Spurs (A) - Post-Match Thread

[OB1]

I don't think the overall performance was as bad as people are making out. We dominated Spurs and had our attacking players been something other than the inconsistent clowns they've been for too long now, we'd have won comfortably.

Too much analysis of what feels like a straight forward problem for me. The 'attack' has gotten complacent since the 18/19 season. Far too many players playing within themselves or playing for themselves. Even KDB's decision making, and cutting edge has been massively blunted.

I said it back then, and it's worth repeating now. Those players (who won 198 points over two seasons) needed a BIG shake up after 18/19. They need fresh blood, competition, and new solutions. Torres was brought in a year too late. I suspect that there'll be a rebuild akin to 2017 next summer.

This season is now officially in the 'transitional' basket.

I've banged the transitional phase drum for ages but we should still be doing better than we are. I do firmly consider the players a bigger issue than the manager and it does look like a bigger shake-up of playing staff than we have had is required.

The best shake-up we could have for this season would be to pull off the coup of getting Messi in January - I won't stick me head in a bucket of water to await that happening. Of course that could be a spectacular flop if it happened but the reverse is more likely: one spark could start a fire.

 

[give it to gordon]

Deluded if you think Jose wouldn't know what to do. I'm not advocating it for one moment and it wouldn't happen but if you gave Jose this City team, he'd win trophies and he wouldn't do it by sitting back all the time.

If City did play by sitting back constantly, there's no guarantee that they wouldn't make crucial errors and concede goals.

i am not saying maureen plays park the bus every week he clearly doesnt, but if Pep had set out that way yesterday it would have taken spurs by surprise and played into our hand, instead we did what maureen was expecting and we played into their hands. In the time it took spurs to change their game plan, might not have picked his team to be more attacking. I guess at the end of the day i just wish Pep wasnt so predicable ( forgetting the Lyon game where he wasnt predicable lol )

 

[Eoiyflem]

they say don’t look at the table until 10 games have gone

after 10 games we’ll be at least 2 points ahead of them.. maybe more

No we wont

 

[Stevieatlasblue]

Pep the clueless one on here. Crap manager needs to go he’s lost the plot. What a load of utter drivel from a lot of posters on here. Get a grip.

 

[give it to gordon]

Bogey mate, lol

boogie sounds better lol

 

[The slaughtered lamb]

The Lyon game wasn’t that long ago. Pep set the team up to match their defensive formation, and then was slaughtered for not playing to our strengths.

He’ll make the odd changes here and there, but it doesn’t amount to a plan b. The way we play is broadly the same and aimed at squeezing the space, retaining possession, then playing that killer pass to create a good chance. We’re lacking the player to consistently do that at the moment, but it looks like we’re going to persevere down this road until we get him.

 

[Eoiyflem]

I've had some time to calm down and reflect and to be honest it hasn't changed anything in my mind. The players are a fucking disgrace. Ederson is a shambles in 2020, we can't score goals, we are MINUS FUCKING 1 after a quarter of the season. It's bollocks. No doubt somebody will remind me wE uSeD tO bE iN lEaGuE oNe

 

[Tokyo32]

I think debruyne is good but overated, he



Taking the first game out of the equation we have scored 7 goals in 7! That is a scary stat considering players at our disposal! Relegation form! Kdb aguero sterling etc...what is going so badly wrong?


KDB has always been overrated. He's a good player, has a good cross and pass but doesn't influence a team like yaya or D.SIlva did. He always looks over-stretched in his work. Silva had that cold efficiency even in the tightest of spaces and unlike Gundo, always looked to be offensive not simply the square pass

Ok. Didn’t expect that, so all our players are overrated then if you are saying kdb is overrated cause no one is stepping up.

 

[OB1]

Moureen has made a career out of sitting back, and telling his players to use the dark arts. Pep isn't going to ruin his reputation doing that he has more class.

Pep isn't going to play like Jose and I wouldn't want him to. I love how Pep wants his teams to play. I'm not one of those who thinks Pep is the problem.

 

[GBrannan]

I think your lack of pace, energy and enthusiasm is a result of the issue I outlined. Yesterday you started off brightly but because we could comfortably keep our shape you couldn't get into our box or get in good shooting positions around it and there is no point in crossing to Jesus from wide against a busy box.

The longer the game went on the more your pace, energy and enthusiasm waned because nothing was changing.

Whenever I have watched Aguero pull defences around you create good chances, even when you don't score the more chances you create the more enthusiasm there is because it is working. The goals then become almost inevitable

Aguero isn’t quite the player he was though. He’s still very good but he’s lost a yard and is progressively out injured more each year. I don’t think the result would’ve been any different with the 2019/2020 version of Aguero, particularly because he’d still have picked Mahrez to ensure our attacks break down on a regular basis.

Besides a top striker we’re massively short in central midfield. Rodri can’t move the ball quick enough to isolate our creative players in 1v1s. He also can’t run as evidenced by him chasing Kane yesterday. I think Gundogan is our best 6 for attacking play but he’s not ideal either because he runs back slower than Rodri.

The secondary midfield player is also a worry. I’m hoping with a run in the team Bernardo can grow there but he was poor yesterday. Add to that we haven’t had a proper fit left back for about 4 years and there’s big holes for us to fix.

On the plus side Dias has seemingly solved the giant hole on the right side of the defence and Foden and Torres should progressively get more minutes and continue to improve.

Mourinho has you well set up against attacking teams like ours if yesterday is anything to go by. It’s how that translates when you have to commit more men forward that will define how you go because I don’t really rate your defence when it doesn’t have 6 men in it... and then you need to keep Kane fit, who was excellent yesterday.