Manuel Pellegrini (cont)

[St Helens Blue (Exiled)]

That the trouble with SHB. Had one good season then turned to shit. But I'm hoping he'll come good again.

You mean I am not towing the party line ????
Go on explain. Am I not allowed to express my opinion that in my opinion he has taken us backwards.
I will say it-We won the league because Liverpool imploded..Yes yes I hear you that the league is won over the 38 games but in reality they gave it us.
He gives us nothing anymore Pellegrini other than his usual mundane answers and press conferences.
My mind is made up,results show we are regressing. Of course you can lose any game but...

Stoke home
Newcastle reserves home..

He's a dead man walking

You've been allowed lots of leeway to express your opinion so don't give me that. The problem is that you're far too wound up about things and there are worse things in life to get wound up about. And it's not that I violently disagree with you about Pellegrini as I've said on here that I don't see him taking us to that last level we're aiming for.

But I do disagree that he'll be given his marching orders mid-season without the club having a clear Plan B. Even Mancini, who'd had a similarly poor run of results and whose relationship with the board, executives and most of his senior players had completely broken down, was given to the end of the season (or would have been if news of Pellegrini hadn't leaked).

His fate will depend on the conversations he has with Soriano & Begiristain. If his attitude in those is that he doesn't have a clue what's wrong or how to fix it, he's history. No question. If however he does have a concrete plan, then he'll be allowed to implement it. A lot may also depend on who we can get to replace him as there's no point in getting someone like Koeman or Martinez, who represent a bigger gamble than Pellegrini. It will have to be someone who has the pedigree and experience to take us that final step, closer to winning the CL than we are at the moment. It may be they've already had conversations with someone and have an understanding in place. It maybe that if Dortmund parted company with Klopp n the next few weeks we'd pounce but I simply don't know.

But however disappointing last night was, we're still in two domestic competitions and could, potentially, win another double. So I appreciate you're a passionate blue but why not chill out, reflect on the things you've got in your life that are blessings and stop getting yourself into a state about a game of football.

Thanks for your response. I am really chilled out and am not in a state but am I not allowed to be passionate about the team the club I support? Yes some are more relaxed about the situation and are easy come easy go but that showing last night was simply not acceptable in any way shape or form. Then you have the people who simply blame the officials and UEFA.
Of course they were shocking but we have all sort of come to accept that for a while now.
As you say,I agree with you that if he has no answers then he is toast. He is saying it is baffling him our performances etc. I don't know what he does on a daily basis after training but he needs to sit and analyse things,watch the game over and over. Surely he can see that Moscow cut through the middle of us like we weren't even there and if he can't then what is he not seeing that the majority of us are. I will say it again,he is stubborn beyond belief Colin and I can't see him changing at all unless the powers that be question what is going on.
QPR-We know they are going to press us,no time on the ball etc. Another potential banana skin. What if the worst case scenario happens then. 2 week international break and I would say he will be on even thinner ice. Maybe for the remainder of the season Kidd will promoted or even Vieira,of this I dont know.

 

[bernabias home shirt]

It's laughable to suggest that our problems are nothing to do with our tactical set up, when managers are coming out with the fact that they know we'll play a certain way and they prepare accordingly after they've beaten us. I fear some are joining the manager in full on head in the sand mode if they believe our tactics aren't contributing to the fact that we're way too open and are giving quality opposition way too much time and space in which to play. This needs sorting ASAP or I fear another managerial change is on the cards.

Give over! Sam Allardyce and CSKA's manager?! We were poor in our games against them. They didn't out do us tactically in any way! We beat Fat Sam comfortably home and away last season. Had our players actually performed we would have won our games this season against West Ham and CSKA. The tactics haven't been perfect, I agree that the 4-4-2 isn't working this season. But we've played against far better teams with far more astute managers this season and they've not seemed to outsmart us or understand the way we play.

Even Mark Hughes in his post match interview said they came to the Etihad 'with a plan and a specific way to play' against us...
It worked from the kick off and he went home with 3 points tucked away in his back pocket.
The manager has been sussed out. The reason a lot on here are so frustrated is that even when he knows he been sussed out he doesn't even appear to attempt to change things. Its either stubbornness or stupidity (or maybe a mixture of both!)

Bit of both tbh..

 

[OB1]

One other thing we need to do, and I hope its the major focus between now and Saturday evening, is start doing basic stuff correctly, you know stuff like defending, marking, passing, shooting, crossing, none of which were remotely good enough last night from the 3rd minute onwards, or against Newcastle.

There are times when you have to go back to basics and I think this is one of those times. It's why I think we need to look at a 4-2-3-1 formation, focus on keeping the ball and keeping clean sheets. Build some results and confidence and then think about going back to 4-2-2-2.

With Silva out I'd struggle to pick an XI playing 4231. Swap Jovetic out for Nasri for the game at QPR. Not many other choices we can make.

Back four
Fern, Fern
Nas, Yaya, Milner
Aguero

 

[BillyShears]

Maybe for the remainder of the season Kidd will promoted or even Vieira,of this I dont know.

Maybe pigs will also fly.

