Discussion: Manuel Pellegrini 2015/16

[grim up north]

Steve fucking mcclaren just showed manuel how to stop Liverpool s prsssing game! That idiot of ours doesn't have a plan for any game! Get rid now and give ancelotti 10m to take over till summer.

He also said its about the players desire, work rate, running etc etc

Kl op also said his players weren't working hard enough etc etc

 

[uwe rosler 28]

If Newcastle didn't have time at the back they went direct didn't let Liverpool press them high up the pitch then pressed them! They couldn't cope with it and are not good enough to create 4 or 5 chances of there own making! It's been shown pre klopp but we gifted them the game with our tactics/ style of play.

 

[blue ranger]

Vincent Kompany has started a total of 11 games this season out of a total of 23
David Silva has started a total of 11 games this season out of a total of 23
Sergio Aguero has started a total of 12 games this season out of a total of 23

Ultimately, regardless of playing games across 4 competitions, they have effectively started around 50% of fixtures. These are our best 3 footballers at the club. And part of the excellent spine of easily the best team/squad in the PL when everyone fit.

Whilst all teams have to deal with injuries and taking into account how lucky we are to have a strong squad, this is the 'main' reason why we are not dominating the league at present. It isn't the only reason, and Pellegrini absolutely has to take some responsibility in particular for some of the beyond ridiculous tactical decisions and substitutions at times, but we are still close to the top and in all competitions even without our best 3 players for 50% of fixtures.

The reason I think this is the main reason is because its not just the fact that they aren't playing enough, its the recovery time and couple of games needed to get match sharp and in a run of top class form before they get injured again which really impacts on the fluency and fluidity of the team.

For example, how many games have we seen De Bruyne, Sterling, Silva and Aguero play together? De Bruyne one week (in the final 3rd of the pitch) is playing with Navas and Bony, the next week Sterling and Toure and Bony, the next week Aguero and Navas, the next week Silva and Sterling and Bony. We are still competing and winning most games but for sure it is the reason why we aren't where we should be which is top of the leaue by at least 4 or 5 points. Those players need to be playing 80% of games.

This is becoming too regular and I don't know what the solution is. The same key players, and the same types of injury. As others have said, we've become too reliant on them and the recruitment hasn't been strategically competent enough.

Finally, we are vulnerable at times, but thats nothing new under Pellegrini. It was like that during games when we won the title, and last season. We have defeats in us. We have huge defensive errors in us. We have a fragile mentality at times in us. And Pellegrini has nativity in him. These are not new.

Ultimately, we would still be top of the league and dominating the PL even with these variables if those 3 players were playing 16 - 18 games out of 23. Collectively.

The stats quoted on the performances made by Aguero, Kompany and Silva are clearly correct. My view is that we have cover for Silva although clearly not the same level. But we sold or loaned 2 strikers out in the summer and have no quality cover for Aguero. Bony is a waste of space and kelechi is a player who should be 4th striker or maybe at loan to a championship club.

And don't even get me started on Demichelis. This season the legs have gone and he should never start another game for us.

 

[twosips]

It bugs me like mad that those who would like some decent youth integration are then accused of wanting nowt but youth and that they would start Humphreys over Demichelis and Roberts over Navas every week, as if we're that unreasonable - yet we've never said anything like that. They literally ignore all points and just revert to nonsense like that. I've said it a thousand times before. If teams like Newcastle, Villa or whatever can take points off us despite starting one of their academy kids, an academy kid that has played against our academy kids in youth football and been comprehensively outplayed, then why should we all of a sudden lose if we include one of our kids for thirty minutes?

I'd like to understand the reasoning behind that. Our youth palyers are proven better than the vast majority in the country given their performances in cups, and leagues etc at youth level, yet they're deemed more likely to cause us problems, despite other lesser clubs often using one or two of their own? So we really can't afford to have one promising player amongst ten top class seniors for half hour? Yet a lower club can start one probably lesser promising player amongst ten slightly less top class seniors...and therefore we will lose? It doesn't make sense logically.

