Last night

Despite the match stats saying we had more possession, shots, shots on target and corners, i never felt we were the better team, apart from the last 10 minutes......maybe that's just me.

I thought Arsenal wanted it more, were faster in attack, faster in closing us down....basically, just quicker all over the field.

Ok, we had some decent chances, KDB should have atleast hit the target when clean through, Navas passing to no-one with only the keeper to beat, Sterling curling a back pass to Cech from the edge of the box, etc, etc. That said, so did Arsenal....so we're not the only ones to have all the chances.

It's been well documented that Citys defence isn't good enough and last night gave more evidence of that, Mangala just hasn't been the answer and imo someone has to be accountable for allowing £42m to be spent on him. He's had enough time to get used to the players, the system and the speed of English football, but he scares me more when he has the ball than Lescott did....and that was bloody scary. I know blue questioned the whole defence on the other thread, but imo it all seems to stem from Mangala.

Personally, as i said last night, i think we got what we deserved. In the PL you have to earn your points and City just didn't do that for me. Luckily for us at the minute the teams below us are more inconsistent than us, so unless we completely fall apart in the New Year we'll be alright for that top 4 place.

I don't want to point finger at Mangala because before we bought Otamendi he was doing just fine.

I think the manager is to blame for all. 

Remember what Hughes did to our defence? The guy was clueless and as soon as Mancini arived all those terrible players became almost invincible. 

I am sure Mangala and Otamendi are top players... they are just getting confusing and bad advice. If they can't understand what the manager is asking then maybe the manager needs to be more clear because these players don't turn crap overnight. 

Its either lack of motivation which again is down the manager or bad and confising tactics.

That's my opinion anyway.

And that's very plausible Gsus...tbh, i think he confuses us all .

I personally have never liked Mangala, he just looks like an accident waiting to happen to me. Maybe when MP goes he'll be ok and a new manager sorts him out, but i really wouldn't lose any sleep if we got rid in January.

He has looked clumsy even in a good day I will give you that!

I think apart from MP calmness the negatives outweigh the positives by a country mile!

We ship out Denayer and Negredo and we bring in Mangala and Bony... yourh not getting their chance when senior player have pathetic displays week in week out....something has to change. ...

By something I mean the manager!

I read online that Delph got 5.5 out of 10 for his first half display....I thought he was one of the one's who at least was trying to close down.

TLMLF just allowed Ozil to drift in behind him and create two chances for Walnut and Giroud. I'm not laying the defeat solely down to him, but as the Captain, he pretty much gave us fuck all for 80 minutes.
Was he tasked to watch the runs of Ozil? Who knows.

All I know is that he is their main man at the moment and if MP's plans were for TLMLF to watch his runs and track him back, then he wants sacking for that alone!

I watched in utter dismay at his lack of effort last night. When Hart made that save off his head, watch TLMLF, where he is and what he's doing...he's literally walking back with 2 Arsenal players ahead of him, running in on goal.

That is completely unacceptable...and if one of your highest earners is allowed to do that, what message does that send to Sterling, KDB, Aguero etc etc?

For once, I'd like to see the Manager get off his arse and berate the players or drag one of them off after 30 mins if they're not putting a shift in...in fact drag anyone off at anytime during the game if they are not putting it in.

It's pathetic.

Read this by Jamie Carragher - because he sums up what I watch in TLMLF every time he plays.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-3369636/Jamie-Carragher-slams-unbelievably-selfish-Yaya-Toure-Manchester-City-midfielder-s-Jekyll-Hyde-performance.html

Boateng looked like an accident whenever he played for us but hasn't he won the CL and WC since? He still has the odd dodgy moment but, in a wonderful Bayern/German team, he looks good enough.

At the end of last season, Vinnie couldn't get a look in. Dimi and Mango were decent enough. We can't rely on VK this season. He's missed more than he's played.

If, God forbid, we don't get top4, Pep will look elsewhere.

Every other team, even Chelsea with Zouma, seems to play some kids and it works out for them. Our manager is scared to do so. He sticks with what he knows and that is hurting us.

blueboy wrote:That is completely unacceptable...and if one of your highest earners is allowed to do that, what message does that send to Sterling, KDB, Aguero etc etc?

You know, this has just made me realise something...  Remember our early season games, when we were demolishing teams with high energy performances?  And now we're playing lazy, lethargic keep-ball with an occasional burst?  Have a think; who was captain during those phases?

I'll let that one sink in for a moment.  I'm sensing this is more than just a coincidence.

I dont think the defence is solely to blame although I agree Mangala is wank & Kolarov as we all know is not a defender.

However our MF just isn't giving the protection they need week in week out. Trouble is we are 1 down in MF every week with the lazy fucker ambling around for more than 3/4 of the game. Silva is not 100% and is not a strong tackler, same with Sterling & Navas
We are not out of it by a long way yet though. Once we get Vinnie and Sergio back to full fitness (if that is ever possible) we will be fine. Just need to go on a run of 5 or 6 wins starting on Sat v Sunderland and we'l be back in pole position. Kinda need to beat Leicester away though or they'll be 9 points ahead of us, which on current form is a big ask

Personal Gsus wrote:I don't want to point finger at Mangala because before we bought Otamendi he was doing just fine.

I think the manager is to blame for all. 

Remember what Hughes did to our defence? The guy was clueless and as soon as Mancini arived all those terrible players became almost invincible. 

