Everton (H) | PL | Post Match Thread

Does anyone have a clip of that 4 v 2 at the end that they fucked up? Want to see how we let that happen…
 
blueju said:
Playing the high line is killing us, as is the 3 when Rico makes his move. It’s been evident since we started conceding the ‘one shot, one goal’ on the break, all due to the high line and width available, the difference being in days gone by we would mostly outscore anyone. It’s no coincidence we became more solid with the 4 adaptable centre backs which we’ve not played since either because Pep has gone off it or due to the massive injury list? Teams have gone from sitting deep and hoping for a break or two to sitting deep and having a game plan of looking for any gap to get at us once we’ve made the usual camp in their half. This coupled with our inability to cope with the bigger , faster, stronger players everyone else seems to have acquired and our awfully slow attacking play feeds right into every other team’s hands . For me we’ve been well and truly sussed out and even with Rodri may have still suffered. The other obvious reason is our creative players hitting that brick wall of age/injury/tiredness all at the same time, how we’re crying out for a peak Kev or Merlin to orchestrate our attacks.
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ive been saying all season weve been sussed out , the injuries are an issue as well but we should be able to adapt to use whats left
 
Dribble said:
I'm not so much troubled by the idea of a high line, it's the gaps we're leaving which the opposition are exploiting game after game, with no reaction from Pep that seriously concerns me.

This is why I've been crying out for us to go back to our formative 4-3-3 roots, & defend first. We've enough high quality players to get through this, even with the injuries, but essentially playing 3 at the back with acres of wide defensive space for opposition Road Runner speed merchants to run into, is costing us game after game.

In terms of our attack, every team we face has two CB's glued to Haaland & a CDM in front of him to cut off the supply route. Teams fear Doku, BUT they know he's defensively weak & that not even his level of trickery can handle 3 deep-lying players marking him.

To make matters worse, even opposition fans recognise what our issues are & how their teams can capitalise on them. Their coaching teams evidently know the same, and so should our coaching team. This is why it beggars belief why we keep doing the same thing game in, game out, expecting a different result.

We need to scrap the inverted FB tactic, revert to a 4-3-3 with a flat back four, with overlapping FB's to compliment our inverted wingers. I've heard fans lament over Foden & Silva's drop in form, but WTF are they expected to do in a congested space, with 7 opposition players surrounding the 18 yard box in front of them, & 7 of our players trying to find space around the same 18 yard box to complicate matters?

We stack the central areas, & neglect our own defensive wide areas, & it's killing us. It's so predictable how we'll be countered, it's like fucking ground hog day! I love Pep & want no other manager, but this situation is now beyond a joke.

Aside from the opening 20 minutes against Everton, Guardiola's showing few signs he's willing to go back to basics to arrest our slide. I'd seriously love to know what's going on inside that famed Bald head? Everyone else is seeing what Pep & the coaching staff can't?
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We have young attacking players that all played aggressively on the break before we bought them, then expect them to play our slow recycle after recycle ponderous attack. We have the best striker in the world at running at teams from the half way line yet we rarely set him free and from what I’ve seen, before we bought Doku and Savinho they also excelled when not having to play against two banks of 5. We as a team only seem to have a go at goal when we’ve allowed the opposition to regroup, clearly tactics from the main man. It just doesn’t make sense. Pep is still the best in the world for me but you’d also expect the best to be open to change to get results and continue his winning ways rather than just rinse and repeating.
 
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blueju said:
We have young attacking players that all played aggressively on the break before we bought them, then expect them to play our slow recycle after recycle ponderous attack. We have the best striker in the world at running at teams from the half way line yet we rarely set him free and from what I’ve seen, before we bought Doku and Savinho they also excelled when not having to play against two banks of 5. We as a team only seem hate have a go at goal when we’ve allowed the opposition to regroup, clearly tactics from the main man. It just doesn’t make sense. Pep is still the best in the world for me but you’d also expect the best to be open to change to get results and continue his winning ways rather than just rinse and repeating.
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The difference between pre-City & post-City couldn't be more stark for players. As you correctly pointed out, few faced double reinforced walls before they arrived here, so it makes sense that Pep has reasoned beating 1 or 2 on the approach is achievable, but the 3 which Doku faced against Everton is highly unlikely, so it's best to prioritise keeping possession.

However, I do agree with you about the loss of our rapier like counter attacks in recent seasons. Against Everton, the ball broke from a corner, but rather than test himself in a 1 v 1 foot race against the LB, Savinho opted to turn back & play the ball into central midfield, which gave the Scousers the chance to regroup into their 5-4-1 defensive formation.

Difficulties in unpicking a 10-man defence is why Pep drafted "emergency" LB Cancelo into his first iteration of the inverted FB. Having the extra man worked a treat, & over the following 3-4 seasons, we perfected it so much, the rest of football began to follow suit.

