Palace - Post Match Thread

[cityboy5]

I didn't no, I was sent to the Tudor room where it was sandwiches and beer whilst he went off doing photos. He said they just line the kids up in the tunnel in a random order and then the players walk out and just stand with a kid, so totally random. Fern said hello to him and that about it but I doubt my lad could muster a hello to be fair.

Saw your lad on match of the day with Fernandinho hope you all dad a good day

 

[Proy]

We're not though, for much of the season a 'team' we have not been, we show flashes of it, but we're so inconsistent as a 'team'.

Some say we have the best squad, but a look at our bench today says bollox we do, we may have the best first team, but too often, we play too individually, we may even play the best football occasionally, but that's the issue, its only occasionally.

How we had the 'team' out at Middlesbrough last week is utterly bizarre, and one for Pep to answer, and though we did have injuries, I still can't fathom what that was about, and its not the first time.

I believe in what he'll eventually do, and we see glimpses of it now and again, but four of our players today won us the league 5 years ago, that's over 1/3 of today's team, and that is the reason we haven't pushed on, and that is not knocking those four in anyway.

In respect of dominating territory, in respect of creating chances, in respect of play in and around opponents boxes and playing in their half, then yes, we are the best team in the league.

Our issues this season can be described in a nut shell. We are nowhere near good enough in either box. We don't take the chances we create, and we don't defend the minimal opportunities we concede well enough.

 

[cleavers]

Our issues this season can be described in a nut shell. We are nowhere near good enough in either box. We don't take the chances we create, and we don't defend the minimal opportunities we concede well enough.

Which is kind of my point, we're not the best team, there are two above us (at the moment) who are better "teams" because they convert all that into points (ignoring some of the shite refereeing we endure).

 

[Proy]

Which is kind of my point, we're not the best team, there are two above us (at the moment) who are better "teams" because they convert all that into points (ignoring some of the shite refereeing we endure).

Absolutely.

Collectively there are teams better at delivering than we are, but I can't help feel that all we are missing is a bit of luck.

 

[lastmanback]

Great performance from all the team, the early goal helped obviously but without the save from Willy, its a very different game, they were threatening to get back in it before half time, and after a pretty ropey start, had started to defend well. If Benteke score we are deflated, and it could be a very different outcome.

Thought Otamendi was fantastic (a player I don't really rate), and I've no doubt that Kompany is helping greatly.

Since Silva went off at Wembley, and until he started again today, we have looked a bit lost, Yaya too, with those 2 playing we are a totally different side, how the hell we go about replacing them I've no idea, but I hope Pep does.

A word about Jesus, he appeared to be disappointed to be taken off, and on the face of it he may have appeared to not have had a major impact, but for me he brings something very different, his movement today dragged defenders out of their comfort zone all game, often without getting a touch, and it opened the game for Silva, Sterling, and Sane, and made us much more fluid, and sometimes more direct.

It was also nice to see more shots at goal, and a few from outside the box especially.

More of this please, but can we do it against the better sides next year. (Not a question - a plea.)

You make similar points to pudits eg. If benteke scores , it's a different game ?.but if there keeper had not made 3 saves before that benteke chance the game was over. Selective viewing of the game. But as you say" more of this please".

 

[cleavers]

I can't help feel that all we are missing is a bit of luck.

Yes I agree, especially with officials, we won 5-0 today, and they still didn't do their jobs, we made 60% of the fouls given, with the emphasis on given, that stat alone is utterly ludicrous to anyone who watched the game. Time and again "play on" was waved when it was against us, and a number of probable booking ignored, yet one the one occasion we had a real advantage 3 on 2, the whistle goes. Anyway that's another thread......

 

[cleavers]

You make similar points to pudits eg. If benteke scores , it's a different game ?.but if there keeper had not made 3 saves before that benteke chance the game was over. Selective viewing of the game. But as you say" more of this please".

No I was really only commenting on that one piece of action, it would have changed things.

 

[Proy]

Yes I agree, especially with officials, we won 5-0 today, and they still didn't do their jobs, we made 60% of the fouls given, with the emphasis on given, that stat alone is utterly ludicrous to anyone who watched the game. Time and again "play on" was waved when it was against us, and a number of probable booking ignored, yet one the one occasion we had a real advantage 3 on 2, the whistle goes. Anyway that's another thread......

