Matty
Well-Known Member
As always with things like this there isn't one specific reason that has caused the difficult season we're currently suffering. There are several factors at play, some more influential than others, but all of which have had a detrimental impact upon the performances and the results for City this season.
Injuries - It's impossible to ignore, or to underestimate, quite how much impact the number, and length, of our injuries has had upon the performances this season. We've lost multiple players, for sizeable periods of time. Kompany, Aguero, Silva, Nasri, De Bruyne, Zabaleta, Clichy, Mangala, Bony, and that's not an exhaustive list by any stretch. All have missed significant periods of time this season, if we'd only had half the injuries we've suffered thus far you'd have to suspect that would have equated to a few more points on our tally. You only have to look at Leicester to see what a season with relatively few injuries, and a settled side, can do for you. Swap our injury situation with Leicester's and I suspect we'd be top of the league, and they'd be in a relegation battle.
Tactical failings - There's no escaping that fact that, tactically, on far too many occasions, we've been found wanting. Whether it's being overrun by the likes of Leicester, Spurs or Liverpool, or our inability to break down sides like Norwich or Villa, we have struggled this season with the tactics employed. We're too predictable when we have the ball, we'll pass it around a lot, we'll dominate possession more often than not, but we'll create very few opportunities, we'll play too slowly and we'll fail to take shots when required. When we don't have the ball we're way to easy to play against. I've lost count the number of times sides have simply driven with pace through the heart of our side at will, and scored goals. It really hasn't been good enough. We also seem to struggle to change things up mid game, if plan A isn't working then we seem to stick with plan A and blindly hope it miraculously starts to work anyway.
Player form - No matter how many injuries we've had, or how tactically inept we've been on occasion, there's no escaping the fact that we've got a talented bunch of players at City, a bunch of players who are more than capable of playing t a far higher standard than they've managed this season. Not one player has been on the top of their game this season, we've seen glimpses of the best from the likes of Aguero and De Bruyne, but it's been far too fleeting. Some, like Silva, have been very poor. He may well be carrying an injury still, but form wise he's not been anything like the player we know he can be. The players need to carry the can to some degree for this, as they are responsible for their own motivation and performances to a fair degree.
Player recruitment - City have an aging squad in some positions, and this hasn't been adequately addressed. No fullback under the age of 30, a position that requires drive, pace and energy, is a clear error, and has seriously affected our effectiveness on the attacking side of things. We've still got the core of our title winning sides, however Kolarov, Clichy, Kompany, Silva, Zabaleta and Toure are all 30 or older (well, Kompany will be 30 in less than a month) and it's fair to say all are probably past their peak in terms of physical fitness, and performance levels. The additions we’ve made over the past couple of seasons, in many instances, haven’t been of the highest calibre and haven’t pushed us forwards. De Bruyne and, potentially, Sterling, could be the exception. Fernandinho is a good but not spectacular player. But Fernando, Mangala, Bony, Sagna, Delph, all still with the club, haven’t yet proven to be good enough, and then there’s the likes of former players such as Jovetic, Rodwell, Garcia, Sinclair, Negredo, Nastasic, Savic, Maicon etc who to varying degrees failed to deliver. The hope is that, with Guardiola arriving in the summer, and the FFP restrictions having less impact on us from a player recruitment perspective, we’ll progress on this front and add sme players who really make a difference to the strongest 11 we can field, as opposed to squad players and place holders.
Managerial deficiencies – Ignoring the tactical failings, which I’ve mentioned above already, there’s a real sense that Pellegrini, as a manager in general, simply isn’t getting enough out of his players. His attitude, his laid back approach, and his general good nature were a breath of fresh air following on from the Mancini era which, despite great success, had become toxic behind the scenes. This new approach, in no small way, probably helped us to overcome Liverpool in his first season and too us to the title. However, as time has progressed, I as a fan have started to grow tired of the manager. He doesn’t excite me, he doesn’t spark enthusiasm. You have to wonder whether this lack of charisma, energy and visible passion is having a negative effect on the playing staff. Mancini always had the players fired up, eventually this soured and his methods drove a wedge between him and them. Pellegrini, you suspect, is universally liked by the squad, I’m sure he’s a thoroughly nice guy and the players probably enjoy the atmosphere around the squad far more than they did under Mancini, but what they are lacking is the fire, the desire, the passion. You can’t imagine Pellegrini delivering a rousing half time team talk, motivating the players with a passionate plea, jumping on under performers and when required telling a few home truths. The squad are too comfortable, and the manager is the one who should be able to change that.
