Why have we so many good players not playing well?

[Didsbury Dave]

Amidst the discussion about which players are up to it and which players are not, I think there's something which is getting a little overlooked.

All season, as a club, we have had too many good players not playing well. I think we have a more talented squad than many City fans think. A good player does not become a bad player overnight unless they recieve a serious injury which affects their performance.

I think all of these players would feel that they have performed below what they would have hoped, taking the season so far into account:

SWP - been below par all season for us, much better for England
Barry - more bad games than good, not for England though
Adebayor - let's be honest, when he's been here, he's been patchy
Ireland - has grossly underperformed
Richards - has been better than last season but surely can do better
Toure - he can't be as bad as he's looked with the Arsenal experience he's had

Lots of the others have had a good number of bad games too . Last night Kompany was below par, De Jong was, Toure was, Bellamy struggled, Barry's delivery was poor, RSC did nothing, Richards made errors.

There can be lots of factors for this but I do feel it has been a consistent problem all year. Why do we think it is? Uncertainty? New players? Changes behind the scenes? Lack of motivation? All of these? None of these?

If we can get this right quick we've cracked it, I think.

 

[Marvin]

Because the team is not settled, and some of them eg Toure have played with injuries

Barry for example plays in a slightly different role for England

He isn't the most mobile of midfielders, but his passing is outstanding. His ideal role is therefore picking the ball off the back 4, and bringing people into the game. At City De Jong plays there.

It's the balance of the team. That's no ones fault - Mancini has Hughes's squad and we know he wasn' happy with the midfield he inherited

Don't go OTT as we have beaten Chelsea and Fulham away recently.

last night we were a bit unlucky. There goal came out of the blue and was no reflection on the balance of play up until that point. That's football. Sometimes sh't happens

 

[Revolver]

It is a new team with a new manager that has been beset with injuries. Money doesn't buy instant success but allied with time does help. What we are crying out for a modern day Berkovic and / or Bell.

 

[Prestwich_Blue]

You can't put so many new players in a team and expect them to gel and confidence breeds confidence.

Plus neither manager we've had quite has the gift of making the whole greater than the sum of the parts, like Moyes, Hodgson or Ferguson does.

 

[Anonymous]

Amidst the discussion about which players are up to it and which players are not, I think there's something which is getting a little overlooked.

All season, as a club, we have had too many good players not playing well. I think we have a more talented squad than many City fans think. A good player does not become a bad player overnight unless they recieve a serious injury which affects their performance.

I think all of these players would feel that they have performed below what they would have hoped, taking the season so far into account:

SWP - been below par all season for us, much better for England
Barry - more bad games than good, not for England though
Adebayor - let's be honest, when he's been here, he's been patchy
Ireland - has grossly underperformed
Richards - has been better than last season but surely can do better
Toure - he can't be as bad as he's looked with the Arsenal experience he's had

Lots of the others have had a good number of bad games too . Last night Kompany was below par, De Jong was, Toure was, Bellamy struggled, Barry's delivery was poor, RSC did nothing, Richards made errors.

There can be lots of factors for this but I do feel it has been a consistent problem all year. Why do we think it is? Uncertainty? New players? Changes behind the scenes? Lack of motivation? All of these? None of these?

If we can get this right quick we've cracked it, I think.

I don't think there's a "one size fits all" answer for why so many have underperformed. Personally, I've always thought when large numbers of players are underperforming you've got to look at the management, however I suppose if I say that I'll get vilified for attempting to undermine Roberto...

 

[Rammy Blue]

Interesting post Dave.

My feelings tbh are slightly in contrast to yours in that I think we have bought a number of "limited" players added to the few home-growns that have turned out to be not as good as we thought with blue-tinted glasses on.

