Early days but a bit worried.

[Cocacolajojo1]

I just want to go on record and say that I'm not worried at all anymore.

[Foreverinbluedreams]

Apologies if already posted

http://www.uefa.com/trainingground/coac ... 40113.html

[bigblue]

Apologies if already posted

http://www.uefa.com/trainingground/coac ... 40113.html

Has already been posted, and he's talking about his time at Villarreal. I haven't found anything that says he lined his team up in the same way at Real or Malaga. In fact most sources point to him playing differently at his following clubs (since he had different sets of players).

If you can find something that says he played like that at Real or Malaga than fair play. But otherwise, don't take the tactics that he used with one team and group of players as the way that he always plays.

[Foreverinbluedreams]

Apologies if already posted

http://www.uefa.com/trainingground/coac ... 40113.html

Has already been posted, and he's talking about his time at Villarreal. I haven't found anything that says he lined his team up in the same way at Real or Malaga. In fact most sources point to him playing differently at his following clubs (since he had different sets of players).

If you can find something that says he played like that at Real or Malaga than fair play. But otherwise, don't take the tactics that he used with one team and group of players as the way that he always plays.

Not taking anything any way mate, just thought that video was interesting and relevant since we're talking tactics. If anything this vid shows he's adaptable.

From seeing Malaga play, albeit only a handful of times, he seemed to play much like Mancio but slightly more adventurous with a higher line in defence.

[Niall Quinns Discopants]

I think the concept of a single formation during the game is a dumbed down notion for most fans and very young players. Absolute formation does not exist; it's a myth. There's no such thing as playing 4-4-2 or 4-2-3-1. Every team has at least an attacking shape and a defensive shape. And there are really 3 phases: defensive, transition, and attacking. So when you go on about the difference between a 4-3-1-2, 4-2-3-1, 4-3-3, 4-5-1 or 4-2-2-2 you are only talking about a muddled 1/3 of the picture. It's basically the average of everything which comes out telling next to nothing.

I think more important than formation is the habits that each position gets into under Pellegrini during defense, transition, and attack. And probably at the top level it is much more complicated than there 3 phases.

But NQDP, this is why I was questioning you so much. Because there are definitely certain characteristics that are similar to different Pellegrini teams. But the way that each team sets up is very different depending on the players at hand. So to claim that "He is 100% a 4-2-2-2 guy" is simplifying the game too much and ignoring what many other people have said about Pellegrini's past teams.

I doubt you'll have to explain that to someone who has been involved with football all my life. I was obviously talking about base system he has used in the past. I'd lieke to think everyone here understands basic concepts of football tactics.

[Beefymcfc]

Don't even think about it!

[phips]

a preemptive strike i see

[Socrates]

I've gone from "sceptical but hopeful" to "a tad concerned"

[Beefymcfc]

Don't even think about it!

[Dameerto]

I've gone from "sceptical but hopeful" to "a tad concerned"

I'm in the concerned camp too. I thought our defensive problems in preseason were down to it being preseason (and the Newcastle game gave me hope it was true) - at best it looks like we are having trouble adjusting to man marking. (at worst it's a problem with the player instructions)

[Original Dub]

I've gone from "sceptical but hopeful" to "a tad concerned"

You've been needlessly "concerned" about quite a lot of things mate.

But whenever we lost under mancini and someone voiced their concern, you had no problem at all and everything was "knee jerk".

How odd.

[Beefymcfc]

I'm not concerned in the least. Yep, we shipped 3 goals with very poor defending but on the plus side we scored 2 away from home. It always felt like we'd score but what nobody expected was the 3 in ours.

Pellers will sort it out, I'm sure.

[DoomMerchant]

I've gone from "sceptical but hopeful" to "a tad concerned"

You've been needlessly "concerned" about quite a lot of things mate.

But whenever we lost under mancini and someone voiced their concern, you had no problem at all and everything was "knee jerk".

How odd.

i don't believe that the Count could have fucked up this defense...the best in the league really 2 years running....in 60 days. I just refuse to believe it. It's down to players. Simples.

Sort your fucking heads you halfwit fuckups....Hart, Lescott, Clichy, Zabs, Yaya....people were a joke yesterday. That continues, the joke will be on them.

[Hazy2]

I've gone from "sceptical but hopeful" to "a tad concerned"

You've been needlessly "concerned" about quite a lot of things mate.

But whenever we lost under mancini and someone voiced their concern, you had no problem at all and everything was "knee jerk".

How odd.

Speaking to a lad a few mins ago who went he had the feeling we were in control, playing off the cuf BTW, nothing great but the goal. from 1-1 he had a shit feeling we were going to get battered, like Spurs away in his words.

[Original Dub]

Speaking to a lad a few mins ago who went he had the feeling we were in control, playing off the cuf BTW, nothing great but the goal. from 1-1 he had a shit feeling we were going to get battered, like Spurs away in his words.

