****Official City vs Yellow Green Muppets

[carl_feedthegoat]

I only saw the second half but GJ was a man re born..like he had a point to prove and I only hope he didn't put that shift in to impress potential buyers....same applies to Laporte.

[City64]

Any match goers yesterday, any of you in the safe standing section?

Your thoughts?

Yes . The rail seats actually come round and finish half way through my part of the ground CB 121 how they came up with that idea god knows ? Why finish at the stairs between 120 and 121 ? why only go half way into 121 ? bizarre??? I am and end “seat” next to the steps between 121 & 120 ……. my first experience of the rail seat ……..
I think it’s fucking brilliant and gonna be amazing when the BIG games come along

PS because I’m an end seat by the concourse exit there is a tv screen behind me which has all the scores updates etc , I can confirm MCFC have fucked sky sports and Jeff Sterling right off and now show BT . Don’t know if there is anything in that but the club have always used Sky sports since we moved to the Etihad ?

[nottsblue]

I know we won comfortably 5-0 but we actually only had 4 shots on target. I surely can't be alone in being a bit concerned about that. For all our dominance to only have 4 shots on target is poor in my view. Seems very churlish I know on a 5-0, but Norwich will likely be the poorest opposition we will face this season and better outfits than them could easily frustrate us

Really? Unusually, I couldn't disagree with you more, mate.

The players knew they didn't need to make chances because they were 2-0 up after 20-odd minutes against a side with no ambition other than keeping the score down. They had one shot in 90 minutes. Surprised you don't see that, to be honest.

This ability and willingness to conserve energy and manage matches will tell come March-April time.

I get that and it's a perfectly valid point. And being 2-0 up so early on against such a poor unambiguous side as Norwich were, with the side we had was a perfect platform for them. Torres, Bernardo and Jesus to name just three, all had points to prove to stake their claim for a more regular starting berth.

And considering virtually the entire match was played around the Norwich penalty area I just find it disappointing to not have more efforts on goal.

I realise the three points ultimately are what matters but sometimes the way they are garnered says as much as the scoreline itself

[Nick]

They've not finished the rails yet. Mine wasn't done but due this week

Stops me standing on the back of the seat in front though

[PeterParker]

I know we won comfortably 5-0 but we actually only had 4 shots on target. I surely can't be alone in being a bit concerned about that. For all our dominance to only have 4 shots on target is poor in my view. Seems very churlish I know on a 5-0, but Norwich will likely be the poorest opposition we will face this season and better outfits than them could easily frustrate us

Really? Unusually, I couldn't disagree with you more, mate.

The players knew they didn't need to make chances because they were 2-0 up after 20-odd minutes against a side with no ambition other than keeping the score down. They had one shot in 90 minutes. Surprised you don't see that, to be honest.

This ability and willingness to conserve energy and manage matches will tell come March-April time.

I get that and it's a perfectly valid point. And being 2-0 up so early on against such a poor unambiguous side as Norwich were, with the side we had was a perfect platform for them. Torres, Bernardo and Jesus to name just three, all had points to prove to stake their claim for a more regular starting berth.

And considering virtually the entire match was played around the Norwich penalty area I just find it disappointing to not have more efforts on goal.

I realise the three points ultimately are what matters but sometimes the way they are garnered says as much as the scoreline itself

I am with Notts on this. Looking back on the bigger picture, we looked so, soo predictable. For many who watch us from the outside I reckon they were very impressed, but as a City fan did not see anything new. We seem to do the same things over and over and over again until teams finally open up.

I want to see something different or at least try something different because the same plays will not work versus our usual suspects.
Norwich are a joke of a team, same as WBA, they are just numbers, their role in the league is just to fill the numbers.

Satisfied with the win, but hope we remeber our 8-0 vs Watford and what came next.

[Hazy2]

I only saw the second half but GJ was a man re born..like he had a point to prove and I only hope he didn't put that shift in to impress potential buyers....same applies to Laporte.

I hope not, he starts fast and even though it’s Norwich he looked 2 levels above them stronger quicker, collisions he won, I wonder is Pep to much of a snob to accept we need a grafter like him willing to do the other side of the game, I love the possession, I also love to see a selfless lad rewarded.

