Manuel Pellegrini (cont)

[Marvin]

I think it's a combination of 2 new players settling in: Fernando and Mangala, the hangover from the World Cup and a few players dropping their intensity somewhat.

Aguero is a huge positive. I was wondering if he was ever going to get his fitness back, but now he's 100%. We just need Silva and Kompany back, and we can easily go on a run of 4 or 5 wins.

The squad will end up stronger than it was last season.

Europe and the League Cup were a big disappointment, there's no getting away from that. Some will blame Pellegrini, but I think the players let their standards slip. This is his test now. To raise the players game, and I am very confident that that's what will happen, because I've seen it before. QPR was encouraging in my book because we showed some fight.

 

[City1974]

Pellegrini will go the summer after next when his contract ends, we will go for Pep then imo. Only way we change this summer is if Ancelotti or Klopp becomes available I reckon. No point changing for change sake, we must upgrade only. Clichy, Nastasic, Sinclair and Dzeko should be sold. Add a possible move for Nasri and Navas too?

Agree with most of this, also we do not know of Pellegrini has the ultimate say on signing sor if Bergiristain and Sorano do this. Of the latter do then no blame can be put on any manager.

As for players yes the following have proved not good enough and should be sold if possible:

Sinclair - no where good enough
Clichy - to many errors
Nastasic - not wanted at the club and seems to be drifting complexly
Sagna - Poor quality
Caballero - Should have got a young English keeper as backup to Hart i.e. MAYBE McCarthy who is now 2nd choice at QPR
Dzeko - good at times but way to inconsistent also
Navas - hot and cold performances
Nasri - overrated, not as good as Silva, goes missing in many games, and slows us down significantly

Possibly also Fernandinho (I believe he is not good enough) and now also it appears Fernando
Toure has probably reached the end after this season for us also.

Key 5 players to build upon:

Hart, Zabaleta, Kompany, Silva and Aguero

with Milner as a good\solid support for these 5

Bet you weren't saying fernandinho wasn't good enough last season

Fernandinho did have a decent season last year but I have never felt he has ever made us a much better team when he has played. A decent squad player but for the transfer fee we paid we would want more surely . Has he been a better option for City than Fabregas has been at Chelsea ?

If we want to go even further than we have been (and we are all delighted we have had the success we have had) we need even better players in some positions.

 

[M18CTID]

Very well said, mate.

Even the mighty chelsea who we rave about have won the title 3 times in What is now abramovich's 11 seasons after a big Harding investment.

As for 3rd if you look at the seasons of arsenal, Liverpool, rags etc who have all started worse than us them there is nothing to suggest we will drop below 2nd

There's a regrettable, but to some extent inevitable, lack of perspective from much of our support.

We've averaged around two points a game this season. By any measure that's a good return. We can't win the league every year. I'm not sure it would even be a good thing if we did. Does that mean that in those seasons we finish second, or god forbid, third that people derive no enjoyment from the experience, as appears to be the case with some of our fans?

What a unfortunate world to inhabit. I do think some of our supporters aren't getting all they can out of this wonderful experience we've been blessed with, which is a shame. It's almost like they've become consumed by a desire to win everything, which is not a good place to occupy as it means regular disappointment, whoever you support.

Well said. I wouldn't want to be in the trenches with some of our fans for sure - as soon as we hit a bad patch you get people calling for the manager's head. Not just Pellegrini but every other incumbent before him. I seem to remember exactly the same kind of knee-jerk reactions on here last year at exactly the same time of the season after the defeat at Sunderland - which actually left us 2 points worse off than where we are now - and I railed against some of the more extreme comments back then.

For me, it can't be argued that the team isn't in a good place at the moment - defensively we've been all over the place in the past couple of games in particular - but I trust the manager and this squad of players to prove that this is a blip rather than an altogether more worrying long-term decline. You can't judge anything on a sample size of 6 games. However, if this kind of form and level of performance continued for another 6 games then I'd agree that serious questions would need to be asked.

 

[BillyShears]

I think we should have used Rekik this season (wasted on loan), and should definitely have sold / replaced Toure in the summer.

