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We seem to be able to score goals at will in some matches yet really struggle in others. It seems we are either brilliant or poor in attack. It is getting really infuriating as today is a prime case in point. Could have had four goals by half time and put the game to bed. Same story v Everton. We have dropped more points at home already than in either of our title winning seasons. This needs to be rectified and soon

Is it the players? The system? Only playing with one forward? Do sides really up their game against us(Spurs, Everton, Celtic, Southampton) and put in performances that aren't seen again for ages? Whatever it is I hope Pep gets to the bottom of it and soon

All part of the transformation.

It is going to take time ,new players & style , it is Pep's biggest challenge and the whole country wants us to fail.

Next Season for me is the true measure , not sure why everybody thinks anything else.

Transition, just like the Rags?

Not sure we could have been 4 up by half time. Big Dave missed a great chance but there was nothing else clear cut. Boro were truly awful today but we do look vulnerable when attacked, even though they barely raised s canter. The squad is not well balanced for me. You can't go from Tevez, Agueo, Balo and Dzeko to Aguero and Nacho and expect to be more clinical in front of goal. Defensively we can be shambolic at times, but I'm not sure the midfield are giving enough protection. It will take Pep some time to sort this. I do think there is s Chumps league hangover.

South Stand Balti wrote:Not sure we could have been 4 up by half time. Big Dave missed a great chance but there was nothing else clear cut. Boro were truly awful today but we do look vulnerable when attacked, even though they barely raised s canter. The squad is not well balanced for me. You can't go from Tevez, Agueo, Balo and Dzeko to Aguero and Nacho and expect to be more clinical in front of goal. Defensively we can be shambolic at times, but I'm not sure the midfield are giving enough protection. It will take Pep some time to sort this. I do think there is s Chumps league hangover.

We will have more options up front when we get Jesus for Christmas.

Results like today go hand in hand with CL games.
Ars, Spurs, Lei and us will struggle because of it.
If in the EL like the rags it is worse.

Liverpool and Chelsea have a huge advantage in the PL this year.

We created very little today. We've tossed another two points away against an exceptionally poor Boro side.
I see us ending this season empty handed tbh. We don't look like a title winning side by any stretch of the imagination.

Did Chelsea look ok great 3 weeks ago as they got smashed at Arse, the season is a get to know us, Pep has said it enough times. enjoying every minute the of this week as a blue almost perfect almost. I am OK with where we are and where we are going. If they had won today amazing week. This side will evolve again 12 months ,new players 4 more will be in. We are building a dynasty it will take time, but be worth it.

What annoys me is you have bellends that support these shitty teams that constantly say "the premier league is the best league in the world. It's the most exciting!" FUCK OFF!!! Come to City every home game and watch the opposition put 10 men behind the ball. There's fuck all exciting about that!!

Reminds me of Thierry Henry's interview about Pep. He said it was Pep's job to get the players to the final thrid, after that it was up to them.

We seem to be able to create the chances or the 1v1 scenario that should lead to a chance but we are not clinical enough or dont have the quality.

Sergio is the only player (and yaya) who when bearing down on goal i am more surprised when he misses. Everyone else, i nearly expect them to miss and its a suprise if they score.

Nolito and Navas do not have the goal threat we need for them to operate in the front 3. Sterling needs to be more consistent and Sane needs a run of games. Silva needs to play deeper and continue putting in the hard work.

We need to continue creating the platform for chances and we need 4-5 players on the pitch who are clinical goalscorers. Sergio, Sterling, De bruyne, Gundogan and ???

Could silva play at the base of a midfield 3?

Where does Iheanacho fit in?

Would Yaya solve this problem?

If Silva played as the deep midfielder, would pushing fernandinho further forward help witj goals from midfield?

Also, why have we stopped playing with inverted fullbacks. I thought this worked very well against the counter attack. Did the injury to Delph force this change. I thought there was talk of Delph and Fernandinho playing full back which would make sense going forward and create more bodies in midfield while also being strong through the middle when defending the counter

It will probably suit us to play a team like Chelsea at home because they will at least show some ambition to have a go at us. The last three home games have been about bus parking. But you have to beat what is in front of you and sadly we haven't quite been good enough.

South Stand Balti wrote:Not sure we could have been 4 up by half time. Big Dave missed a great chance but there was nothing else clear cut. Boro were truly awful today but we do look vulnerable when attacked, even though they barely raised s canter. The squad is not well balanced for me. You can't go from Tevez, Agueo, Balo and Dzeko to Aguero and Nacho and expect to be more clinical in front of goal. Defensively we can be shambolic at times, but I'm not sure the midfield are giving enough protection. It will take Pep some time to sort this. I do think there is s Chumps league hangover.

This says it all for me.

I envy Barcelona being able to play with a front three, of the quality that they do. Moreover, I don't think our Brazilian recruit in January is necessarily going to be an instant 'fix' as he's only young, playing in a new League altogether, in a new country and in a new team with different approach to what he may have been used to.

It's going to take time for him to settle and it might only be next season before we see the best of him and, on that score, we're all going to have to be a little patient. In any event, by the time he arrives, we might be some distance behind Chelsea, Arsenal or whomsoever is topping the table at that time and we might not be able to catch up.

In other threads, there has been some criticism of playing with a back three but Chelsea, after going three down in the fixture against Arsenal, switched to this set-up during that game itself and have used it since. They've now won five games in succession and have hardly conceded any goals at all during this spell, apart from scoring more freely with the assurance of greater defensive solidity behind them (and David Luiz, of all people, is one of the back three in this system).

On that basis, it's not this particular formation that is wrong for us, but the players we're using in it and perhaps we don't have the correct personnel, at the moment, to be able to successfully play with such a set-up. I also thought the inverted full back question, that 'FA cup winners 2006', raised, is perfectly valid. Why indeed, did we stop using it so soon after implementing it ?? If we had been playing it for a large part of the season and then teams found better ways to combat it, fair enough, but it seems we've hardly given it a chance.

So where does that leave us ?? For myself, I'd be more than happy if, in trying different systems, Pep were to use more of the youngsters, as a flexible approach to playing football has been drummed into them from day one. If this doesn't work out, at least we will have found out who, from that group, is going to make the grade and who will not.

Added to that, in the January window, I'd like to see us get another forward of proven quality (if no-one steps up from the EDS) and use the rest of this season as a 'test-bed' for determining the necessary systems, formations, squad content so we can mount a successful campaign in both the Premier League and Europe in the next one......in the latter case, whether it be in the Champions League, or the Europa.

So, in essence, the remainder of this season should be a time for experimentation and we'll just have to accept whatever results come our way.

Mase wrote:What annoys me is you have bellends that support these shitty teams that constantly say "the premier league is the best league in the world. It's the most exciting!" FUCK OFF!!! Come to City every home game and watch the opposition put 10 men behind the ball. There's fuck all exciting about that!!

this. but I watched barca last night, absolute boring sideways pedestrian shite (that we are now playing at home). They played poorly and won (Assuming Sevilla never came back)

Yes we do need more strength in depth. Isn't jesus another tiny fucker who plays wide? The amount of good balls we pumped in against boro for none of the midgets to latch onto was astounding.