tentan
Poor man's poster.
- Joined
- Oct 5, 2013
- Messages
- 5,016
Think Peps magic has worn off. They'll struggle to make top four.
Their forward line is not that great. Sterling overall is their best consistency wise, but he is Sterling. Will miss some crazy opportunity that will win them games. Aguero used to be their go to guy for big moment but he's not always fit. The rest is all hot and cold. Losing points where they could have done better with their creativity.Think Peps magic has worn off. They'll struggle to make top four.
I thought it was strange yesterday. Obviously, Foden is good but he and KDB in midfield have been quality together in the past. I was also thinking something was amiss.So what's going on with Bernardo then? Ever since he done a racism all doesn't seem well with him and Pep. For me he's their biggest match winner after Aguero, Sterling and De Bruyne and yet he doesn't play much. And even when he does things don't look right. De Bruyne went to shit as soon as Bernardo came on yesterday, is there a problem between the two of them maybe?
My god, the balls on those two dinosaurs. It's no suprise that english managers are frowned upon. They have no actual fecking clue!Imagine actually saying this out loud on actual television![]()
Well, Bernardo was poor even before that tweet. Think his only good game after 18/19 was in Community Shield against Pool. And he didn't start yesterday because he only trained for a couple of days after injury buuuuut... I think Bernardo simply overperformed in 18/19 and that's it. He's a good player but not in that 9/10 or 10/10 category. Plus he never played in midfield alongside KDB, it was when De Bruyne was injured and Bernardo was used there alongside David Silva.
Imagine actually saying this out loud on actual television
City have started to take inspiration from Woodward in their recruitment. Been an absolute shambles the last 3 to 4 years.
They have got by as they already had terrific players but now they've started to either leave or age and now they are falling way behind. They won't finish within 12 to 15pts of Liverpool.
Long post incoming but man we have a lot of problems, some uncontrollable by Pep, some purely down to Pep and some just from the club.
FullBack Problem -
There was a least 3 occasions yesterday where Leeds were in our box and Walker was somewhere between the halfway line and our box but nowhere near the ball. Mendy is never in position. Now its easy to say Mendy is shit because he is, and its easy to say Walker is losing it (he does tend to switch off). But the reality is Mendy, Walker, Cancelo can't all be useless despite how poor they look, they might not be world class but hardly Sunday League either a, Pep is demanding too much of them or b, They do no defensive work either way its on Pep.
Another example being the number of times both Mendy and Walker miss-control the ball. They are purely incapable of playing the Pep way to a high standard and as Pep pushed more and more to his dream of 11 Busquets on the pitch at one time, they are struggling more and more. Its turning in to the exact same problem we had with Navas and Clichy playing there etc..
The Pep, Rodri, Gundogan Love Triangle -
This for me is still the biggest issue in the team selection. Since his injuries Gundogan is not the same player, people can say I'm full of shit but he is afraid to get stuck in. Its a big problem. He's got a great football brain and good on the ball. He was phenomenal at #6 for us for awhile because of his intelligence but he had KDB and a Silva doing his leg work. As an 8, he's slow and afraid to commit so murders our high press. Again this is a Pep thing, put him at 6 shielding the defence and 2 good pressers in front of him and he'll be very good again.
Rodri, Pep insists on playing as a 6 but he has neither the brain Gundogan had in the position or the athleticism Fern has. He's constantly caught 20 yards from our box while the oppo are at the penalty spot. Doesn't have the defensive awareness to not stroll forward and doesn't have the athleticism to get back. He'd be a decent 2nd no. 8 with KDB beside and Fern behind, again athleticism to cover for his lack of it. With him at #6, we are too easy to play through.
The Decline of the High Press -
I read every other team in the top5 last season had a higher rate of high pressing than the season before whilst we massively regressed. Why? The Gundo, Rodri factor is a huge element as is a certain Mr. Mahrez. With our current line up, we can't high press, KDB, Sterling and Kun/Jesus will go while Marhez will jog half heartedly and Gundo will be about 5 minutes late and if a player happens to be there, step out of his way. Its not longer a cohesive team press with Fern sitting behind covering up. Its a half hearted press with 50% effort. Easy to play through and leaving us short defensively. It needs to be all our nothing.
The Imaginary Centre Back Problem -
Is not a problem at all and time will prove most those guys are good defenders. Otamendi will excel at Benfica. There is no way Laporte, Dias or Ake will excel in this City line up. They are players who have had their confidence destroyed by time and again either been asked to do what they aren't capable of and controlling a football at 100mph, abandon their CB instincts so leading to lots of individual mistakes. In defence they are often left 2 vs 3, 2 vs 2 against rapid players and then when something goes wrong they take the flack. I've said it before prime Baresi and Nesta would make mistakes in our current system. They need protection they don't get from either midfield or fullbacks.
Sticking the ball in the net -
At first glance people might not think this a problem, we scored the most goals the last bazillion seasons but it is. We had 40 shots combined vs Leicester and Leeds. Sure luck plays a little part, KDB hitting the post etc.. but a lack of ruthlessness is what allows our defence to be exposed so easily. Truth be told had we taken our chances the above defensive issues wouldn't even matter.
