Mancini (The Ted Hughes and BBS thread)

[Ted Hughes]

We didn't play a normal 4-4-2. We may have had a line of 4 on occasions but Jo spent a lot of the game in midfield or out wide with Balotelli on his own up front 30 yayds away. Occasionally Jo stayed forward when an attack broke down or swapped with Balo but mostly he joined the midfield. The main difference is that we had more attacking players in the team, so although we were pretty much 4-5-1 when we lost the ball, when in possession we got forward much quicker & in greater numbers than we did v Birmingham for example, with Milner, a more attack minded midfielder than Barry or DeJong, also getting forward & even Vieira joining in.

People claiming you can't play like that in the Premier league have not one iota of evidence whatsoever to back up their claim. but mouth it off as if they have some kind of tactical enlightenment superior to everyone else. It's bullshit. No you don't do it every week v the top sides & perhaps it's not a good idea with Jo & SWP but if we can't replace those two with Tevez & Silva & play fucking Blackburn or Birmingham or Blackpool or Fulham or West Ham or Wigan or West Brom etc etc at home then we should fucking give it up.

What we did last night was exactly what the rags have been doing for 20 odd years; battering shite teams at home by attacking.

Correct and we will get there in the end.
I would point out one thing though, last night Salzburg had to come out and try, they couldn't just sit for a draw or try and nick it. That does make a difference.

That's true but in the Brum game for instance, towards the end, there were occasions when the game opened out & half our players were still behind the ball as their natural instict is more defensive than attacking. We brought on Barry which made it worse. Those are the kind of games where the rags, when at their best, win by sheer weight of numbers attacking & chucking the 'kitchen sink' at it, just like they did v us. They don't worry about the oppo, they just storm it & 95 times out of 100 it works.

We really do have to get our crossing & set pieces sorted out if we're to be as good as the other top 4/5 teams at breaking down defences though. Even Arsenal do crosses now.

[Swales4ever]

Absolutely spot on the point of Bob playing 4-4-2, mostly diamond, because of weak / suitable opposition.
While the more the players shall become familiar to his football the most he will try to instill the use of playing differnt formations, even within the same game, do forget even the idea Bob will approach a serious game with a formation different from 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1, the latter being, in my very personal opinion, the final product that will lead City to the title next year.

[Douglas Higginbottom]

Of course Mancini got it right last night. It was impossible to get it wrong as Salzberg were appalling. I actually think our reserve team would have beaten them and I mean our reserve team and not the squad team that played.I think we will kmow a lot more after the 10 games we have to play in December, a game every 3 days! I know we havent got that many but he has said it so often I am starting to believe it myself.

[carl_feedthegoat]

Of course Mancini got it right last night. It was impossible to get it wrong as Salzberg were appalling. I actually think our reserve team would have beaten them and I mean our reserve team and not the squad team that played.I think we will kmow a lot more after the 10 games we have to play in December, a game every 3 days! I know we havent got that many but he has said it so often I am starting to believe it myself.

10 matches in 5 weeks +/ - so he wasn't really exaggerating was he.

[DoomMerchant]

Of course Mancini got it right last night. It was impossible to get it wrong as Salzberg were appalling. I actually think our reserve team would have beaten them and I mean our reserve team and not the squad team that played.

that's right Doug. Fun to watch tho...

cheers

[Douglas Higginbottom]

Of course Mancini got it right last night. It was impossible to get it wrong as Salzberg were appalling. I actually think our reserve team would have beaten them and I mean our reserve team and not the squad team that played.I think we will kmow a lot more after the 10 games we have to play in December, a game every 3 days! I know we havent got that many but he has said it so often I am starting to believe it myself.

10 matches in 5 weeks +/ - so he wasn't really exaggerating was he.

The one thing he was doing ( and does quite a lot) was exaggerate.We are not and do not play every 3 days.From time to time we might play 2 in 3 days.When he last said 10 games ( might have been 11) in a given spell it was actually 8.Quite a difference and I wish he wouldnt keep bleating on about it.

