1 minute ago, WhiteWall said:

I get the sarri-ball and  i am looking forward to it when it arrives. In fact wasn't that what Man City were playing around our manequins. My concern is that our only competitive signing is Jorginho becuase he fits this system so well. However, a slower player, without the ball, i cannot remember seeing. I think Gianfranco is probably faster than him. Ebery time the play broke down, there was 70 yards of space for City to move through virtually unopposed. If the reports are true and Sarri thinks he only needs one more signing this could be a long hard season.

The concern that i have is that Sarri ball works in Italy becuase how slow the pace of the game is. You could see how careless Jorginho was today when he got pressed. Hopefully he will get up to speed quickly becuase the back four without a defensive midfielder screening look completely out of their depth.

Sarri needs his big players back and these players need to up their game big time.

When Napoli played vs Man City, They looked pretty competitive. Your concerns are absolutely right - in that we looked very porous as the game progressed and lacked tooth. The problem is our squad - It is a tough ask for Sarri. If anything we should have bought more players from Napoli, players who knew his system. Else we should have hired him much much earlier. It is criminal the amount of time we wasted in hanging on to Conte and not hiring Sarri to start training our squad knowing fully well our offseason plans (spend less + worldcup which will keep players busy).  

This club has spent 35 mil on DD / 30 mil Zappa / 60 on Moratta etc etc and are willing to save 8 mil by not paying for Sarris release clause and have him join the team earlier. 

 

23 minutes ago, the special one said:

Pedro should start for me, I'm all aboard the Hudson-Odoi hype train but as yet he doesn't have end product on today's evidence.

Pedro doesn't seem to have much of anything these days though. We would be better off putting more time into Hudson-Odoi.

1 hour ago, Gentian said:

Thanks buddy. Excellent link. Shame the game from us has been very poor. Jorginho is quite slow. Even Pirlo was quicker. 

He had a rude awakening to the premiership even though it doesn't help that he had slow ass fabregas  to cover for. He should be better with Kante back but we honestly need 2 more midfielders and a winger

9 minutes ago, WhiteWall said:

But we never had an attempt on goal let alone a shot on target, during that time. and 48% possession  is nothing for us to get excited about either. For me 48% possession and not a single attempt = probably heading towards a defeat

Fair enough. Here is my counter. Man City is a team that loves possession play. They normally have 60 - 70 % possession. For us to reduce them to that number is actually pretty impressive, Yes or No?

And for the lack of goals/shot on target - very true, but can you blame the manager for that ? We have been seeing Morata and Pedro since last season and we know that how poor they are. If they were banging in goals heck - Conte might still be here and we might have finished top 4. We never upgraded in those position and Sarri is here only for 3 weeks. If he had invested in a proper striker and a winger - Do you think we would still look toothless ? 

16 minutes ago, brownindian said:

Did you see the first 20 minutes ? Or join in later once we started wilting ? The passing was crisp and we had pretty decent possession (i think around 48%). 

Pfft, possession means nothing if you do nothing with it. We created as much today as we did with Conte's awful tactics the last time we played City.

City actually looked more dangerous against us than usual, they were creating chances with ease. If they could be bothered to play with more killer instinct, they could have embarrassed us. I want us playing nice football too, but it's not worth anything if your defense can't keep teams out. It was worrying how many times our high line was beaten, if we don't cut that out then we won't be any better than last season. 

I must admit, it's far better on here than on the other forums, but bloody hell! Did some of you really expect to go into this game with a realistic chance of beating City? Considering who we had missing and City's strength in depth, I thought it was a obvious a positive result was going to be the outside bet for us.

all I wanted for this game was an improvement from the City games last season, and we definitely got that. We will improve this season.

2 minutes ago, Scott Harris said:

Pfft, possession means nothing if you do nothing with it. We created as much today as we did with Conte's awful tactics the last time we played City.

