Everton v City post match

[HarrytheBlue]

The annoying part is that Everton are just like Leicester in that they raise there games for the big clubs and then will go back to being shit again next week. But that takes nothing away from the fact that we were absolutely dire again.

Everton were also shit - 4 shots on target and 22 per cent possession at home. If Burnley had attacked us more frequently they would have scored with each shot on target.

 

[HarrytheBlue]

Pretty sure we bought KDB and Sterling the summer before last and unfortunately we probably won't see much of Gundy anymore but again with his history it was a big gamble.

That leaves us with Stones and it remains to be seen if he goes the same way as Mangala went.

Not sure what the spotlight has to do with how you perform in terms of making it easy etc.

With the turnover of managers at Spurs in the past they appear to have finally got there act together but at least we know their best players like Bale will be targeted by the big European Clubs.

Pochettino will soon go to Madrid.

 

[Prestwich_Blue]

Unfortunately the clip won't work on my stupid i-pad, but the text, whilst doubtless an accurate assessment of events, owes a fair bit to hindsight IMO. Footballers at this level deal in milliseconds, having to assess what's in front of them and pick from 3 or 4 different options in an instant. Some are better than others, KDB and Silva in particular having consistently excellent judgment and technique, but frequent mistakes, or the taking of "wrong" options, are as certain as death and taxes for most of the others, and how much that "vision" (for want of a better word) can be improved by coaching is a matter of debate

This is a very pertinent post. I've read that Pep believes that a player has just one second to make a decision or the opposition will gain an advantage/we will lose ours. Therefore the whole playing style is dependent on making that decision correctly and, to do that, the player needs to know where his team-mates are and what they're going to do. In the same way, the other players have to know what the player on the ball is likely to do and all of that has to happen in a second or less.

So the best players in a Pep system are not necessarily the technically better players like Silva & De Bruyne but the ones who can make those decisions within one second and fit the system.

 

[schfc6]

I'm not going to go round in circles on this or go away form the one point. Sane is left footed and if Pep wants to use him predominantly on the left, he should be able to adapt to that without much trouble.

Sterling played largely on left last season didn't he? This season Pep has used him much more on the right, hasn't he?

Let's see what Pep does with Sane over the remainder of the season.

So you think our squad is balanced?
If you do, we certainly will go round in circles.

Regards Sane, if we required a left winger, why not just sign one?
When there's already lots of imbalance in the squad, it seems odd to spend fourty odd million to change his position.

I actually see a long term plan of Sane, Sterling & Jesus.
I don't think that was the issue we needed to address first.
A future forward line before a current defence or midfield.

 

[PragueBlue]

I actually see a long term plan of Sane, Sterling & Sane.
.

Is he that good that we are cloning him ;-)

 

[schfc6]

Is he that good that we are cloning him ;-)

Cheers.

 

[teddykgb]

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.

One other comment on this video because I think you're absolutely correct. Notice that it is all 2 touch or more. It makes it slow and ponderous. Picture the same build up but with players who know what they are doing and have the skills to do it all much quicker. Teams who were foolish enough to press that would get opened up regularly. The pattern is right but the movement is mechanical and everyone bar Silva is taking too many touches on the ball. The movement into space needs to be automatic and the balls played to space rather than feet. Then the other team ends up chasing shadows.

 

[Sunny Coast Blue]

Silva takes far too many touches usually, Sterling and Aguero are suffering from being clattered so much they now have Dzecko like control mostly. Always always 2 or 3 extra passes lead to losing the initial advantage. Silva's pirouettes because he won't use his other foot are an example. Though sometimes they have been effective they invariably are unnecessary.

 

[Comrade Buka]

Joe - Golden Gloves 4 years out of last 5 (2nd other season) - not exactly behind a defensive minded team under Manuel. Better record than De Gea for 5 years. Ok, write off De Gea's first year. Did you see De Gea's 3 howlers in the Euros ? Against Croatia caught with the ball at his feet and at the near post and against Italy spilled a straightforward shot and conceded.

Save Percentage 2015/2016
Goalkeeper Club Minutes Played Save %
Jack Butland Stoke City 1710 79.6%
Hugo Lloris Tottenham Hotspur 1620 77.0%
Wayne Hennessey Crystal Palace 1170 76.9%
Petr Čech Arsenal 1710 76.3%
Adrián West Ham United 1440 75.0%
David de Gea Manchester United 1350 74.1%
Gomes Watford 1687 73.2%
Joe Hart Manchester City 1530 71.7%
Boaz Myhill West Bromwich Albion 1710 71.1%
Rob Elliot Newcastle United 900 69.8%

The disaster waiting to happen, Heurelho Gomes, had a better save percentage than Joe....

However, Bravo's save percentage is 59.4, this season. Bottom 3 in the league.

 

[ChicagoBlue]

Silva takes far too many touches usually, Sterling and Aguero are suffering from being clattered so much they now have Dzecko like control mostly. Always always 2 or 3 extra passes lead to losing the initial advantage. Silva's pirouettes because he won't use his other foot are an example. Though sometimes they have been effective they invariably are unnecessary.

With a right foot, he would have scored today, instead of turning left into a brick wall.

Throw in that Sterling had a ball over the top that he passed into the keepers hands, and that a first time touch to goal might have been a better option than ONCE AGAIN trying to touch the ball past the opponent and losing control (and Twattenberg missing the trip by the keeper!!)

But, all that said, when an opposition team has 4 shots, 4 goals, it almost doesn't matter what the rest of the team is doing, because you can't HAVE TO score 3 or 4 to win every week!!!

Even a blind man can see that a fast City is a vital, dangerous, aggressively attacking City, while a slow, ponderous, (dare I say it...) tiki taka City puts fear into NO-ONE, because they have 30 seconds to get everyone behind the ball and collapse the space...and we just don't have the quality to break down a 9 man defence!