Why we struggle to break down compact defences [VIDEO]

[TueartsOHK]

I'm just stunned at how many people think they know better than Mancini.

Tell you what, let's play with wingers against United on April 30 and see where that gets us. As mediocre as they are, they'd pick us apart just like they did in January. Or perhaps we can just stick to what has got us here in the first place and bully them in midfield like we always do.

What wingers? Johnson is the nearest we have to a winger and he simply hasn't performed so far this season. The grim truth is that we can't really address this problem until the summer. If Kompany is back at the weekend (anyone know?) we can at least play with wing backs in Kolorov and Micah back in his RB position. My view is we have to try this option and Silva is pretty much ineffective at the moment and we need another creative outlet.

As for United picking us apart they scored against the run of play when we had dominated the start of the game. We all know what happened next...

 

[bluenova]

Micah would have shot.

I saw the stats for our full backs recently and Clichy had by far the most possession, passes, crosses etc, but very few goals had come from it.

Richards had a lot more assists, and causes so many more problems because he takes the ball into more dangerous positions before releasing it.

I suspect Neville is right about Clichy being given more space, as he's likely to use it to cross into a crowded box. It would be interesting to see him banned from crossing for a week or two. If he has got as much space as the examples shown indicate, then he has plenty of time to power towards the goal line/18 yard box area and cut back.

 

[MiguelMCFC]

Wingers, width, whatever - I'm talking about fixing the problem that Neville has supposedly highlighted.

Do people not realise that when you implement width, you weaken yourself in another area? Neville is effectively trying to persuade us to nip out of the back door to the shops because it's quicker, no doubt hoping that someone will burgle us through the front window.

Would you really compromise a slight weakness in failing to exploit two small corners of the pitch when you have almost total control over 10 out of 12 segments virtually every time you go out on to the field?

Do we just scrap all the good work Mancini has done in making us such a formidable proposition over the past two years on the whim that an ex-United player did a good job of illustrating in fine analytical detail what we can all see with our own eyes anyway? OK, so City aren't the finished article yet, what's the problem?

Yes, I agree we could benefit from signing a top-notch game-changing winger-cum-striker to give us a little more flexibility in those forward areas. But our problems mainly stem from the fact that David Silva is suddenly feeling the effects of a long season and Edin Dzeko is either not worth the money we paid for him or simply playing with little confidence.

Either way, play that game against Stoke again 100 times over, with the same players, and City win at least 70 per cent of the time. Crouch only scores that goal in one of them for a start.

Sadly, when it goes the other way, we have to put up with all this nonsense from people who think they know better than a man who has played and managed at the very highest level, even to the extent that they are willing to trust a dyed-in-the-wool ex-United player because he feeds your own egos as wannabe managers.

Deary me.

 

[Jumanji]

We don't play with width because Johnson is not good enough. He is watching Gaitan, Hazard and others to address this.

I think Mancini truly had faith in Johnson. Unfortunately, AJ is not a top, top footballer and this is why he is so inconsistent.

At the professional level many players can hit a top corner curler. Yes, many. What separates the good players from the best players is nothing more than consistency. The best players can consistently reproduce that shot. Johnson is not consistent first and foremost because he's not that great.

 

[TCIB]

Wingers, width, whatever - I'm talking about fixing the problem that Neville has supposedly highlighted.

Do people not realise that when you implement width, you weaken yourself in another area? Neville is effectively trying to persuade us to nip out of the back door to the shops because it's quicker, no doubt hoping that someone will burgle us through the front window.

Would you really compromise a slight weakness in failing to exploit two small corners of the pitch when you have almost total control over 10 out of 12 segments virtually every time you go out on to the field?

Do we just scrap all the good work Mancini has done in making us such a formidable proposition over the past two years on the whim that an ex-United player did a good job of illustrating in fine analytical detail what we can all see with our own eyes anyway? OK, so City aren't the finished article yet, what's the problem?

Yes, I agree we could benefit from signing a top-notch game-changing winger-cum-striker to give us a little more flexibility in those forward areas. But our problems mainly stem from the fact that David Silva is suddenly feeling the effects of a long season and Edin Dzeko is either not worth the money we paid for him or simply playing with little confidence.

Either way, play that game against Stoke again 100 times over, with the same players, and City win at least 70 per cent of the time. Crouch only scores that goal in one of them for a start.

