Discuss Pellegrini...

[jrb]

There will always be doubts about a 60 year old manager who has never won a major league. His fans will say in his defence that he has never had the tools. His detractors will say he was never given the tools because the powers that be at the big clubs didn't think he was good enough.

OK Madrid thought he was worth a punt but a defeat at non league Alcorcon in the copa del Rey and a defeat to Lyon in the last sixteen of the Cl changed their mind.

So until he wins us a league or gets the sack this argument will go on ad infinitum.

The only measure of him is this. Would you swap our entire squad for Liverpool's or Chelsea's? Not a bloody chance. He has underperformed. And don't give me it's his first season. Didn't stop Mourinho or Ancelotti coming into a successful club and winning the league straight away.

As it stands, Mourinho and Chelsea haven't won anything yet this season. They may have got further in the CL, and are currently higher in the PL, but if that's all they have to show for this season, Abramovich and Chelsea fans won't be happy with that.

And as it stands, City can still catch Liverpool and Chelsea, The title isn't over yet.

 

[dw7]

There will always be doubts about a 60 year old manager who has never won a major league. His fans will say in his defence that he has never had the tools. His detractors will say he was never given the tools because the powers that be at the big clubs didn't think he was good enough.

OK Madrid thought he was worth a punt but a defeat at non league Alcorcon in the copa del Rey and a defeat to Lyon in the last sixteen of the Cl changed their mind.

So until he wins us a league or gets the sack this argument will go on ad infinitum.

The only measure of him is this. Would you swap our entire squad for Liverpool's or Chelsea's? Not a bloody chance. He has underperformed. And don't give me it's his first season. Didn't stop Mourinho or Ancelotti coming into a successful club and winning the league straight away.

As it stands, Mourinho and Chelsea haven't won anything yet this season. They may have got further in the CL, and are currently higher in the PL, but if that's all they have to show for this season, Abramovich and Chelsea fans won't be happy with that.

And as it stands, City can still catch Liverpool and Chelsea, The title isn't over yet.

But city's squad is a lot better than Chelsea's

 

[Steveo]

I get the feeling he would have been criticised had he not put Aguero on as well?

The first 15 mins, and Kompany's error were the reasons why we lost today, and we have to take it on the chin and carry on.

 

[gungho-tactics]

JM would of coasted the league with our squad.

Having seen some of the shite you've posted this evening, I won't waste my breath arguing

It's true though our squad is a lot better ban Chelsea's

-- Sun Apr 13, 2014 10:28 pm --

JM would of coasted the league with our squad.

Chelsea's squad cost more than our squad. Why isn't Mourinho "coasting the league" ?

May have cost more doesn't mean it's better

Is Torres better than agureo because he cost more

I'm sorry but Lukaku, Ba, Eto, Torres, these are decent strikers that can score goals. Chelsea also have several talented midfielders who can score goals.

Yet , Mourinho isn't coasting the league despite having the experience that Pellegrini doesn't have.

 

[Chippy_boy]

The decision to replace Dzeko with an unfit Aguero when we had come back fighting with two goals and were playing well - was simply appalling.

Was it? There wasn't long to go and it almost paid off when Silva almost scored
The key moments when it was 2-2 were the near-misses and the Kompany clearance which unluckily went straight to Countinho

That overhit pass (when he should have gone on himself) was Sergio's only threatening moment in a full third of the match - he was well off the pace. Dzeko's face when he was subbed said it all - a clear mistake.

Easily said from the comfort of your own home, 7 or 8 hours after the game's finished. What if Aguero - genius that he is - had come on and scored a couple? How did you know he wasn't going to? The answer is you didn't, and couldn't. So there's no way you could call it a clear mistake..

 

[Anonymous]

Some real infantile toss on this thread as usual, as the quest for the perfect manager goes on in the minds of the hindsight Harrys.
I would have started with Milner over Navas, but that frankly is about it. For all those squealing about Pellegrini's naïvety, what else should he have done vis a vis team selection? Pick Kolarov, so Sterling could run him ragged? Pick Garcia; for who exactly? Nasri? Silva? Fernandinho? All excellent 2nd half. Or perhaps leave out 18 goal Ya Ya? And a half fit Kun over Dzeko?

I called Liverpool as potential title winners as far back as Christmas. Not after a smarty pants medal, but it does emphasise that we don't have a divine right to win anything and that we aren't miles better than everyone else. For all that though, we are a very good side playing very good football under a very good manager. Laugh of the day has been listening to people claim we'd have been better off with the eye gouger. Really? What's he won this season? Fuck all, that's what, and he's bored the shit out of everyone doing it.

