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Manchester City Manuel Pellegrini admitted he wanted to substitute all 11 players at half-time as the club were given a scare in their 4-2 FA Cup victory over Watford.

The Championship side shocked their Premier League hosts as they bolted into a 2-0 lead inside 30 minutes at the Etihad Stadium.

But City, who have not lost a match at home in the league this season, lifted in the second half as a Sergio Aguero hat-trick and a strike from defender Aleksandar Kolarov secured the club a spot in the fifth round.

However, Pellegrini, who believed his team was a ‘disaster’ in the first 45 minutes, contemplated making a raft of changes during the interval.

"I wanted to change all of my players at half-time, all 11 of them," Pellegrini told a news conference.

"The whole team was a disaster in the first half. My team wants to win every game and wants to win the FA Cup.

"I was very worried at half-time because I talked with the players a lot before the match and said that, in the FA Cup, teams that play in a lower division have a lot of motivation.

"If you don't play with 100 percent intensity and desire you can lose and go out of the competition and we were jogging in the first half. If you play like that you can't win."

The Chilean boss also admitted that if Watford had been able to secure a third goal, City would have their dreams of a four-goal trophy haul this season dashed in front of their home fans.

City are second in the Premier League, have a date with Sunderland in the Capital One Cup final and face Barcelona in the Champions League knockout stages.

"The whole team didn't do the things that we normally do in the first half, the most important thing for me is Watford didn't score the third goal," said City's manager.

"If they'd have scored that the game would have been finished. But the reaction was there and we played a really good second half."

http://espnfc.com/news/story/_/id/16935 ... up?cc=5901

Two ways you can read that. I choose the even spread of the blame that all 11 were at fault.

Easy to focus blame, rightly or wrongly, on Micah and Rodwell just because they were subbed at half time

Very mature of him to not single anyone out for criticism in the press. For managers in all professions, the saying holds true: "criticize in private, praise in public"

But if you see the first 5 minutes of the extended highlights on the OS, you'd want to sub out our hole team as well. Absolutely no resistance to their attacks. Almost like our players were just told to shadow their players and not make a tackle. Hopefully that is a one half anomaly, never to be repeated again.

That's how I read it - I'm not going to single people out.

Couldn't this go in the match thread? Not sure it deserves it's own thread, unless we're going to make a new thread for ever City story?

Mase wrote:Couldn't this go in the match thread? Not sure it deserves it's own thread, unless we're going to make a new thread for ever City story?

Put it in one of the two dozen active threads about the Rags

Mase wrote:Couldn't this go in the match thread? Not sure it deserves it's own thread, unless we're going to make a new thread for ever City story?

I'm quite interested in these remarks and there's no way I'd be checking the match thread two days after the event.

Excellent management from Pellers yet again. Everyone's to blame = nobody's to blame. What a bright spark. I love him.

Alioune DVToure wrote:

Mase wrote:Couldn't this go in the match thread? Not sure it deserves it's own thread, unless we're going to make a new thread for ever City story?

I'm quite interested in these remarks and there's no way I'd be checking the match thread two days after the event.

Excellent management from Pellers yet again. Everyone's to blame = nobody's to blame. What a bright spark. I love him.

Exactly right,quality professional management. No doubt the reporter was after a real headline about a player being slaughtered so gave them a nothing cop out sort of quote that only really reflects on him.

Great comment but more importantly great subs. Most managers would have switched strikers when losing by 2 goals MP knew we just needed leaders on the pitch and not to panic.

Alioune DVToure wrote:

Mase wrote:Couldn't this go in the match thread? Not sure it deserves it's own thread, unless we're going to make a new thread for ever City story?

I'm quite interested in these remarks and there's no way I'd be checking the match thread two days after the event.

Excellent management from Pellers yet again. Everyone's to blame = nobody's to blame. What a bright spark. I love him.

I loved his two for one substitution with Kompany for Rodwell. The guy on Radio Manchester was trying to call it a defensive substitution and the Goat was trying to educate him otherwise.

Mase wrote:Couldn't this go in the match thread? Not sure it deserves it's own thread, unless we're going to make a new thread for ever City story?

It's a fucking City board. So fuck right off you cunt. If you don't like it don't click on the link.

No problem with the comment. Great way to phrase it. And he was right, after all.

bobby brows wrote:Two ways you can read that. I choose the even spread of the blame that all 11 were at fault.

Easy to focus blame, rightly or wrongly, on Micah and Rodwell just because they were subbed at half time

Heard Pellegrini on the radio and he was asked about the subs and he said we needed to play with high intensity in the second half and as they were just coming back from injury, they couldn't do it.

Good way to avoid saying how bad they were and leave the journalists with no quotes again. Interesting how many of them complain of how boring it is interviewing him and how they had more to report on under Mancini.

JamieMCFC wrote: It's a fucking City board. So fuck right off you cunt. If you don't like it don't click on the link.

You realise just how stupid you've made yourself look?

Mase wrote:
You realise just how stupid you've made yourself look?

While I disagree that these comments belong in the match thread, I think Jamie just nailed the Overreaction of the Year Award for 2014. Possibly for the whole of the internet...

Mase wrote:
You realise just how stupid you've made yourself look?

Artistic License perhaps?

Mase wrote:

JamieMCFC wrote: It's a fucking City board. So fuck right off you cunt. If you don't like it don't click on the link.

You realise just how stupid you've made yourself look?

Well you are a cunt, not professional level like carl, but if you applied yourself you never know.

Blue Since 76 wrote: Heard Pellegrini on the radio and he was asked about the subs and he said we needed to play with high intensity in the second half and as they were just coming back from injury, they couldn't do it. Good way to avoid saying how bad they were and leave the journalists with no quotes again. Interesting how many of them complain of how boring it is interviewing him and how they had more to report on under Mancini.

Funnily enough I'm listening to James Richardson on the guardian podcast and the first thing he mentioned was Richards and Rodwell being subbed.

bobby brows wrote:

Blue Since 76 wrote: Heard Pellegrini on the radio and he was asked about the subs and he said we needed to play with high intensity in the second half and as they were just coming back from injury, they couldn't do it. Good way to avoid saying how bad they were and leave the journalists with no quotes again. Interesting how many of them complain of how boring it is interviewing him and how they had more to report on under Mancini.

Funnily enough I'm listening to James Richardson on the guardian podcast and the first thing he mentioned was Richards and Rodwell being subbed.

Having only watched the highlights, I can't really comment on who played what, but I got the feeling while he was saying he didn't want to single out anyone, his actions betrayed that when he subbed Rodwell and Richards off.

bobby brows wrote:Two ways you can read that. I choose the even spread of the blame that all 11 were at fault.

Easy to focus blame, rightly or wrongly, on Micah and Rodwell just because they were subbed at half time

Richards, Rodwell and Lopes were appalling - and clearly so. Yaya was appalling but he has the ability to spring into action which he did second half. The rest were just bad.