Manuel Pellegrini (cont)

[LoveCity]

I think he is a great manager but FFP and other teams snatching targets are making it harder because the very best teams spend a lot of money on the best players, that's a general football fact.

I do think he is getting almost as much out of the squad as he can. I don't think we have signed a real what you could call world class player since 2011 (Mangala may end up one in a few years) but with some good 'squad builders' (I'd say Fernandinho could flirt with world class status in his best form) he won a double.

Give him the players Real, Bayern and very recently Chelsea chiefs have handed to their coaches have been able to acquire and he'd probably have us even better. I mean, imagine Soriano had been able to hand him Toni Kroos and James Rodriguez last summer or Matic and Fabregas.

 

[Marvin]

Thought Pellegrini contributed to the loss today

Haven't seen the penalty, but if it was that was a total gift as was the Giroud header. Individual errors there

This was always going to be a difficult game without Yaya, Nasri and with Aguero inevitably way below par, but we got it totally wrong in midfield. Fernando is very good at closing players down and winning the ball, but we needed to start with Jovetic or Dzeko today.

2nd half was much better, but why wait till then? Should have changed

And taking off Navas was a bad move as well. He was the only threat all game and once he went off our only route into their defence was gone

 

[BigOscar]

I think we lack depth in gamechangers, so if any of Yaya, Nasri or Silva are out, there isn't much Pellegrini can do to stop teams just marking the remaining creators out of the game. With only Silva, they could just clog up that part of the pitch and let Milner, Navas and Clichy have it out wide for eternity, safe in the knowledge that we'd do very little. Most teams wingers are their main threat, ours are little more than squad players, who cannot really do anything one on one with a man, yet alone against a packed defence.

With so little threat from wide areas, Pellegrini's arms are tied tactically against these sides who sit deep and counter. Lopes and Barker could be our long term solution, but at the moment we have very limited options

 

[Bill]

Thought Pellegrini contributed to the loss today

Haven't seen the penalty, but if it was that was a total gift as was the Giroud header. Individual errors there

This was always going to be a difficult game without Yaya, Nasri and with Aguero inevitably way below par, but we got it totally wrong in midfield. Fernando is very good at closing players down and winning the ball, but we needed to start with Jovetic or Dzeko today.

2nd half was much better, but why wait till then? Should have changed

And taking off Navas was a bad move as well. He was the only threat all game and once he went off our only route into their defence was gone

absolutely bang on the money.

 

[pudge]

He's made many managers look like mugs today the shoe was on the other foot.

 

[BLUEMATT23]

Needs to make top4 minimum. He got lucky last season if we're honest

 

[uwe rosler 28]

Needs to make top4 minimum. He got lucky last season if we're honest

Give your head a wobble pal we'll finish 1st or 2nd and he was not lucky to win 2 competitions in his first season!

 

[Bluewonder]

I thought his team selection was the best available, but the substitution of Lampard for Fernandinho killed us off today. Fernando was dead on his feet and Pellers brought on a 36YO plodder to play next to him, removing the player whose legs were keeping us in the game.

Dinho was on a yellow card and risked getting a red since Arsenal were hitting us on the counter.

Still think it was worth the risk as he was keeping us in the game.

 

[Exeter Blue I am here]

Needs to make top4 minimum. He got lucky last season if we're honest

Care to expand on that boneheaded statement? Let me guess, Liverpool 'choked'? Last time I looked a season lasted 38 games, not 32........

 

[FanchesterCity]

Needs to make top4 minimum. He got lucky last season if we're honest

If he got lucky, then Rodgers got even less lucky and Mourinho even less lucky again...

38 games. It's designed specifically to test a team over the duration and negate luck.

Nothing lucky about it.