Manchester City 17/18 discussion | "If you're here for the Champions clap your hands" (#6505)

Jazz said:
I thought they were nailed on to win this season, but I'm not that sure now... I know it's early, but get the feeling we're in for an unpredictable season.
The amount of attacking talent they have though is something else.
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I still think they should be the favourites.

On what we have seen so far Arsenal are the same as always, Liverpool may have actually gone backwards and Chelsea/Conte will have a breakdown before Christmas.

If Guardiola can avoid trying to reinvent the wheel they should be right up there in May. Anything less should get him the sack considering the money he's spent and the players he has.
 
Z_Wolf said:
Walker's pace will go a long way in making sure they don't get rinsed on the counter but he's an incredibly limited footballer. He's useless if he doesn't have space to run into. I wouldn't surprised if he falls out of favor with the manager down the line.

Thankfully, Silva looked like age has finally caught up with him hence they struggled to create any decent chance through the middle untill the first goal. I hope B. Silva flops massively, I'd be disappointed if they didn't struggle to replace Silva.
He has carried them for years.

Unfortunately, their squad is incredibly deep and they have game changers on their bench. Injuries will be the least of their problems. Whether or not Guardiola can keep all of them happy remains to be seen though.
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People say this about Silva every season and he always steps up. Crazy comment to make after 1 game when he's just come off the back of a player of the season campaign for the club. That said, I think B.Silva alongside De Bruyne would still be the best set of CAMs in the league, with the option to drop Jesus behind and play one up top as well for a different style of player.

The biggest weakness in the side on paper yesterday was Fernandinho, who has to improve a lot on last year if he wants to stay in the side ahead of Gundogan when he's fit.
 
City were unconvincing yesterday. Still early days but Pep may be struggling to find the right formation. Last season their line-ups were too attacking. Yesterday it was too defensive given the quality of the opposition. To play with three CBs and rely on Walker and Danilo/Mendy against deep sittiing defences while having Sane, Sterling and B. Silva on the bench doesn't strike me as a smart tactics.
 
Bepi said:
Quality seems so high they just can't fail this year but Pep is a narcissist and will find a way to make his ship sink again for sake of tinkering.
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Indeed, isn't Pep the one who refers to himself as the Special One
 
FCBarca said:
Sure, why let facts get in the way
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What part do you disagree with? Pep is a narcissist. So is Mourinho. But no one was talking about him until you brought him up. Do you just stay refreshing the search button to find anything negative being said about Pep so you can rush to his rescue?
 
Treble said:
City were unconvincing yesterday. Still early days but Pep may be struggling to find the right formation. Last season their line-ups were too attacking. Yesterday it was too defensive given the quality of the opposition. To play with three CBs and rely on Walker and Danilo/Mendy against deep sittiing defences while having Sane, Sterling and B. Silva on the bench doesn't strike me as a smart tactics.
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I thought they looked well in control of the game, it took them a while to find the break through but they looked far more likely to score than Brighton. Granted they'll come up against better opposition but they will also improve as the season progresses.

I do think the issue is how Pep is going to line up as i dont believe he knows his team or formation but i felt yesterday was quite comfortable for them.
 
Good luck trying to keep them all happy Pep.Silva and Sane on the bench,Gundogan still to return although he is a walking injury.
Watching them last night I can't help but think that Pep has been found out though,a disciplined defence should keep them out as they are so one dimensional.Obviously it's easy being an armchair critic but his style of play looks so predictable, no plan B if passing teams to death doesn't work.
 
Z_Wolf said:
Walker's pace will go a long way in making sure they don't get rinsed on the counter but he's an incredibly limited footballer. He's useless if he doesn't have space to run into. I wouldn't surprised if he falls out of favor with the manager down the line.

Thankfully, Silva looked like age has finally caught up with him hence they struggled to create any decent chance through the middle untill the first goal. I hope B. Silva flops massively, I'd be disappointed if they didn't struggle to replace Silva.
He has carried them for years.

Unfortunately, their squad is incredibly deep and they have game changers on their bench. Injuries will be the least of their problems. Whether or not Guardiola can keep all of them happy remains to be seen though.
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Silva does look like a more peripheral figure than before (maybe it's just the idea and my impression), but KDB at the same time looks like he is taking up his mantle very well. Slightly less nuanced in his playmaking, but more physically dominant.
 
Mendy and Ilkay's return will bring much better balance to them I think. They'll be quite scary then. I'm not sure how the 2 Silva's, Sane and Sterling will enjoy being out of the starting 11, but their bench will be scary regardless.
 
