Pellegrini Thread

[samharris]

Pellegrini may have mixed up his numbers again when he took Negredo off in FA Cup draw with Blackburn

Manuel Pellegrini may have got his numbers mixed up again after the Manchester City boss substituted goalscorer Alvaro Negredo for winger Jesus Navas with 16 minutes to go in their 1-1 FA Cup draw with Blackburn at Ewood Park.
BT Sport commentators reported the City manager actually wanted to bring off No 9 Negredo's less effective strike partner Eden Dezeko, who was wearing the No 10 shirt, but the wrong number was held up.
Negredo was visibly unhappy to have been taken off as his side pushed - unsuccessfully in the end - to find a winner against the Championship promotion hopefuls.


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I point blank refuse to click on a link that supported Adolf Hitler.




Pellegrini is doing fine.

Yup..think hes denied that..
<a class="postlink" href="http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/fa-league-cups/blackburn-1-manchester-city-1-manuel-pellegrini-confirms-that-fa-cup-replay-has-scuppered-planned-abu-dhabi-trip-9038938.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/foot ... 38938.html</a>

There were claims that Pellegrini intended to take off Edin Dzeko with the score 1-1 in the second half but the wrong player's number was held up and Negredo was substituted instead.

Asked if a mistake occurred, Pellegrini said: "No."

Pellegrini was not critical of goalkeeper Pantilimon, who returned to the side for the tie after recently losing his place to Joe Hart.

Im sorry but I thought the subs names were given to the 4th official?? if the wrong number had been given the 4th official would have pointed this out..

 

[Rammy Blue]

I think I can pretty much summarize all our issues in one short and sweet sentence....

"We need Sergio back asap, and fit until end of season."

Everything to do with formations and rotation will be irrelevant if we can achieve the above.

 

[Dribble]

I think I can pretty much summarize all our issues in one short and sweet sentence....

"We need Sergio back asap, and fit until end of season."

Everything to do with formations and rotation will be irrelevant if we can achieve the above.

How can the fortunes of one of the most expensively assembled teams in history come down to one player irrespective of how good he is?

That is an over simplification of the matter which was still rumbling on when Sergio was fit.....

 

[Rammy Blue]

I think I can pretty much summarize all our issues in one short and sweet sentence....

"We need Sergio back asap, and fit until end of season."

Everything to do with formations and rotation will be irrelevant if we can achieve the above.

How can the fortunes of one of the most expensively assembled teams in history come down to one player irrespective of how good he is?

That is an over simplification of the matter which was still rumbling on when Sergio was fit.....

Of course it's an over simplification and not an entirely serious post, however the sentiment is fairly obvious. We keep Sergio fit and everything else is a hell of a lot easier, he's that good.

 

[George Hannah]

I confess I am worried when such battle hardened, media savvy "tell it like it is" posters as JMW and LoveCity are telling Manuel his team is crumbling and we are set for a fall without fresh blood..

 

[Brendan110_0]

I point blank refuse to click on a link that supported Adolf Hitler.




Pellegrini is doing fine.

Yup..think hes denied that..
<a class="postlink" href="http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/fa-league-cups/blackburn-1-manchester-city-1-manuel-pellegrini-confirms-that-fa-cup-replay-has-scuppered-planned-abu-dhabi-trip-9038938.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/foot ... 38938.html</a>

There were claims that Pellegrini intended to take off Edin Dzeko with the score 1-1 in the second half but the wrong player's number was held up and Negredo was substituted instead.

Asked if a mistake occurred, Pellegrini said: "No."

Pellegrini was not critical of goalkeeper Pantilimon, who returned to the side for the tie after recently losing his place to Joe Hart.

Im sorry but I thought the subs names were given to the 4th official?? if the wrong number had been given the 4th official would have pointed this out..

What I find amazing is how do the TV pundits know who was supposed to be subbed? Pretty sure Pellegrini would've stopped a wrong substitution, as far as I'm concerned it was just BT sour red bin dippers being knobs.