But in following suit, it also allowed the opposition the opportunity to work out how to combat the tactic, & it seems they all have. When Kovacic falls back to form a back 3, the opposition hit long balls into the channels & send 2 players to attack through the middle, giving them an instant 4 v 3 advantage, with City also having to back pedal on the retreat.

Somehow with Rodri playing, it didn't help the opposition much, but without him it's become a disaster for City. Everyone can clearly see what our issue is, which begs the question, why isn't Baldy doing anything about it? If we continue as we are for much longer, we'll be cut adrift in the title race & will find ourselves fretting about CL qualification.

Pep's shown he can change his habits. He did so leading up to the CL Final against Inter, when he told the media "Don't worry guys, I won't over-think it". The only shock he produced for the final was dropping the fully fit & in form Walker for Akanji. Luckily, it made little difference & we prevailed.

My issue is it took 2 seasons of the media constantly putting it to him that he was guilty of constantly over-thinking things, before Pep relented & changed what we'd come to expect from him in big matches. The question now is, how long will it take him to realise change is needed with our failed inverted full back system, if ever?
 
dadnlad said:
lost possession long through ball left 2 at back against 4 they reacted quicker than us lewis was on edge of their box jogging back
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Lewis got back eventually but they should have scored by then, at least Gvardiol put a sprint in and made it back.

Savinho needs to take the yellow there though.
 
Claytop said:
Thanks, criminal position to put ourselves in.
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Totally agree ..... Savinho seems to just put in a half hearted attempt to stop the run as they break out, he just didn't do enough there for me .. and the two city defenders seem to just amble back as Everton stormed upfield and approached our area ... although in fairness, it has to be said that those City defenders eventually stood their ground, and without their presence, Everton would almost certainly have scored a late winner there.
 
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Claytop said:
Lewis got back eventually but they should have scored by then, at least Gvardiol put a sprint in and made it back.

Savinho needs to take the yellow there though.
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easier to fall on floor holding face ;)
im suprised hooper didnt stop play because couldnt be arsed running full lenght of pitch you just cant get consistent refs
 
mdj0520 said:
Were you singing? Because its pretty grim sitting there in the cold whilst they put in that fucking performance.

We were singing up in ss3 and it was a pretty decent atmosphere for 30mins or so.
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That’s a fair response. More of a frustrating post than anything else. I’ve experienced the atmosphere in ss3 and definitely one of my favorite areas to be. Anywhere near the away fans is always going to generate more noise but unfortunately it doesn’t happen in many of the other areas often enough. I wonder how many of the boos came from fans who didn’t sing during the match though.
 
colorado blue said:
That’s a fair response. More of a frustrating post than anything else. I’ve experienced the atmosphere in ss3 and definitely one of my favorite areas to be. Anywhere near the away fans is always going to generate more noise but unfortunately it doesn’t happen in many of the other areas often enough. I wonder how many of the boos came from fans who didn’t sing during the match though.
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It doesn't matter if the boo-ers weren't singing. If you weren't there you can't criticise the fans who are.

I don't get to aways anymore - I'm not ever going to criticise our away fans ( typically fantastic anyway, but as an example) and if they decide to boo tomorrow after travelling down there then that's their right. I've been a long distance fan too, and I always thought, "the fuck is this atmosphere, I'd be singing". But now I'm back and at every home game and guess what, sometimes I don't sing. If I've not had a pint (need to parent when I get home) I very rarely pipe up if it's quiet around me.

Also, the TV channels throttle the mics so TV watchers should also keep that in mind.

I really want to reiterate, I'm not having a go, I've been a fan abroad for a time, I get what it's like. But if you aren't at the ground you don't get to criticise singing, empty seats, and early leavers.
 
I'll go for one of the "puts football into perspective stories":
A mate of mine has been seriously ill for three years, and his wife passed away during that period.
Someone he knew got him a hospitality ticket for Forest last season which he attended with two carers and myself, and that was the only game he'd been since being diagnosed. He'd had a season ticket in the 70's and ever since our move to the Etihad and saw enough away games to get a ticket for any match.
He attended on Thursday with a disabled person's ticket and managed to manoeuvre his electric wheelchair from our usual parking space to the stadium and back without mowing anyone down. He was chuffed to be there and he'll be back for other games.
 
Bournemouth Blue said:
I am thinking of quitting the forum, so many negative comments from people who have no experience of getting through tough times. Get a life! We have a good chance of getting back among the top four within a month if we can get players fit again, and it only takes a couple of wins to get back up there, we are not going to win the Premier League this time but get behind the team or fuck off
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If that's your attitude your probably best to quit so.
 
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