I agree, when was the last time a forward made a breakthrough into our team and squad on a regular basis? We might laugh at the rags but at least they'll give youth a chance like Rashford and Greenwood. He couldn't have done much worse than the rest tonight and his height and physicality may have helped open them up.
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West Brom (h) post-match thread
- Thread starter Ric
- Start date
I agree, when was the last time a forward made a breakthrough into our team and squad on a regular basis? We might laugh at the rags but at least they'll give youth a chance like Rashford and Greenwood. He couldn't have done much worse than the rest tonight and his height and physicality may have helped open them up.
eyalluvitt
Well-Known Member
Cost us the game today getting rag-dolled in the box like the Bournemouth defender he is.Starting to wonder about Ake too, which is another £40m to add to the bill. He is often left for dead and mostly plays sideways passes. It’s not what we need at all.
If it wasn’t for the fact that he counts as a homegrown player, I doubt we would have bought him!
bluwes
Well-Known Member
Go on then, what's your idea for breaching a six man backline?
Play the ball quickly, stretch the pitch and get in around the back, play crosses into the target man that we don't have He wins the header, and the ball drops to the 10's and they win the second ball. They shoot from 8 yards out. Can I have my badge now
Football has a history of good/great players making a move that doesn't work out. I take it you will not be concerned if he is in the Madrid team if we played them in Champions League.The fuck is this shite? You mean that Hazard who's played less than 20 games in nearly 2 years for them and scored a massive 2 goals?
citytill1die84
Well-Known Member
Cost us the game today getting rag-dolled in the box like the Bournemouth defender he is.
Wrong. The foul cost us the game.
citytill1die84
Well-Known Member
Football has a history of good/great players making a move that doesn't work out. I take it you will not be concerned if he is in the Madrid team if we played them in Champions League.
I wasn't 6 months ago.
Oh and guess who scored in that game?
eyalluvitt
Well-Known Member
More entertainment in the technical box than the field with Spanish Uncle Fester against Croatian Auntie Football. And a Ref who was more out of his depth than a 5-year-old with no arms in the deep end of Wythenshawe baths.
Erm, think you mean play in front of a MessPeople saying messi isn't the answer,but we have more chance of getting haarland or mbappe if you tell them they can play in front of messi and kdb.
With atleast a little bit more time to think, these are my current thoughts:
1) I think I'd prefer to win 1 game and lose 2, than draw 3 games. Both give you 3 points, and the 3 draws perhaps leads to the idea that defences win the league, but the city way is simple, out score the opponent, if a goal or 2 goes in then so be it. I'd rather build off of a team that scores and fix defense through coaching, than build off a team that defends, and fix scoring.
Seems like Pep swung the other way, changed the system to build a team that defends well but needs help scoring. I'd rather the old system, and have him coach individuals to succeed in it.
2) In the 2nd half Pep went 433 (for people who weren't noticing and were clamouring for it), and we attacked alot more than the 1st half, and we could have scored... but it was all kind of meh. Rushed, just crossing, and if it weren't for KdB, pretty poor crossing. It was atleast the old attacking system, but I think Pep's subs were the wrong ones, and I think he should have instead done this:
Sub Out: Sterling, Jesus and Mendy for Ferran, Mahrez and Aguero
Pep played Rodri as a DM, with Gundogan ahead of him next to KdB. Gundogan played well, Rodri not really. I think Pep wasn't attack-minded enough actually, might be odd to say considering Jesus and Aguero were on, but I think we would have been better served with Gundogan as the DM, Rodri dropping as a CB (false CB) partner to Dias, and shifting Ake to left back to play inverted with Cancelo.
Then the attack is Ferran and Foden left, KdB and Mahrez right, and Aguero center. These players have better ball retention in tight spaces that is necessary against the low block, and have creativity (this is why Ferran-Mahrez over Sterling-Jesus).
This is the attack that I think would have been better served (obviously I have hindsight). Foden playing inside, with the link-ups we saw, looked far more effective imo.
Scoring is a problem right now, we need "weapons", combinations that kill, not crossing into the box and hoping. KdB-Mahrez is a weapon that we've seen nowhere near enough this season imo.
Foden-Ferran is a weapon on the left that Pep should develop, they are the perfect age, one is left footed and the other is right footed. They can swap positions comfortably. He should just put them there and let them develop the chemistry to make it happen, we saw a bit of it before on the one chance they played together there.
3) As a final note on other players, really need more from Mendy in terms of creating on the left, it's just not been good enough lately. Considering how lackluster Ake was as CB (yes, very little game time I know), I'd just play Ake as an inverted LB to develop his game and use him like Walker to stop counters, let the 5 players ahead do damage.
I also think Bernardo Silva could be great in a false 9 role, with Ferran and Mahrez around him, he can drop deep and link with Foden-KdB, we wouldn't lose the ball and have excellent creativity. Jesus needs rest.