Injuries - It's impossible to ignore, or to underestimate, quite how much impact the number, and length, of our injuries has had upon the performances this season. We've lost multiple players, for sizeable periods of time. Kompany, Aguero, Silva, Nasri, De Bruyne, Zabaleta, Clichy, Mangala, Bony, and that's not an exhaustive list by any stretch. All have missed significant periods of time this season, if we'd only had half the injuries we've suffered thus far you'd have to suspect that would have equated to a few more points on our tally. You only have to look at Leicester to see what a season with relatively few injuries, and a settled side, can do for you. Swap our injury situation with Leicester's and I suspect we'd be top of the league, and they'd be in a relegation battle.
Tactical failings - There's no escaping that fact that, tactically, on far too many occasions, we've been found wanting. Whether it's being overrun by the likes of Leicester, Spurs or Liverpool, or our inability to break down sides like Norwich or Villa, we have struggled this season with the tactics employed. We're too predictable when we have the ball, we'll pass it around a lot, we'll dominate possession more often than not, but we'll create very few opportunities, we'll play too slowly and we'll fail to take shots when required. When we don't have the ball we're way to easy to play against. I've lost count the number of times sides have simply driven with pace through the heart of our side at will, and scored goals. It really hasn't been good enough. We also seem to struggle to change things up mid game, if plan A isn't working then we seem to stick with plan A and blindly hope it miraculously starts to work anyway.
Player form - No matter how many injuries we've had, or how tactically inept we've been on occasion, there's no escaping the fact that we've got a talented bunch of players at City, a bunch of players who are more than capable of playing t a far higher standard than they've managed this season. Not one player has been on the top of their game this season, we've seen glimpses of the best from the likes of Aguero and De Bruyne, but it's been far too fleeting. Some, like Silva, have been very poor. He may well be carrying an injury still, but form wise he's not been anything like the player we know he can be. The players need to carry the can to some degree for this, as they are responsible for their own motivation and performances to a fair degree.
Player recruitment - City have an aging squad in some positions, and this hasn't been adequately addressed. No fullback under the age of 30, a position that requires drive, pace and energy, is a clear error, and has seriously affected our effectiveness on the attacking side of things. We've still got the core of our title winning sides, however Kolarov, Clichy, Kompany, Silva, Zabaleta and Toure are all 30 or older (well, Kompany will be 30 in less than a month) and it's fair to say all are probably past their peak in terms of physical fitness, and performance levels. The additions we’ve made over the past couple of seasons, in many instances, haven’t been of the highest calibre and haven’t pushed us forwards. De Bruyne and, potentially, Sterling, could be the exception. Fernandinho is a good but not spectacular player. But Fernando, Mangala, Bony, Sagna, Delph, all still with the club, haven’t yet proven to be good enough, and then there’s the likes of former players such as Jovetic, Rodwell, Garcia, Sinclair, Negredo, Nastasic, Savic, Maicon etc who to varying degrees failed to deliver. The hope is that, with Guardiola arriving in the summer, and the FFP restrictions having less impact on us from a player recruitment perspective, we’ll progress on this front and add sme players who really make a difference to the strongest 11 we can field, as opposed to squad players and place holders.
Managerial deficiencies – Ignoring the tactical failings, which I’ve mentioned above already, there’s a real sense that Pellegrini, as a manager in general, simply isn’t getting enough out of his players. His attitude, his laid back approach, and his general good nature were a breath of fresh air following on from the Mancini era which, despite great success, had become toxic behind the scenes. This new approach, in no small way, probably helped us to overcome Liverpool in his first season and too us to the title. However, as time has progressed, I as a fan have started to grow tired of the manager. He doesn’t excite me, he doesn’t spark enthusiasm. You have to wonder whether this lack of charisma, energy and visible passion is having a negative effect on the playing staff. Mancini always had the players fired up, eventually this soured and his methods drove a wedge between him and them. Pellegrini, you suspect, is universally liked by the squad, I’m sure he’s a thoroughly nice guy and the players probably enjoy the atmosphere around the squad far more than they did under Mancini, but what they are lacking is the fire, the desire, the passion. You can’t imagine Pellegrini delivering a rousing half time team talk, motivating the players with a passionate plea, jumping on under performers and when required telling a few home truths. The squad are too comfortable, and the manager is the one who should be able to change that.
