Discussion: Manuel Pellegrini 2015/16

[DelToro]

Give it a rest lads. We get it. You think Pellegrini's stupid or naive or whatever. But it's time to move on. We have another match tomorrow and you have plenty of opportunities over the next few months to continue this petty nonsense. Let's let Saturday rest now.

Apologies Billy, I didn't realise you were a Mod.

If the gamble on resting players for the Liverpool game so that they are then fresh for the Juve game doesn't work out i.e. we lose both games, can I criticise again or have I used up this month's quota?

 

[BillyShears]

He's not stupid or naive, he's just stubborn and a busted flush.

That's nice. Now like I said may be time to give it a little rest. Just a bit of friendly advice. You're welcome to ignore and go back to childishly calling him names. I'm just not sure what it's adding to the thread.

 

[Steve68]

That's nice. Now like I said may be time to give it a little rest. Just a bit of friendly advice. You're welcome to ignore and go back to childishly calling him names. I'm just not sure what it's adding to the thread.

No one is calling any one names. They are discussing a sensible topic, as you have been. You are free to ignore the thread.

 

[malg]

Apologies Billy, I didn't realise you were a Mod.

If the gamble on resting players for the Liverpool game so that they are then fresh for the Juve game doesn't work out i.e. we lose both games, can I criticise again or have I used up this month's quota?

Definite quota system. If we lose against Juve, you'll be allowed one post in here. - no more than 100 words, and 2 paragraphs maximum.......use them well!

 

[BillyShears]

Never mind. I apologize for getting in the middle of your little woman fest. Sorry. Sensible discussion. Haha.

 

[schfc6]

So if Liverpool had 10 injuries, why would you not set up to beat them? Why would you put an extra midfielder in? Everything, form wise suggested we would be able to beat them. We've scored more goals at home than anyone and they were not showing any signs of great form (and they had the 10 injuries!). It didn't pan out like that and in many ways it is why football captivates the people who watch it. It is not cold science but a dynamic thing that changes before our eyes. It can be momentum, a lucky bounce, a referees decision or a defensive cock up and it's why nothing is ever a given.

I have been wondering much the same myself. We, City, top of the league, much better than Liverpool should tailor our game to suit a team in 10th having won one of their last 6. I'm sorry but if our starting line up Saturday isn't a match for Liverpool it's no fault of the manager.

Yes, Ya Ya & TFernando are questionable, but Palace with a midfield 2 of Cabaye & McArtur managed to not only cope but beat Liverpool.

Liverpool 1-2 C Palace

.....Cabaye...McArthur.....
Bollassi.Puncheon..Zaha
.........Sakho.............

Is that a front 5 set up much better than ours? Absolutely not. We hammered Palace the other week. Difference was, Toure and Fernando were bang up for it.

We all know Klopp is going to press, press high. Everyone accept our players. Why should any manager change his style or risk further injury to players to accommodate a midfield of Milner, Can and Lucas? Should we make special plans for Lallana? No. Firmino? No. Courtinho, perhaps.

Liverpool simply out worked us, I would hope with Ya Ya's passing, & stregnth, De Bruyne's intelligence that perhaps on a good day at home they could expose Liverpool. I would expect Fernando to match Can. I really am not sure why our manager with our squad should make special plans for mid table Liverpool who weren't in very good form. What he should expect is basic football ability and appitite to be shown. He certainly didn't get that.
People can talk tactics(shite) all they want, but if Toure is going to lose headers to Lucas that are 70/30 in his favour then we could have any manager, any system, if players give up, hide it will fail.

A deep lying powerful, confident in possession excellent passer with 2 rapid wingers is the perfect tactic to beat the high press. Players like Toure, Sagna, De Bruyne should be able deal with the likes of Milner, Lallana and Lucas then expose the space they leave behind.

Tactics mean nothing if players don't try. Why is it we can't play Fernando and Toure holding at home to a mid table side, yet United can play two cart horses, Liverpool can play Lucas & Can. Arsenal can play Cazorla and Coquelin, fuck me even Leicester play 2 strikers and two wingers are Drinkwater and Kante now better than our two?
The big difference between our two and the others? Desire. Arsenal will play Liverpool with 1 holding midfielder, they will not lose 4-1.

