tolmie's hairdoo said:Our manager gave a speech in the dressing room to ALL the players after the Chelsea game which left the players roaring by the end of it.
It went down very well indeed and we should thank Mourinho for playing his part.
You make a few valid points, however I think it absurd to suggest that Pellers or the team were 'complacent' going into the Chelsea match.Dribble said:As the saying goes 'If' can move mountains' ...........
'If' Silva had scored,
'If' Yaya didn't lose Ivanovic,
'If' Fernandinho, Aguero & Nasri were fit.
'If' Negredo, Jovetic, Milner and Rodwell were all match-fit
'If' my cat could bark it would be my dog.
The fact is that none of the 'Ifs' went for us on the night. Maureen bleated on all week about us being favourites for this match and the title and that we'd possibly end up scoring 4, 5 or even 6 against them, but all week I warned about complacency where he was concerned.
Maureen did what he did in the week leading up to the match because he wanted us to do what we do. He had found weaknesses in our set up and in his opinion had figured out ways to combat us as attested by Terry. The one thing he gambled on is that Pellegrini would fall for it and in an attempt at not appearing to go defensive against Chelsea at home we would line up as Maureen had hoped, predicted and prepared for...... The one thing that would have fucked his 'tactical masterplan' was if Pellegrini did the unpredictable & better played the hand he had been dealt. He didn't, so Game, set and match to Maureen.
There are lies, damn lies and statistics. When we played Spurs at home (I'm sure someone will produce a coloured graph backed by logarithmic algorithms and bold over-sized capital coloured letters to counter what I'm saying) didn't Spurs better us in every stat apart from the one's that counted, goals for 0 and goals against 6? Some may point to Monday's stats in an attempt to find a crumb of comfort to soothe themselves after this hurtful defeat, but I forced myself to watch the match again and I drew the same conclusion as watching it live that we were simply beaten by the better team on Monday night and which ever way I look at it, I can't see it any different.
In the aftermath of situations like Monday's game, I always ask myself what would I have done differently and taking into account the injuries and the importance of the match, not losing would have been my number one priority. Yes I would have been more pragmatic for this one crucial match, but I would have done so knowing that this change could easily have been explained away as being necessary because of an injury crisis and the need to get something from the match. With a fully fit squad to choose from, I would have have probably gone for what has worked well for us all season long at home (Bayern apart), but in light of Monday's squad situation, I would have played the hand I was dealt differently.
As it stands we were beaten, but the person I feel most sorry for was Pellegrini. I so wanted him to wipe that smug grin of Maureen's face it hurt inside! Just as in the victory against Bayern, MP learned that in some instances pragmatism doesn't mean you haven't remained true to your attacking instincts, I hope too he will get something similar out of this defeat.
At the highest level of football, it's just as important to know the man as it is to know his team. Guardiola and Maureen have both proved that to us this season and it's no coincidence that they are the only two managers to walk away from The Etihad with any points in their back pockets. Hindsight is a great thing, but looking back at it, both Pep & Maureen set up for Pellegrini rather than Manchester City and the two times MP did the unpredictable away to both, we were clearly the better side and it took a last minute defensive mix up for the Chavs to win and we beat Bayern.
By the look of hurt on Pellegrini's face, this defeat might just be the one needed to drive us on for the remainder of the season. Like I've said before, we lost the battle on Monday but we potentially have 4 wars still to win, and for me that is now our season's priority, idealistically or pragmatically......
steviemc said:You make a few valid points, however I think it absurd to suggest that Pellers or the team were 'complacent' going into the Chelsea match.
It's seems abundantly clear from your posts that you do not like our 4-4-2 system which you regard as antiquated, but there's no guarantee that a change of formation would have us in a better position than where we are. The system we play is far removed from a regular 4-4-2 in it's flexibility. We may never regularly play a 4-2-3-1 or your preferred 4-1-2-3, and that I'm afraid is just something you may have to live with. We will lose the odd match simply because we do not play well enough, or the preferred personnel are injured. I think that's one thing we can all agree on.
"Chelsea is our biggest game" has a certain poetic ring to it.hgblue said:moomba said:MP had better get used to conparisons between him and Jose as its certainly being built up as a grudge rivalry between the two.
