West Brom (h) post-match thread

[Phil Mitchell Foden]

If we are playing two people in the pivot role then one of them has to be fast and mobile enough to move upfield to feed the forwards. We are just two slow in transition. Perhaps Pep should play Bernardo there. Rodri is essentially a new Gareth Barry. He can't move the ball fast enough. He would be good if we were defending a 2 goal lead away in Europe but not at home against West Brom.
It's amazing that Mendy is still getting into the team at all. His legs went two years ago. He would not get in any other PL team.

Gareth Barry was a quality player, he just wasn't an athlete.

Rodri is a piss poor player and he's a shocking athlete. No comparison.

 

[I'm Blue]

I'm beginning to think Pep's trying to get the sack, a big payout and see you later after his new bumper deal.
All fine when we are winning, when we're losing he's stood on the sidelines looking clueless.
I really thought we'd began to turn a corner, making us hard to beat and the attacking play would come, but after that I'm fuming.
It's like he's given up.
He can start by calling the players out for their lack of effort, lack of fast paced passing, lack of a press, lack of pride!
Not sure how well that will go down considering he was largely at fault, but fuck it they need a rocket up their arses.
Maybe he's got to friendly with the players being here so long, the Pep of old wouldn't have stood for the pure lack of effort we've seen tonight.

 

[Akira]

If we are playing two people in the pivot role then one of them has to be fast and mobile enough to move upfield to feed the forwards. We are just two slow in transition. Perhaps Pep should play Bernardo there. Rodri is essentially a new Gareth Barry. He can't move the ball fast enough. He would be good if we were defending a 2 goal lead away in Europe but not at home against West Brom.
It's amazing that Mendy is still getting into the team at all. His legs went two years ago. He would not get in any other PL team.

He did play Bernardo there. Issue is Rodri isn't quick or clever enough to cover 2 number 8s, which resulted in us getting slapped on counters.

 

[FromPollockToSilva]

Fed up and tired? Wow wonder how fed up and tired they'd be living in the real world.

They do live in the real world. Pep’s mum died of COVID. They’re not immune from how shit of a year this has been

 

[ysmsa]

Need to cash in a fuck him off, should have done that last year he’s absolutely wank

You watch that shite and pick on Sterling, same with other comments on Foden.
At least they try to get it going and try things, the 4 expensive buys who offer absolutely nothing are the reason we are shit.
Gundog, Walker, Sterling get some stick but at least they try to do stuff. Rodri, Cancelo, Mendy, Ake ffs actually embarrassing watching them, fuckin clueless robots, cost us 2 points between them.

 

[LongsightM13]

also one of the reasons foden isnt a regular starter thought he struggled tonight

He is a midfielder tbf, not a left winger. Yet another square peg in a round hole

 

[5 Hit Gibbon]

Fair play to WBA, good point for them. Shite performance from City though.

 

[hgblue]

Owen Hargreaves Just said we are not the same team We used to be and Two years ago we win 5-0
He’s bAng on, we would win 5-0 and complain it should have been 10
We have lost our spark

It’s simple, the team isn’t as good as it used to be. Pep has lost confidence in them so feels he needs extra cover in midfield. Unfortunately he’s probably right.

 

[chaddblue]

At least we don’t have to go out of our way or spend a fortune to watch the worst football we’ve played in years

 

[Chak19]

We are clearly being set up to be solid, conserve energy, not give anything anyway and create just enough chances to win games. If we took the simple chances we created that would have been job done.

Comparing us to previous seasons is pointless. The world has changed, the sport has changed. We’re trying to deal with that as well as we can, and often that feels kind of underwhelming.

This season was always going to be weird and unpredictable and that requires us to be mindful of context and patient with the real and fallible humans involved

Create just enough chances to win ? that works if you have guys like Kane and Son upfront, clinical strikers, that won't work with a team who is notorious for needing 20 chances to score 1, and it was proven in added time when we missed two sitters.