City actually looked more dangerous against us than usual, they were creating chances with ease. If they could be bothered to play with more killer instinct, they could have embarrassed us. I want us playing nice football too, but it's not worth anything if your defense can't keep teams out. It was worrying how many times our high line was beaten, if we don't cut that out then we won't be any better than last season. 

A square leggy defence, constantly getting caught out and a toothless attack. It's going to be a rollercoaster!!

2 minutes ago, Scott Harris said:

Pfft, possession means nothing if you do nothing with it. We created as much today as we did with Conte's awful tactics the last time we played City.?

City actually looked more dangerous against us than usual, they were creating chances with ease. If they could be bothered to play with more killer instinct, they could have embarrassed us. I want us playing nice football too, but it's not worth anything if your defense can't keep teams out. It was worrying how many times our high line was beaten, if we don't cut that out then we won't be any better than last season. 

City are a dangerous team who have 2 first teams in their squad. We are nowhere close. So it is never going to be easy for us and City can make any team look poor and we are no exception. The good news is we wont be playing them 18 times this year. This is a good game to showcase our flaws. The back 4 playing a high line, looking very compact are correctable with time. Plus Kante returning to replace Cesc and Tibo getting back should strengthen our defense. 

The problem is our squad is bloated yet filled with players who all don't fit the managers style and our attack is going to be abysmal and I dont see how we can fix that unless the board buys smart or someone has a breakout season. 

Just now, Old Shaggy said:

I must admit, it's far better on here than on the other forums, but bloody hell! Did some of you really expect to go into this game with a realistic chance of beating City? Considering who we had missing and City's strength in depth, I thought it was a obvious a positive result was going to be the outside bet for us.

all I wanted for this game was an improvement from the City games last season, and we definitely got that. We will improve this season.

I'm not sure that any of the posters i've seen on here expected us to beat City. In fact the majority of posters have clearly said the result isn't important.

What has worried the sh*t out of most of us was the complete lack of cohesion, frankly what appears to be a general lack of overall fitness, certain players that already do not look up to standard and a defence that doesn't have the recovery powers needed to cope with playing a high line.

4 minutes ago, Old Shaggy said:

I must admit, it's far better on here than on the other forums, but bloody hell! Did some of you really expect to go into this game with a realistic chance of beating City? Considering who we had missing and City's strength in depth, I thought it was a obvious a positive result was going to be the outside bet for us.

all I wanted for this game was an improvement from the City games last season, and we definitely got that. We will improve this season.

Thanks for the positive outlook we need more of this. Our attacking play is looking better - now will that lead to more goals ? Hopefully once we get our entire team back and they master Sarris technique, we will be a fun team to watch. I am hoping that Michy has a breakout season. 

Too much doom and gloom.
I'd rather we find out the flaws now while we've got time to get players in,
(That's if we do get players in)

4 minutes ago, TomCFC85 said:

Too much doom and gloom.
I'd rather we find out the flaws now while we've got time to get players in,
(That's if we do get players in)

I suspect just a change in goalkeeper and we will be making Hazard and Willian stay.

10 minutes ago, brownindian said:

City are a dangerous team who have 2 first teams in their squad. We are nowhere close. So it is never going to be easy for us and City can make any team look poor and we are no exception. The good news is we wont be playing them 18 times this year. This is a good game to showcase our flaws. The back 4 playing a high line, looking very compact are correctable with time. Plus Kante returning to replace Cesc and Tibo getting back should strengthen our defense. 

The problem is our squad is bloated yet filled with players who all don't fit the managers style and our attack is going to be abysmal and I dont see how we can fix that unless the board buys smart or someone has a breakout season. 

Your last paragraph is what scares me the most, we have the largest team probably in World football and I can’t figure out where the club is going with it. A team of around 22 players and 30 more on loan is ridiculous, why not hit the refresh button and have a massive clear out? Surely the loan fees don’t justify having such a big team in a world where a decent player costs £50m.

I reckon the lack of direction with the club regarding transfers might be due to a bloated team.