This is Pellegrini's first season in English football, and the title was "lost" (the inverted commas are there to emphasise the fact that we haven't actually lost it yet, although it's a tall order admittedly), in the first few weeks of the season (Stoke, Cardiff, Villa etc), when a new manager was trying to impose a new system on an injury ravaged squad. Next year he will have the centre half, central midfielder and quality centre forward he wanted this year.
The people on here bellyaching tonight are the same prats who were too thick to understand why he kept picking DiMichelis over Lescott. Well, just as they have probably worked that "mystery" out now, so this time next year they'll probably be amazed at what else Pellegrini has "learned". Seriously, take the rest of the night off. We're a top team with a top manager (not a perfect one by any stretch, but pretty damned good for all that), and the only reason we ain't got it in the bag is cos Liverpool have had more good fortune this season than a pig in shit.

To be fair, and without any hindsight whatsoever, that highlighted bit is a fundamental for today's game. Whilst Suarez is capable of worldies from nothing, the same can't be said of Sturridge, he's a feeder. Cutting out that supply chain from midfield and trying to dominate Gerrard etc is the approach I would have taken.

When you have the creativity of Silva and Nasri, the drive of Yaya (prior to the injury of course) and Fernandinho too, not adding the drive, dependability and no nonsense approach of Milner in a game such as this is frankly ridiculous.

I have a real problem at times with Pellegrini's seeming insouciance. He is clearly a manager who likes to play good attacking football, but there are times whether we like it or not, a pragmatic approach is required and today called for Milner from the off with Navas on the bench.

Maybe I'm wrong, maybe it's the cider but I'm fucking fuming with Pellers today.

 

[onceabluealways]

The football is good and entertaining but it is fair that people question the manager

Against teams that can move the ball quickly he has kept the same tactics with Yaya and ferdi in midfield and we have been overun.

Yes nasri had a better second half today once we got on top, but after watching him againt arse in the first half ( and second) - he then did nothing yet he continues to not use the squad he has available to him. Jovetic has shown he can hold the ball has good movement and should be given a chance when others performances slack off.

Navas has shown repeatedly that in the really big games he fails to deliver yet Milner does the opposite and still never comes on until it's to late.

Why has Negredo gone from buy of the season to someone who gets 5 minutes now and again - if his shoulder is still not right then take him out of the squad. If it's confidence then he needs game time against lesser opposition at home to boost it back up.

I don't know whether it's right to train hard the day before a match but the ferdi injury before the Chavs game cost us and the Komps one cost us today. Thats not entirely his fault but it has certainly cost us big time. Have we just been really unlucky this season?

I think the manager has lots of good qualities and the football at times is breathtaking, but when the chips have been really down we seem to have been a bit tactically niaive and slow to react to what is happening in these games.

 

[dw7]

Having seen some of the shite you've posted this evening, I won't waste my breath arguing

It's true though our squad is a lot better ban Chelsea's

-- Sun Apr 13, 2014 10:28 pm --

Chelsea's squad cost more than our squad. Why isn't Mourinho "coasting the league" ?

May have cost more doesn't mean it's better

Is Torres better than agureo because he cost more

I'm sorry but Lukaku, Ba, Eto, Torres, these are decent strikers that can score goals. Chelsea also have several talented midfielders who can score goals.

Yet , Mourinho isn't coasting the league despite having the experience that Pellegrini doesn't have.

Man for man our squad is better. No doubt about it Chelsea's is good but ours is better

 

[El Mago]

I think Navas should be 3rd choice behind Milner and Jovetic as an attacking midfielder.

 

[BobKowalski]

It was a big game and Pellegrini got the team selection wrong and he'll take the flack for that. But the problems lie much deeper than just a team selection. It's clear to see the defence have let Pellegrini down countless times this season. Give us a consistently good back 5 such as Chelsea's and the league would of been ours long ago. Give Pellegrini this summer to build and work on a back 5 which we should have sorted out last summer. If he gets that opportunity, I very much doubt we'd be questioning Pellegrini too much next season.

The defence doesn't operate in a vacuum nor is outside of Pellegrini's remit. He is (believe it or not) responsible for the defence (yeah I know radical). These days the entire team has to be the defence not just the mugs at the back. Chelsea play as a compact, disciplined unit with players such as Matic shielding the defence. Today Sterling operated with impunity and in acres of space between our midfield and defence (which had zero protection) and we got shredded. The reason why defenders such as Kompany and MDM have looked so awful at times and why Nastasić seems to have invented an injury to avoid being picked is, as Pellers himself stated, we are obliged to defend with less players and when it goes wrong it does so in epic style. I still see that Chelsea game with Kompany and Nasty running into each other complete with red noses and big shoes (not to mention Kompany ripping into Nasty to the extent we have barely seen him since). And can we forget that Gerrard header today from 5 yards out with no one within a country mile of him? Seriously what the fuck was that all about?

Sometimes we get our shit together and do press well and defend as a team and other times opposing managers come up with new fangled formations such as the 'midfield diamond' and its a bloodbath. As this has happened more than once I assume we pay zero attention to what opposing teams do or how they set up and make no effort to prepare for it in training. Either that or the players have short memory spans. Who knows.

First time I saw Pellers in action was end of season Barca v Malaga. Figured I would see what he was about. Barca were 3-0 up inside 20 minutes. I stopped watching. At times this season I have relived that 20 minutes.