[petrov]

who would have guessed playing 2 strikers, 2 wingers and 1 attack minded midfielder would result in goals ?
Well done bobby you are indeed "the master"

Silly argument Wooders. Terribly weak opposition enabled him to field such a line-up. Would've been anihilated in the Prem.

because we're doing so well in the prem with 3 defensive midfielders? Because free scoring teams like Spurs and UTD who usually play similair formations to last night get anihilated?
Why would we be the special cases who get torn to shreds?

Im sick of this we don't play attacking football like Spurs shite tbh.... and the media praising them while dismissing us. Here ala Rafa Benitez are some facts.

1- WE ARE DOING BETTER THAN SPURS (dunno why no one on God's green earth can see this but the table doesn't lie.) and we are doing it with 3 defensive midfielders according to many when in reality on DeJong plays a DM role, Barry's is more all hustle and attacking and Yaya is very rarely in our half never mind playing as a defensive midfielder.
Despite all the shite the media spouts about them, they are behind us.

2- Also interestingly enough "free scoring Spurs" have scored 23 premierleague goals to our 20. thats a massive 0.2 goals per game. Over the course of the season thats 7 goals. Hardly free scoring after all. I'd wager at the half way point we'll be there or there abouts the same as them. Than consider at the current average, we will concede 20 less goals per season. Thats gives us a 13 goal better goal difference come seasons end. So just taking goals scored into account, we're either both free scoring or neither.

Free scoring Spurs end of season if things go the same way. 58f 50-51A - GD +7 or +8
Negative boring defensive City's record with no change. 51f 30 against - GD +21.

3 - Also last night we did not play with 2 strikers and an attacking midfielder. Jo played on the left, Balo up front and AJ right. SWP played in Yaya's role, Milner in Barry's and Vieira in DeJongs only with slightly less running.

[saulman]

^^^^ Yeah....what he said.......with an egg on top.

[brite blu sky]

Of course Mancini got it right last night. It was impossible to get it wrong as Salzberg were appalling. I actually think our reserve team would have beaten them and I mean our reserve team and not the squad team that played.I think we will kmow a lot more after the 10 games we have to play in December, a game every 3 days! I know we havent got that many but he has said it so often I am starting to believe it myself.

10 matches in 5 weeks +/ - so he wasn't really exaggerating was he.

The one thing he was doing ( and does quite a lot) was exaggerate.We are not and do not play every 3 days.From time to time we might play 2 in 3 days.When he last said 10 games ( might have been 11) in a given spell it was actually 8.Quite a difference and I wish he wouldnt keep bleating on about it.

You may well know more than i and others do, but between language, spin and the genuine troot of it, Mancini like a lot of other football managers has his stock phrases and has a way of putting the message across, exaggerating is a part of that fo sure...

who doesn't?

[johnny crossan]

Of course Mancini got it right last night. It was impossible to get it wrong as Salzberg were appalling. I actually think our reserve team would have beaten them and I mean our reserve team and not the squad team that played.I think we will kmow a lot more after the 10 games we have to play in December, a game every 3 days! I know we havent got that many but he has said it so often I am starting to believe it myself.

I don't get this approach. Suddenly when we win well the opposition are "appalling" - it was the same against Fulham, West Brom, Wigan, Blackpool, Liverpool, Chelsea, etc etc. Salzburg kept Juventus out twice and they may not be what they were but that's an achievment. We are all ready enough to slaughter the performances when we don't win so just ditch the carping when we do play well and enjoy!

[Slim]

Of course Mancini got it right last night. It was impossible to get it wrong as Salzberg were appalling. I actually think our reserve team would have beaten them and I mean our reserve team and not the squad team that played.I think we will kmow a lot more after the 10 games we have to play in December, a game every 3 days! I know we havent got that many but he has said it so often I am starting to believe it myself.

