The "Balanced" Thread

[Arjan Van Schotte]

Positives: Our defence is generally very good - and that includes barry and nige.

Negatives: mancini's tactics make me want to puke.

[ruralblue]

Can't really pick fault with the defence, but going forward we are way too slow. To many times Silva brings the ball out with nowhere to go and no one to pass forward to. The system isn't working and Mancini just seems content enough to play for the draw.

[StrikeAnywhere]

our defence is only perceived as good BECAUSE of our negative tactics

[ruralblue]

our defence is only perceived as good BECAUSE of our negative tactics

Don't think thats a fair comment. Kolarov aside I think the defence is quite solid (90% of the time).

[Slim]

Positives: I didn't expect us to win.

Negatives: We didn't win.

[Original Dub]

Mancini is absolutely PETRIFIED of every big team.

I can't stand his tactics and I've tried to get used to how wonderful it can be to rejoice in all things defensive, but its not me. I like attacking football and I'm of the opinion that the team who tries to win should always be held in high regard and the team that only wants to avoid a loss deserves everything that's coming to them.

Oh, I've to balance this up right? It is a positive that that match is over... its like a relief.

In fact, I've felt relieved after so many matches were over under Mancini because for 90 mins every week I feel frustrated instead of excited.

[colonel_muck]

lescott is really starting to blossom these last five or six games he's been great and today was no exception. if we are going to play 'cantenaccio' we need to work very hard on our counter attacking which is really lacking, imo because there are two many defensive minded midfielders who you need to bomb forward when the wingers have the ball.

[colonel_muck]

Mancini is absolutely PETRIFIED of every big team.

I can't stand his tactics and I've tried to get used to how wonderful it can be to rejoice in all things defensive, but its not me. I like attacking football and I'm of the opinion that the team who tries to win should always be held in high regard and the team that only wants to avoid a loss deserves everything that's coming to them.
Oh, I've to balance this up right? It is a positive that that match is over... its like a relief.

In fact, I've felt relieved after so many matches were over under Mancini because for 90 mins every week I feel frustrated instead of excited.

just wanted to say i really agree with this!

[Lee_R]

Gone him soon anyway.

[Douglas Higginbottom]

our defence is only perceived as good BECAUSE of our negative tactics

Don't think thats a fair comment. Kolarov aside I think the defence is quite solid (90% of the time).

I wish I could totally agree. The one thing Mancini is praised for doing was getting the defence right but it was by playing in a more cotrolled defensive way.More players sitting in position so that we aren't often open to breakaways.As soon as there is commitment to attack we are fairly open as the 2nd goal today probably showed.

[bernabias_right_boot]

There's a lot of pase in that squad, but we never attack with pace! By the time we've passed it backwards 50 yards the opposition have regrouped, then we walk it forward! Shit tactics, boring to watch, ineffective.

I like Mancini, but I'm finding it impossible to remain on his side!

[s1ty m]

Mancini is absolutely PETRIFIED of every big team.

I can't stand his tactics and I've tried to get used to how wonderful it can be to rejoice in all things defensive, but its not me. I like attacking football and I'm of the opinion that the team who tries to win should always be held in high regard and the team that only wants to avoid a loss deserves everything that's coming to them.

Oh, I've to balance this up right? It is a positive that that match is over... its like a relief.

In fact, I've felt relieved after so many matches were over under Mancini because for 90 mins every week I feel frustrated instead of excited.

Sums it up for me Dub, just how I feel.

[Kladze]

All things considered, I actually thought today's performance was reasonable up until we, yet again, forgot how to mark from a set piece.

Having said that, I wonder if Mancini's tactics would have been even slightly different had Tevez been fit and the rest of the team not knackered from Thursday. Somehow I doubt it.

[failsworthblue]

Positives: Our defence is generally very good - and that includes barry and nige.

Negatives: mancini's tactics make me want to puke.

We have the slowest midfield in the Prem

Mancini needs to grow a set and drop Barry or Toure, get Milner in the centre with NDJ.

One man team, no Tevez no energy and no drive , not bad for nearly £300million!!!

[paddyblue]

balance
he has signed a load of shit player in yaya.balo,boateng,kolarov,dzeko
but
he signed silva, johnson and.....................

[roblues]

A draw would have been a good result and we set up pretty well to achieve that result. Unfortunately we gave away a very cheap goal from a set piece with too little time to recover from it.
Also, someone said Dzeko never wins a header the other day. He got up and met numerous long balls from Hart, and the only reason he did not get more credit for it was that the wasn't another white shirt around him.

[Ted Hughes]

I agree that we only defend well when we set out to play defensively but on the plus side, in Lescott, Micah, Vinny, De Jong & Barry, we have 5 of the best defensive players in the country imo.

The downside is, it's starting to look more & more as if Bob has spunked more than £100 mil on players most of whom who aren't going to improve the team & has got rid of better ones.

Silva is the exception, going forward today he was like the doctor playing in the hospital grounds with a bunch of mental patients.

I've been saying it since Bob arrived; if you play with almost no attacking threat, even if you do it well, there's always the chance an opponent will break you down with a set piece. The only reason we got away with it in the home game was because Chelsea missed a load of free headers.

Today, we defended much better than we did at Chelsea last season but Bob has almost ruined the best thing that Hughes built; our fast counter attack, by not replacing Bellamy with a similar kind of player. One injury is enough to fuck us up. I predicted it when Bellamy went & it's happened. Bob should have known it & done something about it. Hopefully it won't ruin the season but if Tevez' injury persists; what chance of 4th?

[guv111]

Here's my balance:

Positives:

We have better players than we had three years ago.

We have a lot of money.

Negatives:

Our manager is currently Roberto Mancini.

Mancini has wasted millions on several average players and one nutter.

[Original Dub]

All things considered, I actually thought today's performance was reasonable up until we, yet again, forgot how to mark from a set piece.

Having said that, I wonder if Mancini's tactics would have been even slightly different had Tevez been fit and the rest of the team not knackered from Thursday. Somehow I doubt it.

No mate, they'd have been exactly the same. They were exactly the same last season until the players decided to follow Tevez' lead and go for it in the second half. A lot of people instantly forgot how defensive we were for the first half of that game. What saved us was the fact that Lampard scored early enough instead of late on.

I knew they'd score today - the whole fucking world must have known it too... I just wish they'd scored early.

[Manx Blue]

It's quite simple... Those cunts who don't want to get behind the manager and team, leave the fucking Wembley tickets to those who want to go, stay at home and watch the '99 playoff DVD.... Or better still fuck off and watch the '99 treble DVD you bunch of fucking lemmings.

Some of you make me sick, yes we lost. The aim of the season was to finish 4th. How many players have been missing at times? We were 15 minutes from saying that was a good away point gained.

Finally, how many clubs would love to be in our position? Plymouth argyle for one, who we played regularly 20 years or so ago. So the football might not be what you want... But just deal with it.