Our inability to set up properly for big games

[fergal_oc]

http://www.manchestereveningnews.co...chester-city-leicester-halftime-talk-10853284

Celina was also quoted as saying:

"While City were struggling to get into the game, Pellegrini was sure that the Blues' game-plan would come good and told his players to execute it."

"He kept repeating what he said in the team meeting before: Try to play our game plan," said Bersant Celina.

Says it all really..........

Ah crap, that's all of my fears confirmed. It was all speculative that Peller's was a stubborn charming fool, but now it's time to cry.

 

[Dribble]

Is this a good time to point out we've played 4231 twenty times this season and 442 only 5 times, or am i being a dick for not letting this fugazi analysis pass for fact?

4231 with Yaya as one of the 2 doesn't sound too clever to me. I tell you what, why don't we play Caballero instead of Yaya? Fuck it, why not go the whole hog and play the tea lady?

The fact is I'm not one who's in the Yaya out or Yaya's legs have gone camp. Yaya will go down as one of the greatest Manchester City footballers in history, but the issue with Yaya isn't the player, it's how he's being deployed. We saw how strong our midfield could be against Sevilla and Villa away, so pray tell why is Yaya continuously being hung out to dry in a midfield two when even the Three Bilnd Mice can see he's not suited to that role?

You want to talk about facts? Well here's one for you, when we stop putting square pegs in round holes and play to our players strengths we invariably win and win well whether 442, 4231 or 4123.

As for you being a Dick, go figure.............

 

[Dax777]

The 4-1 at Spurs keeps getting dragged up as an example, but frankly it was a bit of a fluke scoreline, we hammered them first half, and but for several dodgy decisions, and a host of missed chances, we could easily have gone in at HT 3 or 4-0 up, quite probably the best we've played all season in that first half. So second half we had to chase a game, and we got picked off, we were pretty woeful I'll agree, but lets not re-write the first half when we were largely excellent.

Liverpool, Stoke, and Leicester can rightly be be held up as examples of utter shite, but using the Spurs scoreline is a bit of a cheap shot.

Thank you sir!!!!

I already pointed this out earlier on this thread. Tothenham simply was a flukey loss.
Liverpool home, Stoke and Sunderland away. Add Glabach home and even away. And you have 5 of our top 7 absolute worst performances this year. Leicester I'll add, not because the performance was as bad, but because Leicester played their game perfectly, and we played ours lunberingly.

 

[Dribble]

Ah crap, that's all of my fears confirmed. It was all speculative that Peller's was a stubborn charming fool, but now it's time to cry.

Hopefully these will help............ :-)

 

[Dax777]

4231 with Yaya as one of the 2 doesn't sound too clever to me. I tell you what, why don't we play Caballero instead of Yaya? Fuck it, why not go the whole hog and play the tea lady?

The fact is I'm not one who's in the Yaya out or Yaya's legs have gone camp. Yaya will go down as one of the greatest Manchester City footballers in history, but the issue with Yaya isn't the player, it's how he's being deployed. We saw how strong our midfield could be against Sevilla and Villa away, so pray tell why is Yaya continuously being hung out to dry in a midfield two when even the Three Bilnd Mice can see he's not suited to that role.

You want to talk about facts? Well here's one for you, when we stop putting square pegs in round holes and play to our players strengths we invariably win and win well whether 442, 4231 or 4123.

As for you being a Dick, go figure.............

I can't disagree with this coz its says nothing I can fact check. By square pegs in square holes. Give me examples.

 

[Blue Pete]

To add my two pennies worth, Two set plays and a counter attack cost us. However playing Sterling alongside Aguero, with Silva and Delph as the two 'wide' midfielders was not clever, Silva always comes inside and Delph is a box to box CM, I understand the Mahrez thteat but it wouldnt have mattered if he is defending. Zaba was always the free man and whilst ok at overlapping a winger he is not naturally going to take on the fullback. The set up was designed to stop Leicester rather than play the dominant possession play that suits us. Yaya kept playing it simple as there was no decent options as we tried to play througha congested middle. If we are playing 4231 for god sake you need two wide men, Sterling Nava or KDB paying wide not inside. Ramble over

 

[Dax777]

The first half we were much better, yes. But in the second half they could have had about 7. Definitely not as bad as the others, as you say, and probably because we had to chase the game, but the fact is we still got spanked by a rival, and has to be mentioned. Could have been worse.

From a tactical standpoint, no. From an individual player failure standpoint, yes.

