devaney » Tue Aug 26, 2014 6:52 am wrote:Got to say some of the reaction on here is nothing short of pathetic. Before Moreno's unfortunate mistake we were actually on top and played some very good football. City under Pellegrini are a very impressive outfit and if some fans can't see that then I feel very sorry for them. I thought the team were impressive except for Johnson and possibly Gerrard. If some people have the inability to accept that we got beaten by a better team then they should seriously ask themselves a few questions !!
Stop kidding yourself Dev ,City let us play in areas we could cause little damage ,and anyone who believes with the same personnel (albeit Moreno) you've mentioned
above exclusively ,we can successfully negate a team with such a strong midfield is having a laugh . City cruised through that game and they accomplished that by
targeting our 'Achilles heel' and they certainly wont be the first team to do so if we continue leaving our defence and midfield bereft of a ball winner....The amount of opportunities City crafted for themselves ,a large percentage came from crosses from Johnson's flank ,and why Gerrard feels the need to drop in between our CB's is something that needs addressing quickly ,as this can only hinder any development in the understanding and eventual cohesion of Skrtel and Lovren.
Johnson should be dropped ,I mean his inclusion in the team is not even funny any more,and if by some freak of nature he gets the nod over Manquillo for the Spurs game
the same ridiculous scenario will unfold again ,as for Gerrard I expect a defensive midfielder whose primary objective is to shield and strengthen our defence should be
approaching the ball rather than backing of the opposition runners and ending up on our goal line....We improved significantly when Lambert ,Can and Markovic were introduced ,and in truth the substitutes I've mentioned were the only players capable of breaking Cities complete dominance,but the game was all but gone by then.
Lets be honest here Coutinho was marshalled superbly and like against the Saints his threat was quelled entirely ,Sterling was isolated on the wing and stopped from
coming inside more centrally ,Pellegrini got his tactics spot on,he negated our main threats and stifled any inventive football that was likely to evolve.