Manuel Pellegrini (cont)

[mancity1]

This thread and today on the whole has an eery resemblance to Sunderland at home last season. It was shite, poor, not good enough, etc. Pellegrini made so many mistakes today I don't know where to begin. But shit happens. We didn't lose which is a blessing for no other reason than I said a week ago we wouldn't lose another match this season :(

It keeps coming round but I think this squad has had it's 'cycle' and i'd be happy to rip up large parts of it and start again with a new generation of players, even if it means being less 'dominant' for the next two or three years. Maybe we need to take one step back to take two forward.

Totally agree.

I know the cycle is over.

It varies in length depending on age , tactics etc.

It might take a dip ala Manure proportions last year to make the owners realise that things are not as rosy with the squad as some might expect.

Nasri's interview was telling for me.

I think its more than just a lack of confidence and our ability whatever it is we are trying to execute on game day.

Huge freshen up needed starting with a real drive to bring youth forward.

We all know this squad was never going to push in Europe and MP was just a stop gap to calm things down.

The fact that maybe some of these players just are not as good as they think they are and a lack of leadership and will to work harder and smarter is coming home to roost.

The good news is we have good owners and they will address this properly I am confident of that.

Missing out on Chumps League may not be as catastrophic as some would think , it may be what we need to re adjust and improve our recruitment policy for all time.

 

[BobKowalski]

This thread and today on the whole has an eery resemblance to Sunderland at home last season. It was shite, poor, not good enough, etc. Pellegrini made so many mistakes today I don't know where to begin. But shit happens. We didn't lose which is a blessing for no other reason than I said a week ago we wouldn't lose another match this season :(

It keeps coming round but I think this squad has had it's 'cycle' and i'd be happy to rip up large parts of it and start again with a new generation of players, even if it means being less 'dominant' for the next two or three years. Maybe we need to take one step back to take two forward.

And you would seriously let Pellegrini loose with £100 million in his pocket? That's brave fella.

I would say that the buying is more down to Txiki who has done OK. Admittedly Mangala at £32m (or £42m) is a bit of a concern since he can't get into the first team at the moment but I don't have a problem with Txiki with £100m in his pocket.

 

[chesterbells]

Simply put our form over the last month or so will not make us champions. In fact our form this season has been patchy at best. Throw in two dismal cup exits and quite possibly the worst (albeit funniest) CL performance at home to CSKA Moscow and it does not bode well.

The issue has been touched on twice by Pellers. A 'lack of trust' and 'nervousness' were the words he used. The players lack confidence in themselves and/or distrust what they are being asked to do which is breeding slow hesitant play. This is still an immensely talented squad and immensely talented players can influence a football match but if they don't have belief in what they are doing, themselves or the way they are being asked to play they will not produce enough quality performances on a consistent basis to win titles (or it seems cups).

Pellers has to instill that belief.

That aside our comedy defending would undermine anyone's confidence. I remember reading that one complaint was the tedium of training sessions on team shape and defensive drills with and without the ball. Well that 'tedium' did produce a significant benefit and that is we didn't concede a fucking goal every single fucking PL match. You could see that defensive discipline being eroded last season and right now it is practically non existent.

I really do not see the benefit of a porous set up that encourages you to leak goals. It looks even worse if you are not exactly banging them in at the other end either. Are we meant to consider this 'attractive football'? If by attractive they mean its bleeding hilarious to see grown men colliding with each other and falling on their collective arses then OK I see where you are coming from. Hell just add buckets of water and foam pies and stop calling it a football match and you'll have a winner on your hands.

It bugged me last season and it bugs me this one too. The balance between attack and defence. fluidity and discipline is off and right now it so far off its produced our worst sequence of result since well Mark Hughes I guess. I said after Chelsea I was more optimistic about winning the title provided we carried the same level of performance into the rest of the season. Today, and for too many days this season, we didn't match that level of performance and unless we dramatically improve our performance level it doesn't matter if we are 2, 5 or 7 points adrift because right now this team is winning jack shit.

It seems incredible that they don't have belief, confidence or 'trust' in what they are doing, doesn't it, considering those players started the season as champions - very strange.

