Stoke post match thread

[Tom_mcfc]

I am not entirely comfortable with it as a defence either but it is a fact of modern day football and is applied almost universally. Similar approaches apply in other sports
particularly rugby. On the surface you would expect that professional footballers should be able to play 2 games a week all season. This fixture was particularly problematical as it involved a change of date. We only had two days rest after the Sunderland game and maybe that was not enough time for lets say Sterling or Stones to recover fully. Perhaps the medical advice was to rest these guys for last nights match because to play them may increase the chance of injury. What do you do if you are the manager in this situation?
I know its frustrating but what can you do. The bottom line is that you need 7 or 8 players who you can rely on to do a job when drafted in when the number one is not available.

Well that's a different matter that the back ups aren't good enough but if they aren't good enough then it is even more risky playing them. I've said it previously but the Sunderland game we didn't need to get out of first gear, it was an absolute breeze especially second half. Had that of been a full bloodied, tight affair then I would of understood changes last night. If Monaco was straight after last night I would of understood it but my point is we will rest at Boro on Saturday, 100% guaranteed so for me there was no reason to last night.

I'm just disappointed, these kind of points are a joke to drop and is the most frustrating part. Regardless of rotation then Pep needs to come up with something to break these kind of teams down as we will face it plenty more times going forward.

 

[Rolee]

Talk me through Stones for Otamendi then mate? Whilst it wasn't an issue last night and Otamendi had a decent game was that not for changing sake? There was zero need to make that change and then we will probably throw him back in against Falcao. That spark that Silva brought changed the game, not the scorel ine granted and no one can say correctly what would of happened had he of started. Just think though that urgency and them chances created happening from the first minute rather than the 55th or whenever it was.

Could be wrong, just throwing it out there but I think Pep may have expected Crouch to start so saw Otter as a better option for the aerial challenge.

Not condoning it or excusing him, just trying to find logic in his selection.

 

[Tom_mcfc]

Could be wrong, just throwing it out there but I think Pep may have expected Crouch to start so saw Otter as a better option for the aerial challenge.

Not condoning it or excusing him, just trying to find logic in his selection.

Would be a reasonable reason to be fair, regardless though the best form Stones has shown it was just strange to drop him. It wasn't our problems last night and another clean sheet is good to see, just frustrating and bloody cold I forgot my jacket!

 

[cleavers]

We only had two days rest after the Sunderland game and maybe that was not enough time for lets say Sterling or Stones to recover fully. Perhaps the medical advice was to rest these guys for last nights match because to play them may increase the chance of injury. What do you do if you are the manager in this situation?

Good luck with talking sense on this thread. We didn't win, therefore its a disaster, and the manager an idiot. Despite the fact we had a run of 5 games in 14 days, nobody needed a rest, or can be tired.

Also virtually nobody has given any credit to hughes and stoke, for them stopping us playing. It wasn't pretty but from the kick off it was obvious what they were doing, and that we were going to have a difficult night, but we failed to score, in fact we largely failed to create any decent chances, lots of nearly chances, but few really good ones, Silva's being the best, and he really should have scored.

 

[CityFan94]

I normally don't mind rotation, but we just had a 10 day period without any games. Why are players needing a rest so soon after that?

Draws at home to average sides has cost us the league this season. We clearly need another winger, Navas as our third winger is nowhere near good enough. Another centre midfielder is also needed as Yaya struggles playing twice a week (as would any centre midfielder his age).

Our best form this season was with the front three of Sane/Jesus/Sterling. With two of that three out last night, we weren't half the attacking threat. The depth needs to be much better next season.

 

[Gray]

Except, you never give Pep any plaudits at all.

The last post-match thread you involved yourself in was Monaco with this sole entry:



Meanwhile, going back further, even when we were winning you found plenty of reasons to moan about Pep.

For example;

Bournemouth Post Match


Swansea Post Match


West Ham Post Match


Oh and of course who could forget this gem from the Everton Post Match


So it seems that while City can win, Pep certainly can't. Oh but do tell me how not playing the players Pep improved from last season in the game last night was the reason we couldn't beat Stoke.

Irritating sort of bloke aren't you?

Showing off your ability to insert multiple quotes - woopee, and constantly criticising people who do not share your views.

