What's the problem(s)?

FantasyIreland said:
I have a few ideas.

1. A lack of preseason/fitness
2. A inadequate replacement for Arteta
3. A lack of a striker,a hard man type.
4. A lack of leadership/characters/Fight
5. Squad disharmony

Am I wrong or being unfair? Is there another reason?

Whatever....something isn't clicking,and we need to find the answer otherwise top 4 will be a struggle.
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1.Yes, this especially with respect to our pressing game.

2.Yes, need someone who knows the premier league( ex.xabi alonso or kompany).Arteta was effective more so because he knew the premier league.

3.Not actually necessary for a hardman hold up player like costa, but a striker who has pace and is a allround natural goalscorer

4.kompany more than silva will be missed for his role outside the pitch,KDB has taken silva's role.
But a leader who can be the voice of the manager in the dressing room and on the pitch, helping organise things, someone other player respect and respond to in crucial moments.

5.squad harmony is fine, if anything too many nice characters, need a few to bring tension and agitate when levels in terms effort or quality is not up to mark and keep things on edge.

6.What's missing - more quality in the quality,for a team that professes to play stylish football we do need that extra cutting edge, that extra quality.We need a couple of star signings to freshen things up and reinvigorate the squad.
 
I’m starting to think the issue is the squad rather than the tactics.

Way too many passengers and softies for my liking. That in itself makes the tactics fucked and look worse than they are.
The players need a rocket up their arses
 
Poor planning in terms of replacing the spine of the team which allowed this team to win so many titles over the last 10 years.

Our recruitment is and has been poor for some time.

The club seems reluctant or unwilling to sign the very best players it once did.

The attitude of the club has changed from proactive to reactive.

Allowing one and and all to belittle us in the media is having a serious detriment to us, it has to stop, but that has to start from the people at the very top of this club.

We have a magnificent manager, the best in our history, but personally I think his cycle is coming to its natural end. A very intense man, a very demanding one, but now a man the players are now seeming to question.
 
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Summerbee88 said:
Need a defensive trainer so we can get the best out of the defence.
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We have the world's greatest football coach and he needs help on his defence? you must be joking.

Our defensive issues are down to the said manager, you set up your side to get the best out of the players available, our manager sets up his side for total football regardless, unless we play in the latter stages of the Champions league and then he sh1ts himeslf.
 
Neville Kneville said:
Too many times we have conceded goals out of nothing ruined the confidence. One decent counter attack & our football standard drops.

Not enough pace & athleticism in centre mid.

Not fit enough in general.

Back 4 not good enough (may be soon).

Same players have been doing the same attacking moves for years. Not enough new ideas from players or manager
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We used to created chances at will, incredible pace on the flanks, Sane and Sterling devastating, amazing creativity in the CM, silva, Bernardo and KDB.

We look devoid of ideas at times and the sparkle has long left this side.
 
citytill1die84 said:
Lack of pre season is also obviously a big factor the rags and Wolves are also struggling.
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Lack of pre-season was a major issue, but so is so is planning , our manager swanning around Barcelona trying to get his mate to sign for us , when there were issues to sort out on the training pitch.
 
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What's worrying now is that we're not just losing games, we're actually getting outplayed on occasion. In our two great seasons we lost some games, but it was usually due to an opponent scoring with their only shots on target while we miss a boat load and otherwise dominate the game. But Leeds outplayed us for most of the game yesterday and they're not the first to do so this season and last. They had more possession, which suggests that we're unable to control the midfield. De Bruyne and Foden are both great players, but neither retain the ball like David Silva could. They try stuff but lose the ball more often. It might be the reason why we looked so much more in control when Bernardo came on, and why he brought Fernandinho on when we were chasing the game. And perhaps we're finally seeing why Pep uses Gundogan so much too.

We increasingly seem like the sort of team that relies on a bit of magic from our superior players to win games, rather than the intricate patterns of play that made us unstoppable for two seasons. Yesterday, I didn't see the sort of movement around the box that we used to see, and maybe that's because we didn't have a proper striker, but that didn't use to matter. Our best chances all came from closing down the opposition and forcing mistakes, rather than anything we built ourselves.
 
The problem is how people frame the situation.

They completely ignore the circumstances related to injuries, covid, aging and new players, etc., and moan, moan, moan as if we failed with our best team available, as if we didn't have record-breaking seasons, as if this club, this manager, and these players don't deserve to be trusted and to be forgiven when making mistakes.