We were the better team for 75 minutes. Yet they kept scoring. Again, uncalled offside, error by DeBryune. And 2 set pieces. That's how they scored the first 3. Prior to their 3rd goal, they'd had 3 shots on target, and breached us Twice. In that span, we had had 14 shots on target and breached their defense 8 times.

In the last 20 minutes while dejectedly chasing they created 6-7 more chances, 3 of which were point plank misses. But they game had been won by then.
But anyway.

 

[BlueMoonz1977]

I can't disagree with this coz its says nothing I can fact check. By square pegs in square holes. Give me examples.

Dax777 - I have read a few of your posts today on this thread, and you bang on about facts.

The issue with Pellegrini is that he is the one in charge of setting the game plan up for our players before a game. Take Sterling as an example, he was purchased for his ability to break at speed, and take a opposing RB to the by-line, sometimes beating that player and scoring - like he was doing for Liverpool.

Now at the moment if you actually watch Sterling, he will mostly receive the ball, run towards the opposing box but will then stop and wait for Kolarov to over-lap him, if that isn't on then he will pass the ball inside to the next available player. He is being told what to do due to the style of play he is being asked by the manager. The problem with this is that it is way too easy for the opposition to read because they can predict what movement is going to take place.

Sterling for me will flourish under pep because he will utilise him the same way that he does with Robben at Bayern. At the minute Sterling is receiving negative comments because he is not utilised on the correct manner. The other glaring issue that has been obvious for some time is that both the LB and the RB will go forward at the same time, this leaves the 2 CB exposed, especially one in MDM who is now too old and way to slow to keep up the pace of the premier league. This again must come from what the manager is saying to them, do you not think ?

Take a look at the M.E.N today and read the article on Bersant Celia, where he reveals what was said at half-time against Leicester....stick to the game plan I think was the words. It doesn't speak volumes for a manager when he should have been analysing it better than that.
Also I realise that we have had a torrid time with injuries, but again if that is the case and you do not have your full squad to choose from, it is surely inevitable that you cannot setup the same way, something that Pellegrini again fails to realise.

We knew as fans how Leicester would setup and play, Pellergrini should and would have known this but he failed to adjust once more.

 

[Dax777]

To add my two pennies worth, Two set plays and a counter attack cost us. However playing Sterling alongside Aguero, with Silva and Delph as the two 'wide' midfielders was not clever, Silva always comes inside and Delph is a box to box CM, I understand the Mahrez thteat but it wouldnt have mattered if he is defending. Zaba was always the free man and whilst ok at overlapping a winger he is not naturally going to take on the fullback. The set up was designed to stop Leicester rather than play the dominant possession play that suits us. Yaya kept playing it simple as there was no decent options as we tried to play througha congested middle. If we are playing 4231 for god sake you need two wide men, Sterling Nava or KDB paying wide not inside. Ramble over

Aàaaaaaaaarrrrrrhhhhhhh!!!!! Finally, someone who saw what happened. Yes!!! Pellars error was actually doing what folks here moan he doesn't do. Try to nullify their strengths rather than playing to ours.

Yes, he tried to nullify Mahrez by attaching Delph to him. Didn't work. Played over and under on Vardy. Kinda worked, but didn't matter. Played Silva wide (can't fault him for this, we didn't have DeBryune or Navas to deploy wide) So Silva had to play there. Sterling should have started wide too.

This adjustment was made at the start of thec2nd half, Sterling went wide and Delph tucked in. But if you read the comments here you wouldn't know it. 2 posters have claimed Pellars made no changes until we were 2 down. I just chuckled

Dude, please post more. You are refreshingly factual.

 

[Dribble]

I can't disagree with this coz its says nothing I can fact check. By square pegs in square holes. Give me examples.

Sevilla v City:
Hart, Sagna, Kompany, Otamendi, Kolarov, Fernando, Toure, Fernandinho, Jesus Navas, Sterling, Bony


Villa v City:
Caballero, Zabaleta, Otamendi, Sagna, Clichy, Fernando, Delph, Fernandinho, Navas, Sterling, Iheanacho

You see it's quite easy. Outside of Sagna, every player there is being played in their preferred position even Fernandinho who has played as an advanced midfielder before he came to us albeit it he's as comfortable in central midfield.

What we usually get is Manuel picking his best 11 players and trying to get them to fit the positions available instead of picking the best player available to fill the positions for the formation he's chosen, hence 'Sqaure Pegs in Round Holes'.

Is that clear enough?