thought i'd post this here as the thread I originally posted it in is getting ignored:
right, we lost, again, it's a bad run, but it happens sometimes, we just have to deal with it best we can and try and get ourselves back in the groove, maybe Carlos coming back will help, but the answer is to not lose faith and try and get rid of Mancini.
We haven't been playing well, in fact I don't think we've played well all season. Yes we beat Liverpool and Chelsea, but one was a game when the opponents were truly shite, and the other was a defensive masterclass, battling display which we are able to do. We got fortunate results against the likes of Blackpool, Newcastle etc. but our luck has run out now, and it's evident we are playing well enough at all.
Now I like Mancini, but I do think he's trying to get us to play a way that would work in Italy, but not here. Slow, steady, rather defensive, controlling play, which works if you play well, but you HAVE to play well for it to work. The passing has to be spot on, every player has to be on the same wavelength and they aren't, our lot have been together 3 months. The players need to learn set patterns of play, they need to be able to have a routine of passing and movement whereby everybody knows where they should be at at every point in the move.
For example: Kompany has the ball at the back, he threads it to Barry. Now that should trigger the other players to go into a move pattern, so say Barry to Yaya, then AJ and Milner move into position as do the fullbacks, then the move should progress to the point where nobody is 30 yards away from each other, and players aren't wrongly anticipating the ball the majority of the time. Communication, authority and planning need to be used effectively so everyone knows exactly what they are doing and when in every move.
I think we cannot play the way Mancini wants us to whilst the squad is so new. I think we need to build into that strategy, but need to be very flexible and just let there be freedom for the players. Sometimes you just wish for a Bellamy-esque "fuck this I'm running with it" and just go 40 yards and smash it, just to get momentum going. We're trying to be too pretty, too clever, too cute too soon, we just need to play football in a flowing, momentum building way that suits the players, whilst Mancini gradually builds in his philosophy and puts it into the academy, so most importantly our youngsters are brought up playing the way they are required to at this level. It's much harder to teach the older players who have been brought up in a different mould to change immediately to a different culture and style of playing.
The ball needs to be moved much faster, 1 touch pass, 1 touch pass, we need to be taking shots and chances from outside the area, as well as getting bodies in the box because like I said earlier, every player needs to know his role for every move and fulfill it.
If the players have any problems, then get them all in a room and let grievances be aired, like everyone speak their mind and get stuff off their chest, and work together for a solution. Bring confidence into the play with players supporting each other, praising each other on the pitch and being 1 unit instead of 11 individuals. We need much better communication in all areas of the pitch, especially at the back. It's impossible for them all to be friends but they need to develop the desire to want to play for the boss, play for their teammates and give everything to the cause and go that extra stretch, because they don't have that at the moment.
Mancini needs to be more flexible. He needs to know what players are good at and what suits them ie. Don't put Shauny on the left flank because we all know he's shit at it, don't play Zab at CM when he's a RB. I think he needs to alter tactics, tempo and players in the game effectively, because all he does is either change the personnel or switch the widemen, but we still play the same way, there's no real added benefit.
The players need to accept it's their fault they're playing poorly too and work on it, instead of saying "well ive got 10 really expensive teammates they'll manage" they need to try even harder and take responsibility. However I do think, with a squad of 25, that some clearly aren't good enough. Lescott, Richards, Bridge, Jo, Santa Cruz, SWP need to go imo, bring some young, quick, determined players in who want to succeed and give us some dynamism and drive, it's all so 1 paced and some of our players are so slow it's untrue. We need to finetune the squad, sorry but I think it's required.
Mancini has ultimately made mistakes, so have the players, but really we need to stick in this together and give it TIME, it needs time and we can't just be sacking managers anymore, we have to be patient. If Mancini goes we'll be no better off, they'll just be another manager who wants his own players and who isn't Jose Mourinho. Besides I don't believe there's honestly anyone better out there, bar Mourinho, who could do the job successfully.
It's been a bad 2 weeks, but there were always going to be tough times on this journey, especially when we went for it big at the start and I believe made a big error over the timing of Hughes(I think he should have gone in the 1st summer and we kept Elano etc.) but we have to move on and make it happen anyway, and whatever our opinions, whatever our thoughts on Mancini or whatever, we have to be patient and realise the bigger picture. With the FFPR and stuff 1 rash decision now could cost us big time, we need to really be careful and wise and sensible about all this, because whatever happens now will shape our future as a football club in the long run.