[City64]

I know we won comfortably 5-0 but we actually only had 4 shots on target. I surely can't be alone in being a bit concerned about that. For all our dominance to only have 4 shots on target is poor in my view. Seems very churlish I know on a 5-0, but Norwich will likely be the poorest opposition we will face this season and better outfits than them could easily frustrate us

Really? Unusually, I couldn't disagree with you more, mate.

The players knew they didn't need to make chances because they were 2-0 up after 20-odd minutes against a side with no ambition other than keeping the score down. They had one shot in 90 minutes. Surprised you don't see that, to be honest.

This ability and willingness to conserve energy and manage matches will tell come March-April time.

I get that and it's a perfectly valid point. And being 2-0 up so early on against such a poor unambiguous side as Norwich were, with the side we had was a perfect platform for them. Torres, Bernardo and Jesus to name just three, all had points to prove to stake their claim for a more regular starting berth.

And considering virtually the entire match was played around the Norwich penalty area I just find it disappointing to not have more efforts on goal.

I realise the three points ultimately are what matters but sometimes the way they are garnered says as much as the scoreline itself

I am with Notts on this. Looking back on the bigger picture, we looked so, soo predictable. For many who watch us from the outside I reckon they were very impressed, but as a City fan did not see anything new. We seem to do the same things over and over and over again until teams finally open up.

I want to see something different or at least try something different because the same plays will not work versus our usual suspects.
Norwich are a joke of a team, same as WBA, they are just numbers, their role in the league is just to fill the numbers.

Satisfied with the win, but hope we remeber our 8-0 vs Watford and what came next.

WTAF have I just read here

[PeterParker]

I know we won comfortably 5-0 but we actually only had 4 shots on target. I surely can't be alone in being a bit concerned about that. For all our dominance to only have 4 shots on target is poor in my view. Seems very churlish I know on a 5-0, but Norwich will likely be the poorest opposition we will face this season and better outfits than them could easily frustrate us

Really? Unusually, I couldn't disagree with you more, mate.

The players knew they didn't need to make chances because they were 2-0 up after 20-odd minutes against a side with no ambition other than keeping the score down. They had one shot in 90 minutes. Surprised you don't see that, to be honest.

This ability and willingness to conserve energy and manage matches will tell come March-April time.

I get that and it's a perfectly valid point. And being 2-0 up so early on against such a poor unambiguous side as Norwich were, with the side we had was a perfect platform for them. Torres, Bernardo and Jesus to name just three, all had points to prove to stake their claim for a more regular starting berth.

And considering virtually the entire match was played around the Norwich penalty area I just find it disappointing to not have more efforts on goal.

I realise the three points ultimately are what matters but sometimes the way they are garnered says as much as the scoreline itself

I am with Notts on this. Looking back on the bigger picture, we looked so, soo predictable. For many who watch us from the outside I reckon they were very impressed, but as a City fan did not see anything new. We seem to do the same things over and over and over again until teams finally open up.

I want to see something different or at least try something different because the same plays will not work versus our usual suspects.
Norwich are a joke of a team, same as WBA, they are just numbers, their role in the league is just to fill the numbers.

Satisfied with the win, but hope we remeber our 8-0 vs Watford and what came next.

WTAF have I just read here

Those are letters, fella. And when you put them together you get words.

[Beefymcfc]

Getting fucked off with all these twelve men behind the ball shit.we were shit back in the day, but we had a go. 60 mins in today, they had not been in our half fucking embarrassing
Cannot stand games like this, breaks my heart

One of the reasons I gave my season ticket up. Ruins the game completely.

I thought Norwich were playing to their game plan. Its not going to work against us but probably give them a good chance against 12 or so teams in the division. Fair play to them, today's game isn't going to decide their season.

You seriously getting fucked off because we beat a relegation candidate 5 nil?

We should embrace it.

I don’t think anyone could accuse Norwich of just trying to be defensive today. Every time they had the ball at the back they kept trying to play their way out.

Only problem for them is that the tactic was a disaster and played right into our hands. We kept winning the ball back deep in their half and that’s one of the reasons why we were totally dominant.

Pep set the narrative in his pre-match presser, stating that Norwich are brave and play good football. They may have still played the way they did but I thought that statement was a good call by Pep.