I'll take your bet St Helens. Pellegrini will still be manager next season. Nailed on. Whatever you want the stakes to be, name them as I can't lose ;)

 

[BillyShears]

There are times when you have to go back to basics and I think this is one of those times. It's why I think we need to look at a 4-2-3-1 formation, focus on keeping the ball and keeping clean sheets. Build some results and confidence and then think about going back to 4-2-2-2.

With Silva out I'd struggle to pick an XI playing 4231. Swap Jovetic out for Nasri for the game at QPR. Not many other choices we can make.

Back four
Fern, Fern
Nas, Yaya, Milner
Aguero

I just don't see Pellegrini picking the three big men together. If he does and it works though there'll be one or two posters throwing champagne parties and starting various "I told you so" threads! :)

 

[cleavers]

There are times when you have to go back to basics and I think this is one of those times. It's why I think we need to look at a 4-2-3-1 formation, focus on keeping the ball and keeping clean sheets. Build some results and confidence and then think about going back to 4-2-2-2.

With Silva out I'd struggle to pick an XI playing 4231. Swap Jovetic out for Nasri for the game at QPR. Not many other choices we can make.

Back four
Fern, Fern
Nas, Yaya, Milner
Aguero

Its what I'd do right now, I might play Navas rather than Nasri atm, just because I don't think Nasri is anywhere near fit.

 

[Prestwich_Blue]

I think we need to get the combination of Yaya, Silva, Nasri and Aguero together a.s.a.p. with Yaya or Silva playing off Aguero (Dzeko and Jovetic are just too shit to mention at the moment),

One other thing we need to do, and I hope its the major focus between now and Saturday evening, is start doing basic stuff correctly, you know stuff like defending, marking, passing, shooting, crossing, none of which were remotely good enough last night from the 3rd minute onwards, or against Newcastle.

There are times when you have to go back to basics and I think this is one of those times. It's why I think we need to look at a 4-2-3-1 formation, focus on keeping the ball and keeping clean sheets. Build some results and confidence and then think about going back to 4-2-2-2.

One of my favourite football books is Eamon Dunphy's 'Only a Game', about his last 8 months at Millwall. It's a diary and he tells it as he sees it, with the team getting off to a good start in the old Div 2, looking for promotion then it all turns to shit. Part of it deals with confidence and he talks about a team-mate who has lost his and tries too hard to get back on his game. Dunphy's view is that the best way to regain it is to do some simple stuff right. Pass, receive the ball, pass again, receive it, pass. I agree that we need ot go back to basics and get some confidence by tightening up at the back and keeping some clean sheets. If that involves scraping a few 1-0 wins then so be it. But that's what we need at the moment.

 

[shemnel]

So to sum up, 7 points form 30 is OK because they're playing "well", but 20 points from 30 isn't because we're not playing well enough. Genius.

hehe, you read far too much into things my friend. I was merely responding to the original post which was writing off Klopp because they had 7 pts from 30, therefore he and Dortmund are no good.

I was merely highlighting that Dortmund have actually been ok on the pitch and in a similar statistical 'cover-up', City have been pretty shoddy and yet picked up the points. it's a quirk, that's all.

Its not a "quirk" at all, its facts. I didn't say Klopp nor Dortmund were "no good", just that right now, we are in a healthier position in the domestic league than they are.

I don't know how the Dortmund fans see things, but I doubt they are happy, injuries or not, with being in the relegation zone. Their next game is home against 3rd placed Gladbach, hardly a nailed on win, and if Werder beat Stuttgart, they could well find themselves bottom of the league 1/3 of the way through the season, and with a real prospect of being out of the CL next year. That could be a situation that the club finds untenable I don't know, but it would hardly be an endorsement for bringing him here as an upgrade would it ?

not really, and i wouldnt want him here either.

 

[cleavers]

One of my favourite football books is Eamon Dunphy's 'Only a Game', about his last 8 months at Millwall. It's a diary and he tells it as he sees it, with the team getting off to a good start in the old Div 2, looking for promotion then it all turns to shit. Part of it deals with confidence and he talks about a team-mate who has lost his and tries too hard to get back on his game. Dunphy's view is that the best way to regain it is to do some simple stuff right. Pass, receive the ball, pass again, receive it, pass. I agree that we need ot go back to basics and get some confidence by tightening up at the back and keeping some clean sheets. If that involves scraping a few 1-0 wins then so be it. But that's what we need at the moment.

Something we did only 4 days ago :)

 

[chris85mcfc]

There are times when you have to go back to basics and I think this is one of those times. It's why I think we need to look at a 4-2-3-1 formation, focus on keeping the ball and keeping clean sheets. Build some results and confidence and then think about going back to 4-2-2-2.

With Silva out I'd struggle to pick an XI playing 4231. Swap Jovetic out for Nasri for the game at QPR. Not many other choices we can make.

Back four
Fern, Fern
Nas, Yaya, Milner
Aguero

Back to basics with a team we have never put out before?

Personally i dont see Yaya playing behind Sergio as solving any of our problems, he prefers to have the ball facing goal not with his back to it.

I actually think pushing Fernandinho on could be the better bet, allowing him to link up with Yaya in midfield and also having the legs to press from the front