"traditional positions are meaningless", the crux of "Pep philosophy" , rooted in Cruyff's "total football". Good one Rasc......What a wonderful game of football, credit to the Elephant man for setting his side up so well and working the counters, maybe he had spoke to the swamp child manger.
In what was a meaningless game we played with as much freedom as i have seen for a while, our centre halves were regularly joining in the attack. Which of course gave them the space to counter. It did lead to an entertaining game though that i really enjoyed watching although maybe it was helped by the fact it is the first game for months where there has been no pressure.
It was a nice touch giving Carson a game, also quite clever, because if one of Eddy or Zack picks up an injury he could well be needed in the CL Final and having a game under his belt will do him no harm at all and as he is the only member of our squad to actually have a CL winners medal his experience could be vital.
We didn't play with the same intensity we have of late, which is understandable with the title in the bag, but that unfortunately shines a light on the back four and for the first time in a long time we didn't look as solid as we have done and made some basic errors. I am loath to criticise anyone for last night, but I did feel a little sorry for Ake, i personally rate him as a defender, he is a proper centre half and has been unlucky this season with injuries, so i am not going to go overboard on him at all, he will be disappointed, but move on and next season he can play apart I am certain, he is too good a player not too. I can see why Pep rates Garcia, he is a lovely footballer who uses the ball so well but he is moving on and he should really, we have 4 better centre halves than him, although I do believe he will develop into a top class centre half in time.
Our ball retention was superb and we passed it very well, we always do when Gundogan is pulling the strings, he makes the game look so simple and he kept us ticking over, whilst Rodri recycled the ball and kept us going forward.
Raheem and Jesus both worked very hard as always, both know they need to step up and impress to get a CL Final start and neither did their chances any harm because I am sure Pep is looking at players attitudes and willingness to keep going in these games when it could be easy to relax and take your foot off the pedal so to speak.
Young Torres was exceptional, all three of his goals were finishes of the highest class with his first being a goal of the season contender, it was quite magnificent. It does make me smile when i see things written like "he was bought AS A WINGER" by now we should know that traditional positions are meaningless to Pep. He looks an absolute steal at the moment and there is far more to come, his finishing is instinct, not many forwards have that natural ability and he has it in spades. The Sergio replacement possibly? I wouldn't bet against it on last nights showing.
Another record broken as well, this is an incredible era to be a Blue, we are truly blessed, not even the great sides in history are achieving the sort of things we are and the scary thing is, I think we are getting to get better and better,
Newcastle (A) | Post-Match Thread
- Thread starter mccity
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"traditional positions are meaningless", the crux of "Pep philosophy" , rooted in Cruyff's "total football". Good one Rasc......
HarrytheBlue
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Been saying that for years on here while some peanut brains were slagging him off. Ilkay is the perfect Pep player - can tackle, go past players, score, pass and probably most importantly, control the tempo of our play - allows Kevin to do his stuff. Neither Kevin nor Ilkay are flashy players - no stepovers etc - the curling passes are done with a purpose. We're so lucky to have those two in their prime at the same time.
Churchlawtonblue
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That first goal by Ferran was sublime. ive now watched it about 10 times.
Woud have been nice imo to bring Delap, Doyle, Palmer and 1-2 of best youth guys just as a gift for the season they had in youngster league.
See no point to give game time to the likes of Garcia, he turned his back on us, he is dead to me basically. (if he had signed up an extension we might not even sign Ake who to me a very expensive CB who is not better than Otamendi is in his later years and certainly not as good when Otamendi was at his best).
Delap is no less of a goal threat than Jesus these days, and I am sure Palmer keeps the ball better than Sterling.
Will be interesting to see Pep's plan for Jesus+Sterling as when we really needed he could not count on them this season. And when given chances they do not deliver enough.
As results do not matter much, want to see some youth in the team for Brighton and maybe Everton. But knowing Pep he wont even make 3 subs. Madness he was very vocal about 5 subs earlier. :)
Great game for Torres though, he needs to be focused, as he has great instinct, for us he plays just much better in the box than when out wide.
See no point to give game time to the likes of Garcia, he turned his back on us, he is dead to me basically. (if he had signed up an extension we might not even sign Ake who to me a very expensive CB who is not better than Otamendi is in his later years and certainly not as good when Otamendi was at his best).
Delap is no less of a goal threat than Jesus these days, and I am sure Palmer keeps the ball better than Sterling.
Will be interesting to see Pep's plan for Jesus+Sterling as when we really needed he could not count on them this season. And when given chances they do not deliver enough.
As results do not matter much, want to see some youth in the team for Brighton and maybe Everton. But knowing Pep he wont even make 3 subs. Madness he was very vocal about 5 subs earlier. :)
Great game for Torres though, he needs to be focused, as he has great instinct, for us he plays just much better in the box than when out wide.
Manchester_lalala
Well-Known Member
Bunch of fucking sad dickheads, it’s normally comes from the same bunch of posters.
kaz7
Well-Known Member
Has the alternative comms come out yet ?
samarasra
Well-Known Member
Yep! It touched Carson.
OK you win.
citytill1die84
Well-Known Member
A grand design then? 5 min from Waverley?
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A grand design then? 5 min from Waverley?
Property for Sale in New Town - Buy Properties in New Town - Zoopla
Find properties to buy in New Town with the UK's largest data-driven property portal. View our wide selection of houses and flats for sale in New Town.
That's the second Zoopla property to be shown on here this morning. Are you guys estate agents?
Anyway, I appreciate the humour and feel suitably fun-poked. :)