Pep’s defence

[blues2win]

https://x.com/skysportspl/status/186103 ... 9Awxy5lqVQ


Here’s Pep’s lengthy defence of where we are. Worth reading in full even if people don’t agree with it.

[salford city]

https://x.com/skysportspl/status/1861033206624976903?s=61&t=6ifllXVJePmO9Awxy5lqVQ


Here’s Pep’s lengthy defence of where we are. Worth reading in full even if people don’t agree with it.

Fuck me, we've seen Akanji here and it really doesn't work. Neither he nor Stones are a solution for Sunday assuming Stones hasn't chipped another nail and can play.

[sheblue]

https://x.com/skysportspl/status/1861033206624976903?s=61&t=6ifllXVJePmO9Awxy5lqVQ


Here’s Pep’s lengthy defence of where we are. Worth reading in full even if people don’t agree with it.

Fuck me, we've seen Akanji here and it really doesn't work. Neither he nor Stones are a solution for Sunday assuming Stones hasn't chipped another nail and can play.

Much prefer to see Silva and KDB as a pair than Stones or Akanji.

[Mase]

“It’s not because they’re lazy”

Has he fuckin seen Walker’s performance?!!!

[blues2win]

Kevin says Friday was the first time he was able to shoot in training without pain. Not clear whether he’ll have some minutes tomorrow in order to save him for Sunday but he surely has to start against Liverpool. He looked good against Spurs. One lovely through pass for Gundogan which should have been a goal.

Our problem is when we lose the ball. We’re very poor off the ball. That plus bad defensive errors. Gvardiol for the first, Walker for the fourth come to mind. Ederson saved at least two more goals remember. We need more athleticism and strength in the tackle in midfield. In my mind that argues for a quality buy in January. Whether the hierarchy see it that way is another matter.

[salford city]

Kevin says Friday was the first time he was able to shoot in training without pain. Not clear whether he’ll have some minutes tomorrow in order to save him for Sunday but he surely has to start against Liverpool. He looked good against Spurs. One lovely through pass for Gundogan which should have been a goal.

Our problem is when we lose the ball. We’re very poor off the ball. That plus bad defensive errors. Gvardiol for the first, Walker for the fourth come to mind. Ederson saved at least two more goals remember. We need more athleticism and strength in the tackle in midfield. In my mind that argues for a quality buy in January. Whether the hierarchy see it that way is another matter.

Agreed re bite in the middle but the issue is we're looking short-term til the season finishes and there is no one close to Rodders. That said, I'd be happy with a decent cover and push Rodders up next season - or at least have an option to do that.

[Mase]

Kevin says Friday was the first time he was able to shoot in training without pain. Not clear whether he’ll have some minutes tomorrow in order to save him for Sunday but he surely has to start against Liverpool. He looked good against Spurs. One lovely through pass for Gundogan which should have been a goal.

Our problem is when we lose the ball. We’re very poor off the ball. That plus bad defensive errors. Gvardiol for the first, Walker for the fourth come to mind. Ederson saved at least two more goals remember. We need more athleticism and strength in the tackle in midfield. In my mind that argues for a quality buy in January. Whether the hierarchy see it that way is another matter.

Agreed re bite in the middle but the issue is we're looking short-term til the season finishes and there is no one close to Rodders. That said, I'd be happy with a decent cover and push Rodders up next season - or at least have an option to do that.

Wonder how Lavia would have turned out here. Even Tommy Doyle ffs would be no worse than Gundo at DM on Saturday!!

[stupot]

Kevin says Friday was the first time he was able to shoot in training without pain. Not clear whether he’ll have some minutes tomorrow in order to save him for Sunday but he surely has to start against Liverpool. He looked good against Spurs. One lovely through pass for Gundogan which should have been a goal.

Our problem is when we lose the ball. We’re very poor off the ball. That plus bad defensive errors. Gvardiol for the first, Walker for the fourth come to mind. Ederson saved at least two more goals remember. We need more athleticism and strength in the tackle in midfield. In my mind that argues for a quality buy in January. Whether the hierarchy see it that way is another matter.

Agreed re bite in the middle but the issue is we're looking short-term til the season finishes and there is no one close to Rodders. That said, I'd be happy with a decent cover and push Rodders up next season - or at least have an option to do that.

