I do not have an opinion on Manchester City really, but I don't think the loss of these three players alone would affect United to such an extent. Remember we played Spurs without De Gea anyway. In place of Mata, we can always play Young and in place of Smalling we can play Jones. Obviously Smalling has been a beast for us but Jones should be an able deputy and given how we control games, we should be able to score 1-2 goals without Mata. City is more dependent on 2-3 individuals than we are, as we have a good template to play with for the whole team.
What's wrong at Manchester City?
- Thread starter sammsky1
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In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik @Rood and Imran @Annihilate Now! start with the good news by celebrating Manchester United Women's emphatic FA Cup win over Spurs at Wembley and the future of manager Marc Skinner.
Then it's the bad news and the ever worsening form of our Men with losses to Arsenal and Palace.
Finally the main debate - ETH Out now or keep him until the end of the season - if not longer. Are you Team Nik or Team Imran?
I don't really see much logic here. 'In place of Smalling we can play Jones.' Yes, and in place of Kompany, City can play Demichelis, but the effect is much the same.
'We played without De Gea against Spurs anyway' is meaningless, because the whole point is that they had to play without three of their key men at the same time. Losing just one is obviously not the same.
And you can't 'replace Mata with Young', because in my hypothetical equivalent situation we're without both, since neither on their own has been anywhere near as good, influential or important as Silva.
We beat Spurs narrowly, with only one key player missing. With three or four of our best and most important, it's hardly a stretch to suggest that we would have lost.
Well its just my opinion about a hypothetical so no-one can be right or wrong here. But I do think we would still be favourites to win against Spurs if we are missing Mata, De Gea and Smalling. Including Young because Mata+Young is something I don't really understand. Since De Gea>Hart, should we reduce something from city too? Wouldn't the right comparison be to remove three corresponding players from United's lineup?
Also I didn't say that 'its a stretch to suggest that we would have lost'. We could have conceivably lost to Spurs even with those players (and so could City). But the point is we still would have been expected to win, and we shouldn't have been using injuries as an excuse to losing.
Ok, that's a good point, De Gea being better than Hart balances out Silva being better than Mata.
The point is that we'd have been just as vulnerable to a bad result as City were, and you're lying to yourself if you think there's any chance that a result like that wouldn't be heavily blamed on injuries on here if we were missing De Gea, Smalling and Mata.
No but they can sure as hell not welcome them with open arms. There's no excuse.
I don't think we'd be as vulnerable, especially if that meant that we'd have other injured players (Shaw) available. Apart from De Gea, we don't really have players as indispensable to our play as Toure and Silva. It's a minus when people say United don't have a clear defined best XI or don't have stand-out match-winners, but it is in our favour when it comes to injury scenarios.
If we did lose, yes many on here would cite injuries (and equally, many would point to it as evidence that LVG's system is a failure) but the media would definitely not excuse it in that manner. I think they hold us to a higher standard, for good or ill.
Can't find Otamendi thread... I just watched highlights from their CL game and their defense was horrible, especially Otamendi. Given away penalty, not position himself very good etc., ofcourse it didn't helped he had Kolarov next to him who was just as bad bud still i would expected much better since there was so many people rating him very highly.
What Caf is now thinking about him. It is all fine and well that he needs time in the PL but he surely had to be much better then that in CL for the money they paid.
What Caf is now thinking about him. It is all fine and well that he needs time in the PL but he surely had to be much better then that in CL for the money they paid.
To me it's always the same, I liked him in Porto's and Valencia's defensive unit, defenders are heavily reliant on what happens around them.
Don't know what's happening but he was a rock for Valencia last season.
Yeah but he had a shocker against Tottenham, same on wednesday, i think he was bad against West Ham too. I was criticised by one poster when i jumped on his back when he had bad game against Tottenham but he is showing no improvement.
Still as @JPRouve said he is depentable on players around him and if others are bad he will have a hard time to keep City defense tight by himself. Still i expected more since he was so highly rated, wit displays like this he would ne our 3rd LCB this season...
