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Douglas Higginbottom wrote:Navas does so much hard work tries his heart out but is close to useless when it comes to the key job he has which I assume would be to create and maybe even score goals. I would say if Roberts had as much of the ball today as Navas and as much of the space he found we won have won the game with ease.

Having seen the talent Roberts has ( and that's not just last week for the EDS v Juve) he is on a different planet to Navas and would either have scored or set up gilt edged chances today. Not 100% sure Kun or Bony would have taken them as both looked poor today but get Roberts on the pitch Mr Pellegrini he is ready.

Pretty much any winger who can cut inside and use his left foot is an upgrade on Navas.

Silva's form masked Aguero and Bony's lack of form and sharpness in the first 4 matches. What I don't understand is why Navas was taking corners again. De Bruyne put in an absolutely beautiful corner early on, then why was Navas doing it again in the second half?

West Ham manager said they deserved it?! Really? They had two breaks in the first half and scored from them and the second we were wasteful.

I do feel for Navas. He works his little pecker off but he's literally got no end product. He's best used to stretch teams. But when we need balls put in to the box he's not our man - unless you want terrible balls. Very surprised he stayed on today. He could have come off instead of Kolarov and we could have just pushed Kolarov up and told him to get some decent balls in the box.

Foreverinbluedreams wrote:

KinkyKinkladze wrote:Just how in the name of fuck did we lose that? 2 sloppy goals to give away, but we still should have scored. Can't be mad at them for that second half.

I have to say though, are people ready to accept bony being a huge waste of money? I like him, I think he's good, just not good enough for us.

Bony has played just 614 minutes for the club to date. If that's enough for you or anyone else to judge then have at it.

How many minutes exactly must we pass before being able to make an observation on somebody?

I like him, I really want him to work. But he's had almost zero impact on the game everytime I've seen him. For £28mm and half a season or so into playing for us, he should be showing g something by now.

A few quick comments:
I though we played well today and deserved to win.
Otamendi was class
De Bruyne was immense.
Navas got some stick but MP was right to take Sterling off before him.
Today showed that all this talk of Chelsea, the Rags etc being out of the title race is utter bollox.
WHU took the piss out of the ref.
I love our "new" stadium #bouncing.

KinkyKinkladze wrote:

Foreverinbluedreams wrote:

KinkyKinkladze wrote:Just how in the name of fuck did we lose that? 2 sloppy goals to give away, but we still should have scored. Can't be mad at them for that second half.

I have to say though, are people ready to accept bony being a huge waste of money? I like him, I think he's good, just not good enough for us.

Bony has played just 614 minutes for the club to date. If that's enough for you or anyone else to judge then have at it.

How many minutes exactly must we pass before being able to make an observation on somebody?

I like him, I really want him to work. But he's had almost zero impact on the game everytime I've seen him. For £28mm and half a season or so into playing for us, he should be showing g something by now.

Passing an observation is fine but writing him off is a bit premature in my opinion. I do get the frustration, he's not shown any real form in a City shirt but some of the things I'm reading are harsh to say the least.

Mase wrote:Just got back. Why was Mangala taken off? Was he at fault for the second?

Mangala was taken off with a muscle injury. I don't know if he was to blame as it wasn't clear from the South Stand but I thought it was a throw in, not a corner. Silva had a kick on the calf leading up to this game and the muscle didn't feel right when he was warming up.

Great second half in terms of effort and willingness. We battered West Ham for the whole half and barely allowed them a kick. Still can't believe we didn't score with all the pressure we put them under.

Otamendi had a very good game as did KDB. Both slotted in well. The midfield duo of Fern and Yaya were excellent. The two widemen were really disappointing for me. Navas in particular had a poor match. His decision making wasn't good and the end product was found wanting a number of times. Kun may as well had not been playing, I hope that he isn't fit because if he is then we have a problem.

Well done to West Ham. Ultimately they did what Juventus did and took their chances whereas we didn't and defended for their lives.

Still top though and we are in a better position than everyone else so can't be too downbeat.

Clowncrete wrote:

Douglas Higginbottom wrote:Navas does so much hard work tries his heart out but is close to useless when it comes to the key job he has which I assume would be to create and maybe even score goals. I would say if Roberts had as much of the ball today as Navas and as much of the space he found we won have won the game with ease.

