Premier League Gameweek 26 fixtures (9th - 11th Feb 2019)

padr81

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@padr81

What’s the fans view on zinchenko? I’m impressed with him every time I see him.
Positionally very poor at times, but he's a no.10 playing LB so I think he deserves a bit of a pass. Was used as a bit of a scapegoat at times when we mess up. I don't think too many would have complained if he'd went to Wolves tbh. He's likable, tries hard and is very good on the ball. He also chose to stay at the club and fight for a place which is commendable. Will never be good enough for our midfield if I'm honest and is 3rd choice at LB. I think we'll eventually move him on the fact we have nowhere to put him.
 

adexkola

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City have created the better chances, but the scoreline is pretty ridiculous and flatters them a lot. They haven't been that good.
No they have been excellent. Especially in the first 15 minutes. They always create a lot of chances, today they've been more clinical than usual (looking at you Sterling). If they played like this in every game the league table would look different
 

Irrational.

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Souness is raging with the fiery passion of a man who has recently got into a relationship with the girl of his dreams but can’t get his boner to work.
 

Rob

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Has Kante ever played as sole holding midfielder , he certainly isn't tailor made for that role there is lot of misconception about Kante's position he has mostly played as box to box who excels in more defensive side of the game but playing him instead of Jorginho isn't playing to his strengths either.
Didn’t he play as an all consuming defensive midfielder until Sarri arrived, or am I imagining it? He’s far and away more suited for the role than Jorginho, imo. Particularly against a team with an attack as brilliant as City’s.
 

SquishyMcSquish

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Why is Kante being played so far forward when he made his name as the shield in front of the defence?
Sarri can't play his system with Kante at the base of midfield. He needs someone who is able to conduct the pace of the game.

But when you have a player like Kante, who has very specific but incredibly useful attributes, it's a total waste to have him in his current position.
 

Jazz

Just in case anyone missed it. I don't like Mount.
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Can old Pep lend us Aguero for our Liverpool clash?:D
He's so good.
 

afrocentricity

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I cant believe Aguero has stayed in Manchester all these years and fecking Di Maria couldnt wait to get out of it after a few months.
2 different players. One has a hell of a lot more heart than the other... Always liked Aguero from his AM days.
 

adexkola

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It's not difficult to understand. If Kante plays there, Chelsea's build up suffers enormously. Kante never played as a single pivote for France or Leicester or under Conte and Mourinho if I remember correctly.

What is funny is that the same people saying Sarri should change where the same people saying Pep should change and David Silva and De Bruyne would never work as a midfield pair.
And they wouldn't even get the benefit of conceding much less... City beat them home and away last season.

Again, Kante isn't this good to be the hill that armchair managers are dying on
 

Andycoleno9

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There is no way Sarri is surviving this season. They’ll hire a new flavour-of-the-month manager, performances will improve for a few months, and then they’ll down tools, turn to shit again and back to step one.
They will promote Zola. Like we did with Ole
 

breakout67

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Scousers should not be allowed to be pundits. Carragher is generally sensible but even he is fuming, they are so biased it's unreal.
 

Johan07

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Playing Kante at the 6 wouldn't change anything about this game.

You'd think he was prime Xavi the way some of youse talk about him
Yeah, Kante was/is never a #6. That would be a disaster offensively. I absolutely dont blame Sarri for this. If Kante was playing for us he would be competeing with Herrera, not Matic.
Since Sarri almost never uses a double pivot this is the consequence.
 

Canagel

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Was Sarri even that good at Napoli?
the team broke 90 point barrier last season only just missing out on the scudetto. Still a club record. It was gradual improvement. The football was quite good but it doesn't work with some of these players.
 

Random Task

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@el3mel @breakout67

LVG hasn't been effective as a coach since his Barca days 2 decades ago. The game left him behind because he refused to adapt to modern-day conditions - similar to Jose in that regard.

It's always difficult comparing modern-day managers with their historical counterparts given the many alterations to the rules over the years and technological advancements that have improved fitness levels and overall ability of footballers worldwide.

Purely on trophy count, Sarri has a long way to go if he wishes to match LVG's accomplishments.
 

totaalvoetbal

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And they wouldn't even get the benefit of conceding much less... City beat them home and away last season.

Again, Kante isn't this good to be the hill that armchair managers are dying on
The whole argument makes no sense. They have far bigger issues than that.
 

Mb194dc

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Stats look pretty even. Nearly even possesion, passes and shots. Game not so much .

When you come to press high and are terrible at it, expect to concede goals to a city team this good. Terrible errors for first goal and Barkley suicide back header. Oh well Newcastle came back from 4 0 at half time once, pray fora Miracle. Won't be betting on it!

Sarri no doubt regretting not copying the tactics we used at home, sitting far deeper with false 9.
 

SquishyMcSquish

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It's not difficult to understand. If Kante plays there, Chelsea's build up suffers enormously. Kante never played as a single pivote for France or Leicester or under Conte and Mourinho if I remember correctly.

What is funny is that the same people saying Sarri should change where the same people saying Pep should change and David Silva and De Bruyne would never work as a midfield pair.
Pep doesn't play somebody like Jorginho at the base of midfield though, does he? I know he targeted him in the summer, but I do have my doubts over whether he would have used him in this role.

I don't think City would get away with Silva/De Bruyne without Fernandinho's incredible work rate and tenacity, he's a very complete midfielder. Jorginho may be able to dictate play, but he's useless without the ball (the opposite of Fernandinho) and this makes Chelsea very easy to play through and very vulnerable to the press.

Us, Arsenal and City all played our way through Jorginho very, very easily. It's a massive tactical issue for Sarri and one he hasn't addressed at all.
 

DavidDeSchmikes

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How long will Sarri keep his player in the dressing room after the game?
I only just seen the score......:eek:
 

Amar__

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I really don't. Football is as simple as playing your best players at their best position. They're bypassing Jorginho, he is pointless. His passing isn't special, sideways master.
Pointless player really
As I mentioned in Aguero's thread - good players simply win. People bought into Guardiola's hipster theory that Aguero isn't good enough for his system and that the likes of Jesus fit him better, but that theory simply failed for simple reason because Aguero is ten times the player Jesus is. If the difference is minimal then I can understand choosing one over another, but Aguero is simply one of the best players in the world, you build the team around that player.
 

breakout67

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@el3mel @breakout67

LVG hasn't been effective as a coach since his Barca days 2 decades ago. The game left him behind because he refused to adapt to modern-day conditions - similar to Joe in that regard.

It's always difficult comparing modern-day managers with their historical counterparts given the many alterations to the rules over the years and technological advancements that have improved fitness levels and overall ability of footballers worldwide.

Purely on trophy count, Sarri has a long way to go if he wishes to match LVG's accomplishments.
LVG was 1 game away from a treble with Bayern. You have no idea what you are on about.