No-one passing to Haaland.

[don84]

It’s bizzare, it’s like locking miss world in your bedroom from the outside and then throwing away the key

That's a really really bad idea. Hope Pet gets it now, with this pretty picture.

 

[don84]

Guardiola is risk averse. Scared of making a mistake. He's got worse over this season as Arsenal have kept racking up points.

He's obsessed with possession and has lost sight of the end product. In effect, he's disappeared up his own arse following a maze of his own making.

He's too stubborn to change, has surrounded himself with yes men, and no-one in the club hierarchy has the bottle (or nous) to put him in his place. They're scared of him leaving in a huff.

This isn't going to end well.

I hope you're wrong, but it's a fluid assessment.

 

[BlueMoonAcrossThePond]

IMO - I think that City aren't playing to maximize their talent. Too, some players may need to move on.
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In Haaland we have the best striker in the world - and who is able to outpace defenders. To maximize his goal scoring, a club should incorporate a fast counter-attack - a ball over the top to Haaland or a forward and a lightning quick attack.

This is currently anathema to the way that Pep prefers. Pep much prefers ball control - if we have the ball - they can't score. In the past we've played ball control, mostly risk-adverse build-up, to unlock defenses with an eventual killer thorough-ball or mistake by the defense.

But with Haaland - this sort of careful buildup - breaks down somewhat. Haaland isn't a gifted passer/dribbler.

Add to this, we're no longer playing a false 9 - with a pseudo-striker who actually plays a large part in midfield - deft passing and ball control.
===
Pep is a very cerebral manager - trying out numerous new tactics. Haaland may pose the biggest challenge of his career... with Haaland, a much more direct and risky attack is likely to prove far more effective.

But to accommodate a direct attack style - we'll likely need pacy players able to immediately press if we lose the ball.

 

[CityBlu]

Our midfielders have become accustomed to making simple passes that guarantee to retain the ball. They simply cannot think quickly enough to find Haaland. Merlin would have had twenty assists by now as he would have found Haaland every game. There is no easy solution to this as the players have got used to a pedestrian speed and the movement is too slow. I hate to say it but I'm getting bored watching games. It's impossible to get excited when City attack as the players stop and pass sideways almost every single time.

 

[BlueMoonAcrossThePond]

Our midfielders have become accustomed to making simple passes that guarantee to retain the ball. They simply cannot think quickly enough to find Haaland. Merlin would have had twenty assists by now as he would have found Haaland every game. There is no easy solution to this as the players have got used to a pedestrian speed and the movement is too slow. I hate to say it but I'm getting bored watching games. It's impossible to get excited when City attack as the players stop and pass sideways almost every single time.

Agree mostly - but I think that it's rather different in terms of our mids - our mids see the pass to Haaland - 100%. They don't pass to him, because we're far too risk adverse.

 

[bobom]

I think we're all of one mind that Haaland's ability is being partially blunted by a "low-risk" possession based strategy.

What annoys the hell out of me is that early through balls are potentially LESS risky.

Scenario A : we play a quick ball through to Haaland and the opposition win the ball. Pretty much every City player is still back in defence or midfield. Zero risk of counter attack.

Scenario B : we ignore the quick pass and opt for possession instead. This requires most of our team to push up to support a passing move. Lose the ball and the majority of our team is out of position defensively. We've seen this time and time again.

This is a really good point. When we attack slowly and lose the ball, our defense is all the way up the pitch. When we attack quickly, they're not so far out of position. It feels really short sighted.

 

[Oystercatcher28]

The title of the thread looks like an instruction. It's an instruction that's seemingly been applied in ages. I haven't understood our attack play in weeks now. Nor why Haaland runs and we play sideways and backwards as a response.

 

[don84]

Haaland isn't a gifted passer/dribbler.

dribbler probably not, but passer?
Erling is extremely good at scanning, being trained at it from young age. If his teammates had paid attention and delivered the end product, he would have had quite a few assists.
Check out this - it's quite fascinating:

How Erling Haaland uses 'scanning' to outscore Premier League rivals and make every touch count

Norwegian professor Geir Jordet conducts world-leading research into how players ‘scan’, and it is his Manchester City-playing compatriot who currently boasts enviable vision

inews.co.uk

 

[El_george]

I think if he were to move away from the centre every now and again it might create space for others, and make him harder to mark.

Why not put Haaland in goal (Ederson never makes a save anyway) he can do all the 'passing out from the back' sh*t and go up when we have a corner and take penalties. Probably would have about 10x as many touches per game as he is getting now too!

 

[Bill Walker]

I honestly can’t understand this, is it an instruction from Pep or are our players blinded by his movement. It’s simple just pass to the fucker or slip him in on goal

Maybe, just maybe they don't like him getting all the limelight.