I don't get this approach. Suddenly when we win well the opposition are "appalling" - it was the same against Fulham, West Brom, Wigan, Blackpool, Liverpool, Chelsea, etc etc. Salzburg kept Juventus out twice and they may not be what they were but that's an achievment. We are all ready enough to slaughter the performances when we don't win so just ditch the carping when we do play well and enjoy!

Not every time, but Douglas is on the money here.

Fulham and West Brom we played well, Wigan were crap, Liverpool was just lethal but they were struggling at that stage and could play better, Chelsea was an amazing win. Blackpool I left out cause I thought we were second best and still won, so not sure how that fits in but superb play from Silva.

So I don't see it as an every time and I understand the point that you can only beat what's in front of you, but some games are easier than others and Salzburg were an extremely poor level of competition and certainly not one I would judge Mancini's performance on.

[john@staustell]

Of course Mancini got it right last night. It was impossible to get it wrong as Salzberg were appalling. I actually think our reserve team would have beaten them and I mean our reserve team and not the squad team that played.I think we will kmow a lot more after the 10 games we have to play in December, a game every 3 days! I know we havent got that many but he has said it so often I am starting to believe it myself.

I don't get this approach. Suddenly when we win well the opposition are "appalling" - it was the same against Fulham, West Brom, Wigan, Blackpool, Liverpool, Chelsea, etc etc. Salzburg kept Juventus out twice and they may not be what they were but that's an achievment. We are all ready enough to slaughter the performances when we don't win so just ditch the carping when we do play well and enjoy!

Not every time, but Douglas is on the money here.

Fulham and West Brom we played well, Wigan were crap, Liverpool was just lethal but they were struggling at that stage and could play better, Chelsea was an amazing win. Blackpool I left out cause I thought we were second best and still won, so not sure how that fits in but superb play from Silva.

So I don't see it as an every time and I understand the point that you can only beat what's in front of you, but some games are easier than others and Salzburg were an extremely poor level of competition and certainly not one I would judge Mancini's performance on.

In that case the Faroes team we played must've been pretty good because we struggled against them that time. And several others. Job well done whilst resting players.

[Slim]

Of course Mancini got it right last night. It was impossible to get it wrong as Salzberg were appalling. I actually think our reserve team would have beaten them and I mean our reserve team and not the squad team that played.I think we will kmow a lot more after the 10 games we have to play in December, a game every 3 days! I know we havent got that many but he has said it so often I am starting to believe it myself.

I don't get this approach. Suddenly when we win well the opposition are "appalling" - it was the same against Fulham, West Brom, Wigan, Blackpool, Liverpool, Chelsea, etc etc. Salzburg kept Juventus out twice and they may not be what they were but that's an achievment. We are all ready enough to slaughter the performances when we don't win so just ditch the carping when we do play well and enjoy!

Not every time, but Douglas is on the money here.

Fulham and West Brom we played well, Wigan were crap, Liverpool was just lethal but they were struggling at that stage and could play better, Chelsea was an amazing win. Blackpool I left out cause I thought we were second best and still won, so not sure how that fits in but superb play from Silva.

So I don't see it as an every time and I understand the point that you can only beat what's in front of you, but some games are easier than others and Salzburg were an extremely poor level of competition and certainly not one I would judge Mancini's performance on.

In that case the Faroes team we played must've been pretty good because we struggled against them that time. And several others. Job well done whilst resting players.

Or we were the ones who were appalling.

[Socrates]

Of course Mancini got it right last night. It was impossible to get it wrong as Salzberg were appalling. I actually think our reserve team would have beaten them and I mean our reserve team and not the squad team that played.I think we will kmow a lot more after the 10 games we have to play in December, a game every 3 days! I know we havent got that many but he has said it so often I am starting to believe it myself.

I don't get this approach. Suddenly when we win well the opposition are "appalling" - it was the same against Fulham, West Brom, Wigan, Blackpool, Liverpool, Chelsea, etc etc. Salzburg kept Juventus out twice and they may not be what they were but that's an achievment. We are all ready enough to slaughter the performances when we don't win so just ditch the carping when we do play well and enjoy!

