Mancini's selection and tactics

[LoveCity]

Hi

We won all of our last 6 matches - how is that limping ?

Because we won the league on goal difference over an inferior side. Maybe I should have used a different term but we didn't win the league as decisively as we had the potential to. We came good at the end but only after we started to struggle and had one of the worst away records before our final flourish. And we haven't continued that end of season form this season, and winning seems much harder for us now with our style, hence my main point.

 

[Danielmanc]

Hi

We won all of our last 6 matches - how is that limping ?

Because we won the league on goal difference over an inferior side. Maybe I should have used a different term but we didn't win the league as decisively as we had the potential to. We came good at the end but only after we started to struggle and had one of the worst away records before our final flourish. And we haven't continued that end of season form this season, and winning seems much harder for us now with our style, hence my main point.

Fair enough. I thought we had a great end to the season (although the last match was a scare !) and I'd be happy if we had managed to start this season as we ended the last.

That said - we're in a pretty good position despite having some poorer performances and I trust Mancini to sort any problems out.

 

[franksinatra]

Hi

We won all of our last 6 matches - how is that limping ?

Because we won the league on goal difference over an inferior side. Maybe I should have used a different term but we didn't win the league as decisively as we had the potential to. We came good at the end but only after we started to struggle and had one of the worst away records before our final flourish. And we haven't continued that end of season form this season, and winning seems much harder for us now with our style, hence my main point.

The qualities of Uniteds side is subjective however they posted a points total of 89 points over the course of a season. Whether they were brilliant, average or rubbish that is a huge points total by Premiership standards. For us it took a massive jump in points in comparison to the previous season and another huge jump from the year before. Our record 28-5-5 over a season was phenomenal. That is not limpiong by any standards.

 

[LoveCity]

Our record 28-5-5 over a season was phenomenal. That is not limpiong by any standards.

Yes but all 5 of those losses and 2 of the draws came in 4 of the final 5 months of the season and that is what I meant (again, maybe limping over the line wasn't the right term, but it was like we were given an injection of steroids for the last 6 games). That wasn't my main point anyway, my main point is that our style of football is being countered and smarter teams are learning how to deal with it.

We can either evolve like Barcelona have to work around that - and I'm not sure we will be able to because we don't have enough intelligent and decisive passers in our team besides Silva - or add more pace and directness to give us a method that has always worked in English football as long as I have seen it. Teams struggle against pace and persistent attacks, at the moment we build up so slowly that most teams can get two banks of four behind the ball before we're even in the final third of the pitch. Against Dortmund in the second half once they seemed to work us out, we were so devoid of creativity and pace that we couldn't even get in the final third for most of the final 45 minutes.

Arsenal, Liverpool, and Dortmund all knew how to play against us and we were quite lucky to get 1pt each from those games really. Teams like Spurs (who we took 6pts from last season), Everton, and Newcastle (also took 6pts from them last season) will run us very close if we don't improve.

Hazard would have been probably the most perfect and ideal signing we could have made unfortunately, but we missed out on him. That sort of playmaker would compliment what we have so well playing instead of Nasri along with Silva (or with Nasri instead of Silva when Silva is rested) because those two just can't seem to co-exist with much effect for some reason (unfortunate as they could have been our Xavi and Iniesta but it rarely seems to work... one plays well, the other average).

 

[Mancio]

Our record 28-5-5 over a season was phenomenal. That is not limpiong by any standards.

Yes but all 5 of those losses and 2 of the draws came in 4 of the final 5 months of the season and that is what I meant (again, maybe limping over the line wasn't the right term, but it was like we were given an injection of steroids for the last 6 games). That wasn't my main point anyway, my main point is that our style of football is being countered and smarter teams are learning how to deal with it.

We can either evolve like Barcelona have to work around that - and I'm not sure we will be able to because we don't have enough intelligent and decisive passers in our team besides Silva - or add more pace and directness to give us a method that has always worked in English football as long as I have seen it. Teams struggle against pace and persistent attacks, at the moment we build up so slowly that most teams can get two banks of four behind the ball before we're even in the final third of the pitch. Against Dortmund in the second half once they seemed to work us out, we were so devoid of creativity and pace that we couldn't even get in the final third for most of the final 45 minutes.

Arsenal, Liverpool, and Dortmund all knew how to play against us and we were quite lucky to get 1pt each from those games really. Teams like Spurs (who we took 6pts from last season), Everton, and Newcastle (also took 6pts from them last season) will run us very close if we don't improve.

