What's the problem(s)?

brian the blue said:
The problem is that the damage is done already.

We can realistically afford to drop points in 6 games if we want to challenge for the title, we've already dropped points in 2 and we're only 3 games in - non of which have been against a top 4 side.

Yes, we've been unlucky yet again with injuries to key players, but why is that a surprise? We have injury prone players.

To say "wait til Liverpool have our kind of injuries" is stupid as well and is just a way of avoiding blaming our set up. They don't get injuries. People should just accept that and stop moaning about how unfair it is.

The posts in this and the match thread are not an over-reaction, we need to stop comparing ourselves to 2017-19, this season just looks like a continuation of last season, with the trajectory heading further down, not up.
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Trajectory after 3 games lol. The trajectory was informed by injury and a Covid Summer. There's nothing fundamentally wrong with this squad. Wait and see.
 
Funnily enough, I have a lot of issues with Rodri, but I thought his game was as good as his last one with Fern as partner.

My issue, is that we have too many players, up front that like to check and check again before making a decision in front of goal.

We can't have Sterling, Mahrez AND Bernardo (& Gabby from time to time) doing the same thing in front of goal.

It's fucking frustrating!

We need a more direct striker who thinks I'll have a go or I'll square it and if it means putting Liam Delap in as a counterfoil to this checking nonsense, so be it.
 
Marvin said:
Last week after Leicester we had a problem. The window was shutting and one year on from Kompany's retirement we had still to replace him.

Perhaps we've at last addressed the achilles heel from last season. If we have, that's it. This squad when its fit does not have a problem scoring goals. We score 100 a season.
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We are becoming flat track bullies though. Scoring 100 goals is irrelevant if 8 are against Watford etc and then In the games that matter we don’t outscore other decent teams
 
Marvin said:
Trajectory after 3 games lol. The trajectory was informed by injury and a Covid Summer. There's nothing fundamentally wrong with this squad. Wait and see.
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There is something fundamentally wrong with the squad though?

Being overly reliant on an a highly injury-prone, aging Aguero.
Mahrez becoming a fixture in the team when he clearly isn't what we need.
Mendy being our only proper left back and he is an injury-prone liability.
Only 2 of our 6 CM's (Bernardo and De Bruyne) being of the required standard. (Fernandinho too old, Foden too inexperienced and Rodri/Gundogan not quite good enough)
 
alexmcity said:
Pep's already a parody of himself?

So, his methods won the first ever domestic treble in England and 6 trophies in a row from 6 on offer just 15 months ago. Now, 15 months later, his methods and understanding of the game are already left behind and he has to reinvent himself? That looks very stupid to me.

How can you be sure that it's not injuries and the difficulty of replacing aging legends that causes the current crisis but precisely the manager's understanding of the game?
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Three quick responses

If 15 months isn’t long enough what is the exact time frame in your book? 17 months? 24? How about his methods in Europe is 100 months enough?

Injuries? ageing legends? Did he not see certain players injury records or their birth certificates?

How many teams last season and this and how many in Europe for 4 seasons that we have lost to have had better teams?

Answer these honestly and without emotional attachment and the problem becomes a lot clearer.

If he stays and adapts that’s fine just decide now. If he stays and doesn’t adapt I think it’s a mistake.
 
Giving the ball away is our biggest problem IMO, Mahrez, Raz and Rodri yesterdays game were consistent in this. When we play a fast moving game we look good but we can't seem to keep that pace up, we've turned into a Jekyll and Hyde team.
 
There’s two ways of currently looking at the situation and IMO, the truth is probably somewhere in the middle.

On one hand, we’ve been desperately unlucky so far. The lack of pre-season, multiple injuries and refereeing decisions has cost us so far. Liverpool beat Leeds due to a penalty given for a harsh handball. We don’t get given a penalty in a similar manner. That’s a potential 4 point swing right there. Those are the fine margins that seem to go against us at the minute.

On the other, I can’t help but feel we’re turning into fucking Arsenal. We’ve got an inflexible manager, a team full of nice players who like to walk the ball into the net but also shit the bed under pressure and a chronic lack of leadership.
 
hilts said:
Three quick responses

If 15 months isn’t long enough what is the exact time frame in your book? 17 months? 24? How about his methods in Europe is 100 months enough?

Injuries? ageing legends? Did he not see certain players injury records or their birth certificates?

How many teams last season and this and how many in Europe for 4 seasons that we have lost to have had better teams?

Answer these honestly and without emotional attachment and the problem becomes a lot clearer.

