Forget league positions and Cups etc for a minute. The more worrying thing is we are playing miles from what is expected. Haaland has pulled us out of the shit with his goals this season. From the 70th minute against the rags at home we have been "off". I'm hoping we can kick start this season again on Saturday but we are seriously carrying too many off form players or players who haven't got the bottle anymore.We are 2nd in the league and are in the latter stages of the CL and still in the FA Cup. Hardly dire straits.
What do you expect from a Leeds signing ? Hefty price to pay for an average player. In hindsight it's proved to be a strange signing, along with Gomez and Jack.Phillips was stunningly bad. I can't remember a worst debut in watching City for 50 plus years. You can tell a lot about a player from their debut game. I would write him off. Seems harsh but we can't go backwards.
Whilst I agree with most of what you say Indo believe that the slow approach we take to the start of most games is down to Pep. A number of people have said on here you can tell how a game.will go within the first 10 mins. That has to come from Pep. When we start nonchalantly passing the ball from side to side we almost lull ourselves to sleep. I think it then becomes hard to up the pace with any level of accuracy in passing or forward play.I’m honestly not sure you can put this one on Pep.
He can’t play the same 11 every single match with the schedule we have and he can’t stop 11 players from all having one of their worst individual performances in a City shirt at once.
And I don’t think the tactics were necessarily that bad, either. I know many are done with the inverted fullback setup but it has worked more often than not.
Not to mention the goals were both mostly down to individual errors / poor positional play. It’s not as if Soton had a bucket full of chances otherwise, either.
Really, that side should have been enough to *at least* compete with the Southampton side.
The fact they weren’t is more a reflection on the players on the night than Pep.
I am sure I’ll be in the minority here, though.
Totally agree, we moan when he plays kdb til he drops yet when he rests him to save him for the derby we slag pep for changing the team.total sense to rest players for the derby, that team should have been good enough to beat the bottom team in the premier league.they just weren’t at it, which surprises me , as you’d think people like Palmer, Foden in the middle, Alvarez with no haarland to overshadow him, they should be trying to prove they are first picks.with so many games he has to rest people, ask Southampton if they’d like a squad like ours. Pep can’t control cancelo, Gomez and Foden giving the ball away, or Palmer not beating his man and cross the ball, or Alvarez missing a one on one with the keeper… seemed like bad attitude night tonight by players, Pep should rip into themI’m honestly not sure you can put this one on Pep.
He can’t play the same 11 every single match with the schedule we have and he can’t stop 11 players from all having one of their worst individual performances in a City shirt at once.
And I don’t think the tactics were necessarily that bad, either. I know many are done with the inverted fullback setup but it has worked more often than not.
Not to mention the goals were both mostly down to individual errors / poor positional play. It’s not as if Soton had a bucket full of chances otherwise, either.
Really, that side should have been enough to *at least* compete with the Southampton side.
The fact they weren’t is more a reflection on the players on the night than Pep.
I am sure I’ll be in the minority here, though.
Isn’t Dias out for another 2 weeks?I think we are all genuinely shocked by that performance tonight , a real eye opener tbh , but I’ll say this , just maybe we are suffering a genuine World Cup hangover , just maybe the lads are genuinely fucking burnt out , they will all know the fixture list ahead , Kev was sulking all the way through the World Cup for one. I’d expect a genuine real big improvement on Saturday with pride kicking in. We played a real energetic hungry young team tonight who haven’t the fixture list we have had, I’d be shit scared if I was Lampard watching that Southampton performance tbh.
Team for Sunday has to be -
Ederson
Walker , Diaz, Stones , Aki
KDB , Rodri , Gundogan
Foden, Haaland , Mahrez
Grealish needs a wake up call to get anywhere near this side , I’d sell Cancelo tomorrow, pineapple fatty will only ever be Rodri’s suitcase carrier.
I agree and know what you mean, but it does feel like we are so far off from across the whole side at the moment. Not just a bad performance, it’s becoming the worst run of form I can remember from this set of players.it's what comes with having the best manager ? sometimes they see the bigger picture and hold back the team,
we think we turn up and win every game, even in the league cup, but that comes at a cost later in the season if the manager plays his best 11 all the time,
I hate to see Manchester city lose any game, but love the winning of titles and FA cups even dare I say Champions League and the parades on open-top bus tours in the summer, all because we did not win away to Southampton in the league cup
have no fear we won't play like that against the rags
I still have faith in Jack. Gomez should be gone. Phillips looks way off it at the moment.What do you expect from a Leeds signing ? Hefty price to pay for an average player. In hindsight it's proved to be a strange signing, along with Gomez and Jack.
Bernie for Foden.I think we are all genuinely shocked by that performance tonight , a real eye opener tbh , but I’ll say this , just maybe we are suffering a genuine World Cup hangover , just maybe the lads are genuinely fucking burnt out , they will all know the fixture list ahead , Kev was sulking all the way through the World Cup for one. I’d expect a genuine real big improvement on Saturday with pride kicking in. We played a real energetic hungry young team tonight who haven’t the fixture list we have had, I’d be shit scared if I was Lampard watching that Southampton performance tbh.
Team for Sunday has to be -
Ederson
Walker , Diaz, Stones , Aki
KDB , Rodri , Gundogan
Foden, Haaland , Mahrez
Grealish needs a wake up call to get anywhere near this side , I’d sell Cancelo tomorrow, pineapple fatty will only ever be Rodri’s suitcase carrier.