I can't believe you're laying into Ralph for getting beat by City. You're so wrong its just embarrassing. Exactly what did Guardiola do that managed the game so brilliantly for City? Bugger all, just picked 11 of his 30 world class players and was able to bring on 3 more whenever he felt like it. Ralph fielded a depleted squad to save the seniors from exhaustion presumably and the serious injury that can follow from it. He saw the game getting away from us and immediately made a tactical change, its not like there was anything else to do and if you think that change cost us the game somehow you're a fool. I saw us far more composed and coping much better with City after the change than before it. From then on it was just us versus the most expensive squad in the league and surprise surprise they beat us easily. We were outclassed again because we have a very poor squad not because we are being mismanaged.
Come on Ian - we are FAR more likely to get a result against Chelsea than City. We’re also slap bang in the middle of a new training regime that has taken them from holiday camp to boot camp, PLUS it’s in the middle of a nigh on ridiculous period of games in the Christmas period. Ralph has to manage the squad, and it’s fitness, whilst implementing a new style of play (from four years back, pre Koeman) and also whilst working out (not in training, but in the pressure of a PL game) who really has what it takes, and who doesn’t. From that, it will dictate what happens or not in January. He needs to throw people into these situations to see who reacts correctly and is worth keeping and who isn’t. He’s doing that right now. Correctly. And it will benefit us, with all our deadwood or squad massively, long term.
Puel got stick for rotating the squad around this time too. Ridiculous and shows a lack of understanding to the modern fitness levels in the game. Man City are an incredible side. 7 weeks ago, they beat as 6-1
Ralph could still have rotated the squad and pit a stronger line up out. We went out to the game expecting to lose and that is exactly what happened. Plenty of other options he could have made to shore up the squad and still rested players. You need to go in to every match trying to getting something out of it. The proof in the pudding will be if we get three points at Stamford Bridge, of course.. Still, I find it surprising that people can still take positives away from yesterday's match which was wholly disappointing in every aspect irrespective of it being against City. I didn't expect a win but I expected us to have a go at them for more than 15 minutes!
^^^ Anyone who likes Miles Davis can't be all bad, but you don't half post some old bollocks, @Ian Thumwood
If you go at City for 90 minutes with the team we have then we probably lose seventeen nil. As for going out to lose, despite being outclassed we were only a bit of bad luck away from going in level.
Bloody idiotic if you believe this season is about what we get out of City and Chelsea. Hopefully wont hear from you till this time next season when we have to play them again. You can rant all over about how we didn't beat the top three most expensive squads in the world. Dreamer.
Shame you didn't bother to read by post properly. I have said on about 3 occasions I did not expect us yo beat City. You are sitting the other side of the world, not at the match yet feel compelled to think that yesterday's performance was acceptable. I would have accepted a 3-1 reverse if we had given it a go. No shame in losing to City but disappointing when you are midway through the season that you are not giving a better account where you would have thought that the players would have wanted to prove themselves against the best. If we beat Chelsea, I think Ralph will be vindicated but that will be a tall order. If you bothered to read my posts earlier, I am not opposed to rotating the squad but experimenting with a formation with novices and then abandoning it as soon as it appears to be not working was a cause for concern. Just cannot see the logic of fielding weakened squads against the better teams in anticipation of a defeat and keeping your powder try for the next match. If Leicester had thought that, they would not have beaten City. Same goes for Palace. Just sent out the wrong message to me - both to the players and the fans. I will look closely at your comments in future in light of future results. if we stay up, it wont be on account of performances like that and more in line with the belief we seemed to have in the Arsenal match which was in short supply yesterday. I am glad that someone with your attitude does not work in my team because I would not want a defeatist working alongside me. You have to always start a job thinking you are going to finish it well. No point in doing it otherwise. Staggered that someone who has mastered the ability to write hasn't mastered the ability to understand this simple fact!!
LL I would agree to an extent. We were unfortunate not to get a penalty which would have put us up against City. That could have changed the game. Prior to the PEH goal, I felt we were being over-run and poor finishing prevented City wrapping the game up earlier. The own goal was unfortunate and to go in at half time 3-1 down was probably too harsh. However, the second half performance was abject. McCarthy kept us in the game (staggered that there has been criticism of him in the board!) but City played the game at walking pace. We should have done better. It was ultimately too easy whereas the first half demonstrated that if you got at their defenders, they would have made errors. A plucky performance even in defeat would have kept some momentum going. I think we are going to have to pick ourselves up big time after yesterday.
Apart from Arsenal SFC just don´t seem to compete against any of the other 6 teams in PL matches which is disgraceful considering the likes of Brighton have beaten Manchester United, Palace at City, Leicester likewise, Wolves against Spurs to sample a few results of the teams at SFC´s level. What is even worse, SFC apart from West Ham and Everton, are the most experienced of the clubs in the second tier of the PL so by now should have acquired the experience to cope. As to the future, I am not going into a meltdown if SFC end up being relegated (I think this will happen as things stand).
Not difficult to guess what Ronald Koeman's opinion would have been with these recent performances. The Arsenal match was the most enjoyable one I have been to for about two seasons. It was terrific. To be honest, this is what football fans want. It is more enjoyable putting one over the large clubs than doing the smaller ones. It is sometimes strange that we lose sight of the fact that football is supposed to be about entertainment. This is why I was quite glad to see Mourinho shoved out of Man Utd. Hopefully, cautious, pragmatic, "park the bus" football has had its day. Football clubs should aspire to the kind of expansive football played by the likes of Liverpool, Spurs and Man City. We used to be able to do this ourselves. Could not imagine either Poch or Koeman resting players for "easier" opposition. Both would have wanted their strongest line up against the Top Six.
Somebody can correct me, but soon after Poch was appointed SFC recorded wins against Liverpool, Chelsea and even Manchester City. SFC may have around eight wins in total against what has emerged as the PL Top 6 between 2012/13 and 2018/19, which to my mind is very underwhelming.
Poch and Koeman are not really notable for having fantastic results in December/January. But don't worry, every other bottom 14 team is rotating their squad as well, it's just what you have to do.
Ian, you go from one ridiculous statement to the next this week. I have seen many more defeatist efforts in the past two years than that one, yet Man City is the defeat that gets you riled up. It’s non-sensical. You should have been clawing at the walls three days ago when our A team rolled over against Wham. Did you miss the fact that they got done over by burnley yesterday. What was that last defeat attributable to, was it rotation and a defeatist approach? Forget about fantasy jobs working alongside defeatists like me, you are going to have a hard enough time dealing with the reality of the squad and decisions the actual manager makes in the real world.
Which is one of the reasons that they tried harder to beat us. three defeats in a row was not an option for a very expensive squad!
Respectfully Ides 2-2 against Man U and a win over Arsenal is probably the best we can hope for until thing settle under a new regieme. Our experience level within the club is tailored more to survival and scraping a win than it is to playing free flowing attacking football at the moment. the Koeman era is a distant memory and an equally distant goal.
