place again. Though he should have been careful what he wished for, a fourth league away defeat in six for City is the kind of record that belongs to the relegation-threatened ranks of the Premier League, not the richest.


It would be easy to conclude that City are not moving on from the Mancini era, if the initial 11 games of this Premier League season provided any evidence of infallibility from one or two of the other challengers. A win for Arsenal at Manchester United on Sunday would have delivered the leaders a nine-point lead over City – and the beginnings of something unassailable from an Etihad perspective. But United’s victory created a more level picture: a six-point gap between first and eighth, which in the current landscape really is nothing. Six of those eight teams are divided by three points.

Do not expect any club to pull clear immediately when domestic business resumes next week, either. The United manager, David Moyes, was talking once again on Sunday night of expecting another “bloody nose” or two and success amid such a group of flawed contenders may be a matter of digging out little pockets of consistency. The fundamental point is that City possess the best squad, man for man. The title is by no means beyond them.

The gulf in their performances home and way is startling for all that. A reputation for vulnerability can quickly take hold and opponents are certainly pumped up with belief when it comes to playing at home to Manuel Pellegrini’s players, even though City’s latest opponents were deeply unambitious on Sunday. It was like the Alamo at the Stadium of Light after Sunderland had taken the lead.

City’s flaw – and all eight of those top eight sides have one – is the lack of depth when Pellegrini’s first choices are injured. Their laments about injuries did bear scrutiny on Wearside. Absent were their first-choice centre-backs, Vincent Kompany and Matija Nastasic, and midfielders David Silva and Fernandinho, whose understanding with Yaya Touré has been developing. They lack elite replacements, too. Martin Demichelis, with his lack of pace, has been a poor alternative to Pellegrini’s first choice for defensive cover in the summer – Real Madrid’s Pepe . Though Stevan Jovetic and Jesus Navas (left) seemed to offer an embarrassment of options when they came through the door in the close season, the pair have barely played – just one Premier League start each.

Injuries have plagued Jovetic but Navas – who was anticipated as the player to give City the width they have hitherto lacked – has not yet looked capable of commanding the field in the Premier League. A study by EPL Index has highlighted Navas’s failure to take men on. He has only attempted two dribbles this season and has a crossing accuracy of 33 per cent, while Alvaro Negredo, City’s other signing from Seville, has figures which show how quickly he has prospered in England: 10 attempted dribbles and a crossing accuracy of 40 per cent.

This is curious. It was Negredo, a similar striker to Edin Dzeko, who had seemed more destined to struggle. The data also suggests Navas has not been given the ball in advanced wide positions. In this transition period, it looks as though City are struggling to change from Mancini’s narrower style – with Silva and Samir Nasri wanting to come inside. Navas has certainly been signed to create not score. He did not find the net once in La Liga for Seville last season and has scored only 35 goals in his 401 career appearances. Pellegrini needs service for him.

The Chilean manager does seem to have the capacity that Mancini lacked to make players want to run through walls for him. Micah Richards provided a sense of that last week when, in an enlightening interview, he observed that his team-mate and friend Joe Hart was unhappy to be out of the team but respected Pellegrini’s straightforward way of delivering the decision to him.

The progress towards the Champions League knockout stage – so far beyond Mancini for so long – also matters more than anything in the scheme of things to City’s Abu Dhabi owners, with their pursuit of global profile. It would also be wrong to characterise City as defensively more deficient under Pellegrini: they have conceded five goals fewer than at the same stage last season.

We can expect them – still supreme at home – to beat Tottenham Hotspur and Swansea City in their next Premier League games. And we can then anticipate anything when they face West Bromwich and Southampton away. This eighth place is not a crisis, though. City are comfortably in the picture and as equipped as anyone to make their move.

I can relax now, thank fuck for Herbert<br /><br />-- Tue Nov 12, 2013 11:06 am --<br /><br />

Get a grip.

Our 'best defence' has had 7 different starting lineups due to a combination of injury and lack of form and even ability........we have also introduced a new centre half who has never stepped foot in the league.

But go ahead,pin those facts on Pellegrini and use them as a stick if it makes you feel better.

Its very simple,once injuries clear up and he has the luxury of another transfer window to address our weaknesses/fuck ups and remove those past their sell by date,this team will be consistently awesome.

I'm not happy with our start and i wont be giving Pellegrini any special dispensation,however,i wont be judgeing the man until he's had a fair opportunity to rectify the issues that began before his appointment.

Who is moving on and who are we buying ? I'm sure there are many in here who would see which players would address those weaknesses

I think the majority on here think Richards , Clichy , Garcia, Dzeko , Hart, Rodwell , Kolorov, Lescott will be shipped out over the next two windows.

Sinclair will move on as well of course.