If he stays and adapts that’s fine just decide now. If he stays and doesn’t adapt I think it’s a mistake.
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If you can read carefully and understand what I've written in this thread, you may found the answers you are looking for.

In any case, one must be really really daft to think that Pep's understanding of the game has become the problem at the club.
 
Marvin said:
Trajectory after 3 games lol. The trajectory was informed by injury and a Covid Summer. There's nothing fundamentally wrong with this squad. Wait and see.
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Similar "wait and see" comments were made by posters after last seasons indifferent start. Fans are sceptical at the moment and rightly so. That drubbing from Leicester was shocking, and that's putting it mildly. The teams mindset of 2 seasons ago needs to return. If not, goodbye PL title.
 
alexmcity said:
If you can read carefully and understand what I've written in this thread, you may found the answers you are looking for.

In any case, one must be really really daft to think that Pep's understanding of the game has become the problem at the club.
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I have results and performances as my guide you have err well nothing really just blind faith I guess which is fine. Its a discussion only. We have had these debates with pellegrini,Mancini and even Hughes(yes some were calling fans knee jerk with him too would you believe)

Anyhow the end result for all 3 was the same. Maybe it will be different this time if he can be arsed staying that is.

Let’s hope Peps continuous bad lack from last year and this and in Europe(since... it’s been that long I can’t remember) comes to an end.
 
The main problems are:

1. No natural finishers up top when Agüero is out. We miss FAR too many chances, FAR too many sitters and FAR too many 1v1s

2. We’ve started (in the last 12 months) sloppily giving the ball away up high FAR too often and the determination to win the ball back is none existent

3. We’ve got too many slow midfielders.

The problem isn’t Pep and that he’s been “found out”, because we create the most chances in Europe. We’re creating as many chances as Vilanova’s Barça did, only thing is they put their chances away and outscore this City by a good 20 goals a season and their front three were scoring 35, 35 and 53.

We start getting excited because Sterling scored 30 goals in all comps last season. We should all, and so should he, be extremely disappointed with that! He plays the most minutes in the team and gets the most chances. In a team that creates what we do with the minutes Sterling plays, 30 goals is inadequate. And the big chances he misses (absolute sitter right in front of goal to get us back in the FAC semi against Arsenal, mis-hit wide; open net to make it 2-2 against Lyon, dinked over the bar because he used his wrong foot; 1v1 with the ’keeper to win the game for us yesterday, I can recall one goal he’s scored 1v1 with a ’keeper... to name but a few recent ones) are unforgivable.

You could replace all of our forwards (bar Agüero) with better players and they’d score a fucking shit load for us!

Jesus scuffs every other shot he ever hits, some of the scuffs go in, far too many don’t.

Plus the meek way Mahrez loses the ball is infuriating. I’ve seen slugs with more energy than him.

The problem is not the defence. I repeat; the problem is NOT the defence!

We could play the greatest back four in the history of football but when our front players give the ball away and prance about pretending to make an effort to win it back like they’ve started doing in the last year, as well as the opposition then easily being able to play past or around or bypass Rodri or Gundogan or both of them because they’re so slow; any defenders you could name will be left isolated or have balls played in behind them like ours do now, and be shown up.

All of our problems are ahead of the defence.
 
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Roachy said:
Similar "wait and see" comments were made by posters after last seasons indifferent start. Fans are sceptical at the moment and rightly so. That drubbing from Leicester was shocking, and that's putting it mildly. The teams mindset of 2 seasons ago needs to return. If not, goodbye PL title.
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It’s the bluemoon way say it early knee jerk say it late it’s hindsight. I think the general attitude is make excuses that don’t involve criticism of the manager or dof.
 
Roachy said:
Similar "wait and see" comments were made by posters after last seasons indifferent start. Fans are sceptical at the moment and rightly so. That drubbing from Leicester was shocking, and that's putting it mildly. The teams mindset of 2 seasons ago needs to return. If not, goodbye PL title.
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The fear factor we once had has now gone. Teams used to be petrified of us as we could easily put 5/6 goals past them. Now teams know how wasteful we are which encourages them to attack us.

For all the shit our defence get, our forward line is just as bad.
 
At the moment, the biggest issue seems to be fitness & confidence. Pep wants them to press and they can't do it effectively for a whole game. As the press is ineffective, it's easy to bypass the midfield.
 
For me:
1) We haven't adjusted to the change that's started to happen in football. Bigger, stronger players who can play with the ball. I think our attack looks very very lightweight.
2) Left back and defensive mid.
3) We don't look fit enough to sustain constant pressure for 90mins anymore.
 
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