It's a double edged sword though. Lets say they made the call that rather than buying Mangala, we should promote Rekik. Well he has struggled this season in the Dutch league, so I can't imagine what a disaster it would've been sticking him next to Vinny.

No doubt then the forum would've been awash with "can't believe we didn't buy a centre half". The other issue regarding transfer which is very obvious, but needs to be said, is that every transfer is a risk and nobody has a 100% record in buying players because nobody has a crystal ball.

If you look at the attributes that Mangala and Fernando bought into the squad, they were attributes we all agree we were missing last season. The fact it's not worked out is down to a perfect storm of injuries, poor form, and poor management from Pellegrini. However to my mind it isn't terminal for those two and I fully expect them to be key components of our squad in the next few seasons.

 

[without a dream]

Very well said, mate.

Even the mighty chelsea who we rave about have won the title 3 times in What is now abramovich's 11 seasons after a big Harding investment.

As for 3rd if you look at the seasons of arsenal, Liverpool, rags etc who have all started worse than us them there is nothing to suggest we will drop below 2nd

There's a regrettable, but to some extent inevitable, lack of perspective from much of our support.

We've averaged around two points a game this season. By any measure that's a good return. We can't win the league every year. I'm not sure it would even be a good thing if we did. Does that mean that in those seasons we finish second, or god forbid, third that people derive no enjoyment from the experience, as appears to be the case with some of our fans?

What a unfortunate world to inhabit. I do think some of our supporters aren't getting all they can out of this wonderful experience we've been blessed with, which is a shame. It's almost like they've become consumed by a desire to win everything, which is not a good place to occupy as it means regular disappointment, whoever you support.

There's no shame in missing out on the title to Chelsea this year, should that happen, they look a fantastic side. The frustration is that we're playing badly and have been for a long while now. There's been plenty to enjoy this season but if we don't even get close to Chelsea combined with woeful European performances then that's not acceptable imo.

I'm hoping for an epic Europa League run though, some great trips to be had in that competiton.

 

[dancity19]

It may have been a bit OTT.

But we haven't been quite as hamstrung by FFP as people suggest. We have spent a lot over the last 3 years, still. Fernando and Mangala were 44 million.

It is too early to judge Mangala and Fernando, certainly - but they were billed as the missing pieces of the jigsaw.

Jovetic is a huge talent - but I'm unsure if he will make it, unfortunately. He does a lot, without doing anything.
Navas is too hit or miss in my opinion, does too little, too often - I accept the stats you have just used, but during a game I don't think he does enough.
Sagna - no idea what has happened to him - though he hasn't been as bad as people have suggested.
Caballero - 5 million on someone who looks no better than Panti - again bizarre as he was so good in Spain

Fernandinho and Demicheles are the only players we have bought in the last few years who appeard to have improved us. Letting Negredo go that late on, when it was clear he wanted to go all summer, with no replacement was a strange one.

The buys haven't been all bad, and I am in no way saying we need to buy a 'star name' every single window - but i do believe you need the odd one to really liven, and freshen up the dressing room. It gives the players a lift and a boost - I don't understand why we would need a lift after winning a title, but it appears we do.

Maybe I am almost being contradictory, but this summer was billed as one where we make effective buys that are the final pieces of the jigsaw, when in reality, we have gone backwards.

Don't agree and I don't think you're being particularly objective. Navas for 15 million was exactly what you'd expect for 15 million. If his end product was where we want it to be he'd have cost double that minimum. You get what you pay for and it's churlish to suggest that he didn't make an impression on our title last season.

Sagna was free. Again in a summer where we had restrictions it's not a bad deal to make and he isn't as bad a player as he has shown in recent games.

Willy looks a waste of money, but if Joe needed that fear that someone would take his place to step up as he has done this season then it was worth it on some levels.

Don't agree at all our squad's gone backwards. The only component we've lost from last season is Negredo. Yes that's a backwards step in the forward line but the fact that we've added Fernando and Mangala for me makes us stronger.

What makes it look like we've gone backwards is players putting in performances that are literally 50% of what they put in last season in terms of aggression and pace.

Did just post a reply - and doesn't appear to have sent.

