Four clean sheets since the Fulham "win"

I Loved Eddy for what he did here & he changed how the goalkeeper role is now played. Saying that it we nearly always conceded from one shot on goal when he had little protection in front of him as we were defending on the halfway line.

Donnarumma has made huge saves against Sunderland, which would have been nervy had they scored from Dias's cock up & yesterday from Sommerville. It also helps that we are scoring so it takes the pressure off the defence.

If you look at the 4 games we've lost its been the attacking side of the game that has been at fault.
 
Dont think there has been a drastic change. There are outside factors like facing weaker opposition and we've had some good fortune in terms of them missing some very good chances that they should score.

Donnarumma has made some good saves, defence are becoming more settled as a regular 4 and pep has been bolstering the backline with his subs when he sees a problem developing in second half of games which is really helping but for me the most important factor is Bernardo has been dropped deeper and we have something resembling a midfield compared to the previous gung-ho approach of throwing 5 men upfront and defending with 5.
 
Can't get used to this clean sheets nonsense....

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That Fulham game was mad - not seen many games like it before and I was surprised we let them make a come back. Mind their goals were all one-offs though, not the usual thing we face!

Donnarumma has made a COLOSSAL difference to our defence. He wins games for us with the saves and if we'd had Ederson in, we'd not be in the Top 4 I don't think. He was great with his feet but he'd rarely produce match-winning saves. Donnarumma is more than good enough with his feet too.
 
At City's best (centurions imo) the opposition knew what was coming, and still got swept away, since then, pressing has evolved from simply "tracking back", to a much more technical level, one-shot one goal, possession for the sake of, was a frequent problem that we seemed unable to shake off. Understandably Pep stuck to what had brought unheard of success, to the point we went "a whole season without silverware". It co-incided with world-class players leaving, opposition improving, distractions off the field. There was no certannty that Pep could/would handle the situation. Did he still have the drive and ammbition that has seen him through so far? For me, the change in performances from last season to the last couple of months suggest he is, alongside a rejuvenated support staff....
 
asahartford1 said:
Every defender of every team costs their team a goal at some stage.
Liverpool fans would give you a list for vvd this season.
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Football is a game of mistakes, by default. Mistakes will never not happen, even with the best players in the best teams.

The physics that come into play with the spherical ball, the biomechanics of the men playing, the conditions/weather, how the ball is always ‘playable’ (as in, players can’t pick the ball up and run with it so it can be taken off them at any point with good reading of the game and interceptions/tackles), the spaces the players take up (especially in the box), the adverse camber of the pitch, the goalposts coming into play from time-to-time, the speed of the elite game, concentration, reaction times, the tactics that coaches spot that can be exploited even in the best opposition and good play by opposition players forcing mistakes… all means football can never be a mistake free sport.

At a guess, I reckon that even elite players make as many as a dozen mistakes a game: miscontrols, miskicks, misreading the bounce of the ball or the actions of an opposing player, caught in possession, out of position, losing concentration, not reacting quickly enough, reacting too early… Most mistakes don’t end up in an opposition goal or even chance, but a few do over the course of a season for any player.

Managers and players who keep on making the same kind of mistakes over and over, are a problem. But individual random mistakes should never be overly criticised, they’re just part of football.
 
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.db. said:
Football is a game of mistakes, by default. Mistakes will never not happen, even with the best players in the best teams.

The physics that come into play with the spherical ball, the biomechanics of the men playing, the conditions/weather, how the ball is always ‘playable’ (as in, players can’t pick the ball up and run with it so it can be taken off them at any point with good reading of the game and interceptions/tackles), the spaces the players take up (especially in the box), the adverse camber of the pitch, the goalposts coming into play from time-to-time, the speed of the elite game, concentration, the tactics that coaches spot that can be exploited even in the best opposition and good play by opposition players forcing mistakes… all means football can never be a mistake free sport.

At a guess, I reckon that even elite players make as many as a dozen mistakes a game: miscontrols, miskicks, misreading the bounce of the ball or the actions of an opposing player, caught in possession, out of position, losing concentration… Most mistakes don’t end up in an opposition goal or even chance, but a few do over the course of a season for any player.

Managers and players who keep on making the same kind of mistakes over and over, are a problem. But individual random mistakes should never be overly criticised, they’re just part of football.
Click to expand...
Football has always been a game of human error, the less a team makes usually means that team will triumph.
 
.db. said:
Football is a game of mistakes, by default. Mistakes will never not happen, even with the best players in the best teams.

The physics that come into play with the spherical ball, the biomechanics of the men playing, the conditions/weather, how the ball is always ‘playable’ (as in, players can’t pick the ball up and run with it so it can be taken off them at any point with good reading of the game and interceptions/tackles), the spaces the players take up (especially in the box), the adverse camber of the pitch, the goalposts coming into play from time-to-time, the speed of the elite game, concentration, the tactics that coaches spot that can be exploited even in the best opposition and good play by opposition players forcing mistakes… all means football can never be a mistake free sport.

At a guess, I reckon that even elite players make as many as a dozen mistakes a game: miscontrols, miskicks, misreading the bounce of the ball or the actions of an opposing player, caught in possession, out of position, losing concentration… Most mistakes don’t end up in an opposition goal or even chance, but a few do over the course of a season for any player.

Managers and players who keep on making the same kind of mistakes over and over, are a problem. But individual random mistakes should never be overly criticised, they’re just part of football.
Click to expand...

Football is unique. A game decided by few goals. Despite rule changes the average goals scored in a match in the top flights across Europe is between 2 and 3, and this is over 30 years.
One mistake, the thickness of paint on a goalpost, a referee decision, a loose balloon, can all decide a game.
Luck, yes Luck, can decide so many games, not a title perhaps but any individual game. I remember a game 20 years ago at the Etihad , the away team had no shots the whole game, but a back pass and keeper brain fart meant we lost the game 1 _0.
Decision making is the most important attribute of the elite player, sometimes that means looking hopeless because they decide to concede possession rather than something worse.
In this game of few goals MCFc football club deserve more credit for the aggregate number of goals scored since the arrival of Pep Guardiola.
 
foggy1974 said:
I Loved Eddy for what he did here & he changed how the goalkeeper role is now played. Saying that it we nearly always conceded from one shot on goal when he had little protection in front of him as we were defending on the halfway line.

Donnarumma has made huge saves against Sunderland, which would have been nervy had they scored from Dias's cock up & yesterday from Sommerville. It also helps that we are scoring so it takes the pressure off the defence.

If you look at the 4 games we've lost its been the attacking side of the game that has been at fault.
Click to expand...
Donnarumma is a game changer in my view. He makes saves that Eddie would never have made. It is all about fine margins.
 
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