You could see Mourinho's eyes light up

[nmc]

I thought our rather chaotic per season caught up with us - not anyone's fault but too many players had a disrupted per season due to Euro's, injury or signing late. I thought we tired badly in the last 10 minutes - a number players including Garcia looked whacked. You can't really blame the coaching staff since those who managed a full ore season - like Tevez look in great condition.

 

[Shaelumstash]

I'm loving how noone is addressing zab's signals. Not a single reason given why he would signal. Was it to let them know which room they were ataying in after? The silence is as big as the huge gap which opened up on our right side straight after the sub.

The answer my friends, is blowing in The wind. The answer is blowing in the wind.

Oh, and it's on the well respected Zonal Marking tactics website too...

There's none so blind as those who hero worship, though, eh shaleeum?

we were playing a 3 at the back from the second half,zabba did signal that he was playing the wing back and the system was staying the same,last time we used the 3 was against liverpool zabba was part of the three.

there isnt alot of confusion what we were playing it was obvious to see clichey was on the left of the 3 nasti in the middle vinny on the right,with maicon and kolarov as wing backs


with 4 at the back they steam rollered us,when we went to a 3/5 at the back we started getting a grip,

ive not read all this thread are people questioning why we changed to a 3 at the back or suggesting this is what caused the defeat ?

third goal was easily stoppable,ronaldo beat zabba ,not a problem with that,he should of showed him down the wing,but ronaldo will go where he wants hes that good,now garcia should of been covering zabba,thats his job in that area.

,2nd goal was a very good goal,ball played into benzema who controled spun and shot,maybe nasti coud of done better maybe not class goal.

the 3 at the back imo worked,it allowed us to get a grip,and push forward,and if you look back at the 2nd half we could/should of scored 4,the 2 goals plus yayas burst through,and zabbas miss as soon as he came on.

Everything you have said here is absolutely spot on. There's only Dismal, I think in the entire world, who thinks we played the same shape from kick off until Zaba came on. Of course he's wrong and the evidence against him is irrefutable. His opinion is based on Zaba'a hand signals and nothing else! lol

 

[Didsbury Dave]

I'm loving how noone is addressing zab's signals. Not a single reason given why he would signal. Was it to let them know which room they were ataying in after? The silence is as big as the huge gap which opened up on our right side straight after the sub.

The answer my friends, is blowing in The wind. The answer is blowing in the wind.

Oh, and it's on the well respected Zonal Marking tactics website too...

There's none so blind as those who hero worship, though, eh shaleeum?

Why do you think Zaba's hand signals are more important than observing the shape we actually played in the second half?

If you can watch the second half again and say in all honesty you think we were still playing 4231 then I'm afraid you simply don't understand football or team shape.

You've still not answered whether you think Dzeko was playing right midfield. Maybe Zaba did some hand signals that could help you with this? Or possibly the brightness of Mourinho's eyes will give you a clue? Failing that, just watch the game back and observe where he played.

I watched the game. I've rewatched it. I'm clear about what I saw. We can run around in circles as much as you want but we are going to have to agree to disagree. But I hold up zabaleta's fingers as my trump card, along with the elephant in the room, the blatant space which opened for ronaldo.

Of course dzeko didn't go In The midfield. He went up front and Tevez dropped deeper. Simple stuff and not relevant to the great yawning gap on our right flank you seen determined to ignore in your usual rush to prove black is white in defence of our manager and to provoke a row with me.

And don't come the 'you don't know anything about football' defence please. I played as centre half in 352s and 442s for years and was a professional coach.

 

[Sir peace frog]

I'm loving how noone is addressing zab's signals. Not a single reason given why he would signal. Was it to let them know which room they were ataying in after? The silence is as big as the huge gap which opened up on our right side straight after the sub.

The answer my friends, is blowing in The wind. The answer is blowing in the wind.

Oh, and it's on the well respected Zonal Marking tactics website too...

There's none so blind as those who hero worship, though, eh shaleeum?

Why do you think Zaba's hand signals are more important than observing the shape we actually played in the second half?

If you can watch the second half again and say in all honesty you think we were still playing 4231 then I'm afraid you simply don't understand football or team shape.

You've still not answered whether you think Dzeko was playing right midfield. Maybe Zaba did some hand signals that could help you with this? Or possibly the brightness of Mourinho's eyes will give you a clue? Failing that, just watch the game back and observe where he played.

I watched the game. I've rewatched it. I'm clear about what I saw. We can run around in circles as much as you want but we are going to have to agree to disagree. But I hold up zabaleta's fingers as my trump card, along with the elephant in the room, the blatant space which opened for ronaldo.

Of course dzeko didn't go In The midfield. He went up front and Tevez dropped deeper. Simple stuff and not relevant to the great yawning gap on our right flank you seen determined to ignore in your usual rush to prove black is white in defence of our manager and to provoke a row with me.