I didn't say or squad has gone backwards - I mean we just have gone backwards, full stop.

Performances - backwards. We haven't played well for a whole 90 mins once
CL - backwards
LC - backwards

Of course we have a high quality group of players - which is why I am so baffled.

What I have seen, and I don't agree with, is people suggesting this team has 'run it's course'. Who, apart from probably Yaya has run it's course.

Re Navas - I just don't think he offers enough. I don't think he plays to his strengths, or at least what I thought they were, and don't think he is up to the level we need to be. If you want to compare stats to price, then fair enough. I just find him a very frustrating player.

We have gone backwards mate, that can't be denied. And I can't understand why.

We have spent 49 million this summer I think. Mangala and Fernando are far too early to judge, accepted.

The only players to improve us over the last 3 years, at the moment - have been Fernandinho and Demi. Given the amount we have spent, that is worrying. To be fair, Negredo did for half a season, but we let him go with no replacement, on the last day of the window - bizarre.

 

[Lavinda Past]

I think we should have used Rekik this season (wasted on loan), and should definitely have sold / replaced Toure in the summer.

It's a double edged sword though. Lets say they made the call that rather than buying Mangala, we should promote Rekik. Well he has struggled this season in the Dutch league, so I can't imagine what a disaster it would've been sticking him next to Vinny.

No doubt then the forum would've been awash with "can't believe we didn't buy a centre half". The other issue regarding transfer which is very obvious, but needs to be said, is that every transfer is a risk and nobody has a 100% record in buying players because nobody has a crystal ball.

If you look at the attributes that Mangala and Fernando bought into the squad, they were attributes we all agree we were missing last season. The fact it's not worked out is down to a perfect storm of injuries, poor form, and poor management from Pellegrini. However to my mind it isn't terminal for those two and I fully expect them to be key components of our squad in the next few seasons.

I'd have played Rekik at left back, not centre half. CH was (and still is) Demichelis' place and it's for Mangala to prove he's better.

Rekik is more defensively minded than Kolarov, and in my opinion is a better defender than Clichy. I'd much rather see the Rekik / Kolarov rotation.

I agree about Mangala and Fernando - neither looks like a player on current form, but I fully expect they'll improve as and when they get used to the Prem. The important thing here is that they (and other 'off form' players) need good / careful management. That is where Pellegrini is lacking. He's just not up to the job.

 

[Anonymous]

Interesting point re Rekik. Scored yesterday and has put in some good performances according to some reports. However one regular watcher of the EDS has the polar opposite opinion and believes he is too slow, prone to a mistake and not ready yet for the rigours of the Prem. I'm in no position to offer any real insight on that one unfortunately.

I'm glad we've got this international break as it will give Manuel time to recharge his batteries and, in spite of the MEN article and quotes, give him a chance to think things through more thoroughly.

I hope he comes back with the answers as we've all seen how mad the league can be (look at Pardew's situation by way of example). With the talent at his disposal we really should be pushing Chelsea all the way.

Next 5 games will tell us exactly what's going to happen I reckon.

 

[Danamy]

Very well said, mate.

Even the mighty chelsea who we rave about have won the title 3 times in What is now abramovich's 11 seasons after a big Harding investment.

As for 3rd if you look at the seasons of arsenal, Liverpool, rags etc who have all started worse than us them there is nothing to suggest we will drop below 2nd

There's a regrettable, but to some extent inevitable, lack of perspective from much of our support.

We've averaged around two points a game this season. By any measure that's a good return. We can't win the league every year. I'm not sure it would even be a good thing if we did. Does that mean that in those seasons we finish second, or god forbid, third that people derive no enjoyment from the experience, as appears to be the case with some of our fans?

What a unfortunate world to inhabit. I do think some of our supporters aren't getting all they can out of this wonderful experience we've been blessed with, which is a shame. It's almost like they've become consumed by a desire to win everything, which is not a good place to occupy as it means regular disappointment, whoever you support.

I'm happily clapping here behind my keyboard

 

[Anonymous]

One thing that puzzles me. As a player Pellers was a centre half wasn't he? So what are the defence/dm's working on in training? Surely this is something he ought to be getting right as it was his stock-in-trade?