☆☆☆official ajax vs city match thread☆☆☆

[freshie]

I think his fiery Italian temperament gets the better of him sometimes and he reacts to adversity by thinking 'Fuck it' and hits the self-destruct button even when a situation may be salvageable as it was tonight at 2-1 down. Don't know why he does it but it's worrying

But, to be fair, we weren't complaining against West Brom.

I wasn't thinking of the West Brom game as an example of this. He didn't go 3 at the back against West Brom did he? Or throw on 2 more centre forwards and leave gaping holes in the midfield?

[Ted Hughes]

I think his fiery Italian temperament gets the better of him sometimes and he reacts to adversity by thinking 'Fuck it' and hits the self-destruct button even when a situation may be salvageable as it was tonight at 2-1 down. Don't know why he does it but it's worrying

But, to be fair, we weren't complaining against West Brom.

I wasn't thinking of the West Brom game as an example of this. He didn't go 3 at the back against West Brom did he? Or throw on 2 more centre forwards and leave gaping holes in the midfield?

He did against Villa though & we had the piss taken out of us much moreso than tonight.

I thought he was doing it deliberately to get us knocked out of the League Cup.

The realisation that it's something he has as a plan, is scaring the shit out of me.

[Blue Since 76]

I think his fiery Italian temperament gets the better of him sometimes and he reacts to adversity by thinking 'Fuck it' and hits the self-destruct button even when a situation may be salvageable as it was tonight at 2-1 down. Don't know why he does it but it's worrying

But, to be fair, we weren't complaining against West Brom.

I wasn't thinking of the West Brom game as an example of this. He didn't go 3 at the back against West Brom did he? Or throw on 2 more centre forwards and leave gaping holes in the midfield?

He did against Villa though & we had the piss taken out of us much moreso than tonight.

I thought he was doing it deliberately to get us knocked out of the League Cup.

The realisation that it's something he has as a plan, is scaring the shit out of me.

Against Villa, I just thought he was doing it to avoid extra time and if we lost, so be it. Wasn't happy since I'd paid and was freezing, but could understand the result one way or another (even though it didn't work). Tonight was just 'a Mancini in Europe'. There, I've just created a new cliché, to describe someone who, whilst usually very organised and disciplined, completely loses the plot and does things just to see the effect.

[freshie]

I think his fiery Italian temperament gets the better of him sometimes and he reacts to adversity by thinking 'Fuck it' and hits the self-destruct button even when a situation may be salvageable as it was tonight at 2-1 down. Don't know why he does it but it's worrying

But, to be fair, we weren't complaining against West Brom.

I wasn't thinking of the West Brom game as an example of this. He didn't go 3 at the back against West Brom did he? Or throw on 2 more centre forwards and leave gaping holes in the midfield?

He did against Villa though & we had the piss taken out of us much moreso than tonight.

I thought he was doing it deliberately to get us knocked out of the League Cup.

The realisation that it's something he has as a plan, is scaring the shit out of me.

Is it just sheer obstinance on his part - that he has to prove that his tactic of 3 at the back will help us to turn a match around and he will keep on doing it no matter what the cost? It is as if increasing his reputation as a tactical genius is being placed above the good of the team and the club and that is the worrying part. Surely he can see by now that it is a shit tactic and one with which the players are uncomfortable

[Goaters 103]

270 mins of CL footy this year and we've played well in about 5 of them.

All 3 opponents this year have played us off the park and in 9 CL games in the past 12 months, we have yet to put in a good performance - winning against Bayern reserves doesnt count.

Tank the group now and concentrate on retaining the Prem and the FA Cup, the last thing we need is thursday night football in Feb and March. We've had 5 recent european campaigns, 3 Europa and 2 CL, and have gone through them all with varying degrees of failure. Not impressive.

Tonights display was stunningly insipid, and had so many things wrong with it that its the type of game you throw on the trash pile and try to forget. Too many big players - Kompany, Ya Ya, Aguero, Dzeko, Nasri - just didnt show; zonal marking, nobody on the post, defenders giving away space and playing far too deep, midfielders giving the ball away so cheaply, strikers not working their wotsits off - we had it all.

Circle the wagons, concentrate on the league.

[Ted Hughes]

I think his fiery Italian temperament gets the better of him sometimes and he reacts to adversity by thinking 'Fuck it' and hits the self-destruct button even when a situation may be salvageable as it was tonight at 2-1 down. Don't know why he does it but it's worrying

But, to be fair, we weren't complaining against West Brom.

I wasn't thinking of the West Brom game as an example of this. He didn't go 3 at the back against West Brom did he? Or throw on 2 more centre forwards and leave gaping holes in the midfield?

He did against Villa though & we had the piss taken out of us much moreso than tonight.

I thought he was doing it deliberately to get us knocked out of the League Cup.

The realisation that it's something he has as a plan, is scaring the shit out of me.

