West Brom (h) post-match thread

[samarasra]

There is clearly something not quite right with City at the moment, but I don't think it's anywhere near as badly out as some on here think. It may well be true that Pep and co are planning a-clear-out-and-bring-in exercise in the summer - I can see the sense in that - but I still have the feeling that we'll win (at least!) the PL title at the end of the season. Had the ball run a little more favourably in this, "our bad phase" we could have been right up there. We all know that we aren't taking enough chances, but had KdB put the penalty against the scousers just INSIDE the post and had Raheem or Gundo headed anywhere but straight at Johnson's leg in stoppage time on Tuesday, we'd be 1 point behind the scousers with a game in hand and level with Spurs with a game in hand. And on Tuesday we were the victims of a goal was the pure creation of the wicked fairies. I have to believe this team will get better very soon and that it will be then the best team in PL. Managed by the man best qualified to put things right. Then, come the end of the season we can bring in Messi (if not already here!), Frenkie de Jong, Mbappe and any of the mouth watering names we hear about to complete the next generation to crash the 100 point barrier.

I share your enthusiasm and your "but for" comments are correct, they won't be popular in the current climate, but you are right about what might have been. I don't know if you have coached or been a team manager but there are things that happen that are beyond reasonable analysis. I coached a team that was chugging along mid-table, maybe under performing slightly but we were where we deserved to be. In a Cup quarter final we faced the league leaders and were expected to be beaten as they were really strong. We were under pressure from the off and what looked to be an opening score for the opposition was somehow blocked, the ball deflected to our left winger who ran 3/4 the length of the pitch crossed and our CF slammed the ball to the back of the net. The opposition were shocked (not as much as me) but it was a game and season changing moment, Suddenly the team expected to lose played at a level I could scarcely believe, we won 3-1, went on to win the final and went on to win all available trophies the following season, not losing a single game from the day we won that quarter final to sometime in the league 2 years later when we entered the dreaded "transition" period. We started with potential but something that I still haven't figured out happened in those few seconds to change us from mid table to serial winners at least for almost 2 great years. Why am I boring you with that story, well I often recall it when watching City this season and the frustration that brings and hope that we have one of those mysterious moments. We are a different team from the legends and there is so much negativity and blame and shame that an outsider might think we are desperately hoping to sneak to the magical 40 points to avoid relegation. Every match seems to have a sequence of events that we come away from saying we should have won that. Some get angry, some get frustrated and some claim the manager and/or players don't care. I keep thinking that some time and I hope very soon one of those incidents, like you mention will tip our way or maybe if we have to wait a new player or 2 will come in to change the balance and we become consistently good instead of consistently frustrating. I don't really believe we are as bad as growing popular opinion suggests, I am struggling though to see a PL title this year but so far it is a crazy year so I haven't lost hope yet.

 

[salfordbluetrue]

I do enjoy watching the You Tube city clips Esteemed Kompany normally does a 5 things we learnt, clip but so far he has not, so here is mine not that we did not already know,
1 Cancelo is a better left back than right
2 Kolarov is still better than Mendy
3 we still miss Sane
4 Rodri is more than capable against slow players
5 we do not lose possession when playing 2 strikers, and they tend to score when played up front

 

[paulc]

Pathetic. Lethargic. If Pep is true to his word about dropping players who perform badly or make msitakes, Mendy Rodri & Sterling should all be dropped on Saturday. Don't understand taking Foden off, he was looking the most likely to create something.

 

[LongsightM13]