Do you mean one complaint about Mancini? Many of the personnel are the same, and there have been plenty of defence-minded signings brought in since Mancini, and it cant seriously be the case that plenty of defensive work isnt done on the training pitch. That being said, I'd agree all of the back 5, possibly with the exception of Clichy, have taken a dip in form this season, so something is certainly in need of improvement

Yes it is odd and I thought Pellers observations were very telling.

And yes I did mean one complaint about Mancini. I think even Chappers bought it up when he was airing his grievances. To be honest I was trying to avoid mentioning 'he who must not be named' as people start having the screaming abdabs. Clearly we do not know the amount of defensive work being done on the training pitch or type of work done but you can draw conclusions given that we are conceding more season by season and also just by looking at the team on the pitch. One conclusion is that we do little to no defensive work (unlikely), the other is that what ever work we do its not very effective. Its like corners were we seem to have totally given up.

The other odd thing is that when Mangala first joined up Pellers held him back so that he 'could learn the way we defend'. He then played him against Chelsea and it was like hallelujah. We defended well. Mangala played well. Happy days. Then it goes to shit again and has been largely shit all season. Frankly its a bleeding mystery.

Ah, ok, understood. Well, think I probably took a different view at the time on the abdabs issue(!), but I agree with everything posted there

 

[flb]

This thread and today on the whole has an eery resemblance to Sunderland at home last season. It was shite, poor, not good enough, etc. Pellegrini made so many mistakes today I don't know where to begin. But shit happens. We didn't lose which is a blessing for no other reason than I said a week ago we wouldn't lose another match this season :(

It keeps coming round but I think this squad has had it's 'cycle' and i'd be happy to rip up large parts of it and start again with a new generation of players, even if it means being less 'dominant' for the next two or three years. Maybe we need to take one step back to take two forward.

Totally agree.

I know the cycle is over.

It varies in length depending on age , tactics etc.

It might take a dip ala Manure proportions last year to make the owners realise that things are not as rosy with the squad as some might expect.

Nasri's interview was telling for me.

I think its more than just a lack of confidence and our ability whatever it is we are trying to execute on game day.

Huge freshen up needed starting with a real drive to bring youth forward.

We all know this squad was never going to push in Europe and MP was just a stop gap to calm things down.

The fact that maybe some of these players just are not as good as they think they are and a lack of leadership and will to work harder and smarter is coming home to roost.

The good news is we have good owners and they will address this properly I am confident of that.

Missing out on Chumps League may not be as catastrophic as some would think , it may be what we need to re adjust and improve our recruitment policy for all time.

We are going to see how really good our owners are, will Txiki come under any scrutiny for the Shit he has bought?

 

[pudge]

This thread and today on the whole has an eery resemblance to Sunderland at home last season. It was shite, poor, not good enough, etc. Pellegrini made so many mistakes today I don't know where to begin. But shit happens. We didn't lose which is a blessing for no other reason than I said a week ago we wouldn't lose another match this season :(

It keeps coming round but I think this squad has had it's 'cycle' and i'd be happy to rip up large parts of it and start again with a new generation of players, even if it means being less 'dominant' for the next two or three years. Maybe we need to take one step back to take two forward.

Or Stoke at home this season

Or Burnley at home this season

Or Arsenal at home this season

Or Newcastle at home this season

Or Middlesbrough at home this season

etc

Take your pick.

You really think all those games followed the same pattern? You clearly didn't watch them.

If you're referring specifically to my comment about the comparisons to Sunderland at home last season, it's more to do with the reactions on here rather than the performance. Some people seemingly live with a white flag in their pocket which they're ready to raise at the first sign of trouble.

Like all those games I listed then?

Ok.

 

[bluefn]

Here's my two penneth.

I don't blame him for a lot of what is happening. I think after bobbys last season we needed a change, and it came. That last season under Mancio was sour. Manuel came in at the right time and you saw the best of this team last year.

He is managing in a structure. How this team plays is a conscious decision taken by many people. Not just pellers. I think Bobby had a lot more independence and when that was being taken away the fall out started.

