Our attack - what's off?

bugsyblue said:
My post might have been too narrowly focussed. It's not solely the attacking players that are the problem. Let me give you a specific example of what we are missing:



This is an attacking move from the back. One touch football, possessions based, quick distribution, fluid movement. If you mark this as 10/10 we're running at 5/10 or 6/10 at best!

We haven't seen us play like this against a top side in awhile. That has nothing to do with Aguero being injured or KDB not 100%. Sadly, it's something bigger than that.

A contrasting example was how Walker ran from his own half deep into Liverpool's backline before being tackled. I remember a lot of blues in the match day forum championed that - they saw someone driving at Liverpool's defence - yet what it showed me was the lack of movement and passing options he had.

Maybe this is down to fitness and I'm worrying unnecessarily but there's fundamentally something gone from our attacking play. I don't quite know what or why but we aren't at the level we were at two seasons ago. Maybe we set the bar so high it's unrealistic to expect us to hit that every season?
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Exactly. This is the pace we should be playing. Not what we are now, which is slow, labored and ponderous.

For a more recent example, just watch the pace at which Chelsea moved the ball against a defensive Newcastle side earlier for the first goal.
 
Playing wingers on their opposite sides meaning they have to stop, allowing the other team to get back.

Over reliance on KDB trying to play quarterback precision passes against packed defences.
 
Full backs not bothering overlapping the wingers when they cut inside so we're just passing back all the time.
 
wingers cutting in all the time

Fullbacks completely inaffective and then to far forward to defend as well

No fight in the forwards...Jesus makes a show of fighting but achieves little from it.

Genuinely poor finishers (Jesus, Sterling, Mahrez all significantly poorer than the likes of Aguero, Dzeko Tevez etc etc)

An ageing aguero who injuries are starting to take their toll on and we need to replace in the next summer transfer window whether he is still here or not
 
Too reluctant to cross or shoot when in good positions and then when they do it’s too slow
 
Simply... the quality has declined!

Maybe our expectations should also decline now as well? We might enjoy this a bit more than we are.

We simply aren’t a great side anymore.
 
mahrez..... and fucking buy Kane, Mbappe or any leading fucking striker than spending £50/£60 mill on shit fucking full backs/defenders, holding midfielders FFS
 
It doesn’t help that we have sterling, mahrez, Silva and Foden who I think are all player better on the right and no player on the left who wouldn’t always cut in. At best to try and do something different we could play sterling right which would make mahrez redundant. Who deserves to play on the left is a tough one.

I think we have bought ourselves into this position. As scoring goals is now a priority I would somehow get sterling Sergio and Jesus into the team. How to do that and rectify the number 6 problem is a head scratcher. Not even sure who is playing well enough to be alongside KDB.
 
We don’t get enough players in the box when were in good positions. The lack of midfield runners into the box is also a problem, Foden is the only one that does it.

In any case, too many attacking players in midfield and attack are way off form this season. KDB, Sterling, Mahrez, Jesus, Aguero. Non of them hitting their straps.
 
I've said this numerous times
IMO, the way to beat a team that sets up as Spurs did today is to get the fullbacks behind and to do this we need fullbacks with a brain
Zabaletta was brilliant at timing his runs and as good as we think Walker is, he isn't clever enough to do it. Meanwhile on the other side Cancello can't do it as he's right footed

Again, my opinion, why not play a 4 4 2 and when we have the ball both fullbacks move into centre midfield with the wide men pushing forward to create a 2 4 4
 
Relied too heavily on Sergio and Jesus for too long, lack of investment in a centre forward by Pep whilst wasting millions on players like Mahrez, Mendy, Cancelo is a joke
 
bugsyblue said:
My post might have been too narrowly focussed. It's not solely the attacking players that are the problem. Let me give you a specific example of what we are missing:



This is an attacking move from the back. One touch football, possessions based, quick distribution, fluid movement. If you mark this as 10/10 we're running at 5/10 or 6/10 at best!

We haven't seen us play like this against a top side in awhile. That has nothing to do with Aguero being injured or KDB not 100%. Sadly, it's something bigger than that.

A contrasting example was how Walker ran from his own half deep into Liverpool's backline before being tackled. I remember a lot of blues in the match day forum championed that - they saw someone driving at Liverpool's defence - yet what it showed me was the lack of movement and passing options he had.

Maybe this is down to fitness and I'm worrying unnecessarily but there's fundamentally something gone from our attacking play. I don't quite know what or why but we aren't at the level we were at two seasons ago. Maybe we set the bar so high it's unrealistic to expect us to hit that every season?
Click to expand...

You are definitely on the right lines. When I think of us at our best that is one of the goals I envisage. I haven’t counted properly but there must be 12 or so passes in that move. 50/50 split backwards and forwards. The noticeable thing though is the pace of the pass. We just don’t seem to be able to replicate that. Certainly what we are playing just now is miles from that pace.
 
bugsyblue said:
My post might have been too narrowly focussed. It's not solely the attacking players that are the problem. Let me give you a specific example of what we are missing:



This is an attacking move from the back. One touch football, possessions based, quick distribution, fluid movement. If you mark this as 10/10 we're running at 5/10 or 6/10 at best!

We haven't seen us play like this against a top side in awhile. That has nothing to do with Aguero being injured or KDB not 100%. Sadly, it's something bigger than that.

A contrasting example was how Walker ran from his own half deep into Liverpool's backline before being tackled. I remember a lot of blues in the match day forum championed that - they saw someone driving at Liverpool's defence - yet what it showed me was the lack of movement and passing options he had.

Maybe this is down to fitness and I'm worrying unnecessarily but there's fundamentally something gone from our attacking play. I don't quite know what or why but we aren't at the level we were at two seasons ago. Maybe we set the bar so high it's unrealistic to expect us to hit that every season?
Click to expand...


If you look at that goal yes City are knocking the ball around quickly but also arsenal are in our half trying to close us down.
Teams dont do that know they only close us down by the 18 yard box now. Spurs tonight I think didnt try to put our defence under pressure just all 11 retreated back to just in front of their box. Teams are defending even deeper against us now
 
give it to gordon said:
If you look at that goal yes City are knocking the ball around quickly but also arsenal are in our half trying to close us down.
Teams dont do that know they only close us down by the 18 yard box now. Spurs tonight I think didnt try to put our defence under pressure just all 11 retreated back to just in front of their box. Teams are defending even deeper against us now
Click to expand...
Which is why we needed to adapt our tactics, maybe hit some longer balls, crosses in to the box although a 3rd striker with a bit of height would have been a good option. Other teams have adapted, we haven’t
 
Is it as simple as just teasing the other team out?

if we simply set out whole team deeper then surely the other team has no option but to come out to get the ball?
 
that goal against Arsenal and one against Stoke are among my favorite goals of the Pep era. But as a previous poster mentioned, teams don’t play like that any longer unfortunately and both Arsenal and Stoke were in a demise back then, no matter how good the goals were. Teams have played catch-up with us since and at the moment, Chelsea, Liverpool, Tottenham and dare I say Leicester are much more a threat going forward than we are. Score a goal against us and you have at least a point atm. We didn’t even manage to score more than 1 against Leeds with their leaky defense. It’s time for Pep to change tactics in the league now, it can’t get much worse than this.
 
We faced massed defences in 11/12 . We toyed with them for a while and if they stayed too deep we let Yaya run right over them. Plus when we crossed into the box we had Edin to challenge . We had so many options now we're a one trick poney. This Team wouldn't stand a chance against 11/12 team.
 
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