Discussion: Manuel Pellegrini 2015/16

[Blue Smarties]

<Rant Begin>
So, let's all agree that the majority of people on this forum believe that with the current squad we have, the league should be ours for the taking. However, in my (shitty) opinion, the league will NEVER be available for the taking, ever again.

Pellers is reluctant to go back to his 4-4-2 (my god, how amazing was that half-season with Negredo!). I don't blame him. The league is a much scarier prospect than it was in 2013-2014. Like it or not, the league has changed DRAMATICALLY in terms of quality over the last 2 seasons. I'd claim there are over 10 teams with real "star quality" on their rosters. In that, I mean those "star" players would compete for a starting place in City's best squad on any day, maybe bar Aguero (but lets face it, he's not really having a good season yet). Riyad Mahrez = KDB.

Pellers has been more pragmatic as he tenure has gone on at city. He wants to play attractive, scoring football, but he seems to be scared of the gung-ho approach he incorporated in 2013-2014. I don't think that is an issue with city's personnel, except for maybe the absence of Kompany. I think it is the realization that the quality throughout the league will punish any team that does not respect its opposition. Cite Liverpool thrashing city a few months ago. Everyone blamed Pellegrini in hindsight. But what lineup/methodology would Pep Guardiola have installed in order to combat Liverpool that day? Is it personnel? A few folks on here are suggesting only 5-8 players on city's current roster will be with the team in 2 seasons. How exactly is that Pellegrini's fault that he is working with an aging, transitioning squad?

At some point as pressure builds, I really do hope that Pellers drops his guard, says FUCK IT ALL, and goes with a 4-4-2 in the league the rest of the season. With a middle finger up to all the haters and 2 to 3 trophies under his other arm on his way out. The league will be harder and harder to win as the money continues to pour into the rest of the league. Get rid of the notion of "traditional" competition. It is a wide open battle with or without Pep Guardiola at the helm. He is not a saving grace, and he will not find it easy to win this league. FUCK June 2016. I'm rooting for January, February, March, April, and May 2016. There are 4 trophies up for grabs in what could be City's best ever season. I say get behind the team, because times are actually really good right now. Regardless of the apathetic approach of some of the players (not coach). CTID.

<Rant End>

Anyone going to tell me if I should read past this guy saying Mahrez is on par with KDB, because right now I've stopped and I ain't continuing.

 

[Deleted member 58678]

I said that our points total was the lowest for 5 seasons and MP's defenders came back with all sorts of figures to say that was disingenuous as we were only 3 points behind the leaders blah, blah, blah.

Well here's the table with our results against each team:

We haven't beaten any team above tomorrow's opponents and have just 2 points from the games against the other 6 teams in the top seven. I'l say it again, I don't care what other teams have done - for us, it's not good enough.

4 wins out of twelve against the top 11 teams. 1 win out of 8 against the top 9. Also look at the cups; the one decent team we had in our Champions Lg group [Juve] we lost to home and away and the first hard game we had in the FL Cup [Everton] we lost (of course the tie still has a leg to go but we were very poor at Goodison).

I think we've gone stale on the pitch too. The team don't excite me, our style of football doesn't excite me, our passing is painfully slow. We have gone very dull! The players don't look particularly up for the fight for the title they're givin off a demeanour of "whatever", at best, and "I don't want to be here", at worst, at the moment.

When the going has got tough this season the manager has only adapted the tactics, formation or personnel to give something a real change in the pitch once, once all season (Mangala off for Bony at Watford). The rest of the time he's allowed glaring deficiencies to carry on being exploited for far too long. The Stoke and Liverpool games were the two for me that really punched me in the face with this guy that he just hasn't got it. In both games it needed changing early doors, both got to 1-0 and he still didn't change it, then 2-0, and still no change. At Stoke he didn't change a single thing until the 63rd minute after Stoke could have easily been 4-0 up and after Liverpool got to 3-0 he still waited until half time to change it.

Managers have been sacked for less than the total lack of coaching and management in those two games.

If we just happen to find some form to go on a run of wins between now and the end of the season, those two games have told me that it will have very little of anything to do with this manager. It will be because the players just happen to have found form.

 

[bondsman]

Bwahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!

Why are you mentioning my name? You're so battle scarred you must have echoes in your head because you forgot you mentioned my name once already! Lol ........ I assume this is because your brain has melted into blancmange....... :-)

You love making out that anyone who doesn't agree with you is a footballing know nowt, but you've proved over time you're the biggest KFA of them all.

My views on Pellegrini have been consistent since his first match in charge of us against Newcastle, and whilst you were on a giddy high from constantly slurping Manuel's knob cheese, myself and many others saw impending flaws with Manuel's all out attacking philosophy and predicted there would be trouble ahead if he continued with it.

What many of us said then has become accepted opinion now, but you just can't leave it can you. Your insane hatred for Mancini meant that ANY constructive criticism of Manuel was just seen as latent support for Bob with us 'hankering' for his return which couldn't have been further from the truth. Now your shit football opinion is in tatters, you've jumped on the Pep bandwagon as if you were always on it just so you can give the impression that again you know what you're talking about.