We'd have beaten Leeds 3 or 4-0 after 20 minutes.thats a given.
After 31 minutes vs Leicester they had 0 shots on target, we were a goal up and Fernandinho missed a simple header, Sterling missed from 6 yards at a tightish angle. Another game we should have been out of sight in early days.
Had we taken our chances early we'd have won both at a canter but... we didnt and that led to.
Mental Weakness and a Lack of Leaders -
So whats common in our 3 league games this season. We dominated the opening (if we take our chances we get out of sight and win) but as soon as adversity strikes our entire squad bar KDB turtle up and play like a bunch of scared kids. Panic everywhere, lack of confidence and we get completely outclassed. Stupid mistake by Kyle Walker for 1-1 vs Leicester and we fold. Leeds put a little pressure on Mendy and the entire teams shits their pants and we fold. Truth be told 2nd half vs Wolves This is far and away our biggest issue because its the only one the manager can't fix.
This is the big concern and its purely down to recruitment. Players smiling and laughing on dropping points, high fiving opposition etc.. Only KDB, Fern and Bernardo in the current first team squad are players with winners attitudes, who you feel like hurt when we lose. Compare that to Liverpool. Technically we are miles ahead of them, mentally we are midgets and they are giants.
I tend to agree with most of that very interesting thanks. To add to what you're saying though, has Pep also become a mental midget? Wandering around smiling at the final whistle yesterday? Bottled the CL semis if we're honest last year. Can he turn it around?
Pep has always been a really insecure guy from what I gather. I think he lives in his own head rent free at times. Its a tough one to call. I think he's always kinda been as he is now. The difference is now he has to fix a calamity. I don't know how involved he is in recruitment (many tend to lay the blame for that at Txiki's door) but Pep looks completely stumped, its like he can't see whats playing out in front of his eyes right now because he's so focused on what we do with the ball. This is a fecking huge season for him. I would say at least 3 of the problems I listed are of his making.
If I'm being honest the mentality thing is something that we've kinda always had since the takeover, we just had some real leaders like Kompany, Yaya etc.. to drive us past it at times. We need our Roy Keane or John Terry or Patrick Vieira, someone to dig in and pull us through when shit gets tough. KDB is amazing but he's too shy to be a leader of men.
Long post incoming but man we have a lot of problems, some uncontrollable by Pep, some purely down to Pep and some just from the club.
FullBack Problem -
There was a least 3 occasions yesterday where Leeds were in our box and Walker was somewhere between the halfway line and our box but nowhere near the ball. Mendy is never in position. Now its easy to say Mendy is shit because he is, and its easy to say Walker is losing it (he does tend to switch off). But the reality is Mendy, Walker, Cancelo can't all be useless despite how poor they look, they might not be world class but hardly Sunday League either a, Pep is demanding too much of them or b, They do no defensive work either way its on Pep.
Another example being the number of times both Mendy and Walker miss-control the ball. They are purely incapable of playing the Pep way to a high standard and as Pep pushed more and more to his dream of 11 Busquets on the pitch at one time, they are struggling more and more. Its turning in to the exact same problem we had with Navas and Clichy playing there etc..
The Pep, Rodri, Gundogan Love Triangle -
This for me is still the biggest issue in the team selection. Since his injuries Gundogan is not the same player, people can say I'm full of shit but he is afraid to get stuck in. Its a big problem. He's got a great football brain and good on the ball. He was phenomenal at #6 for us for awhile because of his intelligence but he had KDB and a Silva doing his leg work. As an 8, he's slow and afraid to commit so murders our high press. Again this is a Pep thing, put him at 6 shielding the defence and 2 good pressers in front of him and he'll be very good again.
Rodri, Pep insists on playing as a 6 but he has neither the brain Gundogan had in the position or the athleticism Fern has. He's constantly caught 20 yards from our box while the oppo are at the penalty spot. Doesn't have the defensive awareness to not stroll forward and doesn't have the athleticism to get back. He'd be a decent 2nd no. 8 with KDB beside and Fern behind, again athleticism to cover for his lack of it. With him at #6, we are too easy to play through.
The Decline of the High Press -
I read every other team in the top5 last season had a higher rate of high pressing than the season before whilst we massively regressed. Why? The Gundo, Rodri factor is a huge element as is a certain Mr. Mahrez. With our current line up, we can't high press, KDB, Sterling and Kun/Jesus will go while Marhez will jog half heartedly and Gundo will be about 5 minutes late and if a player happens to be there, step out of his way. Its not longer a cohesive team press with Fern sitting behind covering up. Its a half hearted press with 50% effort. Easy to play through and leaving us short defensively. It needs to be all our nothing.
The Imaginary Centre Back Problem -
Is not a problem at all and time will prove most those guys are good defenders. Otamendi will excel at Benfica. There is no way Laporte, Dias or Ake will excel in this City line up. They are players who have had their confidence destroyed by time and again either been asked to do what they aren't capable of and controlling a football at 100mph, abandon their CB instincts so leading to lots of individual mistakes. In defence they are often left 2 vs 3, 2 vs 2 against rapid players and then when something goes wrong they take the flack. I've said it before prime Baresi and Nesta would make mistakes in our current system. They need protection they don't get from either midfield or fullbacks.