Having seen the talent Roberts has ( and that's not just last week for the EDS v Juve) he is on a different planet to Navas and would either have scored or set up gilt edged chances today. Not 100% sure Kun or Bony would have taken them as both looked poor today but get Roberts on the pitch Mr Pellegrini he is ready.

Pretty much any winger who can cut inside and use his left foot is an upgrade on Navas.

Silva's form masked Aguero and Bony's lack of form and sharpness in the first 4 matches. What I don't understand is why Navas was taking corners again. De Bruyne put in an absolutely beautiful corner early on, then why was Navas doing it again in the second half?

Roberts does a hell of a lot more than just cut in onto his left foot. Everything that Navas cannot do in the final third is what Roberts can and will do.

Navas is in Hale Centre waiting for some kind sole to get him over the level crossing.

Mase wrote:I do feel for Navas. He works his little pecker off but he's literally got no end product. He's best used to stretch teams. But when we need balls put in to the box he's not our man - unless you want terrible balls. Very surprised he stayed on today. He could have come off instead of Kolarov and we could have just pushed Kolarov up and told him to get some decent balls in the box.

Navas would have been perfect to come on against Juventus when we were 1-0 up. He helps out in defence and would have provided an excellent outlet for us on the break. However, his profligacy, after getting himself into really good situations, seems to be his main attribute and doesn't justify him starting games. He needs to start sitting on the bench.

Douglas Higginbottom wrote:

Clowncrete wrote:

Douglas Higginbottom wrote:Navas does so much hard work tries his heart out but is close to useless when it comes to the key job he has which I assume would be to create and maybe even score goals. I would say if Roberts had as much of the ball today as Navas and as much of the space he found we won have won the game with ease.

Having seen the talent Roberts has ( and that's not just last week for the EDS v Juve) he is on a different planet to Navas and would either have scored or set up gilt edged chances today. Not 100% sure Kun or Bony would have taken them as both looked poor today but get Roberts on the pitch Mr Pellegrini he is ready.

Pretty much any winger who can cut inside and use his left foot is an upgrade on Navas.

Silva's form masked Aguero and Bony's lack of form and sharpness in the first 4 matches. What I don't understand is why Navas was taking corners again. De Bruyne put in an absolutely beautiful corner early on, then why was Navas doing it again in the second half?

Roberts does a hell of a lot more than just cut in onto his left foot. Everything that Navas cannot do in the final third is what Roberts can and will do.

Does he also work for the team, Doug?

Douglas Higginbottom wrote:

Clowncrete wrote:

Douglas Higginbottom wrote:Navas does so much hard work tries his heart out but is close to useless when it comes to the key job he has which I assume would be to create and maybe even score goals. I would say if Roberts had as much of the ball today as Navas and as much of the space he found we won have won the game with ease.

Having seen the talent Roberts has ( and that's not just last week for the EDS v Juve) he is on a different planet to Navas and would either have scored or set up gilt edged chances today. Not 100% sure Kun or Bony would have taken them as both looked poor today but get Roberts on the pitch Mr Pellegrini he is ready.

Pretty much any winger who can cut inside and use his left foot is an upgrade on Navas.

Silva's form masked Aguero and Bony's lack of form and sharpness in the first 4 matches. What I don't understand is why Navas was taking corners again. De Bruyne put in an absolutely beautiful corner early on, then why was Navas doing it again in the second half?

Roberts does a hell of a lot more than just cut in onto his left foot. Everything that Navas cannot do in the final third is what Roberts can and will do.

So Tuesday away at Sunderland sounds like a good opportunity to give Roberts a start. That is unless MP starts with his strongest 11 to ensure a win after 2 losses on the trot ??

Dubaimancityfan wrote:

Douglas Higginbottom wrote:

Clowncrete wrote:

Douglas Higginbottom wrote:Navas does so much hard work tries his heart out but is close to useless when it comes to the key job he has which I assume would be to create and maybe even score goals. I would say if Roberts had as much of the ball today as Navas and as much of the space he found we won have won the game with ease.

Having seen the talent Roberts has ( and that's not just last week for the EDS v Juve) he is on a different planet to Navas and would either have scored or set up gilt edged chances today. Not 100% sure Kun or Bony would have taken them as both looked poor today but get Roberts on the pitch Mr Pellegrini he is ready.

Pretty much any winger who can cut inside and use his left foot is an upgrade on Navas.

