Manuel Pellegrini (cont)

[Ray78]

The trouble with the EDS lads they are still developing and they don't yet have the maturity needed for the first team.

 

[johnmc]

More threatening with Navas on the pitch.

Taking off the two players who'd had the best attacking moments to leave on Silva and Aguero who were so off form without even introducing Dzeko was dreadful. All so you can push out Milner to the wings who was having a useless game in the middle anyway.

I'd have finished that game

Jovetic Dzeko Navas
Silva Lampard
Fernandinho

You can always see the reasoning behind leaving Aguero on the pitch though. He's the one player who can score from nothing. And he needs minutes in his legs. Dzeko should have come on earlier though and Navas left on.

 

[mancity1]

I think he got the team selection wrong today. Clichy, Demichelis and Fernandinho should've started. Easy to say with hindsight though. Either way the team he put out should've put up a better fight. There's clearly something wrong at the moment, and Pellegrini has a big challenge to fix it.

No hindsight here,i thought that when I saw the team sheet.

There was no reason not to go full strength today, with a full week before the Chelsea game. He would, of course, have been castigated by many if someone had been injured but that's irrelevant now.

The most worrying thing is, though, I don't think we would've won even with those players in the side. I think we'll get a lift when Toure and Bony return, and Aguero recovers his sharpness.

It doesn't cover the fact, though, that this team is reaching the end of its cycle and needs an overhaul. The complete lack of pace has to be addressed this summer.

Said that for a while and that includes players like Kompany as well.

This group definitely needs a major overhaul and its probably best that it be done with a new manager at the helm.

Players are aware of it as well and it shows in their whole approach to their football this season.

It has the distinct feel like RM 's last season with us with perhaps some of the angst off the field.

This time we have to learn from the past mistakes and get serious quality in all of the field into the team.

The owners know just how below the required standard in particular our defence and midfield are and the fact that our style of play needs amending.

 

[FantasyIreland]

I think he got the team selection wrong today. Clichy, Demichelis and Fernandinho should've started. Easy to say with hindsight though. Either way the team he put out should've put up a better fight. There's clearly something wrong at the moment, and Pellegrini has a big challenge to fix it.

No hindsight here,i thought that when I saw the team sheet.

There was no reason not to go full strength today.

There was every reason.

We were playing a very confident Boro team who many predicted would give us a very stern test.We had no game for 7 days and we needed our best players on the field,both to secure the result and also to inject some much needed faith into our own game.......i was adamant about that in the pre match thread.

Indeed it was both ridiculous and scandalous to play that back 5,we may have gotten away with one change but three? a joke.

 

[Bill]

To me he made 2 massive mistakes today. Playing kompany out of position and not bringing on dzeko at either half time or the 60 min mark. We had crosses firing in from a both sides at the start of the end half with our biggest player stood on the touch line. He kept looking back at the bench and you could see he wanted on the pitch eager to try and get on the end of them. Instead he took navas off and we lost all the attack down the right. Zaba stopped being able to get forward and overlap and milner kept cutting back inside.

Don't get me wrong we was poor today and the players need to take along hard look at themselves but think MP got the subs wrong today which could have made a big difference. Dzekos touch isn't the best but he scores goals a lot of the time big goals to leave him on the bench till 80 mins was a mistake.

totally agree. shambolic substituting.

 

[FromPollockToSilva]

No hindsight here,i thought that when I saw the team sheet.

There was no reason not to go full strength today.

There was every reason.

We were playing a very confident Boro team who many predicted would give us a very stern test.We had no game for 7 days and we needed our best players on the field,both to secure the result and also to inject some much needed faith into our own game.......i was adamant about that in the pre match thread.

Indeed it was both ridiculous and scandalous to play that back 5,we may have gotten away with one change but three? a joke.

Isn't Ric making the same point you are: There was no reason not to go full strength, i.e. there was every reason to go full strength?

 

[Bill]

No hindsight here,i thought that when I saw the team sheet.

There was no reason not to go full strength today.

There was every reason.

We were playing a very confident Boro team who many predicted would give us a very stern test.We had no game for 7 days and we needed our best players on the field,both to secure the result and also to inject some much needed faith into our own game.......i was adamant about that in the pre match thread.

Indeed it was both ridiculous and scandalous to play that back 5,we may have gotten away with one change but three? a joke.

once again you are on the money.

 

[cleavers]

I think he got the team selection wrong today. Clichy, Demichelis and Fernandinho should've started. Easy to say with hindsight though. Either way the team he put out should've put up a better fight. There's clearly something wrong at the moment, and Pellegrini has a big challenge to fix it.

No hindsight here,i thought that when I saw the team sheet.

You weren't alone, I thought it was the wrong team too, far too much talk of our "strongest team", and then we don't play it.

We've a week and a day off before Chelsea (who have a semi final in between), so no excuse for a weakened side from City. If I'd have left one player that started yesterday on the bench, it would have been Aguero, a game he really didn't need to be playing 90 minutes of, hopefully we've got away with that risk.

 

[Cherry tree blue]

There was two ways to go with team selection full strength maybe a couple of youngsters on the bench for in case things go well or blood three or four youngsters and hope for the best personally i'd would of gone for the first eleven seen as it was the our best chance of silverware

 

[Rammy Blue]

I can understand the frustration however I think we should wait until after Chelsea before getting too carried away, win that and we're back in the hunt, lose and we may as well pack up for the summer and I think MP may be facing a struggle to keep his job beyond the summer.