I've only seen him twice this season 2nd half against west ham and against Spurs. The west ham one doesn't really count case they didn't do any attacking in that half. He was poor against Spurs. The thing I noticed against Spurs was that he was overly aggressive. He was charging at everything and getting pulled out of position. He also didn't have a good Copa imo. I saw him last season and I think he will get better. He's not in the best CB in the world category but he will prove to be much better than Mangala.
They have never truly dominated a league campaign have they? They always went through slumps where they were conceding too many goals and being too vulnerable. In 2012 and 2014, they had us and Liverpool mess it up but they were not amazingly consistent during those two seasons. I am not sure why is that really but it might have something to do with the fact that they are not really a carefully built unit. They are like an inferior version of Real Madrid in the sense that they are composed of some wonderful players which means when they click, they are an absolute joy to watch, but it also means they do not have that consistency that can only be achieved through building a strong foundation. This year, I think will be no different with them, if nobody stands up, they will the league despite their inconsistency. If ourselves or Chelsea manage to somehow get their act together, City will have no prayer just like 2011, 2013 and 2015.
The problem with city is the players don't care about the club. You can make a case for Kompany and hart but it's not a consistent theme. You could say they have a similar transfer policy to Madrid.The difference is, Madrid have such a rich history that players who go there have some passion for the club.
With city it's just a payday. This is one of the reasons they can;t challenge consistently for the title. The only reason they've decided to give it a go this season is because their egos were damaged by their poor showing last season, even if they managed to win the league again they wouldn't be bothered the following season because there's no drive or soul within the team.
Couple that with their midfield being heavily reliant on Toure who can look poor one week when they don't have possession and a world beater the next when attacking and you have a team that's a hodge-podge of egos with no real identity or drive to be totally dominant. The talent is there, but thankfully for us, the mentally isn't.
With city it's just a payday. This is one of the reasons they can;t challenge consistently for the title. The only reason they've decided to give it a go this season is because their egos were damaged by their poor showing last season, even if they managed to win the league again they wouldn't be bothered the following season because there's no drive or soul within the team.
Couple that with their midfield being heavily reliant on Toure who can look poor one week when they don't have possession and a world beater the next when attacking and you have a team that's a hodge-podge of egos with no real identity or drive to be totally dominant. The talent is there, but thankfully for us, the mentally isn't.
Well people in media and on Caf also were looking at their team at the start of the season and how much they strengthen with Otamendi, Sterling and KDB and rightly said that they could walk the league.
But more i look their team and their displays the less i am impressed. While Sterling could be great adition in the future because he is one of the biggest talents he is really not showing what he can do at the moment, Otamendi at least for me is terible for now and KDB while he showed glimpses of his quality he didn't do much. Their best players are still the same: Aguero, Sliva, Yaya and Komplany. Without them they are still a weak side and they are just a few injuries away from colapsing like we saw with Silva injury. And their biggest problem is that Aguero, Silva and Kompany are recently picking up a lot of injuries. On the other hand Yaya is clearly in decline which was visible last season already.
They still have a very weak midfield, a qestionable defence and by names very good attack which they can't replicate on the pitch. I wouldn't be suprised if they will not do as good as some expected from them this season but it's still to early to conclude anything.
But more i look their team and their displays the less i am impressed. While Sterling could be great adition in the future because he is one of the biggest talents he is really not showing what he can do at the moment, Otamendi at least for me is terible for now and KDB while he showed glimpses of his quality he didn't do much. Their best players are still the same: Aguero, Sliva, Yaya and Komplany. Without them they are still a weak side and they are just a few injuries away from colapsing like we saw with Silva injury. And their biggest problem is that Aguero, Silva and Kompany are recently picking up a lot of injuries. On the other hand Yaya is clearly in decline which was visible last season already.
They still have a very weak midfield, a qestionable defence and by names very good attack which they can't replicate on the pitch. I wouldn't be suprised if they will not do as good as some expected from them this season but it's still to early to conclude anything.
De Bruyne's been undeniably excellent.
But you're otherwise right, their big weakness is still that they're relying on the same core of key, ageing players. Those players are mostly still excellent, but they're getting more and more injury-prone. Sterling and Otamendi have both looked ok but no more than that, and nowhere near up to the task of filling in for Silva or Kompany respectively.