 

[Burtonblue]

I think we will start dropping points soon, players are starting to look jaded. A combination of injury prone squad players and distrust in fringe players (hint: Fernandinho and Yaya have started more games than anyone else at the club this season) who are fit means overuse of key personnel. Negredo looks jaded, Nasri was a bit off colour against Swansea, it could be Fernandinho next.

Pellegrini tells the press he is happy with what he has, which is standard because he won't do a Mancini and go against the club, but he seemed more open to January spending today than before when asked. And I think one or two reinforcements could be crucial unless Jovetic, Rodwell and Micah start playing more.

I think it's just a case that the fringe players are so far behind and can't hold a candle to the first teamers.

We've been so spoilt at times with some breathtaking attacking football that we're expecting it all the time, when the fringe players come in they're nowhere near the same standard to deliver, I honestly think it's as simple as that.

With the amount of changes made, we go from a top Prem/Champ league side, to a mid table side.

^^^This^^^

I was recently castigated for having the temerity to suggest that we are weak beyond our first 16, but yesterday was a case in point. Rotation is key at this time of the season but so is genuine strength in depth. Yes, a fit on form Richards, Jovetic, Rodwell would have made a difference yesterday, but there are players who we all know need to be jettisoned and better replacements sought and brought in.

Garcia, Sinclair, Boyata, Lescott, Dzeko all need to go (although I thought Dzeko played better than Negredo over the last 3 games which suggests Negredo is jaded & in need of a rest). Kolorov's form has improved, but I still have the memory of his upright Michael Johnson (The sprinter) style running gait (but without the speed) trying to track back against Swansea which constantly left us exposed so for me I'd still add him to the jettison list.

The specific points I raised where I think the manager has made big mistakes are:
Playing Garcia in a 442
Playing Dzeko and Negredo together
Playing 2 up front away from home
Playing a high line and leaving us vulnerable, particularly when Kompany is out.

I agree with all the above apart from the high line. The high line depends on pace and as such with Micah, Kompany & Clichy in the team wouldn't represent a problem for us. As it stands though, Zabaleta is rightly preferred to Richards but has less pace, Clichy looks a little jaded and we haven't got a quality side-kick for Kompany who has pace.

Scenario:
If Zabaleta had Richard's pace
Kompany - Ok
Clichy could accurately cross the ball / or Kolorov had pace
AND we could have a left-footed clone of Kompany, the high line tactic on its own would crush most teams. This is where we need to improve and rapidly too!

As for MP, it's his first season and it will be a season of discovery & realisation. He need s to be given a chance to form a proper opinion of his charges, to make the necessary changes and to realise that even against a struggling Championship side that 4-4-2, with Dzeko & Negredo upfront and Garcia playing in a midfield two just isn't going to work or at best we'll look unconvincing.

Pellegrini has shown signs in the last two months that he's beginning to realise that dogmatically sticking to a 4-4-2 will not bring us the rewards at times, especially away from home. Having said that there are other things like playing Dzeko & Negredo together which he continues to persist with that defies logic. However he sees the players day in day out, so I trust he knows what he's doing and he can see something that I and a lot of people can't.

Thought Pellegrini showed some astuteness today when half way through the first half he realised the 442 was not working for him and told Dzeko to drop deeper.
Dzeko effectively played as a midfielder for the rest of the half enabling us to run the game.
Incidentally, thought Dzeko looked pretty decent playing that role.

Absolutely well spotted!!! And this is why I'm sometimes baffled with the insistence of a 4-4-2 when it clearly isn't working and we have better alternatives available.

Strange to me how few spotted this. It was totally missed by the pundits (well no surprise there!) but made a massive difference. I was surprised by Dzeko's control and range of passing in midfield and see this as a very positive factor as it gives the manager the option of changing formation without subs.
Some will say MP got it wrong with the original formation but this can happen. The relevant thing is he realised this and Dzeko was able to adapt his role. Impressive for a player a lot have written off on this forum...

 

[Dribble]

I think it's just a case that the fringe players are so far behind and can't hold a candle to the first teamers.

