What do you think is wrong?

[cheddar404]

I keep reading that we didn't match their work rate. I thought we did. Maybe I am wrong

I thought the goals we gifted them at the start (from our point of view were awful defending) and from there it was very difficult. We were the team taking the game to Stoke all game, but at 2-0 they could just sit back and pick us off.

There was no intensity to our performance at all. Everyone knows Stoke is a tough place to go and they will be well up for it so you collectively roll your sleeves up with an almost siege mentality. If it was a one-off then I'd accept it but this happens for too often. It reminded be of Burnley away last season when we HAD to win and just didn't look interested. I can't help but think that we have missed a chance to completely dominate the Premier League with this group of players. United, Arsenal and maybe even Liverpool won't be as weak for long. Even Chelsea have been up and down.

 

[Blue Expat]

I think we rely too much on Yaya.

If we compare our wins ratio with & without him we will see a big difference.

 

[Deleted member 58678]

i think it's 6th best but anyway, i still think attack is more important than defence, but we'll agree to disagree!

I think attack and defence are just as important as each other and being better at one makes you even better at the other. So if a team wants to be an exciting attacking side, the first thing they need to be good at is being tight at the back with a high line and winning the ball back high up the pitch quickly, putting pressure on players and trapping them in certain areas of the pitch. From there, a team can then be more effective with the ball. Also because of the formation we play with when we do get the ball back, our players are too far away from each other - because we aren't a tight defensive unit, making the pitch narrow and small - so our passing can be too slow and we are easy to put pressure on or sit off.

 

[Cheadle Blue]

1. When we concede, you can see the confidence completely drain out of the players, its been like this for a couple of seasons
2. I don't think we use sterling properly, if we don't start hitting him early, there is no point in him being in the team. It frustrates me that he is used as a "one two" with kolarov, then we should be using his pace to counter attack
3. We don't press as a team anymore, we look very lack lustre at times
4. They don't look a happy bunch, considering we were top of the league, through to the semis of the league cup, and qualified for the champions league

 

[shemnel]

I think attack and defence are just as important as each other and being better at one makes you even better at the other. So if a team wants to be an exciting attacking side, the first thing they need to be good at is being tight at the back with a high line and winning the ball back high up the pitch quickly, putting pressure on players and trapping them in certain areas of the pitch. From there, a team can then be more effective with the ball. Also because of the formation we play with when we do get the ball back, our players are too far away from each other - because we aren't a tight defensive unit, making the pitch narrow and small - so our passing can be too slow and we are easy to put pressure on or sit off.

yep, think i stated on the previous page that both attack and defence must be of a decent standard, no doubts, but if i were to prioritise either attack or defence to take it to the 'next level', then i would always come down on the side of attack. As you say, you cant perform consistently well up front if you cannot put a foot right at the back, as the team is connected on the pitch, but i do believe scoring goals is a more important factor in football than keeping them out.

City's season of 102 league goals was interesting cos we were not particularly good at the back for parts of the season but generally the defence was functional (conceding a goal a game on average) however they did work more as a connected unit. i agree wholeheartedly that a team performing well will generally be one that is performing well all over the pitch but for me you can/should prioritise one area to give you that extra push, and for me thats attacking.

 

[Marvin]

There was no intensity to our performance at all. Everyone knows Stoke is a tough place to go and they will be well up for it so you collectively roll your sleeves up with an almost siege mentality. If it was a one-off then I'd accept it but this happens for too often. It reminded be of Burnley away last season when we HAD to win and just didn't look interested. I can't help but think that we have missed a chance to completely dominate the Premier League with this group of players. United, Arsenal and maybe even Liverpool won't be as weak for long. Even Chelsea have been up and down.

I was looking at Joey Barton's analysis of Liverpool at Newcastle on the BBC website(surprisingly good). Got the stats on all Liverpool's recent performances, and they indicate Liverpool put more effort into our game than any other.

I think clubs are looking at City, knowing we have injuries, knowing we have midweek games, and they know that we are going to find it difficult to match their intensity.

Having said that I am sure that had we had Mangala or Kompany in defence, we would not have been 2-0 down after 15 minutes and we'd have had a good chance of getting something out of the game.

We need a settled back 4 with the right players and we'll stop leaking goals.

 

[crystal_mais]

Injuries to key players, do not press from the front and lack of natural leaders on the pitch - especially when Kompany is not playing

 

[Marvin]

I think Pellegrini should also play Kelechi a bit more - especially when he can't play in midweek.

 

[jonmcity]

Very poor defending again. Martin's legs have gone, We need to sort this out urgently.​

 

[flb]

1. When we concede, you can see the confidence completely drain out of the players, its been like this for a couple of seasons
2. I don't think we use sterling properly, if we don't start hitting him early, there is no point in him being in the team. It frustrates me that he is used as a "one two" with kolarov, then we should be using his pace to counter attack
3. We don't press as a team anymore, we look very lack lustre at times
4. They don't look a happy bunch, considering we were top of the league, through to the semis of the league cup, and qualified for the champions league

good point about Kolorov, he's rarely further up the pitch enough with Sterling anyway, how many times have you seen Sterling check his run waiting for Kolorov to arrive, only to pass it to him then Kolorov passes it back to Sterling-by which time the attacking emphasis is lost. I'd like to see Sterling take on players more and cut inside, like you say get the ball to him earlier which is what happened away at Sevilla.