But I still think as soon as they get those core players back, they'll be flying again.
Shitty Newcastle side at home. Nonetheless...
City are obviously very good on paper, but have been quite hit or miss - possibly down to a few players being out and several new players getting used to things. But they also seem to lack a touch of character and focus that will probably haunt them as the year wears on.
Aye, this is why they are favourites for the league. Aguero, Silva, KDB and Yaya can rip teams to shreds and they're capable of tightening up at the back too. No other team can match that atm.
I actually really like Aguero. I find that, even though he's doing it for City, I just can't bring myself to dislike him. He's a class player and I would love him to be wearing red.
But...I really wouldn't that upset if he were to pick up a slight knock - a slight, season-ending knock - during the international break.
But...I really wouldn't that upset if he were to pick up a slight knock - a slight, season-ending knock - during the international break.
They don't have that many players that I truly dislike. I just dislike the club as a whole.I actually really like Aguero. I find that, even though he's doing it for City, I just can't bring myself to dislike him. He's a class player and I would love him to be wearing red.
But...I really wouldn't that upset if he were to pick up a slight knock - a slight, season-ending knock - during the international break.
Come to think of it, you're right. They actually have a group of fairly likeable players. Except Joe Hart. And Sterling.
You're posts make me cringe you need to get out the closet and get yourself over to bluemoon.
I think we should just tell the lads to stay at home tomorrow no point wasting our time going down to the Emirates City have this league wrapped up. 6-1 win over Newcastle that could have been 3 up at half time. Mark of champions people!
Won't be important if they keep dropping points like West Ham and Tottenham. A 1-0 away win after scrappy performances followed by a hard fought 1-0 against cannon fodder at home is worth twice as much as losing to West Ham 2-1 at home then beating Newastle 6-1 with amazing performance.
Still think the 2 games were blips, but their next few games will tell for sure. No use in dubbing any team potential champions until after the Xmas break.
Augero is my fpl captain
Some lucky feck will have triple captained him. 75 points!Augero is my fpl captain
I'm really annoyed at myself. I was going to but decided to wait until he hit form....
That's cute. You've found me out, 10,000 posts later.
Honestly, I've never felt any particular rivalry with City. When they were actually still Manchester City - the club that half my extended family grew up supporting - they were too shit to worry about, and now they're just a sort of generic, identikit oil-funded European project club. I don't feel that much more enmity for them than for Chelsea, really.
And the hilariously over-enthusiastic predictions about their demise after two or three lacklustre games on here has been hard not to respond to. They're still a better side than us, albeit narrowly, and anyone who stopped worrying about them after a couple of poor (and unlucky) games was a plonker.
Their defence is suspect and their MF is weak. They've still got problems.
it's an anachronism to say that, they are very solid at the back with both defensive midfielders hovering the space in front off defense, just need a stable back four without injuries, Kompany and Mangala and Kolarov looks like hitting great form from the start of the season, Otamendi has just started.. If Yaya plays as CM they are a slight bit weaker defensively but still good enough and we don't need to talk about how good they are going forward with Silva, de Bruyne, Aguero, possibly Sterling and Yaya supporting them in a great way, they have the best atttack in the league on a day.
They are big favourites this year and the two Fernando midfielders are underrated, they do their job really well..
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There's still a lot wrong at City; fortunately for them, there's a lot more that's wrong with their rivals. They still have to be favourites for the league.
They're a strange bunch, they're far too inconsistent to win the title in any normal year but for some strange reason this season isn't normal at all for any top 6 team. With there squad they should be winning most domestic competitions they enter and challenging for the CL easily but instead they're fairly poor for large parts of the season.
At the start of the season it was City this and City that from the papers, now while only being 1 point off the top I rarely see them in the newspapers or online and because of that I'm gonna say that they'll never be a big club.
At the start of the season it was City this and City that from the papers, now while only being 1 point off the top I rarely see them in the newspapers or online and because of that I'm gonna say that they'll never be a big club.
One of those draws is our 0-0 at OT.
They're typical flat track bullies
Usually enough to win a league
Different story when the big boys of Europe come knocking though