ValenciasDrilledCrosses said:
What part do you disagree with? Pep is a narcissist. So is Mourinho. But no one was talking about him until you brought him up. Do you just stay refreshing the search button to find anything negative being said about Pep so you can rush to his rescue?
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I respond to what I read, I am not following anyone or searching for any particular topic - just a reflection of how much hyperbolic banter there is, esp. wrt Pep.

As for the OP, narcissist - evidence. I've never heard Guardiola speak of himself in any fashion that suggested he gave credit to anyone but others unlike the special one but sure let the spin continue
 
They dominated possession yesterday but didn't really tear Brighton apart - almost LvG-esque.

Clear cut chances were few and far between and I think it will take Pep some time to settle on a formation that keeps his massive squad happy.
 
They didn't look great yesterday, but they seemed like they were just getting warmed up and still dominated. They'll click into gear and walk the league I think when you look at their team and bench.
 
They look like a side still a bit in pre-season mode, a bit too slow especially in that final third trying to create scoring chances
 
Von Mistelroum said:
They didn't look great yesterday, but they seemed like they were just getting warmed up and still dominated. They'll click into gear and walk the league I think when you look at their team and bench.
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Seen this said every year for the last 5 years and as of yet they haven't been close to 'walking the league'. City will be strong contenders I think but I fully expect Utd and others to push them all the way to the title. Have some optimism people.
 
First game of the season, easy win should have been far more, I'm quite happy with the way we played, not every week we're going to come up against 10 behind the ball
 
I always get this weird feeling that when City play away in a bigger stadium they will win and when they play in a smaller one thats quite intimate like Goodison or Hawthorns they struggle because of the space.

I felt like yesterday he is trying to acomodate both jesus and aguerro, felt they really needed sane on the left who is naturally left footed instead of playing danilo at lwb...it was only brighton so didnt understand the need for 5 defenders, if that was Jose could see the media slaying him.
 
AdnanRED said:
I always get this weird feeling that when City play away in a bigger stadium they will win and when they play in a smaller one thats quite intimate like Goodison or Hawthorns they struggle because of the space.

I felt like yesterday he is trying to acomodate both jesus and aguerro, felt they really needed sane on the left who is naturally left footed instead of playing danilo at lwb...it was only brighton so didnt understand the need for 5 defenders, if that was Jose could see the media slaying him.
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Agree....but the city team is frightening.
 
Pep's post match comments give a good reason as to the way they set up. Newly promoted teams at home will play their hearts out, so the way they played yesterday took the sting out of the game so to speak.

At no point did it look like Brighton were going to threaten other than that one set piece. In fact it looked like City were going to break them down eventually.

All those saying Pep is going to struggle to keep his players happy... we'll see. But sounds like wishful thinking in 60 or so match season.

City are favourites for the title and I will be very surprised if United is even in the discussion with them come March.
 
Kurosawa said:
Pep's post match comments give a good reason as to the way they set up. Newly promoted teams at home will play their hearts out, so the way they played yesterday took the sting out of the game so to speak.

At no point did it look like Brighton were going to threaten other than that one set piece. In fact it looked like City were going to break them down eventually.

All those saying Pep is going to struggle to keep his players happy... we'll see. But sounds like wishful thinking in 60 or so match season.

City are favourites for the title and I will be very surprised if United is even in the discussion with them come March.
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Agreed. The back three + Fernandinho completely sucked the energy out of the team by mopping up all of their attacks, so I think it was pretty effective personally. They got a lot of criticism last year for being defensively porous but this was anything but. Brighton were a bit crap admittedly, but I reckon they'll be a lot more dangerous in every other game than they were yesterday. City just needed to be more clinical in the first half and it would've been seen as a walk in the park.
 
leontas said:
They dominated possession yesterday but didn't really tear Brighton apart - almost LvG-esque.

Clear cut chances were few and far between and I think it will take Pep some time to settle on a formation that keeps his massive squad happy.
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gibers said:
A clear cut chance missed by Aguero again.

GJ missed a clear header then the follow up hit the post so that's 3.

3rd CCC missed. Aguero with a one vs one and he took too long.

Finally scored on their 4th(5th overall) CCC.

2 half chances in the space of 1 minute. One led to an own goal
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They created 4 CCCs...That's more than most teams do in a game.
 
gibers said:
They created 4 CCCs...That's more than most teams do in a game.
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Up to the 70th minute (1st goal) there was really only 1 clear cut chance manufactured by City (GJ header). The other was a mistake by the Brighton defence that put Sergio through.
 
leontas said:
They dominated possession yesterday but didn't really tear Brighton apart - almost LvG-esque.