Sadly, when it goes the other way, we have to put up with all this nonsense from people who think they know better than a man who has played and managed at the very highest level, even to the extent that they are willing to trust a dyed-in-the-wool ex-United player because he feeds your own egos as wannabe managers.

Deary me.

It is not a slight weakness though, how did you come to that reasoning ?.

If you consider having no players that can effect a change the style of play if plan A is ineffective as a slight weakness then i think you are a wum or do not know much about footy.

You can get away with this lower down the league/s but when your wanting to be fighting for titles and the likes you can't be so one dimensional.
It is suicide.

You can move people around don't you know it is called tactics. Just because you may add wingers does not equal weakening midfield.

Whats all this "scrap it" talk, very infantile, adding more dimensions to your play equals scraping other tactics ? i would love to hear your reasoning on that.

Mancini has said we need wingers also, not just fans.
Yes Dave is not firing on all cylinders and this just strengthens the issue of having other options.
Or do you in your infinite wisdom think we should have the team revolve around one man ?
What about when he gets injured ?


Nice effort to over simplify the issue like a 6yo though.

 

[redmizzle]

Here's my article on this…

<a class="postlink" href="http://bestofthebets.com/premier-league/features/city-need-time-not-width" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://bestofthebets.com/premier-league ... -not-width</a>

No doubt this is fascinating analysis from Neville, but I think it's a short-term vs long-term debate. It's up to the players to solve their own problems within the system and the team will grow stronger as a result. It's the same system home and away, so why the big difference? It all comes down to belief.

No matter who comes to the club, players should always have to adapt to Mancini, not the other way around. Short-term compromises lead to long-term instability.

Hope me posting the above link doesn't cause offence.

What an excellent article.

 

[bluenova]

Would you really compromise a slight weakness in failing to exploit two small corners of the pitch when you have almost total control over 10 out of 12 segments virtually every time you go out on to the field?

If our wingers are being given so much space (and I suspect it's more likely Clichy/Kolarov that are being given space), then we need to be aware of that and exploit it. Do that properly and they will become match winners, or the opposition will be forced to go back to covering them.

However, I doubt it's so simple. Mancini, Platt and Kidd appear to think about tactics, and it's clear they regularly give players specific instructions during the game.

Nearly every team has a much better home record compared to away. There's obviously a mix of issues (crowd support, confidence, expectation, attitude of both sides), but it's a fact and is clearly psychological.

I expect the biggest change in our results is that teams have seen what we did to Spurs and Utd, and so are more reluctant to play an open game, but once we've had a few dodgy results, they believe there is a way to contain us, and so put in the extra effort.

A few decisions going our way at Chelsea and Sunderland might stopped this happening, but teams probably now think that if they're compact we can be stopped, and that gives them just that little bit of confidence needed to do it.


EDIT: just read your article and it looks like we've come to very similar conclusions.

 

[Anonymous]

It all comes down to belief?

Really, you can't make this shit up. Gary Neville, as much as he is hated, has played football at the very highest level, won it all, seen it all, etc. So to dismiss his analysis of a certain situation, whilst the best alternative you come up with is the facile "it's down to belief" or "the players must solve their own problems on the pitch" is absolutely hilarious.

And then you have the nerve to trot out the tried and tested myopes excuse "I'll stick with the manager who gets paid to make these decisions blah blah blah". Feel free to do so, but don't talk down to those who disagree with you unless you want that thrown right back in your face as I've just done.

BTW what do Bayern, Dortmund, United, Barcelona, Real Madrid and Valencia have in common ?

And why do they differ from AC Milan and Napoli?

In there lies the answer to our current malaise away from home...

 

[TCIB]

Good post Billy.

@MiguelMCFC,

You also say City are not the finished article, of course we are not. What do you think adding more dimensions to areas of the game we are deficient in is doing ?

Addressing issues that Bobby himself has hinted at when he mentions we may need out and out wingers to come in i assume is regression in your eyes is it.

I personally think you talk rubbish with the sensationalizing and over simplifying opposite views to your own in an attempt to make those views seem silly or outragious when they simply are not.

I think i will take my own judgement as opposed to some bloke who has signed up seemingly to promote his own blog pieces if it's all the same to you.

 

[Stillsy]

Adam Johnson doesnt cross the ball. He dribbles and cuts in time and time again.

We need a rapid winger for either side that can just pump the ball past a full back and swing one accross the center.

E.G Valencia.