Aye, as the person I was replying to suggests, I imagine what we've seen this season is what we'll see for the rest of the season. We'll batter some teams at home, we will have some really dodgy halves that we get ourselves out of the mess we've made, we'll have some really flat and dull games. We're having a bit of an identity crisis, it happens.We look so ordinary, it's very frustrating. Dominating possession is masking our general ineffectiveness. Play it safe, play it safe etc. the goal will come. Never really looked like happening yesterday.
I don't believe that. I saw no lack of effort or hunger yesterday.
What I saw was a team lacking in direction and a lack of belief in the system they were being asked to play by Pep.
Same lack of belief I had we would win the Champions League final when I saw Pep's team selection.
Pep is second guessing himself, far too preoccupied with what the opposition can do, rather than what we are capable of as a team.
It translates to the lack of risk in our general play, one of absolute control until the final 18 yards, if we can even get there.
We really only have to look at the lack of saves we ask of opposition goalkeepers these days?
It's written all over Pep's face each time the camera loves to cut to him, he's getting no help from his bench.
We have lost at Spurs, Liverpool and United.
It's a mentality problem starting with Pep.
We don't need to hear that Kane is one of the best strikers he has seen in his life, or Liverpool are the most dangerous team he has seen in his life, or United are back to where they belong.
And we certainly don't need to hear him publicly complaining about our fans, Kalvin being overweight, wrong body language in training, Chelsea spending too much money or the four hour journey down to London being exhaustive.
C'mon Pep, you're better than this. Let us die on our feet than live on our knees.
Don't cut your nose to spite your face. This team is at the end of its cycle but we can still have a dream season if you trust the players who have taken us on this wonderful ride of success.
Release the handbrake.
The Bielsa comment is a great idea.. Pep idolises him and he (surely) wouldn't take any shit or pull any punchesBang on the money.
The few times we’ve gone ‘toe to toe’ with teams recently rather than craving control we’ve blown them away with chances galore - notably Liverpool in the cup and Spurs in the second half. Having a team allowed to go forward, allowed to take risks, allowed to make mistakes.
I’m amazed this is the same manager who has produced the most unbelievable, aggressive teams in the past. It’s dull, has been for a few weeks (pre World Cup) and he knows it. He just doesn’t seem to be bothered enough by it that he’s going to change it. Instead of rightly blaming himself he’s blaming every other fucker.
He came across a bit ‘Klopp-like’ with that train comment yesterday. Get fucked. Needs to give himself a wake up call.
He needs a strong assistant IMO, Lillo quite obviously took no prisoners while, like you said, he looks alone on the bench now.
It’d never happen but Bielsa just offered himself to Everton’s under 21 team. If he’s willing to do that, surely he’d be willing to be an assistant challenging for titles alongside a peer that he admires/admires him.
We conceded 26 goals in total last seasonOne thing I am sick and tired of is the constant rotating at the back. Ake had a superb game at left back against Arsenal, completely controlling Saka and instead of sticking with it and just putting Laporte / Dias in at CB to replace Stones, Pep made 3 changes moving Ake to CB, Lewis to LB (a young kid who has never played there before) and putting Walker in at right back. It just felt very unnecessary. Sure I read a stat that we've had 18 or 19 different defensive combinations this season, which is ridiculous. Whilst some of it is forced due to injuries, some of that isn't forced and is tinkering for tinkerings sake. The one constant seems to be Akanji and I'd argue he's the weakest of all our CBs.
Pep needs to stop messing about and just stick with a backline for the rest of the season. I'm really not sure what Laporte and Dias have done but it does seem very strange that neither of them have played much recently. Dias especially hasn't had a look in since his injury.
The problems in midfield are obvious and that won't be solved until the summer until we buy younger, more dynamic players, but we have enough CBs to not make this more of a team problem with inconsistent teams selections.
Mate, I'd do anything more rewarding with your time, like seeing if you can get drunk on cat piss or testing how long you can put a hot coal in your pants.Not seen the game, will catch up later.
We conceded 26 goals in total last season
Already conceded 20 this year
That tells its own story
Walker Laporte Dias and Ake for the next 10 league games. Give Rico a rest, he has been overplayed and that tactic has been sussed by both Arsenal and Spurs now
I'm sorry but Rico Lewis is just not up to it. Yes, he connects with most of his passes but there is nothing outstanding there. There is nothing like a Cancelo move or Cancelo improvisation. Cancelo was such a dynamo - so he had some off days - if he wasn't injured he could have got back to it ... and Laporte and Dias. Its insulting to these stars to have an average 18 year old playing.We conceded 26 goals in total last season
Already conceded 20 this year
That tells its own story
Walker Laporte Dias and Ake for the next 10 league games. Give Rico a rest, he has been overplayed and that tactic has been sussed by both Arsenal and Spurs now
I don't think anyone was surprised by yesterday's result and performance and if they were then they've not been paying attention.
Lots more of that to come between now and the end of the season and that's not me putting a downer on it, that's just the state of play right now.
Buckle up, ride it out and look forward to the summer.
In the meantime, don't bother looking for scapegoats and easy answers. There's a malaise around City at the moment and we can all feel it. It happens every few years and it goes to show that the kind of form we've had over the last five years isn't sustainable forever.
We'll be back. The real us, that is. I just don't think anyone should expect it between now and the end of the season. Glimpses here and there but we won't be doing it week in, week out. That's simply not where we are right now.
That bad ?Mate, I'd do anything more rewarding with your time, like seeing if you can get drunk on cat piss or testing how long you can put a hot coal in your pants.
'Just'?Just seen we have played 5 times at their new stadium, lost all 5 and failed to score a single goal. Not a place i will look forward to us going back to at all.
We do, he's called Ruben Dias, but Pep won't put him on the pitch.The goals we are conceding are not worldies where you can hold your hands up and say ‘nothing you could do about that’. It’s concentration and not doing the basics that are leading to mistakes. How many goals do we give away from misplaced passes where we are camped in the other teams half and they counter us? Our quickest defender is 32, when Stones is injured we don’t have any leaders at the back who’s going to organise the back line and get into people.
We do, he's called Ruben Dias, but Pep won't put him on the pitch.
The Bielsa comment is a great idea.. Pep idolises him and he (surely) wouldn't take any shit or pull any punches
I'm sorry but Rico Lewis is just not up to it. Yes, he connects with most of his passes but there is nothing outstanding there. There is nothing like a Cancelo move or Cancelo improvisation. Cancelo was such a dynamo - so he had some off days - if he wasn't injured he could have got back to it ... and Laporte and Dias. Its insulting to these stars to have an average 18 year old playing.