Where Pellegrini is at fault, Toure should be called on his work rate, it's natural he won't rat around like Coquelin or Milner, but his experience, his skill set he should dominate. If with help from Fernando, two accomplished full backs, De Bruyne, Sterling, Aguero and Navas Toure can't use his skills to dominate, then questions should be asked, but not of Pellegrini.

Why out of the entire top half of the Prem should we be the only ones to play three holding midfielders or it be consider suicide? I would say, Fernando, Toure & Fernandinho is over kill. Unless away in Europe or perhaps away vs Chelsea, rags, Arsenal.

 

[sir baconface]

On the one hand people are saying anyone could do a better job with City's resources. Then, when pressed for alternative names, people say there are only a few who could do it. I am struggling to square the two positions.

For a "gut feel" alternative to Pellers/Pep, I would say Koeman. Don't ask me to back it up with facts and stats though; it's a gut feel as I say.

 

[Shaelumstash]

Frustrating isn't the word mate, I'm telling you now if you were there on Saturday you would have gone up like a fucking standard firework, it was that bad-he frustrates the fuck out of you, he has them purring against Sevilla and then there was Saturday-he's Jekyll & Hyde, I bet the players have no fucking idea what he's going to do next.

For me mate it was the straw that broke the camels back on Saturday, never ever seen a manager get it so drastically wrong before in both formation and team selection, as I've said previously to a man people were telling him to sort it out after 10 minutes of play-Klopp must have though Christmas had come early.

He's off his tits mate he really is.

Good post mate, but what about Bayern at home and Barca at home when he played 442 in both games and we got dicked in both?

The Barca one he actually went for Fernando and Milner as the midfield 2 with Fernandinho on the bench. Arguably worse, at least Yaya has the potential to play well in a 2.

The Bayern game was the most astonishingly inept in-game management I've ever seen though. To not bring on an extra midfielder very early on in that game was verging on the sado masichistic.

Liverpool had the team selection incompetence of the Barca game, and the in-game management incompetence of the Bayern game in the first half, but at least he tried to change it at half time, so he probably deserves some credit for that.

On balance I don't think Saturday was his worst ever management performance, but it probably squeezes in to the top 3.

The most worrying and horrifying thing of all is that he came out afterwards and said he didn't know what was wrong. He's 2 and a half years in now, if he doesn't understand by now he probably never will.

 

[sir baconface]

I know it's easy to take the side of the manager but who, and I doff my cap to you all, thought that Liverpool would play as well as they did? Don't say "it is a Klopp team, you know what to expect".

There had been absolutely no sign of that up to Saturday and they will be flattering to deceive once again, soon enough. People on here complain we don't change our style depending on who we play. Given what the evidence told us why would we change how we play, at home against Liverpool? What many are doing is being wise after the event. A gift not afforded to the manager.

We are all wise after the event, mate. It's a privilege of being a football forum poster. Nevertheless, how many times have the dippers played shit against us in recent times? Furthermore, the numerous observations about Klopp team style/tactics have some legs. Nobody expected them to play as well as they did but few would have expected them to roll over.

 

[Lancet Fluke]

On the one hand people are saying anyone could do a better job with City's resources. Then, when pressed for alternative names, people say there are only a few who could do it. I am struggling to square the two positions.

For a "gut feel" alternative to Pellers/Pep, I would say Koeman. Don't ask me to back it up with facts and stats though; it's a gut feel as I say.

And not many would have come on here and named pellegrini as a replacement for Mancini prior to any rumours and he wouldn't get on the list for many other top jobs at the moment whereas other managers around would. I'm sure most of us could name perfectly capable managers who would probably do a decent job and would be on short lists for big jobs but I think people are looking for a risk free appointment or as close as can be. Koeman is a good case in point, I think he would do well too but then if you look over his career he has had some real failures so most people won't suggest him.