Edited August 5, 20187 yr by ducavis

Bloody hell are we ever going to win this thing again? Defensive tactics needs some tuning, they could've smashed us 5-0 or more just through simple balls.

14 minutes ago, brownindian said:

City are a dangerous team who have 2 first teams in their squad. We are nowhere close. So it is never going to be easy for us and City can make any team look poor and we are no exception. The good news is we wont be playing them 18 times this year. This is a good game to showcase our flaws. The back 4 playing a high line, looking very compact are correctable with time. Plus Kante returning to replace Cesc and Tibo getting back should strengthen our defense. 

The problem is our squad is bloated yet filled with players who all don't fit the managers style and our attack is going to be abysmal and I dont see how we can fix that unless the board buys smart or someone has a breakout season. 

why change players when you can change managers, that's how it's always been

on a positive note we need at least 2-3 months to properly see what's Sarri has been working on

Edited August 5, 20187 yr by theone

Sarri on... Today's performance

'At the moment there is a little difference between us and City, maybe not the title, but between the teams.

'I thought the first half performance wasn't too bad, but in the the second half there was a big difference in a physical point of view.

'Our pre-season has been a little bit crazy, so we still have a lot of work to do yet.'

Sarri on... Adapting to his style

'We have the idea to press but we have to sometimes press in the right way, and sometimes not. We have the idea to be in control of the match but today we were not in control.

'We still have a long way to go in terms of our work in that sense.'

Sarri on... Transfers

'I have heard about Thibaut Courtois' agents comments but I am not interested in the agent. I want to hear if Courtois will say the same to me. I want players here with a high level of motivation.'

Sarri on... Barkley

'I like Ross. He is a technical player. He has to improve on the defensive phase, it's difficult to play with Jorginho, Cesc and Ross all together. But I like him. He will be a very useful player for us.'

Sarri on... Wembley

'It's beautiful to play here and it is very emotional to be at Wembley. The way I imagined it would be with a win, but other than that it is exactly as I imagined it.'

Well, thought we were terrible.  I know this is my first post and all, but let's see what we have shall we?

Yes it's pre-season, yes it's a friendly masquerading as a trophy, but it's crazy not to draw some conclusions, the team won't suddenly be a lot better by next weekend.

I've watched all the pre0season games thus far, and for those that think pre-season doesn't matter would do well to remember that what you saw today is exactly how we've been performing in those other games.  We look flat at the back, there's little to no link up between the middle third and the final third, and Morata is a dud.

And yes it's my first post, but I've been watching football enough to know that Sarri has not had any immediate effect on the squad that is meaningful in a positive way.  Yes, yes, early days - but you're looking for something.  Our back three is now a back four, and we look worse for it.  Alonso does not look like he play in a back four.  Rudiger and Luiz made a strange partnership.  Luiz can't get forward at all, because he's rooted in the four man defense.

Morata had scraps, but that doesn't excuse his wastefulness.  He may well only get half chances, and we need someone who can score them.  We need a striker - BADLY.

What was with Sarri's substitutions?  Drinkwater?  Really?  I agree with Fabregas going off, the guy has zero pace, and was being eaten alive. 

We also tried the "close people down all over the pitch" strategy that City use, but we weren't very good at it.  We had no teeth up front, and few ideas.  I see others saying Sarri needs 2 to 3 months, and that may be right.  On the other hand, in 3 months you can lose a title tilt.  We need a whole lot more from this squad.  The only, the ONLY good news, is we have Hazard and Kante to come back.

Second half was poor from us. We were pretty good after 20mins till the end of the 1st half but other than that we were second best. We had 53% possession first half against City which is pretty much 100% different to Chelsea last term. 

I think Kante will improve us massively. I think Sarri will make him go much more forward as Jorginho is our deep lying midfielder. Kante sure has the legs and actually much more talent than he ever uses. He can make intelligent passes and shoot. 

I think Barkley is not an answer to any of our problems but I see him being used as a rotation player. 