[carl_feedthegoat]

I only saw the second half but GJ was a man re born..like he had a point to prove and I only hope he didn't put that shift in to impress potential buyers....same applies to Laporte.

I hope not, he starts fast and even though it’s Norwich he looked 2 levels above them stronger quicker, collisions he won, I wonder is Pep to much of a snob to accept we need a grafter like him willing to do the other side of the game, I love the possession, I also love to see a selfless lad rewarded.

Lets see...Baldie loves to drop in form players or play them in a different position for the next game.

[PeterParker]

I only saw the second half but GJ was a man re born..like he had a point to prove and I only hope he didn't put that shift in to impress potential buyers....same applies to Laporte.

I hope not, he starts fast and even though it’s Norwich he looked 2 levels above them stronger quicker, collisions he won, I wonder is Pep to much of a snob to accept we need a grafter like him willing to do the other side of the game, I love the possession, I also love to see a selfless lad rewarded.

Lets see...Baldie loves to drop in form players or play them in a different position for the next game.

Funny, but at the post match interview he said he doesn't like moving players around and likes to stick them to their natural position.
Ehm, Cancelo, Delph, Zinchenko, Fernandinho, Sterling, Jesus, Bernardo, Laporte ...

[Blue In Bolton]

It was nice to see the option of Gaby on the right wing with wingers actually being played in and delivering dangerous crosses with their ball playing feet and not having to check back on said foot and slowing the momentum down. Grealish played quite a few balls in with his left foot yesterday as well.

[Harry Dowd scored]

It was nice to see the option of Gaby on the right wing with wingers actually being played in and delivering dangerous crosses with their ball playing feet and not having to check back on said foot and slowing the momentum down. Grealish played quite a few balls in with his left foot yesterday as well.

Pretty sure Pep will put Gabby on the left next game, where he can do less damage to the opposition

[Mase]

Pep has confirmed that Laporte will play against Arsenal because “anyone that played well (against Norwich) will start”.

We’ll see.

[stupot]

Pep has confirmed that Laporte will play against Arsenal because “anyone that played well (against Norwich) will start”.

We’ll see.

I think the only player who didn't perform well was Rodri who again looked slow and cumbersome and his passing wasn't as sharp.

[Mase]

Pep has confirmed that Laporte will play against Arsenal because “anyone that played well (against Norwich) will start”.

We’ll see.

I think the only player who didn't perform well was Rodri who again looked slow and cumbersome and his passing wasn't as sharp.

I hope he keeps the same team except Fern instead of Rod.

[johnny crossan]

Pep has confirmed that Laporte will play against Arsenal because “anyone that played well (against Norwich) will start”.

We’ll see.

Rodri was an improvement on Fern last week according to this picture book sage

" How Nuno repeated Tuchel’s trick by using narrow attack to beat Manchester City

Manchester City Tottenham
By Michael Cox Aug 17, 2021 119
Manchester City’s 2021-22 started in the same way their 2020-21 ended — with a 1-0 defeat.

Sunday’s loss at Tottenham wasn’t as disheartening as their defeat by Chelsea in the European Cup final, but there was a common pattern in how their opponents set up without possession. Although the 3-4-3 of Thomas Tuchel was different to the 4-3-3 used by Nuno Espirito Santo in his first game as Spurs manager, it’s worth looking at the positioning of the front three.

In Porto, Tuchel evidently told his three attackers to remain in narrow positions and block any passes through the centre of the pitch, as shown below, which largely hampered City’s build-up play — particularly their ability to feed the ball into the centre of midfield.

Nuno, you suspect, watched that performance several times before finalising his tactical approach yesterday. If anything, the positioning of his attacking trio was more extreme. With no Harry Kane, Son Heung-min was flanked by Lucas Moura to the right, and Steven Bergwijn to the left. In reality, though, all three were positioned centrally. Using the centre circle as a guide, there are no more than 20 yards between them here.

And this was Tottenham’s approach throughout the game. This specific situation was significant in various ways.

First, this is clearly a deliberate tactic: it’s not as if Nuno has inherited three players who unquestionably belong in the centre of the pitch and adapted his approach to suit them. Moura and Bergwijn are regarded as natural wingers, and Son has spent most of his Tottenham career starting from the flank, so this is actually a trio comprised of three attackers you would think of as wide players, and yet they’ve been crammed into a very narrow zone in the centre.

