***Rags v City Official Match Thread***

[Mase]

Spot on from Henry. We've a chance to get in the box and we go backwards and end up in our own half with United pushing on to us. Fuck me I can see that, Henry can see it, EVERYONE can see that - why not Pep?!! He's an arrogant cunt

Watch on youtube.com

[zabbadabbado]

This might be an unpopular post and I don’t come from Manchester so I don’t have the inbred hatred of the Rags, on a scale of 1/10 I’m probably an 8. Liverpool are 10 for me.
So my view of the match is that had we have played the Amorim system we probably would have won, I think we played a released from the shackles team and were probably just told to go and express themselves and they did, it was a most out of character performance as you could possibly imagine from them given the dross we’ve seen over the last few years. We were very lucky it wasn’t a proper drubbing, well actually it was, but the scoreline certainly flattered us. We have no god given right to win games and neither do they to lose.
They were hungrier, more determined, more focused on winning the duels and as much as it pains me to say it they played very well. You can call it new coach syndrome or whatever you like, but from the first couple of minutes the writing was on the wall for us. Now, a great manager would have anticipated this and the aberration of our team selection certainly, at least to me, suggests that no such anticipation was considered.

Our two young central defenders had no protection at all from the full backs Ake and Rico. If Pep hasn’t recognised the fall off in Ake’s pace, then that in itself is a big worry, he was skinned in every duel and should most certainly not have started. Rico is not a full back, he’s played some great games for us when switching to midfield, but he doesn’t have the strength or tactical awareness to play full back.

Rodri played like he did in his first season with us and although efficient to a point, did not have the control or threat that we’re used to when he’s been at his best. Foden is just simply off form, a magnificent player at his best, but we’ve not seen much of it for a season and a half. He needs to sort his head out and quickly otherwise we’ll just be looking backwards at him.

Haaland always has half a dozen games every season where he can’t be arsed and he is right in one of those now. Doku just has no end product, he never has and probably never will. Yes he’ll score a few goals here and there but it’s not enough. Semenyo was underwhelming but he’s at the start of his journey with us so I can forgive him. Cherki on the bench was the worst of the aberration, I simply cannot fathom that one. So all in all we got what we deserved, a good thrashing for being lethargic, dare I say arrogant and most importantly I did not see any effort or guile to change the way the game was going from the players or the coaching staff. The only thing I can take from today is the fact that Arsenal didn’t drive their advantage home, a very typical and uninspiring performance from them.

We are still in it but I would hope to see us on a winning run and soon, somehow though I just can’t see where it’s coming from. Hey ho, that’s football.

Good post mate. Agree with all that.

Fucking insane he picks Rico Lewis as a full back the man turns slower than an Oil Tanker. He has not even started a game in the Prem since August.

Hallland looks terrible. Pep says he is tired yet played him against Exeter.

I am grateful for what Pep has done. Our greatest manager ever. It is time for a change everything looks off.

The style is stale and dated. Yet still we persist with P[ep slow insipid shit football. The suicidal high line with a non existent defence.

I wonder if he is right in the Head sometimes. Rags play only one way Counter attacking. Yet we played to their strengths. Happens time after time, after time. against sides who press us. And we lose all these games.

It was depressing watching Semenyo morph in to a pass/recycle Robot in just game 3.

He is destroying flair players.