Hazard would have been probably the most perfect and ideal signing we could have made unfortunately, but we missed out on him. That sort of playmaker would compliment what we have so well playing instead of Nasri along with Silva (or with Nasri instead of Silva when Silva is rested) because those two just can't seem to co-exist with much effect for some reason (unfortunate as they could have been our Xavi and Iniesta but it rarely seems to work... one plays well, the other average).

thats the why you have to improve the team and change something every summer

 

[Simon Curtis MCFC]

i don't want rid of mancini hes staying & that's it

 

[franksinatra]

Our record 28-5-5 over a season was phenomenal. That is not limpiong by any standards.

Yes but all 5 of those losses and 2 of the draws came in 4 of the final 5 months of the season and that is what I meant (again, maybe limping over the line wasn't the right term, but it was like we were given an injection of steroids for the last 6 games). That wasn't my main point anyway, my main point is that our style of football is being countered and smarter teams are learning how to deal with it.

We can either evolve like Barcelona have to work around that - and I'm not sure we will be able to because we don't have enough intelligent passers in our team besides Silva - or add more pace and directness to give us a method that has always worked in English football as long as I have seen it. Teams struggle against pace and persistent attacks, at the moment we build up so slowly that most teams can get two banks of four behind the ball before we're even in the final third of the pitch. Against Dortmund in the second half once they seemed to work us out, we were so devoid of creativity and pace that we couldn't even get in the final third for most of the final 45 minutes.

Arsenal, Liverpool, and Dortmund all knew how to play against us and we were quite lucky to get 1pt each from those games really. Teams like Spurs (who we took 6pts from last season), Everton, and Newcastle (also took 6pts from them last season) will run us very close if we don't improve.

Hazard would have been probably the most perfect and ideal signing we could have made unfortunately, but we missed out on him. That sort of playmaker would compliment what we have so well playing instead of Nasri along with Silva (or with Nasri instead of Silva when Silva is rested) because those two just can't seem to co-exist with much effect for some reason (unfortunate as they could have been our Xavi and Iniesta but it rarely seems to work... one plays well, the other average).

Great post pal.

I am a great advocate of our style of play. Retaining posession of the ball enables the defence to come under less pressure, tires the opposition out and by obtaining a stranglehold allowing our more intelligent players (Silva, Nasri etc) to pick holes in the opposition.

However one of the failings in this methodology is when the side is playing without confidence. Players make too many safe passes, dont shift the ball quickly enough, shirk responsisbility and that results in the approach play being ponderous and limits our ability to drag opposition defences around and create chances. Furthermore less players provide options resulting in the more frequent losing of possession.

As you have pointed out, for me, we dont have enough creative players in the squad. We seem top heavy in defensive midfielders and right backs and with the exception of Nasri and Silva (yaya to a lesser extent) we do not enough intelligent footballers to play this way in the event of injuries. Personally i wish we had purchased one of Garcia/Rodwell and spent the rest on either a winger or a Cazorla, Sahin type player.

 

[cordonbleu]

Our record 28-5-5 over a season was phenomenal. That is not limpiong by any standards.

Yes but all 5 of those losses and 2 of the draws came in 4 of the final 5 months of the season and that is what I meant (again, maybe limping over the line wasn't the right term, but it was like we were given an injection of steroids for the last 6 games). That wasn't my main point anyway, my main point is that our style of football is being countered and smarter teams are learning how to deal with it.

We can either evolve like Barcelona have to work around that - and I'm not sure we will be able to because we don't have enough intelligent and decisive passers in our team besides Silva - or add more pace and directness to give us a method that has always worked in English football as long as I have seen it. Teams struggle against pace and persistent attacks, at the moment we build up so slowly that most teams can get two banks of four behind the ball before we're even in the final third of the pitch. Against Dortmund in the second half once they seemed to work us out, we were so devoid of creativity and pace that we couldn't even get in the final third for most of the final 45 minutes.

Arsenal, Liverpool, and Dortmund all knew how to play against us and we were quite lucky to get 1pt each from those games really. Teams like Spurs (who we took 6pts from last season), Everton, and Newcastle (also took 6pts from them last season) will run us very close if we don't improve.

Hazard would have been probably the most perfect and ideal signing we could have made unfortunately, but we missed out on him. That sort of playmaker would compliment what we have so well playing instead of Nasri along with Silva (or with Nasri instead of Silva when Silva is rested) because those two just can't seem to co-exist with much effect for some reason (unfortunate as they could have been our Xavi and Iniesta but it rarely seems to work... one plays well, the other average).

+1
I don't know why we pulled out. We should have worked hard to secure Hazard's signature.

 

[MSP]

i don't want rid of mancini hes staying & that's it

Mr. Sheikh, is that You? :)

 

[royle]

It was the kind of game we needed to refocus our team,hopefully now they can kick on and start doing the things that made them champions in the first place.