Lush Vlad

I don’t mind their style. They’re more enjoyable to watch than plenty of teams who play the supposed ‘right way.’

Always been one of his bigger fans on here. But with the PSR world we are forced to live in. I think he might get moved on. As others have said. He seems to play his way into form and takes a while to get up to speed. He isn’t going to get that here. As he doesn’t get in our best XI and must now be behind Miley in the pecking order, or at least about to be bypassed based on performances across the season in centre midfield. I’ve always found him a bit positionless. He’s not your usual CM type with his attributes, he isn’t really a winger, he isn’t good enough with his passing to play attacking mid. Great in games that are stretched and when he has room to use his pace. Yet annoyingly doesn’t seem to work as an impact sub. That hybrid role he played on the left with Joelinton was amazing. But we seemed to have moved past that now, Gordon seems untouchable/won’t be played on the right and Joelinton is injured, anyway. For what he is worth, the likely wages, his injury record etc. Like one or two others. This summer might be the last chance to get a reasonable fee for him.

He looked decent in a crap Southampton side. I didn’t realise he had moved outside of Europe and was playing in South America.

Not sure he did though? Looked like we were stuck halfway between both. Yet we neither pressed high with any success or conviction. Then when it got to our half. We just stood off with no pressure on the ball and committing no men on the counter. So either the players were massively caught off guard with how much better you were on the day compared to performances of late and/or Howe got his team selection and tactics wrong. I remember Arsenal away in Howe’s first full season. We genuinely did go for the all out high press. Intense as fuck for 20 minutes. They took the absolute piss and bypassed it with ease. So we ended up sitting in and defending like dogs of war for a 0-0. Much to the frustration of Lego Head and their mental fans. I didn’t see either yesterday. It was like we were caught between two systems and did neither. Trippier tucking inside to make a 5 at times didn’t work at all, either. Throw in costly individual mistakes and some crap goalkeeping and it was the perfect storm for a hammering.

I agree with the wider point you’re making. But Tino was on the bench and patchy form or not, he was surely the better option today? Pope is a better keeper than Dubravka and we were always going to be relying more on actual goalkeeping away at City. Passing it about at the back and being good with your feet not as important. Pope is (was) our number one and hardly a massive weakness. So why not play him? Debatable on Miley in place of Willock. But plenty are wanting him to get more minutes and he has a lot of potential. Willock deserved his chance after Birmingham but didn’t take it at all. Howe bringing Miley and Tino on and seeing us play a bit better is one positive from today. They’ll be in from the start for the foreseeable if we play 4-3-3, I reckon.

2nd goal? Typical shit dive to his right. Unless he went walkabout for the third. I can’t remember. I didn’t think he was at fault, despite it being up the middle. Was fairly close and he blasted it. 1st he just froze and 2nd he should save IMO.

Wirz should have won it at the end there.

Yeah. The manner of the defeat today was worrying. But I expected fuck all and we got it. Win against Forest and I think top 6 is well on. Liverpool then a free hit as I’d expect fuck all there as per usual. Plenty of time to go. I’m sure we’ll go on another Howe winning streak between now and the end of the season.

That’s the team I’d go with. Botman if he is fit should come back in. Although that would mean nobody in the back 5 is going to be particularly comfortable on the ball.

6 for Dubravka is outrageous. Froze in no man’s land for the first (Trippier’s fuck up mainly) and the second was crap from him. Yet another goal to his right that he’s waved in. I saw someone criticise him for the third. That seems harsh in the extreme

I hear ya. Krafth, Barnes, Osula, Wilson and Longstaff all to start against Forest. That’ll wake a few of them up

To slightly play devil’s advocate. It is also 3 defeats in the league in the last 4. Two of those we were totally dominated and the other was throwing a lead away playing at home against Fulham. So there is some concern there for me with how we are looking. I think we will see a response against Forest, personally. I think we’ll see Miley, Tino and maybe Pope come in. Botman too, if he is fit. But that sounds doubtful. Liverpool away is a write off every season. A bit like us at the Etihad.

That’s more then generous Mine would read more like the ratings you see in L’Equipe plenty of 2s, 3s and the odd 1

Ah well. At least I can get over that shitshow and take my mind off it with the 5:30 game….. *checks TV guide* Palace v Everton. FFS

Not sure what point you’re making here or who it is aimed at. I’m not saying I think we bottle big games. More that if anything, Stifler’s point is wide of the mark as it is more like the other way round. We perform when it matters in a lot of crunch games and the perhaps there is the dreaded ‘after the Lord Mayor’s show performance. Or of course, just general variance. I do think this season has been very odd all round. Mad runs of good form, some games where we were unlucky to lose, some games where we deserved fuck all and won. We still feel a bit inconsistent somehow and not sure which team is turning up week to week. I’m sure most fans say the same about their team and the way the league is from 3rd to 9th-10th. A lot of teams are struggling for form, it would seem.

Agreed. Not a chance it was worse than this. They executed their gameplan to perfection. We frustratingly didn’t change our approach or have any answers. Yet we were still in it until the 90th minute, albeit undeservedly. This has been a shambles from the first whistle and City haven’t had do get out of second gear.

Until recently. I’m sure most on here were complaining that we only turn up/our system only consistently works against better sides. Some truth in that, IMO. Most were saying around the time of the Liverpool 3-3. It is more the Brentford, Brighton, West Ham, Bournemouth sort of games where we don’t play well and we’ll blow it.

They were about a 2/10. The rest were 3s and 4s. Hardly worth singling those two out. Easy subs to make, anyway. Willock isn’t a first teamer for us any more and Trippier hasn’t been for a while. Based on this, it’s easy to see why. Like I said. They were crap. But it’s not just them ‘letting Eddie down’. To a man, they have been absolutely horrendous. Not sure if that says more about how we’ve been set up and so Howe being the one letting the players down. Or is it a lack of effort with the cup final coming up. Maybe a bit of both?

They’ve been shite and Trippier certainly got punished for his shitness. But I think it’s harsh to even single out individual players. 1-11 we’ve been awful and look clueless. So are they all just not putting it in. Or is there more to it?

I expect fuck all from the final against Liverpool. Plenty feel the same. Not sure how that adds any weight to your weird, moveable feast of an argument.

The cup semi final, home and away were not key make or break games then?!

Not to go in like a Steve Bruce side, give them far too much respect and play them like they’re the peak City of old just standing about waiting to lose? Not the fragile City who have looked wide open in midfield and on the counter all season. There’s losing and then there is this surprised if the City players will even need a shower after this.

Looks like the players are totally unsure of what they’re meant to be doing. So they’re not really doing anything. Hard to believe it’s down to a lack of effort or the cup final already on their minds. I would hate for that to be the case. The worst half I can remember from Howe for a long time. At least against Bournemouth recently. They were absolutely incredible with their gameplan and we didn’t adapt. We just haven’t done anything here apart from stand off and show them far too much respect. Looked beaten from the first minute.

This isn’t far off our strongest XI. We can’t blame PSR for turning up with a chickenshit gameplan and just passively standing off them. Like a slow death just waiting for them to score.

Get men up the pitch, but then don’t really press or then drop when you’ve been bypassed. Sort of hover about in no man’s land. Allow their midfielders to run through unchecked on a regular basis without putting a tackle in. Get back into your shape when it’s in our half. But then stand off and put no pressure on the ball. Don’t bother following runners off the ball and marking them. When the chance is there to counter or nick the ball. Probably best not to bother and just leave it. Absolutely baffling tactics. They don’t look like they know what they’re doing. Seems like a lack of effort and a load of confusion all blended together.