Last season was a reaction to the previous one. Its the what the squad needed and we won a domestic double.

This club is evolving. Make no fucking mistake that txiki and ferran are the wheels, nuts and bolts. Manuel has a say, and this is where I hold him accountable. How we play is how the club wants to play over many years to come so I don't point that gun at him, but the constant chopping of players, motivation etc. I'll level that one at him. And I think that is what is costing us right now. Maybe there are some players that don't buy the ethos, and they will be gone. The general principles of how we do things will stand, but he needs to get the basics right. There is nothing wrong with how we play, but this constant fucking changing needs to stop yesterday. And he needs to get these lads motivated.

 

[Prestwich_Blue]

Lost a lot of faith in him recently. Every manager makes mistakes, even the very best, but he doesn't seem to learn from his plus he doesn't seem to have the ability to correct obvious weaknesses. The defence is an utter shambles and he doesn't help by constantly changing it. Kompany & Zabaleta have gone backwards to an alarming degree. Our taking and defending of set pieces is shocking. There are Sunday league players who could take better corners and free kicks (although Milner's was a belter).

Our injury record is shocking, seemingly with many of those injuries coming in training and players being rushed back too soon. We start games in a lethargic fashion and only seem to buck up once we go a goal down. We are far too content to simply retain possession, without creating a threat. 75% today, with 5 shots on target, while Hull had 3 such shots and looked far more dangerous with their 25%.

The team selection today was baffling. We must have known that Hull would pack men behind the ball and look to play on the break. So we drop the two wide men, Milner & Navas, who are most likely to produce results and play two deep-lying midfield players. Plus we play a partnership up front that we know just doesn't work. There was also a case for Kolarov over Clichy (although not on form so I can understand that).

I'm prepared to give him some leeway as we've had injury problems and ACoN but he needs to get his shit together in the next few weeks. I don't believe there was ever any intention to keep him beyond the end of his three years but if things don't buck up and we can get a suitable replacement then he could go this summer.

 

[BillyShears]

Like all those games I listed then?

Ok.

No, nothing like those games you listed because those games were all very different. Like I said if you'd actually watched them with your eyes open and were actually prepared to analyse them properly rather than making some facile generalisation with your eyes closed we would be closer to some sort of interesting discussion.

 

[pudge]

Like all those games I listed then?

Ok.

No, nothing like those games you listed because those games were all very different. Like I said if you'd actually watched them with your eyes open and were actually prepared to analyse them properly rather than making some facile generalisation with your eyes closed we would be closer to some sort of interesting discussion.

As in everyone dismissed the team for being shite, questioned everything and everyone after each of them; getting knocked out of 2 domestic competitions by inferior teams at home and throwing away leads and generally not playing well.

Just like you said people were ready to give up on the team after Sunderland last season and many did the same countless times as aforementioned this season?

The point being it's been happening all too often this season and people have genuine reason to wish to wave that little white flag they have.

Open your eyes and read the post in it's most obvious form instead of seeing something that isn't there.

Does "Poor Pellegrini" get your sympathy?

 

[BillyShears]

Like all those games I listed then?

Ok.

No, nothing like those games you listed because those games were all very different. Like I said if you'd actually watched them with your eyes open and were actually prepared to analyse them properly rather than making some facile generalisation with your eyes closed we would be closer to some sort of interesting discussion.

As in everyone dismissed the team for being shite, questioned everything and everyone after each of them; getting knocked out of 2 domestic competitions by inferior teams at home and throwing away leads and generally not playing well.

Just like you said people were ready to give up on the team after Sunderland last season and many did the same countless times as aforementioned this season?

The point being it's been happening all too often this season and people have genuine reason to wish to wave that little white flag they have.

Open your eyes and read the post in it's most obvious form instead of seeing something that isn't there.

Does "Poor Pellegrini" get your sympathy?

People can wave as many white flags as they want. I could care less. I was merely pointing out that we seem to have an awful lot of white flag wavers. If you want to equate that to the team and management you go right ahead. But since they managed to turn around bigger deficits in both their previous title wins I'm not quite at the station marked white flag.