I think Luiz will be once again a nailed on starter alongside Christensen. Rudiger could actually play Alonso's place. We need defenders who are cool under pressure. For me Gary isn't one. 

Hudson-Odoi will play a part but probably a small part. He looked like a young boy today in some situations although he was lively. 

1 hour ago, atomis said:

 

Its not about being impatience, of course it will take time. But why dont the Club give a helping hand? We all know how many average players we have, we all knew this team was in need of some quality transfers.....yet in 4 days the door Closes and Jorginho is all we got plus green. Its already a huge uphill battle, no need to make even worse. For now we must back Sarri.

We just bought Jorginho for nearly 60m. Who else do you suggest we buy? We have players here who Sarri needs to analyse and see who fits where and if he can improve them. We can't keep going out spending money on players, especially players who are unattainable. Spurs have signed nobody, City have signed Mahrez, Utd have signed Fred, and Liverpool have made some decent signings which were needed. We don't desperately need players for the first team, we're already strong in almost all the first 11 positions. I think people play too much football manager or Fifa and have ridiculous expectations. The club is a business too, it's not just about going out buying the next shiny toy. The market is inflated, so clubs can't just go and buy, buy, buy like they used to.  People don't even bother to give players a chance any longer, it's all want, want, want from fans. This is real life, not fantasy football. 

Edited August 5, 20187 yr by enigma

6 minutes ago, enigma said:

We just bought Jorginho for nearly 60m. Who else do you suggest we buy? We have players here who Sarri needs to analyse and see who fits where and if he can improve them. We can't keep going out spending money on players, especially players who are unattainable. Spurs have signed nobody, City have signed Mahrez, Utd have signed Fred, and Liverpool have made some decent signings which were needed. We don't desperately need players for the first team, we're already strong in almost all the first 11 positions. I think people play too much football manager or Fifa and have ridiculous expectations. The club is a business too, it's not just about going out buying the next shiny toy. The market is inflated, so clubs can't just go and buy, buy, buy like they used to.  People don't even bother to give players a chance any longer, it's all want, want, want from fans. This is real life, not fantasy football. 

Man we passed up on Golovin. And close sources confirmed we were in for him at £27m. 

Fabregas, RLC and Bakayoko jog around the pitch. I understand Kante is yet to return but Kante wont be playing thursday nights + sunday afternoon PL games. What happens if Kante gets injured? We need more midfielders with high energy who can press for more than the opening 20 minutes of the match. Tell me who in this team fits the profile of Hamsik and Allan who played alongside Jorhinho in midfield. Only Kante and maybe Barkley. 

Edited August 5, 20187 yr by zes

6 minutes ago, enigma said:

 and Liverpool have made some decent signings which were needed. We don't desperately need players for the first team, 

Oh come off it, that's a bunch of crap.
We need upgrades in so many positions it isn't even funny.

We were sixth last season, behind every team we consider "top" in this country. Including Arsenal.
That's roughly how good this squad is at the moment. Are you happy with top six? 

So, by the comments I read until now we looked bad.

How did CHO perform? How was Morata?

3 minutes ago, zes said:

Man we passed up on Golovin. And close sources confirmed we were in for him at £27m. 

Fabregas, RLC and Bakayoko jog around the pitch. I understand Kante is yet to return but Kante wont be playing thursday nights + sunday afternoon PL games. What happens if Kante gets injured? We need more midfielders with high energy who can press for more than the opening 20 minutes of the match. Tell me who in this team fits the profile of Hamsik and Allan who played alongside Jorhinho in midfield. Only Kante and maybe Barkley. 

Same thing if any club loses one of their best players. I'm really fed up with the B.S impatience. 3 weeks in and people already whining without giving Sarri time to improve the players. He's spent no time with them at all. Whatever anybody thinks of the players we have, they're not under a negative, defensive manager any longer. Sarri is absolutely capable of improving them, but fans are incapable of allowing any time whatsoever without talk of bringing in player/s who have done nothing.