Its sad really and just goes to prove how irrelevant your opinion has become on Bluemoon and I suspect with anyone even remotely interested in football. You carry on with your unconditional head in the sand support of Manuel as you've just become a humourous parody of yourself, but at least it keeps us all amused and takes our collective minds off the increasingly turgid brand of football you fought so hard to advocate.

Dunno about anyone else you took the time to mention in your lunatic post, but I'll just leave you to carry on barking your 'Manuel is God' mantra to yourself like a demented dog whilst I get on with the business of supporting my club. If you require further qualification of that, just carry on counting your ever decreasing circle of sycophants as you sit there increasingly alone.

I can just imagine you sat there in your final days just like the fella who started WW2 deluding yourself that you're still right. As I said, its so so sad...........

Remind me never to upset you

 

[Marvin]

You have to realise that although the season is only half over and we have yet to be knocked out of any tournament, people have decided that they can pronounce on the season now and there is no chance that these supremely prescient folk could be wrong; which is a shame so maybe I had better not bother driving 180 miles tomorrow morning as there is no hope that the team will decide to perform with Pellegrini in the dugout tomorrow.

In other words "do not comment on a football forum before the season is over". You also miss the point as to why most people go to the game.

Pellegrini is not a fool. His style of management worked at one point. He's been very conservative. He's taken Mancini's team and just protected every part of it and tried to preserve it. As the engine room tired we went from 2 up front to 1 up front and now when even that is not enough he still hangs on to it for dear life.

This is still a very talented squad and we're still capable of winning but I am convinced we'd be top of the league by some distance now if we played 442 without Toure.

 

[Marvin]

Anyone going to tell me if I should read past this guy saying Mahrez is on par with KDB, because right now I've stopped and I ain't continuing.

Excuse me but Mahrez has been nothing short of sensational this season.

There are two reasons Leicester are above us in the table. One is Jamie Vardy and the other is Mahrez.

De Bruyne is an outstanding footballer too. This season in terms of form and impact, Mahrez is the man. Player of the season so far.

 

[daztrueblue91]

If we play Sterling as a number 10 for the rest of the season they we cruise to the league title.

Sterling's pace and movement is superb and he would offer us directness alongside Kun.

I'm a huge David Silva fan but playing him in the number 10 role with Yaya and Fernandinho in the middle isn't cutting it.

Yaya and Silva both like to dictate play from behind the ball. Fernandinho strictly has to stay back to cover Yaya's weaknesses which means we have very little central attacking options.

I've lost count the amount of times a ball comes into the box and no one is there or Kun is isolated.

Move Silva out wide and let him drift in. In fact his game is more suited to letting Kolarov overlap than Sterling. In addition, Silva will naturally have more space being out wide as well.

A more obvious solution would be to have Yaya as the DM as his legs are clearly not what they were a few years back and let Fernandinho move up. However this ain't going to happen.

 

[daztrueblue91]

Excuse me but Mahrez has been nothing short of sensational this season.

There are two reasons Leicester are above us in the table. One is Jamie Vardy and the other is Mahrez.

De Bruyne is an outstanding footballer too. This season in terms of form and impact, Mahrez is the man. Player of the season so far.

Think that's a bit harsh of Kante and Drinkwater who have been superb.

 

[blueinsa]

In other words "do not comment on a football forum before the season is over". You also miss the point as to why most people go to the game.

Pellegrini is not a fool. His style of management worked at one point. He's been very conservative. He's taken Mancini's team and just protected every part of it and tried to preserve it. As the engine room tired we went from 2 up front to 1 up front and now when even that is not enough he still hangs on to it for dear life.

This is still a very talented squad and we're still capable of winning but I am convinced we'd be top of the league by some distance now if we played 442 without Toure.

Mancini's squad?

I keep hearing this and after the constant moaning that Mancini never got to buy the players he wanted and it ultimately being one of the reasons he lost his job, its now become an established fact on here that whatever Pellegrini has achieved has only been because of Mancini's squad.

Both Bob and now Pellegrini have not had the luxury of picking their own players as we dont work like that as a club.

I suspect that will change when Pep arrives but for now, they dont get to pick and choose.

 

[Blue Smarties]

Excuse me but Mahrez has been nothing short of sensational this season.

There are two reasons Leicester are above us in the table. One is Jamie Vardy and the other is Mahrez.

De Bruyne is an outstanding footballer too. This season in terms of form and impact, Mahrez is the man. Player of the season so far.

He's been playing well this season so far. I want to see him do it on a consistent basis, including the highest level with midweek cup ties before I rate him on par with KDB. We are talking about the Bundesliga player of the year who has performed on a consistent basis.

Is Vardy on par with Aguero?

 

[Marvin]

He's been playing well this season so far. I want to see him do it on a consistent basis, including the highest level with midweek cup ties before I rate him on par with KDB. We are talking about the Bundesliga player of the year who has performed on a consistent basis.

Is Vardy on par with Aguero?

I think the jury is out on Vardy. mahrez though could play for any team. I'm sure he'll be targeted in the Summer and if Leicester aren't in the CL he'll probably move on