SWP - not good enough, lousy ball control, can't cross.
Richards - never a right back, not good enough close control and lousy at stopping crosses coming in.
Barry - too slow.
NDJ - great tackler, sick of hearing the "Makelele" comparison, doesn't offer anything else.
Ade - looked on a par with Drogba in first few games, not been same since, do think we can get more out of him though.
Ireland - don't know what's happened, can definitely get more out of him.
Toure - garbage at centre half, beggars belief that he hasn't played right back yet.
RSC - never fit enough.

Has to be said though that once again I believe this all comes back to the inbalance within the engine room - if we had a top quality creative mid plus a box to box mid then the majority of our players would appear better than they do at the moment, if you can't threaten opposition by breaking through the middle the wingers will never have space.

 

[Failsworth_Blue]

I think the problem we've currently got and i've said it on a few occasions is we've not got enough players who are top passers in the final 3rd. Barry is a good passer of the ball but mostly when playing deep, sometimes during the season you will come up against a team who will sit back and invite you onto them which means you find it extremely difficult to make runs in behind them and exploit their lack of pace. When you come up against these kind of teams what you need are players who can pick out passes with numerous defenders infront of them and i don't we've got enough of these type of players. Bellamy is an good player but at his best when defenders push up and he can get in behind them, he's not great when he's faced with having to pick a pass to break defences down and the same goes for SWP, infact out of our midfield theres probably only Ireland really capable of this and he's been out of sorts

Away from home and against teams who'll push up and attack we're an excellent team because we can get in behind them but Everton are well organised and wouldn't let this happen and it showed

 

[danny21manc]

Amidst the discussion about which players are up to it and which players are not, I think there's something which is getting a little overlooked.

All season, as a club, we have had too many good players not playing well. I think we have a more talented squad than many City fans think. A good player does not become a bad player overnight unless they recieve a serious injury which affects their performance.

I think all of these players would feel that they have performed below what they would have hoped, taking the season so far into account:

SWP - been below par all season for us, much better for England
Barry - more bad games than good, not for England though
Adebayor - let's be honest, when he's been here, he's been patchy
Ireland - has grossly underperformed
Richards - has been better than last season but surely can do better
Toure - he can't be as bad as he's looked with the Arsenal experience he's had

Lots of the others have had a good number of bad games too . Last night Kompany was below par, De Jong was, Toure was, Bellamy struggled, Barry's delivery was poor, RSC did nothing, Richards made errors.

There can be lots of factors for this but I do feel it has been a consistent problem all year. Why do we think it is? Uncertainty? New players? Changes behind the scenes? Lack of motivation? All of these? None of these?

If we can get this right quick we've cracked it, I think.

I don't think there's a "one size fits all" answer for why so many have underperformed. Personally, I've always thought when large numbers of players are underperforming you've got to look at the management, however I suppose if I say that I'll get vilified for attempting to undermine Roberto...

Theres only one man out there that fits the bill for this football club and will demand instant respect of anyone, especially the under performers we have now,you know it, i know it. The day this happens is the day we become global and everyone will take us very serious.

 

[Chippy_boy]

People keep talking like we are playing like we did under Stuart Pearce.

WE AREN'T. We have been starting to look better and better and better these last few games.

I thought we played pretty well against Stoke. Not the result obviously, but the way we played, was good. Decent passing and movement, solid organised defening (in the main part), committed and challenging in midfield. It was GOOD.

Against Chelsea, more of the same, only better. We looked really threatening going forward and were very easy on the eye. Really nice stuff.

Sunderland not so great but still decent and would have won 5-1 if Gordon wasn't on fire or we had our shooting boots on.

Fulham - completely dominated them apart from when we took our foot off the pedal for a brief spell in the 2nd half. Overall we made them look very very ordinary indeed.

So why the melodrama about how badly we are playing? It's not that bad! We were unlucky against Everton and maybe had an off day - it happens.

 

[Didsbury Dave]

Interesting post Dave.

My feelings tbh are slightly in contrast to yours in that I think we have bought a number of "limited" players added to the few home-growns that have turned out to be not as good as we thought with blue-tinted glasses on.