Wonder how Lavia would have turned out here. Even Tommy Doyle ffs would be no worse than Gundo at DM on Saturday!!

Neither of them made their own starting 11s at the weekend.

[Mase]

Lavia coming back from a season long injury and Doyle no worse than what we have now though.

[nottsblue]

Pep can have all the excuses he wants. Some are valid. But the top and bottom of it is the squad has been allowed to get old. Players replacements haven’t yet been sourced and for my money we look stale and lethargic and seem to simply be going through the motions. We are too easy to play against and we are giving the opposition more chances on goal


That's on him and the DoF. Maybe the uncertainty around the charges has meant our targets were not able yo be obtained? Possibly. But this summer needs a large overhaul and reset and ideally it starts in January

[Harry Dowd scored]

I posted before, this is what happens when the club sell young talent & retain ageing less hungry players. I saw Chelsea’s game, Palmer was outstanding & Delap played well against rags, Lavia & Harwood-Bellis are probably better than players we have been selecting. We are in a bit of a mess & it’s obvious major surgery is needed.

[Indianablue]

Pep can have all the excuses he wants. Some are valid. But the top and bottom of it is the squad has been allowed to get old. Players replacements haven’t yet been sourced and for my money we look stale and lethargic and seem to simply be going through the motions. We are too easy to play against and we are giving the opposition more chances on goal


That's on him and the DoF. Maybe the uncertainty around the charges has meant our targets were not able yo be obtained? Possibly. But this summer needs a large overhaul and reset and ideally it starts in January

Agreed, my eyes tell me that the deterioration has been going on for well over a year. Our stats regarding goals conceded have shifted from being quite miserly to a position now where we are giving them away for fun. One shot one goal is now 4 shots 4 goals. Neil Warnock could get a better tune out of this squad.

[Mase]

I posted before, this is what happens when the club sell young talent & retain ageing less hungry players. I saw Chelsea’s game, Palmer was outstanding & Delap played well against rags, Lavia & Harwood-Bellis are probably better than players we have been selecting. We are in a bit of a mess & it’s obvious major surgery is needed.

Spot on.

[stupot]

Pep can have all the excuses he wants. Some are valid. But the top and bottom of it is the squad has been allowed to get old. Players replacements haven’t yet been sourced and for my money we look stale and lethargic and seem to simply be going through the motions. We are too easy to play against and we are giving the opposition more chances on goal


That's on him and the DoF. Maybe the uncertainty around the charges has meant our targets were not able yo be obtained? Possibly. But this summer needs a large overhaul and reset and ideally it starts in January

Agreed, my eyes tell me that the deterioration has been going on for well over a year. Our stats regarding goals conceded have shifted from being quite miserly to a position now where we are giving them away for fun. One shot one goal is now 4 shots 4 goals. Neil Warnock could get a better tune out of this squad.

How can it have been going on for well over a year when we were unbeaten in 2024 until a couple of weeks ago

[john@staustell]

Pep can have all the excuses he wants. Some are valid. But the top and bottom of it is the squad has been allowed to get old. Players replacements haven’t yet been sourced and for my money we look stale and lethargic and seem to simply be going through the motions. We are too easy to play against and we are giving the opposition more chances on goal


That's on him and the DoF. Maybe the uncertainty around the charges has meant our targets were not able yo be obtained? Possibly. But this summer needs a large overhaul and reset and ideally it starts in January

Agreed, my eyes tell me that the deterioration has been going on for well over a year. Our stats regarding goals conceded have shifted from being quite miserly to a position now where we are giving them away for fun. One shot one goal is now 4 shots 4 goals. Neil Warnock could get a better tune out of this squad.

How can it have been going on for well over a year when we were unbeaten in 2024 until a couple of weeks ago

Well we nearly lost nearly all the games this season, letting in some dumb goal or 2 early on and then scraping through, hanging on like grim death against poor teams at home

[stupot]

Pep can have all the excuses he wants. Some are valid. But the top and bottom of it is the squad has been allowed to get old. Players replacements haven’t yet been sourced and for my money we look stale and lethargic and seem to simply be going through the motions. We are too easy to play against and we are giving the opposition more chances on goal


That's on him and the DoF. Maybe the uncertainty around the charges has meant our targets were not able yo be obtained? Possibly. But this summer needs a large overhaul and reset and ideally it starts in January

Agreed, my eyes tell me that the deterioration has been going on for well over a year. Our stats regarding goals conceded have shifted from being quite miserly to a position now where we are giving them away for fun. One shot one goal is now 4 shots 4 goals. Neil Warnock could get a better tune out of this squad.