1) I think I'd prefer to win 1 game and lose 2, than draw 3 games. Both give you 3 points, and the 3 draws perhaps leads to the idea that defences win the league, but the city way is simple, out score the opponent, if a goal or 2 goes in then so be it. I'd rather build off of a team that scores and fix defense through coaching, than build off a team that defends, and fix scoring.
Seems like Pep swung the other way, changed the system to build a team that defends well but needs help scoring. I'd rather the old system, and have him coach individuals to succeed in it.
2) In the 2nd half Pep went 433 (for people who weren't noticing and were clamouring for it), and we attacked alot more than the 1st half, and we could have scored... but it was all kind of meh. Rushed, just crossing, and if it weren't for KdB, pretty poor crossing. It was atleast the old attacking system, but I think Pep's subs were the wrong ones, and I think he should have instead done this:
Sub Out: Sterling, Jesus and Mendy for Ferran, Mahrez and Aguero
Pep played Rodri as a DM, with Gundogan ahead of him next to KdB. Gundogan played well, Rodri not really. I think Pep wasn't attack-minded enough actually, might be odd to say considering Jesus and Aguero were on, but I think we would have been better served with Gundogan as the DM, Rodri dropping as a CB (false CB) partner to Dias, and shifting Ake to left back to play inverted with Cancelo.
Then the attack is Ferran and Foden left, KdB and Mahrez right, and Aguero center. These players have better ball retention in tight spaces that is necessary against the low block, and have creativity (this is why Ferran-Mahrez over Sterling-Jesus).
This is the attack that I think would have been better served (obviously I have hindsight). Foden playing inside, with the link-ups we saw, looked far more effective imo.
Scoring is a problem right now, we need "weapons", combinations that kill, not crossing into the box and hoping. KdB-Mahrez is a weapon that we've seen nowhere near enough this season imo.
Foden-Ferran is a weapon on the left that Pep should develop, they are the perfect age, one is left footed and the other is right footed. They can swap positions comfortably. He should just put them there and let them develop the chemistry to make it happen, we saw a bit of it before on the one chance they played together there.
3) As a final note on other players, really need more from Mendy in terms of creating on the left, it's just not been good enough lately. Considering how lackluster Ake was as CB (yes, very little game time I know), I'd just play Ake as an inverted LB to develop his game and use him like Walker to stop counters, let the 5 players ahead do damage.
I also think Bernardo Silva could be great in a false 9 role, with Ferran and Mahrez around him, he can drop deep and link with Foden-KdB, we wouldn't lose the ball and have excellent creativity. Jesus needs rest.
Cost us the game today getting rag-dolled in the box like the Bournemouth defender he is.
picked as a preferred option to Laporte tonight.. wtf is that all about?
balotellishaircut
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I don’t think we need to chuck anymore money at the squad, I think the players need to hear a different voice, new techniques.
Pep so much as admitted that his teams decline after his 3yr cycle.
Pep so much as admitted that his teams decline after his 3yr cycle.
cityblue123
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I think he's been well below par all seasonThis has to be Kevin De Bruyne worst performance in a while.
Wretched Vengeance
Well-Known Member
I wonder if we missed Stone's and Laporte's passing between the lines, and bringing it out from the back.
I really like Dias, but he's seemingly just happy to defend. I could be wrong.
Unfair to judge Ake.
I really like Dias, but he's seemingly just happy to defend. I could be wrong.
Unfair to judge Ake.
Utter drivel. It was like watching Pellegrinis crab from 5 years ago
I thought he went to the clinic and got them sorted?
eyalluvitt
Well-Known Member
It was the Ref that FructisThis is head and shoulders above most, though.
Akpowell
Well-Known Member
It's good that this season has shown who was actually carrying the attack in this team. Silva left, Kun injured and Kev, the poor bastard, is carrying the attack while Sterling, Jesus and Mahrez sit around with their thumbs up their arses, angling for one last pay rise. Absolute bastard finishing. 2.81 xG and 1 goal. FUCK ME.
He's probably pissed off as wellI think he's been well below par all season
Forget winning anything with that bunch of pedantic plodders.
Apart from alliteration, why are they pedantic?
St.Pauli support
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Worst thing for me is, we know the team is quite tired and overplayed (although rotating a lot!)
and we know how important it is to take the lead vs those doubledeckers - and when we ARE in front we are too stupid to go into full shutdown and kick the ball up the stands 50 times and play down the clock. Yeah it's ugly but at the moment 3 dirty points would be the best we can get, realistically.
We need more tactical variety. Mostly we play a plain vanilla bore pace easy to read. We need to learn the Klopp power too as well as Mourinho's shut down shop - each at the right time.
and we know how important it is to take the lead vs those doubledeckers - and when we ARE in front we are too stupid to go into full shutdown and kick the ball up the stands 50 times and play down the clock. Yeah it's ugly but at the moment 3 dirty points would be the best we can get, realistically.
We need more tactical variety. Mostly we play a plain vanilla bore pace easy to read. We need to learn the Klopp power too as well as Mourinho's shut down shop - each at the right time.