Mancini Protest

[GStar]

You're suggesting that our performances in some matches were better than others because we went into the games with a different philosophy. If you believe that, and if you believe that the opposition and match situation doesn't affect the way we approach things you're being a bit naive IMO.

Do Chelsea change thier line up from playing Stoke to playing Liverpool? I doubt it.

Will Arsenal have changed thier formation next week against Blackburn? No.

Precisely my point, we keep changing tactics to accomodate the opposition as opposed to playing to our strengths and letting our quality shine through.

 

[hgblue]

Just a quick question for all those who love Mancini and will brook no criticism of him. Why do you think that some fellow City fans who love the club just as much as you do, have such reservations about Mancini's approach to certain games/periods of certain games/substitutions in some games? Are we all ignorant fuckers who don't really understand the game? Miserable fuckers who just moan for the sake of it? Hughes fans who've never given Mancini a chance? Speaking for myself I'm none of the above, but I just wish he'd had a more adventurous approach to some of the games that have passed us by. Sunderland away springs to mind. As does Liverpool at home. The substitutions in both home games against United. His decision to go with Vieira ahead of Adebayor yesterday. That's just off the top of my head, but there's probably more. OK, if we finish Fourth, the point we picked up in games against Liverpool, Sunderland and Arsenal, and his decision to try to pick up a point against United will be vindicated. However, if we miss out on Fourth, some of these decisions will come back to haunt us big time, and are fair game for discussion imo. So why does his fan club have to get so precious/defensive whenever anyone attempts to discuss them?

 

[shadygiz]

Just a quick question for all those who love Mancini and will brook no criticism of him. Why do you think that some fellow City fans who love the club just as much as you do, have such reservations about Mancini's approach to certain games/periods of certain games/substitutions in some games? Are we all ignorant fuckers who don't really understand the game? Miserable fuckers who just moan for the sake of it? Hughes fans who've never given Mancini a chance? Speaking for myself I'm none of the above, but I just wish he'd had a more adventurous approach to some of the games that have passed us by. Sunderland away springs to mind. As does Liverpool at home. The substitutions in both home games against United. His decision to go with Vieira ahead of Adebayor yesterday. That's just off the top of my head, but there's probably more. OK, if we finish Fourth, the point we picked up in games against Liverpool, Sunderland and Arsenal, and his decision to try to pick up a point against United will be vindicated. However, if we miss out on Fourth, some of these decisions will come back to haunt us big time, and are fair game for discussion imo. So why does his fan club have to get so precious/defensive whenever anyone attempts to discuss them?

spot on fella....i'm also none of the above, but i am a dyed in the wool city fan who wants whats best for this club and more fool me, i also have an opinion

 

[Anonymous]

The Wigan/Brum/Burnley results were just us playing on form. We used the same tactics, the same gameplan, the only difference is that Bellamy, Adebayor, Tevez and Johnson were all on fire and even more important they were on fire as a collective set. Don't forget the Wigan game was frustrating for 70mins.

The difference with the Chelsea example you use is that those 3 managers managed a premier league title winning and one of the top 3 champions league squad, a bit different from one that finished 10th last season and is neck and neck with two other sides to finish 4th!

I'm not suggesting that Mancini will make wholesale changes straight away as that will disrput us even more, but in 2-3 years time if he is still here, alot of the current lot won't be here.

Thats extremely unfair to put those performances down to "form". We changed our aproach, our set up... Mancini looked like we was getting the balance right.

Back to big teams, back to playing for a point. As i said yesterday, it was criminal we gave Silvestre/Campbell/Fabianski such as easy day. None of them are top half PL players, let alone top4 regulars.

Thats my point with Chelsea, quality is easier to manage, i don't think theres any doubt we have quality (not PL winning quality yet) so we shouldn't need wholesale changes. Theres no need to get rid of most of the squad because the majority of it are good enough for a top 4 team already.

Honestly if you looked back at the games against Burnley and Birmingham and Arsenal and the rags you would see nothing different from the system or gameplan we used. I don't think you'd disagree that Bellamy, Johnson and Tevez have been poor the last two games would you?? Now imagine if them 3 had even produced the kind of form they showed against Burnley and Birmingham against the rags and Arsenal and the two results may have been better.

Like moomba said, sometimes players and teams are better than the opposition, it's not always a case of what the manager has set out to do, too much emphasis is put on them these days.

Going back to your last point, you are spot on, there isn't any need to get rid of most of the squad as they are good enough for a top 4 side but Mancini and the club aren't thinking of just being good enough for a top 4 side, i'd like to think that in 2-3 years they would expect to be challenging for all major honours and that will require a tottally different squad of players than we have now.<br /><br />-- Sun Apr 25, 2010 7:09 pm --<br /><br />

You're suggesting that our performances in some matches were better than others because we went into the games with a different philosophy. If you believe that, and if you believe that the opposition and match situation doesn't affect the way we approach things you're being a bit naive IMO.

Do Chelsea change thier line up from playing Stoke to playing Liverpool? I doubt it.

Will Arsenal have changed thier formation next week against Blackburn? No.

Precisely my point, we keep changing tactics to accomodate the opposition as opposed to playing to our strengths and letting our quality shine through.

The rags change their line up and system on who they are playing.

