Newcastle 1-1 City post match thread

[Eaglechief]

I was amazed to see Pellegrini beat his own personal best, most baffling starting XI in history record. Absolutely no surprise for me what happened on the pitch when I saw the team line up, it's beyond belief, where do you start? I'll try.....

Playing away from home against a team battling for their lives who you know will swamp midfield and run their socks off so let's,

Break up a center half partnership which for the first time seems to be actually functioning and play someone who looks absolutely fucked, and then leave him on for 90minutes despite him clearly not being fit. Then expose them a bit more by playing a left back who has clearly never been told where a left back plays. Then when your back four is already fucked don't bother to give them any protection but play a 2 man midfield excluding your best player but including one player who can't get beyond a jog.
Stick a defensive midfielder with limited creative abilities on one wing and a player who can't beat the first man on the other wing effectively ensuring no service to your striker. Leave yourself no option but to play everything through your one central midfielder who is in any kind of form but who is hopelessly outnumbered.

When the above fails badly do nothing.

Absolutely mind blowing

One of the best analysis I've ever read of Pelligrini's tactical nouse......well done sir!

 

[Shaelumstash]

a good result can be a draw and when your playing below par you take a point away from home. we are still in champions league and that is a key point with the club and players they are not daft and giving 100% and a chance of injury or burn out. in the 2 away games 4 points I would have bite your hand off and the win at Chelsea was the bonus and Newcastle was always going to be the harder of the 2 with them fighting for there life

the game vs stoke is now a very very big game for me not for getting 3rd or 4th place but for keeping everybody fit for the semi final. stoke are a hard team and will be up for a fight they will leave something on you that's there style but we should have more than enough to kill them off early and that's the key for me score some quick goals and then use the bench

I don't think the 2016 Stoke are the kind of team that leave something on you. 2 or 3 years ago, yes, but now they're full of good footballers who don't really like the physical side of the game. Certainly their front 4 or 5 couldn't be described as dirty, they're all technical players.

Going off the Spurs game, it looks like Stoke are already on the beach. A mid table team without much to play for who play nice football with a washed up 40 year old keeper, we really should be steamrolling them at home.

 

[Jazzman]

Typical Pellegrini, picks the wrong team and as a result will pick the wrong team on Saturday.

No way Yaya should've started, he'd be far more use Saturday but will probably get a rest then. Likewise Fernandinho should've started but will now start Saturday.

Good points you made there. The starting line up should have been made so that the right players are ready and for the CL semi final. Pellegrini chose the wrong order it would seem. Unless he plans to play Yaya against Real, which would be a disaster in my eyes.

 

[Dave Ewing's Back 'eader]

If that was three inches then my wife is complaining about nothing.

She'll probably have a lot more than that to complain about!

 

[bluetonium]

Firstly, well done Sergio, great accomplishment and we shouldn't let the general pundit and media focus on the offside detract from the fact that he is world class, a real star for us and the premier league, and only just reaching his prime - countless penalties we've not had just in this season, which would have seen him hit it even sooner if given. Though I don't see any of the media outlets brushing on that point, just renewed calls for video technology, though I appreciate that they have stopped just short of inciting a witch hunt asking for both the goal and our point to be struck off - though the distance he was offside has gone from a yard or two last night, to 'several' in this morning's match reports.

Kompany, Delph, Yaya and Sterling all looked to be lacking fitness and some confidence, understandable. But adding them in to our team broke up our consistency and fluidity of recent games, hopefully the longer term gains are worth it - i.e all fit for a successful top 4 + champions league run in. Right now none of them are part of our best 11 options, and who thought we'd be saying that a few weeks ago, particularly with Vinny, but given our injuries already this season then we can bank on another one or two coming our way, so I understand what MP was trying to do. Not an easy place to go when get their backs up, so a point is not a complete disaster, given the circumstances, and we are technically still in charge of our own destiny. Thought I do hope that Clichy is back for Real.

That said, we have now given the teams just below and around us much encouragement to think we can be passed. Maddening to think that even despite how poor those over the road have been this season, they could still beat us to fourth. I just hope the "Stoke are already on holiday" comments are true!

Bony looked a little hungrier when he came on, unlucky with that header just trickled wide. But again Kelechi would have been 99% of fans preferred option to come on as a more likely source to get a goal, so MP must have been hoping that if Bony could do it then he becomes a more confident option in the run in. Trying to be positive here. Beat Stoke and the result at Newcastle will not matter quite as much as it seems to now.

 

[wythenshaweblue£££]

Where do we start... Let's not start actually.. One question thought? Why bony and not Nacho?

 

[Gareth Barry Conlon]

Where do we start... Let's not start actually.. One question thought? Why bony and not Nacho?

To be fair I could understand that for once. We were creating very little and it was a very phisical game. We were getting some space down the wings and there were more crosses going in than we normally see, it suited Bony. The failure of Yaya or anyother midfielder to create much is part of that and Nacho would have had the same poor service as Aguero.

 

[number8]

As a team we missed Nasri or Merlin KDB was left isolated, but on the upside I thought Mangala was outstanding.

 

[Blumers Bloomers]

Funny reading this thread, I've read that Navas was dire and also the only one to emerge with any credit other than Hart. Same for Mangala - awful and at the same time MOTM for others.

What happened to the MOTM voting threads, are we not having them any more?

 

[Millwallawayveteran1988]

To be fair I could understand that for once. We were creating very little and it was a very phisical game. We were getting some space down the wings and there were more crosses going in than we normally see, it suited Bony. The failure of Yaya or anyother midfielder to create much is part of that and Nacho would have had the same poor service as Aguero.

You may well be right but lets not put that down to tactical genius. Bony would have come on whatever the circumstances.