Leverkusen (H) | CL | Post Match Thread

[The Future’s Blue!]

So after everything pep has done how long will you give him!?

Do you really think a new manager will improve or will improve our chance of winning the league win trophies!?

This talk seems mad from entitled fans or supposed Man City fans wanting the best manager ever gone!

Only mad until you look at the username ;-)

 

[AndyP68]

Although not the same magnitude, today feels a bit like the day after the CL final v Chelsea.

Had the squad suffered a sickness bug that wiped out the first team, then I could understand that line-up and accepted inevitable defeat. To actually pick that side for an important game is baffling. To be fair to Pep I think he’s rightly embarrassed about making such an error of judgement.

Was a bit like going to see your favourite band only for them to play a load of b sides and demos, when you want to hear a few hits.

 

[Richiemcfc1]

Savinho played like he'd just won a raffle to play at the Etihad, truely awful

 

[hilts]

No, just how quick some turn after such amazing, amazing success. It’s almost rag-like. Infact, no. It’s rag-like.

Our future is looking rag like at this rate :-) one thing you can't overcome is a drop off in talent and mentality.
Its hard to spot when transition becomes simply decline.
Staying at the top is hard, getting back to it is even harder. This isnt Scotland Spain or Germany where there are only 1 or 2 dominant teams.

 

[ArniArason]

Passive players do my tits in stones is a great passer but passive back off player Ake the same Khosovnov O'Reily and Gonzales go to the players to actually try and block tackle a player! Riejnders safe passive! We need to start buying players who engage who can’t be easily be bullied

I get your point, but there is a phrase I once heard that sums it up for me.

"When a few students fail, they need to try harder, but when the whole class fails, the teacher needs to reassess their methods."

 

[chaddblue]

Big mistake by Pep last night with that starting eleven.. If he was looking to keep the players fresh then he could quite easily have made 4 or five changes for last night & this weekend & still get the results.

Pep's gone soft

A few months into his city career he ruthlessly discarded city legend and fan favourite Joe Hart

These days he's giving lost little boy Rico Lewis free reign in the centre of midfield cos ' he feels sorry for him'

 

[Matt Diablo]

The only thing I would disagree on there is I think Nunes has improved greatly now he has settled in

But he still isnt now and never has been a fukin right back!

 

[chaddblue]

Savinho played like he'd just won a raffle to play at the Etihad, truely awful

He was utter shite.... but Lewis and Bobb are just as bad... think they get given a bit of leeway as they're academy products

 

[ArniArason]

Savinho played like he'd just won a raffle to play at the Etihad, truely awful

His form is baffling. He without doubt has the ability to be a top player, but you'd never guess it at the moment.

Wtf was this?!?

 

[feedmpenzaandhewillscore]

One passage of play last night summed up where we are at squad wise. Few intricate passes around the half way line on the left in first half, Savinho gets hold of it tries to go at his man then plays a hit and hope pass inside from the outside of his foot. This result in one of their players cutting it out, Reinjdeers tries to challenge him gets brushed off and the balls back moving towards our goal.

Their full back went the entire length of our half with no one within 10 yards of him for the first goal and he got way to much space to move up the pitch and pass for someone to cross it in for a second.

we’ve needlessly put ourselves under pressure of dropping out of the top 8 of the competition specially if we have to go to Madrid next game.

 

[youngbob]

Think last night was summed up really well by Sam Lee on Let Me Talk.

Just saying that if you put any of last night's XI into our usual team on their own, it's a good night. But putting them all out at once was a disaster waiting to happen.

 

[BerkshireBlue]

I believe Pep when he says the main reason was that he wanted to give a game to players that hadn’t played for a while but he picked too many of them.

I think he is telling the truth and thought it would, on the basis of what he had seen in training, be OK.

I’m surprised as the CL is not the tournament to try that. He apologised and said he has learned his lesson.

I think it’s one of the daftest things Pep has ever done at City but it could have worked I suppose.

