weasel wrote: ↑Wed Aug 27, 2025 12:05 am
It's also the nature of football. We score in the first half, go in front and we probably go on to win comfortably. We don't score, Sheff Wed stay in the match and nick a goal. Against Arsenal we could easily have nicked the goal through Struyjk, against the tun of play and the result changes on just one thing.
If you didn't watch the game last night let me give you a true account without just wanting to put the boot in on anybody, players or manager.
It was back to the Championship days of total domination, but lacking in creativity and finishing.
Man City are showing that the days of this pass, pass, backwards, sideways etc etc etc on the halfway line trying to drag opponents out of their defensive position so as to open them up are all but gone now.
Sheff W last night showed that with excellent organisation and good discipline all over the field even a good group of kids can do it.
You put 4 defenders equally spaced across the line of your own goal area line, then you put another defender either side of that 4 making 6, and then ask 2 holding midfielders to also drop into the original 4 making that basically 8 defenders blocking any entrance to goal.
You then ask your opponents to use a battering ram to try and break through. It now becomes an absolute trash game of chess until someone can get a goal, and if that happens to be the team already with 8 behind the ball, you can now expect 10 behind it.
I'm not looking for any excuses, we just didn't have the wherewithal to break down the door and credit goes to Sheff W, they can take a lot of heart from that, Okafor and the rest were pounced upon by at least 2 players the moment they received the ball.
I do think it was actually a good run out for our lot, but on that evidence it's way too early to be writing anyone off, in our players defence - I think virtually every single partnership all over the pitch was brand new : Harrison/Okafor...Bijol/Bornauw...etc etc virtually all. Longstaff just wasn't in the game at all and i couldn't suss his position in it really
I have no doubt had we got that first goal it would've been a drubbing for them, we didn't get it for a whole host of reasons and it doesn't reflect good on anyone, manager included. I will be worried though if anyone in the Premier let's us have the ball like that because we struggle to break down the door, but even City do now because the world has learned how to play against a far superior team - Just fully lock-up.
nb : The main thing about Okafor to me was that he looked a yard too slow and probably 2 for the Premiership, he won't get the luxury they do on the continent to dwell on the incoming pass, Prem defenders will be up his ass like Arsenal were against our defenders.
Hopefully last night told him ' Jesus if these are bottom of the Championship kids, what are the prem pro's like?!!"
Our line up and game plan v Newcastle is now interesting to say the least. I'm hoping for proper in your face stuff, but hoping they're not as good as Arsenal at it - he has to stick to our DNA for now, especially because we're at home and Newcastle won't be at full strength.
ps ; If you have any more questions about the game, i'll try and give you a honest answer, e.g : DCL - Very hard to comment on that outing alone, i think he looked quite lively myself and got in good positions, the ones that really want to knock him will say he missed a barndoor one.