I am sure Mangala and Otamendi are top players... they are just getting confusing and bad advice. If they can't understand what the manager is asking then maybe the manager needs to be more clear because these players don't turn crap overnight. 

Its either lack of motivation which again is down the manager or bad and confising tactics.

That's my opinion anyway.

we were breaking up the park when Mangala incredulously made a terrible pass which went to an Arsenal player in the middle of the park leading to their second goal on the stroke of half time. That was all down to Mangala not Pellegrini. I think we need a change of manager too but Managala's cock up's cannot be laid solely at Manuel's door in my opinion.

I agree....but, if I'm honest, he did play well at the start of the season with Vinny, hence why I tried to stick up for him. However, what I saw last night was nothing short of shite from both Mangala and Otamendi.

Otamendi has no positional sense whatsoever...no pace...hence the second goal after Mangala's woeful ball...what a fucking waste of £60m ....and who authorised their signings?

For me, if Vinny is going to be a sick note for the next 3 years, get rid of all 3 and start again.

However, mistakes will happen throughout a game, we all know that...but MP's tactics playing TLMLF in a position that was neither attacking nor defending, was just pathetic. Allowing him to jog at his own pace for 80 minutes of that game was a scandalous neglect of his duty as a manager.

Of course, we all know that Aguero will take time to get back up to speed, Vinny coming back (whenever that is) and Silva only just finding his feet after a lay off...but what about the squad players?

I agree with what was said earlier - why the fuck Kelechi doesn't get more game time is beyond me, and clearly beyond the managers bollocks to pick him - which sort of sums him up IMO. Dead man walking.

Trouble is the dead man walking has a big say in how it is setup for the incoming manager, and with Chelsea ready to throw 1/2 billion quid at who we think we are getting, MP could prove an even bigger disaster.  Which is why we shouldn't have a dead man walking, he should be simply shown the door TODAY.

I'm sure even Brian Kidd could guide us over the line still in the Top 4, which is the ultimate minimum we need this season.

Well here's hoping Pep has already signed a pre-contract agreement.

For me, we need rid of the following players, starting with the clearly obvious one:

TLMLF
Sagna
Mangala
Kolorov

Nasri
Navas
Bony

That should free up £100m

Add to that another £250m and that's £350m on new players. I'm sure Pep will see some of our youth as potential players as well, so all in all...we need the likes of:

Bale
Stones
LB
RB
Isco
Suarez

maybe even Messi!

Obviously, we wouldn't get half of them, but it'd be a start...as some of the shit that's been recruited over the past few years has been woeful.

I'd like something likes this:

Hart
Zaba, Vinny, Stones
Sterling, Fernandinho, KDB, Bale
Silva, Messi
Aguero

Zab...Vince..Stones...AN Other
...........Delph
KDB.......Silva......Bale
....Aguero.....Suarez/Messi

We easily have £500M to spend if we wish in the summer. And that's before any sales. That new tv deal is going to bring us at least £50M a season which translates to £250M of purchasing ability. Even that extra £10M from the new seats is worth £50M of purchases and we have the current CL deal to factor in too. That's worth at least £30M to us which translates to £150M of buying. Then there's other money coming into the club from new sponsorships and i haven't even thought about the Chinese investment. I'm not including player wages in my numbers, but we'd get bags of sponsorship if we got one of the big world players such as Messi to come to us so I'm not concerned about the wages side of things.

If we do get Pep this summer we need to go on a huge splurge. Even if we didn't get Pep, we need to go on that splurge to take us to the next level. That level is winning the PL year in, year out and a domestic cup as well as consistent 1/4 finals, at least, in the CL. tbh, we should be halfway there already but we've messed up.

I'd say we need two top class CBs to add to VK and Otamendi. Stones could be one, but with a mind to the future and why not Varane? I don't see why we need 2 DMs. Top teams seem to manage with one top class one and everyone else pulling their weight.

This morning, I watched the interview with Henry and Carragher after the game as I couldn't be arsed on Mon night.

Something Carragher said worries me more than anything else...

Talking about TLMLF and his performance being once again selfish, he said "remember when we had Frank Lampard on the show the other week and off camera, he said that Pellegrini doesn't trust anyone else to keep the ball and play that centre midfield role"

WTF?

So, the manager is compromising the whole team and performance to accommodate TLMLF in there???

Does he honestly believe we don't have any players that can pass a ball sideways, out wide for most of the game - if so, we're fucked under MP?
That's pathetic management.

KDB can play that role and get back if needed.

What an endorsement on KDB, Silva etc...who both can play that role if it's for the good of the team.

That statement alone sums up this manager - and why, sadly, he must go.

blueboy wrote:So, the manager is compromising the whole team and performance to accommodate TLMLF in there???

Yes, well atleast we all know now why he starts every game now

That's poor management. I wouldn't mind, all he does for 80 mins is jog on the spot and play balls sideways...

what Lampard said may or may not be relevant to today, as last season when Lampard was at City, City did not have KDB or Delph so who knows whether that is still his thinking.

skyblueoz wrote:what Lampard said may or may not be relevant to today, as last season when Lampard was at City, City did not have KDB or Delph so who knows whether that is still his thinking.

A valid point, but the fact the lazy git still gets 90 minutes on a regular basis would suggest that nothing has changed.