SWP - not good enough, lousy ball control, can't cross.
Richards - never a right back, not good enough close control and lousy at stopping crosses coming in.
Barry - too slow.
NDJ - great tackler, sick of hearing the "Makelele" comparison, doesn't offer anything else.
Ade - looked on a par with Drogba in first few games, not been same since, do think we can get more out of him though.
Ireland - don't know what's happened, can definitely get more out of him.
Toure - garbage at centre half, beggars belief that he hasn't played right back yet.
RSC - never fit enough.

Has to be said though that once again I believe this all comes back to the inbalance within the engine room - if we had a top quality creative mid plus a box to box mid then the majority of our players would appear better than they do at the moment, if you can't threaten opposition by breaking through the middle the wingers will never have space.

I've posted this because i can sense there is a little wave of sentiment growing amongst our fans that our players are not good enough.

You don't become a bad player overnight. Gareth Barry has been outstanding in England's midfield repeatedly against the best players in the world. Adebayor doesn't suit our style of play. SWP is the same player with the same pace that we had 4 years ago. He still does it for England. you all know what i think of Ireland.

Every game, even the wins, there have been players who have underperformed.

I think it's related to uncertainty as others have said. If we had a style of play , a recognised system and a core strong 11 then this problem would be gone.

I think that a small number of additions/changes and some direction and we can win things

 

[Marvin]

I think the problem we've currently got and i've said it on a few occasions is we've not got enough players who are top passers in the final 3rd. Barry is a good passer of the ball but mostly when playing deep, sometimes during the season you will come up against a team who will sit back and invite you onto them which means you find it extremely difficult to make runs in behind them and exploit their lack of pace. When you come up against these kind of teams what you need are players who can pick out passes with numerous defenders infront of them and i don't we've got enough of these type of players. Bellamy is an good player but at his best when defenders push up and he can get in behind them, he's not great when he's faced with having to pick a pass to break defences down and the same goes for SWP, infact out of our midfield theres probably only Ireland really capable of this and he's been out of sorts

Away from home and against teams who'll push up and attack we're an excellent team because we can get in behind them but Everton are well organised and wouldn't let this happen and it showed

There were spells in the Everton game, particularly the 1st half hour when we played very well. The injury to Ireland took our most creative and attacking midfielder off, and we gambled with extra forwards from then on in, but we never really looked like getting at Howard after they scored

Better to take the season to date, rather than 1 game as the measure of the team. parts of our game are very good. We have been hampered by so many injuries and suspensions - but we need a more dynamic and creative midfield. Ireland and Johnson potentially.

 

[tommytheblue]

Amidst the discussion about which players are up to it and which players are not, I think there's something which is getting a little overlooked.

All season, as a club, we have had too many good players not playing well. I think we have a more talented squad than many City fans think. A good player does not become a bad player overnight unless they recieve a serious injury which affects their performance.

I think all of these players would feel that they have performed below what they would have hoped, taking the season so far into account:

SWP - been below par all season for us, much better for England
Barry - more bad games than good, not for England though
Adebayor - let's be honest, when he's been here, he's been patchy
Ireland - has grossly underperformed
Richards - has been better than last season but surely can do better
Toure - he can't be as bad as he's looked with the Arsenal experience he's had

Lots of the others have had a good number of bad games too . Last night Kompany was below par, De Jong was, Toure was, Bellamy struggled, Barry's delivery was poor, RSC did nothing, Richards made errors.

There can be lots of factors for this but I do feel it has been a consistent problem all year. Why do we think it is? Uncertainty? New players? Changes behind the scenes? Lack of motivation? All of these? None of these?

If we can get this right quick we've cracked it, I think.

I don't think there's a "one size fits all" answer for why so many have underperformed. Personally, I've always thought when large numbers of players are underperforming you've got to look at the management, however I suppose if I say that I'll get vilified for attempting to undermine Roberto...

well players have been inconsistent- to poor under both managers...is there some other issue.

