What Is lacking?

[Akpowell]

Pep knows he's dropped a massive bollock, but no way will he admit it

 

[KS55]

Someone to be in Pep's ear telling him to quit being his own worst enemy. Also a top quality striker would be bonus.

He already has that, apparently.

 

[KS55]

Everyone is awaiting your Haaland report.

He's too Norwegian.

 

[jimmygrimblesboots]

Twas a great post until you started banging on about "entitlement".

Clearly stated i dont think our fans in general act entitled , we appreciate where we have come from , the Rags and Dippers havent got a clue about suffering

 

[KS55]

Getting to the bye line. Nothing beats parked busses better than the cut back which puts defenders on the wrong foot. You cant easily get thru a packed defence thru the middle. The driven cross also works from wide out. Remember Sane to Raz tap ins.
We need an old fashioned pacy winger, oh and a striker to convert the chances made.

 

[KS55]

Wouldnt think many football forums would have a thread like this after winning three titles in four years and multiple cup wins , OK we cannot win the Champs league if we dont get done by VAR or officials our manager messes with the tactics at vital moments. Looking at the last few seasons we are lacking very little ,we have no divine right to win trophies but we are still the most successful club in England for the past decade , and it will contine under Pep.
Failing in the Champs league is for others to beat us with , personally it would be nice to be crowned kings of europe to silence the critics , but if we carry on averaging two trophies a season then we have no right to complain because that smacks of entitlement and we are City fans we do not do entitlement leave that to the arrogance of the 'istree clubs.

"We deserve big ears."
Nope, we have to earn it.

 

[jimmygrimblesboots]

There is nothing wrong in the slightest with discussing how we can improve as a team on a forum.

Raheem Sterling has played a key role in the recent success you speak of, should we not be allowed to discuss his poor form?

Is debating Pep’s decision to play Gundo as a number 6 in the biggest game of the season not a valid talking point?

Should people just shut up and accept losing three huge games to Chelsea in a month and not discuss how to improve?

I’ve never understood why people complain about people being pessimistic in the match day thread or people being hyperbolic in post match threads, that’s the reality of football. It’s no different on this forum to pubs or the stadiums up and down the country on a match day.

Agree with your last paragraph, the match day thread is only a reflection on what you shout/say when attending a game when you shout "Sterling(other players available) you knobhead" for missing a sitter it is instanty forgotten , but in black and white on a forum it doesnt look good , and will be used in evidence at a future juncture , hence i try to avoid match day threads i would be in deep shit if i put into print some of my instant reactions.

 

[jimmygrimblesboots]

"We deserve big ears."
Nope, we have to earn it.

If any bunch of supporters have earned it, then it is ours , weve backed our team through decades of barren years and no one can deny our loyalty and commitment , always brings a smirk to my face when the opposition fans sing WWYWYWS , they havent got a clue.

 

[PistonBlue]

I don't think there is much lacking, we can talk about strikers and false nines all day long and we'll all be right to some degree, but on saturday night what we actually needed was to go full strength and not handicap ourselves by handing them the midfield on a fucking plate. Chelsea are a very good side who don't need the favours we keep giving them. Had Fernandinho or Rodri started instead of Sterling, the balance would have been better, as would the mentality and the prospect of a win. As it was, I and everybody I spoke to on seeing the team thought we'd lose. Looking at the body language of some of them (KDB in particular just didn't look right to me) they did too, and I think they were pissed at the selection. Fair play to the Chavs, they took full advantage and made us look average.
We just need the manager to trust his best side more in the big games and maybe not look for the leftfield option so much.

 

[yerwot?]

As usual, the forum has settled down a bit after the hysterics of the immediate aftermath of an awful display.
This group of players and manager definitely have a performance like that lurking , so not a total surprise, just baffling. If it's a price we have to pay for all the trophies we keep winning, is worth a debate maybe, though being fans we obviously want to win everything every season. Maybe that is part of the problem, the msm narrative that we have the dearest, biggest squad has blinded us fans to believe the hype, phrases like "we could field 2 teams capable of winning the PREM" is often seen on here; imo, that is bollox, and proven to be, yet still gets trotted out. I dont believe it is possible,
The increasing clamour for a strker is getting louder, understandable, though that would be against Pep's m.o. of wanting multi-purpose players and would need a change of philosophy from him. MMM. Harry Kane seems close due to his assist stats ( Messi being the ultimate, but a pipe-dream) . Pep HAS changed, due to number of games forced by covid and going for everything, whatever, but stll , maybe not as stubborn as being touted. So many impnderables, that no doubt will be done to death on BM, rumours and speculation filling the void. Roll on the new season....

 

[bluemoon32]

If any bunch of supporters have earned it, then it is ours , weve backed our team through decades of barren years and no one can deny our loyalty and commitment , always brings a smirk to my face when the opposition fans sing WWYWYWS , they havent got a clue.

A lot on here will be able to answer " in Portugal" , when opposing fans sing WWYWYWS next season

 

[KennyG]

Once the dust has settled and you look back, we were a bit lucky v Dortmund, PSG were better than us for 90mins of a 180 min tie, and the final was a golden chance missed against a good, but far from great team. We lack the bottle required. That isn’t helped when the manager is always second guessing himself, either.

 

[Blue_eyes]

For a long time we have conceded similar goals to that havertz one,a simple pass through or over our high line,and it can happen at any time if we lose the ball unexpectedly, a consequence of how we play. It would be nice sometimes to not be so high up the pitch so quickly by having a different approach against certain types of opposition.

