Who and what’s to blame?

[simon23]

You name four players you'd sell but no names of whom you'd buy....easy isn't it !!

I dont have an army of scouts to hand all over the world either - with that Im sure i would find it a little easier!

 

[OntarioBlue]

Now that it’s official, we’ve not lost our title, more failed to defend it. That’s the tragic part, we never turned up this season.

where did it go wrong?

1. Var. yes, it shafted is a lot in the early days...but...I think the club let it get to them a lot each and every time and would dwell on it and fail to pick themselves up quickly enough.

2. Defense. Fullbacks have been terrible all season IMO. Swapping Danilo was a terrible decision. Walker and Stones seem content to have won so much that they stepped backwards. Mendy just hasn’t worked out and the way Pep managed Angelino was disgraceful imo. Decent player left on the bench all season only to be given his debut at anfield vs salah. He set him up to fail imo and didn’t want him brought back from the start.

Laporte was a massive loss, unfortunate.

3. Fernandinho. This to me was Pep’s worst ever managerial move. He took a world class DM out of his position to play bang average at CB. So now we’re weak in two positions rather than CB. It was clear Rodri wasn’t ready for the amount of games he was given, Fernandinho could have taken so much pressure off the back line had he not been moved to CB and left there. I mean he wasn’t even rotated to DM when Stones and Otamendi were fit.

4. Bernardo. Failed to kick on this year for me, certainly not up to last years standards on a consistent basis. Hopefully that comes next season.


So...your thoughts? Where did it go wrong for us this year?

I think you nailed it with 2 and 3. The defence has been all over the place all season. The left full back position continues to be a major concern. Right back is less of a concern but Cancelo has disappointed.

With the exception of Laporte our centre backs have been poor. Fernandes gets a pass because he’s been playing out of position all year. Laporte’s injury hurt us immensely.
Fernandinho should have been playing DM and not CB. Rodri shows quality but isn’t yet at the level he needs to be.

I share your views about Bernardo who has mostly been missing in action this year.

Too many injuries, especially Laporte and Sergio.

Merlin showing his age.

Mahrez inconsistent

Sterling has been out of form for months.

 

[ctid1894]

We had a few late/stoppage time winners in 17/18 but not one single one I can recall in 18/19. I think in all the 32 games we won in the league we had at least a 1 goal margin by the 70th minute.

Everton away, yes it was 1-0 anyway but we were under a lot of pressure but still played our way and killed it off very late on. Hoffenheim away was definitely one. That's two just off the top of my head.

 

[Pingu the Penguin]

About 18 months ago all we heard was "tactical foul" about Ferna. He broke up so much and protected us so much. It's been a bad mistake to have him at CB all year.

 

[OntarioBlue]

Another thought just occurred to me - Rotation. Pep has become the Tinkerman. I know he has to manage the squad given the number of games we play but making so many changes from game to game seems unnecessary and kills consistency.

The Dippers barely changed their starting lineup all season. They pretty well played the same back four and front three every game and only made slight changes to the midfield.

We frequently made 5 or 6 changes every game.

 

[Millwallawayveteran1988]

He could be one of the 4, along with Laporte. Still leaves 2 needed. I had always had high hopes for Stones but his injuries seem to stop him really getting into form.

Stones won’t make it here now. His time is up.

 

[Millwallawayveteran1988]

Another thought just occurred to me - Rotation. Pep has become the Tinkerman. I know he has to manage the squad given the number of games we play but making so many changes from game to game seems unnecessary and kills consistency.

The Dippers barely changed their starting lineup all season. They pretty well played the same back four and front three every game and only made slight changes to the midfield.

We frequently made 5 or 6 changes every game.

I think that is because Pep isn’t prepared to just give up on the cups and I’m glad about that. I know it’s a long shot but we could still win 3 trophies this season.

Liverpool have been phenomenal this season. They were just running out of steam a bit before the lockdown but they had done enough. It wouldn’t surprise me if they tail off a bit now as it’s hard to maintain the intensity when the job is done.

 

[Withnail]

Losing Laporte for the majority of the season and not replacing Vinny have been the 2 main factors why we have fallen behind the Dippers. Stones and Otamendi are not good enough and unfortunately Dhino's lack of pace hinders him.

A top class cb is needed to partner Laporte and let's hope the reports of city's interest in Koulibaly are true as he has the attributes required imo.

 

[Stiff Little Wingers]

Don't care what you say, just love your name on here LOL

Thanks very much. Funnily enough Mrs Stiff likes a Bovril sandwich

 

[mccity]

Another thought just occurred to me - Rotation. Pep has become the Tinkerman. I know he has to manage the squad given the number of games we play but making so many changes from game to game seems unnecessary and kills consistency.

The Dippers barely changed their starting lineup all season. They pretty well played the same back four and front three every game and only made slight changes to the midfield.

We frequently made 5 or 6 changes every game.

It's a valid point, but it's part of the problem of going for every competition on show. He's generally rotated a lot, but this season the Laporte and Sané (and occasional Aguero) injuries have really forced him to up it for some players. Liverpool on the other hand only play for two trophies and it's paid off.

For me personally, I am glad the club takes the domestic cups somewhat seriously and respects them. I think it's arrogant to turn our noses up at them, a trophy's a trophy after all. However of course it's a double edged sword for obvious reasons.

I think in the long run it works well going after everything if you can achieve success. There are players at City who have received winner's medals and won trophies multiple times recently. It means that one day when Pep leaves the players left behind will all have that winning mentality really drilled into them.

The good news is that we'll only be in 3 competitions next season due to the League Cup announcement, so the 1st half of next season should be much easier on the team either way.