Is it just sheer obstinance on his part - that he has to prove that his tactic of 3 at the back will help us to turn a match around and he will keep on doing it no matter what the cost? It is as if increasing his reputation as a tactical genius is being placed above the good of the team and the club and that is the worrying part. Surely he can see by now that it is a shit tactic and one with which the players are uncomfortable

Tbh, I have no problem with the tactic, I have a problem with us using it when we can't do it properly. It has been proven that we can't do it. What worries me more is the next tactic, which involved having no midfield, 4 strikers right up the other end of the pitch. We did that also v Villa & they ran straight through us, then we sometimes pushed up like that v Dortmund & they ran straight through us. It effectively means our only ball is a long ball & if we lose it, the oppo has 4 players unmarked in midfield.

Truly frightening.

[freshie]

Tbh, I have no problem with the tactic, I have a problem with us using it when we can't do it properly. It has been proven that we can't do it. What worries me more is the next tactic, which involved having no midfield, 4 strikers right up the other end of the pitch. We did that also v Villa & they ran straight through us, then we sometimes pushed up like that v Dortmund & they ran straight through us. It effectively means our only ball is a long ball & if we lose it, the oppo has 4 players unmarked in midfield.

Truly frightening.

The 4 up front tactic with only Nasri and a poor Yaya Toure in midfield was ridiculous and not the sort of change you'd expect from a manager with Mancini's experience. Where did he think the front 4 were going to get the service from and how did he expect us to win the ball back with no midfield? Extremely worrying and even more so considering he had apparently already tried it and failed with it against Villa (a game which I haven't seen as I was abroad at the time)

[Sideshow Bob]

after watching that travesty, i honestly believe bobby wants out. he knows the only way out that allows him to collect on his contract is getting the sack. he is half way there imo.

[kennyboy]

Depressing stuff, kudos to Ajax.

Silva or no Silva, makes no difference its the hole team, and espesely the defence.

I hope we soon can Boycott Shitcott, he played to his standards today.

[clawbaggio]

It was the wrong move and a panic decision to go to 3 but to be fair we did play with 3 at the back pre season and it was ok. Micah was at the Olympics and then injured when we have played it in the past so he may not be familiar but the others have had a go.
Wrong tonight tho and gave that cunt Tyler chance to have another pop at us

[getdressedmctavish]

Mrs said "you're very quiet" It was that bad. A side of journeymen play with width and organisation and murder us. Bizarre. In europe we seem to go into games totally ignorant of how the other teams play whereas they do their homework on us.Very odd. The manager is surely no fool but is becoming a bit of a laughing stock.

[phips]

just got to 2-1. zonal marking is pure garbage and Mancini needs to get rid of it asap.
Lescott waaayy off the ball.

Mancini is disappointingly obsessed with 3-5-2 and it doesn't work in our favor. haven't seen it
benefit us yet

This game hopefully finally teaches Mancini and the board that throwing money at
a problem doesn't fix it.

Frankly, with how we've been playing in all leagues, we don't deserve to progress out of
this stage. Maybe now we can focus on the premier league and try to maybe figure out
how to retain the title.

[Swales4ever]

There was no reason for Yaya not to play tonight. In the past he's played when he shouldn't but tonight it would have been a mistake to leave him out.

The whole team was at half power tonight & if we'd lost because of that, I'd be on the players' case now, but the truth is, 2nd half we were looking like ourselves. We fucked up a corner, then Mancini stepped in & threw the game. Until half time the players, not Mancini, were the problem. After that goal, his actions make me question his sanity.

Mate,
You seems to have receipt of my previous post, right at the end of the yesterday shame.
I now have posted with my usual inability for the synthesis, on Beefy's thread, that very strangely had been ignored by most, my strong felt opinion on what You call the insanity of the manager.
what I find hard to understand on the above and overall opinions You have assessed since the final whistle is the: "then Mancini stepped in & threw the game". and trust me when I say that has fuck all to do with the word Mancini as I hope to have made clear on here: viewtopic.php?f=119&t=44294

yesterday, in an all importance game for the club's enhancement, from the dugout went the best selection available, lined up to play our most reliable system of play. Should the players had put 1/3 of the effort of the WBA game, the result would had been over, well before the supposed insanity of Bob. and they had also been capable to get the lead at the first occasion, for a change.
As much as I had plenty of respect and loving memory for the merit and glorious history of Ajax FC, yesterday opposition would fall behind WBA if they took part to the Premiership.
the manager went out to win with the most reliable 4-2-3-1, following a trend of 2 consecutive very positive renaissance of last season fluency of play.
as well as it's crap talking of the back 3: City played a system which have proven tight last season, with the same players who performed it with extreme effectiveness last season, having proved to have well metabolized all the defensive set ups introduced and caoched during the start of mancini tenure.
All what went wrong yesterday is that we havent had a team getting out for kick off, they just didn't play.
WHY? fuck knows if I'll ever understand it!

embarassment of monumental magnitude.