Our Finishing...

[TCIB]

we have scored over 100 goals you know

Yup and it is not a huge issue but it is a noticeable one. If you used that xG thing i am certain it would show our attempts v goals ratio has dropped off. A relaxed player is a better player than a tense one. Recently we seem to be tensing up with the final kick or pass in a passage of play.

If Sterling had been put through earlier and scored for example, that tap in is just that, a simple finish. I suggest the build up of not being put through when he or others should be manifests it's self in us just losing our cool at the final moment more regularly than earlier in the season.

Just saying we have scored a lot is to dismiss the issue which i stress again is not huge atm. It is one area i can see sapping our chipper have a go mentality though if it continues. It will not see us lose the league from here or anything drastic but as i said earlier, we are fantastic squad so to see us stagnate in any area, even a bit, is amplified owing to our tremendous advancement in the last calendar year.

We need to validate our efforts more basically, it is good for the players confidence.

 

[chickaroon]

H

it is the one area where I think we still fall short of prime Pep Barca and Bayern. I think it’s the product of a number of things. Poor last ball (Gundogan had Raheem free outside him 2nd half and passed to a defender), not attacking crosses in numbers ( watch Kuns movement to Walkers cross (the Raz miss), poor technique (when Raz is on the left he continually want to cut inside to use his right foot. His miss yesterday was on his trusty left!), injuries, over elaboration. If it was an easy fix, Pep would have fixed it by now. It’s scary to think what this team could achieve if they added clinical finishing to everything else.

He tried to correct it with Sanchez and Mahrez.

 

[Deleted member 77198]

Yup and it is not a huge issue but it is a noticeable one. If you used that xG thing i am certain it would show our attempts v goals ratio has dropped off. A relaxed player is a better player than a tense one. Recently we seem to be tensing up with the final kick or pass in a passage of play.

If Sterling had been put through earlier and scored for example, that tap in is just that, a simple finish. I suggest the build up of not being put through when he or others should be manifests it's self in us just losing our cool at the final moment more regularly than earlier in the season.

Just saying we have scored a lot is to dismiss the issue which i stress again is not huge atm. It is one area i can see sapping our chipper have a go mentality though if it continues. It will not see us lose the league from here or anything drastic but as i said earlier, we are fantastic squad so to see us stagnate in any area, even a bit, is amplified owing to our tremendous advancement in the last calendar year.

We need to validate our efforts more basically, it is good for the players confidence.

It’s a long term thing. It’s the difference between winning one trophy and four in a season, it’s the difference between winning the title once and winning it four times in a row. This is the sort of level we are looking at being.

This isn’t 2012 with Mancini or 2014 with Pellegrini; this is Pep Guardiola we’ve got and he’ll be wanting and expecting to win everything on offer every year while he’s here (which won’t be that long, this is already Year 2 of what might be five).

 

[chickaroon]

I don’t know why Raheem didn’t just slide it in. I didn’t matter if it came off his foot, shin or knee. Just bundle the ball in!!

I agree, he should have covered so that the only place it could go was in the net.

 

[NorCalBlue]

we have scored over 100 goals you know

Yes, we've scored a ton of goals, but sometimes it's in spite of our finishing rather than because of it. Overall we're going to keep scoring a lot, just because we create so many chances, but there are (will be) games like yesterday when the lack of a clinical edge costs us points or even trophies, so I think it really is something to be concerned about, despite our excellent goals total.

 

[chickaroon]

I always think Sterling is a bit like Goater ... scores plenty but how the ball ended up in the net is something of a mystery to everyone including the player himself !

Ha! Ha! I think you are right.

 

[TCIB]

It’s a long term thing. It’s the difference between winning one trophy and four in a season, it’s the difference between winning the title once and winning it four times in a row. This is the sort of level we are loooking at being.

This isn’t 2012 with Mancini or 2014 with Pellegrini; this is Pep Guardiola we’ve got and he’ll be wanting and expecting to win everything on offer every year while he’s here (which won’t be that long, this is already Year 2 of what might be 20).

Edited for my personal ideal reasons xD

 

[tolmie's hairdoo]

The Burnley keeper had very little to do.

We create numerous goalscoring possibilities in games but they are very different to clear-cut chances.

Sergio averages less than anyone in our front line in regards this, possibly because he plays with his head down.

 

[cleavers]

Don't know how to fix it but it's starting to cost me money as I have a standing bet with someone where I buy him a beer everytime we don't score 4

Cancel the bet, it was foolish anyway, no team ever score 4, more than they don't, so you are giving money away most weeks, just check the facts, it never happens.



Our finishing is what it is, not really good enough, the reason we still score so many is because of the extreme number of chances we create, last year we were creating 4 or 5 less per game, and consequently didn't score as many, even in 2014 when we broke records, we still regularly missed too many.

The single biggest reason for me, is that we always try to get the perfect goal, sometimes we do, but often we don't. Our best footballers simply don't shoot often enough from outside/round the edge of the box (see Danilo yesterday).

We are also pretty woeful at set pieces, corners and free kicks, especially corners considering the number we get, especially at home.

it hard to criticize a team that has scored over 100 goals so far, so i'm going for one of those days yesterday,

Its not just yesterday though, we won 3-0 on Wednesday, great, but we should have been 3-0 up after 20 minutes, and we were still not certain of a win with just over 20 minutes to go (19 shots, 10 on target).

Other examples recently...
Cardiff last week, 17, and 7, but only 2 goals.
Bristol C away, 28 shots, and only 6 on target, and at home 26 and 6 on target, so in two legs 54 shots, only 12 on target, 5 goals, and a win by only a 2 goal margin over 2 legs. Newcastle 21, and 9 on target (18 corners).
Watford 18, and 7 on target
Palace 15, and 4, and didn't score.

There are anomalies of course, Burnley in the cup, only 5 on target, and we scored 4 of them.

 

[warringtonblue]

I also think that recently (just before he broke the record) Aguero has gone for power on 95% of his attempts, if you look back a year or two, he used to pass the ball into the net early, giving the keeper no chance