Our attack - what's off?

[Stiff Little Wingers]

That is the team only with Stones and anyone for LB as they all useless.

Kev dictating from rodders position would be a revelation.

I might be a little worried about protecting the defence against really good attacking teams but against teams like WBA and the other plodders it would be absolutely fine

 

[tolmie's hairdoo]

Absolutely zero credit being given to other teams when it comes to evolving their own tactics to combat us over the past two seasons.

Nobody presses Ederson anymore, they know it's a waste of time.

It will always look like park the bus, but even teams like Norwich and Palace last season were tweaking stuff to make sure they doubled up out wide, tried to prevent the cut backs and force City to play across the pitch.

Teams still need to get lucky or have a lapse on our part in front of goal or in our own defending, but the gist is that Pep has been here long enough for teams to have studied the best way to get a result.

They know which players to let have the ball - Rodgers thought he did when Leicester tried to shut us out in our 2019 win.

That's why they let Vinny advance the way he did...oops!

Let Rodri have the ball, let Walker and Mendy have the ball, let them run-up three-quarters on the pitch, knowing they have to chuck one in or pass it back inside.

More pertinently, move the ball to feet and quickly on our breakdown, we don't have a peak Fernandinho anymore or midfielders quick enough to put out the fires.

It all adds up to a difficult way to get a result for us.

 

[Bill Walker]

If we go back to defending as a team and high pressing then that midfield trio could work. Foden and Bernardo have they energy to track back and tackle when they need to. To really get the most out of that setup though both Foden and Bernardo would need to become positionally savvy. KDB would be great in the pívot but equally he likes to roam and should be encouraged to do so. If Foden or Bernardo could read that and drop back where necessary we might not get caught short.

Ederson
Walker Dias Laporte Cancelo
KDB
Bernardo Foden
Torres Agüero Sterling

Would love to see it!

The trouble with that team is you have two right footers playing on the left both will have to cut in giving us lack of width and easy to defend against.

 

[@BluePhil8]

Absolutely zero credit being given to other teams when it comes to evolving their own tactics to combat us over the past two seasons.

Nobody presses Ederson anymore, they know it's a waste of time.

It will always look like park the bus, but even teams like Norwich and Palace last season were tweaking stuff to make sure they doubled up out wide, tried to prevent the cut backs and force City to play across the pitch.

Teams still need to get lucky or have a lapse on our part in front of goal or in our own defending, but the gist is that Pep has been here long enough for teams to have studied the best way to get a result.

They know which players to let have the ball - Rodgers thought he did when Leicester tried to shut us out in our 2019 win.

That's why they let Vinny advance the way they did...oops!

Let have Rodri have the ball, let Walker and Mendy have the ball, let them run-up three-quarters on the pitch, knowing they have to chuck one in or pass it back inside.

More pertinently, move the ball to feet and quickly on our breakdown, we don't have a peak Fernandinho anymore or midfielders quick enough to put out the fires.

It all adds up to a difficult way to get a result for us.

Agree, so why aren’t we doing something different? Even formation wise, try overloading in different areas of the pitch; use Cruyff’s 343 diamond or something. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. If we’d have kept Angelino we would have had all the personnel to go with a 352 this season. Pep needs to be radically challenging himself instead of just doing the same thing that worked 2 years ago.

 

[FantasyIreland]

------------Eddie------------
Cancelo-Stones-Dias-Mendy
----------Gundogan-----------
Bernardo-Foden-KDB-Torres
------------Aguero-------------

 

[Semper aggressus]

It seems to me that directly or indirectly almost all of our problems on the pitch can be summed up in one word: Rodri.

 

[tolmie's hairdoo]

Agree, so why aren’t we doing something different? Even formation wise, try overloading in different areas of the pitch; use Cruyff’s 343 diamond or something. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. If we’d have kept Angelino we would have had all the personnel to go with a 352 this season. Pep needs to be radically challenging himself instead of just doing the same thing that worked 2 years ago.

You have answered your own question.

Pep won't do it differently. It's a complete crock the current narrative he is adapting this term by playing two holders in midfield - we have been playing Rodri and Gundo together for more than 18 months!!

Pep is all about repetition until it becomes second nature - it doesn't really legislate for the opponent - it is always about what his teams do first and foremost.

The matra remains the other team can't hurt you if we have the ball.

Changing it like you say could never be a consistent thing for Pep - he is wedded to his ideas - it has brought us the most success.

Sadly, we have also bought a group of players who are supposedly most-aligned with what he wants.

Asking a long-distance runner to suddenly become a 100m sprinter isn't going to fly.

City, as an organisation, have made the biggest mistake a club can ever do, make the manager bigger than the club.

Ask United or Arsenal fans.

We have spent a lot of money on supposed top players and if you start changing formations, you suddenly have to ask why did we buy wingers if we are going to play 3-5-2?

As for Angelino, he looks great in the delivery phase but he is becoming better with each passing week in some eyes?

He is a horrible defender - as bad as Mendy at defending the first cross - which is why he didn't make ten games for us in the end last year.

His performances in the first-halves against United at our place and away at Anfield, absolutely no words necessary...

 

[Musampa 209]

You have answered your own question.

Pep won't do it differently. It's a complete crock the current narrative he is adapting this term by playing two holders in midfield - we have been playing Rodri and Gundo together for more than 18 months!!

Pep is all about repetition until it becomes second nature - it doesn't really legislate for the opponent - it is always about what his teams do first and foremost.

The matra remains the other team can't hurt you if we have the ball.

Changing it like you say could never be a consistent thing for Pep - he is wedded to his ideas - it has brought us the most success.

Sadly, we have also bought a group of players who are supposedly most-aligned with what he wants.

Asking a long-distance runner to suddenly become a 100m sprinter isn't going to fly.

City, as an organisation, have made the biggest mistake a club can ever do, make the manager bigger than the club.

Ask United or Arsenal fans.

We have spent a lot of money on supposed top players and if you start changing formations, you suddenly have to ask why did we buy wingers if we are going to play 3-5-2?

As for Angelino, he looks great in the delivery phase but he is becoming better with each passing week in some eyes?

He is a horrible defender - as bad as Mendy at defending the first cross - which is why he didn't make ten games for us in the end last year.

His performances in the first-halves against United at our place and away at Anfield, absolutely no words necessary...

So what’s the answer Tolmie? Wait in hope for Messi to join as a get out of jail card?

The contract extension by Pep was nice to see commitment, but I would have rather it was off the back of us turning the corner and looking like a new version of a winning team, not a shadow of our former selves.

 

[tolmie's hairdoo]

So what’s the answer Tolmie? Wait in hope for Messi to join as a get out of jail card?

The contract extension by Pep was nice to see commitment, but I would have rather it was off the back of us turning the corner and looking like a new version of a winning team, not a shadow of our former selves.

I don't know pal, we're not paid £20m per year to come up with the answers, even if many of us can see there have been fundamental areas that have not been properly addressed for a couple of years.

I can't believe we are stood here after four plus years of Pep and we are having to talk about a refresh of the squad when we have supposedly paid big for the long-term?

It's very poor recruitment. We need two top bracket players for midfield and up front. It will cost a lot of money, but it has to be done.

I also believe, short-term, Messi would solve a lot of issues in the final third we are having, certainly if that is backed up by a world class, energetic midfielder.

 

[tolmie's hairdoo]

One more post for 20k!

Where have the years gone?