well, that certainly pissed a lot of people of didn't it!
On one hand I understand the team selection - give minutes to Dinho, KdB and Foden (if the latter was actually recovered), give Grealish another chance at false 9, rotate in Ake etc; some of it made sense from a squad perspective, i think. On the other hand, i really dont see the problem in playing more of a second string, letting those younger members get 45 mins (or more) and soak it up.
what we need to remember, and we always seem to be taken by surprise with, is that Pep nearly always plays strong teams and Pep appears to be extremely 'nurturing' (i.e. slow) with his youth development. On the latter, some of it might be over protection but some of it is mind games as well, if any young un sees their arse under his tutelage: out the door. Problem is, Pep might not have the longevity of contract (by his own admission) to enact this long term strategy anymore.
anyway, i didn't have a huge problem with the starting XI knowing what Pep is like, but i did have a bit of a problem in the way the game panned out, which was a bit shit. Walker's red mist returned, he has form for weird pushes and niggles, which was insane from his pov but also should have been subbed on the hour. It's all about reaction now, at the weekend.
edit: also i dont think it was a dead rubber as 3rd place could be decided, and further Europa League participation. nothing was made of this in United's and Liverpool's games and the Prem certainly frowns heavily on weakened selection. Bayern went for it despite winning the group easily.
On one hand I understand the team selection - give minutes to Dinho, KdB and Foden (if the latter was actually recovered), give Grealish another chance at false 9, rotate in Ake etc; some of it made sense from a squad perspective, i think. On the other hand, i really dont see the problem in playing more of a second string, letting those younger members get 45 mins (or more) and soak it up.
what we need to remember, and we always seem to be taken by surprise with, is that Pep nearly always plays strong teams and Pep appears to be extremely 'nurturing' (i.e. slow) with his youth development. On the latter, some of it might be over protection but some of it is mind games as well, if any young un sees their arse under his tutelage: out the door. Problem is, Pep might not have the longevity of contract (by his own admission) to enact this long term strategy anymore.
anyway, i didn't have a huge problem with the starting XI knowing what Pep is like, but i did have a bit of a problem in the way the game panned out, which was a bit shit. Walker's red mist returned, he has form for weird pushes and niggles, which was insane from his pov but also should have been subbed on the hour. It's all about reaction now, at the weekend.
edit: also i dont think it was a dead rubber as 3rd place could be decided, and further Europa League participation. nothing was made of this in United's and Liverpool's games and the Prem certainly frowns heavily on weakened selection. Bayern went for it despite winning the group easily.
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