Manchester City (A) Sat 17th August 17:30

[J.spurs]

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2019/aug/18/pep-guardiola-manchester-city-tottenham-var

Love this in the first paragraph:
Football remains a magnificently capricious sport. You can crush its competitiveness with a self-perpetuating structure that leads to a radically unequal distribution of resources. You can pack the heft of oligarchs and emirates behind clubs. You can record and analyse. You can use technology as far as possible to eliminate human error. You can invest and think and strive to bring it under rein and still, every now and again, it can turn up games like Saturday’s at the Etihad, when one side has 30 shots to the other’s three (or, in modern parlance, depending whose model you prefer an xG of around 3.00 to around 0.2) and it ends in a draw. And not only that, it will add a self-knowing twist at the end. Football will not be tamed.

 

[Glenjamin]

Jeez mate, that’s harsh on Lamela. I thought he was quite comfortably our best player. He scored a beauty and delivered the corner on a platter for Moura.

For me he was our only attacking outlet.

I was hanging like a bat when I wrote that. I actually thought lamela played very well, but id still rather Moura started. We were always going to get hemmed in and Moura is lethal on the break.

 

[Don Diaz]

I’m not generally a Lamela fan but he seems fit, dynamic and working really hard so far this season. He won the ball back off Grealish for a goal against Villa, and he did well against City. So he’s earned his chance.....

 

[Havocc]

The reason why a defender is not penalised with accidental handball, is because attackers would intentionally kick the ball at their arms all the time #SoVarSoGood

 

[spurious]

I must say I hate the three-DM set-up. It's not dynamic enough, it saps the high press, and we have to labour to move the ball forward. We don't seem to be able (or haven't tried) to move it up via the fullbacks either. It's all well and good to say they couldn't do so against City, but the same thing happened against Villa until we changed it up on the hour.

I realize the result was the best we could have hoped for in each case, but I'd say they were outliers in terms of the opponents we will face. Let's see what happens against sides that aren't likely to finish at the very top and the very bottom.

 

[BrooklynYid]

I will start with the negatives. First, as some have mentioned, Sissoko on the outside might as well be Sissoko outside the frigging lines. He is just lost out there, like a ship in a storm with a drunk navigator. Second, play Vertonghen. Like, I don t care what the reason is. Sanchez can deputive okay for Toby, but he is a mess on the left. Third, we need to spend like a billion pounds on so we can have a ridiculous bench like City's. What cunts! All that money and just a draw! Fuck off!

 

[skiathospurs]

 

[Don Diaz]

The reason why a defender is not penalised with accidental handball, is because attackers would intentionally kick the ball at their arms all the time #SoVarSoGood

Are you having a laugh? did you see the Champions League final? United vs PSG second leg? Happens all the time

 

[Liam]

I must say I hate the three-DM set-up. It's not dynamic enough, it saps the high press, and we have to labour to move the ball forward. We don't seem to be able (or haven't tried) to move it up via the fullbacks either. It's all well and good to say they couldn't do so against City, but the same thing happened against Villa until we changed it up on the hour.

I realize the result was the best we could have hoped for in each case, but I'd say they were outliers in terms of the opponents we will face. Let's see what happens against sides that aren't likely to finish at the very top and the very bottom.

I think once Alli and Son are back, and Lo Celso up to speed then we'll no longer see the current set up. It's more out of necessity than anything right now. I imagine we'll see a more attacking team v Newcastle.

 

[J.spurs]

I think once Alli and Son are back, and Lo Celso up to speed then we'll no longer see the current set up. It's more out of necessity than anything right now. I imagine we'll see a more attacking team v Newcastle.

Plus you'd expect Ndombele to get forward more as he integrates into the side, and against teams that aren't as good as City. Seems more of a #8 than a CDM.

 

[Liam]

Plus you'd expect Ndombele to get forward more as he integrates into the side, and against teams that aren't as good as City. Seems more of a #8 than a CDM.

He'll be more box to box most weeks, we were pretty penned in for long periods against city. Hopefully won't have to go there again this season as I've had enough of the place now.

