sir baconface
Well-Known Member
That is true but the ultimate outcome is that we need to start planning for succession whether that be purchases or from the EDS.
Definitely.
That is true but the ultimate outcome is that we need to start planning for succession whether that be purchases or from the EDS.
Sterling, Mangala and Navas are good players. Bony is too, but not for us. A big fish in a small pond, but when his bottle has goneBack four woeful, Pellers is a dead man walking, no plan b let alone a plan a.
Another note, just because you spend a fortune on a player it doesn't necessarily make him good, Sterling, Bony, Mangala, Navas, need I go on?
But our expensive buys are available mostly. De Bruyne, Oto, raheem. As I said earlier, the problem goes beyond injuries and is as much to do with tactical nous, squad management and old fashioned motivational management.Sterling, Mangala and Navas are good players. Bony is too, but not for us. A big fish in a small pond, but when his bottle has gone
back 4 is not woeful, the central defence is because it's missing two players. Last season we changed centre-backs every 5 minutes and guess what we conceded goals. End of last season start of this we had a settled back 4: we were watertight. Now we get injuries and guess what we start leaking goals
We're looking for unnecessary explanations when the most obvious explanation is there: Injuries. Doesn't matter how much you have spent, if your expensive buys are not available then your team becomes ordinary, and that underlies it all
Stuttgart-City 4-1 in pre season and not just the result but the way we lost there. People said its just pre season game and doesnt matter but same of those tactical mistakes and individual mistakes can be found in many of our bad games. Stoke unlucky not to beat us 4-0 is latest example. We dont work on those mistakes so we wont get rid of them.
So the question is what do we do in the training ground? All I ever see in inside City videos that players in a circle trying to pass around the two guys in the middle.
And that De Bruyne Sterling are so happy to beat Manga and Sagna on Fifa 2016 while Yaya competes with Clichy who can try on more Christmas Tshirts in less time.
Especially when you've got the players to be the best counter attacking side in the country, so could quite clearly play a bit deeper without affecting the chances created too much.The current injury problems make it even more important that you take full account of the oposition and plan and set up based on that, especially when you don't have the players that can execute your normal playing style. Asking Martin to play a high line yesterday when it is obvious to all that watch that he no longer has the legs to execute that is in my opinion flawed at best and negligent at worst.
I fundamentally disagree. Yesterday was just as bad as Liverpool, attitude wise. It really looked like no one could be bothered.I genuinely thought the attitude of the players was good in defeat yesterday
We took the game to Stoke all game we just could not defend. This dip is vey far removed from the Mancini season and Pellegrini's 2nd season where we really were complacent
I have seen one game where the attitude was wrong: Liverpool
I fundamentally disagree. Yesterday was just as bad as Liverpool, attitude wise. It really looked like no one could be bothered.
I fundamentally disagree. Yesterday was just as bad as Liverpool, attitude wise. It really looked like no one could be bothered.
Of course it is. Having lost the game in the first 15 minutes against Liverpool, the last thing we should have done was allow that to happen again yesterday. If players are tired, then keep things compact for the first 30 minutes or so. I'd have played the two Ferns and Delph yesterday, plus Navas and Sterling, told them to keep close to the defensive line and let Stoke do all the running for the first part of the game, while we sit back and look to break. Up front I'd still probably have started Bony in order to give Silva and KDB a bit of a rest. Or we could have started Iheanacho, knowing that he can't play on Tuesday, and given Bony (who was never going to get much out of the Stoke defence) a rest. Then after 60 minutes, if we're doing OK, you could take one of the midfield three and one of Navas or Sterling for Silva & De Bruyne. Then swap Bony & Iheanacho later on.We are missing key players, have a large number of games in quick succession, as Pellegrini pointed out the players are tired and yet we do nothing to address the defensive frailties.It's lunacy to expect tired players to go out and press high up the pitch. It's also lunacy to expect to play your normal game with the spine of the team missing. Yet this is exactly what our manager does.
Keeping it tight and being more defensive in times of need is not abandoning your principles, it's common sense.