the issue I have with bellingham is that he is a defensive player who is not good at defending, but looks better when he is attacking. at the same time his attacking output is not better than a good attacking midfielder.Nail on head.
No plasticy overreaction like Pep/ Txiki/ Laporte/ Ederson out.. just astute observations sir!
You're not the only one with Bellingham reservations.. I've questioned it since he berated his own teammates in Dortmund mid game. We have built our team on harmony.. but he seems like too strong a personality and could create factions.
And everyone loves Cancelo but he's had so many mental errors this season.. and is deservingly benched.
But mental errors seems to be a theme this season.. we've given up goals way too easily and opposition teams know they can just park the bus and hit us on the counter for 1-2 goals.
How long has it been since we managed 3 clean sheets in a row ffs?
Seems we need to fix our defensive and midfield before thinking about 100 mil pound players!
As for pace we found Rico in our academy. We have Borges and Mebude and Ndala. I know Pep doesn't think Borges is right but how about the other 2? They have be at the very least better than Sterling!
foden and bellingham in the middle will be fucking shit defensively. pep will never play thatI agree about Grealish, i didn’t think we needed him at the time as it looked like him and Foden would be in competition for a place and that’s what’s happened. To compound the problem, Grealish just hasn’t produced and it doesn’t matter what Foden does he just can’t seem to get a decent run.
If Grealish does stay beyond this season I do think though that Foden will be moved to play left midfield for us.
As for Bellingham, if Bernardo leaves I think we need him and this type of player.
Now we have Haaland we need to change the way we play and we need to be faster in midfield and move the ball quicker.
So to me this means we need Bellingham and Foden in midfield to give us more power and pace in the box to box roles.
It would change the midfield to more of a diamond with Rodri sitting, Bellingham and Foden either side and KDB sitting behind Haaland and Alvarez.
That is by design though. As I said in an earlier post, this has been coming for the last couple of seasons and is a deliberate slowing of the game by utilising Mahrez and Jack. Its control Pep wants and better management of transitions, not pace. I don't particularly like this version of us as much as those that have gone before but we better learn to live with it unless Pep changes direction completely or leaves. It is pointless us bumping our gums about the lack of pace when that is what our manager has designed into the squad.We are completely devoid of any pace and directness when both Mahrez and Grealish play.
Sadly I find myself agreeing with you regarding Jack. I like him and desperately want to see him succeed but it is difficult to see how he can fit into the team at present. I think the price tag has made it even more difficult, just because it was such a huge figure and it feels as we are now in a situation where we somehow have to make it work.We are completely devoid of any pace and directness when both Mahrez and Grealish play.
Opponents know neither will go down the outside because they need to chop the ball back or inside, to afford themselves that yard of space to then work in.
Ironically, our goal came yesterday because Mahrez changed the habit of a lifetime by fooling his marker and going on outside.
Sadly, like with all signings we make, we are desperate for things to work out, but I fear Jack is already proving a costly mistake.
He doesn't have the ball skills of Mahrez to beat his man and so he does look clumsy and invariably draws the foul because the first touch out of his feet isn't quick enough.
His reaction to Haaland's first goal at Leeds showed how much it meant to him, even though it was an act of unselfishness which hardly pushed the footballing boundaries, with Pep even suggesting when his head is more confident, he might take those opportunities on himself?
Jack seems a good lad and the manager and players are clearly pulling for him to come good, yet unlike other players we have, he doesn't have the versatility to thrive in other positions.
The £100m fee isn't his fault, but it is the first time I felt we have made a United-type statement signing since Bony, where the public hype train was greater than the talent on display.
Similarly, how the cult of personality created a national group think that Sterling was still operating at an elite level in his final 18 months with City.
Jack wasn't a kid when he joined us, he's had more than a year to show there is more to come, and it still isn't.
Phil is a better fit for the team on the left and even Cancelo and Palmer have shown more threat in those areas of the pitch.
We need Jack to be chipping in with eight or ten goals a season and his record doesn't suggest he has ever been that?
My ideal three would be Foden, Haaland and Alvarez, from an intensity/goal threat perspective and hopefully we get to see more of that in the coming months and in Europe.
Jack isn't going anywhere soon and earns more than most. There comes a point, however, where in the next few weeks he needs to make the ultimate step, or we need to accept City and Pep got this one wrong.