Clear cut chances were few and far between and I think it will take Pep some time to settle on a formation that keeps his massive squad happy.
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Guardiola still doesn't understand his style of football doesn't suit Premier League at all. Still early days though.
 
leontas said:
They dominated possession yesterday but didn't really tear Brighton apart - almost LvG-esque.

Clear cut chances were few and far between and I think it will take Pep some time to settle on a formation that keeps his massive squad happy.
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Massive squad? The first-team squad (excluding youth players and the likes of Nasri, Delph and Bony who are on their way out) only has two goalkeepers, three full backs, three centre backs (four including Mangala as things stand), three central midfielders, two wingers, three CAMs, two strikers.
 
leontas said:
Up to the 70th minute (1st goal) there was really only 1 clear cut chance manufactured by City (GJ header). The other was a mistake by the Brighton defence that put Sergio through.
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Would you not count the GJ disallowed 'goal' (unintentional handball) as a CCC?
After 27 mins he put the ball in the net. Play had not stopped at that point. The goal was correctly disallowed but the yellow card was harsh.
 
BobbyManc said:
Massive squad? The first-team squad (excluding youth players and the likes of Nasri, Delph and Bony who are on their way out) only has two goalkeepers, three full backs, three centre backs (four including Mangala as things stand), three central midfielders, two wingers, three CAMs, two strikers.
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Quite right. Loads of players on the books but the number who are serious contenders to actually play is only average.
Lots of players released, sold or loaned with a few more to come before deadline day. One or two more incomings also, I think.
 
In the vast majority of games, they will eventually break teams down.
I Expect them to win the league.
 
ValenciasDrilledCrosses said:
The Pep fanboys get on any bad word said about him like a flash. Mes que un baldie
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:lol:

Seriously though, Pep and Jose not that dissimilar - they're both narcissists imho. It's just that Pep is better at hiding his true personality.
 
BobbyManc said:
Massive squad? The first-team squad (excluding youth players and the likes of Nasri, Delph and Bony who are on their way out) only has two goalkeepers, three full backs, three centre backs (four including Mangala as things stand), three central midfielders, two wingers, three CAMs, two strikers.
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Should've specified that the word 'massive' applies mostly to the team's attacking department given that the squad is quite imbalanced.
 
Maybe I'm showing my naivety of modern formations/tactics but in this City system, are Sane/Walker wing-backs or are they meant to be playing as full-blown wingers?
 
Minimalist said:
Maybe I'm showing my naivety of modern formations/tactics but in this City system, are Sane/Walker wing-backs or are they meant to be playing as full-blown wingers?
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It doesn't really matter because they always play through the middle.
 
Minimalist said:
Maybe I'm showing my naivety of modern formations/tactics but in this City system, are Sane/Walker wing-backs or are they meant to be playing as full-blown wingers?
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Their formation shows not only nativity but borders on incompetence from Pep. That's what happens when you actually have too many attacking players to accommodate. They'll play some nice stuff but as it stands their is no balance there IMO
 
Minimalist said:
Maybe I'm showing my naivety of modern formations/tactics but in this City system, are Sane/Walker wing-backs or are they meant to be playing as full-blown wingers?
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Wingbacks who push up when teams sit deep. So in games like Brighton and today they're essentially playing Left and Right Mid but if the opp shows more adventure they are supposed to be WB. Sane is absolutely terrible at it.
 
All week Ive heard pundits claim its too early to judge Utd as title favourites yet always seem to pick City in the same breath.
That never made sense to me. What had City shown?
They desperately need a Matic in their midfield
Also Walker being so offensively average sticks out like a sore thumb in this side
 
padr81 said:
Wingbacks who push up when teams sit deep. So in games like Brighton and today they're essentially playing Left and Right Mid but if the opp shows more adventure they are supposed to be WB. Sane is absolutely terrible at it.
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Well yeah, then playing Sane there seems daft even if they do push up.
 
City look dross - not really sure if baldy is ever going to get them cohesive
 
cyberman said:
All week Ive heard pundits claim its too early to judge Utd as title favourites yet always seem to pick City in the same breath.
That never made sense to me. What had City shown?
They desperately need a Matic in their midfield
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They don't need more players. Guardiola is to blame. He needs to start playing both his fullbacks for starters. And decide on a starting XI with set first choice attackers rather than chopping and changing every week.
 
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