Discussion: Manuel Pellegrini 2015/16

[Exeter Blue I am here]

Can't argue with any of that but you should have added that their first was should not have stood.

Can't agree. Lukaku wasn't in Willy's line of sight when the shot was struck IMO. It's a small matter though. I've given Pellegrini some stick this season, and tonight was the umpteenth shambles he's presided over this season (nice bloke or not, his departure cannot come soon enough), but the players tonight eclipsed him. 3 or 4 of them (Clichy, Delph, Aguero) were merely poor. Ya Ya was a stone cold fucking disgrace - his most lamentable effort since the rags at Old Toilet last March - and I have real issues with De Bruyne. Lovely smooth footballer with the ball, but verging on cowardly without it

 

[argyle]

I asked in the match thread....just what does he have our players do in training?

We look unfit, unable to out run and outwork any opponent, we run out of ideas in the final third and our defending is abysmal.

 

[hilts]

Can tell you don't watch football that much!

We needed to score so he brought on fernando to do what silva n yaya couldn't do.

Is there a sarcastic smiley we can use on bluemoon to prevent such confusion?

 

[LittleEgg]

A temp manager won't drop Yaya Toure, he will rely on him.

I disagree because a blind man and his dog can see that's where the big problem lies. The only reason any manager coming in wouldn't drop toure, or at least adapt the formation to accommodate him, is if the club have bent over for toure during that infamous summer spell. If they did its a mistake which will cost dearly.

Toure is playing like his position is infallible.

 

[OB1]

That could end up even worse.

I don't know what i'd do tbh because if this team clicks next week, we win the league & probably at least one cup. We are streets ahead of everyone imo, but for some reason producing this shite. In a way, it's just a continuation of last season, if we count the run as a 'blip'. It appears Pellegrini is a busted flush & we just got deluded because of a winning streak. But from another perspective, it's difficult to imagine we can't do better & won't do better at some point, & we are still in everything. I think the players needto inspire themselves. Or Khaldoon have a word. Pel hasn't got it.

Tricky isn't it. I am a big believer in self-motivation and having players that do just that. The one thing an interim manager might do, is select the team differently, just because they are different. I think Pellegrini may be too stuck in his ways. That said, it is hard to pick any players that are truly reliable. This season, maybe Hart and Sagna. Dinho has been good a lot of the time but tonight he was conceding too many fouls - which he has form for - and being run around at times just as easily as some of his team mates.

 

[Neville Kneville]

But I find it apparent that he does. These players are clearly not drilled defensively.

There are no defensive structures in place whatsoever. There is not enough (and sometimes NO) pressing up high, players don't back each other up to trap players in the flanks or when they have throw-ins in their half, players are too far away from each other so there are huge spaces around everyone to be played around, the back four are told to hold the 18yard line other than that they have no cohesion anywhere else on the pitch, they two centre backs are too far away from each other, the DMs do not drop deep enough often enough to help the CDs out.

Playing a high line when you don't press and leave big holes is just a recipe to be counter-attacked.

With all the will in the world, if you're one-two'd around because of huge spaces between players, you can sprint back at Bolt pace but you still won't catch the ball up.

Sometimes we have a couple of players so called 'pressing' but behind them is 30 yars of free space. How can this possibly work ? It's nonsense.

 

[CatMan]

I'm sure Pellegrini wants to win as much as we do, and yes his substitutions can be bizarre.

What I find inexcusable is the brazen idleness of certain players, and how every game we play we get outplayed by hard work.

Yes some of this lack of energy that players seem prepared to exude might be attributable to Pellegrini's motivational (or lack of them) techniques. I suspect however that the majority of our problems are down to our players not giving a flying F*@% about our club and simply going through the motions game after game.

 

[pavelsrnicek]

The regularity with which our offside trap gets beaten because there's no pressure on the ball drives me mad.

Their winner had so much in common with Liverpool's goals. No pressure on Barry to deliver the cross.

Today de Bruyne worked occasionally off the ball as did Silva, Yaya was a day late to everything and got caught in possession regularly. Delph gave the ball away at will.

For a team with so much attacking potential we were pretty damn poor going forward.

 

[Neville Kneville]

I disagree because a blind man and his dog can see that's where the big problem lies. The only reason any manager coming in wouldn't drop toure, or at least adapt the formation to accommodate him, is if the club have bent over for toure during that infamous summer spell. If they did its a mistake which will cost dearly.

Toure is playing like his position is infallible.

You should know, being a City fan, that interim managers always do the opposite of what you think they will do.

 

[LittleEgg]

I'm sure Pellegrini wants to win as much as we do, and yes his substitutions can be bizarre.

What I find inexcusable is the brazen idleness of certain players, and how every game we play we get outplayed by hard work.

Yes some of this lack of energy that players seem prepared to exude might be attributable to Pellegrini's motivational (or lack of them) techniques. I suspect however that the majority of our problems are down to our players not giving a flying F*@% about our club and simply going through the motions game after game.

Yeah, if a temp manager came at least the choice of substitutes would be sorted...at present my mother could make better choices.