Everton v City post match

[Mr HJ]

That clip does sum up the good and bad. We retain possession instead of hoofing it away, as Hart probably would have done. The concept is to draw the Everton press further forward and create space behind that front group. We then beat the press but Yaya turns backwards, instead of moving the ball forward, and puts the ball in front of the high press with all Everton players behind the ball without them needing to do anything to achieve that.

So we start from scratch again and end up giving away a throw. You could just as well argue that it would have been better for Bravo to hoof the ball straight out of play so we could press Everton higher up the pitch, which is a tactic Leicester used against us last season at the Etihad. Schmeichel kept hoofing the ball into touch, which had people laughing at him, but that was a deliberate move so they could regroup, relieve the pressure on them and move their defensive press higher up the pitch.

We should all know what Pep is looking to do but possession per se is not the issue; doing something with that possession is. And the whole crux of the Pep philosophy is that, when you lose possession, you get it back quickly or you get into defensive shape in front of the opposition. At the moment we're:

• Doing nothing threatening in the last third when in possession.
• Not winning the ball back in the first few seconds after we lose it.
• Failing to form an effective defensive cordon when we fail to retrieve the ball.

Those are the problems.

Good post. The problem for me is summed up by Yaya's role as it is pivotal to what we tried to do yesterday. It's all well and good passing first time but in that clip for example, he went backwards three times even when we had engineered some space for him to turn. Yaya of old would have turned and moved forward or played a direct pass that put teams in trouble. I want us to play possession football but in the end someone has to take greater responsibility. You can also imagine our attackers getting fed up after they have made their third or fourth runs into space. Look at Bayern for example they have Alonso doing that job, one that keeps possession yet releases their attack minded players as soon as the opportunity arrises - it's not rocket science and I don't wish to put everything on Yaya but he is the biggest problem at the moment concerning the first two points you make. Regards to your third point too many times this season the same players are being caught out of position and fail to work back into a shape that makes it harder for the opposition to play through us.

 

[Nasri's Hair]

When you have 3 of your midfielders being Silva, debruyne, and toure you are asking for the other team to score goals. Yes, I understand the concept of controlling the ball, but look at any other team when they lose the ball they are quick to form at least 8 behind the ball. With midfielders who contribute to defense by putting in some solid tackles. For all Silva debruyne offer offensively they make our defense more vulnerable. And toure well he is just too slow.

 

[Prestwich_Blue]

Good post. The problem for me is summed up by Yaya's role as it is pivotal to what we tried to do yesterday. It's all well and good passing first time but in that clip for example, he went backwards three times even when we had engineered some space for him to turn. Yaya of old would have turned and moved forward or played a direct pass that put teams in trouble. I want us to play possession football but in the end someone has to take greater responsibility. You can also imagine our attackers getting fed up after they have made their third or fourth runs into space. Look at Bayern for example they have Alonso doing that job, one that keeps possession yet releases their attack minded players as soon as the opportunity arrises - it's not rocket science and I don't wish to put everything on Yaya but he is the biggest problem at the moment concerning the first two points you make. Regards to your third point too many times this season the same players are being caught out of position and fail to work back into a shape that makes it harder for the opposition to play through us.

And another problem is that the front four were far, far too close together yesterday and three of them (Aguero, Silva & KDB) simply don't press. Sterling's a bit better but it puzzles me greatly why he's not providing width on the right. He's not a number 10; that's why we have Yaya, who's much more effective in that role that being the deep-lying play-maker. I'd play Silva in that role, partly because he's not much use in front of goal (although I think he's making more of an effort recently), he can turn quickly and he'll always be looking for a decent, creative pass rather than Yaya's default mode of passing it back 20 yards when under no pressure.

 

[BusterPhillips]

My expectations have been set, im cool if we dont make top 4 to be honest.

I think its damage limitation until the summer, just preying that we're working our arses off making sure our weaknesses are addressed in the summer

 

[cheddar404]

One thing I did notice yesterday, there were a lot of early leavers!! What happened to 'We're Man City, we fight to the end'??

I left when the third went in. What I couldn't believe was how may Everton fans there were outside that had left at that time too. Hundreds and hundreds of them, maybe thousands. I wonder if they have a thread open about early leavers on their forums. I think it's the same at most places.

 

[shemnel]

Damo put this on twitter for different reasons but it's a good clip to use to explain how close we are and what we're doing wrong.


