Yes, this is infuriating. We don't often break with pace anymore, the ball is always passed back giving the opposition time to regroup and build that defensive wall. We often take two or three touches when one will suffice. Just watched the EDS do similar, except on the second goal, first time strike and goal.The difference yesterday was what happened when the two teams were on the ball. We passed and took three fuckin' touches, passed it back to the person who passed it to him, and then onto the wing where two or three defenders queued up to negate the move, whereas Spurs took one touch and pass and the speed of play was too good for us. We used to play like that and carve people open, and then they got wise! And Pep is still at the drawing board.
I'm not saying that they wouldn't have been aware, say last Thursday, of the threat that Spurs posed, but anyone looking at the pattern of play, and the 'ease' with which Spurs were able to repeat their one and only attacking option smacks of an A6 piece of paper, PLAN, squarely written at the top, which was then shoved into a back pocket and forgotten!It was a plan he said they worked on and that they knew of the danger Spurs posed. Do you really think Pep, the coaching team and the players didn't talk about it and plan to deal with it? Come on you're old enough to know they would have. As I said in my earlier post, knowing about a threat and stopping it are two different things. Every team would get a result against us if it was that simple.
Spurs played their best game of the season yesterday and a lot of our players were poor. Even so with a bit more luck we could also have won. A draw was a fair result and we had that until idiotic play and mistakes by some of our out of form players criminally cost us. Shit happens that's the first time we've lost since October.
The mortal sin lies not in allowing one defensive error to let the game slip away, but THREE, nay, FOUR, and then to gift the third goal-scoring chance after scraping yer way back with barely seconds to go. Yer can just imagine Dippers watching that game when we got our pen, and then . . . . . . !I don’t get paid to play football but I certainly pay to watch it. I cannot agree with Peps assessment of the game at all. All three goals were defensive shite imo
Just done the same and at last watched it back. Have to get Stones back in I agree for his passing too. Whole back 4 were poor but Walker looked really all at sea, not in picture for first, and third easily beaten, weak tackling efforts on some others. Think we also need to get a bit more out of Foden for a player of his ability he seems a bit stiffled by the system. .Having summoned up courage to watch the highlights on the City site, what was obvious is that Kane will never score two easier goals, he was given a free run for his first goal and he hardly had to jump for what turned out to be the winner. Both our full backs were poor, as were our centre backs. The line up v Sporting looks like our strongest, left back remains a conundrum. As for no recognised centre forward, it’s fucking us up. We haven’t come close to replacing Sergio.
Same in the Palace game. Two games against teams that stake their ninety minutes on stopping us scoring and gleefully take away 6 points after scoring five goals between them. I hoped that the fiasco of the Palace game, admittedly where we were down to ten, would have written another defining chapter in Pep's coaching manual, But a few games later, and at home, we offer up a worse repeat! The programme yesterday should have read City V Palace (Rpt)!Really bad day at the office, terrible defensively throughout the whole team. It happens, but to get the equaliser and then let them in for the winner is criminal and could cost us dearly, hopefully it won't.
A team that came here to defend have scored three goals and could/should have had more, and that tells the tale of how bad we were.
I also agree both Phil & Grealish are being pushed down that 9 to get them in the teamPossibly mate, although I do think he is being hung out to dry in the false nine.
Yeah, we were saying at the game yesterday, that it felt like past games against Leicester all over again in that every time we got turned over we looked ridiculously vulnerable.Same in the Palace game. Two games against teams that stake their ninety minutes on stopping us scoring and gleefully take away 6 points after scoring five goals between them. I hoped that the fiasco of the Palace game, admittedly where we were down to ten, would have written another defining chapter in Pep's coaching manual, But a few games later, and at home, we offer up a worse repeat! The programme yesterday should have read City V Palace (Rpt)!
The essence of that approach, and I've seen it innumerable times at the Etihad, and the same over the road watching the women, and it would be anathema to Pep's basic principles, but we have seen that the title is won, not with swashbuckling attacking football, but with the simple accumulation of points. Nice to watch if your accumulation is underpinned with swashbuckling footy, but yesterday, with a point in the bag, we set off for the win where everybody, bar Eddie, wants to score the fuckin' winner.Sometimes I just think why don’t we just put 10 men behind the ball ourselves and see who blinks first, we could learn from Chelsea how to beat these cunts.
They look world beaters agains the shambolic resistance we offered up yesterday, but switch 'Arry and Son for Foden 'n Sterling, and I think the Spurs defence would have rendered them as toothless as our fellahs.Spurs defended like their lives depended on it and had the quality up front to punish our bollocks. Kane and Son would walk into our team they are that good.
I luv Dias and think he will be our captain for years, but he's not playing at the same level he was last season.IMO this is a problem with the CB partnership. Laporte is slow and easily turned, we’ve seen that for a couple of years now, and the more Dias plays with him the more he seems to be trying to nip things in the bud like Otamendi used to.
Stones is much faster and more comfortable covering back and mopping up if that ball in behind is played, which is why he and Dias fit so well together as a pair.
I also continue to believe Dias is being made to look completely ordinary by playing on the right of the pairing because Laporte is starting ahead of Stones.
It makes so much difference on having build up out on both sides.
I regularly get hammered for it, but De Bruyne is more of a liability when we are parked on the edge of the opponents' 18 yard box.
Would like to see Gundo get a run in the false nine.
Put your phone down, have a coffeeLaportes a liability i’d rather have Ake in there at the minute
get Dias on the left and Stones in at RCB