Chelsea play defensive and rely on the fast turnover and breakaway goal and we obliged them again. I wouldnt mind conceding some of the possession stats by being more like this sometimes, this would probably mean the inclusion of a world class target striker, one that is fast, can finish,can busy their cbs, and hold the ball up for our attacking mids.

Pep has done brilliant to win the league with our set up and he enjoys the ball retension that it requires, but a plan b similar to above might be invaluable vs some teams in some games, it could have made the difference this season between a great one and a fantastic one.

Haaland/Kane/Mbappe are the obvious candidates and I would like to see our own Delap given a chance although I appreciate how difficult it is to include him regularly given the importance of practically every game we play. How would Torres suit the striker role, he can finish all right and has pace?

Overall though, this is a problem most fans would like to be pondering.........how to improve from a double winning season to a treble winning one, maybe we should bear that in mind in dissapointing moments.

 

[CatMan]

Pace, Fitness and Ability. Too many lack one or two of these.

Sterling lacks Ability
KDB lacks Fitness
Gundogan lacks Pace and Fitness
Mahrez lacks Pace and Fitness
Zinchenko lacks Pace
Bernardo lacks Pace
Rodri lacks Pace and Fitness

Strangely the often criticised Jesus's and Walker both have Pace, Fitness and Ability, as do Stones and Dias.

I think Cancelo also has the key attributes and his timing of a tackle is exceptional. What he perhaps lacks is a little concentration.

Fernandinho, even at 36, puts most of them to shame. Foden has everything in bundles.

It really is time to invest ìn more youth and give Delap and Palmer a chance.

 

[blueparrot]

Pace, Fitness and Ability. Too many lack one or two of these.

Sterling lacks Ability
KDB lacks Fitness
Gundogan lacks Pace and Fitness
Mahrez lacks Pace and Fitness
Zinchenko lacks Pace
Bernardo lacks Pace
Rodri lacks Pace and Fitness

Strangely the often criticised Jesus's and Walker both have Pace, Fitness and Ability, as do Stones and Dias.

I think Cancelo also has the key attributes and his timing of a tackle is exceptional. What he perhaps lacks is a little concentration.

Fernandinho, even at 36, puts most of them to shame. Foden has everything in bundles.

It really is time to invest ìn more youth and give Delap and Palmer a chance.

Whats missing, pace fitness and ability, explains why we are shit and win nowt.

 

[CatMan]

Whats missing, pace fitness and ability, explains why we are shit and win nowt.

It explains why we lost on Saturday which is what to OP refers to. Sterling clean through early on and tackled himself. A complete inability to break the lines from midfield and KDB constantly found himself in advance of a ball that was lost and didn't even attempt to recover. Gundogan, Mahrez and Bernado all incapable of getting beyond an initial challenge with a burst if pace, as Foden does continually. Zinchenko left stranded and actually gave up chasing his man for Chelsea's goal. Can I suggest you study the game rather than deny what actually happened. We were out thought and out fought in every department. We have for a long time been able to hide our mobility and pace issues with quality possession. Unfortunately the cats out of the bag and we will, unless we rethink personnel, be regularly found out.

Incidentally West Brom put 5 past that Chelsea team in April. In 3 games since we've barely mustered 5 shots. We have fundamental problems that are now clearly visible.

 

[blueparrot]

It explains why we lost on Saturday which is what to OP refers to. Sterling clean through early on and tackled himself. A complete inability to break the lines from midfield and KDB constantly found himself in advance of a ball that was lost and didn't even attempt to recover. Gundogan, Mahrez and Bernado all incapable of getting beyond an initial challenge with a burst if pace, as Foden does continually. Zinchenko left stranded and actually gave up chasing his man for Chelsea's goal. Can I suggest you study the game rather than deny what actually happened. We were out thought and out fought in every department. We have for a long time been able to hide our mobility and pace issues with quality possession. Unfortunately the cats out of the bag and we will, unless we rethink personnel, be regularly found out.

Incidentally West Brom put 5 past that Chelsea team in April. In 3 games since we've barely mustered 5 shots. We have fundamental problems that are now clearly visible.

No we don't.

 

[Norbert D]

Now we have Kyle Walker with the Rory Delap throws we just need Peter Crouch.

 

[jimmygrimblesboots]

It explains why we lost on Saturday which is what to OP refers to. Sterling clean through early on and tackled himself. A complete inability to break the lines from midfield and KDB constantly found himself in advance of a ball that was lost and didn't even attempt to recover. Gundogan, Mahrez and Bernado all incapable of getting beyond an initial challenge with a burst if pace, as Foden does continually. Zinchenko left stranded and actually gave up chasing his man for Chelsea's goal. Can I suggest you study the game rather than deny what actually happened. We were out thought and out fought in every department. We have for a long time been able to hide our mobility and pace issues with quality possession. Unfortunately the cats out of the bag and we will, unless we rethink personnel, be regularly found out.

Incidentally West Brom put 5 past that Chelsea team in April. In 3 games since we've barely mustered 5 shots. We have fundamental problems that are now clearly visible.

We have won 35 of our last 40 games , the cup final was a poor performance both tactically and individually , lets not get carried away and suggest we arent any good. We are a brilliant football team who very occasionally put in an under par performance and usually because we have fielded a weakened team or the manager has had a tactical nightmare.
There is no such thing as perfection in football , but we are the closest team to it in the world.

 

[antspider]

In answer to the OP's question, about 2 inches according to the wife