Winners are grinners though, I thought MP outfoxed Jose at Stamford Bridge but got none of the plaudits as the result didnt go our way.
I wish he'd show more flexibility with his tactics but its hard to argue when we're getting results.
In my opinion, the City Chelsea rivalry is set to define the next decade of Premiership football, in the same way the United Liverpool rivalry defined previous decades. Mourinho will sign a top quality striker in the summer, and Chelsea will be even stronger next season. We need to take this challenge full on and rise to it. Pellegrini taking Mourinho on in the media is no bad thing imo, but he needs to start winning matches against him before this becomes an issue for the team.
That may be so, although I think it's a lot easier to advocate a formation problem in a game where we fielded an under-strength side who at least were playing to a system they were more familiar with. If this becomes apparent against PL teams when we field a full strength team I'll be the first to agree.BillyShears said:steviemc said:You make a few valid points, however I think it absurd to suggest that Pellers or the team were 'complacent' going into the Chelsea match.
It's seems abundantly clear from your posts that you do not like our 4-4-2 system which you regard as antiquated, but there's no guarantee that a change of formation would have us in a better position than where we are. The system we play is far removed from a regular 4-4-2 in it's flexibility. We may never regularly play a 4-2-3-1 or your preferred 4-1-2-3, and that I'm afraid is just something you may have to live with. We will lose the odd match simply because we do not play well enough, or the preferred personnel are injured. I think that's one thing we can all agree on.
I suspect we'll be different tactically next season. People seem to forget Pellegrini/Txiki have so far only used one transfer window to shape the squad. We'll have a much better idea of what this team and Pellegrini are all about after this summer's window. This season seems to be about finding out who from the Mancini era is going to stay with us.
I think there'll be at least one surprise out going this summer.
BillyShears said:tolmie's hairdoo said:Our manager gave a speech in the dressing room to ALL the players after the Chelsea game which left the players roaring by the end of it.
It went down very well indeed and we should thank Mourinho for playing his part.
You mean we still have a chance of winning the league this season ? Wow, I'm shocked.
I thought everyone just packed up and went home the day Chelsea reappointed the tactical genius, Machiavellian genius, the only man to get the best out of his players and then some, Super Jose Mourinho. :)
No seriously ... I'm going to laugh my tits off when I reserves beat Chelsea's best XI in the FA Cup.
steviemc said:That may be so, although I think it's a lot easier to advocate a formation problem in a game where we fielded an under-strength side who at least were playing to a system they were more familiar with. If this becomes apparent against PL teams when we field a full strength team I'll be the first to agree.BillyShears said:steviemc said:You make a few valid points, however I think it absurd to suggest that Pellers or the team were 'complacent' going into the Chelsea match.
It's seems abundantly clear from your posts that you do not like our 4-4-2 system which you regard as antiquated, but there's no guarantee that a change of formation would have us in a better position than where we are. The system we play is far removed from a regular 4-4-2 in it's flexibility. We may never regularly play a 4-2-3-1 or your preferred 4-1-2-3, and that I'm afraid is just something you may have to live with. We will lose the odd match simply because we do not play well enough, or the preferred personnel are injured. I think that's one thing we can all agree on.
I suspect we'll be different tactically next season. People seem to forget Pellegrini/Txiki have so far only used one transfer window to shape the squad. We'll have a much better idea of what this team and Pellegrini are all about after this summer's window. This season seems to be about finding out who from the Mancini era is going to stay with us.
I think there'll be at least one surprise out going this summer.
gordondaviesmoustache said:"Chelsea is our biggest game" has a certain poetic ring to it.hgblue said:moomba said:MP had better get used to conparisons between him and Jose as its certainly being built up as a grudge rivalry between the two.
Winners are grinners though, I thought MP outfoxed Jose at Stamford Bridge but got none of the plaudits as the result didnt go our way.
I wish he'd show more flexibility with his tactics but its hard to argue when we're getting results.
In my opinion, the City Chelsea rivalry is set to define the next decade of Premiership football, in the same way the United Liverpool rivalry defined previous decades. Mourinho will sign a top quality striker in the summer, and Chelsea will be even stronger next season. We need to take this challenge full on and rise to it. Pellegrini taking Mourinho on in the media is no bad thing imo, but he needs to start winning matches against him before this becomes an issue for the team.