Will we win the league this season?

The biggest difference I’ve noticed this season is that in the past we played our way and stuck to it no matter what which was fine because we were very good at what we did and it was good enough to win at least 90% or more of matches.

However last season it was evident that style of play was beginning to be figured out.

Fast forward and the current team appears to be more flexible and actually takes the opponents weaknesses into consideration more so we can adapt and play in a way which they don’t like where as in the past you knew exactly what you would get from a City team.

We’re definitely now more adaptable and unpredictable which I think is exciting.
 
alexmcity said:
Note that Spurs are better away from home than at home. Their away record is the best in the league.
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Really think spurs can get something at the emirates. They are definitely overdue to take points off arsenal and Thomas Frank will want a big result to really try and win the supporters over.

I don’t think Arsenal will win away at Stamford Bridge either. Chelsea will be right up for that. If we win at Newcastle it will be huge
 
waspish said:
Need to improve our away form to completely make me believe because it’s not convincing up to now and Newcastle away is a good game to see if we go back to the Villa performance! Long way to go still with this team..
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100% agree. Wolves aside, we he been poor away scoring only 3, struggling to create chances, a huge drop off in possession and laboured 2nd half’s.
Surely, the confidence what we have seen from the last 3 home games can be translated into Away games and hopefully we done come back from the break with key injuries
 
Stelea said:
100% agree. Wolves aside, we he been poor away scoring only 3, struggling to create chances, a huge drop off in possession and laboured 2nd half’s.
Surely, the confidence what we have seen from the last 3 home games can be translated into Away games and hopefully we done come back from the break with key injuries
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We have been fine with Dias, Gvardiol and O'Reilly in the starting XI: a draw at Arsenal and a win at Brentford. The performance at Arsenal wasn't great but they had 2 more days to prepare for the game.

At Brighton we were without any of them plus Donna, and at Villa Pep experimented with Stones at CB and Gvardiol at LB due to lacking a fit DM. The problem wasn't Stones, but the absence of Rodri/Gonzales, and also O'Reilly and Doku.

I think we have had very good moments away from home: the first halves at Brighton and Brentford, we played relatively well in the 2nd half at Villa. The absence of a proper preseason, having multiple new players and injuries have contributed to some problems in our performances away from home. But if we avoid further injuries and start at Newcastle the XI from the last two league games, chances are we'll perform better. Guess Cherki may be on the bench in this game, but the other players should start.
 
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IIRC, we haven't lost a game with Nunes, Dias, Gvardiol and O'Reilly at the back: in all competitions, not just the PL.
 
Danny Tiatto said:
The biggest difference I’ve noticed this season is that in the past we played our way and stuck to it no matter what which was fine because we were very good at what we did and it was good enough to win at least 90% or more of matches.

However last season it was evident that style of play was beginning to be figured out.

Fast forward and the current team appears to be more flexible and actually takes the opponents weaknesses into consideration more so we can adapt and play in a way which they don’t like where as in the past you knew exactly what you would get from a City team.

We’re definitely now more adaptable and unpredictable which I think is exciting.
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I agree with your observation but that's a manifestation of some weakness not strength.

In my opinion, Pep would rather City keep possession than lose it, but he's also pragmatic. As we get stronger, expect City's % possession to creep back up.
 
Marvin. said:
I agree with your observation but that's a manifestation of some weakness not strength.

In my opinion, Pep would rather City keep possession than lose it, but he's also pragmatic. As we get stronger, expect City's % possession to creep back up.
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When Rodri comes back we are likely to be like City of old in terms of possession-based football.

I'm a Gonzalez fan, think his future is great, but he is no Rodri (yet). Gonzalez completes under 60 passes per game. In 23/24 Rodri completed on average over 100 passes per game.

I'd like to see both Rodri and Gonzalez in midfield. It would make it easier for Foden, Cherki, Doku and Haaland to concentrate on creating and scoring goals.
 
mattcity5 said:
Can we win the league? Yes.
Are we playing more exciting stuff? Yes.
Have we played any teams who shut up shop and counter recently? Not really.

