The mancityfans.net football forum

Nunes, up to now , a complete waste of money but I'm sure many on here will give him 2 years to adjust !!

When we cannot sign the player we really wanted then we should just stick with what we have instead of panic buying someone that does not make us any stronger.

Mase wrote:

sheblue wrote:The service to him is crap. Having said that he does look off it a little with the some of the chances he does get. So it's probably a bit of both.

What we need to do is to considerably improve the final ball to him. He is an out and out finisher who needs to be fed. He's not going to dribble and dance past 3 defenders and make his own chances. He's physcially not that type of man.

It's up to Pep to sort our play out and he will. Just a pity this international break is coming up. Such a nuisance.

I spotted that it was Cancelo that pinged the ball to him for that ridiculous goal against Dortmund last season.

We need more balls like that to him, ones that catch the defenders on their heels.

I really liked Cancelo, unlike many on here.
Shame he turned out to be a dick.

I am not overly worried, he'll score a bucket load on Thursday, Norway play Cyprus

He hasn't neutered Haaland. Haaland is a limited player, essentially the antithesis of what Pep wants a forward to do. Pep worked miracles last season having to totally rejig his side around Haaland while also managing to win the treble.

roddysaint wrote:He hasn't neutered Haaland. Haaland is a limited player, essentially the antithesis of what Pep wants a forward to do. Pep worked miracles last season having to totally rejig his side around Haaland while also managing to win the treble.

The opposition have done their job as they realised we were basically playing like Stoke. We now have to reenergise and force the play with different tactics that will allow him at least an inch of space.

I’m amazed that it’s took Pep this long to change it up. If it carries on then we may see the ‘Pep out’ threads resurfacing.

Beefymcfc wrote:

roddysaint wrote:He hasn't neutered Haaland. Haaland is a limited player, essentially the antithesis of what Pep wants a forward to do. Pep worked miracles last season having to totally rejig his side around Haaland while also managing to win the treble.

The opposition have done their job as they realised we were basically playing like Stoke. We now have to reenergise and force the play with different tactics that will allow him at least an inch of space.

I’m amazed that it’s took Pep this long to change it up. If it carries on then we may see the ‘Pep out’ threads resurfacing.

Has there been a 'Pep Out' thread? Apologies if I've missed it.

sheblue wrote:

Beefymcfc wrote:

roddysaint wrote:He hasn't neutered Haaland. Haaland is a limited player, essentially the antithesis of what Pep wants a forward to do. Pep worked miracles last season having to totally rejig his side around Haaland while also managing to win the treble.

The opposition have done their job as they realised we were basically playing like Stoke. We now have to reenergise and force the play with different tactics that will allow him at least an inch of space.

I’m amazed that it’s took Pep this long to change it up. If it carries on then we may see the ‘Pep out’ threads resurfacing.

Has there been a 'Pep Out' thread? Apologies if I've missed it.

Only the ones that Carl has started.
And to be fair they're usually sub threads within the match threads.

We seem to have our biggest problems playing the poorer sides. Those sides who pack their defences and hope for a break...often successful against us.
My view is that whilst I understand Pep's prioritising possession, it seems that the balance is skewed.
We play safe, very conservative football, where possessin is all important.
It slows our transitions meaning we usually face a well set, organised defence offering little room for the likes of Haaland tooperate in.
Our slow build up gradually forces defences to retreat, forcing them to compress into a smaller area. The we are left with lateral or backwards passing that; thought they ensure possession, do nothing to challenge the defence.
In the past, we have been bailed out by individual genius like Rodri or Vinnie (told not to shoot) but did and got us those all important 3pts v Leicester.

I go mad when I see our wide men refusing to take defenders on and stop, wait, then are forced to pass back (for possession's sake) while our opponents race back and set up in number.

Allowing a defence to compress severely diminishes our forwards' space to operate ad generally blocks any clear shooting chance.

[quote="john68"]We seem to have our biggest problems playing the poorer sides. Those sides who pack their defences and hope for a break...often successful against us.
My view is that whilst I understand Pep's prioritising possession, it seems that the balance is skewed.
We play safe, very conservative football, where possessin is all important.
It slows our transitions meaning we usually face a well set, organised defence offering little room for the likes of Haaland tooperate in.
Our slow build up gradually forces defences to retreat, forcing them to compress into a smaller area. The we are left with lateral or backwards passing that; thought they ensure possession, do nothing to challenge the defence.
In the past, we have been bailed out by individual genius like Rodri or Vinnie (told not to shoot) but did and got us those all important 3pts v Leicester.

I go mad when I see our wide men refusing to take defenders on and stop, wait, then are forced to pass back (for possession's sake) while our opponents race back and set up in number.

Allowing a defence to compress severely diminishes our forwards' space to operate ad generally blocks any clear shooting
Agree 100%

The facts don't back this up though. Last season we only beat 1 of the top 9 away and that was Arsenal. The only side in the bottom half to get a point was Forest.
At home we don't seem to have a problem with anyone as we've won every game this calendar year.

stupot wrote:The facts don't back this up though. Last season we only beat 1 of the top 9 away and that was Arsenal. The only side in the bottom half to get a point was Forest.
At home we don't seem to have a problem with anyone as we've won every game this calendar year.

Also are we that bad? We are two points behind the leaders in a season, to be honest, I expected us to be really shit.
We also seem to wake up after some games when we are terrible. Last season after Brentford showed us a masterclass of football in our home, before the WC, we went on a run that ended in June.

Usually games like this ones are those that bring back the hunger in the players and in Pep.

In the past couple of games, we haven't created much as a team. But prior to that, Haaland has had plenty of chances this season and missed them. He's missed a lot of very simple chances, whereas last year he was putting everything away.

Against Arsenal, he was one of our worst performers. Although he wasn't getting a lot of service, he didn't play his part in helping to pressurise the Arsenal defence. Arsenal's defenders and goalkeepers are terrible on the ball but we didn't make that work for us. You could see a couple of occasions where Bernardo was shutting players down and shouting at Haaland to help out. Pep made the wrong sub and should have taken Haaland off and put Alvarez up front.

But I don't doubt Haaland will improve very quickly. As a team, we've struggled with injuries this season to key players and Rodri's self-inflicted ban played a massive role in us losing 3 domestic games in a row. If we're still near the top by December (after a tough run of games), we'll be in a good position to go on a good run as we usually do in the new year.

Our start has us ahead of where I think most thought we would be Yes/No. I think we are seeing Pep managing what he has available to him. It’s going to be an ask to repeat last season, we all know that. Looking at CL and other leagues it’s all tight. Madrid look good and the Bellingham signing has transformed them but only a few points clear in the League. Trust the club we are a long game specialist. Haaland is warming up and needs others to hit the switch, like Foden and Bernie who he needs.

Haaland is just waiting for me to remove him as Fantasy Captain before finding his form again.

mr_nool wrote:Haaland is just waiting for me to remove him as Fantasy Captain before finding his form again.

You know what to do Nool. For all of us.

Unlucky not to score 5 mins ago. Good save

What a fucking finish.

Good lad

And another one

Original Dub wrote:What a fucking finish.

Good lad

Scores a second

25 goals in 26 international appearances.