Easier said than done of course and a lot to replace 5 players who took part against QPR in May 2012 and only 1.5-2 seasons on.

yaya , silva , nasri, negrdo, jovetic , ferni , navas, aguerro and hopefully a fit VK , Pants ( second keeper ) , Zabba, Demi, Nasty to stay on hopefully until 2015 at least.

Who are our five homegrown players then if they are all peddled?

 

[waspish]

Pellegrini has been really unlucky regarding injuries to our most important players and away from home is where we are missing them more but he doesn't help himself or has learned from previous away games, YAYA and Garcia for me can't start in the same team away from home and if those two start at west Brom and Southampton we will get beat again.

 

[Tourist since 1971]

How do you think the next MCFC board meeting is going to go?

'Thanks for coming Manuel, the lads are playing shit away from home in the League and we are all gutted by the lack of effort - you're sacked. By the way, don't forget to put the photo of Joe Royle back on the office wall before you go.'

or


'Well gentlemen, despite a few injury concerns and some disappointing results away from home, which I am sure Manuel here will address, I am sure we are all delighted to have progressesed so smoothly to the knock out rounds of the Champions League, to have booked a place in the Quarter Finals of the Capital One Cup and managed to remain in touch with the top of the Premiership. Although we are not yet concerned over our league position with a lot of games to go, we must all stay focussed on achieving absolutely the best we can do to make sure we remain on track with our plans for the season. Now, do we have enough chips for the Tottenham game?'

 

[mancity1]

Article by Herbert.Apologies if this has been by posted already.......

Somewhere near the Sea of Marmara, Roberto Mancini could afford himself a self-satisfied smile on Sunday. The new Galatasaray manager said after his Manchester City side lost for the second successive time at Sunderland’s Stadium of Light last Boxing Day that he never wanted to visit the place again. Though he should have been careful what he wished for, a fourth league away defeat in six for City is the kind of record that belongs to the relegation-threatened ranks of the Premier League, not the richest.


It would be easy to conclude that City are not moving on from the Mancini era, if the initial 11 games of this Premier League season provided any evidence of infallibility from one or two of the other challengers. A win for Arsenal at Manchester United on Sunday would have delivered the leaders a nine-point lead over City – and the beginnings of something unassailable from an Etihad perspective. But United’s victory created a more level picture: a six-point gap between first and eighth, which in the current landscape really is nothing. Six of those eight teams are divided by three points.

Do not expect any club to pull clear immediately when domestic business resumes next week, either. The United manager, David Moyes, was talking once again on Sunday night of expecting another “bloody nose” or two and success amid such a group of flawed contenders may be a matter of digging out little pockets of consistency. The fundamental point is that City possess the best squad, man for man. The title is by no means beyond them.

The gulf in their performances home and way is startling for all that. A reputation for vulnerability can quickly take hold and opponents are certainly pumped up with belief when it comes to playing at home to Manuel Pellegrini’s players, even though City’s latest opponents were deeply unambitious on Sunday. It was like the Alamo at the Stadium of Light after Sunderland had taken the lead.

City’s flaw – and all eight of those top eight sides have one – is the lack of depth when Pellegrini’s first choices are injured. Their laments about injuries did bear scrutiny on Wearside. Absent were their first-choice centre-backs, Vincent Kompany and Matija Nastasic, and midfielders David Silva and Fernandinho, whose understanding with Yaya Touré has been developing. They lack elite replacements, too. Martin Demichelis, with his lack of pace, has been a poor alternative to Pellegrini’s first choice for defensive cover in the summer – Real Madrid’s Pepe . Though Stevan Jovetic and Jesus Navas (left) seemed to offer an embarrassment of options when they came through the door in the close season, the pair have barely played – just one Premier League start each.

Injuries have plagued Jovetic but Navas – who was anticipated as the player to give City the width they have hitherto lacked – has not yet looked capable of commanding the field in the Premier League. A study by EPL Index has highlighted Navas’s failure to take men on. He has only attempted two dribbles this season and has a crossing accuracy of 33 per cent, while Alvaro Negredo, City’s other signing from Seville, has figures which show how quickly he has prospered in England: 10 attempted dribbles and a crossing accuracy of 40 per cent.

This is curious. It was Negredo, a similar striker to Edin Dzeko, who had seemed more destined to struggle. The data also suggests Navas has not been given the ball in advanced wide positions. In this transition period, it looks as though City are struggling to change from Mancini’s narrower style – with Silva and Samir Nasri wanting to come inside. Navas has certainly been signed to create not score. He did not find the net once in La Liga for Seville last season and has scored only 35 goals in his 401 career appearances. Pellegrini needs service for him.

The Chilean manager does seem to have the capacity that Mancini lacked to make players want to run through walls for him. Micah Richards provided a sense of that last week when, in an enlightening interview, he observed that his team-mate and friend Joe Hart was unhappy to be out of the team but respected Pellegrini’s straightforward way of delivering the decision to him.