Use people like Evans, Bryan, whatever, to relax the strain on Fernandinho, Yaya when we can. Sagna's played every game in Zaba's absence, and he's knackered, clearly. Give Maffeo a go for ONE game against lesser opposition from the bench just to relax the strain on him. Yet we don't, and our players will get injured and instead we get ridiculous quotes from Pellegrini saying we have only 13 players, completely and utterly retardedly dismissing our youth players as promising players. Proper kick in the teeth. He should be saying 'we have 13 fit senior players, but we have promising youth players i have a lot of faith in'...yet he pretends they don't exist. How is that good management? It isn't. It's awful.

 

[fatbloke]

I think Pellegrini has to go now.

I said at the start of the season I would be happy for Pellegrini to stay if Vieira was promoted to be his number two, with the intention of eventually becoming the manager long term. To my mind that would have brought stability short and long term, fresh ideas and a different voice in the dressing room because Vieira was clearly held in very high regard by everyone at the club.

The 4-1 defeat at the swamp last season was difficult to take but it was the manner of the defeat which hurt most. We didn't get helped by two offside goals being given against us but we gave up and surrendered without a fight. You hope and pray it's a one off and to be fair Pellegrini and the players came back stronger to finish the season and we started this one like a house on fire. Then we have three very similar defeats in such a shirt period of time against Tottenham, Liverpool and Stoke when we just surrendered again without a whimper and you can only put that down to a lack of character.

In my mind Pellegrini has made the same mistakes Mancini did albeit in a different style. Both of them have picked the big names week after week despite them not performing and in some cases showing a distinct lack of work rate and desire which to me and I would hope any football fan is completely unacceptable. It sets a precedence to the big names because they know they can let their performances slip without any consequences and also to the squad/younger fringe players who know no matter how they perform they'll be dropped for the managers favourites as soon as they're fit. If you haven't got that competitive edge inside the squad, how can you show it on a Saturday afternoon.

Hard work beats talent if talent isn't prepared to work hard!!!

 

[blue ranger]

No I haven't, the club, not Manuel wanted to loan out Mangala, after he said he wanted to stay, we loaned Denayer.

I understand the manager receiving some criticism, but I can't stand the Mancini fan boys who often wait for defeats to spout bile.

Well I'm not biggest fan of mangala but at least he gives us something different. If he had gone on loan we'd have ended up with the 3 smallest CB's in the league.

 

[allblues09]

So what does Denayer have to do to "prove " himself ? courted by a number of European clubs in the summer and celtics player of the season last year , yet MdMs legs have gone , Denayer would surely be a better option as back up ?

I would not argue with that, but I think the hope was to send Mangala on loan. When that did not pan out, his opportunities would have been very limited (barring the injury crisis, which I do not think you can plan for. If he stayed and we let mdm go, he would only play 5-10 matches this year with kompany, otamendi,and Mangala in front of him. That would have stifled his development, so they took the option to give him playing time and champions league experience.

 

[allblues09]

Not sure about Roberts but do you think we should stick with Demichelis who clearly isn't good enough anymore?

But it is not as if mdm is the preferred CB. That is kompany and otamendi. He Only plays due to injury, suspensions or fatigue by the preferred three.

 

[CelesteItis]

Nope. He's got to stay all the way till Pep is on his way.

 

[allblues09]

Pellegrini is a very capable manager. Speculating about his future and Pep coming next season is not helping him. We are close to the top of the Prem, in the semi finals of one cup and in the last 16 of another. Would I sack Pellegrini now? Yeah. why not. I don't like us winning trophies anyway and my FIFA 16 bollocks rating tells me that cloud fucking cuckoo land is a better place to be.

Haha. Love it. It is unbelievable how entitled this site has become. It feels like there is an expectation that we should win every game and score 15 goals while doing it. It is football, that is not realistic. Look at Pool today. They were flying and the barcodes have been horrible. It seems most cannot see the forest for the trees. We are well positioned in spite of our injury problems.

Don't get me wrong. I do not like to lose, but there has to be a sense of perspective. I wonder what this site would be like if we were in Chelsea's shoes.