 

[J.spurs]

He'll be more box to box most weeks, we were pretty penned in for long periods against city. Hopefully won't have to go there again this season as I've had enough of the place now.

I think City will be glad not to host us to be fair.

 

[spurious]

Are you having a laugh? did you see the Champions League final? United vs PSG second leg? Happens all the time

Or, uh, the final?

 

[Liam]

I think City will be glad not to host us to be fair.

Oh they've had enough of us, but having been to the etihad twice last season, plus the home game in the CL and the again at the weekend it's safe to say I've had enough of watching us play them. Looking forward to the easier task of Newcastle this weekend.

 

[Yid]

The reason why a defender is not penalised with accidental handball, is because attackers would intentionally kick the ball at their arms all the time #SoVarSoGood

Yup remove VAR and that'd still be the same. Because referees and line'os ain't fucking morons and would simply wave it away as ball to hand etc as the player was too close to react.

 

[deejbah]

The reason why a defender is not penalised with accidental handball, is because attackers would intentionally kick the ball at their arms all the time #SoVarSoGood

Which is pretty much what Mane (very intelligently) did.

 

[USspur]

incredible we got a point. i turned it off after the last second (no) goal and was then flooded with updates after the overturn and draw at FT. Huge point

 

[NiceOneCyril]

I’m not generally a Lamela fan but he seems fit, dynamic and working really hard so far this season. He won the ball back off Grealish for a goal against Villa, and he did well against City. So he’s earned his chance.....

For me the trouble with Erik is the ridiculously high hopes I had when he came to us. I really thought he would be our megastar. And if he could have an injury-free season with a long run in the team maybe he still can be. Unfortunately experience tells me otherwise. But he has played well and worked really hard in the first two games, so I would be delighted if he proves me wrong. I hope he starts again against Newcastle.

I'm worried I'll do the same with expecting too much from Tanguy and GLC. Can't help myself though...

 

[Don Diaz]

For me the trouble with Erik is the ridiculously high hopes I had when he came to us. I really thought he would be our megastar. And if he could have an injury-free season with a long run in the team maybe he still can be. Unfortunately experience tells me otherwise. But he has played well and worked really hard in the first two games, so I would be delighted if he proves me wrong. I hope he starts again against Newcastle.

I'm worried I'll do the same with expecting too much from Tanguy and GLC. Can't help myself though...

The recent signings of N'Jie, N'Koudou, Sissoko initially and Lamela have knocked the pre-judging out of me. I despair especially at his (Lamela) solo use of his left foot, which hampers him massively. Why don't the coaching staff force players to get better with their 'wrong' foot, it's a joke. Anyway I hope he has a properly injury free dynamic season for us, without any external nonsense involving family, dogs or whatever......

 

[USspur]

The recent signings of N'Jie, N'Koudou, Sissoko initially and Lamela have knocked the pre-judging out of me. I despair especially at his (Lamela) solo use of his left foot, which hampers him massively. Why don't the coaching staff force players to get better with their 'wrong' foot, it's a joke. Anyway I hope he has a properly injury free dynamic season for us, without any external nonsense involving family, dogs or whatever......

because everyone sees Robben do it...?

 

[The Cryptkeeper]

Maradona only used his right foot for balance.

Dembele was one sided as well. It’s not such a big deal if you have the talent to get away with it.

 

[Don Diaz]

Maradona only used his right foot for balance.

Dembele was one sided as well. It’s not such a big deal if you have the talent to get away with it.

But how much better would a player be, Maradona or anyone else if they had two good feet??

 

[The Cryptkeeper]

But how much better would a player be, Maradona or anyone else if they had two good feet??

It's a good question. Sometimes when a player is so dominant on one side their skill set on that side is so good that it makes up for any deficiencies on the other side. They put double the work into being brilliant with their dominant foot because they don't put the effort into improving the weaker side.

Mousa Dembele telegraphed exactly where he was going to take the ball past his opponent...hell, he may as well have given his opponent hand-written directions, yet nobody could stop him doing it. Have a look at Maradona's legitimate goal in the 1986 World Cup QF. He beat about 7 guys, one or two of them twice and every single one of them knew the ball would be on his left side the whole time. And yet nobody could lay a fingernail on him.