Agree 100% but it was always thus, never has there been one goal against City that wasn't someone's fault nor any team beaten that weren't "poor." It always frustrated me but now it just makes me laugh out loud as I just go away and look at the table and see us in the top 4 then look at the Europa table and see us top with Juventus trailing behind.

[BobKowalski]

Of course Mancini got it right last night. It was impossible to get it wrong as Salzberg were appalling. I actually think our reserve team would have beaten them and I mean our reserve team and not the squad team that played.I think we will kmow a lot more after the 10 games we have to play in December, a game every 3 days! I know we havent got that many but he has said it so often I am starting to believe it myself.

I don't get this approach. Suddenly when we win well the opposition are "appalling" - it was the same against Fulham, West Brom, Wigan, Blackpool, Liverpool, Chelsea, etc etc. Salzburg kept Juventus out twice and they may not be what they were but that's an achievment. We are all ready enough to slaughter the performances when we don't win so just ditch the carping when we do play well and enjoy!

I don't get it either. Our ability to suck the joy out of any decent performance is second to none at times.

[Slim]

Of course Mancini got it right last night. It was impossible to get it wrong as Salzberg were appalling. I actually think our reserve team would have beaten them and I mean our reserve team and not the squad team that played.I think we will kmow a lot more after the 10 games we have to play in December, a game every 3 days! I know we havent got that many but he has said it so often I am starting to believe it myself.

I don't get this approach. Suddenly when we win well the opposition are "appalling" - it was the same against Fulham, West Brom, Wigan, Blackpool, Liverpool, Chelsea, etc etc. Salzburg kept Juventus out twice and they may not be what they were but that's an achievment. We are all ready enough to slaughter the performances when we don't win so just ditch the carping when we do play well and enjoy!

I don't get it either. Our ability to suck the joy out of any decent performance is second to none at times.

Quick Q&A for you.

Do you think our performance against Chelsea was better or worse than our performance against Salzburg?

[BobKowalski]

Of course Mancini got it right last night. It was impossible to get it wrong as Salzberg were appalling. I actually think our reserve team would have beaten them and I mean our reserve team and not the squad team that played.I think we will kmow a lot more after the 10 games we have to play in December, a game every 3 days! I know we havent got that many but he has said it so often I am starting to believe it myself.

I don't get this approach. Suddenly when we win well the opposition are "appalling" - it was the same against Fulham, West Brom, Wigan, Blackpool, Liverpool, Chelsea, etc etc. Salzburg kept Juventus out twice and they may not be what they were but that's an achievment. We are all ready enough to slaughter the performances when we don't win so just ditch the carping when we do play well and enjoy!

I don't get it either. Our ability to suck the joy out of any decent performance is second to none at times.

Quick Q&A for you.

Do you think our performance against Chelsea was better or worse than our performance against Salzburg?

I enjoyed them both. I enjoyed Liverpool and Fulham more. Liverpool because we controlled the game with an ease I just didn't expect. Fulham because Sky's whole 'Revenge is a dish best served cold' shite blew up in their face with Bellamy doing his whole 'City are the bestest club ever' the icing on the custard pie.

In short I enjoy it when City do well. I am not overly interested in debating the merits of whether the team shape was better for this game over that game or whether Balotelli should have been playing on the left/right/middle or in the kebab shop down the road or whether we could have beaten the opposition with the U15 side and that it was no great shakes really when we do win 3-0. Others do enjoy pouring over the entrails of the game just gone and critiquing the team selection/tactics etc but its not for me as I find it does suck the joy out of the experience. Each to their own and all that.

[Slim]

Of course Mancini got it right last night. It was impossible to get it wrong as Salzberg were appalling. I actually think our reserve team would have beaten them and I mean our reserve team and not the squad team that played.I think we will kmow a lot more after the 10 games we have to play in December, a game every 3 days! I know we havent got that many but he has said it so often I am starting to believe it myself.

