Discussion: Manuel Pellegrini 2014/15 (continued)

[BillyShears]

A two team La Liga is different to the Premier League. I've always watched a lot of La Liga as I prefer skilful possession football to the sometimes blood & snot variety served up in the Prem by LVG & Fat Sam. The only dogmatism being shown here is the defence of MP come what may as all I've done is repeat what I and many others spotted many moons ago which led many to call for change.

MP makes changes these changes we win. He reverts to type, we struggle as his 442 has been well and truly found out as alluded to by Fat Sam, Pulis and Pardew et al. Yaya doesn't have the lungs or legs at his age to play in a midfield two so why play him there? Silva is best as a No 10 so why play him left wing? Football really isn't as complicated as some make out as even non football professionals could spot our weaknesses and tell where it was leading us.

You don't have to be the brain of Britain to work out with 442 we struggle and with 4231/433 we excel. It's simple really as the impending results showed..........

Again so dogmatic. I could show you that all our best results in the last two years have come playing 442. We won a league playing it. Rewriting history to make out its been out only problem and solely down to MP is disingenuous at best.

The only dogmatism I've seen is his obsession with 442 & your defence of the obvious in the face of overwhelming evidence. If 442 was the way forward, why did he go with one striker in the title run-in last season? Why has our best football and best results come from the 'shift' from 442 to a one striker system this season?

I believe you should play the hand you're dealt not try & fit square pegs in round holes. Again if 442 was the answer, why the 'shift'?

Well done in completely ignoring that fact some of our best performances and results have come playing 442.

Honestly it's as if you don't actually watch City. Just regurgitate what you read on Bluemoon.

 

[hilts]

My guess is he will be back to a preferred 4-4-2 next year, if he is still here, but with some new midfield players who can actually cope with it. No problems, with that at all. The problem this year was the way he implemented the 4-4-2 with players who couldn't cope. I don't see how anyone can dress it up any other way.

Look, I don't have a problem with Pellegrini. He can stay, he can go. I have no emotional bond with him whatsoever after two years, other than thanks for a job well done last season. Does anyone doubt, though, that if he had played the game all season the way he has in the last six matches we would be in a much better position at the end? So, why on earth persist with the preferred formation, tactics and rotation. Told to play that way, maybe?

As for Soriano and Begiristain, they may be very good at what they are doing for the club, or they may not be. They do not, however, make much effort to build a rapport with the fanbase. There is no "pop". Not with Soriano or Begiristain, or Pellegrini. We have a few players who get the fans going, and Khaldoon is well respected and says the right things, well. The owner? Impeccable. There is nothing exciting in the middle, though. Is it a European thing? Or a Spanish thing, a Barcelona thing, even? Maybe English fans expect more pop, maybe it's just City fans, but I imagine people will tell you, in general, Cook and Mancini "got" City fans, and Soriano, Begiristain and Pellegrini are too distant. Is that important as long as the club is successful? Maybe not. When there are problems, though, throughout a season, say, then that bond could be valuable. They need to make more of an effort to build a relationship with the fanbase, especially the match-going fanbase, if you ask me. Then they may get more credit and more recognition. You may get a better atmosphere at the ground as well. Maybe not.

Speaking of which, Pellegrini seems to have spent more time on the touchline in these last few games, than in the rest of the season put together. Showing more passion? Been told to show more passion?

Great post that, it is hard to feel an affinity with those running the club, maybe they could communicate a bit more, my problem with the formation he prefers is it creates a problem for silva and toure, now toure may not be here but silva will, I would give silva complete freedom but to do that he would need to be a number 10 in a 4 4 1 1 or in the middle of a 4 2 3 1, not sure 4 3 3 would suit, 3 at the back would but that's the Devils formation to some on here

 

[Damocles]

Let's have another crack at this.

 

[hilts]

Pmsl

 

[JoeMercer'sWay]

Let's have another crack at this.

???

 

[BobKowalski]

My guess is he will be back to a preferred 4-4-2 next year, if he is still here, but with some new midfield players who can actually cope with it. No problems, with that at all. The problem this year was the way he implemented the 4-4-2 with players who couldn't cope. I don't see how anyone can dress it up any other way.

Look, I don't have a problem with Pellegrini. He can stay, he can go. I have no emotional bond with him whatsoever after two years, other than thanks for a job well done last season. Does anyone doubt, though, that if he had played the game all season the way he has in the last six matches we would be in a much better position at the end? So, why on earth persist with the preferred formation, tactics and rotation. Told to play that way, maybe?

As for Soriano and Begiristain, they may be very good at what they are doing for the club, or they may not be. They do not, however, make much effort to build a rapport with the fanbase. There is no "pop". Not with Soriano or Begiristain, or Pellegrini. We have a few players who get the fans going, and Khaldoon is well respected and says the right things, well. The owner? Impeccable. There is nothing exciting in the middle, though. Is it a European thing? Or a Spanish thing, a Barcelona thing, even? Maybe English fans expect more pop, maybe it's just City fans, but I imagine people will tell you, in general, Cook and Mancini "got" City fans, and Soriano, Begiristain and Pellegrini are too distant. Is that important as long as the club is successful? Maybe not. When there are problems, though, throughout a season, say, then that bond could be valuable. They need to make more of an effort to build a relationship with the fanbase, especially the match-going fanbase, if you ask me. Then they may get more credit and more recognition. You may get a better atmosphere at the ground as well. Maybe not.

Speaking of which, Pellegrini seems to have spent more time on the touchline in these last few games, than in the rest of the season put together. Showing more passion? Been told to show more passion?

You are what you are and trying to be something you ain't never ends well. I agree Pellers has attempted to be a bit more engaging but I think that is entirely of his own doing and a realisation that in today's media age you have to show personality and that part of his job as the face of City is to put on a bit of a dog and pony show. The fact that he isn't very good at it is more of the issue and yes there is a disconnect with the fan base reflecting the very different personalities we have in charge compared to the Cook/Mancini era.

A stellar transfer summer would undoubtedly help bring some 'pop' back. Hell sacking off the U21 game and putting a few kids on the bench yesterday would have helped. As for Pellers he is an odd fish in that I cannot get excited over him staying or going. I listen to him and watch him and get nothing. Hughes I disliked intensely and Mancini I loved but Pellers is well Pellers. He exists. Beyond that zip. Nada. Nothing. He leaves tomorrow and I doubt if I will remember him by next week. He is the invisible man.

 

[OB1]

I'm surprised that you both haven't seen the change in the last six games as a positive. After nearly two years of talking about using a pure 433 system with a lone striker, seems clear that Pellegrini has made the shift. The fact that Dzeko and Jovetic have been iced out of the side and the fact that we're not seemingly in the market for a top line striker this summer suggests to me that this switch from playing two up front is permanent.

We won't know definitively until next season starts but the change in the last six games wasn't to my eyes or to my mind born out of necessity due to injuries - it was a clear change in playing shape which has been worked on in training and which I would suggest will be used regularly moving forward.

I'm hoping it is a permanent shift too; I think he's been told to move away from two strikers and have three of them ;-)

fixed that for you bro

I do wonder about that :-)

 

[cleavers]

Let's have another crack at this.

???

Several pages were deleted.

 

[JoeMercer'sWay]

trust me to miss out on the fun.

 

[wythenshaweblue£££]

Let's get some new players in the summer which we all expect and see if pellegrini gets us back to where we belong. Just hope he has learnt from some mistakes he's made in the season.. On the formation matter we just don't have the players to play 442 still think were at our best with aguero and silva behind we become harder to beat.