Yeah there was definitely a good patch of that game where I felt like mancini was still in charge and having one of those days.

I'll get no more carried away than I did when we thumped newcastle and got robbed at least three goals.

[Nigels Tackle]

Speaking to a lad a few mins ago who went he had the feeling we were in control, playing off the cuf BTW, nothing great but the goal. from 1-1 he had a shit feeling we were going to get battered, like Spurs away in his words.

Yeah there was definitely a good patch of that game where I felt like mancini was still in charge and having one of those days.

I'll get no more carried away than I did when we thumped newcastle and got robbed at least three goals.

i'm not worried in the slightest

i guarantee you that we won't see another performance like that again this season

massive fucking wake up call

glad it happened in game 2 not in game 22

[Socrates]

You've been needlessly "concerned" about quite a lot of things mate.

But whenever we lost under mancini and someone voiced their concern, you had no problem at all and everything was "knee jerk".

How odd.

Hence the "tad." Difference is that I had underlying confidence from Mancini's track record as a proven winner at the highest level. Pellegrini's track record sadly isn't in that category, hence the "hopeful"

[Ted Hughes]

I've gone from "sceptical but hopeful" to "a tad concerned"

You've been needlessly "concerned" about quite a lot of things mate.

But whenever we lost under mancini and someone voiced their concern, you had no problem at all and everything was "knee jerk".

How odd.

i don't believe that the Count could have fucked up this defense...the best in the league really 2 years running....in 60 days. I just refuse to believe it. It's down to players. Simples.

Sort your fucking heads you halfwit fuckups....Hart, Lescott, Clichy, Zabs, Yaya....people were a joke yesterday. That continues, the joke will be on them.

This is a converstation from June 23.

This is where my main concern comes from.

I differ from most people in that I think we were absolute shite defensively last season & just got away with it because most of the teams we played were average to poor & had even worse defences than us. Most anyone who turned in a half decent attacking performance against us ran straight through us, from Southampton & Everton to Real & Dortmund.

I watched Malaga v Dortmund & imo they were all over the shop at the back, even worse than us. If we fill the side with attacking players, the loss of Barry to cover allthe mistakes & of course Mancini, to organise the team to defend, well I'll be interested to see how the Count measures up in that area, as Bob was one of the best at that & yet we were still below par. I doubt the Count is a match for Bob in that aspect, but I'll be happy to be wrong about that.

On the plus side, I fancy the Count will be a class above Bob in the attacking area & if sides are starved of possession & shitting themselves about conceding goals, they don't tend to attack with much conviction.

I watched Malaga play Barca (without Messi) at the Nou Camp in the final La Liga game a few weeks ago, and they were torn apart. Isco was pretty anonymous, and Santa Cruz had an awful game. Well, I say game, he was replaced at HT and Malaga instantly looked a bette side.

Now tbf to the Count, he has a much better record than Mancini in the Champions League when it comes to going away from home, getting a draw etc with stoical defending & getting his team through.

But he also has a record of sometimes getting beat 7-0 v top teams in the league, so when it goes wrong, it goes fucking wrong.

So yes, he could fuck up the team defensively in a short time & probably has done, but imo we weren't any good to start with anyway, so it's more a case of him making us even worse.

[FA cup winners 2006]

For me not worried at all. The Cardiff game was nothing like the debacle's last year. When we lost last year, there were clear signs that something was wrong within the club. The Southampton game springs to mind, everyone just seemed uninterested.

However after the Cardiff game, the players seemed determined to state that it was just a blip and they will learn from it. Sergio said something to the effect that the team were only starting out on something new and will learn from it. Silva said something similar.

Pellegrini is changing how the team plays and it takes a bit of time. sometimes when the pressure comes on in a game players will revert to what they know is familiar (ie. the way and shape they have played for the last 3-4 years). Nothing better than a shock defeat to work that out of the system!

Our movement against Newcastle was sharp, quick, with a lot of players interchanging positions, but that was a game that Newcastle let us play. Against Cardiff they were straight away in our faces and caused us problems, passes were not sticking, the players reverted to what was familiar to them. I would think (hope) that pellegrini will not over react to some of the shite spewed over the last few days and make wholesale changes.

Same 11 again this weekend unless Nastasic has recovered and hopefully get to see Jovetic at some stage. The players that played on Sunday will be as eager as anyone to get a result.

[Big H]

Same 11 again this weekend unless Nastasic has recovered and hopefully get to see Jovetic at some stage. The players that played on Sunday will be as eager as anyone to get a result.

Problem is, it's only Hull this Saturday. We should batter them in a similar fashion to the Newcastle match so it won't really tell us anything.
Don't know if it's coincidental or not, but wasn't it the Southampton match where Mancini took the captaincy off Zab and gave it to Yaya - his first match back from the ACON? Zab had an absolute shocker then as well in a similar vein to last Sunday. Maybe Zab feels slighted for not being captain in Vinnie's absence.