And don't come the 'you don't know anything about football' defence please. I played as centre half in 352s and 442s for years and was a professional coach.

center halves are the thickest of the lot,i shoud know ive played behind many of them :)

 

[edgecroft]

I don't know who was doing the commentary for the game on the broadcast we got over here in Canada, but when the second half kicked off, the commentator said, "Manchester City have now switched to 3 at the back, Kompany, Nastasic and Clichy with Maicon and Kolarov as wing backs.

So either he was speaking from the future or they had switched at half time.

 

[Shaelumstash]

I'm loving how noone is addressing zab's signals. Not a single reason given why he would signal. Was it to let them know which room they were ataying in after? The silence is as big as the huge gap which opened up on our right side straight after the sub.

The answer my friends, is blowing in The wind. The answer is blowing in the wind.

Oh, and it's on the well respected Zonal Marking tactics website too...

There's none so blind as those who hero worship, though, eh shaleeum?

Why do you think Zaba's hand signals are more important than observing the shape we actually played in the second half?

If you can watch the second half again and say in all honesty you think we were still playing 4231 then I'm afraid you simply don't understand football or team shape.

You've still not answered whether you think Dzeko was playing right midfield. Maybe Zaba did some hand signals that could help you with this? Or possibly the brightness of Mourinho's eyes will give you a clue? Failing that, just watch the game back and observe where he played.

I watched the game. I've rewatched it. I'm clear about what I saw. We can run around in circles as much as you want but we are going to have to agree to disagree. But I hold up zabaleta's fingers as my trump card, along with the elephant in the room, the blatant space which opened for ronaldo.

Of course dzeko didn't go In The midfield. He went up front and Tevez dropped deeper. Simple stuff and not relevant to the great yawning gap on our right flank you seen determined to ignore in your usual rush to prove black is white in defence of our manager and to provoke a row with me.

And don't come the 'you don't know anything about football' defence please. I played as centre half in 352s and 442s for years and was a professional coach.

So Tevez played right midfield? I'm not putting words in your mouth, you said we played 4231 in the first half and didn't change until Zaba came on. So when Dzeko came on for Silva, who played where? If we were still playing 4231 then someone must have been playing in midfield out of Dzeko and Tevez?

Let's say you think it was Tevez on the right and Kolarov on the left, can you seriously say with a straight face from the 64th minute onwards they played the same role but on the opposite side? Your point of view is just completely wrong on this, and it's not complicated or a matter of opinion, Tevez and Kolarov played completely and entirely different roles.

I'm not just blindly defending Mancini, I think he made mistakes on Tuesday, and has made many mistakes before. I'm not arguing whether the changes he made were right or not, I'm just telling you Tevez did not play the same role as Kolarov in the second half, it's not in defence of Mancini, it's in defence of common sense.

 

[Sir peace frog]

I don't know who was doing the commentary for the game on the broadcast we got over here in Canada, but when the second half kicked off, the commentator said, "Manchester City have now switched to 3 at the back, Kompany, Nastasic and Clichy with Maicon and Kolarov as wing backs.

So either he was speaking from the future or they had switched at half time.

when townsend said it on our tellly ,i thought that changed ages ago,our commentators are a bit thick,i saw oscar get trod on against juve,the commentator was going on about,"there must of been an off the ball incident."

 

[Didsbury Dave]

Why do you think Zaba's hand signals are more important than observing the shape we actually played in the second half?

If you can watch the second half again and say in all honesty you think we were still playing 4231 then I'm afraid you simply don't understand football or team shape.

You've still not answered whether you think Dzeko was playing right midfield. Maybe Zaba did some hand signals that could help you with this? Or possibly the brightness of Mourinho's eyes will give you a clue? Failing that, just watch the game back and observe where he played.

I watched the game. I've rewatched it. I'm clear about what I saw. We can run around in circles as much as you want but we are going to have to agree to disagree. But I hold up zabaleta's fingers as my trump card, along with the elephant in the room, the blatant space which opened for ronaldo.

Of course dzeko didn't go In The midfield. He went up front and Tevez dropped deeper. Simple stuff and not relevant to the great yawning gap on our right flank you seen determined to ignore in your usual rush to prove black is white in defence of our manager and to provoke a row with me.

And don't come the 'you don't know anything about football' defence please. I played as centre half in 352s and 442s for years and was a professional coach.

So Tevez played right midfield? I'm not putting words in your mouth, you said we played 4231 in the first half and didn't change until Zaba came on. So when Dzeko came on for Silva, who played where? If we were still playing 4231 then someone must have been playing in midfield out of Dzeko and Tevez?