The way we're playing is great, but there are games where we won't play this way, opposition tactics will be different and so will ours. I don't know YET if we're just doing well against certain types of teams, or whether we're just fantastic now. I'd like to think it's the latter, but at the moment I still see a slip up for us as likely as a slip up for Arsenal.

However, I've always said if we're within 6 points of Arsenal by around mid-Feb, then they should be very worried.
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The most half full, half empty post I have ever read on here

Splinters in your arse mate

Take care
 
alexmcity said:
When Rodri comes back we are likely to be like City of old in terms of possession-based football.

I'm a Gonzalez fan, think his future is great, but he is no Rodri (yet). Gonzalez completes under 60 passes per game. In 23/24 Rodri completed on average over 100 passes per game.

I'd like to see both Rodri and Gonzalez in midfield. It would make it easier for Foden, Cherki, Doku and Haaland to concentrate on creating and scoring goals.
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Isn't that just a reflection of the lower % of possession that City have had which seems to be a tactical thing.
 
jamesha said:
Isn't that just a reflection of the lower % of possession that City have had which seems to be a tactical thing.
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Surrendering possession and control is not something Pep is happy with and he said it several times. He said he wasn't happy with the 2nd half vs Liverpool or Dortmund or Brentford away...

It's something that we will try to change if/when Rodri is back. Right now we partly compensate his absence and lack of more possession/control with a lot of running. We are top of the table in terms of distance covered. It's better to control the ball and let the opposition run after it.
 
Is it significant that Arsenal have failed to beat: Man Utd, Liverpool, Manchester City and Sunderland? That they are struggling to beat the better sides is a sign of weakness.
 
Danny Tiatto said:
The biggest difference I’ve noticed this season is that in the past we played our way and stuck to it no matter what which was fine because we were very good at what we did and it was good enough to win at least 90% or more of matches.

However last season it was evident that style of play was beginning to be figured out.

Fast forward and the current team appears to be more flexible and actually takes the opponents weaknesses into consideration more so we can adapt and play in a way which they don’t like where as in the past you knew exactly what you would get from a City team.

We’re definitely now more adaptable and unpredictable which I think is exciting.
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I'm not so sure it was being figured out. I just don't think we were as good at executing it. It relied heavily on Rodri and the players coming in couldn't play that metronome role as well. Also people think that you need legs in midfield from a defensive point of view but its almost as important from an attacking point of view. As the opposition close angles down the lads in front need to create new angles and find the space. If they're slow to do that then the lad in possession's job is twice as difficult as he has to take more touches to help create the space.

What I'm trying to say is that I don't think Pep's possesion style of football is gone for good. I agree we've found different ways to play to compensate for the change in the squad but as we build back up over time I'd expect us to get back to that way of playing
 
Marvin. said:
Is it significant that Arsenal have failed to beat: Man Utd, Liverpool, Manchester City and Sunderland? That they are struggling to beat the better sides is a sign of weakness.
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They won at United, but were a bit lucky.

Arsenal have dropped 7 pts so far. In 22/23 they dropped 7 pts in the first 19 games. If they drew/lost one of the next 8 games, their start to the season would be worse than in 22/23. And they finished on 84 pts in 22/23.

This doesn't mean they are worse now than in 22/23. Just that it is too early to tell how good they actually are. IMO, they are a bit too defensive and rely too much on set pieces to compensate for it.
 
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alexmcity said:
They won at United, but were a bit lucky.

Arsenal have dropped 7 pts so far. In 22/23 they dropped 7 pts in the first 19 games. If they drew/lost one of the next 8 games, their start to the season would be worse than in 22/23. And they finished on 84 pts in 22/23.

This doesn't mean they are worse now than in 22/23. Just that it is too early to tell how good they actually are. IMO, they are a bit too defensive and rely too much on set pieces to compensate for it.
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You're right of course. A stupid mistake. Their defensive play is impressive but they aren't putting in great performances or scoring loads of goals. So far they have been playing without much pressure. If City can stay close, I wonder what effect it will have on them.
 
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