davek
Player Valuation: £150m
The Roberto of last season would have seized the opportunity and reshaped his original defensive-minded set up immediately: Hibbert off, Coleman back to RB, Barkley on.
He's suffering a loss of nerve at the moment.
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The Roberto of last season would have seized the opportunity and reshaped his original defensive-minded set up immediately: Hibbert off, Coleman back to RB, Barkley on.
He's suffering a loss of nerve at the moment.
faddy the blue
Player Valuation: £35m
Way to misuse Eto'o as well.
Absolutely. But the problem is how do we get into the oppositions top third? Go back to front quick to Lukaku who is still learning how to judge the ball in the air - and loses more than he wins, learning how to get the ball under control instantly when it comes to his feet, still learning how to shield the ball with his body. This is not meant as a Lukaku is crap and a waste of money. But he is still learning his trade and has two very good forwards to learn from in big Dunc and Eto'o.
Players become reluctant to hit it to him if he keeps losing it and it comes back, they would rather keep the ball which slows down our play.
Teams are pressing us high up the pitch and we need to mix it up by going long quicker but until there is a better retention up top the attack breaks down. Might be a good idea to try the Lukaku on the right like against Arsenal and Manu last season. He may retain the ball more or win headers to our players. He is a work in progress and we will have to live with that.
Teams have also pushed their defence up to condense the pitch and make it difficult for us to play through them. We need to get the ball out wide and the wide man passes the ball around the corner into space behind the defence for Lukaku, if not playing wide right, to run onto. Chelsea's third goal against Spurs the other night is an example.
Another way to get to the top third is to swamp the midfield and play quick one/twos in triangles based on pass and move. It is a way that Russian teams and other East European teams play. Watch Krasnodar on Thursday or against us away. Ludrogrets at Anfield and CSKA at the Etihad or Partizan Belgrade at Spurs are examples. The way they play is quick and incisive always on the move forward. They hardly ever get caught in possession.
The way we play at the moment could explain why we are getting results in Europe. It was only Wolfsburg away when the tried to press us, and we went longer quicker, but they didn't push the defence up and condense the pitch. Which is why we had some success.
I don't doubt for one minute that when we have all our players back and up to speed we will go on a run. Too many are coming back from injuries Mirallas, Barkley, Pienaar etc. and Coleman is not firing on all cylinders and Barry is a bit off the pace. I don't know what is up with Baines though, I don't think he is bombing forward as much, don't know whether that is by design, Martinez asking him to be a bit more defensive or his form has dipped, or the opposition are loading the left hand side more.
I look forward to the game on Thursday and think it will be a good footballing game.
Toffeelover
Player Valuation: £80m
Spot on Dave. With Aguero off City could have been there for the taking with a bit of imagination from Roberto.
It is hard enough though playing against 11 City players without having to play against the Ref making a twelfth man for City.
Moyes would have got a point yesterday.
There I said it. Deal with it
There I said it. Deal with it
Kiwi
Say NO to Ginger Managers
To be fair Deipno, I've read through the last however many pages of the thread and while I suspected it was sarcasm it had gotten to the point where I was starting to doubt my initial assessment and wonder if you'd lost all hope. lol
barryhorne
Player Valuation: Free Transfer
I'm a City supporter. Not sure why i've an account on this forum, but have had for years without, to my knowledge, ever posting. Here for no other reason than to say the referee was terrible yesterday and that you deserved better. I appreciate that you might be far from your best as a team at the minute, but you weren't helped by some very strange decisions - Fernando and Mangala should have both been sent off for completely unnecessary and dangerous challenges, and the penalty was amongst the softest i've seen. They're the sort of decisions which infuriated me as a supporter for many years, nowadays we invariably get a lot more of them, especially at home, but whilst as a fan you take them when they come, you don't have to agree with them.
All the best to you for the rest of the season. Like most City fans we've still a lot of time for Everton as a club. We appreciate this feeling isn't completely reciprocated nowadays, and that's of our doing over the Lescott tapping up, etc, but our games against you are ones we still look forward to very much, despite the regular hidings. Things will click into place sooner rather than later and you'll shoot up the table again. Last season, in my opinion, you were at times the best passing side in the division, and when on song there are fewer better sides to watch. Liverpool, Spurs, Arsenal and even United are there for the taking. All the best.
All the best to you for the rest of the season. Like most City fans we've still a lot of time for Everton as a club. We appreciate this feeling isn't completely reciprocated nowadays, and that's of our doing over the Lescott tapping up, etc, but our games against you are ones we still look forward to very much, despite the regular hidings. Things will click into place sooner rather than later and you'll shoot up the table again. Last season, in my opinion, you were at times the best passing side in the division, and when on song there are fewer better sides to watch. Liverpool, Spurs, Arsenal and even United are there for the taking. All the best.
Typhoo Toffee
Player Valuation: £225k
At least a point.
Yeah, City was his lucky charm.
Typhoo Toffee
Player Valuation: £225k
Are you patronizing us, BarryHorne? (Kidding)
I think that we, City and Spurs fans are kindred spirits (well, probably not City fans lately) because we've had to put up with the inflated egos of each other's local red rivals for too many years.
I think that we, City and Spurs fans are kindred spirits (well, probably not City fans lately) because we've had to put up with the inflated egos of each other's local red rivals for too many years.
Milk
Udderly delicious
Maybe not direct goal chances as such but every time they attacked, they attacked in waves. We attack in ones & twos and get picked off. 90% of our play at the moment is over deliberate and we virtually postcard each pass (when we're not passing straight to the opposition).
I think we are all suffering from the bright (ie false?) dawn of last season. BUT all is not lost! We're usually horrible up to Christmas then go on good runs in the New Year & all is forgotten.
VIVA the Europa League. And the 2014/15 winners are ..........
How when they were given most crucial ref decisions - how would hoof ball have got us that??????
Jim Lahey
Banned
And where would that have got you? A top 6-8 finish every season? That isn't progress. You didn't make progress under Moyes.
Remember, Moyes has still never been able to win away at Arsenal, Liverpool, Man Utd etc.
Van Gaal did so in his first game away at Arsenal. Moyes isn't the answer to Everton's woes.
Definitely agree with this. Both of them are desperately out of form and its having a massive affect on us.coleman doesn't look fit to me.everything he did yesterday seemed laboured
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