Bottom line: Pep is still the best Manager in the World and I wouldn’t swap him for anyone.

Couldn't he have done this for Real Madrid away which is a throw away game? now we'll be at 0 points in two games and probably around 12th in the league with 2 extra unnecessary knockout games in Feb.

 

[GazM]

Jesus

He won't save us y'know

 

[Ken92]

Watched that last night and just had to digest it.

Newcastle was actually not as bad from us, we probably should have won it if we put our chances away, even if Alan Shearer thinks Newcastle are 1970 Brazil/2008 Barcelona, we had chances and should have won and if we had a referee that was at least decent, we would have.

But last night, second string team or not - you have to be at least trying. The only one I seen with any fight was Nico Gonzalez, ran around like a mad man and I seen him on 3 separate occasions telling other players off for not tracking back - Savinho and Bobb obvs.

When the others came on, obviously the game changed but it was already over but I just can't, for the life of me think why Pep keeps trying Savinho. Everyone can see he's not cut out for it. If he was a 100 metre sprinter, he'd be great for 90 metre's because in this game he's great for the first run but I've never seen a player above League 2 with worst final quality and I've seen some dross in my life from this team. I put money on him being great in La Liga again and looking like a world beater but over here, he just can't cut it.

Anyway, on to the next one, I hope Pep learnt a lot from that game and realises that certain players can't be trusted anymore.

Newvastle had the same amount of chances if not even more, so not sure we should have won it, it was one of the worst defensive displays this season for sure

 

[argyle]

Savinho played like he'd just won a raffle to play at the Etihad, truely awful

You know when the crowd do a pitch invasion and they all slip on their arses because the grass is wet and they're not wearing studs... that's Savinho.

 

[Luke The Blue]

Cant believe we got offered 70m for that wanker and we didn't take it.

 

[Silva top]

Although not the same magnitude, today feels a bit like the day after the CL final v Chelsea.

Had the squad suffered a sickness bug that wiped out the first team, then I could understand that line-up and accepted inevitable defeat. To actually pick that side for an important game is baffling. To be fair to Pep I think he’s rightly embarrassed about making such an error of judgement.

Was a bit like going to see your favourite band only for them to play a load of b sides and demos, when you want to hear a few hits.

Good points, all of them. I, too, feel like I did after going to Porto for the final and thinking , before the start, that Pep had picked the wrong team… which proved to be true. I hope that Pep will explain to fans why he did not respect the opposition last night and why he didn’t play the “first” team and when we won THEN play the reserves in Madrid.
I still believe that Pep is the best manager at City, ever, but some of his signings over the past two/ three years have not been good.
For the future Pep should either sign an extension for at least three future years or go at the end of the season to give us 6 months to find the best replacement…. And thank him for ten great years.
All things must end, it is always better to choose when rather than just see it out to the end… then no one wins.

 

[Earlyriser]

Who is a better manager that is available?

Those are 2 different questions. Taking the point who is a better manager first. It depends on the criteria you apply. Do you judge it solely on trophies won or do you consider who is making the best use of maybe the limited resources available to him. Somebody who bridges that divide is the Crystal Palace manager . I am sure if the right bid was made they would release him. I'm not suggesting he is Pep's replacement but as current events have shown Managers from Holland, Portugal and Italy have little currency.
My other area of concern is with our coaching. When a player is not picked we speculate that Pep must see something in the training that causes him concern. Yet last night we saw a side that included 2 players who have consistently failed to deliver on the pitch so god knows what they must be like in training. If there is a difference between the 2 clearly they have issues which make unsuited to playing for a club like City. Finally, on the coaching issue if we are unable to deliver either a meaningful corner or free kick as has been the case for some considerable time there is something rotten in our methods

 

[tonea2003]

enlightenment is not for everyone

you said it ;-)

 

[kashmir]

Livarpool did the same,I think it was in the carabao cup rested the 1st team most people I know said it was suicidal for them they lost we laughed,a couple of months later Pep does the same and guess what same result,but I’m not laughing now