Manuel Pellegrini

[robbieh]

pellers has managed over 80 champs league games , got villareal to the semi's and malaga to the quarters with squads nowhere near our quality , but he never played 2 all out strikers , he keeps making this mistake with us , 4-4-2 does not work in the champs league , 4-4-1-1 , is a possibility . But if the opposition put 5 in the middle , you have got to do the same in europe , (we will get away with it , in 75% of league games) , just very surprised pellers keeps on making this very basic mistake.

He seems to think we are so good that we can get away with it and then is surprised when we don't.

We get away with it in the PL but put us up against half decent opposition in Europe and we look distinctly average. With Milner and Lampard on we looked much better even with a lacklustre Yaya on the pitch.

 

[Puppet Master Silva]

Are people really calling for a change of manager? This place is ridiculous at times.

 

[Tim of the Oak]

Pellegrini is a top manager and gets us playing some exceptional football at times but he isn't world class.

Twice he changed the team around tonight with Milner coming on to sort our left side out then putting Lampard on later in the game to help thr midfield out, plus he managed to sub both starting strikers which for me is baffling and tells me he didn't prepare well enough for Roma.

If he fails to get us out of the Champions League group then I wouldn't be surprised to see a new manager next season.

Hopefully our owners aren't that dumb!

 

[Damanino]

At Malaga/Villarreal he had a huge difference the workrate of his team especially in midfield.
How can a two man midfield work against a 3 man midfield? With extra work and running like idiot for full game. And obviously if you are 2 vs 3 in midfield somewhere else you have to have the advantage like 2 strikers that able to move/make runs/cause trouble.

Apart from the pen situation Aguero/Dzeko had no clear chance. Aguero had some passes that he had to make something out of it but defender was always close on him. Nothing come from left and Navas crossing just wasnt working while Zaba/Clichy werent very active.

You should only play two strikers if you are sure you will be able to create chances for both to actually have a good reason to play both.

But still we dont have the midfielders with the right workrate to get away with two strikers in CL.

I hope we wont face Atletico in CL because they would teach us a huge lesson in workrate ad not many of their players would start at City but based on simply workrate not many of ours could start there.

 

[robbieh]

Are people really calling for a change of manager? This place is ridiculous at times.

Well it depends what we want, or more importantly what Mansour wants. If the CL is the remit then Pellegrini will be toast. He sets us up so badly that we struggle against the mid ranking european teams. Against Real and Bayern you need to be a bit of a tactical genius if you have inferior players. And he's no genius.

 

[Prestwich_Blue]

When I posted last week that I didn't think he had the ability to take us that final step, I thought I'd get slaughtered but to my surprise I didn't. I think we can all see it clearly now. That was naive, inept, brainless, whatever, tonight.

We shouldn't have been starting Navas at all for that game but, having done so, he should have been running at Maicon and not Cole. Everyone round me was saying it yet he stayed on the right where Ashley Cole had him for breakfast. Kolarov should definitely have started to give us the extra width that Clichy doesn't, even when he has a good game. We just play at half speed with no sense of urgency or desire.

 

[Nightmare Walking]

Are people really calling for a change of manager? This place is ridiculous at times.

No people are really calling him out for his tactical inflexibility and rightly saying if it does not improve then his position needs to be looked at.

If we keep setting up like this then we are not going to improve in Europe. If our aim is not to improve in Europe then fine. But if it is then Manuel needs to address certain issues in his team set up against the best teams.

It fine margins that separate the best from the rest. If your manager can be beaten tactically then you will not progress.

 

[ped]

Are people really calling for a change of manager? This place is ridiculous at times.

I don't think people are calling for his head ,they are just saying he got his tactics wrong again,we don't want him sacked ,we just want him to be more flexible in europe

 

[Deleted member 58678]

Are people really calling for a change of manager? This place is ridiculous at times.

No. Don't think one person has said that have they?

 

[Marvin]

Poor passing has got nothing to do with the way we were set up

We uncharacteristically gave the ball away continually for the first half an hour before we started to get on top of them.

Roma did not do anything which I haven't seen many English clubs do to us, and we don't change tactics against them.

It's just easy criticism

Mancini used to get this as well. He can't manage in Europe blah blah blah.

Pellegrini has a good record in European competition anyway