Second, it creates a peculiar knock-on effect in deeper positions. Nuno’s approach placed an incredible amount of faith in his full-backs to dominate their individual battles out wide. Japhet Tanganga emerged victorious from his tussle with Raheem Sterling (even if he was fortunate not to have been booked after a succession of fouls, which would have made his job much trickier). More curiously, Spurs’ right winger Lucas had no interest whatsoever in closing down City’s left-back Benjamin Mendy, so that job was often left to right-centre midfielder Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg. When he pushed up to close down Mendy, this often left space in the channel for Jack Grealish. This is the complete reverse approach from the one that Jose Mourinho used against City last season, which featured Hojbjerg and Moussa Sissoko dropping back into the defence to minimise space in the channel.

Third, Spurs’ attackers were playing this way against a City back four that, as we’ve come to expect, play in a curiously narrow fashion themselves. Often, Pep Guardiola has used one attacking full-back combined with a cautious half-back who tucks inside or pushes into the centre of midfield. Here, both Joao Cancelo and Mendy generally occupied narrow positions, leaving the width entirely to City’s wingers.

This game therefore featured the narrowest defence you’ll ever see against the narrowest attack you’ll ever see. It’s almost difficult to know which side is reacting to the other — Spurs want to occupy the centre of the pitch because they know City will build up from defence in that zone. But Guardiola’s introduction of a very narrow defence — at least originally — was primarily to ensure the defence was close together at defensive transitions, to prevent leaping huge gaps for the opposition to break into. That’s even more imperative if the opposition attackers themselves are narrow.

This was the irony — City were formatted to stop counter-attacks but were vulnerable to them throughout the game. Guardiola blamed his players for rushing ambitious passes and conceding possession too cheaply. He might argue, therefore, that the narrow defence was more necessary than ever. But Spurs constantly found space to burst through the centre, like on this occasion through Bergwijn — City’s back four is roughly intact, but Fernandinho was often bypassed too easily in front.

In this next example, Mendy is out of the picture and Spurs end up breaking, three against three. City’s defence retreats well into a deep and narrow block, but Son might have played an extra pass to the right here, rather than shooting.


There was a familiar pattern after the break. This is the move for Tottenham’s goal. Again, the back four is relatively tight together — at least compared to how it would look if City’s full-backs were overlapping down the touchlines — but it’s through the centre of the pitch that Bergwijn finds space to break into.

In possession, City were alarmingly sluggish when trying to build from the back, and Mendy endured a terrible game. Presumably selected because of his recovery speed against a quick Tottenham attack, he nevertheless looks entirely uncomfortable being asked to play narrow. Oleksandr Zinchenko surely remains a better option.

The one bright spark, however, was Cancelo. For all the talk about Guardiola not playing a conventional defensive midfielder in the Champions League final, it’s worth remembering that Cancelo was also omitted despite an excellent campaign. Here, he showed that he’s capable of playing the full-back role in either manner — he can thread Kevin De Bruyne-esque passes through the opposition from inside-right positions…

…but is also capable of pushing forward on the overlap to deliver good low balls from wide, such as this one that narrowly evaded Ferran Torres.

The external focus will be on the full return of De Bruyne, the contributions of Grealish and the continuing rumours about Kane but Guardiola will be thinking most intensely about the positioning of his defensive unit.
Next week’s home meeting with Norwich shouldn’t be too much of a problem, but a run of games against Arsenal, Leicester, Southampton, Chelsea and Liverpool afterwards looks tougher. City recovered from a slow start last season, but that could be much trickier this time around.

For Nuno, though, this was an ideal opening-day performance: tactically intelligent, different from the approach of his unpopular predecessor, and a victory."

[zuricity]

^^^^^^

Ffs Spuds beat us because Son wasn't closed down and was allowed to shoot from 20 yards out.

[johnny crossan]

^^^^^^

Ffs Spuds beat us because Son wasn't closed down and was allowed to shoot from 20 yards out.

but where was Fern??

[zuricity]

^^^^^^

Ffs Spuds beat us because Son wasn't closed down and was allowed to shoot from 20 yards out.

but where was Fern??

over there in a box.