You are also extremely rude at times as you were to me in one of the match day threads, that is not called for mate - take a long look at yourself before berating others.

 

[Akiva]

Irritating sort of bloke aren't you?

Showing off your ability to insert multiple quotes - woopee, and constantly criticising people who do not share your views.

You are also extremely rude at times as you were to me in one of the match day threads, that is not called for mate - take a long look at yourself before berating others.

Ok.

 

[GaudinoMotors]

Good luck with talking sense on this thread. We didn't win, therefore its a disaster, and the manager an idiot. Despite the fact we had a run of 5 games in 14 days, nobody needed a rest, or can be tired.

Also virtually nobody has given any credit to hughes and stoke, for them stopping us playing. It wasn't pretty but from the kick off it was obvious what they were doing, and that we were going to have a difficult night, but we failed to score, in fact we largely failed to create any decent chances, lots of nearly chances, but few really good ones, Silva's being the best, and he really should have scored.

Kind of contradictory.

 

[cleavers]

I've said it previously but the Sunderland game we didn't need to get out of first gear, it was an absolute breeze especially second half. Had that of been a full bloodied, tight affair then I would of understood changes last night. If Monaco was straight after last night I would of understood it but my point is we will rest at Boro on Saturday, 100% guaranteed so for me there was no reason to last night.

So its OK to 'rest' for Middlesbrough, but not Stoke ? Why ?

We're still in 3 competitions, which one do we have the best realistic chance of winning out of the three ?

We had an opportunity to rest a couple last night, just as we have the chance again on Saturday, it won't be the same players, unless they are carrying knocks of course. We almost certainly need a full strength team against Monaco next week, as that will be the most difficult to win, and is followed up by a game we definitely need to not lose against Liverpool.

With 5 games in 14 days, its imperative that we only play players that are 100%, and that doesn't mean injuries, it means fitness, and there will be considerable advise from the medical staff on who does or does not need a rest.

 

[Callum Ramsey]

Exactly, instead we have a bunch of armchair coaches who have the misplaced belief they know how to be a better football manager, or that they know the state (including in training) of the squad more, than Pep Guardiola.

"Silva looked fit to me"

"Rotation was the reason we didn't win the game"

"No reason at all for the changes"

It's a load of absolute twaddle.

No one is saying they know more than pep but managers also make mistakes. Any team that misses their two best performers of the season will suffer regardless of how good they are. Some people were rightly less optimistic when the team was read out as it was obvious it would affect the balance of the whole team. I've seen you argue that we still had enough to win but what you seem to forget is that sterling and silva are probably the two most vital cogs in pep's current system not only because of their ability but mainly because of their intelligence off the ball and how much room and space that affords the other players in the team to perform. Without them the rest couldn't function as well as they possibly could

Sane didn't have someone to link with and play him through in silva as well as someone on the other side of the pitch who he knows will constantly be making runs in the far post to cross to therefore he was tasked as the only threat to attack space behind and could be double-marked and his performance suffered.
Aguero didnt have two genuine wide players with threats who could take some defenders and pressure off him as well as someone in sterling who he seemed to have developed a real understanding with so his performance also suffered as he basically had to take on 3-4 players on their own and feed off scraps
KDB's form has been hit and miss lately but even then without someone like silva next to him who controls and links play from defence to attack, as well as create space for him his performace suffered.
Yaya had only sane who was making runs in behind to play through

Now these players are all top quality and you should expect them to at the very least fashion decent chances which they did but these were mainly half chances at best where someone had to stretch for a cross or shoot from tight angles. The only clear chance you could argue was the silva chance when he came on. So its fair to think that with one of silva and sterling starting or even both, the team would have created a higher frequency of those kind of clear chances that he did as a result of how much room they create for the whole team to perform. Now Whether those chances would've been taken is another point. The team created more clear chances in the defeats to everton and chelsea as well as all the other home games that they drew than they did in this.

It's football these things happen, Likewise Chelsea won't be as threatening without moses and hazard starting as they are probably most important to the system and style conte plays and as a result costa and pedros performance will suffer. Same for arsenal without sanchez and tottenham without kane and alli. I'm sure pep knew the team would struggle without silva and sterling but thought they should have enough to win which didnt prove to be the case this time as was the case against huddersfield away.