It's only natural to go through difficult periods. We are lucky to have a manager like Pep overseeing the transition to a team that competes at the highest level after Kompany, after Silva, after Fernandinho and after Aguero. Their legs are gone/going and we have to build a team that can win without them. Can't and won't happen immediately. But it is likely to happen because Pep is among the best ever and because we have a lot of talent in the squad.

Relax, trust the manager and the players, watch the young talents develop into top players, be happy to watch this team. It's neither necessary nor possible to win the league and break records every (other) season.
 
kanovic said:
Injuries
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A big part of it, no Kun or Jesus are significant scoring losses alone

Mahrez too often a passenger rather than driver

Fullbacks still adding nothing to the attack despite having reinforced the central defense well

There’s currently inadequate world class protagonists in XI but that will improve with Bernardo & Aguero. I’m just surprised FBs have not been addressed
 
FCBarca said:
A big part of it, no Kun or Jesus are significant scoring losses alone

Mahrez too often a passenger rather than driver

Fullbacks still adding nothing to the attack despite having reinforced the central defense well

There’s currently inadequate world class protagonists in XI but that will improve with Bernardo & Aguero. I’m just surprised FBs have not been addressed
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FBs didn't offer much when we won 198 pts over 2 seasons, which even Barca have never done.
 
Went to bed thinking of City and feeling shite. Woke up at 5 thinking of City and feeling shite.

Thinking when the 1st signs started showing that this teams fantastic era of supremacy was over, because IMO, over it is.

Started thinking of Pep and whether he is happy here. Whether his wife is still living in Spain and where his kids are.

Whether he wants to stay, whether he will stay.
 
Although we won the case it was Uefa’s intention To destabilise the club for that I think they’ve succeeded we’ve had to spend far to much time in the law courts fighting for our European existence rather than negotiating for players etc. We’ve been focusing on this lost time in other areas.
 
alexmcity said:
FBs didn't offer much when we won 198 pts over 2 seasons, which even Barca have never done.
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Sané on left & Sterling on right papers over that - not clinical enough against a Bielsa that posed plenty of problems for Liverpool too

Injuries key but FBs a big problem too
 
Two injured strikers that are also very good at linking up play add to that the other players who did that well one has left us amd the other is off sick with covid

Leaves us a little muddled up in the final third, we could have killed leeds off in the first 20 min, we didn't they grew more confident the reactions after have been with time to refelct majorly over the top.

I am gonna be honest here, with Silva gone we are actually missing Gundongen when in his playmaker role.

False 9 won't work without commited players on the flanks and a silva type just behind.


Mahrez and mendy are still fuckinguseless though :-)
 
alexmcity said:
FBs didn't offer much when we won 198 pts over 2 seasons, which even Barca have never done.
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FBs didn't really need to over commit going forwards then because we had natural width with Sterling and Sane. They would play as inverted FBs in almost a DM position alongside(wish) Fernandinho and that want we were able to cover counter attacks and support Fernandinho better. I believe Ake and Walker could still do a similar job and it would make us less open.

With inverted wingers, we need our FBs to provide the width and so they have to bomb forward more which leaves us light on cover when we lose the ball and the opposition counter attack. Added to that our FBs don't offer much going forwards anyway.

Get Aguero/Jesus back, play Ake and Walker as inverted FBs supporting Rodri or Fernandinho (or whoever), Get the front 5 or 6 fit enough to press hard and most of our problems are solved. That was how we played when we were at our best.

I don't think the problem is personnel (other than not being fit enough), more that the tactics don't bring out the best in them. It's all very disjointed rather than the team functioning as a unit.
 
Keeper! said:
We have the world's greatest football coach and he needs help on his defence? you must be joking.

Our defensive issues are down to the said manager, you set up your side to get the best out of the players available, our manager sets up his side for total football regardless, unless we play in the latter stages of the Champions league and then he sh1ts himeslf.
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The offensive does he have no problem with, our weak link is errors and counter attacks against us.
Zidane have better record in CL than Pep.
 
Tevez City said:
Maybe its the 3 amigos ( Txiki, Ferran & Pep )

But I think Pep have ruined his best formula after the centurion season.
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Summerbee88 said:
The offensive does he have no problem with, our weak link is errors and counter attacks against us.
Zidane have better record in CL than Pep.
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Our attacking is nothing like the level of two years ago, it's so predictable.

Mahrez, great talent but he is not a City player, slow, greedy, easy to read, and goes missing in action.

Sterling is half the player he was when he had Sane on the opposite wing.

Our attacking lacks pace and energy.
 
The Barca model is no longer fit for purpose.

I hate to say this but Klopp and his like have changed the game, pace, power and energy have to be no1 to win the title.

Possession based football is no longer the answer.

Pep has been sussed out and will have to change.
 
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