The progress towards the Champions League knockout stage – so far beyond Mancini for so long – also matters more than anything in the scheme of things to City’s Abu Dhabi owners, with their pursuit of global profile. It would also be wrong to characterise City as defensively more deficient under Pellegrini: they have conceded five goals fewer than at the same stage last season.

We can expect them – still supreme at home – to beat Tottenham Hotspur and Swansea City in their next Premier League games. And we can then anticipate anything when they face West Bromwich and Southampton away. This eighth place is not a crisis, though. City are comfortably in the picture and as equipped as anyone to make their move.

I can relax now, thank fuck for Herbert

-- Tue Nov 12, 2013 11:06 am --

Who is moving on and who are we buying ? I'm sure there are many in here who would see which players would address those weaknesses

I think the majority on here think Richards , Clichy , Garcia, Dzeko , Hart, Rodwell , Kolorov, Lescott will be shipped out over the next two windows.

Sinclair will move on as well of course.

Easier said than done of course and a lot to replace 5 players who took part against QPR in May 2012 and only 1.5-2 seasons on.

yaya , silva , nasri, negrdo, jovetic , ferni , navas, aguerro and hopefully a fit VK , Pants ( second keeper ) , Zabba, Demi, Nasty to stay on hopefully until 2015 at least.

Who are our five homegrown players then if they are all peddled?

As I said easier said than done and its highly unlikely we will get more than more coverage in defence in January if the likes of Lescott wants out to give him what little chance he has on getting on a plane to Rio as more than a pundit or sightseer.

 

[Anonymous]

I'm sure in January Pellegrini/Txiki will buy players to strengthen the squad. I don't expect a raft of players to be brought in, but wouldn't surprise me to see three players added to the squad, two of whom will arguably go straight into the starting XI. If i had to make a call on positions I'd say we'll definitely sign a centre half, more than likely go after a left back, and if the right player is identified, bring in another creative midfield player.

I think with the extra revenue getting to the CL knock out stages brings spending can and will be justified with regards FFP.

 

[mancity1]

Re: Clueless manager

No intelligent City fan could have predicted us getting more than a point at Stoke, Chelsea, West Ham and Sunderland.

Seriously? Have our expectations been lowered that much already that we should only have expected 4 points from 4 away games, three of which were against bottom half teams?

I think the Ghost has become a figment of his own user name.

Imagine how much money you would have made on us getting 1 point from Stoke , Sunderland , Cardiff , Chelsea and Villa away for a small outlay.

I could have got 9-1 for a Sunderland win alone last Sunday as ridiculous as that was.

Intelligence doesn't come into it.

What's alarming is our continual downward spiral over a long time in points per game away since we won the title.

You don't need intelligence to figure that out , you just need to be able to see or hear.

 

[Lucky Toma]

I'm sure in January Pellegrini/Txiki will buy players to strengthen the squad. I don't expect a raft of players to be brought in, but wouldn't surprise me to see three players added to the squad, two of whom will arguably go straight into the starting XI. If i had to make a call on positions I'd say we'll definitely sign a centre half, more than likely go after a left back, and if the right player is identified, bring in another creative midfield player.

I think with the extra revenue getting to the CL knock out stages brings spending can and will be justified with regards FFP.

Can see one player max being brought in with one loaned out.

 

[PragueBlue]

I'm sure in January Pellegrini/Txiki will buy players to strengthen the squad. I don't expect a raft of players to be brought in, but wouldn't surprise me to see three players added to the squad, two of whom will arguably go straight into the starting XI. If i had to make a call on positions I'd say we'll definitely sign a centre half, more than likely go after a left back, and if the right player is identified, bring in another creative midfield player.

I think with the extra revenue getting to the CL knock out stages brings spending can and will be justified with regards FFP.

Can see one player max being brought in with one loaned out.

If we can get a replacement, it wouldn't surprise me to see Dzeko go as he won't have long left on his contract if we leave it until the summer.

 

[Anonymous]

I'm sure in January Pellegrini/Txiki will buy players to strengthen the squad. I don't expect a raft of players to be brought in, but wouldn't surprise me to see three players added to the squad, two of whom will arguably go straight into the starting XI. If i had to make a call on positions I'd say we'll definitely sign a centre half, more than likely go after a left back, and if the right player is identified, bring in another creative midfield player.

I think with the extra revenue getting to the CL knock out stages brings spending can and will be justified with regards FFP.

Can see one player max being brought in with one loaned out.

I'd be surprised if it was just one. I suspect we'll be more active this January than we have been in the last two or three.

I think it's likely we'll let Lescott go, and we've been trying to offload Kolarov for what feels like almost his entire time at City. Maybe this January we'll finally get someone to take him off our hands.