 

[robbieh]

Just a quick question for all those who love Mancini and will brook no criticism of him. Why do you think that some fellow City fans who love the club just as much as you do, have such reservations about Mancini's approach to certain games/periods of certain games/substitutions in some games? Are we all ignorant fuckers who don't really understand the game? Miserable fuckers who just moan for the sake of it? Hughes fans who've never given Mancini a chance? Speaking for myself I'm none of the above, but I just wish he'd had a more adventurous approach to some of the games that have passed us by. Sunderland away springs to mind. As does Liverpool at home. The substitutions in both home games against United. His decision to go with Vieira ahead of Adebayor yesterday. That's just off the top of my head, but there's probably more. OK, if we finish Fourth, the point we picked up in games against Liverpool, Sunderland and Arsenal, and his decision to try to pick up a point against United will be vindicated. However, if we miss out on Fourth, some of these decisions will come back to haunt us big time, and are fair game for discussion imo. So why does his fan club have to get so precious/defensive whenever anyone attempts to discuss them?

Fairplay hg. I am an unapologetic supporter of Mancini based on a degree of tactical sophistication I had not seen at City before. Throw into the mix his CV and I stand by my support. But that does not mean I am blind, and there have been times where he has been overly negative. And it may cost us.

It may be because he has little faith in some players, I don't know. Or it maybe a lack of appreciation of the pace of the premier league.

I am just hoping rather than believing he can get us over the line.

 

[hilts]

back tracking on what precisely?

If we dont get fourth then it will be because the players werent good enough under hughes or mancini, in which case the blame goes to the guy who bought them in the first place which seems fair enough to me.

whilst i agree with you regarding the players pontential, it is up to the current manager to work with what he has.

as i said back tracking...so if mancini doesnt do what he was brought in and tasked to do then it will be someone elses fault?

bear in mind mancini was tasked with getting us into 4th this season

if a manager gets more points than the previous manager did whose players were his buys that indicates a better manager, if mancini doesnt get fourth i dont see how this will be his fault, he tried to sign a couple of midfielders in jan but they didnt come off due to no fault of his own, i would imagine this and the fact that he has sorted out the defence in months when hughes couldnt do it with money and time will also be in his favour, we dont know if the owners see getting 4th as a must for him keeping his job, when asked he was bound to say he feels we can get 4th and we can possibly do it.

I have always been clear in my views and backed them up with reasons

he is a proven manager
he deserves time to get his own players
sometimes its the players fault for results not managers

these are more thought out than the usual hes italian so doesnt suit the english game or hes too defence minded, he can only be judged properly next year if he is here its just common sense

 

[TheMightyQuinn]

Most of you would be happier supporting Rochdale.

Not having a go, just making an observation.

 

[moomba]

Do Chelsea change thier line up from playing Stoke to playing Liverpool? I doubt it.

Will Arsenal have changed thier formation next week against Blackburn? No.

I wouldnt be surprised if both change their lineup, especially if there are fitness/injury issues as there were with us on Saturday.

Precisely my point, we keep changing tactics to accomodate the opposition as opposed to playing to our strengths and letting our quality shine through.

Again I think you overstate changes that we make to our tactical approach. But there has to be some changes, every team in the world (bar maybe Barca) will adjust there approach depending on the opposition.

 

[GStar]

Honestly if you looked back at the games against Burnley and Birmingham and Arsenal and the rags you would see nothing different from the system or gameplan we used. I don't think you'd disagree that Bellamy, Johnson and Tevez have been poor the last two games would you?? Now imagine if them 3 had even produced the kind of form they showed against Burnley and Birmingham against the rags and Arsenal and the two results may have been better.

Like moomba said, sometimes players and teams are better than the opposition, it's not always a case of what the manager has set out to do, too much emphasis is put on them these days.

Going back to your last point, you are spot on, there isn't any need to get rid of most of the squad as they are good enough for a top 4 side but Mancini and the club aren't thinking of just being good enough for a top 4 side, i'd like to think that in 2-3 years they would expect to be challenging for all major honours and that will require a tottally different squad of players than we have now.

I think we fluttered between variations of 433/442 but the big differnece is the creativity and freedom we've given the team. When we give players a liscence to get forward and create, our front men are supported and we look good.

Against Arsenal i've never seen Tevez so isolated. Bellamy and Johnson barely crossed the halfway line and we were instructed to sit very deep and very compact.

Perhaps that was the right way to approach the game, but surely as we grew into it, we could take more chances? Thats how the great teams grind out results, they make sure they give themselves every oppourtunity to score.

I don't watch utd much but they've played 433 pretty much all season, Nani/Giggs left Valencia right and Rooney up front.

They may change personel but thier philosophy and set up rarely changes.

 

[bizzbo]

You're suggesting that our performances in some matches were better than others because we went into the games with a different philosophy. If you believe that, and if you believe that the opposition and match situation doesn't affect the way we approach things you're being a bit naive IMO.

Do Chelsea change thier line up from playing Stoke to playing Liverpool? I doubt it.

Will Arsenal have changed thier formation next week against Blackburn? No.

Precisely my point, we keep changing tactics to accomodate the opposition as opposed to playing to our strengths and letting our quality shine through.

look at chelsea's line up over the season. they alter their front line every week. drogba up front, or anelka up front, or both, they swap attacking midfielders for genuine wide men, genuine wide men for strikers-cum wingers. they swap ballack mikkel lampard deco and cole around to change the balance of the midfield. they swap midfielders for attacking fullbacks and attacking fullbacks for defensive fullbacks.

rags changed their formation loads as well this year. they did it when they played us in the CC, changed their formation for the second leg.

rafa drives the scousers nuts because he swaps his formation and line ups about so much. they'd do it even more if they had more than one striker.

arsenal swap between walcott and eboue on the right. go from one up front to two and back again. the attacking players start in all different kinds of positions on a weekly basis.