I share your enthusiasm and your "but for" comments are correct, they won't be popular in the current climate, but you are right about what might have been. I don't know if you have coached or been a team manager but there are things that happen that are beyond reasonable analysis. I coached a team that was chugging along mid-table, maybe under performing slightly but we were where we deserved to be. In a Cup quarter final we faced the league leaders and were expected to be beaten as they were really strong. We were under pressure from the off and what looked to be an opening score for the opposition was somehow blocked, the ball deflected to our left winger who ran 3/4 the length of the pitch crossed and our CF slammed the ball to the back of the net. The opposition were shocked (not as much as me) but it was a game and season changing moment, Suddenly the team expected to lose played at a level I could scarcely believe, we won 3-1, went on to win the final and went on to win all available trophies the following season, not losing a single game from the day we won that quarter final to sometime in the league 2 years later when we entered the dreaded "transition" period. We started with potential but something that I still haven't figured out happened in those few seconds to change us from mid table to serial winners at least for almost 2 great years. Why am I boring you with that story, well I often recall it when watching City this season and the frustration that brings and hope that we have one of those mysterious moments. We are a different team from the legends and there is so much negativity and blame and shame that an outsider might think we are desperately hoping to sneak to the magical 40 points to avoid relegation. Every match seems to have a sequence of events that we come away from saying we should have won that. Some get angry, some get frustrated and some claim the manager and/or players don't care. I keep thinking that some time and I hope very soon one of those incidents, like you mention will tip our way or maybe if we have to wait a new player or 2 will come in to change the balance and we become consistently good instead of consistently frustrating. I don't really believe we are as bad as growing popular opinion suggests, I am struggling though to see a PL title this year but so far it is a crazy year so I haven't lost hope yet.

Unfortunately we sound a lot more like the side your team beat that day. Conceded from the first real chance they faced, shat it and mentally collapsed

 

[ScottSinclair]

There is clearly something not quite right with City at the moment, but I don't think it's anywhere near as badly out as some on here think. It may well be true that Pep and co are planning a-clear-out-and-bring-in exercise in the summer - I can see the sense in that - but I still have the feeling that we'll win (at least!) the PL title at the end of the season. Had the ball run a little more favourably in this, "our bad phase" we could have been right up there. We all know that we aren't taking enough chances, but had KdB put the penalty against the scousers just INSIDE the post and had Raheem or Gundo headed anywhere but straight at Johnson's leg in stoppage time on Tuesday, we'd be 1 point behind the scousers with a game in hand and level with Spurs with a game in hand. And on Tuesday we were the victims of a goal was the pure creation of the wicked fairies. I have to believe this team will get better very soon and that it will be then the best team in PL. Managed by the man best qualified to put things right. Then, come the end of the season we can bring in Messi (if not already here!), Frenkie de Jong, Mbappe and any of the mouth watering names we hear about to complete the next generation to crash the 100 point barrier.

That is how you get left behind, by not taking your chances.

If everything went our way we would have won every season. The best teams makes their own luck and forces the issue. Like the scousers has done for the past 3 years, and we did between 2017-2019.

 

[samarasra]

Unfortunately we sound a lot more like the side your team beat that day. Conceded from the first real chance they faced, shat it and mentally collapsed

Only partly true, they didn't collapse mentally or physically, our team hit a previously unknown level and won because of that, not any failings of our opponents.

 

[kippax4ever]

Tactical we gone crap,the game against WBA,
They loose possession & all you seen was them sprinting back to put the the banks off a fking wall infront off us,while we were passing it in every direction except towards the goal,
That's our problem not enough urgency on the counter attack,

 

[Akira]

I do enjoy watching the You Tube city clips Esteemed Kompany normally does a 5 things we learnt, clip but so far he has not, so here is mine not that we did not already know,
1 Cancelo is a better left back than right
2 Kolarov is still better than Mendy
3 we still miss Sane
4 Rodri is more than capable against slow players
5 we do not lose possession when playing 2 strikers, and they tend to score when played up front

2. is so true it hurts.

 

[East Level 2]

Were any of the Kolarov fans at that defeat at Southampton a few years ago?

 

[OB1]

I know why Pep is using the current system and I don't agree with it. We may not be conceding many but our scoring has dried up. And the frustrating thing is we have a good subs bench to choose from but Pep is too reluctant to make changes.

You know I'm not one for pushing stats mate. We may have the majority of possession but possession stats, shots on goal and corners are deceiving, especially for someone who hasn't seen the game. When we were thrashing teams the stats were a lot more convincing than they currently are because for all the shots we had we were putting plenty of chances away, unlike we are now.

We aren't going to thrash teams regularly and that is not just down to City.

You can disagree with Pep's approach all you like but if we keep things as tight defensively as we have been doing, we will win lots of games and build the confidence to play with a bit more ambition.