If you took luck out of the equation the league table would arguably look exactly the same.
Manchester City 17/18 discussion | "If you're here for the Champions clap your hands" (#6505)
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If you took luck out of the equation the league table would arguably look exactly the same.
I would say that in the first 15-20 min form doesn't matter match as both teams put more effort in, after that form kicks back into play. Team form can't be switched on and off easily.
Tonight doesn't mean anything for City. None of the players other than Ederson and Fernandinho will start in the Derby.
Wait did Pep really play Foden at left wingback?
Sane will probably start and I wouldn't be surprised to see Jesus start too.
Not sure what can be taken away from yesterday's game. Hard to tell whether their B team just isn't particularly good or they just didn't give a shite. The stretches of game i saw, it looked more the latter than the former
They do have some absolutely shocking players, mind. Mangala and Danilo are two of the worst footballers i've seen in my life and Yaya is done
They do have some absolutely shocking players, mind. Mangala and Danilo are two of the worst footballers i've seen in my life and Yaya is done
Yaya is definitely done and agreed on Mangala & Danilo - the latter, still hard to understand the purchase even as a backup/utility player but it's precisely because of his versatility to play in more than one position (None of them great) that he was likely bought
Foden, is still just 17 years old. Not sure how much could be expected of him this soon but these experiences are invaluable eventhough he looked subpar overall. Intimidated by the occasion? Hard to say but he was bullied quite easily off the ball and probably didn't show enough verve in attack to find more minutes in the rotation. Tosin, I was skeptical about him based on limited footage there has been on him. He has great size but not at all convinced about him either defensively or on the ball with his passing - he was targeted as much as Danilo by the Ukrainians and with great success exposing the both
Brahim Diaz, however, is ready for more minutes in the rotation IMHO
Just underscores their biggest needs going forward continue to be a backup LB, CB and DM
Danilo's been bought as a back-up player and has done well when introduced into the main squad over Walker or Delph. Being part of a defence with Adarabioyo and Mangala means he has to lead them, which he can't do, so he was exposed. Adarabioyo's a kid who'll likely be gone in the summer, which Mangala will be too, so there's not much to look into there. Gundogan's still playing his way back into fitness after a year out (not sure that can be stated enough), and Yaya's pretty much done now. Bernardo's been disappointing thus far but I'm willing to give him time - he's being played out of position and he's still a kid. Foden was out of position but looked alright. Sane and Jesus are probably going to to start the derby so they were using this as match practise rather than a serious exercise.
This was essentially a mid-season friendly against a team who needed to win, so it's hard to read anything into it beyond looking at a couple of individual performances.
If you mean you being top then yes. If you are saying you would be 8 pts ahead even without the luck you have have had then not a chance. We obviously can't take luck out of the equation & this means some teams are going to have more luck than others. Hopefully the chickens come home to roost on Sunday
Not overly sound logic there.
Never realized Yaya could speak Russian, even after just 18 months playing in the Ukraine
Incredible really
Incredible really
Still a cnut though.
With so much proximity to the great Guardiola, is it any surprise that Toure has become a superior spiritual and intellectual being?
You could at least explain.
Claiming last nights game to be little more than a friendly, only to then go on and say the opposing team needed to win is a little contradictory. Nothing to get excited about, just thought it worth mentioning.
Sorry for going off-topic a bit, but this made me chuckle
Difficult to disagree with any of that. Not sure about the last paragraph though - I prefer to err on the side of caution ahead of a derby
My theory is that Guardiola is looking to wrap the PL up early so he can tour the country granting mutes the gift of speech and generally working his miracles on a nationwide scale.
??? It was little more than a friendly for city. Nothing contradictory there
I see what you mean now, and I should have clarified sooner, so I'll rephrase and expand.
Shakhtar clearly approached the game like a team who needed to win, because they did. They played well and got the job done, and they're through to the next round. But City on the other hand were already through and guaranteed to finish 1st, so we definitely treated it like an exhibition game - before, during, and after the match, actually. Even as early as two weeks ago, De Bruyne got himself suspended in the game vs. Feyenoord so he wouldn't have to play in this one, and Silva was suddenly "injured" this week. Mourinho has, of course, seen right through it.
As for the team we started last night, I wouldn't have been surprised to see it in a pre-season friendly. Adarabioyo and Foden are kids, and referring to Mangala and Yaya as reserve players feels generous these days. Add to that, Foden was played out of position, Brahim was given half an hour when we were already 2-0 down, and Gundogan was given control of the midfield when he's still trying to play his way back into full fitness. I don't have the stats (or know where to find them), but I wouldn't be surprised if the distance we collectively covered on the pitch last night was the lowest of the season.
And after the game, Pep was pretty chipper. He's been miserable as sin after games we've won in the past (both games vs. Burnley last season, for example), so I imagine he'd have been incredibly frosty in his post-match press conference if he'd have cared one jot about the result or performance. He was shaking hands with Shakhtar's manager five minutes before the game was over, and he chose to focus almost exclusively on the performances of the academy players when talking to the press. Compare that to his behaviour and mannerisms and topics of discussion after our defeats last season and you'll notice a difference.