 

[True_Blue69]

Were we honestly that bad yesterday? I think we played well especially in the first half and was impressed with the tempo. Sunderland away, first half was poor but 2nd half we battered them - 3 or 4 goals wouldn't have flattered us. I think we have been steadily improving over the past few games and am confident we will get 4th, surely that shows our players haven't been playing that bad? Youre always going to get some players out of form, it happens at every club and to every player at some point in their career. Everyone feels down after a defeat, its our first at home all season and we had lost less than anyone else until yesterday, if we had held onto a few wins during that 10 game period we would be laughing now.

 

[Didsbury Dave]

Were we honestly that bad yesterday? I think we played well especially in the first half and was impressed with the tempo. Sunderland away, first half was poor but 2nd half we battered them - 3 or 4 goals wouldn't have flattered us. I think we have been steadily improving over the past few games and am confident we will get 4th, surely that shows our players haven't been playing that bad? Youre always going to get some players out of form, it happens at every club and to every player at some point in their career. Everyone feels down after a defeat, its our first at home all season and we had lost less than anyone else until yesterday, if we had held onto a few wins during that 10 game period we would be laughing now.

I never said we were that bad last night. It was one of those nights in lots of ways, despite some poor play in places. If we'd have gone a goal up I think we'd have won.

I'm making this point as a problem across the whole season. I'm making the point that we are a better bunch of players than our results.

I do agree with you Rammy, a new shape/player in the engine room could make all the difference.

 

[moomba]

The home derby was one of the highest standard games I've seen for a long time, but I thought it showed up the players in the team that day that were technically sub par.

Didn't say anything at the time as they weren't necessarily our worse players, and they didn't even play badly on the day.

But it's the same ones that seem to be struggling with a crisp, classy, passing game I think Mancini is trying to develop and the form of three of the four that came to mind on the day is poor.

Being good on the ball isn't the be all and end all, I think Zabaleta is very comfortable on the ball but isn't a great defender. But I think going forward we can look forward to having a team full of players team that are comfortable with the ball at their feet and are able to trap the ball, control the ball and pass it off a lot better than some of ours do at the moment.

 

[Dave Ewing's Back 'eader]

I think the problem we've currently got and i've said it on a few occasions is we've not got enough players who are top passers in the final 3rd. Barry is a good passer of the ball but mostly when playing deep, sometimes during the season you will come up against a team who will sit back and invite you onto them which means you find it extremely difficult to make runs in behind them and exploit their lack of pace. When you come up against these kind of teams what you need are players who can pick out passes with numerous defenders infront of them and i don't we've got enough of these type of players. Bellamy is an good player but at his best when defenders push up and he can get in behind them, he's not great when he's faced with having to pick a pass to break defences down and the same goes for SWP, infact out of our midfield theres probably only Ireland really capable of this and he's been out of sorts

Away from home and against teams who'll push up and attack we're an excellent team because we can get in behind them but Everton are well organised and wouldn't let this happen and it showed

I think that is the essence of our woes!

 

[TheMightyQuinn]

A few players who could pass and we'd be laughing.

Our midfield is woeful, sure it can hustle and hassle but when in possession of the ball it all goes tits up. So we revert to Hughes favourite tactic of 'twat it 20ft in front of Bellamy and hope he can run fast enough to get there'.

 

[law74]

I don't think there's a "one size fits all" answer for why so many have underperformed. Personally, I've always thought when large numbers of players are underperforming you've got to look at the management, however I suppose if I say that I'll get vilified for attempting to undermine Roberto...

Theres only one man out there that fits the bill for this football club and will demand instant respect of anyone, especially the under performers we have now,you know it, i know it. The day this happens is the day we become global and everyone will take us very serious.

Yes, but i think Kevin has decided to retire for good now though.

 

[grantyboy23]

Adebayor not had a good run of games next season he will be a big player

 

[efc1878 blue]

because a band of Mercenaries are not there for the footy only the cash