Sticking the ball in the net -
At first glance people might not think this a problem, we scored the most goals the last bazillion seasons but it is. We had 40 shots combined vs Leicester and Leeds. Sure luck plays a little part, KDB hitting the post etc.. but a lack of ruthlessness is what allows our defence to be exposed so easily. Truth be told had we taken our chances the above defensive issues wouldn't even matter.
We'd have beaten Leeds 3 or 4-0 after 20 minutes.thats a given.
After 31 minutes vs Leicester they had 0 shots on target, we were a goal up and Fernandinho missed a simple header, Sterling missed from 6 yards at a tightish angle. Another game we should have been out of sight in early days.
Had we taken our chances early we'd have won both at a canter but... we didnt and that led to.
Mental Weakness and a Lack of Leaders -
So whats common in our 3 league games this season. We dominated the opening (if we take our chances we get out of sight and win) but as soon as adversity strikes our entire squad bar KDB turtle up and play like a bunch of scared kids. Panic everywhere, lack of confidence and we get completely outclassed. Stupid mistake by Kyle Walker for 1-1 vs Leicester and we fold. Leeds put a little pressure on Mendy and the entire teams shits their pants and we fold. Truth be told 2nd half vs Wolves This is far and away our biggest issue because its the only one the manager can't fix.
This is the big concern and its purely down to recruitment. Players smiling and laughing on dropping points, high fiving opposition etc.. Only KDB, Fern and Bernardo in the current first team squad are players with winners attitudes, who you feel like hurt when we lose. Compare that to Liverpool. Technically we are miles ahead of them, mentally we are midgets and they are giants.
Im no Pep but my solution...
For me the solution is simple, if Bernardo is fit he should play in midfield. Fern too. Fern, Bernardo and KDB should be our midfield. This protects the back 4 and makes the high press easier. I don't see how Pep is blind to this. Foden should start over Mahrez again for defensive reasons. Ake at LB over Mendy sacrificing a little firepower for a big defensive improvement.
A team of the following would allow us to press like motherfeckers and put a fear into teams again. It would also see us with always at least 3-4 men sitting back and not nearly as exposed to counters.
------------------------------------ederson--------------------------------------
cancelo-----------------dias----------laporte-----------------------ake
-------------------------------------Fern------------------------------------------
-----------------------------KDB----------Silva--------------------------------
Foden----------------------------------------------------------------Sterling
-----------------------------------Jesus------------------------------------------
Obviously Aguero benches Jesus when fit but that should be our XI for the majority of the season imho. Cancelo was very good after the covid break, Pep saying he had knuckled down and shown a much better attitude plus he played really well at LB when given the chance.
Then in the summer a replacement for Fernandinho whose actually an out and out hard working defensive midfielder with pace, agility and workrate should be key, not a ball playing DM. Thomas Partey or someone.
So, I appreciate you're not a scout but who would you buy to fix it? Dias and Laporte should be good organisers I reckon. A proper DM in front of them to replace Fernandinho? Partey? What about at CF or on the wings?
Good post but even technically you aren’t miles ahead of Liverpool, or ahead at all actually.
The core of the city side is pretty weak, a physically dominant Cb DM and a technically gifted striker who can press and is aggressive is needed.
They been buying followers apparently so its been shut down.Any idea what happened to their twitter account?
https://twitter.com/mancity
Suspended for buying bot followers apparently.
They'll stroll to 2nd again, you just can't take the other teams seriously.Think Peps magic has worn off. They'll struggle to make top four.
A lot of star players have ego and that's something Pep clearly can't handle.They're clearly no longer the force they used to be. As others have alluded to, far too many problems to win the league this year. Defense has become a complete mess. The defensive midfielders are struggling especially Rodri who has been a poor signing. And even the attack is no longer special. From peak or thereabouts Aguero, Sterling and Sane destroying teams to this version that's actually fairly reliant on a AM like KDB to do their job. Sterling aside, that's not a top class front three either. So yeah, a lot of work to do for City to regain their level and I'm not sure Pep looks like hell be the one to do it. As great a manager as he is and can be, his transfer business hasn't been good over the last couple of years and I'm surprised by this summer's lack of genuine intent from them given how rich they are regardless of the pandemic.
Its why im all for this thread of a super league and top 6 coup. Theres a pandemic and only second leg ties were cancelled, its absolutely abhorrent. Couldnt even cancel the Euros or international games that flies players throughout the fecking world.De Bruyne said he only had 8-9 days off this summer and expects a lot of injuries to players this season.
I fecking hope he doesn't play. He embarrasses us every time
Not sure you can compare a cup semi to a standard league game. Especially as you'll be at home.You had him well tied up in the FA Cup semi in fairness.
Not sure you can compare a cup semi to a standard league game. Especially as you'll be at home.