Am I disappointed that we applied basically no effort to the game? Only slightly, because keeping a winning record going is obviously not going to do any harm to our momentum. And I'm getting a little concerned about how Bernardo Silva fits into this team. But at the same time, I'm not sure our performance, attitude or the result has any bearing on the derby. Despite the quality of our first XI, our squad isn't that large yet (I've said for months that we needed an extra CB, LB and winger in the summer), so we have to be pragmatic.
Walker, Kompany, Otamendi, Delph, De Bruyne, Silva, Sterling and Aguero were all thankfully left out the starting XI. That's our entire defence, two thirds of our usual midfield, and two thirds of our usual attack. All of whom will start on Sunday. It's the same reason we left Kompany and Fernandinho out of the West Ham game too - they were both on yellow cards, and the game vs. United was more important. We're lucky that we had West Ham at home and then a meaningless game away before the derby, but that's what last night ultimately was: meaningless.
So, just to wrap up, I'm not sure it's worth reading anything into our performance when we, as an entire club, turned up in Ukraine for a B-team training exercise, treated it like a B-team training exercise, and came away satisfied despite losing. I think you'll turn us over on Sunday (2-1), but it won't be because our reserves performed below standard against Shakhtar.
Pretty damn impressive as explanations go, if slightly unnecessary. Consider me learned in any case.
Why do you think City will lose on Sunday?
And what is infinitely more pressing a matter, did you get caught stealing that microwave?
Yes. I couldn't believe it either when I saw the line-up graphics on BT but my brother said he could play there and wasn't surprised. News to me!
I think it's more a case of someone locked him in a microwave.
Does anyone think Pep might pull a big surprise on Sunday? City haven't been playing as well lately and he talked after the WHU game about playing 2 strikers. Pep also knows that Jose has probably spent weeks obsessed about how to stop the 433 that they're currently playing.
I'm wondering if he might go to 3 at the back, use two strikers, or have some special tactical shakeup to catch Jose off guard
I'm wondering if he might go to 3 at the back, use two strikers, or have some special tactical shakeup to catch Jose off guard
I don’t think so. When it comes to a game of tactical adaptability Pep is going to come up second best to Jose.
Pep will play his normal style with maybe a more defensive shape but I doubt we will see any huge surprises.
Pep tinkering with his line-ups would never be a surprise. Jose will have anticipated all situations and trained the players accordingly. I doubt he has assumed City can only play one way, especially considering how unsually conservative Pep was in last season's game at the Etihad.
I think we'll start the game as follows:
DDG
Lindelof Smalling Rojo
Valencia Fellaini Matic Young
Lingard
Rashford Lukaku
The lineup becomes a great deal easier to predict with Pogba, Bailly and Jones unavailable for selection. Martial may start ahead of Rashford but that's about it.
With the midfield set to be swamped and nigh on unplayable for the entire game, Valencia and Young will have a pivotal part to play in precedings, their outlet and genuine pace on the counter will prove invaluable as the game games on. We will be looking to them for both creation and defensive stability.
A fitting punishment considering he stole the thing in the first place.
there's a really in-depth article about City and their global plans for the City group in the financial times.
This whole ‘City Group’ thing is a complete pain in the ass, really wish it never happened.
You're the best team we'll have played this season and you're on your home patch. We've struggled against defensive sides this season, but the difference between yourselves and the other defensive sides we've played is that you have players who could do the damage on the counter.
Padr81 is right. I'm locked in that microwave.
As a mark of solidarity with us missing Pogba, I think Pep should rest KDB for Sunday
damn straightAs a mark of solidarity with us missing Pogba, I think Pep should rest KDB for Sunday
Agree, City were a bit lucky against Bournemouth, Southampton, Huddersfield.
But you could also say that United were quite fortunate to win the games against Spurs, Arsenal (two pks, countless chances), and Brighton recently
There was nothing lucky about the Spurs win. We created more and better chances and the goal was perfectly legitimate. Anyways, this 'luck' talk and trying to hypothesize what the table would look like without it is nonsense. Good teams make their own luck. The only City win I have a problem with is the Bournemouth one because of the obvious foul on the Bournemouth player before City's goal in ET but what happened, happened
Best team in the league.
But bloody hell, they do go to ground rather easily.
But bloody hell, they do go to ground rather easily.
Mourinho was spot on about these cnuts. Absolute cheats.
It’s like their fancy “total football” BS has blinded refs to how scummy they are. Jose was right, a gust of wind blows these guys over.
Hilarious given the way United have hit the ground and harassed the ref every time they've been kicked back.
Why isn't this considered anti-football?
In addition Pep knows no referee is going to give a yellow for a foul on the opposite box so they keep doing that. Then Sane and Jesus dived no card. Why isn't there an article on these anti football behaviours? Yes they are the best team in the world but that doesn't mean they should be allowed to cheat.
feck them. Cheating team with oil money. Will never take that "club" serious since 2008.