The officiating has been horrific.

On so many occasions this season the ball just hasn't fell for us when we get to the final 3rd.

We have also missed some glaring opportunities, inexplicably, when normally they'd go in.

And whilst I'll admit that some teams are defensive and pragmatic in their nature, I don't think there is another team in the league that has had to persistently face what we have in terms of how they set up.

 

[DenisLawBackHeel74]

We played with high tempo and a very direct style and it was an excellent all round performance. Dave looked totally up for it today, Sane was superb and KDB had a great game too....but my motm was Komps.....fucking great to have a leader on the pitch and his performance was outstanding; that goal was as good as anything I've seen all season too!!!

Onwards and upwards blues

 

[sir baconface]

A word about Jesus, he appeared to be disappointed to be taken off, and on the face of it he may have appeared to not have had a major impact, but for me he brings something very different, his movement today dragged defenders out of their comfort zone all game, often without getting a touch, and it opened the game for Silva, Sterling, and Sane, and made us much more fluid, and sometimes more direct.

Yes. It was a quietly important contribution and shows he's not just a raw kid who scores goals. Great work rate too. I wondered if people's expectations of him were too high, but there is every sign of him fitting in beautifully.

Even so, those who want to see the back of Aguero are being a bit previous.

 

[br88]

Today's game was great to watch and what made it so enjoyable was that the team never let up. In many games this season we play brilliant for 10 mins and then just seem to lose momentum for the next 20 or so. But today the attacking was just relentless and the quality of football on show was maintained especially in the second half....and congratulations to the little magician for his 50 goals.

 

[dennishasdoneit]

I'm a huge Aguero fan, but the stats with and without him gave me a shock as much as anyone. Several times since, I've paid specific attention to Aguero in and around the box and noticed that he'll go for goal himself above playing a killer pass for someone else in a better position to score.

Guardiola played Jesus ahead of him for that period and after our poor form coming up to that period, we picked up dramatically. You can read whatever you like into specific games in Jan/Feb when we did this or that, but Guardiola saw something and made a change which changed our fortunes. What did you read into Pep playing Jesus over Aguero during this period?

For example; at Barca Pep sold Ronaldhino, Deco & Eto'o before creating probably the best football side in history. With that in mind, I won't rule anything in or out. Losing Kun would kill me, but looking at the bigger picture, PG has already publicly said that Kun needs to adapt his game. Most pundits saw that as Aguero's work rate, but myself I saw it as Kun not fully syncing with the rest of the team in attack.

Yesterday PG mentioned our inability to score..... Aguero has passed 30 for this season so what could he be talking about? The rest of the team not scoring enough maybe? Well that's not going to happen if Aguero goes for goal every time he's within sight of the opposition keeper even if the better available option is the pass. Yes it gives him a fantastic personal scoring return, but have you considered this could be to the detriment of others scoring?

How do you interpret Pep's quotes regarding Aguero needing to adapt his game and our inability to score?

Some interesting points raised,esp with regards to Aguero.Peps view is that our attacking players should not routinely shoot on sight but always look to see if there is a better placed team mate within the 6 yard box who can effectively roll the ball into the net.This can be seen time and time again from City,esp during the earlier part of the season when fowards would advance into the area,often draw the keeper,and then pass to an unmarked team mate to roll the ball into the net (nolitio profitted from this a number of times by way of example) its just Peps way,a nod i believe to artistry and style...an approach which sergio has consistently failed to buy into....at the end of the day that is what the manager has demanded,and he picks the team.
For what its worth,imo,we look a much more cohesive team with a hard working, mobile,robust,hungry centre forward who appears to understand the managers philosophy....thats not a slight on sergio,just the way it looks to me.

 

[cibaman]

We're not though, for much of the season a 'team' we have not been, we show flashes of it, but we're so inconsistent as a 'team'.

Some say we have the best squad, but a look at our bench today says bollox we do, we may have the best first team, but too often, we play too individually, we may even play the best football occasionally, but that's the issue, its only occasionally.