I don't get this approach. Suddenly when we win well the opposition are "appalling" - it was the same against Fulham, West Brom, Wigan, Blackpool, Liverpool, Chelsea, etc etc. Salzburg kept Juventus out twice and they may not be what they were but that's an achievment. We are all ready enough to slaughter the performances when we don't win so just ditch the carping when we do play well and enjoy!

I don't get it either. Our ability to suck the joy out of any decent performance is second to none at times.

Quick Q&A for you.

Do you think our performance against Chelsea was better or worse than our performance against Salzburg?

I enjoyed them both. I enjoyed Liverpool and Fulham more. Liverpool because we controlled the game with an ease I just didn't expect. Fulham because Sky's whole 'Revenge is a dish best served cold' shite blew up in their face with Bellamy doing his whole 'City are the bestest club ever' the icing on the custard pie.

In short I enjoy it when City do well. I am not overly interested in debating the merits of whether the team shape was better for this game over that game or whether Balotelli should have been playing on the left/right/middle or in the kebab shop down the road or whether we could have beaten the opposition with the U15 side and that it was no great shakes really when we do win 3-0. Others do enjoy pouring over the entrails of the game just gone and critiquing the team selection/tactics etc but its not for me as I find it does suck the joy out of the experience. Each to their own and all that.

Fair enough, but the forum is, amongst other things, for that purpose.

If you want a "YAY WE WON!" or "BOO WE LOST!" type environment and nothing more, maybe twitter is better suited for something like that.

[BobKowalski]

I don't get this approach. Suddenly when we win well the opposition are "appalling" - it was the same against Fulham, West Brom, Wigan, Blackpool, Liverpool, Chelsea, etc etc. Salzburg kept Juventus out twice and they may not be what they were but that's an achievment. We are all ready enough to slaughter the performances when we don't win so just ditch the carping when we do play well and enjoy!

I don't get it either. Our ability to suck the joy out of any decent performance is second to none at times.

Quick Q&A for you.

Do you think our performance against Chelsea was better or worse than our performance against Salzburg?

I enjoyed them both. I enjoyed Liverpool and Fulham more. Liverpool because we controlled the game with an ease I just didn't expect. Fulham because Sky's whole 'Revenge is a dish best served cold' shite blew up in their face with Bellamy doing his whole 'City are the bestest club ever' the icing on the custard pie.

In short I enjoy it when City do well. I am not overly interested in debating the merits of whether the team shape was better for this game over that game or whether Balotelli should have been playing on the left/right/middle or in the kebab shop down the road or whether we could have beaten the opposition with the U15 side and that it was no great shakes really when we do win 3-0. Others do enjoy pouring over the entrails of the game just gone and critiquing the team selection/tactics etc but its not for me as I find it does suck the joy out of the experience. Each to their own and all that.

Fair enough, but the forum is, amongst other things, for that purpose.

If you want a "YAY WE WON!" or "BOO WE LOST!" type environment and nothing more, maybe twitter is better suited for something like that.

I didn't say it wasn't. I just said for me it is a joyless experience. I'll pass on the environment that you think best suited as it appears to require full 'caps lock' which in addition to being joyless is fucking annoying. Thanks all the same.

[Douglas Higginbottom]

"it was the same against Fulham, West Brom, Wigan, Blackpool, Liverpool, Chelsea, etc etc. Salzburg kept Juventus out twice and they may not be what they were but that's an achievment. We are all ready enough to slaughter the performances when we don't win so just ditch the carping when we do play well and enjoy!

If you want to go OTT JC don't go so far as you lose any point you are trying to make.

Against Fulham we were excellent ( even though Fulham were poor) v WBA,WIgan very good and professional , v BPool not the best but good,v Chelsea excellent,v LPool v good but they weren't very good were they.And pointing out that Salzberg held Juve twice means nothing really as it's on the night that counts.

You lumped them all in as if comments were made that the oppos were rubbish each time we won. Proven wrong methinks. Just for reference though is there any of the above you disagree with?