Spot on. If the front three against Everton had been Foden, Haaland, and Alverez I believe we would have destroyed them. Everton were one of the worst teams we have played for years. They only managed one shot FFS. Beating a man and moving at pace is essential against packed defences. There was plenty of space on the flanks for the whole match. But Grealish and Mahrez cut inside every time. The other problem is that Grealish and Mahrez are so one-footed they can't swap flanks. Our biggest strength for years has been mobility across the front three which terrifies defenders. Haaland is the only one making runs at present. We are too predictable. Foden drags defenders all over the place creating space. Sterling couldn't finish but his movement was better.That''s just not true. Not being able to take down an Everton team who is in horrific form, offered zero going forward, at home signifies there are problems. Pace is NEVER irrelevant. It creates pressure, allows for closing spaces much quicker, allows for getting to 2nd balls quicker, etc., etc. We need to get Foden back on the pitch and find a way to get Alvarez in there too.
This was the best ever City team and formation. Silva and KDB played at 10 and 8 and just swapped positions throughout the game. It was bloody fantastic and we destroyed teams. If one of them was injured Gundo slotted in. I am not sure we have the players to do that now and KDB is older but it would be interesting to see Pep try it with Foden (Bernardo) and KDB. It is a high risk strategy but would work well against the weaker teams.KdB was also deployed mostly as a winger iirc.
When Pep came, I wondered how he was gonna fit Silva and KdB into the team, especially with Sterling and Sane. He surprised me by putting them both in centre midfield, and it was magnificent. They complemented each other well, and added an industrious side to their game I think most didn't expect.
Spot on. Arsenal are playing the quick exciting stuff we used to. Pep was quoted many times years ago saying in the final 3rd the skilful players can go and take risks. Now we’re just bloody obsessed with not losing the ball, apart from Kev who has license to give it away constantly on an off day.Pep prefers Grealish to Foden because of his passing rate allegedly.
I suppose it matters not if %90 passes are to the back/side.
Last couple of days I have been thinking about our regression football wise.
Sure our football it still good, all be it way too slow these days, painfully slow at times.
You watch Arsenal now, and you see how we once played for a couple of seasons. Those early seasons we played some of the best football we Blues have ever seen.
This might not be popular on here.
Was Arteta way more important to us than we realised. Was he the real Brains behind our swash buckling playing style.
We are seeing Pep persisting with 2 slow wingers who create pretty much nothing of note. Other than improving passing stats.
It is undeniable Arsenal are playing in a way we did with Pep earlier success.
Since Arteta has Left the quality has not been as good.
I don't think Grealish is fit enough to play such a midfield role. Bernardo is a grafter. Even when he plays well Grealish only seems to manage 30 minutes before he fades away. I think Mahrez is the same.or why not put him in the position bernardo played yesterday like a midfielder out wide and high put but can come inside when necessary. then put foden in the position jack played. bernardo is not good playing higher up the pitch as he is next to rodri. picking bernardo last game was one of the biggest mistakes pep made.
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.
You're right. So what happens when this version results in no trophies? When if ever will Pep reconsider his approach?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.
And for those calling out Jack as not fitting as a City player. He is fitting because he is playing as the Manager wants. Thats why he is starting almost every game now.
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.