We've been so spoilt at times with some breathtaking attacking football that we're expecting it all the time, when the fringe players come in they're nowhere near the same standard to deliver, I honestly think it's as simple as that.

With the amount of changes made, we go from a top Prem/Champ league side, to a mid table side.

^^^This^^^

I was recently castigated for having the temerity to suggest that we are weak beyond our first 16, but yesterday was a case in point. Rotation is key at this time of the season but so is genuine strength in depth. Yes, a fit on form Richards, Jovetic, Rodwell would have made a difference yesterday, but there are players who we all know need to be jettisoned and better replacements sought and brought in.

Garcia, Sinclair, Boyata, Lescott, Dzeko all need to go (although I thought Dzeko played better than Negredo over the last 3 games which suggests Negredo is jaded & in need of a rest). Kolorov's form has improved, but I still have the memory of his upright Michael Johnson (The sprinter) style running gait (but without the speed) trying to track back against Swansea which constantly left us exposed so for me I'd still add him to the jettison list.

The specific points I raised where I think the manager has made big mistakes are:
Playing Garcia in a 442
Playing Dzeko and Negredo together
Playing 2 up front away from home
Playing a high line and leaving us vulnerable, particularly when Kompany is out.

I agree with all the above apart from the high line. The high line depends on pace and as such with Micah, Kompany & Clichy in the team wouldn't represent a problem for us. As it stands though, Zabaleta is rightly preferred to Richards but has less pace, Clichy looks a little jaded and we haven't got a quality side-kick for Kompany who has pace.

Scenario:
If Zabaleta had Richard's pace
Kompany - Ok
Clichy could accurately cross the ball / or Kolorov had pace
AND we could have a left-footed clone of Kompany, the high line tactic on its own would crush most teams. This is where we need to improve and rapidly too!

As for MP, it's his first season and it will be a season of discovery & realisation. He need s to be given a chance to form a proper opinion of his charges, to make the necessary changes and to realise that even against a struggling Championship side that 4-4-2, with Dzeko & Negredo upfront and Garcia playing in a midfield two just isn't going to work or at best we'll look unconvincing.

Pellegrini has shown signs in the last two months that he's beginning to realise that dogmatically sticking to a 4-4-2 will not bring us the rewards at times, especially away from home. Having said that there are other things like playing Dzeko & Negredo together which he continues to persist with that defies logic. However he sees the players day in day out, so I trust he knows what he's doing and he can see something that I and a lot of people can't.

Thought Pellegrini showed some astuteness today when half way through the first half he realised the 442 was not working for him and told Dzeko to drop deeper.
Dzeko effectively played as a midfielder for the rest of the half enabling us to run the game.
Incidentally, thought Dzeko looked pretty decent playing that role.

Absolutely well spotted!!! And this is why I'm sometimes baffled with the insistence of a 4-4-2 when it clearly isn't working and we have better alternatives available.

Strange to me how few spotted this. It was totally missed by the pundits (well no surprise there!) but made a massive difference. I was surprised by Dzeko's control and range of passing in midfield and see this as a very positive factor as it gives the manager the option of changing formation without subs.
Some will say MP got it wrong with the original formation but this can happen. The relevant thing is he realised this and Dzeko was able to adapt his role. Impressive for a player a lot have written off on this forum...

He certainly surprised me especially with that blind beautiful cross-field pass he made too. But the questions remain:

1) Was it MP who told Dzeko to drop into midfield?

2) Was it Dzeko who did this by his own volition?

3) If it was blatantly obvious we were being overrun in midfield, why wasn't one of the strikers removed earlier and replaced with a specialist midfielder instead of Dzeko having to fill in?

4) Why did we start with a 4-4-2 in the first place, especially as most team have now sussed that if they pack the midfield against us, they stand a chance?

 

[Bell-Lee-Summerbee]

Just watched ITV highlights to hear nomark Martin Allen refer to "Pellegrini, whatever his name is."

Cheeky twat

 

[waspish]

Dzeko in midfield instead of Garcia then ;)