Silva's form masked Aguero and Bony's lack of form and sharpness in the first 4 matches. What I don't understand is why Navas was taking corners again. De Bruyne put in an absolutely beautiful corner early on, then why was Navas doing it again in the second half?

Roberts does a hell of a lot more than just cut in onto his left foot. Everything that Navas cannot do in the final third is what Roberts can and will do.

So Tuesday away at Sunderland sounds like a good opportunity to give Roberts a start. That is unless MP starts with his strongest 11 to ensure a win after 2 losses on the trot ??

That's a good question. We currently have 7 players out injured and have 3 games in 8 days with Sun', Spuds and Munch'. Do we stick or twist. It would be good to have the next match thread up earlier so we could discuss it. It's also good to move onto that after a defeat.

Navas crossing really is appalling, out of 18 attempts yesterday, only 2 were to team mates, not a one off either, he does this pretty much, week in, week out. Absolutely no idea why he still takes all our corners.

I thought Joe Hart should have got down to their first goal, 30+ yards and sighted. The second was Keystone Cops.



I will say it again, what does Bony bring to our side ?, he is dog shit. Soon as he was brought on, I knew that the game was over for us, it killed our momentum. Sterling was not having a great game, but at least he gives us speed. Pellegrini substitutions were shocking, It is like he panics in the dugout. KDB was having a stormer in a more central role.

Our problem appears to be a fundamental attitude problem, We have had this problem a few years. We won the league twice, then inexplicably regressed the following season. It is like we think we have achieved our objective and decide to take our foot off the gas.2 defeats on the bounce following 5 wins without conceeding, and both in my opinion were avoidable. Admittedly Juventus was more down to very poor finishing, rather than a poor collective team performance. Yesterday was similar to many off the games the seasons after our title wins. Starting with lazy half arsed performances. Arrogance that we will win regardless. Losing 2-0 then waking up, and chasing the game for 60+ minutes. West Ham were not good. That defeat was yet another self inflicted. It is annoying.

With a clear head this morning I'd say we were unlucky not to score at least five in that second half and we'll be okay. The players must be fuming with themselves after missing so many chances so hopefully they pick themselves up and we go again against Spurs. I'm not worrying just yet. I'll see how we do next weekend.

Peter Doherty (AGAIG) wrote:

Douglas Higginbottom wrote:

Clowncrete wrote:

Douglas Higginbottom wrote:Navas does so much hard work tries his heart out but is close to useless when it comes to the key job he has which I assume would be to create and maybe even score goals. I would say if Roberts had as much of the ball today as Navas and as much of the space he found we won have won the game with ease.

Having seen the talent Roberts has ( and that's not just last week for the EDS v Juve) he is on a different planet to Navas and would either have scored or set up gilt edged chances today. Not 100% sure Kun or Bony would have taken them as both looked poor today but get Roberts on the pitch Mr Pellegrini he is ready.

Pretty much any winger who can cut inside and use his left foot is an upgrade on Navas.

Silva's form masked Aguero and Bony's lack of form and sharpness in the first 4 matches. What I don't understand is why Navas was taking corners again. De Bruyne put in an absolutely beautiful corner early on, then why was Navas doing it again in the second half?

Roberts does a hell of a lot more than just cut in onto his left foot. Everything that Navas cannot do in the final third is what Roberts can and will do.

Does he also work for the team, Doug?

Have to play him to find out. Losing against WHU was a perfect opportunity to throw him on to see if he could make an impact and not worry about going the other way.

Mase wrote:West Ham manager said they deserved it?! Really? They had two breaks in the first half and scored from them and the second we were wasteful.

obviously we should've bagged a couple in the 2nd half with that onslaught but maybe Bilic is saying they "deserved it" because, after such a Herculean defensive effort in the 2nd, they didn't deserve to lose?

phips wrote:

Mase wrote:West Ham manager said they deserved it?! Really? They had two breaks in the first half and scored from them and the second we were wasteful.

obviously we should've bagged a couple in the 2nd half with that onslaught but maybe Bilic is saying they "deserved it" because, after such a Herculean defensive effort in the 2nd, they didn't deserve to lose?

I thought it was more our finishing that had the bigger effect on how the match stayed at 1-2 not their defensive effort.

You could argue anyone who wins deserves it since luck (good and bad) is part of the game. I thought we played well enough on balance to justify a win for us though, or a draw at least.