re: Manchester City 2015-16 thread "The Pepectations are high"

hey :)

me 2

wyd i'm booking my flight to NY next weekend

I think it's tough for City to deal with the kind of tactical organization teams from Italy and Spain etc bring.

I watch City fairly often and Silva's not used to being constantly harassed the way he was today.

They tend to run over EPL sides which let themselves get spread out and don't consistently really make City work as hard by remaining so compact while, most importantly, also always remaining in position to quickly break out on a counter if City loses defensive shape in building up their own attack.

It's simply a different dynamic that they don't see much in England and requires a tighter midfield organization and link with the backline.

It's definitely Pelligrini's job to get that worked out but it's also clear just how differently their pressure, high defensive line without much support for defenders etc plays out from EPL matches.

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It's definitely Pelligrini's job to get that worked out but it's also clear just how differently their pressure, high defensive line without much support for defenders etc plays out from EPL matches.

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Yup. We held possession and, IMO looked the better side going into the half and maybe up to about the 60' mark. Yaya and Dinho did a great job breaking up the counters, way better than I expected. That being said, we played right into Juve's hand. Stay narrow, target man up front, and slow build up. Recipe for disaster and I'm surprised we held up as long as we did.

Once Juve started to press and focus on Silva we were fricked. Nasri provided absolutely ZERO width and Bony gave us nothing up top. Nasri did nothing outside of hold the damn ball and sometimes push up to the corner.

Despite all that, if Kompany doesn't go down I think we still draw. Otamendi got his first minutes today and shite the bed big time. No reason for him to go help Kolarov and Mangala. He left a huge hole BUT what a fricking shot.

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City were really chasing the win and there was an absolute ocean of space between the midfield and the backline. The haphazard pressing didn't shut down Bonucci.

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See I felt the total opposite. Felt like we were content moving the ball and looking for a solid chance. After we went up 1-0 it got even worse. We still attacked Juve in counters and whatnot but that was just aggressive D.

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I would add though that the goal also has a lot to do with the "compactness" issue I was mentioning above.

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I get what you're saying but I don't really think that was the issue. Otamendi had a clear view of what was going on. Kolarov and Mangala were there and he had ZERO reason to leave that gap right in front of goal. It was a great play on Juve's part but a HUGE brain fart by Otamendi.

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Juve did a really solid job of hounding Silva and turning him where he didn't want to go and that's no easy task

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They shut him down, no doubt. They had zero respect for Bony and it showed. Bony can't make runs like Kun and Dzeko can. As much as I rag on him, this game really showed what Navas brings to the table. He has pace and gives us excellent width. I think KDB can do the same and it's a shame Pellers waited to long to bring him on AND took Sterling out instead of Nasri.

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That's tough with Italian teams as they'll take away what you want to do most or your go-to creator/forward and force someone else to beat them. Kind of why you usually don't see high individual goal/assist stats in the league and what all the top forwards lament. It was pretty much going to be Sterling, Nasri and Bony to beat them.

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Yup. Bony couldn't do shite and looks worse as each day passes. Nasri is great at retaining possession and getting forward but that's about it. I have LOVED Sterling since he arrived but he can't carry the team on his back and as of now his best asset is how he plays both ways.

We've played beautifully wide in the PL but today looked like a totally different squad.

Today was such a weird game and I feared it would be after Saturday. We were in such a great groove and Pellers went back to the old 4-4-2 in that game. We don't play well with two up top. The 4-2-3-1 is PERFECT for this squad. You have pace on the wings and both players (Sterling and Navas up to this point) aren't liabilities tracking back. Yaya doesn't have to be super creative and carry the team. Aguero does his thing and, if NOTHING else this season, gets opportunities in the middle.

Playing Bony as a target man isn't going to get it done. He's a bit of a turd in the punchbowl for the side. In EPL games Nacho should probably be our 2. Not a knock on Bony but I feel like Nacho fits the squad better.

The biggest problem will be if Kun/Bony are both injured. Who the hell do we play up top? Go back to a false 9 with Silva? Sterling at ST? If Bony is consistently this ineffective and Kun gets hurt we'll have to mix it up.

Sí

I'm glad Kun got going today. He needed it in a bad way.

Unfortunately, Pellers has us in a shite situation up top. Nacho can't play CL matches. Bony has been hot garbage since arriving. This team goes as Kun goes. I don't trust Bony up top if Kun goes down.

Honestly, we need to switch up the lineup IMO. KDB on the left, Silva central, Sterling on the right. Sterling has been pretty meh the last few matches and Kolarov has been a huge defensive liability. KDB on the left covers up Kolarov's problems. Zaba being back can help out Sterling on the right. Sterling needs to do EXACTLY what Navas has been doing as a sub. Attack wide both with and without the ball. He has started playing scared. We're best when we press hard and play fast and he just isn't supplying that type of play now.

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City's yearly wage bill - £193m
United's yearly wage bill - £203m

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thats not even close to true after this last summer

City has the highest ever wage bill for the EPL now

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City's debt - £0
United's debt - £380m

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um imagine the debt City would be if it operated on its own. You dont really want to go down that road.

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um imagine the debt City would be if it operated on its own. You dont really want to go down that road.

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If my aunt had a dick...

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thats not even close to true after this last summer

City has the highest ever wage bill for the EPL now

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Care to back that one up?

Another fantastic showing by De Bruyne today. He's been stellar since the signing, maybe the most in form man in the EPL.

Also so goals from some youngsters in Manu Garcia and Kelechi. Great match overall for us today!