Let's say you think it was Tevez on the right and Kolarov on the left, can you seriously say with a straight face from the 64th minute onwards they played the same role but on the opposite side? Your point of view is just completely wrong on this, and it's not complicated or a matter of opinion, Tevez and Kolarov played completely and entirely different roles.

I'm not just blindly defending Mancini, I think he made mistakes on Tuesday, and has made many mistakes before. I'm not arguing whether the changes he made were right or not, I'm just telling you Tevez did not play the same role as Kolarov in the second half, it's not in defence of Mancini, it's in defence of common sense.

you're all over the place mate, chucking desperate straw men in willy nilly, yet you steadfastly refuse to address the pertinent point, which was their left flank. Maicon didn't play wing back, he played full back. When zab came on he signalled, then played wing back. And that cost us the game. Space opened up which wasn't there before.

You can throw in lines about 'common sense' and 'fact' as though that makes you right but it doesn't apart from in your own head.

The system changed when zab came in. That's my opinion, not fact, but one I back up with two facts: zab's hand signals and that great yawning elephant In the room gap. Oh , and I'm backed up with the tactics website Zonal Marking, which someone quoted on the first page of the thread. It's his opinion, not fact, but it's an opinion well respected in the football world.

 

[Shaelumstash]

I watched the game. I've rewatched it. I'm clear about what I saw. We can run around in circles as much as you want but we are going to have to agree to disagree. But I hold up zabaleta's fingers as my trump card, along with the elephant in the room, the blatant space which opened for ronaldo.

Of course dzeko didn't go In The midfield. He went up front and Tevez dropped deeper. Simple stuff and not relevant to the great yawning gap on our right flank you seen determined to ignore in your usual rush to prove black is white in defence of our manager and to provoke a row with me.

And don't come the 'you don't know anything about football' defence please. I played as centre half in 352s and 442s for years and was a professional coach.

So Tevez played right midfield? I'm not putting words in your mouth, you said we played 4231 in the first half and didn't change until Zaba came on. So when Dzeko came on for Silva, who played where? If we were still playing 4231 then someone must have been playing in midfield out of Dzeko and Tevez?

Let's say you think it was Tevez on the right and Kolarov on the left, can you seriously say with a straight face from the 64th minute onwards they played the same role but on the opposite side? Your point of view is just completely wrong on this, and it's not complicated or a matter of opinion, Tevez and Kolarov played completely and entirely different roles.

I'm not just blindly defending Mancini, I think he made mistakes on Tuesday, and has made many mistakes before. I'm not arguing whether the changes he made were right or not, I'm just telling you Tevez did not play the same role as Kolarov in the second half, it's not in defence of Mancini, it's in defence of common sense.

you're all over the place mate, chucking desperate straw men in willy nilly, yet you steadfastly refuse to address the pertinent point, which was their left flank. Maicon didn't play wing back, he played full back. When zab came on he signalled, then played wing back. And that cost us the game. Space opened up which wasn't there before.

You can throw in lines about 'common sense' and 'fact' as though that makes you right but it doesn't apart from in your own head.

The system changed when zab came in. That's my opinion, not fact, but one I back up with two facts: zab's hand signals and that great yawning elephant In the room gap. Oh , and I'm backed up with the tactics website Zonal Marking, which someone quoted on the first page of the thread. It's his opinion, not fact, but it's an opinion well respected in the football world.

EDIT:

Your "Trump card" all along here has been the "Well respected" Zonal marking website. I've just read the article on this game, and here is a quote lifted directly from his analysis:

"Second half

For the second half, Mancini seemed to opt for something of a hybrid system – a cross between the first half shape, and more of a 3-5-1-1. Maicon and Kolarov were the men providing width on either flank, Gael Clichy more of a left-sided centre-back than a left-back, and Silva pushed into the centre to become a playmaker."

It's all coming crumbling down before your very eyes.

There's no Straw Man here, I'm quoting you. You said we played 4231 in the first half and we didn't change shape until Zaba came on. That's not me making anything up, that's me quoting what you have said on here.

You have also said Dzeko didn't play in midfield, he played up front. So if he was the "1" who was the "3" behind him? I assume you think Barry and Javi Garcia continued as the deep lying "2" so that only leaves Tevez, Yaya and Kolarov as the "3". If that is not your opinion, please tell me differently, I do not want to put words in your mouth, but common sense would say this is your outlook.

The point remains, if you do believe there was no change in system, taking the paragraph above in to account would assume Kolrov and Tevez had the same role but on opposite sides after Dzeko came on. If that's not your opinion then please explain how those players fitted in to the 4231 system.

I think you know you're pissing in the wind here, as I fully expect you to not answer my question and start quoting sources who back you up or whatever. Read your sources in depth, read the manual, and then tell me who was playing where in the 4231 after Dzeko came on. The problem is you can't, because we weren't playing that shape.

 

[Sir peace frog]

checkmate.told you centre halves are thick. :)