Just as Chelsea did with Lukaku. A good player, yes, but in the wrong team and environment.
I'd have loved City to have been scouting someone like Luis Diaz at £37m :(
It's why, as much as I have loved Bellingham and his energy, I even question if I'm right, in terms of his City fit?
Agree with all you say.We are completely devoid of any pace and directness when both Mahrez and Grealish play.
Opponents know neither will go down the outside because they need to chop the ball back or inside, to afford themselves that yard of space to then work in.
Ironically, our goal came yesterday because Mahrez changed the habit of a lifetime by fooling his marker and going on outside.
Sadly, like with all signings we make, we are desperate for things to work out, but I fear Jack is already proving a costly mistake.
He doesn't have the ball skills of Mahrez to beat his man and so he does look clumsy and invariably draws the foul because the first touch out of his feet isn't quick enough.
His reaction to Haaland's first goal at Leeds showed how much it meant to him, even though it was an act of unselfishness which hardly pushed the footballing boundaries, with Pep even suggesting when his head is more confident, he might take those opportunities on himself?
Jack seems a good lad and the manager and players are clearly pulling for him to come good, yet unlike other players we have, he doesn't have the versatility to thrive in other positions.
The £100m fee isn't his fault, but it is the first time I felt we have made a United-type statement signing since Bony, where the public hype train was greater than the talent on display.
Similarly, how the cult of personality created a national group think that Sterling was still operating at an elite level in his final 18 months with City.
Jack wasn't a kid when he joined us, he's had more than a year to show there is more to come, and it still isn't.
Phil is a better fit for the team on the left and even Cancelo and Palmer have shown more threat in those areas of the pitch.
We need Jack to be chipping in with eight or ten goals a season and his record doesn't suggest he has ever been that?
My ideal three would be Foden, Haaland and Alvarez, from an intensity/goal threat perspective and hopefully we get to see more of that in the coming months and in Europe.
Jack isn't going anywhere soon and earns more than most. There comes a point, however, where in the next few weeks he needs to make the ultimate step, or we need to accept City and Pep got this one wrong.
Just as Chelsea did with Lukaku. A good player, yes, but in the wrong team and environment.
I'd have loved City to have been scouting someone like Luis Diaz at £37m :(
It's why, as much as I have loved Bellingham and his energy, I even question if I'm right, in terms of his City fit?
I’ve only watched Brentford when we’ve played them but since they beat us I’ve watched them live against Tottingham and extended highlights of their last game. Relevant to what you’re saying about speed of movement of the ball, just watch them at every opportunity they play the ball down the middle when they break and the next touch they usually try to flick the ball round the corner and have players already on their toes to chase it down. Amazing how many times it happens but no surprise how hard it is to defend against. I’m in no way saying we should start playing long balls but it does back up what you’re saying about moving the ball so fast as to cause panic in the opposition.It's not just about lack of pace, it's the fact that Grealish and Mahrez are seemingly devoid of playing with any urgency. They hold onto the ball for too long and slow things down.
If you want to create chances at the highest level you have to move the ball quickly and with purpose. At the moment both of them put their on the ball, take two or three touches before playing a square pass. At this point the opposition defence has reset.
Neither of them are also willing to run behind the fullback, which in turn makes us totally one dimensional.
But no one ever believed we would play him as a left winger when we bought him.Strangest buy ever Jack Grealish, I like his character but just seemed an odd fit, a player who carried the ball until he gets fouled - max 8 goals in a season...said from day one why him? He was about 26 when we bought him as well! Seemed a PR move to me
This is a great thread that describes perfectly what is going on right now and why we’re quite frankly boring to watch at times. Basically Pep is terrified of risk. Pep is currently one of the most defensive coaches in the game… it’s just that he sees defending totally different to the vast majority. We defend through control, and if you view defence that way we are actually as defensive as a team can get… practically no risk is ever taken. It’s just a totally different way of being pragmatic. We’re not pragmatic by having a back 5 with 3 holding midfielders. We’re pragmatic through having wingers that are picked purely because they can keep possession better than wingers who like to go in behind. We’re pragmatic in that the backwards pass is preferred to any forward pass that has an element of risk attached to it etc. It’s quite an interesting discussion this risk v control trade-off and it’s also interesting how Pep is moving more and more each year towards the extreme control end. There’ll be no more Sane and Sterling days etc. Even Foden is seen as too risky of late.