Discussion: Manuel Pellegrini 2015/16

[gordondaviesmoustache]

Hmmmmm

I like to do my bit.

 

[jollylescott]

Ahem...

Alas GDM modesty becomes you yet again. Unfortunately it's your one fatal flaw.....

 

[gordondaviesmoustache]

Alas GDM modesty becomes you yet again. Unfortunately it's your one fatal flaw.....

I prefer to look upon my inveterate modesty as part of my huge array of gifts to the wider world.

 

[Steve68]

I'm here to break up all the fighting. I'm Bluemoon's Henry Kissinger.

Can you napalm a forum?

 

[gordondaviesmoustache]

Can you napalm a forum?

Only as a last resort.

 

[cibaman]

Can you napalm a forum?

Start a Mancini v Pellegrini thread?

 

[inchy14]

I think you're totally missing the point mate. There is more to being a centre forward than being a good finisher.

It's the only position on the pitch where you spend the overwhelming majority of the game with the ball behind you. It takes a different kind of movement to get in to space, to hold the ball up, to get in behind, to steal a yard to create a chance.

I'm not sure if you ever played football to any standard mate, but did you ever try and play up front? There's a reason they say it's the hardest position to play in football.

Most midfielders could step in and do a job at full back, the physical ones who can read the game well often make excellent centre backs. But ask them to go and play up front and it's like asking a fish to juggle.

It takes a hell of a lot more than "a good finish" to play there. It's a specialist position, second only to goalkeeper in the uniqueness of the skills required to play there. Kalechi has the natural ability to play centre forward, De Bruyne and Sterling do not.

But surely the fact that both Sterling and Debruyne created the space and both actually got in behind proved they are capable of playing there then?

It was just their poor efforts or lack of luck that stopped us taking the 3 points.

No way of knowing whether Kelechi would have taken either of the chances that fell their way if he'd have been on the pitch so it's all a mute point anyway.

 

[Steve68]

Only as a last resort.

I knew Henry Kissinger, and you sir, are no Henry Kissinger. ;)

 

[Neville Kneville]

I think you're totally missing the point mate. There is more to being a centre forward than being a good finisher.

It's the only position on the pitch where you spend the overwhelming majority of the game with the ball behind you. It takes a different kind of movement to get in to space, to hold the ball up, to get in behind, to steal a yard to create a chance.

I'm not sure if you ever played football to any standard mate, but did you ever try and play up front? There's a reason they say it's the hardest position to play in football.

Most midfielders could step in and do a job at full back, the physical ones who can read the game well often make excellent centre backs. But ask them to go and play up front and it's like asking a fish to juggle.

It takes a hell of a lot more than "a good finish" to play there. It's a specialist position, second only to goalkeeper in the uniqueness of the skills required to play there. Kalechi has the natural ability to play centre forward, De Bruyne and Sterling do not.

I agree with everything you say there, apart from the bit about Kelechi being a centre forward. His actual position is more of a No10, so not that dissimilar to DeBruyne's typical position at Wolfsburg, tbf. He 'can' play centre forward, but holding up the ball with defenders bumping into the back of him, is not what he's really used to, yet, he's still learning.

He's actually more suited to replacing Jovetic, than Aguero or Bony.

For that reason, I'm not really down on Pellegrini for opting against it, although I doubt it has anything to do with his decision, & personally, I would have played him

 

[Shaelumstash]

I agree with everything you say there, apart from the bit about Kelechi being a centre forward. His actual position is more of a No10, so not that dissimilar to DeBruyne's typical position at Wolfsburg, tbf. He 'can' play centre forward, but holding up the ball with defenders bumping into the back of him, is not what he's really used to, yet, he's still learning.

He's actually more suited to replacing Jovetic, than Aguero or Bony.

For that reason, I'm not really down on Pellegrini for opting against it, although I doubt it has anything to do with his decision, & personally, I would have played him

I agree with you about Kelechi mate, he's more of a natural number 10 than an out and out centre forward. However I think he has got the physical attributes and more of a natural instinct to play as a number 9 than De Bruyne or Sterling.

While we're on the subject of number 10s, I think it's important to raise the issue that there are two distinct types of number 10. There's the forward who drops deep (Bergkamp, Cantona, Gullit) and the midfielder who pushes on (Kinkladze, Juninho, Oscar).

The forwards are obviously much more suited to playing centre forward than than the midfielder. For me Kelechi is the former and De Bruyne the latter.

Although Kelechi has played more as a number 10 so far in youth football, I think he'll end up being a number 9 in the professional game.