How we had the 'team' out at Middlesbrough last week is utterly bizarre, and one for Pep to answer, and though we did have injuries, I still can't fathom what that was about, and its not the first time.

I believe in what he'll eventually do, and we see glimpses of it now and again, but four of our players today won us the league 5 years ago, that's over 1/3 of today's team, and that is the reason we haven't pushed on, and that is not knocking those four in anyway.

“We don’t score enough goals,” the City manager said. “The numbers don’t lie, we have not been good enough in the boxes this season. If we had been only one goal in front with 20 minutes to go in this game we would not have won, so I said to the players at half-time either score a goal or forget about it. Going ahead in the first minutes of the game helped us a lot but we still needed a second and Vincent scored an amazing goal. After that we were able to play without pressure.”

Suggests that he knows that plenty of improvement is needed at both ends of the pitch. We really should be able to defend a one goal lead for 20 mins against a team like Palace.

 

[SilverFox2]

In respect of dominating territory, in respect of creating chances, in respect of play in and around opponents boxes and playing in their half, then yes, we are the best team in the league.

Our issues this season can be described in a nut shell. We are nowhere near good enough in either box. We don't take the chances we create, and we don't defend the minimal opportunities we concede well enough.

Certainly compared to other teams on the days we play them they seem to convert their fewer chances into first shots on target then goals better than us.
Whether they extend this to other opponents they play I do not know.

 

[MarsLlama]

I think more and more are realising that's the case,although some will understandably refuse to accept it.

I think the biggest difference I have noticed is that Jesus is more productive in situations when he receives the ball with his back to goal.

I agree that Gabi is the better suited of the two to our team at the moment. And, with his third assist coming in only really his fifth game yesterday, that side of his game is clear for all to see.

 

[Marvin]

We're not though, for much of the season a 'team' we have not been, we show flashes of it, but we're so inconsistent as a 'team'.

Some say we have the best squad, but a look at our bench today says bollox we do, we may have the best first team, but too often, we play too individually, we may even play the best football occasionally, but that's the issue, its only occasionally.

How we had the 'team' out at Middlesbrough last week is utterly bizarre, and one for Pep to answer, and though we did have injuries, I still can't fathom what that was about, and its not the first time.

I believe in what he'll eventually do, and we see glimpses of it now and again, but four of our players today won us the league 5 years ago, that's over 1/3 of today's team, and that is the reason we haven't pushed on, and that is not knocking those four in anyway.

Pep did not say we were the best team in the league - unless you want to just take one sentence out of context. Time and time again he has complained about our inefficiency in both boxes. What is clear is that City dominate possession in all our games, but struggle to turn possession into efforts on goal. Up until now I have been considering Aguero's performances. Although he's getting goals his lack of pace is a problem I think so it was interesting that as soon as Jesus came in we scored 5. However inconclusive because for an hour it looked like the same old City performance where we dominate the ball but couldn't get a 2nd, and it took a goal from the central defender to make the game safe. And Jesus was also quiet after a very bright start.

Follow this game up with more wins and maybe we have found the solution to our goal scoring problem. We're now near the top of goal-scoring charts but we should be so much higher given our commitment to attack and total dominance of the ball - and this attacking commitment also leads to City conceding goals so it's something we must improve. Is it as simple as just playing Jesus?

 

[tonea2003]

that was coming and we should do this more often given the amount of chances we create on a game by game basis
otamendi was superb didn't put foot wrong, no coincidence vinnie along side him
cement the champions league spot and roll on next season

 

[stonerblue]

Great result. Total domination again but with a bagfull of precious goals to lift us above the mickeys. The difference today, Vinny and his determination to get the 2nd goal. Game over after that.

 

[sir baconface]

Follow this game up with more wins and maybe we have found the solution to our goal scoring problem. We're now near the top of goal-scoring charts but we should be so much higher given our commitment to attack and total dominance of the ball - and this attacking commitment also leads to City conceding goals so it's something we must improve. Is it as simple as just playing Jesus?

No. It was a case of everyone clicking today. Literally all eleven made a real contribution. How often can we (or anyone else for that matter) say that?

Another factor was the early goal in each half. We scored at killer times.

 

[blueincy]