Leicester City v City post match.

[Blue Hefner]

I disagree. I think in the long run you need Ideology. It's what differentiates the hood ones from the bad ones.

You need to drill your ideology until it's ingrained or you fail before it is so. The more I see us wilt under the media and fan pressure of clearing the lines, the sadder I get. Coz it means our players are not getting better at that which will eventually differtiate us from the others.

Becoming pragmatic will be our eventual downfall. Is rather fail now instilling a philosophy that will prosper long term, than switch it to satisfy some short-term gain.

I think balance is the key, especially as these players will not be around long to enough to benefit from said ideology. Be pragmatic with this lot until we have players that can do the job, as what we are doing currently is counterproductive

 

[jimmygrimblesboots]

Although i believe Pep is a clever manager he doesnt appear to have the element of surprise , teams know how we will play the only difference being 3 or 4 at the back , the only time he did change his tactics completely was against Barca in the 2nd half , we started hitting long balls into the channels and look what happened we could have easily scored six on the night against arguably the best team in europe. Not saying we should go out to play like Wimbledon but maybe when the Arse come over to us on Sunday we can mix it up a bit with the pace of Sterling,Sane and Kelechi

 

[MCFC_4Heatons]

3 at the back when we've been struggling to keep a clean sheet, with the defensive personnel we have available and against Leicester's pace was footballing suicide. With Kolarov still playing like a wing-back we played with two at the back half the time I'm sorry but there was nothing remotely clever and is no defence for what Pep did & when it was clearly a shambles he just didn't react and make the changes needed (after the first goal it was clear we needed to revert to a traditional back four). Smacked of manager being extremely stubborn. I'm struggling to remember when we looked comfortable with 3 at the back unless I missed something!!

 

[Prestwich_Blue]

3 at the back when we've been struggling to keep a clean sheet, with the defensive personnel we have available and against Leicester's pace was footballing suicide. With Kolarov still playing like a wing-back we played with two at the back half the time I'm sorry but there was nothing remotely clever and is no defence for what Pep did & when it was clearly a shambles he just didn't react and make the changes needed (after the first goal it was clear we needed to revert to a traditional back four). Smacked of manager being extremely stubborn. I'm struggling to remember when we looked comfortable with 3 at the back unless I missed something!!

Completely agree. It was utterly bizarre what he did on Saturday. And if we had a Director of Football who was independent of his manager, you might expect he'd get called in, told to stop fucking about and get us some points. But when his mate is his DoF, I don't expect that will happen.

 

[Mike N]

At least we got possession back after 10 seconds. Pity it was when the keeper got it out of the net!

 

[somethingelse]

it was all that rotter Jamie Vardys fault,he did that fast break thing and surprised Pep every time

 

[cibaman]

I think balance is the key, especially as these players will not be around long to enough to benefit from said ideology. Be pragmatic with this lot until we have players that can do the job, as what we are doing currently is counterproductive

My thoughts exactly. Pep clearly accepts that some players are not good enough or cannot play his way. Otherwise Managala would have been playing on Saturday. He's been here long enough now to have a thorough understanding of the players' capabilities and shortcomings. He must now know that there are some players for whom no amount of coaching will turn them into a Pep player. He doesn't need to abandon his principles, just be a tad more pragmatic.

 

[Blue Til Death]

I've not been this depressed after a defeat for many a year, I know we will turn it around and I know Pep is right for us but Saturday really knocked the stuffing out of me, normally moved on by now but I'm still suffering because of the manner of the defeat.

 

[DAGW]

Most depressing thing is that Kolarov was defensively a shambles yet was our biggest attacking threat in that game with his 1 goal and 1 assist

I really hope Kolarov was told to maraud forward and play low percentage balls forward, by Pep, otherwise he is truly brain dead. But this is what Kolarov does. He neglects his defensive duties because he is the new breed of left back where your first thought, for some reason, should be going forward. The problem is that Kolarov isn't good enough at attacking or defending, and produces his best attacking play when the opposition have settled for a result (either the game has gone and they're resigned to defeat, or they're happy with their 4-0 lead).

Free kicks in garbage time will look great on a stat sheet but they don't tend to come when we need them.

We desperately need new full backs above anything (even a new keeper :| somehow). We can all see it, the pundits see it, opposition managers and players see it, I just hope Pep sees it. Maffeo has looked raw but really really good in the games he's been included, and as much as we all love Zab to bits, those seasons at his peak have taken their toll on his legs. As for Left back, I'll always insist having Clichy, who doesn't add a huge amount going forward but has a superior defensive skillset, will always be better than Kolarov; however, they're both way below what we need right now.

 

[Big_Alan]

We bring in the worlds most coveted coach, add £150 million worth of talent to already one of the strongest squads in the league. Adding to the fact that Chelsea and United both have new managers and you don't expect us to muster a title challenge?

Not really when you consider 60 + million was spent on future players (jesus,sane,and moreno) Chelsea pissed the league two years ago they have added a couple they just needed peg out and utd won't challenge. I hope we muster a challenge but in a season of change I don't really expect it.