How can it have been going on for well over a year when we were unbeaten in 2024 until a couple of weeks ago

Well we nearly lost nearly all the games this season, letting in some dumb goal or 2 early on and then scraping through, hanging on like grim death against poor teams at home

We won the last dozen or so games last season to win it by a point. The deterioration started very recently.

[Sparklehorse]

It’s really strange our midfield, especially given the fact that even Rodders is not the paciest of players, what we have when he’s on the pitch is control. We were regularly getting around 80% possession and generally speaking that is enough to win most games, especially with the creative talent going forward. We have now lost the confidence to control games without him there are far too many wayward passes and not enough bite to win the ball back. I’m not sure what the answer is, but I do know it ain’t Gundog, Bernie or Walker starting games. I know I keep banging on but I really think a fit Grealish will make a huge difference, we’ll see.

[Outcast]

Pep can have all the excuses he wants. Some are valid. But the top and bottom of it is the squad has been allowed to get old. Players replacements haven’t yet been sourced and for my money we look stale and lethargic and seem to simply be going through the motions. We are too easy to play against and we are giving the opposition more chances on goal


That's on him and the DoF. Maybe the uncertainty around the charges has meant our targets were not able yo be obtained? Possibly. But this summer needs a large overhaul and reset and ideally it starts in January

Agreed, my eyes tell me that the deterioration has been going on for well over a year. Our stats regarding goals conceded have shifted from being quite miserly to a position now where we are giving them away for fun. One shot one goal is now 4 shots 4 goals. Neil Warnock could get a better tune out of this squad.

How can it have been going on for well over a year when we were unbeaten in 2024 until a couple of weeks ago

Well we nearly lost nearly all the games this season, letting in some dumb goal or 2 early on and then scraping through, hanging on like grim death against poor teams at home

We won the last dozen or so games last season to win it by a point. The deterioration started very recently.

Recently? Everyone can see our midfield is aging and we're one or two injury away from catastrophe. It's all about planning, we've been good at it for years, but not recently and we're paying the price for it.

[stupot]

Seeing as how we were unbeaten in the last 23 league games of last season then yes I'd say recently.

[Indianablue]

Pep can have all the excuses he wants. Some are valid. But the top and bottom of it is the squad has been allowed to get old. Players replacements haven’t yet been sourced and for my money we look stale and lethargic and seem to simply be going through the motions. We are too easy to play against and we are giving the opposition more chances on goal


That's on him and the DoF. Maybe the uncertainty around the charges has meant our targets were not able yo be obtained? Possibly. But this summer needs a large overhaul and reset and ideally it starts in January

Agreed, my eyes tell me that the deterioration has been going on for well over a year. Our stats regarding goals conceded have shifted from being quite miserly to a position now where we are giving them away for fun. One shot one goal is now 4 shots 4 goals. Neil Warnock could get a better tune out of this squad.

How can it have been going on for well over a year when we were unbeaten in 2024 until a couple of weeks ago

Seriously Stupot? We've not looked convincing in any of our premiership games this season even the ones we have won. Opposition have been increasingly more likely to score against us, more teams have figured out how to play against us and we have got worse in creating goal chances, getting shots on target and scoring.
For me things started to slide second half of last season. Managed to overhaul Arsenal for the PL just but Arsenal helped us big time.
Chumps league last year was ours to lose, and we did.
This season Pep is cureenetly saying he fancies us to win the Prem and the Champs League but he's losing his grip on reality as well as his team. Tonight's game will be interesting, If we don't get a goal early on we will shit ourselves again and Pep will not know what to do. We have had a few long term injuries but Pep needs to adjust our style of play to the ones we have left that are fit. Sick of it at the moment, we're shite. Been coming for some time and a significant number of happy clappy fans don't want to see it.