Our use of Bravo and passing side to side and back to the GK draws Everton out. Pause the video at 02:28 game time. When Clichy gets the ball we've used Everton's press to create a situation where they have seven players focused to one area of the pitch. Clichy chooses the wrong option and passes to Sterling, who has no 'out' ball. He doesn't have a single option, and we concede a throw. If, Clichy is thinking quick enough (the biggest problem we have with fullbacks) he can choose a little pass to KDB to run onto, a pass into Yaya or a pass to Zabba. If he chooses the KdB or Yaya option, pause the video again at 02:31 when Silva comes into Picture. Forget where Sterling is now, as he wouldn't be there unless Clichy had passed to him, but look how much space Silva is in and he has a 3 on 3 with Aguero and Sterling.

If Clichy makes that pass to Yaya, Yaya can play first time to Silva and we've completely turned Everton inside out. Instead, he takes the wrong touch, has to then go down the line to a player with no options and the move is over. In fairness to Clichy, the ball back to him from Yaya is poor and he needs a touch, but his touch is poor.

I could be wrong, but this is how I see Pep's vision of how he wants to play, breaking down at the crucial moment because of bad decision making or passing execution.

We're still shit in both boxes, that's a given, but we're not a million miles away with the build up. We created a fantastic situation there and destroyed it ourselves, and it happens multiple times per game.

i agree with this. It's way too easy to see all the negatives after a humping but i was very impressed with the improvement at the back in the 1st half regarding keeping the ball, with the same group of defenders who've been struggling to string 4 passes together, nevermind this many.

yes i know this possession can be viewed as pointless and toothless but the point is that when it goes right it can be awesome. As said, Clichy should have used the de bruyne or ya ya option at the end of the clip, instead of sterling.

 

[Cheadle_hulmeBlue]

My expectations have been set, im cool if we dont make top 4 to be honest.

I think its damage limitation until the summer, just preying that we're working our arses off making sure our weaknesses are addressed in the summer

I'm with you on that. this is an adjustment season. I'm happy if we get top 4 and play some good stuff. integrate some youth players into the squad/ team more like foden and gunn. fans need to start getting behind the team again.

 

[avoidconfusion]

That clip does sum up the good and bad. We retain possession instead of hoofing it away, as Hart probably would have done. The concept is to draw the Everton press further forward and create space behind that front group. We then beat the press but Yaya turns backwards, instead of moving the ball forward, and puts the ball in front of the high press with all Everton players behind the ball without them needing to do anything to achieve that.

So we start from scratch again and end up giving away a throw. You could just as well argue that it would have been better for Bravo to hoof the ball straight out of play so we could press Everton higher up the pitch, which is a tactic Leicester used against us last season at the Etihad. Schmeichel kept hoofing the ball into touch, which had people laughing at him, but that was a deliberate move so they could regroup, relieve the pressure on them and move their defensive press higher up the pitch.

We should all know what Pep is looking to do but possession per se is not the issue; doing something with that possession is. And the whole crux of the Pep philosophy is that, when you lose possession, you get it back quickly or you get into defensive shape in front of the opposition. At the moment we're:

• Doing nothing threatening in the last third when in possession.
• Not winning the ball back in the first few seconds after we lose it.
• Failing to form an effective defensive cordon when we fail to retrieve the ball.

Those are the problems.

Good post. However, that does not change the fact that we got this Bravo:



rather than the one that actually makes saves.

 

[Mr HJ]

And another problem is that the front four were far, far too close together yesterday and three of them (Aguero, Silva & KDB) simply don't press. Sterling's a bit better but it puzzles me greatly why he's not providing width on the right. He's not a number 10; that's why we have Yaya, who's much more effective in that role that being the deep-lying play-maker. I'd play Silva in that role, partly because he's not much use in front of goal (although I think he's making more of an effort recently), he can turn quickly and he'll always be looking for a decent, creative pass rather than Yaya's default mode of passing it back 20 yards when under no pressure.

Spot on.

 

[Prestwich_Blue]

Good post. However, that does not change the fact that we got this Bravo:



rather than the one that actually makes saves.

That's got nothing to do with the way Pep implements his style and philosophy. And I could pull out plenty of clips of Joe Hart mistakes but that's not what we're talking about. The system has already gone wrong in three key areas before the ball gets to Bravo.